Pandora's Other Box

Sometimes cartoon characters take on an  existence  of their own and become bigger than life itself. This was the case with Mafalda, an Argentinean born character which has influenced at least two generations in many countries down south. The US has “Peanuts” with Chuck, Linus and the gang. In Latin America it has been Mafalda and her group of friends; these include a social butterfly, an avowed capitalist, a dreamer and the main title character, who practices a fairly straightforward life philosophy; sometimes caustic, sometimes very direct, but always on the  money. Born from the pen and drawing board of Quino, an Argentinean writer creator, this small group of indeterminate age children were (and still are in many areas) the stuff which parents used to teach their own children, since it was a world seen from the eyes of the children themselves; a world where adults were present and dealt with, but on the quasi-outside of the children’s own reality. Why put Mafalda ...

When I look back through to the beginning of these posts, it seems to me that what started as some sort of a private, personal rambling, has taken on more of a public persona; it has acquired a life of its own going in several directions, including some which have actually surprised me a little, to say the least. Also, there have been communications from different corners, from people who I never anticipated reading these, much less regularly. Thank you for taking the time and for letting me know that you enjoy these entries. On to the title topic... many of my family members have come and gone on these notes. Yes, even my grandmother (maternal, since I never met my paternal grandparents other than in pictures and much later in life). She deserves much more than a passing glance; after all, she had the patience of Job with me; I was not an easy child; in this country I probably would have qualified as a problem child in my early years. I could be described as having a short attentio...