Guadalajara, Jalisco, December 3 rd , 2011
With cries of “we like that!” and “that’s worth it!” the audience welcomed BulmaroCastellanos, aka
Magú, this year’s honoree of “La Catrina” Cartoon Prize, closing the International Cartoon and Comic
Strip Meeting. Magú was presented as a reference of Mexican graphic arts, a master of a witty pencil, sense of humor and unmistakable style that through his work allows for a better understanding of reality.
The event, that began with a short delay because the pre-candidate for the PRI party in the upcomin g presidential race, Enrique Peña Nieto, was occupying the Juan Rulfo auditorium, was freed of all solemnity when Magú took the microphone. The cartoonist, famous for his hair, similar to Miguel
Hidalgo, said that his everyday look includes a quiff which he decided to eliminate to avoid any political references. He expressed his satisfaction for being in the Juan Rulfo auditorium, “a place where the dead hand over the space to the living.” He thanked his fellow cartoonists, the jury and the rector of the “Autonomous University of Guadalajara”, Marco Antonio Cortés Guardado, and immediately offered his apologies, admitting his mistake of granting autonomy to the University of
Guadalajara by the power invested in him by being the day’s honoree.
After due formalities of an event of this nature, Bulmaro, in a mocking tone and imitating the gestures of the pre-candidate that only a few minutes before had made an address from the same microphones, assured that the jury’s decision was a complete mistake for simple reasons he could sum up in less than four hours: “The first is that I am a cartoonist who instead of being concerned about the problems and crisis of his country, invents jokes about them and on top doesn’t have any respect for its institutions.” According to Magú, his drawings are “monsters out of the black lagoon,” but even so, politicians end up looking like them. He told about the time when he drew the subcomandante Marcos and it turned out so bad that the insurgent decided to begin covering his face.
Other public figures have reacted more positively and have even said that it is an honor to have Magú destroy them, like former president José López Portillo, who instead of becoming upset, gave him the
National Journalism Prize for cartoon in 1982.
Onc e done reciting his motives, Magú gave the jury one last chance to rectify their decision.
He told them to not be concerned if he didn’t go home with “la Catrina”, designed by Sergio Aragonés, because he came prepared, producing a Catrina in papiermâché wearing a pink dress to the surprise of the audience. He gave them a few seconds to respond, but silence overcame. “Then, I am sure now that I am a catrín ,” he said putting on an outrageous top hat with loud feathers while the audience burst into laughter and applause.
To end the event, he recalled the recent victims of the city and assured that he only saw one, which was carrying a “narco-message”: “This catrina is for you to learn to respect cartoonists.”