Cuba Part I: Palante!
January 28, 2010, filed under: News, Studio, by Lex
We hit the ground running on the first day and visited a Cuban humor publication called Palante. Palante has been around for nearly 50 years and is the premier newspaper for comics (its format is similar to Funny Times in the states). We met in a conference room where we learned about the history of the paper and met many of the cartoonists, whose ages range from 25 to 75–generations of cartoonists contribute to Palante!
Palante did a spread on Charles Schulz and Peanuts back in the 80’s
We also introduced ourselves and told them a little about our own work–at the Schulz Studio, but also our individual projects: Viva Kid Beowulf!
Afterward, we were asked to draw some momentos for them…Justin and Hilary, are hard at work!
As per usual, Tom did some terrific caricatures…
One of the artists I had the pleasure to meet was Enrique Lacoste. Enrique does political and editorial cartoons, but is also the creator of a comic book series called Wankarani, about a young Peruvian boy and his pet jaguar. The book seemed like a lot of fun and reminded me of my own work.
Another member of Palante was gentleman cartoonist, Francisco Blanco Hernandez of the well-regarded Cuban comic Ay Vecino.
Francisco had lots of wonderful stories to tell, one of which involved a mural he painted of his characters in the famous Cuban bar, La Bodeguita (one of Hemingway’s favorite spots). The cartoonist genes run strong in the Hernandez family, as Francisco’s son, Jr. is also a cartoonist and member of the Palante squad.
Francisco at La Bodeguita…Ay Vecino is above
The moment we entered the Palante offices, we were greeted by Peanuts artwork, which was done by this fellow, Jose Luis. Here Jeannie gives him a pat on the back for all his hard work!
Jose also has a wicked sense of humor, as displayed by some of his comics below…
We spent a good two hours enjoying the history and people of Palante–it’s an impressive crew of dedicated cartoonists and later that week we rejoined our Cuban cartoonist compatriots for dinner, drinks and drawing. Before we left the offices, we took a group photo in front of wild mural in their office lobby.
Finally, here’s a caricature battle featuring Tom Richmond vs. a Palante cartoonist…damn, these guys are good…and quick!
UPDATE: Mercedes Torres, the managing editor of Palante adds to the discussion with her own blog entry.
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