BETWEEN 1988 AND 1991 I WORKED AT A GROUNDBREAKING, AND NOW LEGENDARY, INDEPENDENT COMICS MAGAZINE CALLED kTRAUKOi, IN THE CHILE OF THOSE CONVULSED FINAL YEARS OF THE REPRESSIVE CIVILIAN AND MILITARY DICTATORSHIP OF GENERAL AUGUSTO PINOCHET.
THE 36 ISSUES OF THE TRAUKO COMICS MAGAZINE, THAT GO FROM APRIL 1988 TO APRIL 1991.
I HAD THE HONOR OF ILLUSTRATING THE COVER OF THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY ISSUE, WITH CHECHO LOPEZ
AS STREET VENDOR ESCAPING FROM THE POLICE.
I WAS A YOUNG ADVERTISING STUDENT, AND ALTHOUGH ONE COULD GRADUALLY FEEL A CERTAIN OPENNESS IN THE AIR, ONE STILL HAD TO BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN SPEAKING OUT ABOUT SOCIAL ISSUES. ONE HAD TO RESORT TO METAPHORS AND OTHER SUBTLETIES, TO MAKE A CRITIC AND NOT BECOME THE TARGET OF THE REPRESSION.
I DONjT REMEMBER THE TRAUKO EVER BEING A
PAMPHLETEER MAGAZINE. THE ONLY PAMPHLETEER THING WE DID, WAS TO LEAVE THESE kPAMPHLETSi
IN PUBLIC PLACES, ANNOUNCING THE SOON LAUNCH
OF THE MAGAZINEjS FIRST ISSUE.
HERE I AM IN 1988, WITH 21 YEARS, IN MY FIRST YEAR
AS ADVERTISING STUDENT AND ALSO WRITING AND DRAWING CHECHO. WORKING AT MY DRAWING BOARD
IN MY ROOM IN MY PARENTjS HOUSE.
THE PHOTOS WERE TAKEN BY ANTONIO ARROYO FOR
AN INTERVIEW THAT WAS FEATURED IN THE TRAUKO MAGAZINE.
DESPITE THAT, I DECIDED TO CREATE A SOCIAL SATIRE CHARACTER SAGA, WHOSE MONTHLY STORIES TOUCHED ON THE COUNTRYjS LATEST NEWS, BUT WITHOUT PROCLAIMING AN ENDOR-SEMENT TO ANY ONE POLITICAL GROUP IN PARTICULAR, AVOIDING IN THAT WAY BECOMING A PROPAGANDISTIC PAMPHLET.
EVEN THOUGH I HAD NEVER SERIOUSLY MADE A COMIC BEFORE, MY CHARACTER EVOLVED GRAPHICALLY AND GREW NARRATIVELY WITH EACH STORY, AND WELL EARNED HIS PAGES DURING THE WHOLE THREE YEARS THE MAGAZINE ACHIEVED TO RESIST.
WHAT I WAS INTERESTED IN DOING, WAS TO GIVE A VOICE TO THE HUMAN ASPECT, AND NOT THE IDEOLOGICAL ONE, OF THE HARD TIMES WE WERE LIVING. THE RESULT WAS 25 STORIES PUBLISHED IN THE SPAN OF 36 MONTHS, THAT AS A WHOLE AND CHRONOLOGICALLY CAN BE READ AS CHAPTERS OF A SINGLE GRAPHIC NOVEL.
MY CHARACTERjS NAME WAS kCHECHO LOPEZi.
klCHECHOi IS NICKNAME FOR kSERGIOi.
THE WAY IN WHICH CHECHO LOPEZ MANAGED TO SURVIVE TO ALL THAT LIFE AND SOCIETY KEPT THROWING AT HIM, MADE HIM ENDEARING FOR READERS.
WHILE I WAS DRAWING HIM AND THROUGHOUT THE YEARS AFTER,
I HAVE RECEIVED AND SEEN DEMONSTRATIONS OF HOW ENDEARING CHECHO
LOPEZ CAME TO BE FOR SOME READERS...
(EACH DEMONSTRATION HAS TOUCHED ME VERY MUCH.)
PROBABLY THE MOST DRAMATIC ONE, IS THIS TATTOO OF THE IMAGE OF
THE COVER OF THE ANTHOLOGY BOOK OF CHECHOjS FIRST YEAR. WHICH ACCORDING TO FILM MAKER AND EDITOR RODRIGO ARAYA TACUSSIS, WHO SENT THE PHOTO TO ME TO SHANGHAI, WAS CROWNING THE SHOULDER OF A PUNK, IN SANTIAGO CHILE, BY THE YEAR 2009 OR SO...
I THANK FOR THE GESTURE OF COMICS MEMORY TO WHOMEVER IS THE ONE CARRYING THAT TATTOO, AND I HOPE IT WASNjT TOO PAINFUL TO GET IT DONE.
THEN THE TRAUKO MAGAZINE SHUT DOWN AND CHECHO LOPEZ HAS BEEN LOST, BUT NOT FORGOTTEN, FOR OVER 25 YEARS UNTIL THE REEDITING OF HIS COMPLETE STORIES IN PAPERBACK FORMAT AND ELECTRONIC VERSION EACH STORY SEPARATELY.
BOTH AVAILABLE ONLY AT:
YEAR 2006 CHECHO LOPEZ IS REMEMBERED AS HE IS IMMORTALIZED TOGETHER WITH CHILEjS MOST FAMOUS
COMICS CHARACTERS, IN kTHE WALK OF FAMEi IN THE PARK OF COMICS, SAN MIGUEL DISTRICT, SANTIAGO, CHILE.
THIS IS THE PANEL THAT IMMORTALIZES HIM ON CERAMIC.
...AND THIS IS THE ORIGINAL PANEL THEY USED TO DRAW
CHECHO ON CERAMIC. ITjS PART OF STORY (19) OF TRAUKO
MAGAZINE FROM FEBRUARY 1990, WHERE CHECHO IS IN CHILEjS
MAIN PORT CITY OF VALPARAISO, AND GETS IN TROUBLE
WITH NONE LESS THAN kBATMANi.
IN OCTOBER 2008, THE CHILEAN WRITER, LITERATURE PROFESSOR AND LITERARY CRITIC
ALVARO BISAMA RELEASED HIS BOOK kONE HUNDRED CHILEAN BOOKSi.
THE BOOK IS A SELECTION AND REVIEW OF THE ONE HUNDRED VOLUMES AMONG ALL OF CHILEjS
LITERATURE, THAT IN HIS OPINION AND CRITICAL ANALYSIS, BETTER REFLECT THE SOUL OF CHILE; AND IN THAT WAY HELP SHAPE AN IMAGE OF THE COUNTRY. ALREADY IN THE FOREWORD OR CHAPTER CERO, BISAMA MENTIONS MY CHARACTER CHECHO LOPEZ:
k...THEREjS ALSO SOME COMICS.
THE MAJORITY ARE BRILLIANT AND JUSTIFIED BY FAR THEIR REREADING. FROM THE VON PILSENER OF PEDRO SUBERCASEAUX TO THAT PERFECT REALIST NOVEL THAT IS CHECHO LOPEZ BY THE FORGOTTEN MARTIN RAMIREZ, THIS SECRET AND DISPARAGED GENRE COMES TO BE A REFLECTION MORE OR LESS EXACT OF PROBLEMS OF THE CHILEAN CULTURE IN EACH OF THE TIMES IT OCCUPIES ITSELF WITH.i
HERE I QUOTE ALVARO BISAMA AND HIS REVIEW OF CHECHO:
76
CHECHO LOPEZ
MARTIN RAMIREZ
1988
kAT THIS POINT IN TIME ITjS REGRETTABLE THAT NO ONE HAS REPUBLISHED THE ADVENTURES OF CHECHO LOPEZ AS A COMPILATION. THERE COULD BE IN HIM AS MUCH ABILITY TO SUMMARIZE THE NATIONAL SOUL AS THERE IS IN ALBERTO BLEST GANA(1) OR PEPO(2). BECAUSE CHECHO LOPEZ, AN UNEMPLOYED ASTRAY AFTER LOSING HIS JOB, HIS HOUSE AND FAMILY, REFLECTS IN HIMSELF THE LAST QUARTER OF THE 20TH CENTURY WITH A PRECISION AS UNCOMFORTABLE AS ENDEARING. DRAWN BY MARTIN RAMIREZ AND PUBLISHED STARTING IN 1988 TO 1991 IN THE PAGES OF THE TRAUKO(3) MAGAZINE, THE ADVENTURES OF CHECHO LOPEZ NARRATED WITH FIDELITY THE LIFE OF CHILEAN CITIZENS OF THAT PERIOD. THAT FIDELITY LIES IN THAT THERE WAS CERTAIN EFFERVESCENCE IN THE AIR; ONE LIVED THE CATACOMBS OF SOMETHING SIMILAR TO A LOCAL EMANCIPATION, OF A kMADRID MOVE(4)i”MOVEMENT, THAT HAD FILLED A FEW WAREHOUSES AS UNDERGROUND CULTURAL CENTERS IN SANTIAGO. THE COMICS WERE IMPORTANT PART OF THAT MOVEMENT. AT TIMES, IN THE FINAL YEARS OF THE MILITARY GOVERNMENT IT SEEMED THAT THE CHILEAN COMICS PRODUCTION WAS HEADED TO A PLACE THAT COULD BE, WITH LUCK, SOMETHING SIMILAR TO A FUTURE.
A GREY FUTURE, BECAUSE ALL KINDS OF THINGS HAPPEN TO THE LOPEZ CHARACTER: LOST HIS JOB, HIS WIFE LEFT HIM, HE TURNED ALCOHOLIC AND AN ADDICT, FELL IN LOVE WITH A STRIPPER, BECAME A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE AND ENDED UP WORKING AS DOORMAN AT A STRIP CLUB. RAMIREZ SHAPED ALL THAT, MONTH AFTER MONTH, WITH THE ACTUALITY OF THE END OF THE DICTATORSHIP AND RETURN OF DEMOCRACY AS BACKDROP.
BUT IN THE SERIAL MISADVENTURES OF LOPEZ IT WAS POSSIBLE TO GUESS A BIGGER PLAN. RAMIREZ WAS DRAWING A POLITICAL COMIC THAT FAR EXCEEDED THE REALITY IT DESCRIBED. IN CHECHO LOPEZ THERE WAS SOMETHING THAT PUT HIM AT THE LEVEL OF THE GREATEST CHARACTERS OF CHILEAN REALISM: HE WAS A LOST ONE, THAT RACE ABOUT WHICH EDUARDO BARRIOS(5) ONCE WROTE PRECISELY IN A LOST ONE. CITIZENS SWALLOWED BY THE PRESENT, SICKENED BY MELANCHOLY, DAMAGED BEINGS ON A LEVEL SO PROFOUND THAT THEY CEASE TO LIVE TO SIMPLY SURVIVE.
SO IS IT THAT THE BEST PANELS OF THE SAGA COULD HOLD AT THE SAME TIME, THE TENSION BECAUSE OF THE DETERIORATION OF THE CHARACTER AND THE DIGNITY OF THE MAN ON THE STREET. RAMIREZ, ALMOST AUTOMATICALLY, MADE HIS HERO LOOK AT HIMSELF IN THE MIRROR AGAIN AND AGAIN. THE IMAGES THAT APPEARED THERE COULD MOVE OR SHOCK. LOPEZ COULD DRUG HIMSELF INHALING GASOLINE BASED GLUE, BUT ALSO TELL THINGS AS THEY ARE BEFORE LOSING HIMSELF IN THE NIGHT. OF COURSE, RAMIREZ DREW ALL THIS WITH SHADES OF GRAY AND AN AESTHETIC OF UGLYISM THAT DIDNjT SHUN PRECARIOUSNESS AS A WAY OF UNDERSTANDING THE COUNTRY.
THERE WERE THE SIGNALS OF LOST CITIZENS. THERE WAS THE SADNESS, THE FEAR, THE HUNGER AND, OCCASIONALLY, THE HOPE. THERE WAS THE VIOLENCE. THERE WAS SEX AS IT WAS NEVER NARRATED BY THE NOVELS THAT WOULD COME IN THE FOLLOWING YEARS OF THE LANDSCAPE OF A COUNTRY AT THE GATES OF DEVELOPMENT: AS AN ENCOUNTER OF SOLITUDES, AS AN INTIMACY OF RAZED LIVES, AS A MOMENTARY WAY OUT OF TEDIOUSNESS.
IN THAT WAY, THE COMIC SHOWED THE NATIONAL LIVE AS AN ACCUMULATION OF CONTRADICTIONS, AS A PATHETIC COMEDY WHERE THE HUMOR WAS THE REMEDY FOR DESPAIR AND BOREDOM. RAMIREZ, ONE MUST SAY, DREW ALL THIS WITH THE ABILITY OF SOMEONE WHO GRADUALLY IS DISCOVERING THE VIRTUES OF HIS OWN INK, AS HE LISTENS TO THE STATIC OF A SOCIETY THAT CONFRONTS EVERY DAY THE SCARS OF THE PAST AND THE FEAR OF THE FUTURE.
THAT IS WHY CHECHO LOPEZ IS A CITIZEN OF HIS TIME. RAMIREZ MAKES HIM SOMATIZE AGAIN AND AGAIN THE MILESTONES SIGNALING THE END OF THE EIGHTIES AND BEGINNING OF THE NINETIES. BUT LOPEZ DOESNjT UNDERSTAND A THING. HE LIVES HIS PRESENT. SURVIVES WITH MINOR JOBS. GOES CRAZY WITH HAPPINESS OR SADNESS, TO AFTER, RETAKE THE CALM IN THE GREY CITYSCAPE OF A CAPITAL ASPHYXIATED BY SMOG AND THE DAILY VERTIGO; EXHIBITING HIS BATTERED FIGURE LIKE THE ONE OF A ROGUE FELLOW WHOSE LUCK HAS ABANDONED HIM.
TO READ THE ADVENTURES OF CHECHO LOPEZ NOW, TAKES THE READERS TO CONTEMPLATE THAT CITIZENjS ABANDONMENT AND UNEASINESS BUT ALSO TO ASK THEMSELVES WHAT WOULD HAVE HAPPENED WITH THE CHARACTER TODAY. DIFFERENT FROM MAMPATO(6) AND CONDORITO(7), LOPEZ GREW OLDER WITH EVERY DAY. HIS MAIN VIRTUE WAS THAT HE DIDNjT DENY EMBODYING THE HAVOC OF TIME. WHAT HAS BECOME OF LOPEZ? DID HE OR NOT SURVIVE THE END OF THE MILLENNIUM, HAS HE FOUND HIMSELF OR IS HE STILL MORE LOST THAN EVER? OF COURSE, THERE IS NO ANSWER. BUT THE QUESTION SERVES AS A MIRROR: ONE OF THOSE MIRRORS WHERE LOPEZ SAW HOW THE REFLECTION OF HIS OWN RAZED FACE - THAT COULD BE OUR FACE - LOOKED BACK AT HIM, DEMOLISHING HIM.i
cLVARO BISAMA”
CHECHO LfPEZ AMONG THE
ONE HUNDRED CHILEAN BOOKS SELECTED AND
REVIEWED BY CRITIC AND WRITER
ALVARO BISAMA
NOTES:
(1) ALBERTO BLEST GANA (1830-1920) CHILEAN NOVELIST AND DIPLOMAT, CONSIDERED THE FATHER OF CHILEAN NOVEL.
(2) RENE RIOS BOETTIGER (1911-2000), ALSO KNOWN AS kPEPOi, WAS A CHILEAN CARTOONIST, CREATOR OF THE FAMOUS COMICS CHARACTER kCONDORITOi.
(3) TRAUKO COMICS MAGAZINE (1988-1991), A BREAKTHROUGH, COUNTERCULTURAL AND INDEPENDENT MAGAZINE THAT SHOOK CHILEjS REPRESSED EDITORIAL LANDSCAPE AT THE END OF THE MILITARY DICTATORSHIP OF GENERAL AUGUSTO PINOCHET.
(4) kMADRID MOVEi OR kTHE MADRILENIAN SCENEi WAS A COUNTERCULTURAL MOVEMENT THAT TOOK PLACE MAINLY IN MADRID DURING THE SPANISH TRANSITION AFTER DICTATOR FRANCISCO FRANCO'S DEATH IN 1975. IT REPRESENTED THE RESURRECTION OF THE ECONOMY IN SPAIN AND THE EMERGENCE OF A NEW AND NOW FREE SPANISH IDENTITY.
(5) EDUARDO BARRIOS (1884-1963) ONE OF CHILE’S MOST IMPORTANT WRITERS; MANY CONSIDER HIS BOOK kA LOST ONEi, AS HIS BEST.
(6) kMAMPATOi IS A CHILEAN CARTOON CHARACTER FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1968, CREATED BY ARCHITECT AND ILLUSTRATOR EDUARDO ARMSTRONG AND ARTIST OSKAR AS WELL AS THEMO LOBOS. HUGELY FAMOUS IN CHILE, AND A CLASSIC, IT TELLS THE ADVENTURES OF A CHILD NAMED MAMPATO WHO AFTER SAVING AN EXTRATERRESTRIAL WHO HAS FALLEN TO EARTH AND HELPING HIM SAVE HIS PLANET OF ORIGIN, OBTAINS A SPACE-TIME-BELT, WHICH ALLOWS HIM TO TRAVEL THROUGH TIME AND SPACE.
(7) kCONDORITOi (LITTLE CONDOR IN SPANISH) IS A COMIC BOOK AND COMIC STRIP THAT FEATURES AN ANTHROPOMORPHIC CONDOR LIVING IN A FICTITIOUS TOWN NAMED PELOTILLEHUE, A TYPICAL SMALL CHILEAN PROVINCIAL TOWN. HE IS MEANT TO BE A REPRESENTATION OF THE CHILEAN PEOPLE. HUGELY FAMOUS IN CHILE AND OTHER SOUTH AMERICAN COUNTRIES CONDORITO IS A CLASSIC AND WAS CREATED BY THE CHILEAN CARTOONIST RENE REOS, KNOWN AS kPEPOi.
THE TRIBUTE BOOK
TO TRAUKO MAGAZINE
AND ITS ARTISTS
YEAR 2009
THE TRIBUTE BOOK TO THE 21 YEARS OF TRAUKO, BY
OCHO LIBROS PUBLISHERS. WHERE THE OLD ARTISTS DREW
OUR CHARACTERS AGAIN AND WERE ALSO TRIBUTED BY
OTHER ARTISTS.
YEAR 2010
THE CHILEAN SKA MUSIC BAND kSONORA DE LLEGARi,
RELEASES ITS RECORD kPRIMATE PARTYi WITH THE SONG kCHECHO LOPEZi WHICH IS A TRIBUTE TO THE CHARACTER.
GREAT SONORA!!
HERE THE LYRICS OF THE SONG:
THE SONG kCHECHO LfPEZi
BY CHILEAN SKA MUSIC BAND:
SONORA DE LLEGAR
WANTED TO BE LIKE CHECHO LOPEZ
WANTING IT ALL, ENDING UP WITH NOTHING
TO HAVE WANTING ISNjT ENOUGH
WITH NO JOB, NOT EVEN SOMETHING TO EAT
CATEGORY OF KING TO CHECHO
HOW BAD MISERY OFFENDS
AND THE DAMN ECONOMY IS LIKE THAT
AND THE POOR WHAT?
...CURSED BE HAPPY
AND YOUjLL NEVER SEE US FALL
THE PERCENTAGE ON THE PAGE
THE SITUATION THAT TENDS TO PROGRESS
AND NOBODY LOSES.
AND YOUjLL NEVER SEE US FALL
THE PERCENTAGE ON THE PAGE
THE SITUATION THAT TENDS TO PROGRESS AND NOBODY LOSES.
WORDS AND VOICE: MAURICIO MI[O
MUSIC: CARLOS ROJAS & SONORA DE LLEGAR
LISTEN TO THE SONG HERE
WATCH A LIVE PERFORMANCE HERE
WITH NO JOB, NO MONEY, NO LOVE
COUNTING THE DAYS TO THE END OF THE MONTH
HOW DIFFICULT TO SEE THE SOLUTION
THE ENEMY SCALE.
CATEGORY OF KING TO CHECHO
HOW BAD THEY DISTRIBUTE THIS CAKE
HOW PRETTY THE COUNTRYjS LITTLE BUSINESS
AND THE POOR WHAT?
...CURSED BE HAPPY.
AND YOUjLL NEVER SEE US FALL
THE PERCENTAGE ON THE PAGE
THE SITUATION THAT TENDS TO PROGRESS
AND NOBODY LOSES.
AND YOUjLL NEVER SEE US FALL
THE PERCENTAGE ON THE PAGE
THE SITUATION THAT TENDS TO PROGRESS AND NOBODY LOSES.
(LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOLO)!
(AND THE DAMN ECONOMY IS LIKE THAT\
AND THE POOR WHAT?
...CURSED BE HAPPY) (X2)
YEAR 1990,
TRAUKO FANTASIA PUBLISHERS RELEASES A COMICS ALBUM WITH AN ANTHOLOGY OF THE BEST STORIES OF THE FIRST YEAR AND HALF OF CHECHO LOPEZ.
pPHOTOS BY ANTONIO ARROYO
YEAR 1990,
DRAWING LIVE AT THE FIRST INTERNATIONAL COMICS SHOW OF SANTIAGO, ORGANIZED BY TRAUKO MAGAZINE AND EL KIOSCO BOOK STORE.
YEAR 1990,
THE RELEASE OF THE ANTHOLOGY BOOK
OF CHECHO LOPEZ GETS GOOD CRITIC FROM THE kHOYi MAGAZINE, OF CHRISTIAN DEMOCRAT ORIENTATION, ONE OF THE OPPOSITIONjS FIRST NEWS AND POLITICS PUBLICATIONS, AUTHORIZED TO CIRCULATE, BY THE DICTATORSHIP.
IT SAYS:
kWITH DETRACTORS AND DEFENDERS AND WITH NO MIDDLE POINTS, THE TRAUKO MAGAZINE HAS TAKEN A PLACE IN THE TERRITORY OF COMICS. ITS
REGULARITY, SOMETHING ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO FIND IN THIS ACTIVITY, HAS GIVEN SERIOUSNESS TO ITS LABOR OF SPREADING PRIORITARIATELY
THE WORK OF THE LOCAL ARTISTS. AMONG THEM, MARTIN RAMIREZ IS ONE WHO HAS STOOD OUT BECAUSE OF THE INTELLIGENCE IN HIS STORIES AND THE UNITARY FEEL OF THE SAGA OF HIS CHARACTER CHECHO LOPEZ. THIS HAS MADE IT POSSIBLE THAT HIS CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE TRAUKO MAGAZINE CAN TODAY TAKE THE SHAPE OF A COMICS BOOK. CHECHO LOPEZ IS THE PERSONIFICATION OF THE MIDDLE-LOW CLASS INHABITANT OF SANTIAGO. WITH HIS PERMANENT EYE BAGS AND FRAYED SUIT, HEjS READY TO WORK JUST ENOUGH OR RESORT TO STARVING THEFT. HIS VISION OF CHILE AND ITS
SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC PROCESESS IS FILTERED BY HUNGER AND THAT COMMON SENSE THAT
POSSES THOSE WHO STRUGGLE FOR THEIR PRIMARY NEEDS.
WITH WITT HE MANAGES TO SURVIVE DAY BY DAY WITHOUT LOSING THE HUMOR AND FATALISM THAT MARTIN RAMIREZ HAS ENDORSED HIM AS CHACARTERISTICS. WITHOUT BIG VIRTUOSITY IN THE DRAWING ITjS THE SCRIPT WHAT PREVAILS LARGELY. AND THIS DOES NOT DEPLETE THE END PRODUCT: THE NEW CHILEAN COMICS SCENE LACKS SUBSTANCE, AND THIS CHECHO LOPEZ IS AN OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION IN ITS DEVELOPMENT.i
YEAR 1990,
LEAFLET PARTICIPATING IN THE ACTIVITIES OF THE
FIRST COMICS WEEK IN BELLAVISTA DISTRICT, THE BOHEMIAN
NEIGHBORHOOD OF THE TIME. ORGANIZED BY TRAUKO
MAGAZINE AND BOOK CAFE.