Mafalda, the inquisitive and sharp-witted creation of the late humorist Quino, also fulfilled a long-held dream on her birthday: “to learn languages to be a UN interpreter” and “to help people understand each other”.
Argentine cartoon character Mafalda sits in at her country’s assigned seat during her visit to the United Nations.
Message still resonates
Mr. Lavado, together with Ms. Ricardes and Mr. Irrang, accompanied Mafalda throughout her tour of UN. They all stressed that she is still relevant today, even though 60 years have passed since she made her debut in a comic strip.
“Mafalda embodies a lot of values that at this time in this world are much more needed: the values of peace, feminism, equity, equality, ecology, care for the world. These are values that are so transcendent and important that, at this moment, they are more important than ever,” said Mr. Irrang.
“Unfortunately, it is still relevant because the conflicts have changed a bit geographically, although let’s say that the Middle East has remained the same for so many years and since (Mafalda) was born, but we always have the same interests that produce the same wars,” Mr. Lavado noted.
Upholding our common humanity
For this reason, he believes that Mafalda’s message today would still be the same: “that hopefully we can agree as humanity to collaborate and not compete, and to be more with each other instead of against each other.”
Ms. Ricardes pointed out that “For Mafalda, education, justice and freedom were unquestionable values, as was the exercise of good sense in a senseless world,” stressing that this would be her message today.
After strolling through the UN lobby, the Mafalda statuette headed to the ECOSOC Chamber, where it was received by Spanish language interpreters working for the global body.
Among them was an Argentinean colleague who expressed how her dream, and Mafalda’s, was fulfilled and “left a ray of hope”.