A southern cone Superman.

• Author: Malatesta, Parisina
• Position: Cartoon character Patoruzu

Still considered a national icon, this comic book hero from the 1930s embodied the roots of Argentine society

One of my most cherished memories from my childhood in Buenos Aires is that of reading Harold R. Foster's story of Prince Valiant. the young prince who becomes a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. I think what really attracted me was the lifelike quality of the drawings, coupled with the magical nature of the story and atmosphere. The year that Foster created his Prince Valiant, 1936, also marked the appearance in Argentina of Dante Quinterno's Patoruzu. Magazine, featuring the exploits of another larger-than-life hero. The difference was that when the comic-book character of Patoruzu hit the streets, attracting millions of readers, he became a local hero to an entire nation.

Five generations of Argentineans have thrilled over the adventures of Patoruzu. Just as the tango evokes Gardel and Argentina, so does Patoruzu. There is not a single Argentinean who does not remember the "Indian" Patoruzu, and who has not saved copies of Patoruzu Magazine, or some of the Patoruzu Golden Books, which were published every Christmas from 1938 to 1985. Combining splendid color, movement, and action, the magazine covers, in particular, arc masterpieces treasured by collectors, whose ranks include President Carlos Menem.

Born in Buenos Aires in 1909, the "kid" (his nickname as a boy) Quinterno, was fifteen when he started to work in the editorial department of the Critica newspaper, under the direction of the highly popular Diogenes "Mono" Taborda. Even at that age he was already a talented draftsman, composer, and layout artist. Quickly mastering the art of the comic strip, Quinterno displayed a particular knack for imbuing his characters with features evoking Buenos Aires life. When he was only eighteen, Critica published his "Adventures of don Gil COntento." Yet the young artist was not quite satisfied. There was something he had looked for and had not yet found: a true-to-life character, someone to be plucked from the roots of his country's history, but who would also be as typical of that country as Mickey Mouse was of the United States.

In fact, it was after a trip to the U.S. that Quinterno found his long-sought hero. He had gone there to study animated cartoons and publicity, making friends with none other than Walt Disney. Quinterno imagined his hero as the last of the Tehuelche Indians--the owner of half of Patagonia, heir to a large...