Rafael Barajas Durán, better known by his pen name El Fisgón ("The Rubbernecker" or "The Peeper"[1] in Spanish) is a Mexican cartoonist and illustrator who received the 1999 National Journalism Prize of Mexico for Editorial Cartooning.[2]

El Fisgón
A middle-aged man in a blue polo shirt and khaki coat holds a paperboard.
El Fisgón in 2009.
Born
Rafael Barajas Durán

(1956-01-01) 1 January 1956 (age 68)
Alma materNational Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM)
AwardsNational Journalism Prize for Editorial Cartooning (Mexico, 1999).

The son of a schoolteacher and a psychoanalyst, Barajas was born on 1 January 1956 in Mexico City and graduated from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) in 1978 with a bachelor's degree in Architecture.[1][3] At the age of 20 he decided to become a cartoonist and eventually sent collaborations to the Sunday supplement of Unomásuno (1981–1984), designed covers for Nexos magazine (1984–1986) and received a Guggenheim Fellowship (2003) to study dissenting political cartoonists in Mexico who worked between 1872 and 1910.[3]

According to himself, Barajas is also a committed leftist activist who has led campaigns to support the Zapatista rebels in Chiapas and regularly promote student involvement in politics.[1] He has co-directed satirical magazines such as El Chahuistle (1994–1997) and El Chamuco y los hijos del Averno (1997–2000)[3] and, since 1984, he contributes regularly to La Jornada, a left-leaning newspaper published in the Mexican capital.[1]

Books

edit
  • Sobras escogidas ("Selected Leftovers", 1987).
  • Me lleva el TLC ("I am being carried away by NAFTA", 1993).
  • El sexenio me da risa ("The Six-Years Term Makes Me Laugh", 1994).[4]
  • Cómo sobrevivir al neoliberalismo sin dejar de ser mexicano ("How to Survive Neoliberalism Without Failing To Be Mexican", 1996).
  • Hacia un despiporre global de excelencia y calidad ("Towards a Global Mishmash of Excellence and Quality", 2002).
  • La historia de un país en caricatura ("A Country's History in Cartoons", 2000).
  • El país de El Ahuizote ("El Ahuizote’s Country", 2005).
  • El país del Llorón de Icamole ("Crier of Icamole’s Country", 2007).
  • Cómo triunfar en la globalización (published in English as "How to Succeed at Globalization: A Primer for Roadside Vendors", 2005).
  • La bola de la Independencia ("The Mob of Independence", 2008).
  • Cómo la hacen de Pemex (2008).
  • Sólo me río cuando me duele ("I Only Cry When It Hurts", 2009).
  • Dulce venganza ("Sweet Vendetta", 2009).
  • La vendedora de nubes ("The Clouds Seller", 2009, with Elena Poniatowska).

References

edit
  1. ^ a b c d Thompson, Ginger (18 May 2002). "His Mood Seems Mellow; His Cartoons Are Not". New York Times. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Historia de "Premio Nacional de Periodismo e Información" (1975–2001)" [History of the National Prize for Journalism and Information (1975–2001)] (in Spanish). Consejo Ciudadano del Premio Nacional de Periodismo, A.C. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 11 May 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "Rafael Barajas, El Fisgón" (in Spanish). Guadalajara International Book Fair. 2013. Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2014.
  4. ^ Standish, Peter; Bell, Steven M. (2004). Culture and Customs of Mexico. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 100. ISBN 9780313304125.
edit