Juan Carlos Colombres (January 19, 1923 – July 6, 2017) was an Argentine caricaturist and humorist whose work has illustrated articles and editorials in a number of the nation's leading periodicals. His contributions appear under the byline of ''Landrú''.

Biography

Colombres was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

in 1923. His father's family were prominent in

Tucumán Province Tucumán () is the most densely populated, and the second-smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the province has the capital of San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neighb ...

, where in 1821 Bishop José Colombres introduced

sugarcane Sugarcane or sugar cane is a species of tall, Perennial plant, perennial grass (in the genus ''Saccharum'', tribe Andropogoneae) that is used for sugar Sugar industry, production. The plants are 2–6 m (6–20 ft) tall with stout, jointed, fib ...

. He took an early interest in both

drawing Drawing is a Visual arts, visual art that uses an instrument to mark paper or another two-dimensional surface, or a digital representation of such. Traditionally, the instruments used to make a drawing include pencils, crayons, and ink pens, some ...

and

irony Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...

, and in 1939, created ''Génesis Novísimo'', his illustrated alternative to the

Book of Genesis The Book of Genesis (from Greek language, Greek ; ; ) is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. Its Hebrew name is the same as its incipit, first word, (In the beginning (phrase), 'In the beginning'). Genesis purpor ...

. He began his career in journalism in 1945 as a commentator and editorial cartoonist for ''Don Fulgencio'', directed at the time by Lino Palacio. He also became a frequent contributor to other

comic book A comic book, comic-magazine, or simply comic is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panel (comics), panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are often accompanied by descriptive prose and wri ...

s, including

Dante Quinterno Dante Quinterno (Buenos Aires, October 26, 1909Buenos Aires, May 14, 2003) was an Argentine comics artist, agricultural producer, and prolific editorial businessman, famous for being the creator of the Patoruzú, Isidoro Cañones and Patoruzito c ...

's regionalist ''

Patoruzú Patoruzú is a Comics, comic character created in 1928 by Dante Quinterno and is considered the most popular hero of Argentina, Argentine comics. Patoruzú is a wealthy Tehuelche people, Tehuelche ''cacique'' with great estate properties in Pat ...

'' and Guillermo Divito's ''

Rico Tipo ''Rico Tipo'' was a weekly Argentine comic magazine that appeared from late 1944 until 1972, founded and directed by Guillermo Divito. It was among the main Argentine comics, comic magazines in Argentina, others being ''Patoruzú'' (launched in ...

'' ("Rich Guy"). Colombres married the former Margarita Miche in 1946, and they had two children. Colombres joined Jorge Palacio (Lino Palacio's son) in a recently established

satirical magazine This is a list of satirical magazines which have a satirical bent, and which may consist of fake news stories for mainly humorous purposes. For magazines published online, see List of satirical news websites. List See also * List of sat ...

, ''Cascabel'' ("Rattle"), in 1947. ''Cascabel'' became known for its daring

political humor Political satire is a type of satire that specializes in gaining entertainment from politics. Political satire can also act as a tool for advancing political arguments in conditions where political speech and dissent are banned. Political satir ...

during an era of growing

press censorship Press may refer to: Media * Publisher * News media * Printing press, commonly called "the press" * Press TV, an Iranian television network Newspapers United States * ''The Press'', a former name of '' The Press-Enterprise'', Riverside, Californi ...

in Argentina, and in particular for Colombres' parodies of high-powered figures in business and government. Perhaps the best-known were his depictions of President

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...

, who was portrayed in full military regalia and a large

pear Pears are fruits produced and consumed around the world, growing on a tree and harvested in late summer into mid-autumn. The pear tree and shrub are a species of genus ''Pyrus'' , in the Family (biology), family Rosaceae, bearing the Pome, po ...

for a head. The

pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...

, which played on the similarity between the name Perón and the Spanish word ''pera'', prompted Jorge Palacio (who wrote under the

pen name A pen name or nom-de-plume is a pseudonym (or, in some cases, a variant form of a real name) adopted by an author and printed on the title page or by-line of their works in place of their real name. A pen name may be used to make the author's na ...

of ''Faruk'') to urge Colombres to also adopt a pseudonym. Asked for suggestions by Colombres, Palacio remarked that the satirist, who at the time wore a

goatee A goatee is a style of facial hair incorporating hair on the chin entirely. The exact nature of the style has varied according to time and culture. Description Until the late 20th century, the term ''goatee'' was used to refer solely to a bear ...

, resembled the French serial killer

Henri Désiré Landru Henri Désiré Landru (12 April 1869 – 25 February 1922) () was a French serial killer, nicknamed the Bluebeard of Gambais and a prolific marriage fraudster. He is confirmed to have murdered at least ten women and the teenage son of his first ...

("Bluebeard," or as he is known in Argentina: "Landrú"). Colombres earned a gold medal from the Argentine Illustrators' Association in 1948, and a Clarín Award in 1954. Extending his satirical reach beyond print, he also led ''Jacinto W. y sus Tururú Serenaders'', a 1958 musical group created as a parody of the

Doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a subgenre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, ...

ensembles popular at the time. His illustrations appeared in a large number of Argentine publications at the time, notably in '' El Gráfico'' and '' El Mundo''. He established a satirical publication, ''

Tía Vicenta ''Tía Vicenta'' ("Aunt Vicenta") was a satirical current events magazine published in Argentina between 1957 and 1966. Created by caricature artist Juan Carlos Colombres, aka "Landrú", ''Tía Vicenta'' became highly popular, being one of the most ...

'', with fellow caricaturist Oski in 1957. The

current events News is information about current events. This may be provided through many different media: word of mouth, printing, postal systems, broadcasting, electronic communication, or through the testimony of observers and witnesses to events. N ...

weekly quickly became a success, and by the early 1960s, enjoyed a circulation of nearly 500,000. His irreverent portrayals of General

Juan Carlos Onganía Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo (; 17 March 1914 – 8 June 1995) was President of Argentina from 29 June 1966 to 8 June 1970. He rose to power as dictator after toppling the president Arturo Illia in a coup d'état self-named " Argentine Revol ...

(who had seized power in a 1966 coup d'état) resulted in the closure of ''Tía Vicenta'' by government edict in July of that year. The shuttered magazine returned in a less successful version as ''Tío Landrú'' from 1967 to 1969, and again by its original name, between 1977 and 1980. Colombres was awarded the

Maria Moors Cabot prize The Maria Moors Cabot Prizes are the oldest international awards in the field of journalism. They are presented each fall by the Trustees of Columbia University to journalists in the Western hemisphere who are viewed as having made a significant c ...

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1971, and was inducted into the National Academy of Journalists (Argentina). He began what became his most enduring association when, in 1975, he contributed his first illustrations to '' Clarín'', the leading news daily in Argentina. His illustrations not only lampooned prominent politicians and businessmen, but also regularly featured stock characters meant to satirize prevailing mores and ironies. Some of the best-known are the antiquated Aunts Vicenta and Cora; the self-righteous "pillar of society" Señor Porcel (whom he patterned after his own father); the unethical businessman Señor Cateura, Rogelio (whose good intentions are defeated by "

analysis paralysis Analysis paralysis (or paralysis by analysis) describes an individual or group process where overanalyzing or overthinking a situation can cause forward motion or decision-making to become " paralyzed", meaning that no solution or course of acti ...

"); the anti-

Peronist Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, Pe ...

inquisitor Detective Cuculiu; Fofoli (who replaces even common words for euphemisms); the philandering executive; and his put-upon wife, the self-absorbed Señora Gorda. He also wrote and illustrated a weekly column in Clarín's ''Ollas y Sartenes'' culinary insert. The column, ''Landrú a la pimienta'' ("peppered Landrú") offers recipes created from ingredients with a

double meaning A double entendre (plural double entendres) is a figure of speech or a particular way of wording that is devised to have a double meaning, one of which is typically obvious, and the other often conveys a message that would be too socially unacc ...

related to Argentina's current events. He died at 94 years of age in Buenos Aires on 6 July 2017

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Colombres, Juan Carlos 1923 births 2017 deaths Argentine comics artists Argentine caricaturists Argentine satirists Argentine satirical comics artists Argentine satirical comics writers Humorous columnists Argentine political artists Argentine magazine founders Argentine people of Spanish descent Artists from Buenos Aires Maria Moors Cabot Prize winners