El Fisgón

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
Mexico City, Mexico
NationalityMexican
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
  • 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
  1. 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. "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.
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