“My Neighbor Pepo” Exhibition at EFM House Museum – 2024-08-04 08:58:08

“My Neighbor Pepo” Exhibition at EFM House Museum

• EFM House Museum, Hindenburg 683, Providencia.
• Starting Wednesday, August 7th.
• Tuesday to Sunday – 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
• Free.

On the 75th anniversary of the iconic character Condorito, Casa Museo EFM brings the temporary exhibition “My Neighbor Pepo”, an exhibition in collaboration with the National Library that rescues the career of cartoonist René Ríos Boettiger, better known as “Pepo”.

The exhibition, which contains original illustrations, photographs and documents provided by the Ríos Elphick family, focuses mainly on the evolution of the legendary comic strip, Condorito, the career of its author and his relationship with his neighbor, President Eduardo Frei Montalva.

Additionally, and within the same framework, the exhibition will feature two additional activities: the discussion “Pepo, the Man behind the Condor”, on Wednesday, August 28 at 10:00 am, with exhibitors such as the researcher and editor, Pedro Maino, the Head of the Archive of Prints and Plates of the National Library, Claudio Aguilera and the grandson of “Pepo”, Sebastián Ríos, who will talk to us about the life and work of the cartoonist, his previous works, the creation of Condorito and its impact on the local and international scene. The second activity will be the workshop “Drawing with Rupa” during September and with prior notice, where participants will be able to talk and learn drawing techniques with the current Condorito caricaturist.

René Ríos Boettiger was born in Concepción on December 15, 1911. He liked to say: “I didn’t come into the world with a bag of marraquetas, but with a pencil under my arm.” From a very young age he showed signs of his talent and after a brief stint at medical school he decided to move to Santiago to study Fine Arts and devote himself to drawing. He settled on Luís Montaner Street in Providencia, a few blocks from the Frei Ruiz-Tagle family.

Pepo earned a place of honor in the history of Chilean cartoons by collaborating with numerous publications, giving life to unforgettable characters and participating in the creation and direction of important magazines such as Peneca and Barrabases, among others. Condorito is undoubtedly his greatest legacy, a character who, as he himself said, brings together the characteristics of the Chilean people in the figure of a condor that crossed the borders of our country.

75 years ago, on August 6, 1949, the legendary character made his debut in the magazine Okey. According to its creator, the pen-and-paper caricature sought to represent that mischievous and clever Chilean who always knew how to play with grace and a humor that would be his greatest hallmark. The success of this local representation and the excitement over Condorito would be so resounding that it would lead him to have his own magazine, where his fame would only continue to increase, because apparently not only Chileans felt represented by our national emblem, soon, our Latin American neighbors began to adopt him and laugh at his clever occurrences and absurd scenes.

The exhibition will focus on this career, on the evolution of Condorito as a character, of “Pepo” as an artist and his arrival in the Santa Isabel neighborhood, where he would be a neighbor of Eduardo Frei Montalva, the only president who appeared in the comic magazine. Above all, this, Claudio Aguilera tells us: “for the Archive of Prints and Pictures of the National Library, it is a great joy to be part of this exhibition, which not only celebrates Condorito’s 75th birthday, but also deepens the knowledge of the work of its creator, Pepo, one of the greatest exponents of Chilean comics, his links with the Barrio Italia and his closeness to Eduardo Frei Montalva, whom he met in the political satire magazine, Topaze.”

On behalf of Casa Museo EFM, the deputy director, Maite Gallego, added: “It is an honor for us to be able to host this exhibition that comes from the National Library. Many of us here in the work team, being from different generations, grew up reading Condorito and we see that our children, today, do the same. We understand that the character is an element that has helped to build the idiosyncrasy of Chileans, which shows the tremendous genius of its creator.”

Anyone who wishes to visit the exhibition will also have the opportunity to see the only house-museum of a president in the history of our Republic. Here they will find more than 350 heritage objects of high historical value, such as Etruscan vases from the 4th century BC, fragments of the lunar surface brought back by the crew of Apollo XII, a collection of paintings, textiles, numismatics, decorations and much more.