Gordo -- in brief!

What is Gordo about?

Gordo follows the misadventures of Salazar “Gordo” Lopez (and friends) deep in the heart of rural Mexico (and occasionally elsewhere). Originally a farmer and, later, a tour guide, the character goes through many changes over the course of the series. What remains consistent is his romantic charm and love of leisure.

June 25, 1946

Gordo’s somewhat-unsavory associates include the naive Juan Pablo Jones - a so-called “Bom Vivant” – and the eloquent Poet, a clever freeloader who becomes a family man as the strip goes on.

Living with Gordo are his nephew Pepito and a sassy passel of pets. These include Señor Dog, a wry chihuahua, a sassy orange cat called Poosy Gato, and Popo – a former fighting rooster named after the volcanic peak Popocatépetl. 

An excerpt from March 2, 1947

Mexican art, history and folklore are in Gordo’s DNA. Arriola constructed much of Gordo’s world after his own father’s stories of growing up on a hacienda in Sonora and, later, developed an even-deeper appreciation of the culture as a frequent tourist, and art collector. Arriola’s beautiful renderings of traditional Mexican art are a highlight of the strip.

Folkloric art and fashion as depicted in September 28, 1969

Gordo has many friends and few enemies. Among these few, thought, are preschooler Coronado de Gama, who frequently gets the better of Gordo despite his tender age, and the bullying, Bluto-esque Goblin. His most implacable foe is “The Widow,” Artemisia Gonzales – a brilliant and wealthy industrialist who hatches increasingly byzantine plots to win Gordo’s heart.

The Widow fakes her death and tricks Gordo into a marriage to her "ghost" on July 12, 1972

Supporting characters include Gordo’s maid and love interest Tehuana Mama, Texas trillionaire Mary Frances Sevier, and Pelon Padilla – the local bar owner whose taps run over with intoxicating “grapejuice.”

El Cometa Haley – Gordo’s vehicle, a booze-fueled jitney bus – was inspired by Arriola’s fondness for Toonerville Folks and its eponymous trolley.

El Cometa Halley earning its reputation (March 2, 1981)

Most storylines were set in the placid pueblo of San Juan del Monte. An admirer of cartoonist Al Capp, Arriola imagined Gordo as a Latin American Li’l Abner, with Del Monte as its Dogpatch, its center of action. Anything could happen in Del Monte – ghosts, leprechauns, talking doodles – but, mostly, romance. 

The strip became increasingly urbane over time, during which the focus moved away from serialized storylines towards daily gags. Partly because of an interest in ecology (and partly because they were easier to draw than people in shrinking newspaper real estate), Arriola began putting punchlines in the mouths of bees, ants, snails, frogs, butterflies and the life-of-the-party Playworms.

The Playworms sing for their pleasure in this strip from July 12, 1981

Gordo ran in newspapers for more than forty years, and remains one of the most celebrated strips in the format. Charles Schulz called it "probably the most beautifully drawn strip in the history of the business." Sunday strips from later years are particularly admired for their bold colors, environments and expressiveness.

A bold, non-representative Sunday strip from February 26, 1963