Spanish cartoonist dies

Madrid, April 4 (IANS/EFE) Spanish artist, cartoonist and writer Antonio Mingote died Tuesday in Madrid, his widow, Maria Isabel Vigliola, told EFE. He was 93.

Mingote, whose broad professional career was closely linked with the daily ABC, had been receiving treatment for several days at the Gregorio Maranon Hospital, where he ultimately died surrounded by his family.

King Juan Carlos elevated Mingote to the nobility last December, conferring on him the title Marquess of Daroca.

Mingote was only 13 when published his first drawing in Gente menuda, the children's supplement for Blanco y Negro, and in 1946 he began collaborating on La Codorniz, becoming one of its most famous artists.

Seven years later, he published his first cartoon in ABC, where his caricatures satirized Spanish daily life.

Mingote designed sets and costumes for the musical comedy "Ven y ven Eslava", was the artistic director for the 2002 animated film "Puerta del tiempo" and was in charge of the scenery and the costumes for the 2004 work "La Venganza de don Mendo".

On Jan 22, 1987, he was selected as a member of the Royal Academy of the Spanish Language, making him the first graphic humorist to enter the institution.

--IANS/EFE

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