Condorito - Characters

Characters

• Condorito: The main character, Condorito is an anthropomorphic condor, lackadaisical and unambitious, but also kind, loyal, friendly and ingenious. Always a picaresque character, he is a sort of antihero who solves his problems using his wit, not his talent or work. He is portrayed as holding a wide variety of jobs (or none whatsoever), to humorous effect. His origins are obscure: in one strip it is said that his condor father threw him out of the nest in the Andes Mountains and that he grew up among humans, thereby acquiring his anthropomorphic characteristics; however, such references are very rare, and Condorito is often portrayed as a regular guy living a very human life. Originally, his head was that of a regular condor (long beak, larger neck feathers) and he smoked, but over the years, his head became rounder and the cigarette was dropped to appeal to kids. However he retain some condor characteristics like his tail (that normally goes outside his pants in a patch) and his paws (so big that he must wear sandals).

• Yayita: Condorito's "fashionable eternal fiancée." She loves him but hates his reluctance to discuss marriage. Although Condorito often gives her flowers, most of the time they come from her own garden. Yayita is strong-minded, very attractive, sharp-tongued and sometimes jealous (though she isn't above flirting with other men in order to gain Condorito's attention). A running gag involves Yayita wearing revealing outfits or minuscule thongs that make everyone look at her with desire, while Condorito shakes and foams with rage. She is also very unskilled at things like driving, cooking, and painting, which tends to be a source of problems for Condorito. (A running gag involves Condorito trying to eat Yayita's atrocious home cooking just to avoid hurting her feelings.) Yayita also tries a lot of odd jobs to support her lifestyle (e.g., movie extra, secretary, model, flight attendant) and practices aerobics and nudism at a women-only health club, all behind her boyfriend's back.

• Don Chuma: Condorito's best, most loyal friend, he is a tall, thin, kind man man who helps Condorito to solve some of his problems, especially the ones related to money. He always has a cigarette hanging from his lower lip and works as a carpenter, building houses or furniture for the townsfolk. Condorito calls him "Compadre" or "Cumpa" ("Fella"). They are probably actual compadres (i.e., godbrothers: one is the godfather of the other's son or, in Condorito's case, nephew). His signature quotes are "No se fije en gastos, compadre" ("Don't mind expenses, fellow") and "¡Por las canillas del mono!" ("By the monkey's shins!"). Sometimes he depicted as single, but other times he has a wife.

• Pepe Cortisona, a.k.a. "Saco de Plomo" ("Sack of Lead"): Condorito's nemesis (although they seem to be occasionally friendly to each other), especially when it comes to courting Yayita. Tall, arrogant and muscular, he calls Condorito "Pajarraco" ("Big Ugly Bird") and constantly makes fun of his poverty and poor physical form. He is the typical jock who depends on appearance, money and physical strength to make a point. Occasionally he joins forces with Condorito to achieve a common goal, but they always end up backstabbing each other.

• Coné: Condorito's young nephew (an orphaned relative he took in). Coné had a series of his own, aimed at younger audiences, and its supporting cast included many of his uncle's friends' children. His name comes from when Condorito presented him to the Civil Registry, and he wanted to name him "Ugenio" (Ugene), but the civil servant insisted in writing the correct form "Eugenio" (Eugene), crying out loud "¡Con E!" ("It's spelled with an E!") several times, so Condorito finally accepts to call him "Coné".

• Yuyito: Yayita's tomboyish niece and Coné's best friend and partner in crime, even if sometimes they can be seen fighting and punching each other. Her eyes are completely black.

• Don Cuasimodo and Doña Tremebunda: Yayita's fat, grumpy and overprotective parents, who reluctantly tolerate their daughter's engagement with Condorito and secretly support Pepe Cortisona as a better candidate for their daughter's hand. Cuasimodo, however, is willing to go along with Condorito when the latter makes fun of Tremebunda. At the same time, while Don Cuasimodo and Doña Tremebunda fight and yell at each other all the time, they are always ready to join forces to beat up Condorito when he tries to stay for dinner or when he gets too romantic with Yayita.

• Garganta de Lata ("Tin Throat"): A tall, jolly, thin redhead with a typical alcoholic's nose. He spends most of his time at the "Bar El Tufo" ("The Stench Bar") or sleeping off a hangover in the street, which makes his wife and friends very upset. Despite his alcoholism, Garganta de Lata is a very loyal pal and a more than decent father, though his wife is not above cheating on him when the opportunity arises.

• Ungenio Gonzalez: A not-so-smart pal of Condorito. He has white hair; a long nose; and big teeth, reminiscent of a donkey's teeth, from which a drip of drool usually hangs. He has a son, Genito, who is almost identical to him. "Ungenio" is a satirical pun, both as a wordplay on "ingenuo" ("naïve") and as "un genio" ("a genius") is what Ungenio is most definitely not.

• Huevoduro ("Hard-Boiled Egg"): A potbellied, egg-headed, completely white character whom Rios claims is based upon a very pale, bald Canadian ambassador. Like Don Chuma, Huevoduro is often a straight man to Condorito in the strips.

• Chuleta: A tall, thin, jolly man with huge teeth, long sideburns, a thin mustache and green skin. ("Chuleta" is Chilean slang for "sideburn".) He is also based on a real person with a greenish skin color that made him look eternally sick.

• Don Máximo Tacaño ("Most Stingy"): A humorous miser who would rather die than part with his money and does all kinds of ridiculous things just to save money or avoid buying things, even if he really needs them. He is often loansharking others and would not part even with items he doesn't need. Originally, there was a stereotypical and amoral Jewish moneylender in his place (variably called Don Jacoibo or Don Salomón), but this character was replaced due to complaints.

• Padre Venancio: Pelotillehue's Roman Catholic priest, presumably (because of his haircut) a Franciscan. He tries to guide Condorito and the others in "the good way." Usually he asked his people to send their prays to San Guchito (the saint's image shows him holding a sandwich, completing the pun on the name).

• Tomate ("Tomato"): Short, fat, shy and bald, his head resembles a tomato, since his face is permanently red due to his shyness. Sometimes substitutes for Huevoduro in the strips. He is always trying to lose weight, without success.

• Comegato ("Cat Eater"): A friend of Condorito who has a feline face and wears a beret and a black turtleneck. As his name suggests, he frequently hunts and eats cats, much to his friend's disgust.

• Cabellos de ángel ("Angel Hair"): Big-nosed, half-shaven and potbellied, his hair is like a sea urchin. Often the subject of jokes about his hair (e.g., if he headbutts a football, it will deflate).

• Chacalito ("Little Jackal"): A criminal character, usually seen in jail or on trial for his crimes, which range from stealing to homicide. His name is ironic, since he appears to be the biggest, strongest man in town. The other characters befriend him only to avoid getting on his bad side.

• Che Copete: A stereotypical Argentine character who resembles an old-fashioned tango singer. He is very arrogant and proud of his country (and often tends to exaggerate the quality of it or himself), yet he is friendly and good-natured. "Che" is an interjection frequently used by Argentines in much the same way as "Hey!" or "Pal!". Che Guevara received his nickname for the same reason.

• Titicaco: A Bolivian or Peruvian cholo character who wears a typical colla hat and is very friendly with everyone. He was removed from the cast in the late 1980s, as he was seen as a stereotypical cholo from the altiplano.

• Fonola: A huge, hairy man about the same size as Pepe Cortisona, but without the teeth and with a huge voice ("Fonola" is slang for "phonograph"). As a running gag, Fonola's body odor, especially his foot odor, warns everyone of his presence, even if he is many blocks away.

• Washington, Mandíbula and Matías: Condorito's pets. Washington is his dog, Mandíbula ("Jaw") his horse, and Matías his potty-mouthed parrot. Washington appears the most, and in some strips he can talk, but Matías often takes the speaking pet roles. Sometimes Condorito has sold them, but they always end up returning to Condorito's side.

• Juan Sablazo: The typical conman who puts up a sob story or a good excuse in order to borrow money and never pays it back. He is almost famished and wears a very worn-out tuxedo. Everyone avoids him, because he always uses elaborate semantics to turn any innocent conversation into a pretext to borrow money, food or items from his "friends."

• Doña Peta, a.k.a. "Misiá Petita": A big, round, gentle, middle-aged housewife who is a neighbor of Condorito. She often takes care of Coné when Condorito is away. She seems to be a widow as portrayed in some strips.

• Condor Otto and Huevo Fritz: Variations on Condorito and Huevoduro, but characters in their own right. They are German or German-descended characters usually used to tell jokes with obvious puns or very dumb punchlines.

• San Guchito: Although not generally a character, he is the patron saint of Pelotillehue. He is usually shown in benediction, holding a sandwich in his left hand. His name is a play on the English word sandwich. Condorito has been known to cry out at times, "San Guchito, sálvame!" ("Saint Wichito, save me!"). Sometimes he appears to grant wishes or perform miracles, other times he just appears in front of people to scold them and warn them about their oncoming fates.

• Don Sata: Satan himself. Normally he tries to corrupt Condorito and friends by offering them power, riches, etc. in exchange for their souls, with different degrees of success. Generally, Condorito manages to outfox him, but on some occasions, Don Sata gets the upper hand and then drags his victim to hell to torture him until the end of the joke. Father Venancio has faced and expelled him at least once.

• San Pedro ("Saint Peter"): Is the gatekeeper of Heaven, and decides who enters paradise. He is portrayed as a big old man with a long white beard, with a gentle manner and always welcoming the characters that have died (just for the joke). He is not a parody of the catholic saint, and is utilized to obliquely depict God. In numerous gags starring San Pedro, Don Sata is involved. Usually his jokes involves scenarios where Condorito and/or other characters had died and for any reason they are not able to enter Heaven.

• Maca and Potoca: Two young and beautiful girls created as recurrent "filler" characters for jokes involving nudity or risky situations. One of them is a brunette, wears a hairband and has a passive personality; the other sports short chestnut hair and a more volatile temper.
  Since Condorito's creator had forbidden his team of artists and writers from drawing Yayita with provocative clothes or "sexy" attitudes to keep her in her canon "girl next door" character, this pair of girls was created to take Yayita's place during the riskier jokes or situations out of character for Yayita.
  Condorito has caught them skinny dipping, nude sunbathing, and wearing minuscule bikinis that get lost in the sea. Sometimes he meets them in the street and attempts to seduce one of them. Sometimes only one of these girls appears in a joke; other times both appear, generally being caught naked or after Condorito tries to seduce one of them.