"Caricaturists put their finger on the sore"The last interview with Rogelio Naranjo/Mexico,2016

"I've never allowed them to tell me the themes of my cards," said Rogelio Naranjo on August 23, 2016. On the way to Canal 22, at Churubusco Studios, where the monero was the special guest in one of the programs Confabulario TV, recalled his projects alongside Rius, Helioflores, among others, to create the magazine La Garrapata, at the end of 1968. He said that the direction of this magazine was rotating and the cartonists took turns in coordinating and drafting the Editorials. "

There were pressures. Rius was kidnapped and simulated by his execution.

They told him to lower him to his cards. It was a difficult time. "
That afternoon, Naranjo offered his last interview.

That program of Confabulario TV was dedicated to explore the universe of the caricature, the comic and the animation.

The special guest was this monero, the first thing he did when he arrived at the studio was to order a cola, listen to reporters Janet Mérida and Vicente Alfonso, interview managers, and then share their opinions on freedom of expression from his Trench of all life: the political cardboard. Already in front of the cameras, Naranjo used the questions to reflect on his ideas about graphic humor and the scope of freedom of opinion and the reaction of public figures to graphic humor. "

They are more afraid of political cards because they are just signs of situations and injustices."
On the topic of political cardboard there is a key theme that is the word humor, but humor is usually misunderstood.

Juan Villoro says that "humor should make you think and sometimes even make you laugh".

How do you interpret this phrase?

Humor has these two purposes: to make think and to make criticism. Sometimes it's what they do not like in the newspapers, that sometimes we go hand in the critic, although I'm not the most poignant in criticism.

With my drawings I would only like to make reflections and share them with many people who have also somehow been a victim. On many occasions we are telling a truth, although suddenly someone feels offended because it was pointed out by the cartoonist.
What is the destination of your cards that can not be published?

The cartons that bothered someone or if I passed my hand, the cartons simply disappeared, were not published. As a caricaturist one also learns to turn around to not allow that kind of censorship.
José Saramago has a phrase that says: "I am pessimistic because the reality is terrible."

How does this atrocious reality that we live in Mexico play for someone who is dedicated to expressing this kind of complexities through drawing?

We always end up being pessimistic and discovering that the world is not very nice.

Caricaturists we take care of pointing out, of putting our finger on the sore and of showing things that are not very favored by other journalists.

We work the idea, the image.

Whoever captures the intention of the caricaturist is the one who enjoys it, but if it does not go against him; If it goes against him, then try to hide things. That happens now and will continue to happen later.
Do not you feel inside a power game in which it depends on the approval of a company to publish what you want?

Not now. The situation has changed for me. Sometimes I find young cartoonists who begin to have their spaces where they make their criticism and complain that they do not publish the drawings. Not to me, fortunately, almost all my drawings are published.
What are the most sensitive issues?

There are things we know we should not touch. For example, the Virgin of Guadalupe. You can not make jokes about that. From the army you can not make jokes, against the important figures of the army and before also the president of the Republic.

That has been fading, it is not so.

All this for me has changed a lot. I would like it to be general, but there are many caricaturists, especially of province, in some states, where they totally forbid them.
Image: Taken from the book Rogelio Naranjo, live on the line.