The Characters
Mafalda is a precocious girl, always concerned about humanity, peace, and human rights. She hates soup (well, 'hate' is too soft a word for it). She's quite a patriot, and she loves the Beatles.
Felipe hates school and homework, and fantasizes about his school being destroyed. He likes comics, specially the Lone Ranger. Felipe has this habit of torturing himself with guilty feelings as soon as he starts having fun.
Manolito (Manuel Goreiro) takes the term "entrepeneur" to a new level. You don't know anything about money until you meet
Manolito. He works at his father's store, and he's not too crazy about the Beatles.
Susanita (Susana Clotilde Chirusi) is a hopeless flirt, and also a hopelessly prejudiced snob. The only thing she can think about is becoming a mother when she grows up, although she makes time for hating Manolito, of course.
Libertad is tiny and simple, but what a character!
Aline says(1): "She's the shortest and the most sarcastic character, who wants things to be simpler and she says everything she thinks,
Guille is Mafalda's little brother (born in book #4, strip 937). Brigitte Bardot's #1 fan.
Miguelito (Miguel Pitti) is another pal of Mafalda's.
Mom (Raquel) is a housewife. Dad is about 37 years old, and he works for an insurance company. He loves his plants, and naturally hates ants.
Quino's
Mafalda
Mafalda: "My dad has decided to get rid of the ants on his plants."
Felipe: "And how is he going to kill them?" ...
Felipe: "I knew your dad wouldn't be that dense."
Dad: "THAT dense?"
El sentido de la vida ¿es doble mano? --Felipe
Felipe (thinking): "Such a big kid, kicking cans around." ...
Felipe (thinking): "What a disaster! Even my weaknesses are stronger than I!"
No dejes para mañana el tratar de encajarle a otro lo que tengas que hacer hoy. --Felipe
Teacher: "My mom pampers me. My mom loves me."
Mafalda: "I'm happy for you, Ms. I see you have a wonderful mother."
Mafalda: "Now, please, can you teach us something important?"
No es cierto que todo tiempo pasado fue mejor. Lo que pasaba era que los que estaban peor todavia no se habian dado cuenta.
--Mafalda
Felipe (thinking): "Well, I better go do my homework." ...
Nunca falta alguien que sobra. --Miguelito.
Quino is a master of the 'silent comic.'
No es cuestión de herir susceptibilidades, sino de matarlas. --Susanita.
)
Mafalda: "Here I go, to infinity!" ...
Mafalda: "Here I go, to infinity!"
Mom: "I'm warning you, Mafalda. My patience has limits."
Mafalda: "So does infinity."
Eso de las vacaciones es para los afeminados. --Manolito.
Mafalda and Felipe: "This is a stick up!"
Manolito: "Sorry, it's the habit."
Si alguien te golpea tu mejilla izquierda, ve y aprende karate. --Manolito
Susanita: "Let's pretend we are ladies like your mom and my mom, ok?"
Mafalda: "Cool!"
Mafalda: "And that we got together to have tea and talk..."
Susanita: "Well..."
Mafalda: "Let's see..."
"Who says the first stupid thing?"
(Susanita, to Quino)
Vos sos el disolvente pesimista que le mete a aquella esas estupideces en la cabeza, ¿no?
Mafalda: "What are you going to be when you grow up, Susanita?"
Susanita: "I'm going to be a mother!"
Susanita: "Your dad has a very original way of lying down."
Felipe: ¿Y, como anda la paz en Vietnam?
Dad: "Give me a chocolate bar."
Dad: "Mafalda is going to be so happy with this!"
Dad: "Guess what I brought you Maf...?"
Mafalda: "A TV SET???"
Dad: "I never knew chocolate could taste like failure."
Sabían que Almacén Don Manolo vende baratísimo? --Manolito
Man: "Changing the world! Ha! Kids' stuff!"
Man: "I, too, had such ideas when I was young, and now you see..."
Mafalda: "We're doomed, guys! It turns out, if we don't hurry up and change the world, the world changes us!"
Las situaciones embarazosas... ¿Las trae la cigueña? --Mafalda
He decidido enfrentar la realidad, asi que apenas se ponga linda me avisan. --Felipe
Felipe (thinking): "I must pay attention, without missing a detail, to what the teacher is saying..."
"...and focus all my senses..."
"...and concentrate all my attention... and..."
Teacher: "Did you all understand?"
Students: "Yes Ms.!"
Comienza tu dia con una sonrisa, verás lo divertido que es ir por ahi desentonando con todo el mundo.
--Libertad
Felipe's mother: "Felipe, it's 7:15 AM already!"
Felipe: (mumble, mumble)
Demolition workers (tearing down Felipe's school): "Wait! Wait! The demolition was on the other block!"
Felipe: "How the heck does my imagination wake up before I do?"
A mi me gusta la simplicidad de la gente simple. Yo soy simple pero no es precisamente por eso que me gusta la gente simple, sino por razones mas simples.
Dad: "My god! what's happening?"
Mafalda: "Nothing... I just don't want to be late for the first day of school."
Si yo fuera un agitador, la policia engordariiiia... --Felipe
Felipe: "I'm so happy with my new teacher! She's such a friendly, pleasant woman! I don't know, she's wonderful!"
Mafalda: "You're so lucky to have her, because we have to see our teacher every day... and every week... and every month of a very long year!"
Felipe: "What an old hag!"
Van a llevarme a pasar las vacaciones al campo. ¿Lo conocen? Es una cosa verde que queda lejos.
--Libertad.
Man: "Hi, what's your name?"
Man: "How nice. Do you go to school?"
Mafalda: "Yes, of course. Do you pay all your taxes?"
Mafalda: "He started talking about obligations."
"MAMA, vos que futuro le ves a ese movimiento por la liberacion de la muj... no, nada, olvidalo."
"Mom, what future do you see for that women's liberation moveme... no, nothing, forget it."
Felipe's mom: "Felipe, can you go buy milk?"
Felipe: "Sorry, mom, I'm busy."
Felipe: "However, they respect that lie from a grown-up."
Dad: "What are you watching, Mafalda?"
Mafalda: "The fight."
Dad: "But... it's a soap opera! What fight are you talking about?"
Mafalda: "The writer's fight. It's fascinating seeing the writer's struggle to escape the clutches of intelligence."
