How did Menino Maluquinho, Ziraldo’s famous character, come about?

This Saturday, the 6th, Brazil was surprised by the announcement of the death of the designer and writer Ziraldo, creator of “Menino Maluquinho”, at 91 years old. According to information revealed by the family, the author passed away at around 3pm, due to natural causes, while sleeping in his apartment in Rio de Janeiro.

The wake for the great name in Brazilian literature will take place tomorrow, the 7th, at MAM — Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, starting at 10 am, opening to the public. The burial, reserved only for family and close friends, is scheduled for 4:30 pm, at Cemitério São João Batista, in Botafogo.

Despite having released numerous extremely popular works, one of his biggest hits was “O Menino Maluquinho”, released on October 24, 1980, on his 48th birthday.

The work, which tells the story of the boy “who had eyes bigger than his belly, fire in his tail and wind in his feet”, is considered one of the greatest phenomena of all time in the Brazilian publishing market, with 129 editions published in more from 10 countries, and more than 4 million units sold, in addition to receiving adaptations for cinema, theater, games and television.

As reported by G1, Ziraldo He revealed in interviews that he had the idea of ​​creating Menino Luquinho talking to himself while shaving. The boy who “knew everything, he just didn’t know how to sit still”, represented the lives of many Brazilian children and pre-adolescents, facing problems typical of their age such as separation from their parents, grades, school, games and their first girlfriends — which, according to the stories, he had 10!

In an interview with GLOBO, the author revealed that the character remained relevant for so long because he was easy to identify with.

“I believe that Maluquinho had this reach for so long because it awakened identification in readers. Kids look at the character and think, ‘Oops, that’s me’, or ‘I know what he’s feeling’. I think the main thing is to make children get excited and see this as a good thing”, commented Ziraldo.

More about Ziraldo

Ziraldo Alves Pinto was born in Caratinga, Minas Gerais, on October 24, 1932, son of Zizinha It is Geraldo, and the oldest of seven brothers. His name is a creative union of his parents’ names.

Passionate about drawing since he was little, his first drawing was published when he was just 6 years old, in 1939, in the newspaper Folha de Minas. In 1957, he graduated in law, however, at that time, his career was already focused on drawings. In the same year, he started working in the magazines “A Cigarra” and “O Cruzeiro”, publishing political cartoons and cartoons. The following year he married Vilma Gontijowith whom he had three children: Daniela, Fabrizia It is Antonio.

In the following decade, the characters Mineirinho, Supermãe and Jeremias appeared. It was also at this time that the first Brazilian children’s magazine was published, “Turma do Pererê”, closed in 1964 due to the military dictatorship. With the end of the first publication, he founded “O Pasquim” alongside other comedians.

During the dictatorship, he participated in the fight for democracy, and was even arrested on December 13, 1968, one day after AI-5. His drawings were composed of acidic texts and illustrations full of mockery, something that the government of the time did not like.

One of his biggest hits, “O Menino Maluquinho”, would only arrive in 1980. The character, considered one of the greatest phenomena of all time in the Brazilian publishing market, became so popular that he left the pages, and was adapted into games, cinema, theater and television.