Gus Arriola and The Comic Strip Character of Gordo

Gordo, the comic strip character featured in newspapers for 44 years, was created by artist Gus Arriola (1917-2008). In the cartoon, Gordo started out as a bean farmer in Mexico, but as Arriola saw the effect he could have on readers, he took a new direction. He re-invented Gordo as a tour guide, and they became “ambassadors” for all the good things about Mexico—from great weather and delicious food to a more relaxed way of living.

A colorful book cover for a collection of comic strip art of Gus Arriola. The background is yellow and Gordo and his wife are dancing in traditional Mexican clothing.

Arriola was exacting in his work and for the 44-year run of the strip (from 1941-1985), he did all the art, writing, and production himself. The comic was syndicated in 220 newspapers.

Early Life

Gus Arriola was born in Florence, Arizona, the youngest of nine children. His mother died when he was young, so he was raised by an older sister in a household where only Spanish was spoken. The family moved to Los Angeles when Gus was eight. One of his early memories was of reading the Sunday comics. He later explained that was how he learned English.

He attended high school in Los Angeles at the Manual Arts High School. When he graduated, he was hired by Mintz Studios, an animation studio later acquired by Screen Gems.. Arriola was assigned to work on George Herriman’s popular comic, Krazy Kat. Later he moved to Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer where he was hired to be a “sketch man” for Tom and Jerry.

A black-and-white photograph of Gus Arriola. He has on a suit jacket, a printed shirt, and a scarf around his neck.
Gus Arriola,1949, Creative Commons

While working at a film studio, Arriola met and married his life partner, Mary Frances, with whom he had one son, Carlin (1946-1980).

Shopping the Comic Strip

During his film studio days, Arriola was shopping around the Gordo comic, and in early fall of 1941 he left Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer because he had a deal for his own strip.

Less than two months later, Pearl Harbor was bombed. Arriola enlisted and temporarily set aside the strip. He joined the U.S. Army Air Force where his talent for drawing was recognized. He was assigned to the motion picture unit where he worked with others creating training films.

With a somewhat regular work schedule, he returned to drawing the Sunday panels. He was not able to pick up the daily strip again until June 24, 1946.

Gordo’s Transition

When Arriola originally created Gordo, Gordo was a Mexican bean farmer, a Li’l Abner-type character who enjoyed life and didn’t work very hard. Gordo loved the women but was a confirmed bachelor. The wealthy widow, Artemisa Rosalinda Gonzalez, pursued him for years, but Gordo was never interested. In 1985, Gordo finally settles down and marries his housekeeper Tehuana Mama.

A colorful sampling of a Sunday comic strip. All the animals are bemoaning the heat.

Arriola surrounded Gordo with pets who made their home with Gordo: Senor Dog, Senor Pig, and Popo (a rooster) and Poosy Gato (a cat); Bug Rogers was an artistically talented, six-legged spider.

These early strips were criticized for furthering a stereotype. As Arriola’s success grew, he realized the weight of his responsibility. he was creating the only periodical work in American media that was presenting Mexican culture.

In 1954, Arriola used a plot device to change the strip. Farmer Gordo lost the lease on his land and decided to make his living as a tour guide. He named his tour bus, El Cometa Halley, and he took visitors (and readers) along with him to visit parts of Mexico that most Americans didn’t know about.

Many readers wrote that they decided to visit Mexico based on reading about the country in the comic strip. Gordo also introduced Spanish words and phrases to Americans that are now very common: “hasta la vista,” “amigo” and piñata” among them.

Gordo, The “Accidental Ambassador”

Comic strip readers at the time were a devoted group. In 1948, Arriola was deluged with letters when he humorously offered readers the secret recipe to Gordo’s favorite meal, “beans and cheese.”

In one of the daily strips, the characters talk about receiving letters from as far away as “Weesconsin.” He then notes that Wisconsin must be north of the Antarctic where all the “panguins leev,” sending the readers scratching their heads and laughing at the same time.

The strip features birdsd and bugs and flowers and the natural world that benefited from her effort to rid the world of pesticides.
This strip is a tribute to environmentalist Rachel Carson.

Arriola’s family, wife Mary Frances and son Carlin, participated in conversations about the strip, frequently offering ideas. Over time, Gordo’s good-looking nephew, Pepito, participates in many of the activities their son Carlin was involved in. When Pepito joined a rock band or left for college, readers could be sure that Carlin was providing a story line for the younger generation.

Sadly, Carlin died in 1980 car crash, and Pepito never again appeared in the strip. (In one of the final panels in 1985, Pepito makes a nonvisualized appearance as a voice on a tape recorder.) Heart breaking.

Artistic Legacy

Arriola was well-regarded for both his art and his writing. In an interview with artist Sam Klemke in 2000, Arriola said that he got his ideas from his family but also through constant reading. He credited his well-wrought use of language to the precedent set by George Herriman in Krazy Kat.

As Arriola designed his daily and Sunday strips, he decided to separate them. The daily strip had continuity, but the Sunday strip worked off a one-time gag. This meant it could sell to papers who simply wanted Sunday comics. In both his daily and weekly strips, he sometimes wove in political commentary such as the tribute to environmentalist Rachel Carson.

His work was a means to making a living but also a labor of love and a work of art. Charles Schulz, creator of Peanuts, described Gordo as “probably the most beautifully drawn strip in the history of the business.”

Eventually his work was praised by the Mexican government as well as the California State Legislature for its promotion of international understanding.

Parkinson’s Brought Career to End

This is a thoughtful photo of an older Gus Arriola. He is in a suit and tie and has a distinguished beard and moustache.
Photo by Darcy Padilla

Arriola’s last strip appeared on March 2, 1985. He had Parkinson’s disease and could no longer keep up with the work. In addition to saying “gracias” to his readers, he wrote about how important it became to him to “maintain daily awareness of our southern neighbor, creating an interest in it is history and culture…”

Arriola’s concludes with a quote from William Yeats:
”…but I being poor, have only my dreams; I have spread my dreams under your feet; tread softly because you tread on my dreams.”

The Arriola family donated the Gus Arriola collection to the UC Berkeley Bancroft Library. At this time, an in-person visit is required. Nothing is as yet online.

Another person who introduced Mexican culture to the United States was Elena Zelayeta, a great chef who brought us Mexican cuisine.

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