If we talk about Cadiz and its carnival, we talk about Chirigotas.
I was commissioned this caricature, for a member of a chirigota. Little or nothing he knew about them, so he had to be well informed. And here's what happened:
I knew the murga, I knew she was a direct descendant of the Chirigotas, but little else. The murga has a somewhat different aesthetic, the form of singing and music, it is also.
I knew that the chirigotas are choral musical groups of carnival and very popular in Cadiz, Spain, that sing coplas of humor through the streets, (the murga does it in tablados, which are mounted in the neighborhoods). And like the murga, they deal with various current issues, related to politics or the so-called Press of the Heart (Themes of celebrity gossip)
For this they are accompanied with a drum, a box or drawer, guitars and güiros. And you can not miss the famous carnival pitos.
It is also held in the Gran Teatro Falla, a Official Contest of Carnival Groups, in which the chirigota makes a presentation, which is related to the type of costume she wears, two pasodobles (with original music of the group), two cuplés (with original music), a chorus (sung at the end of each cuplé and also originals) that is related to the type of the group and a medley that also refers to the type of burlesque and humorous form.
In the chirigota, unlike the comparsas and the carnival choirs, what gives the most points to the group are the two cuplés plus the chorus.
… its exact origin is unknown since since the beginning of Spanish history singers have recited coplas related to different issues of society, however there are records that in 1884 the mayor of Cádiz Eduardo Genovés, published an ordinance where carnival groups were regulated including the chirigota within it. Later during the government of General Franco the carnival of all the provinces of Spain was abolished, however it remained very latent within the population, so much so that during the dates of February carnival coplas were played clandestinely in canteens and wine shops; It was then that in 1948 this decree was abolished and although it was quite regulated and censored, the comparsas, chirigota, choirs and quartets took to the streets again.
chirigotas.com
The cartoon:
It was a great order, for an online cartoon, because within the things I had to add, in addition to the dress of the member, they asked me to be part of the Gran Teatro Falla, with its curtain, its logo, in addition to the seats, a lot of confetti and streamers.
As in all the cartoons I do, these are not preset backgrounds. Nor does it make a "cut and paste"
Everything that surrounds the caricature and the elements of personalization, are made, solely for that caricature, except that the same customer ask to repeat the funds, but in any case they will be made for that customer And they don't repeat themselves for another.
It is that, repeating is very boring and absolutely for nothing, original.
All the caricature, background and accessories, was hand drawn and colored on computer. Finally, the client had it printed on canvas, to make his gift.
What else can I say? That I am delighted to have done this work of this member of a very important expression of popular art, which has its origins in the sixteenth century and is the predecessor of what is known elsewhere as: murga.
Here below, the caricature printed on canvas, (photograph provided by the client) where the top is shown discolored by the brightness of the use of the flash.
English