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Original article: Cuando reírse de la dictadura era resistencia: adiós a Rufino, histórico dibujante de revista Hoy

The pencil that skillfully outsmarted censorship and brought smiles amid the darkness of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet has bid farewell. The legendary cartoonist Alejandro Montenegro, known in the art and journalism world as “Rufino,” passed away in April, though his death was only confirmed yesterday, Sunday, June 21, by journalist and writer Jorge Montealegre.

The somber revelation came when a group of friends and colleagues, including illustrator Hernán Vidal (Hervi) and his wife, poet Pía Barros, concerned by his prolonged silence, decided to check on him at his home in Cerrillos, only to discover the heartbreaking news of his passing.

“The black glasses that Rufino used to characterize the Unidentified Civilian Agents (CNI), beyond satire, are now glasses of mourning,” Montealegre remarked on social media, encapsulating the sorrow of a generation that found refuge in his illustrations against authoritarianism.

Rufino’s journey is intrinsically linked to the cultural resistance during the harshest years of the civic-military dictatorship. As a founding partner, layout designer, and art director of the opposition magazine “Hoy,” he transformed its pages into a symbolic battleground where irony was the only permissible projectile.

His drawings published between 1976 and 1990 didn’t just depict reality; they dissected it with a surgical precision. His primary and most renowned target was the agents of the National Intelligence Center (CNI), whom he stripped of their fearsome aura through caricature, endowing them with iconic black glasses that, over time, became symbols of the agents serving Pinochet’s regime tasked with committing acts of repression against the populace. Far from being mere jokes, his illustrations served as visual chronicles of an era where laughter became an act of personal sovereignty.

Rufino’s work transcended the pages of “Hoy,” contributing to other iconic publications such as “Ercilla” and “La Castaña,” as well as the newspapers “Las Últimas Noticias” and “La Nación.” His editorial legacy includes foundational books like “Pssst…” (1983), “Rufino Strikes Again” (1986), and “Unidentified Civilians” (2009). However, his creativity extended beyond print; he ventured into television with scripts for comedic programs like “From Chincol to Jote” and “Los Toppins,” and collaborated in the comedy café of Maitén Montenegro, “Neither this nor that, but everything contrary,” among others (with the cacophonous signature of Montenegro-Montealegre-Montenegro).

His education at the Advertising School of the Technical State University (UTE) provided him with a technical perspective that he skillfully combined with an acute political instinct, allowing him to showcase his work at international venues such as Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, and Paris, and to receive prestigious awards like the “Pedro Joaquín Chamorro” from the Inter-American Press Society in 1986.

“Rufino’s Humor Helped Citizens Overcome Their Fear of the Dictatorship”

The value of his work lay not only in its graphic quality but also in the social impact it made in a context of repression. Jorge Montealegre, an expert in the history of graphic humor, emphasized that “Rufino’s humor contributed to the citizens losing their fear of the dictatorship,” at a time when fear was the principal mechanism of control. By laughing at security agents, the contradictions of the regime, and daily life under surveillance, Rufino and his colleagues —including Hervi, Guillo, Palomo, and Mico— stood as “civilian heroes of democratic resistance.” His pencil served as a reminder that dignity can also be defended with wit and that historical memory can be preserved through satire.

Despite his considerable contributions, Rufino deserved more recognition and companionship, as lamented by Montealegre himself. His isolation in recent years contrasts sharply with the relevance of his work, which is even the subject of imitations using artificial intelligence—a phenomenon criticized by the journalist, who noted that his legacy is exploited without the respect deserving of the original creator.

In a country that still grapples with the wounds of the past, Rufino’s figure emerges as a beacon of intellectual courage, demonstrating that humor is not mere entertainment but an essential political tool. His death, belatedly acknowledged, invites reflection on the debt that Chilean society owes to those who, armed only with paper and ink, stood up to the dictatorship and paved the way for democracy.

La entrada Remembering Rufino: The Iconic Cartoonist Who Defied Dictatorship With Humor se publicó primero en El Ciudadano.