With the campaign #MuchoMachetePorDarTodavía, Cuba celebrates 50 years of the cartoon series Elpidio Valdés, which was first published in 1970 in Pionero magazine.

Elpidio Valdés is a cartoon character and comic, who starred in a number of features, shorts and strips of the same name. The series was created in 1970 by Cuban cartoonist and filmmaker, the late Juan Padrón, who is considered the father of Cuban film animation and director of the first three animated feature films produced by the Cuban Film Institute.

Elpidio Valdes is a mambí colonel fighting for Cuba’s independence from Spanish colonialism.

Cubans from all walks of life and age groups –all followers of the emblematic cartoon character, can now enjoy the countless adventures of Elpidio and his mambi army on social media, following the launching this August 14th of the official digital platforms of the series on Facebook and Instagram (@ElpidioValdésOficial).

According to the Communications Office of the Ministry of Culture, the campaign to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Elpidio Valdés, includes the publication of stickers with emblematic phrases by Elpidio and other characters of the series and the launching of a webpage with information on the series, each and every character on it and its creator National Humor and Film Prize laureate, in 2004 and 2008 respectively, Juan Padrón.

Supported by the Cuban Film Institute and the La Manigua Cultural and Recreational Center, the campaign includes also the broadcast on national television of the show ‘Elpidio Valdés canta a Van Van,’ by Cuba’s children’s theatre group ‘La Colmenita,’ and the presentation of the book '50 años de Elpidio Valdés,’ by the publishing house Sello Collage Ediciones.