Not a Laughing Matter: Cartoons, Plebeian Heroes, and Panama's Military Government (1968-1989)

• Main Author: Villanueva, Miriam Elizabeth
• Other Authors: Peter A Szok
• Format: Others
• Language: en
• Published: Texas Christian University 2012
• Subjects: Addran College of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Online Access: http://etd.tcu.edu/etdfiles/available/etd-05042012-142053/

This work illustrates the popular 1986 graphic novel Pedro Prestán: Bajo el furor de las tormentas to understand the cultural and political context of Panama's military period (1968-1969). The narrative focuses on Pedro Prestán, whose contemporaries falsely condemned him for burning Colón, Panama, in 1885. A hundred years after Prestán's death, Panama's military regime, to redefine its image, devised an agenda to appropriate plebeian nationalism. In 1986, the comic's creators saw an opportunity to cast Prestán as a freedom fighter for the state in exchange for his vindication. The novel served as a space for Panama's military regime to refashion its pantheon of revolutionary leaders and for subalterns to absolve a plebeian hero in history. Since officials tacitly approved the comic's publication and recognized Prestán, the book helped the state maintain power. The study demonstrates the give-and-take nature of shaping national identity.