Jose Alberto, cartoonist of the soul
Jose Alberto is 60 years old. From this unique part of the world, where many seek UFOS and mystical experiences, he draws on reality, teaching us to re1ect with a bit of laughter on what not to do. "Since I was very young, drawing was what stood out to me, what I liked the most and what I did best, because I didn't excel in other things, neither in school nor in sports, I just liked to draw," he confessed. What started as a compulsion became a study at an art academy and ;nally a profession.
Jose Alberto has worked for newspapers and magazines in his country and also here in the United States. For the past 10 years, he has been adding a splash of color to La Semana, using his humor to portray the irony of current political, social, and environmental issues. “My goal is to be in people's minds with a critical opinion towards politicians, who live for themselves, and to ensure that the cartoon is current and, besides making people laugh, sparks a bit of re1ection,” he admitted.
But what many don't know is that drawing is also a refuge for this soulful cartoonist, who has been dealt more than one blow in life. Long before becoming who he is today, at only 18 years old, José Alberto fought in the Falklands War. This unjust war in 1982, where thousands of Argentine teenagers lost their lives, changed him forever.
“My legs froze and when the war ended, I had to spend some time in the army hospital to recover,” he recounted, as if narrating a past that no longer belongs to him. However, later on, José Alberto suffered an anxiety attack and realized that the wounds from the Falklands had not healed. “I had to be admitted to a neuropsychiatric hospital and I really thought I had hit rock bottom forever,” he admitted, recalling the days of madness he managed to leave behind.
To heal, José Alberto drew and wrote a book titled 'How I Won the War,' echoing John Lennon's work, showcasing the absurdity of combat, and thus began to publish comics that mocked reality.
Every morning, the cartoonist follows the same ritual: watching the news, browsing the newspapers, and feeling the environment around him to determine what is relevant to people, and what are the agenda topics to develop his humor. "It's like turning a sock inside out, one takes the news to the ridiculous, to the absurd, and then seeks to ;nd something that generates that re1ection," he said, aware that his art also has metaphor and deep meanings.
When he is not drawing, the cartoonist helps out, as he is also a part-time volunteer at the San Camilo home in Córdoba, where every task reminds him of the importance of being alive and frees him for a while from the deepest pain in his soul: the recent loss of his son Boris.
“When I was admitted to the neuropsychiatric hospital, I thought it was the greatest calamity, that I would never hit rock bottom again, and then this year my son decided to go to heaven, and now I have to change, and that's why I hope that the little or much time I have left in this life can be spent well and helping others,” he explained through tears.
José Alberto seeks to replace pain with love, and so he nourishes his spirit by helping those who need it most. “It gives me satisfaction in my soul to help at the home, it makes me feel peace, and to contribute a small grain of sand,” he acknowledged.
The cartoonist doesn't expect much from his future, for if there's one thing he's learned in life, it's to let go of the non-essential and to wrap himself in love. Today, after the recognition he has received, José Alberto admits he wants to draw forever to remind everyone of the importance of living with love and caring for others. “We have to give a minute of our life, time, money to enrich the soul. Ultimately, we are bodies and our time on earth is very short, it's 1eeting, so we have to feel love, give it, and expand the heart,” he concluded, knowing that art can change the world and heal broken hearts." (La Semana)