Carmelo Filardi (1900–1989) was a Puerto Rican artist of Italian ancestry. He was a cartoonist who had his work published in Puerto Rico's El Mundo newspaper starting in 1927. He was from Yauco, Puerto Rico[4] and his parents were born in Italy.[1] Filardi specialized in satire and journalistic criticism. To do this, he used depictions of average daily life in Puerto Rico to illustrate his thoughts. He was a caricaturist and his work is included in University of Puerto Rico collections.[5]
His first published cartoon in El Mundo was in 1927.[6] In 1947, he published a book called Un año de historia en caricaturas, which contained a selection of his works from 1946 to 1947.[7]
In 1971, he published a book called Una Época de historia en Caricaturas. The book contained a collection of his works from 1948-1963. Eliseo Combas Guerra, wrote the prologue, selected the cartoons and annotated the work for the book, which was published by Editorial Universitaria of the University of Puerto Rico.[8]
His cartoons which featured life and events about Puerto Rico include one when José Ferrer, a Puerto Rican actor won an Oscar.[9]
Filardi's works and cultural influences have been featured and discussed in numerous books, publications and national archives such as:
Women, Creole Identity, and Intellectual Life in Early Twentieth-century by Magali Roy Féquière[2]
Journal of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies(Vol. 20, Issue 1)[11]
Así es la vida (That's Life) by "Joaquín" Jack Delano[12]
Medios y resistencia en la era muñocista: el periódico El Mundo y la caricatura de Filardi ante el proyecto histórico del Partido Popular Democrático, 1950-1960 by Rafael L. Cabrera Collazo[13]
Los dibujos del progreso: el mundo caricaturesco de Filardi y la crítica al desarrollismo muñocista 1950-1960 by Rafael L. Cabrera Collazo[14]
Recordando a Carmelo Filardi (Remembering Carmelo Filardi) by Helga I. Serrano[15]
Sources for the Study of Puerto Rican History: A Challenge to the Historian's Imagination by Blanca Silvestrini-Pacheco and Maria de los Angeles Castro Arroyo[18]
Activismo, literatura y cambio social en el Caribe hispano: aproximación en tres movimientos by María Alejandra Aguilar-Dornelles[19]
Historia del Humor Gráfico en Puerto Rico by Arturo Yépez[20]
Analizarán el impacto de la caricatura y la sátira by Inter News Service[21]
Filardi is related to the family which built the Filardi House. His father was Vicente Filardi, the primary builder. His older brothers Juan Bautista and Domingo were also contributors.[17] The professional tennis player Alex Llompart Filardi is also related to Carmelo Filardi.[28]
