Sixto Valencia Burgos was born in Tezontepel, Mexico in 1934. In 1953, he joined the studio of Miguel Martin, where he started working for publisher Novaro Editorial. His big break came in 1963, when he took over 'Memin Pinguin' from Alberto Cabrera. He adapted the Spanish classic 'El Periquillo Sarniento' for comics.
La Serpiente Desplumada (1998)
In 1992, he became director of the Spanish version of Mad Magazine. For Editorial Toukán, he illustrated such "Ghetto Librettos" as 'La Serpiente Desplumada', 'La Ley del Revolver' and 'Bellas de Noche'. Since 1998, he is president of Somehi, the Mexican National Association of Comic Artists.
In July 2005, Burgos' work was honored with a special stamp depicting his caricatures of Memin Pinguin. Unfortunately, the U.S. government objected to these stamps, claiming that the outdated stereotypical depiction of blacks is offensive. However, with a bit of open-minded insight into the cultural heritage these comics portray, they might realize the artistic value of these drawings and that they were never intended to insult anyone.
