in film and television. After his early strips were criticized for Hollywood-style cultural stereotypes, Arriola realized that his was the only periodical work in American mass media that depicted life in Mexico and he modified the strip to be more sympathetic. In 1954, Gordo lost his lease on his land and had to travel throughout Mexico as a tour guide. The character's trips were a vehicle for the strip to introduce Mexico and its people to the wider world. A much thinner and contemplative Gordo eventually became a flirtatious tour guide, whom Arriola often described as an "accidental ambassador" for Mexican culture. Honors Arriola received recognition given by cartoonists who were his peers, as noted above, and Gordo received the National Cartoonist Society's Humor Comic Strip Award twice, in 1957 and 1965. In 2008, Arriola received honors for his lifetime achievement. Final strip The final strip ran on March 2, 1985, where, in a final effort to avoid the advances of the widow Artemisa Rosalinda Gonzalez, Gordo marries his longtime housekeeper, Tehuana Mama. Arriola used three-quarters of the strip to say farewell to his readers. Today, Kit Parker Films owns the performing arts and merchandising rights to the comic strip and related characters. References Sources Harvey, R.C. and G. Arriola. 2000. Accidental Ambassador Gordo: The Comic Strip Art of Gus Arriola. University of Mississippi Press. Arriola, Gus. 1981. Gordo's Cat. Oak Tree Publications, Inc. External links Toonopedia: Gordo 1941 comics debuts 1985 comics endings American comic strips American comics characters Comics characters introduced in 1941 Fictional Mexican people Fictional farmers Humor comics