Patrick Chappatte: The power of cartoons

Translator: Marina Rodríguez Reviewer: Adrián Levices Casal

So yeah, I'm a newspaper cartoonist --

Si, fago caricaturas para os xornais,

political cartoonist.

son un debuxante político.

I don't know if you've heard about it -- newspapers?

Non sei se oístes falar dos xornais...

It's a sort of paper-based reader.

Son unha especie de "lectores en papel"

(Laughter)

(Risas)

It's lighter than an iPad,

Pesan menos ca un iPad.

it's a bit cheaper.

É un pouco máis barato

You know what they say?

¿Sabedes o que se di?

They say the print media is dying --

Dise que os medios impresos están morrendo.

who says that? Well, the media.

¿Que quen o di? Pois...os medios.

But this is no news, right?

Pero non é nada novo, ¿non?

You've read about it already.

Xa leriades sobre isto.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Ladies and gentlemen,

Señoras e señores,

the world has gotten smaller.

o mundo estase a facer máis pequeno.

I know it's a cliche, but look,

Sei que é un cliché, pero mirade,

look how small,

mirade cómo de pequeno,

how tiny it has gotten.

cómo de diminuto se fixo.

And you know the reason why, of course.

E sabedes a razón, por suposto.

This is because of technology -- yeah.

A razón é a tecnoloxía. Si.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Any computer designers in the room?

¿Hai algún deseñador de ordenadores na sala?

Yeah well,

Si, ben,

you guys are making my life miserable

pois sabede que estades convertindo a miña vida nun inferno,

because track pads used to be round,

porque antes os track pads eran redondos,

a nice round shape.

dunha bonita forma circular.

That makes a good cartoon.

Con iso pódese facer unha boa viñeta.

But what are you going to do with a flat track pad,

Pero que podes facer cun track pad plano?

those square things?

Con esas cousas cadradas?

There's nothing I can do as a cartoonist.

Como debuxante non podo facer nada.

Well, I know the world is flat now.

Bueno, xa sei que agora o mundo é plano.

That's true.

É certo.

And the Internet has reached

E Internet chegou

every corner of the world,

a tódolos recunchos do mundo,

the poorest, the remotest places.

aos lugares máis pobres e remotos.

Every village in Africa now has a cyber cafe.

Agora todas as vilas de África teñen un ciber-café.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Don't go asking for a Frappuccino there.

Non pidades un Frappuccino alí.

So we are bridging the digital divide.

Isto significa que estamos reducindo a brecha dixital.

The Third World is connected,

O Terceiro Mundo está conectado.

we are connected.

Nós estamos conectados.

And what happens next?

¿E agora que?

Well, you've got mail.

Bon, recibes e-mails.

Yeah.

Si.

Well, the Internet has empowered us.

Internet fíxonos máis poderosos.

It has empowered you,

Deuvos poder,

it has empowered me

deume poder a min,

and it has empowered some other guys as well.

e tamén lles deu poder a uns cantos máis.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

You know, these last two cartoons --

Estas dúas últimas viñetas,

I did them live

fíxenas en tempo real

during a conference in Hanoi.

nunha conferencia en Hanoi.

And they were not used to that

E non estaban afeitos a iso

in communist 2.0 Vietnam.

no Vietnam comunista 2.0.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

So I was cartooning live on a wide screen --

Estaba debuxando nunha pantalla ancha

it was quite a sensation --

era algo bastante impresionante,

and then this guy came to me.

e entón achegóuseme un tipo.

He was taking pictures of me and of my sketches,

Estaba facéndome fotos a min e aos meus debuxos,

and I thought, "This is great, a Vietnamese fan."

e pensei: "Que ben, un fan vietnamita."

And as he came the second day,

Cando volveu o segundo día,

I thought, "Wow, that's really a cartoon lover."

pensei: "Vaia, pois si que lle gustan as viñetas."

And on the third day, I finally understood,

E ao terceiro día, por fin me dei de conta

the guy was actually on duty.

de que o home en realidade estaba traballando.

So by now, there must be a hundred pictures of me

Polo que agora debe haber cen fotografías miñas

smiling with my sketches

sorrindo cos meus debuxos

in the files of the Vietnamese police.

nos arquivos da policía vietnamita.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

No, but it's true: the Internet has changed the world.

É certo: Internet cambiou o mundo.

It has rocked the music industry;

Desestabilizou a industria musical.

it has changed the way we consume music.

Cambiou o xeito que temos de consumir música.

For those of you old enough to remember,

Os que tedes idade suficiente lembraredes

we used to have to go to the store

que antes tiñamos que ir á tenda

to steal it.

para roubar música.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

And it has changed the way

E tamén cambiou a maneira

your future employer

na que o teu futuro xefe

will look at your application.

estudiará a túa solicitude de emprego.

So be careful

Así que tede coidado

with that Facebook account --

coas contas de Facebook.

your momma told you, be careful.

Xa volo dixeron as vosas nais: "tede coidado".

And technology has set us free --

A tecnoloxía tamén nos fixo libres.

this is free WiFi.

Isto é WiFi gratis.

But yeah, it has liberated us

Si. A tecnoloxía liberounos

from the office desk.

da mesa da oficina.

This is your life,

Esta é a túa vida.

enjoy it.

Gózaa.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

In short, technology, the internet,

Resumindo, a tecnoloxía, Internet,

they have changed our lifestyle.

cambiaron a nosa forma de vida.

Tech guru, like this man --

Os gurús da tecnoloxía, como este home

that a German magazine called the philosopher of the 21st century --

ao que unha revista alemana chamou "o filósofo do século XXI",

they are shaping the way we do things.

están modelando o xeito que temos de facer as cousas.

They are shaping the way we consume.

Están modelando o xeito que temos de consumir.

They are shaping our very desires.

Están modelando os nosos desexos.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

You will not like it.

Non vos vai gustar.

And technology has even changed

A tecnoloxía mesmo cambiou

our relationship to God.

a nosa relación con Deus.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

Now I shouldn't get into this.

Bon, non debería meterme nisto.

Religion and political cartoons,

As viñetas relixiosas e políticas,

as you may have heard,

como xa teredes oído,

make a difficult couple,

son unha parella complicada,

ever since that day of 2005,

dende aquel día de 2005,

when a bunch of cartoonists in Denmark

cando uns cantos debuxantes de Dinamarca

drew cartoons that had repercussions all over the world --

fixeron unhas viñetas que tiveron repercusión mundial,

demonstrations, fatwa,

manifestacións, fatwa.

they provoked violence. People died in the violence.

Provocaron violencia. Houbo xente que morreu por iso.

This was so sickening;

Foi horrible.

people died because of cartoons.

Morreron persoas por culpa dunhas caricaturas.

I mean --

Quero dicir...

I had the feeling at the time

Nese momento tiven a impresión

that cartoons had been used by both sides, actually.

de que as viñetas foran empregadas polas dúas partes, en realidade.

They were used first by a Danish newspaper,

Primeiro, por un xornal danés,

which wanted to make a point on Islam.

que quería dar unha opinión sobre o Islam.

A Danish cartoonist told me he was one of the 24

Un debuxante danés contoume que el fora un dos 24

who received the assignment to draw the prophet --

que recibiron o encargo de caricaturizar ao profeta.

12 of them refused. Did you know that?

E 12 rexeitárono. ¿Sabiades iso?

He told me, "Nobody has to tell me what I should draw.

Díxome: "Ninguén me di o que teño que debuxar.

This is not how it works."

Isto non funciona así."

And then, of course, they were used

E despois, claro, empregáronas

by extremists and politicians on the other side.

os extremistas e políticos da outra parte.

They wanted to stir up controversy.

Querían crear polémica.

You know the story.

Xa coñecedes a historia.

We know that cartoons can be used as weapons.

Sabemos que os debuxos poden empregarse como armas.

History tells us,

A mesma Historia nolo di,

they've been used by the Nazis

os Nazis empregáronos

to attack the Jews.

para atacar aos xudeus.

And here we are now.

E volvémolo a ver aquí agora.

In the United Nations,

Nas Nacións Unidas,

half of the world is pushing

medio mundo está presionando

to penalize the offense to religion --

para penalizar as ofensas á relixión,

they call it the defamation of religion --

chámanlle "difamación da relixión",

while the other half of the world is fighting back

mentres que a outra metade do mundo loita

in defense of freedom of speech.

pola defensa da liberdade de expresión.

So the clash of civilizations is here,

Así que temos aquí o choque de civilizacións,

and cartoons are at the middle of it?

e as viñetas están no medio del?

This got me thinking.

Isto fíxome pensar.

Now you see me thinking

Aquí védesme pensando

at my kitchen table,

na mesa da miña cociña.

and since you're in my kitchen,

E xa que estades na miña cociña,

please meet my wife.

preséntovos á miña muller.

(Laughter)

(Risas)

In 2006, a few months after,

No 2006, uns meses despois,

I went Ivory Coast --

fun a Costa do Marfil,

Western Africa.

no oeste de África.

Now, talk of a divided place -- the country was cut in two.

Falando de lugares divididos... O país estaba partido en dous.

You had a rebellion in the North,

Había unha rebelión no norte,

the government in the South -- the capital, Abidjan --

o goberno no sur, na antiga capital, Abidjan,

and in the middle, the French army.

e no medio, o exército francés.

This looks like a giant hamburger.

Parece unha hamburguesa xigante.

You don't want to be the ham in the middle.

Non queredes ser o xamón que vai no medio.

I was there to report on that story

Estaba alí para informar sobre a situación

in cartoons.

en viñetas.

I've been doing this for the last 15 years;

Levo facendo isto os últimos 15 anos.

it's my side job, if you want.

É o meu traballo alternativo, por así dicilo.

So you see the style is different.

Vedes que o estilo é diferente.

This is more serious than maybe editorial cartooning.

Se callar é máis serio cas caricaturas editoriais.

I went to places like Gaza

Fun a lugares como Gaza

during the war in 2009.

durante a guerra de 2009.

So this is really journalism in cartoons.

Así que isto é realmente xornalismo en viñetas.

You'll hear more and more about it.

Cada vez oiredes falar máis del.

This is the future of journalism, I think.

Creo que é o futuro do xornalismo.

And of course, I went to see the rebels in the north.

Fun ver aos rebeldes do norte, por suposto.

Those were poor guys fighting for their rights.

Eran homes pobres loitando polos seus dereitos.

There was an ethnic side to this conflict

Este conflito era en parte étnico,

as very often in Africa.

como é habitual en África.

And I went to see the Dozo.

E fun ver aos Dozo.

The Dozo, they are the traditional hunters

Son os cazadores tradicionais

of West Africa.

do oeste de África.

People fear them --

A xente tenlles medo.

they help the rebellion a lot.

Axudan moito aos rebeldes.

They are believed to have magical powers.

Pénsase que teñen poderes máxicos.

They can disappear and escape bullets.

Poden desaparecer e escapar das balas.

I went to see a Dozo chief;

Fun ver a un xefe dos Dozo.

he told me about his magical powers.

Faloume dos seus poderes máxicos.

He said, "I can chop your head off right away

Díxome: "Podo cortarche a cabeza agora mesmo

and bring you back to life."

e resucitarte."

I said, "Well, maybe we don't have time for this right now."

Eu díxenlle: "Bon, creo que non temos tempo para iso."

(Laughter)

(Risas)

"Another time."

"Mellor noutra ocasión."

So back in Abidjan,

De volta en Abidjan,

I was given a chance to lead a workshop

tiven a oportunidade de dirixir un taller

with local cartoonists there

no que participaban caricaturistas locais

and I thought, yes,

e pensei: si,

in a context like this, cartoons can really be used as weapons

nun contexto coma este, as viñetas realmente poden usarse como armas

against the other side.

contra o outro bando.

I mean, the press in Ivory Coast was bitterly divided --

Refírome a que a prensa na Costa do Marfil estaba tremendamente dividida.

it was compared to the media in Rwanda

Era comparable aos medios en Ruanda

before the genocide --

antes do xenocidio.

so imagine.

Imaxinádevos.

And what can a cartoonist do?

E que pode facer un caricaturista?

Sometimes editors would tell their cartoonists

Ás veces os editores dinlles aos seus caricaturistas

to draw what they wanted to see,

que debuxen o que eles queren ver.

and the guy has to feed his family, right?

E o tipo ten que alimentar á familia, non?

So the idea was pretty simple.

Así que a idea era moi sinxela.

We brought together cartoonists

Reunimos a caricaturistas

from all sides in Ivory Coast.

de toda Costa do Marfil.

We took them away from their newspaper for three days.

Afastámolos dos seus xornais durante tres días.

And I asked them to do a project together,

E pedinlles que fixesen un proxecto xuntos

tackle the issues affecting their country

abordando os temas que afectaban ao seu país,

in cartoons, yes, in cartoons.

en viñetas, si, en viñetas.

Show the positive power of cartoons.

Ensinar o poder positivo das viñetas.

It's a great tool of communication

Son un instrumento de comunicación moi bo,

for bad or for good.

para ben ou para mal.

And cartoons can cross boundaries,

As viñetas atravesan fronteiras,

as you have seen.

como xa vistes.

And humor is a good way, I think,

E penso que o humor é un bo xeito

to address serious issues.

de tratar os temas serios.

And I'm very proud of what they did.

E estou moi orgulloso do que fixeron.

I mean, they didn't agree with each other -- that was not the point.

En fin, non estaban de acordo os uns cos outros, non se trataba diso.

And I didn't ask them to do nice cartoons.

E non lles pedín que fixesen viñetas bonitas.

The first day, they were even shouting at each other.

O primeiro día incluso berraban os uns cos outros.

But they came up with a book,

Pero fixeron un libro

looking back at 13 years

que é unha retrospectiva de 13 anos

of political crisis in Ivory Coast.

da crise política en Costa do Marfil.

So the idea was there.

Esa era a idea.

And I've been doing projects like this,

E estiven facendo proxectos así,

in 2009 in Lebanon,

no 2009 no Líbano,

this year in Kenya, back in January.

en xaneiro deste ano en Kenia.

In Lebanon, it was not a book.

No Líbano, non era un libro.

The idea was to have --

A idea era ter

the same principal, a divided country --

o mesmo tema, un país dividido,

take cartoonists from all sides

reunir a caricaturistas de tódolos bandos

and let them do something together.

e deixalos facer algo xuntos.

So in Lebanon,

Así que no Líbano

we enrolled the newspaper editors,

convencimos aos editores de xornais

and we got them to publish

e conseguimos que publicasen

eight cartoonists from all sides all together on the same page,

a 8 caricaturistas de tódolos bandos xuntos na mesma páxina

addressing the issue affecting Lebanon,

abordando os temas que afectaban ao Líbano,

like religion in politics and everyday life.

como a relixión na política e a vida cotiá.

And it worked.

E funcionou.

For three days, almost all the newspapers of Beirut

Durante tres días, case tódolos xornais de Beirut

published all those cartoonists together --

publicaron a todos eses debuxantes xuntos:

anti-government,

anti-gubernamentais,

pro-government,

pro-gubernamentais,

Christian,

cristiáns,

Muslim, of course,

musulmáns, por suposto,

English-speaking, well, you name it.

anglófonos... de todo.

So this was a great project.

Así que foi un gran proxecto.

And then in Kenya, what we did

E despois en Kenia, o que fixemos

was addressing the issue of ethnicity,

foi tratar o tema da identidade étnica,

which is a poison in a lot of places in Africa.

que é un veleno en moitos lugares de África.

And we did video clips --

E fixemos videoclips.

you can see them if you go to YouTube/Kenyatoons.

Podédelos ver se ides a YouTube/KenyaTunes.

So, preaching for freedom of speech

Predicar a liberdade de expresión

is easy here,

aquí é sinxelo,

but as you have seen

pero como vistes

in contexts of repression or division,

en contextos de represión ou división,

again, what can a cartoonist do?

repito: que pode facer un caricaturista?

He has to keep his job.

Ten que conservar o seu traballo.

Well I believe that in any context anywhere,

Bon, penso que en calquer contexto e en calquera parte,

he always has the choice at least

sempre ten a opción, polo menos,

not to do a cartoon

de non facer unha viñeta

that will feed hatred.

que alimente o odio.

And that's the message I try to convey to them.

E esa é a mensaxe que intento transmitirlles.

I think we all always have the choice in the end

Creo que ao fin todos temos sempre a opción

not to do the bad thing.

de non facer o que está mal.

But we need to support

Pero nós temos que apoiar

these independent, critical

a esas voces críticas

and responsible voices

e responsables

in Africa, in Lebanon,

en África, no Líbano,

in your local newspaper,

no voso xornal local,

in the Apple store.

na "Apple Store".

Today, tech companies

Hoxe en día, as empresas tecnolóxicas

are the world's largest editors.

son os maiores editores do mundo.

They decide what is too offensive

Deciden o que é demasiado ofensivo

or too provocative for you to see.

ou demasiado provocativo para que vexades.

So really, it's not about the freedom of cartoonists;

De verdade, non se trata da liberdade dos caricaturistas,

it's about your freedoms.

trátase das vosas liberdades.

And for dictators all over the world,

E para os dictadores de todo o mundo,

the good news

as boas novas

is when cartoonists,

chegan cando os caricaturistas,

journalists and activists shut up.

xornalistas e activistas calan.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)