Ortifus

Who is Ortifus?

Antonio Ortiz Fuster, more commonly known as his pseudonym, Ortifus, is a political cartoonist, born in Valencia, Spain in 1948. Widely considered to be one of the best cartoonists and illustrators to come out of the Valencia Community, he started his professional life as a musician, jewellery maker, and textile designer. His music gained notability during the 1970s, when he was bassist for the bands Control and Orquesta Valencia, with whom he recorded three and two albums respectively.

However, he is more widely known as a cartoonist and humourist, a career that he got into in the 1980s, when his cartoons began to be published in a number of regional newspapers, including Diario de Valencia, Noticias al Día, Hoja del Lunes and in magazines such as Qué y Donde and the national satirical magazine, El Jueves. In 1984, he would find a permanent job as cartoonist for Levante - El Mercantil Valenciano; his cartoons would become, as time went by, one of the identifying features of the L-EMV. On top of this, he has assiduously drawn for Cartelera Turia and draws a weekly sketch for the national magazine, Magazine, for whom he created his famous character, the wizard Mago Asín.

His work has gone beyond that of a newspaper cartoonist. He has collaborated with the University of Valencia, the Polytechnic University of Valencia, the Generalitat Valenciana and The Pharmaceutical College of Valencia He has also been called upon on a number of occasions by the Valencian City Council to design monuments for the festival of Falles.