The Story of Billiken

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Professor Lauren Rea takes us to the archives of Billiken, the world’s longest-running children’s magazine, in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since 2012, this academic from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities has been immersed in telling the story of this extraordinary magazine with her findings published in the open access Children’s Culture and Citizenship in Argentina: A History of Billiken Magazine, 1919- 2019 (York: White Rose University Press, 2023) and in La historia de Billiken (Buenos Aires: Sudamericana/Penguin Random House, 2024).

In this film, Lauren is joined by her industry colleagues, Euhen Matarozzo, director of Billiken, and Juan Astibia, president of parent company Grupo Atlántida, to discuss how her historical research has impacted on Billiken’s future. Together, they tell the story of the brand’s transition from print to digital and how the adoption of new, more inclusive narratives was led by their collaborative transmedia Great Latin American Women Project.

La Dra Lauren Rea nos lleva a los archivos de Billiken, la revista infantil de más larga trayectoria del mundo, en Buenos Aires, Argentina. Desde 2012, esta académica de la Universidad de Sheffield investiga la historia de la extraordinaria revista, y sus hallazgos se publicaron en el libro de acceso abierto Children's Culture and Citizenship in Argentina: A History of Billiken Magazine, 1919-2019 (York: White Rose University Press, 2023) y en La historia de Billiken (Buenos Aires: Sudamericana/Penguin Random House, 2024).

En este video, Lauren y sus colegas Euhen Matarozzo, director de Billiken, y Juan Astibia, presidente de la empresa matriz Grupo Atlántida, cuentan cómo la investigación histórica impactó en el futuro de Billiken. Reflexionan sobre la transición de la marca del papel al mundo digital y cuentan cómo la adopción de nuevas narrativas más inclusivas fue liderada por el proyecto colaborativo transmedia Grandes Mujeres Latinoamericanas.