From comic to cinema: this is how Cindy la Regia was created

Ricardo Cucamonga never thought that one of his comic strip characters would make the leap to the big screen. But Cindy La Regia has done just that.

The movie based on Ricardo’s character premieres on January 24 in Mexico, and joins a list of his achievements, including having one of the best-selling books in 2012.

The movie was produced by Francisco González Compeán, who was also producer on the film Amores Perros.

At the premiere, held a few days ago in the city of Monterrey, Ricardo finally got the chance to see Cindy in the flesh.

“I never thought so many people would turn up in support. I cried at the end of the movie. I remembered all the people who’ve supported me, the fans and the public. I’ve dedicated my latest book to them,” he said in an interview with CONECTA.

THE CREATION OF A SATIRICAL CHARACTER 

Ricardo Velderrain, known as Ricardo Cucamonga, began creating characters while studying Marketing at Tec de Monterrey.

The graduate created Cindy la Regia between 2005 and 2006, based on anecdotes from one of his colleagues while he was working at an advertising agency.

“Cindy was based on things I saw in Monterrey. There was pressure on girls to get married, where it was very evident that they had to find the perfect match, and it lent itself to comedy,” said Ricardo.

Cucamonga created the character in order to make satirical observations to get people talking about topics such as feminism or classism.

“There was a lot of criticism on the internet. Some people believed that what the character says is what I thought. The same criticism has come up again with the premiere of the film,” he said.

Ricardo believes that the success of his character is precisely because people have opinions about Cindy and there’s a debate between those in favor and those against.

HOW HIS BOOKS TOOK HIM TO THE CINEMA

At the end of 2004, his comic strip began to become popular on social networks such as MySpace.

At the same time, Ricardo created a blog where he published weekly comics, which began to gain notoriety through Twitter and Facebook.

As a result of that, Cucamonga was invited to publish in newspapers such as Milenio, Publimetro, and El Universal, as well as Récord, where he created another comic called Regiolandia.

“When I was at school, I just did drawings for my friends. I suddenly found I’d created a vocation for myself,” said Ricardo.

In 2012, Cindy la Regia became a book called “Cómo casarse tipo bien” (How to marry well), the first of four.

“Cómo ser una niña tipo bien” (How to be a good girl) would come out in 2013, “Cómo superar a tu Ex” (How to get over your Ex) in 2015, and “El día que la princesa perdió la cabeza” (The day the princess lost it) in 2019.

Francisco Compeán, producer of the movie Amores Perros, approached him over Twitter.

“He told me who he was and that he’d liked my character and wanted to do something with it,” said Ricardo.

Compeán was later joined by Martha Sosa, whom he hadn’t worked with since Amores Perros, María Hinojosa, who wrote the script, and Cassandra Sánchez-Navarro as the lead.

The movie was directed by Catalina Aguilar Mastretta and Santiago Limón, and includes performances from Regina Blandón and Martha Debayle. It premieres on January 24 in Mexico.

IS CINDY LA REGIA A FEMINIST? 

Ricardo says that the premise of the movie has been adapted to a modern setting, where there are now more opportunities for women than just getting married or finding the love of their life.

“It was a 10-year-long process. We had an original idea when we began, but Maria Hinojosa updated the character to the present time,” said Ricardo.

The movie tells the story of Cindy, originally from San Pedro, Nuevo León, who flees to Mexico City after deciding that she doesn’t want to marry her boyfriend.

There, she will have to face new challenges and will have opportunities in her personal and professional life.

“It’s a very female project. The movie is a completely feminist story,” said Ricardo.

CINDY LA REGIA HERE TO STAY

Now, Ricardo will continue working on his passion after the publication of his latest book: “El día que la princesa perdió la cabeza” (The day the princess lost it).

Here, Cucamonga narrates Cindy’s adventures in Mexico City in search of love in the modern era.

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