Juan Padrón

Juan Padrón (born 1947 in Matanzas) is a Cuban animation director. Since 1963 he has published sketches and cartoons for Cuban magazines and newspapers. He was the creator, in 1970, of Elpidio Valdés, a cartoon character (and series) with more than sixty shorts and two feature length movies. Padrón received international attention Vampires in Havana, an adult-oriented comedy feature that gathered a cult following abroad. Padrón has directed six animated feature films in total, along with many shorts, especially those with Elpidio Valdés as the main characher; and the one-minute comedy sketches for adults "Filminutos". In 2008, Padrón was selected as the recipient of Cuba's National Film Award.