San Theodoros
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San Theodoros is a fictional South American country in the adventures of Tintin.
San Theodoros apparently become independent around 1805 and a general named Olivaro had something to do with it, similar to Simón Bolívar. Its capital is Los Dopicos (which was called Tapiocapolis while General Tapioca was in power).
Fixing the location of the county is difficult, given the conflicting references in the books. It appears to be located in northern South America, most likely occupying a portion of the current states of Colombia or Venezuela, rather than in the vicinity of Bolivia. This is because the mountains shown in the books do not appear to be part of the higher, rockier portions of the Andes. The capital, Los Dopicos, is shown in Tintin and the Broken Ear as having a seaport, whereas in Tintin and the Picaros, it appears to be inland. It is possible that the capital's situation is similar to that of Caracas, Venezuela, where the inland downtown area and coastal suburbs are separated by a small mountain.
San Theodoros is a satirical version of a South American country under the yoke of military government. Military coups and counter-coups of generals Tapioca and Alcazar have followed each other with regularity – and soldiers switch sides every time. An interesting detail is the proliferation of colonels; during the Broken Ear story, the army of San Theodoros had 3487 colonels but only 49 corporals.
The country has a few magnificent Paztec pyramids in Trenxcoatl. (Paztec is a pun on Aztec and pastèque, watermelon.) In the jungle areas of the country live Indian tribes of Bibaro and Arumbajo. With Arumbajos lives explorer Ridgewell, who tries to teach them golf.
San Theodoros also has a hostile neighbor called Nuevo Rico. During the Broken Ear story the two countries go to war over the area of Gran Chapo – an allusion to the Chaco War fought by Bolivia and Paraguay over Gran Chaco from 1932-1935.
In Coke en Stock, General Alcazar is seen in exile, having been deposed again by his rival in 1958.
The latest information about the country is from 1976 when general Alcazar for the last time ousted general Tapioca during a carnival in an unusually bloodless coup. His guerillas wore carnival outfits during the operation. European journalist Tintin and his associates had their minor part in the proceedings.
The national airline is SANTERO.
Tintin albums with San Theodoros:
- L'Oreille cassee (Tintin and the Broken Ear, 1937)
- Coke en Stock (The Red Sea Sharks), mentioned but not seen.
- Tintin et les Picaros (Tintin and the Picaros, 1974)pt:San Theodoros