César Civita

César Civita, born Cesare Civita (September 4, 1905 — April 9, 2005) was an American-Argentine publisher, who in 1936 became general manager of Arnoldo Mondadori Editore in Italy. Following the passage of the Race Laws in 1938, he emigrated with his family to New York to escape the discriminatory restrictions, since they were at risk for being Jewish.

He moved with his family again in 1941 to Buenos Aires, becoming Walt Disney's representative in Argentina and founding Editorial Abril that year. By the 1960s, his publishing house produced nine magazines.

His brother Victor Civita emigrated to Brazil, where he established Editora Abril in São Paulo in 1949. It developed into Grupo Abril, one of the largest publishing houses in the country.

Early life and education He was born Cesare Civita in New York City to Italian-Jewish parents Vittoria Carpi, an opera singer, and Carlo Civita, a businessman. His younger brothers were Vittorio and Arturo. The family returned to Milan, where the boys were raised and went to school.

As a young man, Cesare developed an early interest in publishing, particularly related to literature and graphic art. He also got involved in cinema, producing a film.

Career In 1936 Civita was named general manager of the prestigious publishing house, Arnoldo Mondadori Editore. He and Cesare Zavattini redesigned Pitigrilli's literary magazine, Grandi Firme, incorporating cover art by Gino Boccasile and attracting the magazine its highest circulation. Civita obtained an exclusive license to publish Walt Disney's American comic books in Italy.

In Argentina In 1941, Civita relocated with his family to Buenos Aires and became Disney's representative in Argentina. He also established the Editorial Abril publishing house. Disney traveled to Argentina while preparing his upcoming animated film, Bambi, and modeled its forest backdrop after Los Arrayanes National Park.

Civita diversified Editorial Abril after 1945, hiring a number of talented illustrators and cartoonists from both Argentina and Italy, among them Hugo Pratt, Mario Faustinelli, Alberto Ongaro, Ivo Pavone, Héctor Oesterheld, Alberto Breccia, Dino Battaglia, and Paul Campani.

Civita was joined in the enterprise by numerous family members, including his wife, Mina (who edited Claudia). Their daughter Adriana became the company's chief correspondent during the Vietnam War. Following a change in government and return of Juan Perón to the presidency in 1973, his Minister of Finance, José Ber Gelbard, imposed regulations restricting imported machinery. Civita sold his stake in Papel Prensa to financier David Graiver that year. In 1975, a commando attack by helicopter fired on his 18th-story Belgrano apartment.

Civita lived in Brazil and Mexico for a number of years, and returned to Argentina after democratic government was restored following the years of the Dirty War. He died in Buenos Aires in 2005, at age 99.