Alberto Beltran Garcia, 80; Political Cartoonist and Engraver in Mexico

Alberto Beltran Garcia, 80, a noted painted, engraver and political cartoonist in Mexico, died Friday at a Mexico City hospital of complications from a cerebral hemorrhage.

Born in Mexico City, Beltran began studying art when he was 15 and soon landed a job drawing illustrations for several local publishers. His illustrations were so popular that readers began snapping up books that contained his work, bolstering a publishing industry that was struggling through a prolonged sales slump.

In the late 1940s, Beltran began drawing political cartoons and illustrations for leading daily newspapers in Mexico City and across the country. Later he used his industry connections to found the now-closed, image-driven newspaper El Popular. He also helped start the Mexico City daily El Dia.

Beltran turned his attention to painting, engraving and sculpting. In 1956, he won Mexico’s National Engraving Prize and was invited to a number of Latin American conferences on painting and engraving.