G.G. Santiago obit

Rainbow Brite Creator G.G. Santiago Dies at 82

Santiago survived atrocities on the way to recognizing her dream as an artist and creating "Rainbow Brite" and other beautiful works of art 

She was not on the list.

NEED TO KNOW

Guntra Graudins (G.G). Santiago, creator of Rainbow Brite, has died at age 82

Santiago is being remembered by friend and fellow creator Muriel Fahrion in a beautiful obituary that celebrates the character that changed her career

Santiago was working for Hallmark Cards when she launched the character in 1984 and quickly saw her franchise bloom

G.G. Santiago is being remembered for spreading color on Earth.

The artist and creator behind Rainbow Brite has died at the age of 82. Guntra Graudins (G.G.)'s death was announced by a fellow creator, illustrator Muriel Fahrion. The Strawberry Shortcake artist was a close friend of Santiago's and was responsible for her Rainbow Brite-designed obituary.

"Gigi, the legendary creator of RAINBOW BRITE and my dear friend has passed away. Gigi Santiago, famous for having created Rainbow Brite, was a special friend of mine. We grew up at American Greetings, creating art. Our styles were similar because it was kind of the look of the greeting cards and especially in the cute, whimsy category. But I stayed at American Greeting and Gigi went on to Hallmark. I had created the Strawberry Shortcake line and was well into the Care Bears when Gigi developed the Rainbow Brite line for Hallmark," she shared.

"How close were we? We lived about two blocks from where Gigi lived. Michael, my husband, and I would double date with Gigi and Jesse Santiago. She was a very tall, Latin blonde woman with a tiny sweet voice. He was a smallish-sized Puerto Rican guy with the best sense of humor, who loved her more than anybody ever loved anybody else and planted her flowers wherever they lived," Fahrion continued.

"Her talent was natural and long-lasting. She could draw. She could paint. She could sculpt. We loved each other. I have so many marvelous stories of her, but I won’t have time to even tell you this obituary."

Fahrion did recall one time, in the late 1990s, when she and Santiago teamed up to create angel sculptures and though they were late, were some of the best-selling in the collection.

"My boss could’ve fired me then, but he didn’t. And that angel showed the world another part of Gigi's talent. Yes, I’m crying," she concluded.

Beautiful not only in design, the obituary shares Santiago's life story. Born in Latvia, she grew up in the thick of World War II and witnessed her grandfather's execution and father's abduction alongside the rest of her family. They were taken to an Allied refugee camp, where they would later be reunited with her dad after he survived, escaped where he was, and found them.

After surviving the trauma of war, the family moved to America, where Santiago had the opportunity to indulge in her artist talent for the first time. She was still young when she got her opportunity, first with American Greetings and later, with Hallmark. It was at Hallmark that she first created Rainbow Brite, who would meet the world, launch an animated TV show, and get a doll line with Mattel, all within the span of 1984.

"G.G. always believed that her creativity was not merely a career, but salvation. She often reflected that God had allowed her artistic gift to become the very means by which her family rebuilt their lives in America. Fluent in German, Latvian, English and Spanish, she carried both the weight and richness of many cultures within her. Bubbly and gregarious in her earlier years, she later found comfort in smaller circles and deeper connections," the obituary reads.

Santiago is survived by her son, Jesse, whom she shared with late husand Waldemar “Jesse” Santiago, to whom she was married for 26 years.