Percibald Garcia isn’t an actor or voiceover artist. He’s not a teacher or childcare worker. But since May, the 27-year-old architect has been a popular storyteller among some kids in quarantine.
During the pandemic, weeks of confinement—no friends, no group activities—have been dull and dreary, especially for children.
“Almost nobody was looking after the way that kids were experiencing this lockdown,” Garcia says.
For months now, Garcia has taken his “wandering microphone” into the green spaces between buildings in an enormous Mexico City apartment complex. There he broadcasts stories while children listen.
During His time on Earth, Jesus told stories. He often spoke in parables because He knows that stories can reveal truth, overcome barriers, gather people together—and even change them.
Garcia reads stories like El Tlacuache Lunatico (The Crazy Opossum) by David Martín del Campo. He often plays songs by Mexican children’s composer Francisco Gabilondo Soler. Children pop up at the windows of the multistory buildings for the show. A few venture out with parents to sit on the grass or a bench.
“The public plaza has been extremely important in Mexico since the time of our ancestors,” Garcia notes. “It is where people meet, talk, where the life of a neighborhood develops.” The pandemic hit this aspect of life hard, because people have been encouraged not to go out or gather. He calls his reading project “De la Casa a la Plaza” (“From the house to the plaza”).
Garcia believes his readings help to reclaim those shared spaces—and stem the movement to a digital world. “In the last three months, everything has gone online—work, contacts, shopping,” he says. “This is an act of resistance in the face of this ferocious digitalization.”
Rogelio Morales listens from his grandmother’s window. Since March, the nine-year-old has spent much of his time playing video games. “The only thing I go out for is to walk my dog,” he says. “It’s a little boring.”
But of the storytelling, Rogelio says, “It’s nice. We can relax a little.”
Luna Gonzalez came outside with her mother. They listened to Garcia from a safe distance, both wearing face masks. “I imagine what the animals are like,” says Luna. “I get bored at home.”
Rogelio’s grandmother, Maria Elena Sevilla, also sits at the window. “It is not just children he is entertaining,” she says. “It is people of my age too.”
These days, most of his neighbors have cellphones, tablets, or computers. But Garcia wants them to hear the human voice—and thrill in the world of shared tales.
@ Dessie S.
Ok, thanks so much!
@ Everyone
I think I got 1200th comment and the 25th page!
@Belwyn
LOTR stands for Lord of the Rings, which, if you don't know, is an amazing book series by JRR Tolkien. Congrats on 1200th comment and 25th page!
@Caro
Nice
@ Amelia B.
Ok, thanks for the information! I've heard of the series and author, but never read it.
I don't like LOTR ;P
I don't like LOTR ;P
P.S. This is Caro
@ N&M. A, That's fine, everyone can like different books!
P.S. This is Caro
I like LOTR because it is interesting, exciting, with some sad stuff and some funny stuff too! And it is Christian, though non Christians wouldn't know it. But some people don't like it because(as an example) it is fantasy, or because there is lots of discription!
Yeah xD
Yeah xD
P.S. This is Caro
:)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) (Why did I put so many smiles on that smiley face? XD)
xDDD LOL!
xDDD LOL!
Someone fell asleep in his stew thinking about a lady
@Caro
Your smiley face has a million double chins:)
@Riley
ok, cool! So could you describe the two bows that you asked if Maple had? Because I um...don't know those names.....
@Nadia
It's alright I know a lot of people who don't like it! And I could understand why...I didn't like it until my family read it together when I was 12, then I started liking it! (But all the descriptions! Urgh! My dad says 'This is NOT a book to be read out loud!') XD no idea why I said all that.....
Someone fell asleep in his stew thinking about a lady
@Caro
Your smiley face has a million double chins:)
@Riley
ok, cool! So could you describe the two bows that you asked if Maple had? Because I um...don't know those names.....
@Nadia
It's alright I know a lot of people who don't like it! And I could understand why...I didn't like it until my family read it together when I was 12, then I started liking it! (But all the descriptions! Urgh! My dad says 'This is NOT a book to be read out loud!') XD no idea why I said all that.....
@ Belwyn
I can't wait for you to finish it!!! :) :) Great job!
1. This sentence has a lot of adjectives, so to make this easier to read, 'dome shaped earth lodge' perhaps put in a dash or something. (Betwixt dome and shaped.)
2. This is a bit confusing word choice, 'her favorite of her many cousins'.
3. At some point could you say why Running Deer is best friends with Bright Eyes?
4. RD and BE are the same age, right?
@ Desarose
Thanks!
@ Bethy
Thanks! I'm glad you like it! :D
1. Ok, I can add a dash there.
2. Should I just put her favorite cousin?
3. Should I put best friend instead of dearest friend?
4. Running Deer is one year older. (Does the part where I say that not make sense? 'Cuz I can change it if needed!)
The Voyage of the Dawn Cheddar
This is a poem I wrote for one of my books...Idk if it's good or not.....will you all let me know what you think? Does it make you want to read the book? Or not? Please tell me, this would be the blurb if I published that book!
The Thing You Never Knew
You didn’t realize what I did,
A secret never known
But I never did it for your knowledge,
And neither for my own
Why did I do it is the question,
The answer’s very clear.
Silent suffering for your sake,
And all who I hold dear.
You’ll never know, and that’s okay,
TYou didn’t realize what I did,
A secret never known
But I never did it for your knowledge,
And neither for my own
Why did I do it is the question,
The answer’s very clear.
Silent suffering for your sake,
And all who I hold dear.
You’ll never know, and that’s okay,
There are no regrets with me.
Your ignorance doesn’t change the fact,
That I held my ground for thee.
@ Dessie
I want to read it LOL
Ok, I'm stuck
@ All: Does tis At that moment, the thick, heavy buffalo robe that covered the entrance to the lodge was moved aside, which let in sharp, frigid blast of northern October air.
@ Belwyn
Um, I can't tell what you mean for the first couple words, but it seems like there's a bit too many commas. Oh, and the earlier thing you said to my questions would be good. Also, I didn't know you said that she was one year older...
Ok, I'm stuck
(@ All: Does this make you feel like you're there?) At that moment, the thick, heavy buffalo robe that covered the entrance to the lodge was moved aside, which let in sharp, frigid blast of cold northern October air. (P.S. Sorry about my comment above, I didn't mean to post it)
@ Dessie: The Voyage of the Dawn Cheddar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS HHHHHIIILLLLAAAARRIIIOOUUSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD XD Nice poem! :)
@ Desarose
Same as NobleAspirations (Nadia), I WANT TO READ IT! So very intriguing! You are so good at poetry! One thing I would say is that it seems a bit repetitive. But I don't know if you should change it. What story is this? The Forgotten Secret?
@ Bethy
Yeah, it was the part where it said, 'Running Deer sighed. That had been fifteen years ago. She had been one then, but of course, she didn’t remember that awful few days.' If you think I should change it somehow, I'll need some ideas! SOOOOOO sorry about that comment! Yeah it was a little wordy!
@Belwyn
That paragraph was great, I did feel like I was there. A few quick things that I noticed:
1. it would souls better if there was an “a” before sharp
2 you don’t really need the cold before northern, you gave that fact when you said frigid
2 1/2. If you want to keep the cold, then I think you should put a comma between it and northern,
But other than those it was awesome!! I can’t to read the rest. About a comment a while back, it’s fine if you put my name in the acknowledgments, just leave off the B
@Dessie
Your poem is spectacular! I want to read that book now!!
@Caro
Oh okay!
Well, you can't have your real name on there, so my username is Elisabetta. I prob won't be here the summer after next lol
Maybe just make a note about my username haha
@Everyone
Okay, so last May, a story popped into my head, and I hurriedly jotted it down. Over the past few weeks I've been fixing it up a little. Do you guys mind if I put some of it up for you to read and give me questions, comments, and edits?
@All TypeWriters
@Amelia: Sure!!
@Belwyn: Yep sure does!
@Caro: Yeah I am reading LOTR now too, but it is going really slow because I have a lot of school to read so I don't get to it often! :)
@Dessie: Yeah the poem makes me want to read it! About the bows. . . A Recurve is like a traditional bows used by Indians and in Narnia and stuff like that. It is one long limb that can be as tall as the person shooting it, and it has one simple string running from the top to the bottom. a compound bow is very, well, COMPOUND! It is compound, so it is smaller. About two to three feet in length. It has wheels that act like pulleys on either end, and the string wraps around it. There is also a cable, so when you look at it it LOOKS LIKE it has three strings but it REALLY HAS one long string doubled back and a cable. The compound bow is a much more powerful bow, because you can draw back say 60 pounds, but there is what is called a let off, so then when you hold it back, you are only holding like thirty pounds. SO you can take a really long time aiming. (My friend does this!) With the recurve, you hold what you pull, so you have to do instinctive shooting, where you pull back and aim for just a second or two and then release. You have to be strong with both bows, but with the recurve the farther back you pull it the more pounds you are pulling. With the compound, you might have to pull hard, but then you get a let off and it is easier to hold. If you are able to get to some computer or Internet way up there in nowhere in Alaska ;) then maybe look up a picture or some more descriptions. I will try to find you a more clear description, because I probably just confused you even more with what I just tried to tell you! Please tell me what if any of it made sense! :) :) :) :)
@ Amelia
That would be great!
There is not enough Ice Cream in the world
WHOOPS! I ACCIDENTLY DID SOMETHING WEIRD IN POSTING THE POEM!!!!!!!! (And thanks for the compliments guys! I think I will use it!)
Here is the original:)
.
The Thing You Never Knew
You didn’t realize what I did,
A secret never known
But I never did it for your knowledge,
And neither for my own
Why did I do it is the question,
The answer’s very clear.
Silent suffering for your sake,
And all who I hold dear.
You’ll never know, and that’s okay,
There are no regrets with me.
Your ignorance doesn’t change the fact,
That I held my ground for thee.
@Bethy
Thank you! I really like poetry… the reason why it turned out repetitive is because the thing copied twice. (Is it better that way, or this?)
No...this story has nothing to do with magic, while in TFS the main point is killing magic! It’s really short, about fourteen chapters long, and a lot of friendship in it. The main point is friendship and self sacrifice. (As you could see from the poem!)
@Riley
Hmm...I don’t think I quite understand… No offense! I’m really sorry I don’t understand it! I think it probably would make more sense if I actually KNEW something about archery, but I just….don’t. I’m so sorry! I hope that wasn’t offensive! :(
@Ameilia
I would love it if you would! Please do!
@Belwyn
Thanks! Me and Lori were talking about mice and that gave me inspiration XD And yes, your sentence did make me feel like I was there! Especially since I have...um...experience with the cold! It sounded perfect!
@TypeWriters
So, does anyone else write scenes from movies? Or watch, lets say, two episodes of a tv show then run off and guess write the third? And if you did, did you ever get it right? (Sorry all the questions!)
OH YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Puppy has made a 100% recovery! Thanks for your prayers, guys!!!!!!!!!!
P.S. This is Caro
@Beth H, Ok! I'll write it down somewhere! @Riley D, what book are you on? I'm reading the last one the fastest! @Desarose S, yay! Have YOU made a full recovery?
P.S. This is Caro
La, lala, la, la...
comment 1234! P.S. This is Caro,
1234!
@Caro
Hey cool comment number! XD ;) I am on the first book. . . only a few chapters in. . . like I said I wish I could read more but for government I have a LOT of reading to do in a very short period of time, and I have been getting to bed kinda late lately, so yeah I don't have much time to read it! But I will get through it eventually!
@Dessie
No offense at all!!! XD Yeah they are really kinda hard to describe let me see if I can find an official description. . . (looking...) COMPOUND BOW: "This is a modern type of bow that uses cables and pulleys when pulling the limbs back. Using a compound bow requires less energy thanks to its levering system, especially since there is less resistance when the bow is drawn. Compared to recurve bows and longbows, compound bows are more complicated in their construction but easier to control, resulting in improved accuracy. " RECURVE BOW: "This type of bow features limbs that curve away from the archer at each end when it is unstrung. Compared to bows with straight limbs, recurve bows are able to provide a higher level of energy and speed to an arrow. This type of bow has been used for centuries and is still used today in many archery competitions, including in the Olympics." These are two descriptions I found. Do they make any sense yet? In basics, the recurve is harder to pull, aim, and shoot. The compound is easier. Lets start with that sorry I probably threw WAY too much info at you that is just me I get excited when talking about archery and tend to just throw it all at once in your face so sorry!
@Dessie
Did you say you had shot some archery before? If so, what did the bow look like that you were shooting?
P.S. This is Caro
@Riley D, I wish I could just read books for school!!!! You're doing Government? Cool! So is my brother (the Tommy part of CaroandTommy{Tommy never comments}) !
@Everyone
Okay, this is the sort of prologue of the book. I know the girl who is ''writing" its first name is going to be Fiona, but I can't decide on the last name, I'm thinking either Grim or Dare, so let me know what you think on the last name.
It all started the night when the dreaded life-sucker came to our house. I was lying on my bed, trying to get some sleep after a hard day’s work in the bloom berry field when I heard it, the noise everyone fears. The slurp. It came from my sister’s room, on the lower floor, and at that moment I knew she was nothing more than an empty shell, void of life. The only thing I wanted to do at that moment was curl up and cry, but I knew better than that. The life-sucker never comes to a house to visit one person, it comes to visit EVERYONE, no one gets away. You are only lucky if it comes while you are asleep, because then you do not have to experience the overwhelming fear. I knew there was no hope of waking my parents, who slept on that floor, but I had a chance to save my brother, Teddy, from that same fate. After I threw some clothes into an old, worn out bloom berry sack that was laying on my floor, I rushed to his room and woke him as quickly and silently as I could. I hurriedly shoved a sack in front of his face and told him to grab some clothes and follow me. As he was packing, I knew the life-sucker was approaching the ladder to the loft my brother and I shared. I could not hear it, but I felt it. It felt like fingers of ice were stretching up from the ground and rooting me to the spot. A wave of hopelessness and dread washed over me, and I knew at that moment my life would never be the same. I pushed Teddy towards the window and motioned for him to climb down the ladder outside. I thanked the Creator that it was still out there from when my father was repairing the house earlier that week. I followd him down, and then we rushed away from the house and out of town to escape that fate. That happened a while ago, and I have not been back since. Now if you have never visited Ashkalaz or heard of what happens there you may not understand why I have not gone back; you could think I am a scaredy cat and that nothing bad will happen to me because they have already visited my house. But you are wrong. The life-suckers know how many people are in each house, and can tell if they miss one, or in this case two, people. They are relentless and will not ever stop hunting for the ones they missed. It does not help that the king will do everything in his power to track the people down because, as you can imagine, having someone disobey him does not make him happy.
@ Dessie S.
HORRAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
@ Dessie S.
P.S. Thanks 4 the feedback!
@ Riley D.
Ok, great!
@ Amelia B.
Ok, I'll make the changes! Thanks, I'll leave off the B!
@ Dessie S.
P.P.S. Not enough ice cream........yeah, no kidding! XD
@ Amelia
Ooh! It was most spine-chilling, mostly bc Fiona was so calm with the fact that her family was dying. (It's funny bc I was reading before the story, the comment which was telling about it, and then I was reading the story, but thought it was still part of the previous comment about the story!) Seems a bit like we just skim through quickly, but I'm not sure if you should change it...Anyway, good job.
@ Desarose
Yeah, now it makes sense! But the grammar of some of the lines are very...um, un-grammatical. Like this sentence: 'Why did I do it is the question,'
@ Belwyn
Okay!...Yes, I do feel like I'm there!
@Bethy
Thanks!
this is mylee
@Belwyn did you get anymore of your book about running deer done ?
@ Mylee S.
Yes, a little. The easiest part is jotting down my rough draft in my notebook; the hardest part is going back through, typing it out, and changing pretty much everything! But, yeah, it's going well! :)
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