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.
P.S. This is Caro
@Riley, I remembered your name at first because we had a bit of an argument over Trump's wall! XD. I'm actually learning people's names better now though!
@Caro
Oh really?! I guess I don't remember that! XD Oh well it is past! yeah I can remember a lot of people's names that are on here frequently!
@ Beth H
I really liked your poem! (My computer wasn't working so I couldn't comment yesterday.)
@ Wyn
I am so sorry I didn't respond to your Colverson's Secret sooner!
I loved the language you used! It again made me able to image what was going on in such beautiful detail!
1. 'It didn’t take very long for the party to be in full swing and they were about to start a dance.' Maybe take out the and change it to a semicolon, or dash, to make it a bit more clear.
2. I thought at first that Aspin was fainting, and then a bit later I realized that it was the amount of squirrels, but could you perhaps make it clearer?
Thank you so much for putting up for that, and again I'm sorry I didn't respond to it sooner! You're doing great!
P.S. This is Caro
@Beth H, that is an amazing poem! I can relate.
@Beth
Hey good poem! sorry I didn't look at it sooner!
Hey I wonder where Dessie is she usually is on every day I hope no more of her puppies are very sick!!!
P.S. This is Caro
I'm going to see if I can change my username, I don't know if I can though..
P.S. This is Caro
Wait, has anyone changed their username before? If so, can you tell me how?
@Beth H and @Caro
Beth
I love Narnia and that poem was stupendous!
Caro
I once had my name as E Y and before it was Lyssa Y, my sis kept changing it for safety. If you want to narrow my name down, call me Lili. We've always kept the Y in my username.
@ Everyone
Is anyone on Quizlet? I am edelgard_yuri14
@ Bethy H
Whoops, I meant that for Desarose but I did also LOVE yours. I sometimes get this burn to write a little prophesy in poetry, that's as far as I normally get.
The Little Chibi. A poem by Lissa
The little chibi,
In wherever it may be
Can have explosions
Of emotions
In whatever he sees.
Sad, happy,
Confused, angry.
Lines go everywhere
Sometimes shaped like a T
To explain
The feelings
Of the little Chibi.
P.S.
Chibi is a kind of cute comic art.
P.S. This is Caro
@Lili, do you know how your sister changed it? If you don't know, that's fine!
.
@ Lissa: Great poem!
We keep getting comments in increments of three!
Happy Easter!!
Happy Easter!!
P.S. This is Caro
Happy Easter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! He is Risen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He is Risen Indeed!!!!!!!!!!!!
Happy Easter! Happy Resurrection Day! :) !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@Bethy, Caro, Riley, thank
@Bethy, Caro, Riley, thank you!!
@Lissa Thanks! And I like your poem too!
@everyone Happy Easter!
P.S. This is Caro
Soundtrack suggestion: Tucks Everlasting
It is such a fun soundtrack!! It is a musical, a book, and a movie. (I've only listened to the soundtrack though {on Spotify})
P.S. This is Caro
Hey, I was wondering what you guys thought of a pen name I might use (my last name is really obvious, you could look it up and it would just have my relatives on my dad's side and my family.) Here it is : Alicia Kathrine I like it, I just want to know your opinions.
@ Caro
WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!! I thought you were a boy!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?! Aren't you? (No offense PLZ! #veryconfused!)
@ Caro
P.S. But I do like the name! =)
@ Caro
Great author\pen name, but Kathrine as a last name seems a bit...different, but the name is really fun! I recently read Tuck Everlasting and I like it so much! I have Spotify, so should I listen to the movie soundtrack, or the musical?
@ Lissa Y
I have quizlet.
@Belwyn, no, I'm a girl, Caro
@Belwyn, no, I'm a girl, Caro (pronounced Care O, or like Karo corn syrup ,) is short for Caroline :) And it's ok! I never thought to verify that before! @Bethy, Kathrine could be like a middle name, and I listen to the Broadway version.
:)
P.S. That was me, Caroline.
or Caro
or Caro
P.S. This is Caro
Ok, one more comment right now, So Caro or Caroline is me, Tommy is my brother and he never comments. I am a girl.
@Caro
Hey good name!! And yeah I had always thought of you as a girl I had never really thought of Caro as a boy name, I had always seen it used in short for Caroline.
@ Caro
OH! Makes more sense now! I guess I thought it stood for Carlos or something, IDK! Sorry!
@ All: So, I need some ideas for a cover for my Running Deer book. My uncle (who is a fantasy author, maybe some of you have read his books? Idk, he writes about wolves, dragons, and stuff like that.) is willing to create it for me on a site, but I'd like some ideas to tell him. Remember, the story is REALLY low key; not much exciting happens. Thanks!
@ Belwyn
Umm, whatever your Uncle writes about sounds like stuff I've read, but I've read lots of books like that...could you tell me the series, if it is one?
Book Cover: I'm thinking maybe a drawn picture of the village, in kind of a red-ish coloring all around, with it the top words saying:
RUNNING DEER (Big font, not all capitalized.)
[A] Story of a Mandan Indian (Smaller beneath the "Running Deer" small enough to completely fit underneath Running Deer)
And then this would be the picture, fading into red at the sides
Elizabeth J Robinson (At the bottom, in gold or red, or combination of both, like red outlined in gold or looking textured or something.)
If possible (I have no idea at all how you make covers like this) you could even put stuff from the story onto the words. Like feathers hanging off the R or bow and arrow slung around M or you could have the letters half-made of things.
I hope that makes sense, but you don't have to do it. Also, you could put a picture of Running Deer up next to the main title.
@Caro @ Bethy S
@ caro
So to change usernames, you logout and then head to account setup. Next you login, then you'll see usernames and can change, add, or delete names.
@ bethy
What's your username on quizlet?
this is mylee
@Caro I thought you where a boy to opps. Thats a cool nick name for caroline . I thought it was pronounced like Car o not like the beginning of caroline XD !! Sry ..
this is mylee
Car - o
care-o
@ Lissa
It's QueenMe111. But I don't know what you could do knowing that.
@ Caro
I thought you were a girl, but I didn't realize it was short for Caroline! Cool!
@ All Typelings or TypeWriters
I going to a speech and debate tournament, so I won't be here for the next five days or so! I'll try to get back to everyone who asks or posts something. Anyway, I won't be commenting, but keep going! I'll miss you all!
@ Bethy
Miss u 2, have fun! I'll get back 2 u about cover what u get back! Good thoughts, thanks! I'm not sure what the series is called, but I'll figure it out! :)
I AM BACK PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow! So many comments! Our internet just went flop for a few days so I'm just going to sort of (like Riley did) jump back into it! Although I have no idea how long this internet will last.....it was nice to have a little break from the internet though! So yep, sorry I was gone for quite a bit! Don't worry about puppy sickness, Douq is doing great and everyone is fine in the doglot:)
I AM BACK PEOPLE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow! So many comments! Our internet just went flop for a few days so I'm just going to sort of (like Riley did) jump back into it! Although I have no idea how long this internet will last.....it was nice to have a little break from the internet though! So yep, sorry I was gone for quite a bit! Don't worry about puppy sickness, Douq is doing great and everyone is fine in the doglot:)
Everything that has breath praise the LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So yeah, I have no idea how long internet will hold up, but I plan to enjoy it while I can! I’m sorry I still can’t load anything but the last page so would any of you mind to tell me anything important I missed? Thanks! Oh yeah, and I have a little thing I want to share, it’s a poem...sorry for all the poetry I’ve been feeling a lot like poems lately and write what I feel. ANYway, here it is… (Oh yeah, and Lissa, I loved that poem you wrote! Mine can hardly compare!)
The Greatest Story
The greatest story ever told
It never ages, nor gets old
The reason why is worth knowing
This story is still growing
The story tells of death so grim
We were its captives, our hope so dim
In fear of death we lived and died
Until my Lord was crucified.
His mother and others stood about
Crushed by his death and pressed with doubt.
Christ died that day, and all our sins,
Are now forgiven because of Him.
The end of the story is not yet come,
Death couldn’t conquer the Chosen One.
Sinless he died, and now in glory has risen
And many days after he ascended to Heaven
His disciples watched, all heavy hearted
They felt saddened because their Lord departed.
But they couldn’t follow, no, not yet
Their task was to stay on earth for a bit.
And make disciples from every nation,
To bring more, much more, to joyous salvation!
But the story doesn’t stop right here,
It goes on and on with every year.
For the Shepherd’s flock is growing
As more and more come into knowing
Of that sweet knowledge, that goes on forever,
For death no longer holds us in fetters
Our King has come, and he’s coming again
And with Him, our story never ends.
Everything that has breath praise the LORD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So yeah, I have no idea how long internet will hold up, but I plan to enjoy it while I can! I’m sorry I still can’t load anything but the last page so would any of you mind to tell me anything important I missed? Thanks! Oh yeah, and I have a little thing I want to share, it’s a poem...sorry for all the poetry I’ve been feeling a lot like poems lately and write what I feel. ANYway, here it is… (Oh yeah, and Lissa, I loved that poem you wrote! Mine can hardly compare!)
The Greatest Story
The greatest story ever told
It never ages, nor gets old
The reason why is worth knowing
This story is still growing
The story tells of death so grim
We were its captives, our hope so dim
In fear of death we lived and died
Until my Lord was crucified.
His mother and others stood about
Crushed by his death and pressed with doubt.
Christ died that day, and all our sins,
Are now forgiven because of Him.
The end of the story is not yet come,
Death couldn’t conquer the Chosen One.
Sinless he died, and now in glory has risen
And many days after he ascended to Heaven
His disciples watched, all heavy hearted
They felt saddened because their Lord departed.
But they couldn’t follow, no, not yet
Their task was to stay on earth for a bit.
And make disciples from every nation,
To bring more, much more, to joyous salvation!
But the story doesn’t stop right here,
It goes on and on with every year.
For the Shepherd’s flock is growing
As more and more come into knowing
Of that sweet knowledge, that goes on forever,
For death no longer holds us in fetters
Our King has come, and he’s coming again
And with Him, our story never ends.
@ Desarose @ All
@ Desarose That’s a really, really good poem!
@All I’m so sorry I haven’t been active on here :( It’s a lot of comments to keep up with. Can someone please give me a summary of what has happened? Also, any stories? Has Belwyn gone? Her book was good but someone tell me what she ended up doing because I’m a little confused. Another question (sorry!): did Elijah share anymore of his story? I promise I will help as much as I can!
@Above
@Dessie: Hey good poem! Glad to see you back!
@Mirela: Glad to see you back too! (Hey did you get my most recent letter?) Belwyn is still here, Elijah has not shared anymore that I know of. Um, there have been some more parts of a few stories, but not a ton. Things have kinda slowed down a little bit on here. I guess that is all for now, others can give a more detailed account if they want, but I am out of time!
Worms can destroy a skyscraper
@Mirela
Thanks for the compliment!
Warning, now we are decided subject lines can be a bother and now just doing anything for them. (While, I am at least!) So just to let you know that's why my subject lines seem so random XD. I have been having a lot of fun doing it! (Do you and Riley know each other?)
@Riley
Thank you! I'm glad to be back too! I missed this a lot...
Worms can destroy a skyscraper
@Mirela
Thanks for the compliment!
Warning, now we are decided subject lines can be a bother and now just doing anything for them. (While, I am at least!) So just to let you know that's why my subject lines seem so random XD. I have been having a lot of fun doing it! (Do you and Riley know each other?)
@Riley
Thank you! I'm glad to be back too! I missed this a lot...
(Now I don't know what to put in the comment line..)
This used to be CaroandTommy, I changed my username!!! Please don't be too confused. :) Ok, I just saw that aparently I had already changed it but I didn't know it was already working so I changed it again! XD
Lalalalalal. Story plots!
I thought of (yet another) story plot! Have you ever wondered why Captain Hook went bad? I have a whole plan... *rubs hands together* Mwhaha!!!
@Above
@Caroline: Hmmm......how? ;)
@Dessie: Well, we have never met in person but we are Pen Pals.
@Riley
what do you mean how? Like how did I change my username?
@Riley
Oh, wait, how Captain Hook went bad?
Pages