Percibald Garcia, a young Mexican architect, shows up every day at a massive Mexico City apartment complex’s public square to tell stories to kids stuck at home amid the pandemic.
Accompanied by a speaker, a microphone, and some books, Garcia broadcasts stories to children who gather at their windows to listen.
The idea of entertaining kids via storytelling came to Garcia, 27, after he heard the desperate cry of a boy who was lamenting that he was bored at home.
The incident made the young Mexican question the few activities designed to keep children involved and busy during confinement.
“The project was born out of a great concern to care for and help children who are in quarantine,” Garcia told Reuters. “Also to continue the tradition of storytelling, to get closer to children and to get closer to culture.”
Garcia arrives at 3 p.m. at the apartment complex and walks around the buildings telling stories. As children and adults spend their time listening to stories from Mexican authors, they tend to forget the lockdown for a few minutes.
“Here every day the musicians go around the complex and people listen to music, art comes to them from the window then,” Garcia said.
“I knew I could get involved in the dynamics of the homes if I followed in the footsteps of the urban artists,” he added.
Fernanda Silva, a local resident, whose son enjoys listening to Garcia narrating stories, finds the activity very engaging.
“We’re right on time. This is an activity that [my son] is very interested in. He’s looking forward to the time when they start telling stories, it’s his time to relax,” Silva said.
“He likes to listen to the songs, listen to the stories. For him, it is something very cool and for me too,” Silva added.
Meanwhile, another resident, Ian, found Garcia’s way of storytelling “very interesting.”
“They do this all the time because it’s fun and it’s entertaining,” Ian said.
During these trying times when almost any everyday thing has gone online, Garcia found a creative way to bring the art of storytelling to the kids who are confined in their homes because of the fear of the contagion, thereby inspiring them and keeping them entertained at the same time.
