I asked her on the phone once I congratulated her on her award: Sofi, what do you feel about receiving your first award? Pride, she answered, I am very happy because I tried to tell my tale well; I am not like the pigs that were lazy.

And it is that Sofía del Carmen Pérez Barros is the winner of the single award for oral narration, which was awarded by the Council of Performing Arts in Camagüey, in the Arte en Familia contest, recently launched on social media, to maintain its work dynamics from the challenges posed by the current COVID-19 pandemic.

The preparation process

Since she found out about the contest, Sofía was willing to participate, her five years full of dreams and joy, allow her to enjoy each tale as if she were living it, the one she chose is one of her favorites: The Three Little Pigs.

To narrate it Sofi prepared herself and by recording in front of the family phone camera, she always wanted to do it again and be better, she overcame her fears, the anxiety that made her move her hands a lot and finally, with great grace, she told her tale; In her version, she recommends other children not to be lazy like pigs and to do things well.

Her whistling with the zeta, a strong accent like Spanish, imprints a particular stamp on what she says, since she insists that before the wolf destroys everything with his blows; the younger siblings in this story had to prepare their home and work like the eldest, who gave them shelter when they were left homeless.

A final message

Many children, like Sofia, in confinement at home are bored; telling a tale in this theatrical way, involving the family, it is an educational way of spending time; as we fight the laziness at home and thus return to the teachings of these unforgettable works of children’s literature.

Almost at the end of our telephone conversation, I congratulated the winner again and I invited her to continue narrating; but, she has something else to point out: “At the end of my story I put on my face mask and recommended that the children take good care of themselves so as not to get sick.”

I applaud this beautiful initiative of the Council of Performing Arts in Camagüey, for motivating fantasy in the little ones, by inviting them to narrate in times of COVID and I wish the winner many good things on her path of the arts, in which seems she have already had her debut.

Translated by: Aileen Álvarez García