We were told we should save some time on Friday afternoon for an event in the library ? some sort of sendoff. We had no idea what to expect, but at 2:00 the three of us showed up and were directed to chairs in the main activity area. The power had been out all day in town, so the library was lit by the bright sun streaming through the windows. All of the tables had been cleared out of the way, and kids were swarming over the place while preparations were made in a back room.
After a bit, one of the librarians came out and handed us each a book from the library?s collection: an illustrated version of Rubén Dario?s A Margarita Debayle.
Dario is widely considered the poet laureate of Nicaragua and a key figure in modern Spanish-language literature. Margarita is a classic tale that is familiar to Nicaraguans throughout the country.
It soon became clear that the librarians and kids were planning an encore presentation of a dramatic rendition of the poem they had prepared for a library event several months back. We settled back, leafing through the books while we waited. Unfortunately, it?s hard to convey the lyricism of the original poem in English ? in fact, John Holcombe has written an interesting article on the challenges of translating this poem.
Suddenly, the pageantry began, and the room was filled with children dressed as flowers, princesses, kings, elephants, and even Jesus himself. The costumes were phenomenal ? more crafty creations by SJDS librarians Heidy and Ruth.
The poem itself is relatively short ? it tells the story of a beautiful princess whose father had all sorts of wonderful things ? a palace of diamonds, a herd of elephants, a ?kiosk of malachite,? and much more. His daughter sees a star in the sky, and, being naughty, wants to go collect it to make a brooch. She journeys into the sky and takes the star. When her father finds out what she has done, he is angry and orders the star be returned. But Jesus appears and tells her that the stars are roses given to the children as a reminder of his presence.
The kids acted out this tale while we swiveled our heads between the books and their makeshift ?stage.? When they finished, we requested an encore, and they repeated the presentation. The flowers then doffed their petals, and we all shared refrescos and sugar wafers, along with some goodbyes. 24 hours later the three of us would be on a plane bound for the U.S.
Somehow, it?s hard to imagine a better wrap-up for our last afternoon in Nicaragua.