Microcuentos (A2)
A short story can have just several words or be several pages long. This trimester in Español Avanzado 2 we started our immersion into to the realm of short stories by exploring three micro-stories. We began with “El dinosaurio”, written by Guatemalan author Augusto Monterroso. This seven words text was considered for many years the shortest story written in Spanish. We then read “El murciélago”, an adaptation of a Zapoteca myth written by Uruguayan journalist Eduardo Galeano. Lastly, from the Argentinian Jorge Luis Borges, we read “Episodio del enemigo”, which stood apart from the rest due to the presence of the author himself within the boundaries of the fictional tale. At first, we approached them similarly. We explored their main and secondary characters, their setting, and their argument. We also personalized them by visualizing, in a quick drawing, our favorite scene from each one. However, we then spent time focusing on what made each story unique:
Monterroso’s story is only seven words long, does that change our perception of what a short story is? Can it be considered a short story?
Galeano’s story is based on a pre-Hispanic myth, did he change anything in his adaptation? What is different in other versions?
Borges’ story, though only one page, is filled with convoluted descriptions and tons of new vocabulary words for us. How does that change our experience as readers? Also, the end to the story is unusual, how and why would the author be both “author“ and “character“?
After our discussions around these three stories, it was time for the students to incorporate their unique traits in stories of their own. They started by adapting a myth from Latin America. Juanzi chose the Yanomami (South America: Venezuela / Brazil) myth of the discovery of fire; while Shanti chose the aztec creation myth of the five suns. From their adaptions, the moved on to include themselves as authors within the story. Lastly, they were challenged to write a micro-story (10 words or less) based on their first two stories.
Because stories are meant to be read, they shared each story with different Spanish-speaking members of their community. They first led a conversation with someone about their first story. Then, they read each other’s second story and visualized one scene from it. Lastly, they gave their third story to two different people to read and they had to write a brief continuation to them.
We hope you enjoy the original stories and the different ways in which they were shared! You can read the one’s we read in class below.
Microcuento #1: Adaptación de un mito
Microcuento #2: La autora dentro del cuento
