Last November Fundació Roger Torné started the Mapendo Children Tales Prize in order to spread Fundació message and task among people interested directly on publication for children: Kids tales writers.
This initiative has gone beyond all expectations today. To begin with, Fundació Roger Torné has been present in more than thirty different on-line media (news webs, blogs, and literature schools. Moreover we were interviewed in the program Encuentros broadcasted in Radio Santa María and Mundo Solidario (Radio Exterior) to speak specifically about this activity and other matters.
More than seventy works have taken part in the contest and the jury was positively impressed with their quality. They met on January 25th to choose the best work, declaring unanimously winner the tale “Margarita quiere fabricar montañas” due to its originality and freshness, its sense of humour and the use of metaphors and puns to refer to values such as care for nature or having an attitude at the community service, as well as for reflecting the environment vulnerability.
Once the envelope was opened we found that the author is Amaia Cía Abascal and that this is not the first award she receives. We got in touch with her and found a person full of enthusiasm about literature and nature. We interviewed her and this is the result of our chat with:
Amaia, how did you decide to participate in Mapendo contest?
I saw the announcement in the Escuela de Escritores web page and I liked the idea for several reasons. From a literary point of view I was interested because the tale to write had to be very short, which means you must summarize a lot and choose a very concrete kind of writing without using descriptions or secondary data. That means you must go directly to the point, to the matter you want to communicate. From an objective point a view, I was delighted with the subject proposed to write about, namely mountains and respect for environment. From a global point of view I was very satisfied to be able to join a beautiful project connected with helping children in poor countries.
Did you get information on the activities carried out By the Foundation before writing the tale?
Yes. Fundació Roger Torné web page is very complete and I think I could understand pretty well their philosophy. I was surprised to see a project that linked the concepts of healthy life and childhood.
Which ideas, regarding the ones that the Foundation gave to you, were the bases of the plot of your tale?
Especially the respect for nature and the need of coexisting with it by using the mountains as scenery.
How do you think Margarita looks like?
She is an idealistic girl who thinks that Utopias can become true (and she is absolutely right). Her ideas are very clear and she is tenacious.
I am sure Margarita is like that because the persons behind her (parents, school…) have taught her the importance of taking care of environment.
The relationship between Margarita and her parents is very close. Did you do it on purpose or did it happen in a natural way?
I think that, luckily, most kids have parents that would do their best to make them happy. That is why Margarita’s relationship with her parents in the tale has flown in a natural way.
At the beginning they don’t understand her but when they see her stubbornness and feel that things are important for her, they help her in an unconditional way. I wish I could be as Margarita’s mother some day!
Which would you say is the more important conclusion that a kid can infer when reading your book?
I think the key is in the moment when Margarita notices that the best way to build mountains is taking care of the ones we have around us.
The most important things in life cannot be built. That is why it is so important to take a lot of care of the things we already have. Obviously I mean not only mountains, but sky, environment as well as families and friends.
Do you think that initiatives as Mapendo Prize are interesting when spreading the importance of childhood health and its relationship with environment?
Mapendo prize, through a tale, will provide the children with all the ideals Fundació Roger Torné believes in. I think this is a marvellous initiative as I think it is creating drawings contests for children, organizing Respiro days…
Initiatives addressed to children are the ones that most easily can improve the future since kids will be the ones taking decisions in future.
How important do you think this target was when proposing the tale plot?
Yes, it was very important for me to know that I had to give the kids a clear message; a message connecting health and environment. That is why I think it is important that Margarita can place papers, noises and smoke inside her backpack as well as fruits to eat. And also, why not? A sausage sandwich, it is perfect after exercise.
Have you read the first Mapendo tale?
Yes, of course. I think it is absolutely delighting. Very poetic. Very suggestive just because of being so simple. Just using small touches of stroke you think of many different situations. It makes you think and feel. I loved the absurd idea of painting the air and it surprised me the many different ways to paint it.
What is your impression about Mabel Piérola drawings?
I love them. Especially the ones representing animals and things. They are expressive and have precious colours. I’m absolutely delighted and grateful to think that these drawings keep my tale company (or is it perhaps my tale that keeps company to the drawings?).
In Fundació Roger Torné we are all delighted that Amaia, a person who has shown her enthusiasm and implication in our project, is the author of next Mapendo book.
[...] where kids can grow safely. Like Margarita, the brave main character in the second Mapendo tale. Meeting the tale author has been a sheer pleasure for us all since, thanks to her, a book on the relationship between [...]