Bilingual puppeteers examine social problems

Walking through one of Flowery Elementary School’s halls, pushing a little cart, Refugio Mata and Leticia Rubalcava arrive at one of the classrooms where I am waiting for them to talk about their puppet show.
When I asked about their work material and the subject of their shows, Rubalcava answered, “We can mount a scene of small theater for our puppets “Chispita and Sparkle,” with music and a couple of special effects in just five minutes.
“What we are doing at the moment in our presentations is speaking about fireworks, about their prohibition in Sonoma and about the danger kids encounter if they are not supervised by an adult when they play with them. We do these presentations in English and Spanish depending on the audience.”
Rubalcava and Mata offered several presentations during a three-day period at Flowery, including shows and scripts that they created. “Some kids think they are too old to watch a puppet show, others watch carefully the dynamic we developed,” said Refugio Mata.
“Once the show starts and they see the puppets, you get everyone’s attention, and without knowing it, they learn and have fun with the things we do,” added Mata after their last presentation at Flowery, last Wednesday, June 27.
Leticia Rubalcava and Refugio Mata are both from Guadalajara. Rubalcava is 19 years old and she is taking Chicano Studies at Sonoma State University. Refugio Mata is 22, and has graduated from SSU with a degree in Chicano Studies.
Refugio and Leticia are part of California Mini-Corps, and they work within the tutoring program with migrant students. Both of them feel identified with the idea of becoming teachers.
“We wanted to be a part of something that would link us with the migrant students and California Mini-Corps gave us that possibility,” Mata said. “The experience of working with migrant students is very valuable if we want to work as teachers one day.”
During our interview, these two young people showed their concern about the high demand for bilingual teachers. “We need bilingual teachers, and that makes a difference in the students and will keep them motivated in continuing a higher education,” added Rubalcava.
“With our puppet shows, we intend to create a conscience within the kids,” Mata said. “It is very important to work with them since they are little, when we need to plant the seed of change.” Mata added.
At the moment, Refugio and Leticia have prepared several presentations on diverse subjects such as, drugs, hygiene, nutrition and matters of social conscience. The participants of the puppet program of California Mini-Corps are trained with presentation techniques using puppets as a way of instruction about the abuse of substances, security, mental health and self-esteem, in areas where there are migrants and also in summer programs. These puppeteers work with students as young as preschool age to as old as high schoolers in areas of Migrant Education. The puppeteers assist the migrant community by responding to a concern that is impacting the migrant community and today’s society in general.