Make Up a Story
Stories from Around the World
Let’s Dance, Happiness
This story takes place in Guatemala. It could be in the city or countryside. There is a mariachi band playing, and everyone has cleared a path, so people can dance. There are sounds of brass band music or Mexican music and people are chatting away. A young man is dancing with an older woman and making her happy. She is smiling. Her name is Mimi. His name is Guapo. We can’t tell if Guapo is crying. It doesn't make any difference if they know each other, but they do NOT know each other. These two are the first to get up and dance. Mimi and Guapo are very gutsy to be the only ones to dance. Mimi is the one who asked Guapo to dance. The two are dancing to the Star Spangled Banner, despite the fact that neither are American. There are two children in the back behind police tape. We don’t know why they are there. Their names are Pablo and Rosita, and they are 5 and 6 years old. The kids are happy kids, but they are not smiling. God knows why they are behind the police line! They are watching the dancers because they have never seen people dance before. The other people are not watching, but everyone is waiting for the parade to start. There is a man in the back who is stepping up on a chair. His name is F. A. of Jefe, and we suspect he is trying to step over the police line. He is trying to find his wife or his daughter amongst the crowd OR trying to spot a good looking woman OR waiting for God to see if he falls down. Once the parade starts Mimi and Guapo are going to separate. The two kids are very sweet and are going to stay there to watch. Tomorrow, the two are going to get married. Mimi thinks “Boy O boy I wish I had him.” Just because you’re old doesn’t mean you stop looking!! But the age difference is too great to be suggesting marriage. There is a 30 year age difference, so they are actually, in fact, NOT getting married because he is her grandson. We can tell they are related and he is her grandson. He is honoring her as a grandson would to a grandmother. It could also be a family setting like a fair where it is common for a young man and an older woman to dance together. After the parade is over, since Guapo is young, he is going to go back to his wife. Mimi goes back to where she is living as well. The kids will go wherever their parents will tell them to go. They will go to their home, their casa. Their mom will say “Ven aqui a la casa.” Jefe will probably go to the hospital because he fell off his chair.
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