Patagonia Tales: Messages to the Rural Dwellers E-Book

Jorge Piccini

• Herausgeber: Cervantes Digital
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2023

Beschreibung

"Patagonia Tales: Messages to the Rural Dwellers," edited by Jorge Piccini, embarks on a captivating literary journey, seamlessly weaving together the enchanting culture and traditions of Patagonia with the boundless creativity of its contributing authors and illustrators. This anthology serves as a collection of stories, each offering a unique window into the rural life, featuring awe-inspiring landscapes, endearing characters, and the everyday challenges they encounter. However, these narratives go beyond being mere glimpses into Patagonian life; they delve into universal themes, exploring aspects such as love, friendship, solitude, family, adventure, and mystery.

As you flip through the pages of this book, you'll be introduced to a compelling cast of characters whose relatable emotions and experiences resonate deeply. The vivid illustrations that accompany each story are carefully crafted to enhance and enrich the tales, immersing readers in the heart of Patagonia. What's more, the inclusion of QR codes and links to the original Spanish-language audiobooks for each story provides an interactive dimension to your reading experience, allowing you to immerse yourself fully in the rich cultural tapestry of Argentina's rural life.

"Patagonia Tales" stands as a testament to the enduring importance of radio in the lives of rural communities, particularly within the Patagonian region. The stories within the anthology draw inspiration from the messages to rural dwellers broadcasted on Radio Nacional de la Patagonia, underlining the profound impact these messages have on isolated communities. Readers are cordially invited to embark on a thrilling exploration of vibrant Patagonian culture, where the harshness of the landscape harmoniously coexists with the warmth and solidarity of its people. This anthology is your immersive portal into the very heart and soul of Patagonia, offering a profound and evocative experience that allows you to feel the myriad sensations and emotions embedded in the region's storytelling and artistry.

Leseprobe

Copyright 2023

Cervantes Digital

All rights reserved

Patagonia Tales: Messages to the Rural Dwellers

Jorge Piccini, Editor

Dear readers, lovers of literature, and enthusiasts of Patagonian culture, I am pleased to present this project to you: a book of stories inspired by the messages to rural dwellers on Radio Nacional de la Patagonia.

As the author of the previous book, "Messages to Rural Dwellers: Over Seventy Years in Patagonia," I am convinced of the importance that radio holds in the daily life of rural communities in our region. Therefore, when the idea arose to collect stories inspired by these messages, I didn't hesitate to start working with a group of writers and illustrators to make it a reality.

The result of this collaboration is an audiobook that combines the richness of Patagonian culture and traditions with the creativity and imagination of the writers and illustrators who participated in this project. Each story is a window into rural life, its landscapes, its characters, and its everyday challenges. But it is also an opportunity to explore universal themes such as love, friendship, loneliness, family, adventure, and mystery.

This work features a variety of literary and artistic styles, making it a comprehensive and diverse piece that will surely please readers of all kinds. The radio is a vital means of communication in the Patagonian region, and the messages to rural dwellers are a valuable source of information for isolated communities. They are also a source of inspiration for writers and artists who have captured the very essence of life in Patagonia and translated it into their stories and illustrations.

Each story unveils a world of emotions and sensations that only these vast landscapes can evoke, from the solitude and harshness of the landscape to the warmth and solidarity of its inhabitants. Each story is an exploration into the profound interior of life in Patagonia, an invitation to immerse oneself in this world of sensations and emotions through the writings and illustrations.

Each narrative contains a QR code where you can listen to the original story in spanish language on YouTube platform. I am grateful to the authors for their writings and illustrations, as well as to Norma Cañumir, Félix and Sonia Baliente, Jorge Criado, and Aleph Recording Studio by Nahuel Criado for making this project possible.

I hope you enjoy the finished work:

Patagonia Tales: Messages to the Rural Dwellers.

Jorge Piccini, May 2023.

To Lara

Table of Contents

Three Teeth, Albertina Rahm

Something a Lot, Soledad Elifonso

Peumas, Elisa Rosetti

The Celebration, María Cristina Grandotto

The Return, Rosy Elifonzo

Huayquifil Marking, Rosy Elifonzo

The Bad Will, Graciela Alejandra Álvarez

Malevo, the Kettle, and the Mate, Liné Rodríguez

Revolutionize for the Better, Marcela D´alessandro

We're Waiting for You, Mom, Olga Torres

The Grateful Muddy Cow, Albertina Rahm

Escaping, Elisa Rosetti

For Dondesor, Norma Cañumir

Writing Together, Norma Cañumir

The Request, Norma Cañumir

And... If They Say That's How It Was, Rosy Elifonzo

Waiting for a Passenger, Edgardo Lanfré

Branded, María José Catalán

Birth, Fabiana Luz Marín

I Want a Radio, Roberto Escardó

The Birth, Jorge Oriola

A Note on the Gate, Edgardo Lanfré

The Pickup Truck, María Fernanda Archanco

In Paso de Los Molles, Albertina Rahm

A Well-Known Message, Jorge Oriola

Credits

Presentation

Patagonia, that vast and charming land offering unique landscapes to both visitors and long-time inhabitants, who know its corners in detail and understand how to adapt and overcome its challenges...

Landscapes shape the ways of fitting into daily life. On one side, the precordillera, guarding the sound of streams and the freshness of springs, and on the other, the steppe, preserving the sun of long summer days and the cold winters that freeze everything except the soul... All this land, with its riches and potentials, is enveloped by the same air, the air that carries sounds, from the fluttering of birds to voices bridging distances.

For a long time now, AM radio antennas have also been part of the landscape, enabling this back-and-forth communication among the people inhabiting the vast Patagonia. Distances and solitude are overcome by a signal, by a point on the dial that every day, at a set time, broadcasts "Messages to the Rural Dwellers."

And that's what this encounter with words is all about, messages that cease to be messages and transform into life stories, with real characters living in real places, traversed by emotions and feelings. The dust on any given road, the silence interrupted by the hoarse sound of an old exhaust pipe that refuses to give up and keeps facing the stones or brushing against the frosty snow, the uncertainty dissipated by the white breast of a southern crested caracara, forecasting a safe journey, the scents of the local plants, the whistling of the winds, the infinite horizon, and more... Everything appears in these stories that, in a unique way, display Patagonia's geography, its climate, its customs and traditions, the ways of life of its inhabitants, their lacks, their pains, and their neglects, as well as their joys in a meeting, their gratitude amid their chores in the long working days, unintentionally marked by radio ad schedules.

The receiver is turned on, and the signal is sought. Time stops for a few minutes, and a voice captures all the attention. It's an exceptional moment taking various forms that convey and suggest; they are postcards.

Jorge Piccini was able to compile stories inspired by messages to rural dwellers, inviting writers and illustrators to this project, from which emerges the magic of that moment when a message is broadcast and reaches its recipient. Those who wrote and illustrated the stories know about Patagonia; they understand its essence. It's a fantastic way to record and showcase the magic of radio and communication. It doesn't matter that things have changed over time, from a message written on a piece of cardboard (like those that come in yerba mate packages) to a message or audio sent via WhatsApp. The purpose is fulfilled.

Prepare some mate, let silence take over your space, and get ready to read and listen to these stories that will allow you to journey through remote places in a vibrant and real Patagonia.

Elba González, a Radio Nacional Jacobacci employee, who, over the years, has had the opportunity to get to know the scenario that unfolds around the Messages to the Rural Dwellers.

Three Teeth, Albertina Rahm

Illustration: Alicia Pez

The two women sit by the stove, the smoke seeping through the cracks. It doesn't seem to bother them. The mate gourd passes from one hand to the other. The aluminum kettle hisses, and on the stove, the fried cakes from yesterday are reheating. The leftover grease spills onto the iron, releasing tempting smoke.

Uberlinda pushes the protruding logs with the iron-shaped like an "L," but she can't close the little door yet. She says she bought firewood from the Cárdenas (fifty firewood sticks to fit nicely in the stove) and that they are shameless. The sticks on top of the cart are from chacaí, they look good; below, they add large sticks and even load the mule with willow firewood.

—"That's how people are, they'll take advantage of you wherever they can," says Rosalía, making the mate sound after the last sip.

—"So you've finally left Bernabé! It was about time. There's no reason to put up with drunkenness and, on top of that, mistreatment. Look, Rosalía, you can stay at my house until you find something, maybe in the town, or at the ranch, they need a maid. But don't go back to him. I'll help you. But look at your eye! This time the son of a bitch went too far."

—"Yes, the thing is, I couldn't stand it, and this time, I confronted him, I said everything, and that's when he got furious and beat me up."

—"And what happened this time?"

—"I'll tell you; it turns out I found this paper, see, read it. It's his handwriting. He did it for the radio's social service." Uberlinda reads it aloud: "A reward is given to anyone who found three false teeth yesterday. Please deliver them to Dr. Pires' office. Amegino 1076 before 2 PM today; their return will be rewarded."

—"I don't understand, he lost his teeth, and...?"

—"I didn't even notice that he was missing his molars. It's been a while since I looked at that lamb-like face he puts on when he's trying to be nice. You see, he didn't give his name or address; he asks them to take the teeth to the dentist's place. He knows I heard that announcement and wondered who the hell had lost them."

—"He must have been drunk..."

—"For sure, that's why he couldn't remember where he had lost them. And that's when the fight started because, on the day after the announcement was broadcast on the radio, Raquel - one of the Pacheco sisters - came to my house to bring the teeth, and she had no better idea (to me, she did it on purpose) than to tell me that Bernabé had left them behind at her place on Saturday night. That lying bastard had told me he was going to a meeting about the castrones' issue. And he was at that bitch's house. Not only does he try to make me look stupid, he offers a reward when he never gives me a penny, not even for medicine. I told him everything, so he beat me