Thanks to a program called Autor Presente in my state, I had the pleasure of visiting the Basic Education School Professor Erica Marques in the city of Terra de Areia.

Little did I know that the eighth-grade groups 81 (coordinated by Gizane Medeiros) and 82 (coordinated by Tatiana de Souza) had prepared an unforgettable day.

Group 82 read “The Fortuitous Meeting” and built a lovely model based on the story’s principal settings: Salvador’s main plaza, the sacred Orfu grove in Africa, Salvador’s port, and the Bahian forest where Gerard met Sacy. Spectacular!

Group 81 acted out an amazing adaptation of “A Parlous Battle”, under the direction of students Leonara Almeida and Tamara Silva. The play was a magnificent production of almost thirty minutes.

Os Students Rafaela, Guilherme, and Lucas play Arani, Oludara, and Gerard

Student actors from group 81

These two short clips give an idea of the time and effort that went into the production. It was an exhilarating experience for me:

Clip: Gerard and Oludara speak with Sacy

Clip: Gerard and Oludara confront the Kalobo

At the end, I took some pictures with the stars of the day: the eighth grade students of Erica Marques school.

I’d like to thank everyone involved: the students, the professors, the coordinators (Luci and Izabel) and the state’s Book Institute for making possible this unforgettable visit.

(Photos: Tatiana de Souza, Christopher Kastensmidt and E.E.B. Erica Marques)