A combination of Spanish noun mono and verb tocando, ‘Monocando’ is a word I invented as a child to refer to a human-size male monkey doll that sang while playing a music keyboard. I actually wanted to say “El mono está tocando” (The monkey is playing) but at that early age this sentence was too complicated for me. But wait, ‘a singing monkey doll’? Sounds crazy, I know. Although I was very imaginative, I cannot take credit. He really existed. This mono was the star of this fabulous place my parents used to take my siblings and me when we were kids. Sometimes, my cousins and friends also came along.

The place was huge with indoor playgrounds, different play equipment and a restaurant. What made it really special was the show. The singing monkey doll that impressed me, scared me, and fascinated me at the same time. I was hypnotised. And he never performed alone: he shared the stage with a band of other cool puppets. Among them, I remember a fashionable hen and a dog that looked like Disney’s Goofy. It was a time of pure bliss for all of us. A place to eat, play, dream, make friends, and sing along. My favourite place in the world!

I am blessed to say that my childhood memories are joyous ones. I had everything every child in the world should have: food, clothes, shoes, education, diversion, a family that loved me and that mono. Growing up in Guatemala, I was more than blessed. There, thousands and thousands of children grow up on their own, in the streets, alone. After 36 years of civil war, a dysfunctional family or no relatives at all is not uncommon. Neither is teenage pregnancy, child abuse, physical and psychological violence, rape and murder. Continua a leggere→