The Eulenspiegel Puppets of West Liberty, Iowa, staged a joyous performance Monday afternoon for the pre-kindergarten through second grade classes at the Perry Elementary School.
The Perry Fine Arts group sponsored the show. St. Patrick’s School students were also invited.
The Eulenspiegel Puppets — their name is German for Owl Glass — gave a performance of “Stories and Cuentos,” a show developed and performed by Monica Leo and Mexican puppeteer Eli Portugal, co-founder of Mojiganga Arte Escenico.
“Stories and Cuentos” included two classic Mexican animal tales, “The Rabbit in the Moon,” a whimsical battle of wits between rabbit and coyote that explains the shadows we see in the moon, and “The Musical Ant,” about Hormiguita the little ant who learns to play the piano and brings peace to his ant colony through music.
The puppeteering troupe is known for their performances of international folktales and regional historical fiction, many with live music. Monday’s production used hand puppets, rod puppets, masked characters and music and incorporated both Spanish and English.
Our schools could use a lot more of stuff like this. There are precious few opportunities for children to absorb anything more than TV, mass media culture these days. Heavens, I envy the kids. I’d have liked to have seen this myself.