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Pitre, a storyteller and musician from Puerto Rico, talks about the importance of storytelling.
How did you get your start as a storyteller?
I started out as an actor. I went to a performing arts high school and I got
a degree in theater. I did all the actor stuff, doing the rounds and everything.
We had a trade paper called Backstage, where would look for jobs. And
one day I saw an ad to put together a program for Newark Museum in New Jersey.
I put together a one man show of stories and music I heard when I was growing
up. They hired me. That was my first professional storytelling job.
Does the show change each time you do it?
It encompasses the whole of Latin America. I do animal tales about conservation
and learning to take care of the animals, and I do a show called "The Caribbean
and Columbus, More to the Story." That's about the history of Columbus coming
here, and what happened from the natives' point of view. If something really
works, I'll put it in the show; like the coqui, which was originally from the
Columbus show. Sometimes I bring in new things, like the song and slide show
about San Juan.
Are there any stories or songs or pieces that get a particularly positive
response?
Well they, like the story Juan Bobo and the Pig—the one that I told in the
show. Because, you know, he’s the folk hero and he’s the one that everybody
makes fun of, but he turned out to be the smartest one.
Every country has their Juan Bobo. In Mexico they call him Pepe. John Simpleton,
in Europe and European folktales.
Are there other Juan Bobo stories you use in the show?
Yes, I did one story where he’s sent to get some honey, and the flies around
him, and he calls the flies "Las
Senoritas with Mantillas."
He’s yelling about those little senoritas with the mantillas and then they
bring him up before the judge, and the judge says, "What’s going on?" And they
say he’s out there yelling about senoritas mantillas, and then the policeman
tells them it was the flies and Juan Bobo keeps calling them senoritas mantillas.
The judge laughs at Juan Bobo and says, "Well look, I give you my permission,
if you see the senoritas of the mantillas, you can smack ‘em." And at that moment
the fly lands on the judge’s nose. And Juan Bobo jumps up and gives the judge
a smack on the nose.
What role has storytelling played in your life?
We have an expression in Spanish. We say “Si es mudo explota.” If you could
not speak, you would explode. And that’s the way I feel sometimes. So for me
storytelling has been a way to talk about things, to reach people, to express
myself, to make connections with people.
What is the role of the storyteller today?
I think one of the important things is to pass on tradition, because we tend
to lose a lot of traditions. When I was growing up, we were like the Puerto
Rican Waltons. We had a grandfather, we had uncles, aunts, and cousins living
together. Today we’re spread out. So there is a disconnection from your line
and your history, and I think storytelling and sharing stories helps to make
a connection and keep that growing.
Do people share stories less than they used to?
Yeah, I think that’s a problem because they’ve lost a tradition. Sometimes
I tell the Juan Bobo story and somebody comes to me and says, “My mother used
to tell me that when I was a kid. And when you told that story, you brought
back those memories.” People forget or they never learned some things, or were
never told some things, and they don’t realize how important it is to share
this with your children and grandchildren.
What advice would you give to a students who want to do what you’re
doing?
Like I tell my own children, the main thing is don’t limit yourself. Don’t
put borders on what you can and cannot do. Explore. See. Whatever you enjoy
doing, do it. There are going be enough people telling you what you can’t do.
Don’t you be one of them.
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