Battle of the Storytellers Ends

Battle of the Storytellers Ends
Dominican Republic, Santo Domingo, 05/23/2011

The members of the four teams that made it to the finals of the Battle of the Storytellers answered questions about the plot, characters, authors and context of the 18 works they read during the contest. It all took place in the Library for Young People of the Dominican Republic. (“Biblioteca Infantil y Juvenil República Dominicana.”)

“This event is very important. It is a model the First Lady has implemented that can be done in neighborhoods, clubs, schools and other settings. I think it is awesome,” said Marcio Veloz Magiolo, a Dominican narrator, poet and literary critic.

In an intense confrontation, “The Leaders” demonstrated an in depth knowledge about the stories they read. The fluidity with which participants were able to give answers, their interpretive capacity, among other things; were taken into account in the contest.

The judges of the contest were the Dominican writers Emelda Ramos, Angela Hernández, Reynaldo Disla, Marcio Veloz Magiolo and Dulce Elvira de los Santos. For each correct answer, the participants received points that were added together at the end to determine each team’s placement.

The Leaders team won first prize with a total of 167 points, followed by The Angels in second place with 163 points, while “Camelos Literarios” took third with a total of 161 points. Fourth place was given to The Boys, who had 154 points.

“This event is very important. It is a model the First Lady has implemented that can be done in neighborhoods, clubs, schools and other settings. I think it is awesome,” said Marcio Veloz Magiolo, a Dominican narrator, poet and literary critic.

For the writer Reynaldo Disla, it was an extraordinary experience. “This activity is motivation for children to read important Dominican and world works of literature that will allow them to grow and develop their intelligence. Literature is for enjoyment, and you can see how much these kids loved it.” Each member of the winning team received a digital camera, while second place received iPods. Third and fourth place got USB flash drives. Everyone received certificates of participation and souvenirs from the Library.

The Competition

For the second consecutive year, the Office of the First Lady held the Battle of the Storytellers with the purpose of fomenting reading and knowledge about Dominican and World literature in adolescents from ages 13 to 18.

Students from public and private schools and frequent visitors from the Library for Young People of the Dominican Republic are summoned to come to the contest.

The participants make teams of four and each one goes up against each other in elimination rounds. Together they fill out questionnaires about the story and each round they add up points. Out of the eight teams with the best points, four are chosen to “fight” in the last stage in front of a jury made up of the authors of the stories they are reading.