Puppets representing disabled children are the stars of an innovative Costa Rican spectacle that will tour Central America to educate communities about respect for individuals with physical or mental difficulties.

Elena, Marcos, Paola and Reynaldo are the four puppets of the project known as Con Permiso (with your permission), an initiative involving special shows in theatres and on television.

The artistic and educational route of the group began late last month in Costa Rica and will continue through the rest of Central America with a positive message for children about the fact that people have different abilities but are all equals.

"We want to promote the culture of proving that people with disabilities are capable individuals,"says Miguel Blanco, 32 and founder of the project.

Blanco and his partner, actor Christian Amador, say the time has come to carry out artistic works that highlight the distinctive abilities of the population that has physical or mental difficulties.

Cast of characters

The leader of the "gang" of puppets is Marcos, a boy who cannot walk due to cerebral palsy. He uses a wheelchair, which he refers to as his super-vehicle because it allows him to play and to travel at high speeds.

Marcos, along with Elena, who has Down's syndrome, and Reynaldo, who is blind, are accompanied by Paola, a friend who does not have any disability but serves as a sort of interlocutor with the rest of society, and the audience.

In the puppet plays, Marcos has recently moved to Paola's neighbourhood. The two run into each other several times, engaging in conversations in which he tells her that he can lead a normal life.

Marcos, who has severe mobility problems, reveals in a humorous talk with Paola how he takes a bath, gets dressed, rides a horse and does the everyday things that all children do.

Although no concrete figures are available, an estimated 10 percent of the four million residents of Costa Rica have some sort of disability, a proportion that is repeated throughout the rest of Central America.

"Our objective is to talk to the public about disabilities, but we don't want to impose the topic. We want to do it respectfully, which is why we ask children and adults alike to permit us their attention," says Blanco in reference to the project name, Con Permiso.

The image used as an emblem of the initiative is a door with a hand behind it trying to open it, an allusion to the necessity of opening up opportunities for disabled persons to express themselves and of casting aside the stereotypes that discriminate against them.

A normal life

Blanco and Amador have written the scripts for three brief plays and TV programmes in which the puppets Elena, Marcos, Paola and Reynaldo interact with the audience and share the message that people with different abilities or with physical or mental difficulties are not ill.

"We explain that people with disabilities face challenges, but that it does not prevent them from thinking, dreaming and leading a normal life," says Amador, 33.

The debut of the puppet show took place on June 30 at the Children's Museum of Costa Rica, in San José. Television broadcasts are scheduled for the future.

The idea behind Con Permiso is to take up a matter that can be uncomfortable for some people, and in some cases taboo, and present it to children in a natural, approachable and entertaining way, says Amador.

"It is important that children, from a young age recognise that people with disabilities are simply different in some small ways, but the same in terms of rights, and that they can play an important role in society," he adds.

Light-hearted script

The target audience of the project includes children ages five to 12, though people of all ages enjoy the show.

The puppets represent children aged 11 to 13, but their real size is approximately the height of a four-year-old. They are handled by the two puppeteers who have joined Amador and Blanco's project.

The language they use is simple, direct and includes numerous light-hearted jokes to capture the attention of the young audiences.

Amador and Blanco received the support of two private companies to launch their puppet shows. However, the staging of the plays has not been easy — evident in the fact that it took three years to plan and coordinate it.

"We would like more non-governmental organisations and private firms to support us so that we might continue putting on this artistic and educational spectacle," says Blanco.

The origins of the project date back to 1992, when Amador imported the puppets from the United States as part of a community theatre programme known as "Kids on the Block".

Now, with a totally renovated show aimed at hundreds of people, Amador and Blanco are increasingly caught up in this social-cultural project. — IPS