To start this week and referring to today's important day, the World Autism Awareness Day, we have asked Charo Pita, the author of the winner of the contest "People with autism are also important", La Carrera (The Race), to tell us about her creation process:
La Carrera (The Race) was conceived as an oral text for a school storytelling campaign and an approach to functional diversity within the Sin Barreras project developed in San Sebastián de los Reyes. Already from the beginning, in its simplicity, the story seemed to achieve its objectives: through the teachers came news that, after hearing it, the pupils recognised from affection and understanding the behaviour of some classmates, especially through Nino, the character who in the story shows some traits of autism. Once the oral version of the story was consolidated, I decided to take the step and put it in writing. It was lucky for me that two events converged at that moment, the call for the prize "People with autism are also important" and meeting Lidia Sarria, who illustrated the story with imagination and affection. Winning filled us with joy. That was how La Carrera became an illustrated album published by Libros de las Malas Compañías (Bad Crowd Books) and started its journey alone through bookshops, libraries and schools, full of us, yes, of our images and words, but, at the same time, free, with its own voice, letting the characters find their echo in the readers. And the news keeps on coming. The latest, that in a centre for adults with functional diversity in Pamplona, as part of a reading and oral narration programme, the book they liked most was La Carrera. I would have loved to know why they chose it, what they got out of the story. I think it's important to listen and learn what they have to tell us. And I think it is also important that we gather their opinions so that, in this society in which we live, barriers gradually fall, especially those that prevent us from accepting difference, integrating it and valuing it, accepting what each human being brings from their body and their unique abilities. In this way, perhaps we will also ensure that the world of fiction is nourished by this enriching diversity and more stories will appear that reflect it.
Charo Pita
* For more information about our collection "La gente también cuenta" (people are also important) in which you will find La Carrera, you can consult our website. And to buy it, our Online Shop or the bookshops we work with.
