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CTC Family Guide 
A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings Family Guide 
A detailed description of the play, including things to do and think about, for parents to share with their families.
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A Synopsis of the Story
One night in a town that was forgotten in time, somewhere close to the Caribbean Sea, La Luna, the moon, makes her way down out of the sky to ride her blue bicycle through the streets. Her magnetism draws gypsies and hurricanes, clouds of miracles, and a very old man with enormous wings - a mysterious creature that falls from the sky. Two children, Fefe and Momo, find him in need of help. They are very afraid, but help him nonetheless, for somehow they seem to know when they look into his eyes that he means them no harm. He can't speak, yet they understand him, and they know he comes from very far away and that he can't remember his own name. They give him the name Afar. They believe he is an angel.
The children are not the only ones who have seen the creature falling. A woman who saw him fall has brought her husband and the sheriff to search for the mysterious man, and her dog is barking on his trail. Momo and Fefe hide Afar in their house. The chicken coop is too wet and cold. The wardrobe in their room is snug and safe. Yet their secret is soon detected. Their mother, Elisenda, and father, Pelayo, find the old man there and are startled.
They can't read the thoughts in Afar’s eyes like the children can. Is he a thief, a drunk dressed up for carnival? When the children continue to insist that Afar is an angel, Elisenda begins to believe. She has a sick baby and for a whole year she has prayed to God to make him well. Perhaps this is God's answer. Pelayo thinks not; Afar is a freak who should be returned to the circus.
Soon the whole town knows that a strange creature has fallen from the sky. They are curious to see this peculiar visitor, and Pelayo realizes that he has stumbled into a rare opportunity. He is a poor man. His family is often hungry. If he were to charge money for a peek at this creature - call him an angel to make a good show - he could feed his family and have coins left over besides. Soon not only people from the town, but from far beyond are paying to glimpse the angel. They are allowed to ask Afar for miracles, and they seek tokens to take away with them. Oh, to have a piece of a real angel. What a powerful talisman! Pelayo pulls feathers to give to the crowd. When the feathers grow thin, there are eyelashes to pull. Fefe and Momo are horrified as Afar grows weaker and weaker in his cage. Afar is clearly sick.
At first the villagers are sorry. They have asked too much, given too little. But then, they begin to wonder if Afar is really an angel at all. How could a real angel be weakened after all? Pelayo decides to stop showing Afar for awhile. Perhaps this tension will cool if he lets it rest. Momo and Fefe begin to nurse Afar gently back to health.
A circus comes to town and the family goes to see the Spider Woman, a woman who was transformed into a spider when she was disobedient as a girl. The Spider Woman is very much like Afar; trapped in a world where there is no one like her. She is exploited as a carnival attraction by a greedy showman who uses her without regard for her feelings. When Pelayo realizes the cruelty she faces he changes his mind and decides that Afar must be free.
Slowly Afar heals and Momo tries to help him remember how to fly. Fefe searches for feathers to repair his wings, and miraculously finds them. As Afar gradually regains his strength he begins to fly again, and quietly all around small miracles begin to happen. Finally Afar returns to the sky and as he fades away, dodging butterflies and lost kites, becoming only a freckle on the sky, the people begin to realize what they have lost: "We had an angel in our house," says Elisenda, "And I forgot to make new curtains."
| GABRIEL GARCIA MARQUEZ |
 Gabriel Garcia Marquez won the Nobel prize for Literature in 1982. There are many awards a writer can win - in a particular country or for a certain kind of writing - but the Nobel prize goes beyond that sort of favoritism. It is a prize for the finest writers in the world. Marquez won the award for his work taken as a whole, for his novels and short stories in which the fantastic and the realistic combine to compose a world of imagination, reflecting life through the lens of a distinct continent. The very short story A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings, is available in his collected stories. (We also have copies available if you don't find one elsewhere.) |
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| MAGIC REALISM |
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This story is written in a style which is called magical realism. What does that mean? Some writers like to create moments when what passes for reality crosses paths with magic in order to challenge our assumptions. Other writers simply expand reality to a size large enough to include myth, magic and other extraordinary natural phenomena. This second sort is the one we are dealing with in this story. When the Old Man falls to earth there are many different opinions about just what he is, but no one doubts his existence. It is not impossible in the world of this play to believe in mystical beings dropping from the sky. On the following page is a short list of books that might acquaint you with magical realism and Latin American culture. |
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| TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION |
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At first it may seem to us that Pelayo is cruel to the angel, but think about this. What would you do, or not do, to feed and clothe and care for the people you love dearly? The people seem selfish with the angel's feathers, but how far would you be willing to go at another's expense to get yourself a miracle? |
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| RELATED READING |
Abuela, by Arthur Dorros. A little girl and her grandmother ride a bus in New York City while in her imagination the girl flies through the sky over the city.
Ella's Trip to the Museum, by Elaine Clayton. A young girl visits a museum with her class and shows them how to experience art in an entirely new and magical way.
In Rosa's Mexico, by Campbell Geeslin. In meetings with a wolf, a burro, and a rooster a young girl is able to magically make things better. Spanish words are used which are listed in a short Spanish-English dictionary.
Isla, by Arthur Dorros. In a journey of imagination, a girl and her grandmother visit family on the Caribbean island where her mother grew up.
How Nanita Learned to Make Flan, by Campbell Geeslin. The daughter of a cobbler makes her own shoes which take her away to a distant city where she works for a very rich man. Includes a recipe for flan. Yum.
The Story of Colors, La Historia de los Colores, by Subcomandante Marcos. Mexican folklore about the origins of colors. Text in both English and Spanish.
When the Pigs Took Over, by Arthur Dorros. A restaurant owner nearly ruins his village when he hatches a big plan to serve snails - lots of snails. |
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