“Dancing Superman”, tribute to Christian Alfonso Rodriguez Telumbreone, one of the 43 students from Ayotzinapa. The orginal of this piece can be found in Spanish here.
Dancing Superman
By Patricia Sotelo and translated by Jorge Miguel. Illustration by Haydee Flores.
Christian is the only son of Clemente Rodriguez and Luz Maria Telumbre and has three sisters who long for his return. He grew up in the Santiago neighborhood in Tixtla, Guerrero, and was 19 years old when he went missing.
Tall, dark-skinned with black eyes, Christian dreams of building a future for himself and helping his family. But what he is likes most is folk dancing and has been performing since he was a child.
In the studio of the Casa de Cultura in Tixtla where he rehearsed, Christian’s white boots tapping on the wooden floor are missed.
He used to dance in the Xochiquetzal folkloric dance group and his classmates remember when he would arrive at rehearsals eating corn on the cob wearing a beige backpack with a long strap across his chest. He carried his dance boots there. They called him Clark, a nickname he earned because of his thick black glasses, similar to those of the reporter who became Superman, Clark Kent.
His friends in high school call him “Soncho” or “Sonchito” and at the Ayotzinapa rural normal school is known as”Hugo” because he likes to wear Hugo Boss brand shirts.
He graduated from high school with 8.74 grade point average of and his teachers remember him as a serious and accomplished student.
He entered Ayotzinapa because he didn’t have other option, as he really wanted to be a veterinarian or special education teacher, but this involved expenses that his family could not afford.
His white boots still sit in the studio where he used to rehearse regional dance. His teacher saved them for when he returns and stomps them on stage again with the enthusiasm of a great dance off.