Teacher Irma Fuentes uses YouTube to encourage her students' interest in books.

Omar González Morales

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, July 6, 2025, p. 4

Since she was a child, teacher Irma Fuentes has been passionate about literature. Today, she teaches younger generations in the classroom and on YouTube, on the channel "Secrets of the Diamond: A Journey to Literature. " There, she unpacks stories, poems, and novels to spark interest in young people .

In an interview with La Jornada, the teacher spoke about this project, its goals, and the need to complement the education system to encourage new generations to develop an interest in reading.

This channel is dedicated to my elementary school students; it's because of them that I was inspired to learn how to make videos. I know they've read stories that move them and inspire them to imagine and believe in fantasy. This came to me during the COVID pandemic; I realized there was a great opportunity for them to understand that literature is an inexhaustible source of expression , commented Irma Fuentes.

The teacher had the challenge of moving the little ones through classic and contemporary stories. Her repertoire includes The Story of Two Who Dreamed by Jorge Luis Borges; Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne; The House Taken Over by Julio Cortázar; Letter to My Father by Franz Kafka; Pedro Páramo by Juan Rulfo; and Ciudad Escoria by Martín Kitch, among others.

Each video lasts between two and 10 minutes, during which time teacher Irma explains to the younger students the context of the works and their importance in literature.

Oral storytelling is primordial

"I consider myself very dynamic, so I try to choose stories with that spirit and rhythm, so that young people can relate to them. At that age, life seems a bit slow, so I look for lively themes."

Every story, novel, and poem has its own voice, and I strive to find it and create a heartfelt connection that they enjoy. Oral storytelling is fundamental because it's something primal. Since our origins, we've learned things from what others tell, but the way it's told is what determines our perspective on it , he commented.

Irma Fuentes finds a story, looks for images related to aspects of the narrative, rehearses the narration, and finds a voice; then she records it: “I include paintings, photographs, drawings… everything has to come together to enhance the plot. There has to be harmony in the elements, and it has to happen naturally,” she explained.

Young people believe in fantasy, and that's wonderful, because in that genre, although sometimes viewed with disdain, lies the essence of reality, albeit told in different ways. There are dreams, desires... it's a fun way for kids to learn about the world around them and themselves.

Fuentes commented that teachers' duty, beyond teaching what is structured in a curriculum, is to understand young people's concerns: "We must understand their interests, their tastes, and even their expectations; understand their environment, their influencers. We must dedicate more time to understanding them, because they are our future, but also our present, and we cannot forget that," he concluded.

▲ Photo AFP

La Jornada Newspaper, Sunday, July 6, 2025, p. 4

The Seine River welcomed its first swimmers yesterday in the heart of Paris. Diving in its waters has been authorized since 1923. Near the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame Cathedral, or off the Île Saint-Louis, residents and tourists can use, free of charge, facilities designed for a strict capacity of between 150 and 700 people until August 31. Authorities invested more than $1.65 billion to improve the quality of the river, with wastewater collection projects to prevent it from flowing into the river. Next year, the decontamination of the tributary will continue, and the installation of new bathing areas is planned on the outskirts of the capital. Here, postcards of the Seine taken in 1949 and today.