ABSTRACT
Loudly, in English: “Okay everyone, you know the game, it’s the matches game,” Hilario announces shaking the box of matches as the teenagers noisily form a large circle. The teacher strikes a wax match and passes it to the fi rst student. The match is passed around to a chorus of shouts of encouragement, dripping melted wax and scorching fi ngertips, until it gets to Lourdes. She can’t grasp the stub; it burns her fi nger and falls the ground. Loud cheers reverberate from the concrete walls, and Hilario says in English: “Lourdes, you lost the matches game, and you have to answer the question. Are you ready?” Suddenly the corrugated tin roof shakes for a few seconds. A small earthquake. The students pause and look at the walls to see they’ve stopped shaking, and then the lesson continues.
