In Un viejo que leía novelas de amor, the setting is almost another character. The jungle decides who survives, the river brings the news and the books, and the village of El Idilio shows what happens when settlers arrive in the Amazon without understanding it. In this activity, students create a storyboard of the novel's main places and explain the role each one plays in the story.
One fact worth clearing up at the start: Luis Sepúlveda was Chilean, but the novel takes place in Ecuador, in the southeastern Ecuadorian Amazon. Sepúlveda lived in Ecuador during his exile and spent several months with the Shuar as part of a UNESCO expedition. Show the class a map of Ecuador and find the Nangaritza River region together, in the province of Zamora Chinchipe.
For each place, students illustrate the scene, describe it with details from the text, and explain how it affects the characters. With students learning Spanish, ask them to use at least three adjectives from the novel to describe each place.
A small, isolated village on the riverbank, home to settlers, gold prospectors, and a few Indigenous people. It has a dock, the mayor's house, and Antonio José's hut. It is the seat of authority and of what little order there is.
The only link to the rest of the country. Twice a year the boat Sucre comes up the river with the dentist and the novels; the bodies that set off the story also arrive by river.
Humid, rainy, and full of life and danger. For Antonio José and the Shuar, it is a world with rules; for the mayor and the gringos, a hostile place to be conquered.
The lands where Antonio José lived with the Shuar and learned to hunt, fish, and survive. In the novel, it represents a way of life in balance with the jungle.
The highland village where Antonio José and Dolores were married. The highlands, with their closed society full of gossip, contrast with the jungle.
(These instructions are completely customizable. After clicking "Copy Activity", update the instructions on the Edit Tab of the assignment.)
Create a storyboard of the main places in Un viejo que leía novelas de amor.
Start with a fact many people get wrong: Luis Sepúlveda was Chilean, but the novel takes place in Ecuador. Show a map of the country and locate the Ecuadorian Amazon and the Nangaritza River region, in Zamora Chinchipe province, together.
Have the first cell be San Luis, the highland town where Antonio José and Dolores married, and the second El Idilio. Comparing the two places helps students understand why the couple emigrated and why the jungle was so hard on them.
Ask what reaches El Idilio by the Nangaritza River: the Sucre, the dentist, the novels, and the bodies. Students discover that the river connects the town to the outside world and that almost everything that happens in the story arrives by water.
For each place, students note at least three adjectives the novel uses and include them in the description. It's good scaffolding for Spanish learners; for heritage speakers, also ask for a comparison with a place they know.
When grading, weight the explanation more than the drawing: how does the place shape the characters? Also check geographic accuracy, especially that no one sets the story in Chile or Brazil.
In Ecuador, in El Idilio, an isolated town on the banks of the Nangaritza River in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Although Luis Sepúlveda was Chilean, he lived in Ecuador during his exile and spent several months with the Shuar. Clear this up at the start, because many students assume the story happens in Chile or Brazil.
Plan for 40 to 50 minutes for the storyboard plus 10 minutes with the map of Ecuador. You can start it from chapter 1, since the setting appears from the first page, or use it as a review at the end. If you do it during the reading, save the San Luis cell for after chapters 3 and 4.
Use three criteria: geographic accuracy (correct country, region, and river), details from the text in the description, and an explanation of how the place affects the characters. A cell that only describes the jungle without saying what it means to Antonio José or to the mayor is incomplete.
Ask learners for at least three adjectives from the novel per place, and provide a word bank (húmeda, aislado, lluviosa, muelle, orilla). For heritage speakers, have them compare El Idilio with a town they know and explain the differences with concrete details.
A few that work well: Could this story happen in a city? Why does almost everything reach El Idilio by river? How is the jungle the mayor sees different from the one Antonio José sees? The last one connects the setting to the theme of civilization vs. nature.