Fiction & Facts of Puerto Rican Heritage with ‘Timestorm’
Part of learning about the world and your place in it stems from learning about the many, many cultures the world has to offer — including your own!
“Timestorm” is about that discovery.
“Timestorm” is an audio fiction series produced by Cocotazo Media in partnership with TRAX, about a set of twins yanked into another dimension where they meet a distant cousin who gives them an extraordinary mission: travel through time to preserve their Puerto Rican culture and history. Through the Ventura twins’ adventures, listeners are exposed to storytelling, history, and music (both original sounds and centuries-old pieces), from three continents and centuries.
To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month we talked with the producers of “Timestorm,” Dania Ramos and Michael Aquino, both of whom are of Puerto Rican descent, about how they use Puerto Rico’s culture as a catalyst for the plot, and why this story was important for them to make.
Dania Ramos
Series Creator / Head Writer / Showrunner
Michael Aquino
Audio Engineer / Sound Designer / Composer
The Ventura twins’ entire mission is to preserve their Puerto Rican culture. Why did you decide to use culture as a driving force for the story’s plot and how are you executing that?
DR: Michael and I were both born and raised in New Jersey, and we grew up visiting family in Puerto Rico. So we were truly excited to tell this story about stateside Puerto Rican kids connecting to the history and culture of the island where their parents were born.
Initially, I had planned for most of the cultural aspects to be centered around the storylines set in the past, showing the Ventura twins visiting historical landmarks, figures, and events. After Hurricane Maria hit Puerto Rico in the fall of 2017, Michael and I felt it was important to also address the island’s new reality. I expanded the present-day storyline so it included the Ventura family and the local Puerto Rican community coming together for hurricane relief efforts. This also allowed the twins to connect the preservation of their culture’s past with what they were experiencing in the present.
MA: Culture is the lifeblood of many Latinx communities. In terms of the sound design, my approach is to incorporate the textures, sounds, and rhythms of the city where I grew up and the towns I have visited in Puerto Rico. I try to replicate that as authentically as I can in order to capture the rich culture found in the twins’ neighborhood and in all the times and places they visit so that it sonically hits home.
How do you choose which culturally significant people or places you want to feature in the series?
DR: Michael and I did some research and made an initial list of names of historical figures from the fifteenth through twentieth centuries who had made an impact on Puerto Rican heritage. I was especially drawn to people who were overlooked either in their own time or throughout history. There are several historical storylines centered around lesser-known names with the more famous individuals playing supporting roles. I also considered how a character’s storyline would fit into the theme of the season. The Ventura twins are usually given a quest that involves finding an “artifact” related to the person or place they visit, so I also thought about what physical object would serve as the artifact.
Timestorm so beautifully illustrates that Puerto Rican heritage is a combination of many cultures — including European, African, and of course, Taíno — particularly in the second season.
Why did you decide to expand that view in the second season?
DR: One of the main things we wanted to explore in “Timestorm” was the complexity of Puerto Rican identity, which is one of the main themes of season two.
We delve into ethnicity and race by having the Ventura twins visit the three Motherlands or continents — Europe, Africa, and the Americas — that comprise the mix present in Puerto Rican heritage. We were eager to use art in different forms — storytelling, painting, and music — to highlight the contributions of these various cultures.
MA: We knew that rhythm was going to be key in season two. We brought in musicians who had expertise with the styles and instruments we were looking to highlight. These included rhythms used in Wolof/Senegalese and Taíno rituals, classical guitar from Spain, and Puerto Rican bomba, which is rooted in African drumming. I was also interested in exploring how these rhythms intersect.
As the season progresses, you can hear how I merged the different rhythms to create some of our scene transitions and interludes. We’ll be releasing an epic uncut version of this music featured on an upcoming behind-the-scenes episode.
Being a show about time travel, we get to see an evolution of Puerto Rican culture and how it appears in different contexts.
How do you connect people in the past to people in the present (both characters and listeners)?
DR: The historical episodes typically include a child or teen character who interacts with the Ventura twins. These storylines also involve an issue or conflict the twins’ are facing in their contemporary lives.
In the episode, Before He Was Cacique, the twins meet Aguey, an insecure teenager who is afraid to recite the native Taíno creation tale in front of his village. The twins learn that Aguey will eventually go on to become a great Taíno leader. But showing him as a teen doubting his ability mirrors what the twins - and likely some of our audience members - are going through in the twenty-first century.
Were there any particular parts of Puerto Rican culture that were important for you to incorporate into the show?
DR: In addition to highlighting educators, artists, social leaders, native Taíno chiefs, and everyday Puerto Ricans, we also wanted to showcase some of the iconic buildings and landmarks on the island.
In season one, the twins find themselves in the famous theatre Teatro La Perla in Ponce during a concert by Afro-Cuban violinist Claudio Brindis de Salas Garrido. Now, Brindis de Salas did give a concert in that venue, but there is no recording of that event so we had to imagine what it would have sounded like to be in that space at that time. It was thrilling to hear how the physical space was brought to life through Michael’s sound design as well as the performances of the actors and violinist Aurora Méndez.
MA: I think all different types of Puerto Rican sounds and rhythm are important and I incorporated as many as possible into “Timestorm,” including bomba, salsa, hip-hop, reggaetón, the Taíno Mayohuacán drum, coquí frogs, city sounds, a cepillo de piragua (ice scraper), and the ocean.
And we’re not done yet - there’s more to come!
Timestorm is entertainment but it’s also an opportunity to learn. Every episode of season one has an accompanying resource guide with discussion prompts and a Fiction & Fact section that explains a subject as it appeared on the show and how it is in real life.
What was it like to incorporate fictionalized versions of the subjects into your story?
MA: Dania mentioned that in a first season episode, Aurora Méndez played a violin piece called ”Consolación” by Claudio Brindis de Salas Garrido. This is a great example of how challenging it can be to portray a real person in a fictional world.
Aurora was tasked with interpreting and recording how Brindis de Salas would have played ”Consolación”...in concert...at Teatro La Perla in Ponce, Puerto Rico...in 1897. As Dania mentioned, there are no videos to reference and there is very little written about how he performed the piece. Amazingly, Aurora took clues about his playing style from the sheet music, who he studied with, and by looking at pictures of his hands, particularly the length of his fingers.
Of course, we’ll never know how he performed the song “Consolación” note for note, but this type of research offered details that helped us create a realistic interpretation of that moment.
Why use fictional characters and narratives to learn about facts?
DR: Fiction offers a way to bring historical subjects to life and allows the audience to make an emotional or personal connection to the material. If an audience member has taken a fictional adventure that allows them to imagine themselves at a historical event or landmark or face-to-face with a cultural figure, it could spark a genuine curiosity about that time, place, or person. The audience member might even be more engaged with informational text or media if they’ve gone on an imaginary journey that involves the given subject matter.
In “Timestorm,” we explore people whose actions and efforts weren’t well documented, so I gave a lot of thought as to how to create fictional narratives that capture the essence of who an individual was. Educator Celestina Cordero was a fierce advocate for equal education for all children, regardless of race or gender. According to records from the early nineteenth century, Celestina contacted the island government with requests regarding her school for girls. In the episode, she makes a specific plea for additional classroom supplies, which is a fictional plot point but rings true to how she approached her teaching.