El vestido de mamá

Comment:

Through the innocent eyes of a child, the author brings readers to an ideal society devoid of prejudice, where difference is immaterial. The little boy loves the sparkling stones of his mamma’s party dress, does not hesitate to try it on, and even wear it while he plays football. Soon, he realises that society sets certain limits to individual free will: first, he notices how his friends start looking at him in astonishment, and then it is his parents who condemn his behavior. However, the causes of these rejections are dissimilar: his friends laugh at him because they are prejudiced against what they see as the garments for another gender, while his parents do not wish the party dress to get soiled during the football match since they save it for special occasions. The child’s concluding thoughts (each moment is a special occasion!) is so full of wisdom that it invites adults to ponder: seize the moment; or, as John Lennon put it: “life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans.”