Timestorm follows brother and sister Beni and Alexa Ventura from Newark, New Jersey. Things are going pretty ordinary until they find themselves pulled into a storm in time, a timestorm if you will. They find themselves face-to-face with their previously unknown cousin Horacio, who also happens to be the protagonist of Take Back Time, Beni's favorite comic. Horacio and his AI friend Atabey, named for the Earth goddess of Taino Mythology, have a task for the twins. Alexa and Beni will be traveling through time to witness key moments in the history of Puerto Rico, and then bring back artifacts relating to those events. Together they will witness, find, and remember.
Timestorm is written and created by Dania Ramos, and is made in association with PRX and the Google Podcasts Intuitive. It is also a production of Cocotazo Media, a podcast company dedicated to promoting creators of Latin American ancestry.
This was a podcast I'd heard about, but always meant to get around to listening to it. I'm certainly glad that I finally gave it a listen. As I've stated, despite being aimed at kids, I firmly believe that this podcast can be enjoyed by listeners of all ages. You know that I'm a sucker for anything that involves time travel and/or history. I was also excited by the focus on Puerto Rico, as they don't really get featured often in American media. Or much in the American education system, for that matter. We kind of ignore Latin America and the Caribbean. Usually, you might get lucky and hear about Puerto Rico if your class talks about the Spanish-American War, especially the Battle of San Juan Hill.
As such, I'm glad that we're getting focus on this less well-known, but no less
deserving, island's history. As the theme song say, the hidden past seeks its
dawn. Of course, there's another layer to that. I think that it is no accident
that most of the historical figures featured in the first season are women.
Women do have an unfortunate tendency to be ignored by the historical record.
For example, the first adventure sees the twins going back to 1838 to meet Maestra Celestina Cordero. She founded the fist girl's school in Puerto Rico, and was a strong advocate for women's education. She was also a black woman, and faced opposition because of her race as well as her gender. Her brother Rafael ran a boy's school, and is considered the Father of Public Education in Puerto Rico. As such, Rafael Cordero tends to overshadow his sister's contributions to public education. Hopefully, Celestina will be getting more attention thanks to Timestorm.
For example, the first adventure sees the twins going back to 1838 to meet Maestra Celestina Cordero. She founded the fist girl's school in Puerto Rico, and was a strong advocate for women's education. She was also a black woman, and faced opposition because of her race as well as her gender. Her brother Rafael ran a boy's school, and is considered the Father of Public Education in Puerto Rico. As such, Rafael Cordero tends to overshadow his sister's contributions to public education. Hopefully, Celestina will be getting more attention thanks to Timestorm.
In
another episode, the twins go back to the late 19th/early 20th century to meet
Lolita Tizol. She was a talented violinist, who caught the eye of Claudio Brindis
de Salas Garrido, but had to give up her passion to become a teacher because
her mother didn't approve. Claudio was indeed a real violinist who existed in
our world, and Lolita was real too. She even has a statue in Ponce, in recognition of her work as an educator. However, the episode portrays her mother as discouraging her interest in music, when in reality it was her father who did this. Granted, the episode does depict him as doing so on order of her mother. I understand that sometimes you have to change a few details to make a story work better, but you must do so cautiously, especially since the goal of Timestorm is to educate listeners
about the history of Puerto Rico. To their credit, the creators do note these deviations in their episode guide resources for teachers. Still, you don't want to unintentionally mislead the
listeners. Though I suppose it is a way of getting kids to do further research.
Encourage them to find out what was real, and what parts were artistic
license.
I have a bit of a connection to Puerto Rico of my own. One of the happiest Thanksgivings my family ever had was the week that we spent in Puerto Rico. Our hotel was in San Juan, but we went pretty much everywhere. We went to the rainforest, went to the caves, went to the forts and Old Town San Juan, we went to Arecibo, we had dinner on the beach, ate at all those off-beat places the locals ate at, and so much more. It was an experience none of us will ever forget. Of course, on a more somber note, not long after that, my maternal grandfather passed away.
I also related to how all the characters are worried about their family in Puerto Rico. One of the main plot points of the first season is about Hurricane Maria hitting Puerto Rico. I remember what it was like back in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. I've got family down that way, though most of them live in Metairie, which is a suburb of New Orleans. As such, their houses were higher up, and were spared the worst of the flooding. Still, for those of us in Louisiana, Hurricane Katrina is a memory that still burns bright even after all these years.
Now let's talk about characters. Our two leads, Alexa and Beni, are twins, but pretty much polar opposites. Alexa is a Straight-A student with a love of history and biographies. Initially, she scoffs at things comic books and science fiction, but eventually learns to loosen-up and give them a chance. Not liking comics, I can understand, but not liking time travel stories? Come on, every history lover I know loves time travel and secretly wants to time travel. By contrast, Beni loves comic books, video games, and tabletop RPGs. He's not the best of students, but thanks to his adventures in time, he learns how much fun and interesting history can be. Beni and Alexa bicker, as siblings often do, but deep down they really do care about each other.
Horacio and Atabey play the mentor roles. Horacio was a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, which is how he got sucked into the timestorm. He's caught halfway between life and death, which is why he needs Alexa and Beni to go on the missions for him. Atabey is a snarky AI who has powers that border on magical. Though, as Clarke's Third Law says, any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic. She provides the twins with appropriate clothing and knowledge for their missions.
One thing that I liked about Timestorm was the way it gave equal time to Alexa and Beni's lives in the present day as it did to the time travel adventures. Atabey mentions that it isn't possible to alter history. At best, you just create a divergent timeline. So you can't change the past, but you can change the present. We see that in the way the community rallies together to provide hurricane relief supplies for Puerto Rico. Moreover, both Atabey and Horacio mention that the twins can continue their mission to witness, find, and remember even in their mundane lives. History isn't just a topic you read about in books. It is a living breathing thing that is happening all around us.
Sometimes it amazes me how many things I've lives through that will windup in the history books some day. 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq War, the Columbia Disaster, the legalization of gay marriage, the spread of the Internet, the election of America's first black president. And that's not even getting into the stuff I was too young to remember, like the Oklahoma City Bombings, Bill Clinton's impeachment, Princess Diana's death, or the Balkan Wars.
Point is, sooner or later we all witness historical events. You can learn quite a bit about history by talking to family members who have lived through major historical events. Most of us probably won't get to go on time travel adventures, but chronicling important events of the present is a great way to show kids that they can engage with history in their own lives. And hey, even if you don't get to time travel, history can still be plenty fun to learn about in and of itself.
At the end of each episode there is a minute long share-out, where kids can talk about how much they're enjoying the show, and tell something cool about themselves. I think it's really great, and a good way to help the kids engage with the show. I'm sure all the kids who got featured were over the Moon to hear themselves on their favorite, or one of their favorite, podcasts.
Timestorm is brought to life thanks to a talented team of voice actors. Overall, everyone does a good job. However, I will say I was a bit surprised when all the kids turned out to be twelve and in middle school. The voice actors for the kids were all clearly older than twelve, but they at least sounded ballpark correct. I suppose it isn't too different to how teenagers on television tend to be people in their twenties and thirties, though television is getting better about that. I will also add that I loved that music used for the scene transitions. There was a different little number depending on where the action was taking us.
While the writing is overall good, there is one minor bit of criticism I do have. It is repeatedly shown that Beni gets picked on by the school bully Thad because of his love of comic books and video games. Then it turns out that Thad is a closeted geek and wants to buy a Kylo Ren mask, but he's afraid it will ruin is reputation. Okay, it has been almost a decade since I was in grade school, but I'm pretty certain you won't become a social pariah just because you like geek stuff. At this point, it is pretty safe to say that Star Wars is as much a mainstream film as the Marvel movies. Not only that, but most nerd/geek thing have gone mainstream at this point.
It kind of felt like Dania was drawing on her own experiences, but didn't consider how the times have changed. We also later find out that Thad is a Muslim, but we mostly know this because of an off-hand comment he made. Never thought of Thad, which I assumed was short for Thaddeus, as a Muslim name. I will say it was nice that it showed that minorities can be bullies too. A similar thing happens when Alexa's best friend, Sonia, mentions that some of the other girls assume she can't speak Spanish because she's light-skinned. Again, it was a nice touch.
Though, I concede that my criticism was a relatively minor one, and overall I'm loving where Timestorm is going. We've only scratched the surface, and there's still tons of Puerto Rican history to explore. Personally, I'm hoping we'll get to see the Taino people. They are the native people of Puerto Rico; the ones who were there before the Spanish arrived.
So there you have it. Timestorm is a time travel podcast about two kids going on adventures though Puerto Rican history. Season one is great, and I can't wait to see what future seasons have in store for us. It's aimed at kids, but can be enjoyed by listeners of all ages.
Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.
I have a bit of a connection to Puerto Rico of my own. One of the happiest Thanksgivings my family ever had was the week that we spent in Puerto Rico. Our hotel was in San Juan, but we went pretty much everywhere. We went to the rainforest, went to the caves, went to the forts and Old Town San Juan, we went to Arecibo, we had dinner on the beach, ate at all those off-beat places the locals ate at, and so much more. It was an experience none of us will ever forget. Of course, on a more somber note, not long after that, my maternal grandfather passed away.
I also related to how all the characters are worried about their family in Puerto Rico. One of the main plot points of the first season is about Hurricane Maria hitting Puerto Rico. I remember what it was like back in 2005 when Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. I've got family down that way, though most of them live in Metairie, which is a suburb of New Orleans. As such, their houses were higher up, and were spared the worst of the flooding. Still, for those of us in Louisiana, Hurricane Katrina is a memory that still burns bright even after all these years.
Now let's talk about characters. Our two leads, Alexa and Beni, are twins, but pretty much polar opposites. Alexa is a Straight-A student with a love of history and biographies. Initially, she scoffs at things comic books and science fiction, but eventually learns to loosen-up and give them a chance. Not liking comics, I can understand, but not liking time travel stories? Come on, every history lover I know loves time travel and secretly wants to time travel. By contrast, Beni loves comic books, video games, and tabletop RPGs. He's not the best of students, but thanks to his adventures in time, he learns how much fun and interesting history can be. Beni and Alexa bicker, as siblings often do, but deep down they really do care about each other.
Horacio and Atabey play the mentor roles. Horacio was a helicopter pilot in the Vietnam War, which is how he got sucked into the timestorm. He's caught halfway between life and death, which is why he needs Alexa and Beni to go on the missions for him. Atabey is a snarky AI who has powers that border on magical. Though, as Clarke's Third Law says, any sufficiently advanced science is indistinguishable from magic. She provides the twins with appropriate clothing and knowledge for their missions.
One thing that I liked about Timestorm was the way it gave equal time to Alexa and Beni's lives in the present day as it did to the time travel adventures. Atabey mentions that it isn't possible to alter history. At best, you just create a divergent timeline. So you can't change the past, but you can change the present. We see that in the way the community rallies together to provide hurricane relief supplies for Puerto Rico. Moreover, both Atabey and Horacio mention that the twins can continue their mission to witness, find, and remember even in their mundane lives. History isn't just a topic you read about in books. It is a living breathing thing that is happening all around us.
Sometimes it amazes me how many things I've lives through that will windup in the history books some day. 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq War, the Columbia Disaster, the legalization of gay marriage, the spread of the Internet, the election of America's first black president. And that's not even getting into the stuff I was too young to remember, like the Oklahoma City Bombings, Bill Clinton's impeachment, Princess Diana's death, or the Balkan Wars.
Point is, sooner or later we all witness historical events. You can learn quite a bit about history by talking to family members who have lived through major historical events. Most of us probably won't get to go on time travel adventures, but chronicling important events of the present is a great way to show kids that they can engage with history in their own lives. And hey, even if you don't get to time travel, history can still be plenty fun to learn about in and of itself.
At the end of each episode there is a minute long share-out, where kids can talk about how much they're enjoying the show, and tell something cool about themselves. I think it's really great, and a good way to help the kids engage with the show. I'm sure all the kids who got featured were over the Moon to hear themselves on their favorite, or one of their favorite, podcasts.
Timestorm is brought to life thanks to a talented team of voice actors. Overall, everyone does a good job. However, I will say I was a bit surprised when all the kids turned out to be twelve and in middle school. The voice actors for the kids were all clearly older than twelve, but they at least sounded ballpark correct. I suppose it isn't too different to how teenagers on television tend to be people in their twenties and thirties, though television is getting better about that. I will also add that I loved that music used for the scene transitions. There was a different little number depending on where the action was taking us.
While the writing is overall good, there is one minor bit of criticism I do have. It is repeatedly shown that Beni gets picked on by the school bully Thad because of his love of comic books and video games. Then it turns out that Thad is a closeted geek and wants to buy a Kylo Ren mask, but he's afraid it will ruin is reputation. Okay, it has been almost a decade since I was in grade school, but I'm pretty certain you won't become a social pariah just because you like geek stuff. At this point, it is pretty safe to say that Star Wars is as much a mainstream film as the Marvel movies. Not only that, but most nerd/geek thing have gone mainstream at this point.
It kind of felt like Dania was drawing on her own experiences, but didn't consider how the times have changed. We also later find out that Thad is a Muslim, but we mostly know this because of an off-hand comment he made. Never thought of Thad, which I assumed was short for Thaddeus, as a Muslim name. I will say it was nice that it showed that minorities can be bullies too. A similar thing happens when Alexa's best friend, Sonia, mentions that some of the other girls assume she can't speak Spanish because she's light-skinned. Again, it was a nice touch.
Though, I concede that my criticism was a relatively minor one, and overall I'm loving where Timestorm is going. We've only scratched the surface, and there's still tons of Puerto Rican history to explore. Personally, I'm hoping we'll get to see the Taino people. They are the native people of Puerto Rico; the ones who were there before the Spanish arrived.
So there you have it. Timestorm is a time travel podcast about two kids going on adventures though Puerto Rican history. Season one is great, and I can't wait to see what future seasons have in store for us. It's aimed at kids, but can be enjoyed by listeners of all ages.
Well, I think that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.
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