I have a strong voice. It projects far since the time I was a little girl. When I was in third grade, two kids in my class were chosen to recite a poem at the school’s  general assembly. I was one of them. Cesar, the other kid, was a corpulent, 8 year old from the Atlantic coast of Colombia. He spoke naturally loud, and had a big smile that made his round face look radiant when he spoke in class. I was a scrawny little girl from Bogotá, who wore bangs, and liked memorizing poems; my grandfather Adolfo had taught me a few about doves and other animals, so I was used to learning a lot of words, fast. Cesar and I competed to perform in front of the school, but Cesar won. They thought my voice was too loud and would project too strongly through the microphone. On the day of the performance, Cesar came dressed up in his school uniform, he was as radiant as usual. I was seated in the audience among the other kids in my class. When the assembly began and it was Cesar’s turn to go up on stage, the sound system broke down, and the microphone didn’t work anymore. So our teacher asked Cesar politely to stay seated, and then she turned to me and said: “Martha Zoraida, you’re up. Speak as loud as you can.” I had no problem with that.

Para Julián.

ZETA has performed live on The Moth Mainstage since 2016, captivating audiences in English and Spanish.