Cartoons

ANIMATIONS

LET’S TALK ABOUT CHAGAS WITH JUANA AND MATEO

EP. 1: THE BASICS

In their classroom, Juana and Mateo interview Ms. Matilde, who gives them a general overview of Chagas. She describes the cycle of vector transmission and tells them that it is not acceptable to discriminate against people with Chagas.

LET’S TALK ABOUT CHAGAS WITH JUANA AND MATEO

EP. 2: KISSING BUG

Juana and Mateo interview Pedro, a neighbor that was a “vinchuquero” (a technician for their local Chagas control program). In his house, Pedro explains the life cycle of kissing bugs, how they acquire the parasite that causes Chagas, and how they transmit it.

LET’S TALK ABOUT CHAGAS WITH JUANA AND MATEO

EP. 3: HEALTH/ILLNESS

At the health center, Juana and Mateo interview Dr. Sonia, who gives them more details about the disease and defines it as a health problem.

LET’S TALK ABOUT CHAGAS WITH JUANA AND MATEO

EP. 4: PREGNANCY

Juana and Mateo interview their neighbor Cecilia in her home. She explains how she contracted Chagas, what she did to keep the disease from spreading to her oldest son, and how important it is to be tested for Chagas during pregnancy.

LET’S TALK ABOUT CHAGAS WITH JUANA AND MATEO

EP. 5: PREVENTION

Juana and Mateo conduct this interview at Mateo’s grandparent’s house. While drinking mate, Mr. Julio and Mrs. Marta answer their questions and talk about their life in the country, including the importance of cleaning to ward off kissing bugs.

LET’S TALK ABOUT CHAGAS WITH JUANA AND MATEO

EP. 6: HOUSES

In an adobe house under construction, Juana and Mateo interview Cristian, the builder. Cristian shows them what considerations must be made when building houses to keep kissing bugs from moving in, emphasizing that it should be about how the house is built and not what material is used.

LET’S TALK ABOUT CHAGAS WITH JUANA AND MATEO

EP. 7 CITY

Juana and Mateo interview Hermes, a family friend that lives in the city and has Chagas. The interview is done over the phone because of the distance. Hermes talks about how he contracted Chagas and the particular issues of living in the city with this health problem, highlighting that he feels very healthy while also coping with his reality as best he can.

LET’S TALK ABOUT CHAGAS WITH JUANA AND MATEO

EP. 8 HISTORY

In their classroom, along with their teacher and classmates, Juana and Mateo interview Carlos, a historian. Carlos shares information about different historical events related to Chagas. He tells them about Darwin, American mummies, Carlos Chags, and Salvador Mazza. To everyone’s surprise, Mateo reflects about the amount of information that is known about Chagas and how, even so, it continues to be such a problem for many people.