DAVID GREENE, HOST:
I think it's safe to say we've all been looking for those sweeter moments in these difficult times, right? Well, NPR's Carrie Kahn, thank you for bringing this to us. It's a story from Mexico. The virus is surging there, but volunteers are managing to bring some joy to those stuck inside.
CARRIE KAHN, BYLINE: In the late afternoons as the sun is setting, Perseida Tenorio straps a huge black speaker to the back of a small motorcycle taxi.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
PERSEIDA TENORIO: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: She's one of eight volunteers who take turns driving what they call the Solidarity Speaker around her town of Ixtaltepec in the southern state of Oaxaca.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TENORIO: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: In Spanish and the indigenous Zapotec language, they play health tips, songs and even jokes to the town's elderly. That's who mostly live there these days.
TENORIO: (Speaking Spanish).
KAHN: All the youth migrate north, and we just have a lot of old people here, she says, vulnerable to the coronavirus and to depression after months on lockdown.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TENORIO: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: Tenorio sent me this video of her slowly driving through the empty streets blaring the Zapotec joke. It's about a young couple getting romantic under a huge tree.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
TENORIO: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: Repeated in Spanish, too, the joke ends with the couple's rendezvous comically interrupted by a bird's dropping.
ALEJANDRA ROSADO: (Laughter, speaking Spanish).
KAHN: Volunteer Alejandra Rosado says you have to drive really slow to make sure someone listening gets to hear the punchline. This resident, 91-year-old Adele, loves the gesture.
ADELE: (Non-English language spoken).
KAHN: She says her afternoons now are filled with so much joy.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
KAHN: The recorded repertoire grows with contributions sent from artists around Mexico and beyond.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
MARISOUL HERNANDEZ: (Singing in Spanish).
KAHN: Marisoul Hernandez of the LA-based La Santa Cecilia jumped at the chance to send a song.
HERNANDEZ: You know, even though I'm over here and they're over there, that through music and technology we can send each other a musical hug.
KAHN: The volunteers in Ixtaltepec hope to give those hugs in person soon.
Carrie Kahn, NPR News.
(SOUNDBITE OF RODRIGO Y GABRIELA'S "LA SALLE DES PAS PERDUS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.