Oct 19, 2023 - News

Giant, globe-trotting puppet comes to San Antonio

Madalyn Mendoza

An oversized puppet of a girl towers over a crowd of people gathered in an area shaded by trees. — Little Amal in Connecticut. Photo: Anibal Martel/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

San Antonio will welcome Little Amal, the globe-trotting, 12-foot puppet depicting a 10-year-old Syrian refugee, this weekend.

Context: Amal — "hope" in Arabic — has become a symbol of human rights, especially those of refugees. She was designed by the South African Handspring Puppet Company and started her international journey in July 2021 from her hometown of Aleppo.

Since then, she's visited 90 cities and has met Pope Francis, Whoopi Goldberg and Jude Law, among others.

What's happening: Little Amal will arrive here at noon Saturday at the House of Prayer Lutheran Church for the San Antonio Welcome Walk and Festival, which celebrates refugees who have resettled in Texas.

She'll then join an interpretive dance at the Luminaria Contemporary Arts Festival at 7pm.
On Sunday, she'll join children at play at Lions Field Park, starting at 2pm.
Her trip will end with an event hosted by the city's arts and culture department at Confluence Park at 7:30pm.

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Giant, globe-trotting puppet comes to San Antonio

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