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A love for blocks on International LEGO Day

Erick Ortega / La Paz

Fabio and Fabiola are two blocks that fit together without any problem. They have shared their lives and passions for a decade. They are both lovers of LEGO worlds.

Tomorrow marks International LEGO Day and a part of the Harry Potter world is built in this couple's home. The Hogwarts boarding school for wizards, Diagon Alley, the Forbidden Forest, the Quidditch playing field (where the sorcerer's apprentice flies on a broomstick), the King's Cross train station... Commanded from the cell phone, it advances and takes its passengers on a tour of this magical world of blocks.

Details are everything, that's why the pieces are impeccable. The charismatic Rubeus Hagrid's beard looks like it can be pulled, while Harry's snowy owl has a yellow gaze that charms the beholder.

Fabiola Gonzalez is a fan of the works of JK Rowling (who wrote the Harry Potter saga) and she has the books very well catalogued. While Fabio Díaz leans more towards Star Wars and superheroes, one of his favorite characters is Batman, a LEGO Batmobile is part of his most prized collection.

Of course, both coincide in their passion for Disney. They have two castles from the kingdom of Micky Mouse, one of them is the special edition for the 50 years of Disney World.

As if it were a large and diverse neighborhood, superheroes, the Simpsons, Friends, Big Bang Thoery, Stranger Things, Jurassic Park, Star Wars, among many others, coexist in their living room. Some pieces are practically priceless; for example, the Ghostbusters building is now out of the market and the toy is a priceless heirloom.

Just as passions do not have a price, the same goes for the couple's collection. They have around 650 sets (that is, scenarios with their own themes) and around 100,000 pieces built, not counting those that still need to be assembled. Due to the number of parts and fictional worlds, some sets remain packed and others wait for a special day to occupy the table that is currently occupied by Harry Potter and his family.

Fabio and Fabiola often spend hours together putting together sets, sometimes each one on his own, but they always seek to build the sets collaboratively.

Un amor por los bloques en el Día Internacional del LEGO

the price of passion

Each LEGO that is in the collection is original and brought mainly from the United States, so it is a passion in which a lot of money is invested. “LEGO is a brand that is gradually gaining followers and collectors in Bolivia; Unfortunately, the geographical conditions of the country mean that obtaining the brand is already expensive, and by not having an official LEGO Store, obtaining original sets becomes difficult and expensive”, says Fabio.

He remembers that back in 2003 it was his first encounter with the famous brand and the Bionicle theme. He then saved money for almost a year and, with the help of his grandmother, was able to acquire the entire collection.

“After that I did not buy a set again, but it was not until 2017 that together with my wife we ​​fell in love with the Disney castle and the Simpsons sets that became our first sets of this great collection. At the same time, we decided as a couple to mix this LEGO collection with our other hobby, which was film and television, which is why our current collection seeks to emphasize themes from films and television series”, says the collector.

Between the two of them they bought one of their jewels in LEGO: it is a couple accompanied by two dogs; at the bottom is the name of the four protagonists of these blocks. This gift was made in Germany.

In Bolivia, block lovers are gathered in a community on Facebook. There are more than 13,000 people who are dedicated to exchanging experiences with the pieces and the buildable worlds.

In this community it is possible to exchange parts or bid at auctions. The participants of this group on Facebook are from different departments.

history in blocks

The name LEGO is an abbreviation of the two Danish words leg godt, which mean “to play well”. The firm has its birthplace in Denmark.

One of the promoters of this fantasy in blocks is the carpenter Ole Kirk Kristiansen who, in the early 1930s, sought to produce new products that were easy to sell. "The beginning of the LEGO Group is with wooden toys, such as cars, planes and yo-yos," indicates the company's portal.

A fire in 1942 completely incinerated the factory that made wooden toys. During the reconstruction, the decision was made to bet on plastic to make their toys, while maintaining the essence of the blocks.

On January 28, 1958, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, son and heir to Ole Kirk's creation, patented the toy that is about to celebrate its 64th anniversary and is one of the world's favorites.

The company grew and the LEGO Foundation was created, which aims to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow. The LEGO Foundation is dedicated to building a future in which learning through play empowers children to become creative, engaged, lifelong learners.

This statement is not a game, the work of the LEGO Foundation was recognized by the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef).

LEGO not only unites hearts like Fabio and Fabiola's, it also encourages others to collaborate. In fact, one of the next goals of these collectors is to promote and carry out activities to encourage children's creativity. The proposal aims to benefit people with limited resources or with diseases in health institutions.

It is the trend of LEGO in these times of pandemic, when solidarity is built block by block.

Lego to curb autism There is a therapy based on LEGO bricks to combat autism in children. This proposal was created by pediatric neuropsychologist Daniel LeGoff. The therapy proposes working in small groups in order to build a LEGO set. This health experience can be found on the Ser Padres website. ”, is in charge of having the instructions and directing the project. Another child, the “provider”, owns the collection of LEGO pieces, and hands them over to the “builder”, who carries out the final assembly. Of course, these roles rotate between children. LeGoff first conceived of this therapy when two of his patients, eight-year-old children with Asperger syndrome, met in the waiting room of the clinic where he worked. He observed how both children had brought different LEGO creations from home, and although they had problems with social interaction, they were playing and talking with some enthusiasm with each other. Soon after, the pediatric neuropsychologist decided to include LEGO constructions in the different therapy sessions for the two children, until the group grew to a total of seven participants. Finally, the children moved away from the construction of scenes with LEGO bricks towards other interactive dynamics.
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