Meet the ‘telenovela star’ of DC Public Library

Good morning, DMV! It’s Tuesday, June 2.

Recently in the land of social media, a funny video popped up in my feed showing life at Anacostia Library, edited as if it were a telenovela.

The music was dramatic. The librarians gave the camera looks that were steamy, mysterious and scandalous. It was excellent nerd humor. I mentally shelved it as a topic to revisit and explore.

Then last week, when my family was at Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library in downtown D.C. for our mystery-box adventure with Rorschach Theatre, we heard people loudly singing “Happy Birthday.” I asked staff what was going on, they told us about the library’s upcoming birthday, and that’s when I spotted him.

My eyes widened as I blurted out, “You’re the guy from the telenovela!”

He smiled politely and said yes. He introduced himself. His (real) name is Diego Garces. He runs social media for DC Public Library. I was intrigued, but we were both busy, so I met him again yesterday to learn more about him and his work.

He’s from Colombia, lived in New Jersey and worked in Miami for Spanish-language TV networks Univision and Telemundo on reality shows, news and sports coverage — including the Tokyo Olympics, for which he and his team won an Emmy. He decided to try something new and joined DC Public Library four years ago.

It was his first time working in the government, for the public, and being paid by taxpayers. He brought a different vibe and initially faced some resistance.

“I have a TV background: I was like, let's make this fun … at first the staff were like, ‘I don't want to be on camera. I'm pushing back. This is not what I signed up for,’” Diego told me.

But he eventually got some yeses, and their content took off on social media — such as this video from the first warm days of the year, showing librarians as they surrendered their cardigans.

“People were like, ‘Oh my god, I saw you in a video,’ and librarians were getting that credit, love and respect through something new,” Diego said. “It also helped the staff step away from their roles and have a little fun … to laugh a little bit and laugh at themselves.”

Most of the content is designed to brighten people’s days while also sparking conversation and curiosity, he told me. As a Spanish speaker who is LGBT, he said, he felt the library was “the perfect place to amplify all those voices.” His video from Mount Pleasant Branch Library encapsulates this sentiment.

Diego said he watches a lot of videos and TV for inspiration: “My job is: How can I take what's trending out in the world — audio, songs, whatever — and make it library?”

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DC Public Library is celebrating its 130th birthday with a city-wide party tomorrow: Between 4 and 7 p.m., the first 130 customers at each library location will receive a birthday cookie.

Katie Bevington, 43, of Rockville, sent in this photo from her son’s high school graduation on Friday. The ceremony was held at University of Maryland, Baltimore County.

“My son graduated from Quince Orchard High School … His class of over 400 students walked the stage to receive their diplomas,” Katie wrote in her submission. “His grandparents came from Charlotte to celebrate his efforts over the past 4 years. Our family went to Five Guys and Wingstop for lunch afterwards, both favorites of his.”

It’s graduation season — share your photos of your commencement ceremonies and life in the DMV here.

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