“The uncertainty that hit us last year made everybody more cautious because the first couple of months were very scary. We were just focused on trying to get by financially and in everyday life,” he says. Personal savings helped Rodriguez stay “above water”. He also diversified his income by producing materials for textbooks and a series for teachers and students about the impacts of the pandemic.
“When the pandemic began [lockdowns were broadly introduced in Brazil in May 2020], I noticed a steep decrease in people asking me for stories or any kind of material,” he says. “No one was spending much money. The publishers were trying to work out what to do and weren’t assigning much to freelancers. I did manage to get work but it was different kinds of work than usual.”