Noche de Cuentos
Celebrating the Power of Storytelling to Unite Communities
Featuring award-winning authors and storytellers in an enchanting
evening of performances celebrating and affirming the richness of Latino
heritage and culture. What a beautiful room and opportunity to listen to the authors/storytellers at ALA in Washington, D.C. History was made and archived for future visitors.
Meg Medina
Meg Medina is the author of the Newbery Medal–winning book
Merci Suárez Changes Gears, which was also a 2018 Kirkus Prize finalist. Her young adult novels include
Yaqui Delgado Wants to Kick Your Ass, which won the 2014 Pura Belpré Author Award;
Burn Baby Burn, which was long-listed for the National Book Award; and
The Girl Who Could Silence the Wind. She is also the author of picture books
Mango, Abuela, and Me, illustrated by Angela Dominguez, which was a Pura Belpré Author Award Honor Book, and
Tía Isa Wants a Car,
illustrated by Claudio Muñoz, which won the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer
Award. The daughter of Cuban immigrants, she grew up in Queens, New
York, and now lives in Richmond, Virginia.
Yuyi Morales
Born in Yelapa, Mexico, where she currently resides, Yuyi Morales lived
for many years in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she still maintains
close relations with booksellers and librarians. Professional
storyteller, dancer, choreographer, puppeteer, and artist. She has won
the prestigious Pura Belpré Award for Illustration six times, for
Just a Minute,
Los Gatos Black on Halloween,
Just in Case,
Nino Wrestles the World,
Viva Frida - also a Caldecott Honor Book - and
Dreamers. She also illustrated Sherman Alexies
Thunder Boy Jr., a New York Times Bestseller.
Elvia Pérez Nápoles
Elvia Pérez Nápoles is a world-renowned storyteller, storytelling
advocate, author, actress, and journal editor who has served on the
Cuban National Cultural Counsel for more than two decades. Elvia has
received many distinctions and awards for her contributions in the
cultural arena, including the award Cuentacontigo, and the award Brocal
given to her artistic trajectory by the Biennal de Oralidad. Elvia is
the author of From the Winds of Manguito, Desde los vientos de Manguito:
Cuban Folktales in English and Spanish, Cuentos folklóricos de Cuba,
edited by Margaret Read MacDonald (Libraries Unlimited 2004).
