2019 Noche de Cuentos Mini-Grants Report: Council Bluffs Public Library

Cuento artístico de mi cultura con Linda Garcia-Perez / Artistic Story of my Culture with Linda Garcia-Perez

Program Details

Date: September 21, 2019
Time: 10:00 am - 12:00 pm
Attendance: 16

With the grant provided by REFORMA, the Council Bluffs Public Library hosted Linda Garcia-Perez, a local Chicana artist and storyteller, for a program that exhibited Mexican/Latino folk and indigenous arts and traditional culture. The program Cuento artístico de mi cultura was comprised of two components. For the first portion, Linda Garcia-Perez performed an oral story time. She explained how her stories will change depending on who is in the audience and how they act and react to the story. She also spoke about the importance of knowing traditions, where they come from and actively guarding against the meaning being commercialized and lost by practicing them and passing them along. Garcia-Perez performed in both English and Spanish, relating how generations before her were not allowed to speak Spanish for fear of punishment and how she had to relearn parts of her culture.

Following the oral storytelling, Garcia-Perez led an art activity, where participants made papel picado banderitas. Layered tissue paper was folded in on itself and simple cuts were made on the folded edges so that when the tissue paper was unfolded, a design was produced. The tissue paper was then glued around a bamboo dowel and the scraps from cutting the tissue paper were used to decorate the edge of the dowel.

Advertisement

To advertise the program, we sent media alerts to the local English and Spanish newspapers. We distributed over 100 flyers at the 6th Annual Latino Festival. We had internal advertising in the library, sent out a dedicated email newsletter about the program, sent flyers to local agencies that we have partnered with in the past, and had event and postings on Facebook.

Budget

Presenter Fee: $250.00
Additional Supplies: $15.00
Advertisement: $35.00
Total: $300.00

Feedback

Nine participants filled out evaluation forms following the program. Nine out of nine said they were “extremely satisfied” with the program. Below are selected additional comments from the evaluation forms.

"Noche de Cuentos was a great event"
"Estuvo bonito el programa"
"Excellent programs!"

- Yvonne Rodriguez, Circulation Assistant - Council Bluffs Public Library