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Thursday, March 12 – Sunday, March 15, 2026, in Denton, Texas

Featured Storytellers, YOUTH events, Workshops, Master Classes, Story and Poetry Slams, Fringe and Long Form Concerts, Silent Auction, Story Store, and so much more!

I’ve been practicing diligently, so I hope El Paso friends can come to El Chamizal National Memorial Park to enjoy FREE activities which include storytelling by yours truly!!

Everything starts this Saturday, November 2, 2024, at 10 am. I perform @11:15-12:15, and all other activities (Mariachis, face painting, crafts, etc.,) end at 2 pm. So you still have time to make it to downtown El Paso for the Day of the Dead parade at 4 pm.

I couldn’t be happier with this book’s production. The illustrator, Carmen Casillas, did an amazing job. The paperback releases today and is now available on Amazon. The Kindle e-book is available for pre-order and will release on October 15, 2024. The hardcover and Spanish version will be available later this month.

I can’t help it! I have to share!

My amazing illustrator, Carmen Casillas, finished painting the cover of my next self-published book. She is talented!

Xóchitl y Papalotl is a Day of the Dead story that I perform as part of my storytelling repertoire.  

Xóchitl, a ten-year-old Mexican girl, encounters a weakened monarch butterfly during its annual pilgrimage to The Forbidden Forest. Remembering the legend that helping a butterfly grants a wish from the Goddess Xochitlquetzal, she decides to assist it. ​ As she follows the butterfly, she sings a song taught by her grandmother, leading her deeper into the forest. ​ Along the way, she encounters El Cucuy, a boogeyman known for taking mischievous children. ​ Xóchitl manages to outsmart him and return home safely.

I promised my grandmother I would always celebrate my mother’s real birthday. Like many Mexicans, my mother’s real birthdate is different from her registered/legal birthdate. She was born at home and it took a while to register her birth at the local municipal court, so she celebrates two birthdays.

In honor of my mom, Ernestina Aguirre, I made this video and finally, after almost 20 years, recorded the song I wrote for her.

Te quiero mucho, Ma.

It was amazing!!!!

It’s been over a month since it happened, March 7-10. All the volunteers made it so successful. It is a beautiful festival that stands up to any festival around the country. The featured tellers, upcoming tellers, workshops, and telling opportunities for the emergent and professional are genuinely worth the trip and money.

I was blessed to have my son, Jesus, join me in volunteering again. He even took a picture with one of his favorite tellers, Donald Davis, a storytelling legend. I got to listen to the awesome Nestor Gomez from Xicago as well! Fran Stallings eloquently told her tales mired in eco-wisdom, and Kathy Culmer’s sense of humor, wit, and consciousness revealed in her inspirational performances. All were amazing, and I am a better teller for engulfing myself in their stories.

I hope that at some point in your life you have the opportunity to attend this festival. You will love it! Like me, you might even get the opportunity to take a selfie with the festival ambassador!

@ Thomas Branigan Memorial Library in Las Cruces on Saturday, October 21 @ 11AM!

Last weekend my son, Jesús, and I volunteered to work concessions at the Tejas Storytelling Festival. Jesús volunteered even more than was expected and the TSA Board truly appreciated his help. In all honesty, it wasn’t too hard a task due to being entertained by international tellers.

This is the first festival since Covid and we had a wonderful turnout. It was a great success!

If you have never attended a storytelling festival, I highly recommend The City of Denton Tejas Storytelling Festival!