BOB KANEGIS & LIZ MANGUAL
STORYTELLERS/STORY COACHES
National Hispanic Heritage Month
Día de los Niños
Noche de Cuentos
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Summer Reading Programs
Family Literacy Events
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Live/Virtual/or Pre-recorded
for all ages and occasions
Family Storytelling and Literacy Programs-that improve communication, strengthen relationships and build language skills.
My work with children and their families together brings out the best of what I offer. I draw on my experience growing up in an immigrant family, my years working as a family advocate with Spanish speaking and Southeast Asian families, my training as a Life Coach and of course my storytelling skills and perspectives. You can engage me for performances, workshops and special events. It can be for an hour, a day, an evening, or an extended visit.
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We Have Stories to Tell!- A Wonderful Collaboration!
The Santa Cruz Public Libraries through the California State Library, hired me to help promote English literacy among children of Spanish speaking farm worker families. Through a series of workshops and community events, I involved parents, children, university students, housing providers and library staff in a process that encouraged stories to be shared - first in Spanish by the families and ultimately written in English and bound into student designed books. I love creative collaborations!
Mami insisted, "Never lose your language." I listened!
My mother's guidance kept me connected to and proud of my Puerto Rican heritage. Today I am fluent in two languages. My life journey has taken me to my current home in New Mexico and now storytelling takes me to communities across the country!
When children and families hear their own language spoken in a story
they experience an instant sense of inclusion and belonging.
You see it in their beaming faces, and hear it as they eagerly add their voices to a participatory story. At the same time, as I move back and forth between languages, non Spanish speakers discover that they are following the story and that it's fun to learn new words.
Celebrate one second language and you celebrate them all!
I often tell to audiences where there are people from all over the world. I ask about the languages that my listeners speak, and just like my mother encouraged me, I encourage others to treasure their native language. Stories connect us and bring us together as a community in the moment, while affirming the value of our own traditions. Stories help us see what’s possible and lead us to revel in the magic and wonder of life! Life!...Now thats a universal language!
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A Few Testimonials
"Liz's marvelous storytelling was the perfect way for our library system to celebrate Latinx Heritage Month. We were thrilled to host not one, but two virtual events featuring her bilingual tales. With warmth and joy and superb artistry, Liz takes everyone on a delightful, multicultural journey that inspires connection and community."
Seung Hee Kang-Youth Services Librarian,Pierce County Washington Library System
Liz Mangual is a marvelous cuentacuentos, storyteller. She draws from Latin American traditions to weave together bilingual stories with messages of friendship, care, and love that invite the listener in. As a professor of education and mother of two, I can say that these stories--and the ways that Liz tells them--promote social emotional learning, multilingualism, and connections to diverse cultural literacies. My daughters always look forward to hearing her stories, and they treasure the characters they meet and adventures they have each time we do! Liz's love for learners of all ages is felt each and every time she tells a cuento.
Ariana Mangual Figueroa (Associate Professor Graduate Center, CUNY. Ph.D. Programs in Urban Education and Latin American, Iberian, and Latino Cultures)
"The Teton County Library had the privilege to bring in Liz Mangual to help us celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month. In the morning Liz mesmerized students from kinder to 4th grade with her special spin of fantastic and humorous tales from Puerto Rico, Honduras and Spain. That evening Liz offered a presentation in Spanish for Latino families where Moms, Dads and their children had the opportunity to be with each other and to hear stories together in their native language. It was an honor to celebrate this rich heritage of stories, told with such joy and animation by Liz Mangual!" (Patti Rocha - Spanish Programs Coordinator - Teton County Wyoming Public Library)
I've had the pleasure of listening to Liz Mangual tell bilingual stories at the Four Corners Storytelling Festival, Albuquerque Public Schools, and in rural Hispanic communities for El Día de los Niños/Dia de Los Libros. She is a master at finding just the right balance of Spanish and English to suit her listeners. She engages everyone from toddlers to adults with her humor and infectious joy! It is delightful to watch her audiences laugh, sing, and join in with the stories."
(Flo Trujillo-REFORMA de Nuevo Mexico and Youth Services Coordinator- Farmington Public Library)
"Liz's stories washed over us joyfully and refreshed us like a cool breeze! She inspired and captivated young and old alike. The mother of one young girl was grateful that her daughter told her that she was inspired to begin speaking her native Spanish more often because of LIz's stories and encouragement." (Marysville Washington Public Library)
Liz currently serves as the President of the Board of Storytellers of New Mexico