Bilingual storytellers event will feature tales of home in Tempe

Home has different meanings for everyone. It can be a place, a people or a feeling.

In the upcoming installment of Arizona Storytellers, five tellers from across Arizona will share their meaning of home in the first bilingual Storytellers event on Tuesday, Sept. 19, at 7 p.m. at Tempe Center for the Arts.

The show, Mi casa es tu Casa: Finding Home, is presented by the Tempe Center for the Arts in partnership with the Arizona Republic’s Arizona Storytellers Project and La Voz — The Republic’s Spanish-language publication.

Hear tellers share their stories in English, Spanish and Spanglish about finding home in a people and a place while enjoying a night of fellowship. Translated captions will be provided in English and Spanish.

Republic immigration reporter Rafael Carranza Arroyo will emcee the event.

Since 2016, Republic journalists have curated storytelling events designed to boost empathy and build community. In that same spirit, and in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, La Voz will further its mission in serving Latino Arizonans. South Mountain Community College’s Storytelling Institute and Republic journalists provide coaching. Tellers for the show include:

Ahwatukee resident and central Phoenix native Irma Payán is a former educator in the Roosevelt School District and is a community archivist with Arizona Barrio Stories helping preserve Arizona’s Mexican and Chicano history.

Cindy Vergara, who was born in

Guadalajara, Jalisco, México, and migrated to Arizona when she was 16 after losing her father to cancer. Today, her work as a Realtor in metro Phoenix focuses on educating the Latino community on the home-buying process.

Melissa Dunmore, who is a Phoenix resident by way of Brooklyn. She’s a spoken-word artist, writer and scholar of social justice. Her art focuses on building and engaging community members through her experiences as a Black, Boricua and Indigenous woman.

José Ignacio Castañeda Pérez lived in Illinois before moving to Tucson to write about the U.S.-Mexico border region for The Republic and La Voz. His stories capture the complexities of binational life, exposing how human experiences are impacted by border policies.

Hermosillo, Sonora, México, native

Dulce Matuz, who made her way to Arizona as a teenager to reunite with her mother. As an ASU undergraduate, Dulce co-founded and remains a member of the nationally recognized Arizona DREAM Act Coalition, which has been pivotal in advancing pro-DREAMer legislation.

‘Mi Casa es Tu Casa: Finding Home’

Where: Tempe Center for the Arts, 700 W. Rio Salado Pkwy., Tempe.

When: Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Show begins at 7 p.m. Drinks and snacks available at lobby bar starting at 6 p.m.

Tickets: Tickets are $10 and are available for purchase at the door. However, tickets usually sell out so advance purchase is recommended. Go to tempecenterforthearts.com