And Who Are Your Elders? Why Stories Matter

Somehow the third course carried into the late hours and the cousins table slowly dispersed into the living room and into bed. I would lay next to my sister and listen to the cups slide into each other and my tias interrupt each other and my father say — otro mas, para que se vayan a dormir — and everyone would laugh and refill cups and Spanish would mix with Quechua creating the background to my dreams. — Excerpt from the upcoming An Amancaya Life

I grew up in a family of storytellers. Both sides of my family told stories, though in very different ways…