Olga loya biography

The Latina teller of tales, from San Jose, CA, is also an author, performance artist, keynote speaker, and teacher, who has performed and taught workshops.
Storyteller Olga Loya was captivated by the vivid stories her Mexican grandmother and father would tell.
Olga Loya's Stories from Latin America celebrates the magic of los cuentos (stories) with folk tales of self image, personal strength, self discovery and a myth.

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The Latina teller of tales, from San Jose, CA, is also an author, performance artist, keynote speaker, and teacher, who has performed and taught workshops throughout the United States and Mexico. Loya performs a large repertoire of family and personal stories with the goal of exploring the struggles and complexity of being bicultural—a Mexican–American in the United States. Loya also tells bilingual Latin-American folklore and colorful and sometimes magical stories from Africa, India, Asia, the Antilles, and Europe. Loya uses stories as a way of examining themes like healing, racism, and multiculturalism. She incorporates a variety of performance styles, including improvisation, movement and dance, song, and instruments. Olga Loya performs in theaters, universities, festivals, conferences, museums, libraries, and schools.

She has been a keynote speaker for CABE (California Assoc. for Bilingual Education), the Glendale School District in Phoenix, AZ, The Consortium for Children Abuse in San Jose, CA, the Tucson School District, AZ, and the Multicultur

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STORYTELLING WITH OLGA LOYA

About The Storyteller

Storyteller Olga Loya was captivated by the vivid stories her Mexican grandmother and father would tell. Absorbing all of their secrets and following the tendrils of memory that bind people and families, Olga fashioned and invented for herself, out of her own substance and imagination, a stirring universe of creation. Growing up in the barrio of East LA, where family rituals and traditions were the center of her emotional life, the young Latina, performing improvisation as a girl, has mastered the expressive vocabulary of artful storytelling. With her poetic eloquence Olga's stories are an impassioned quest to keep alive not only the fabric of her family but the larger Latino culture, richly robed in folktales, ancient myths, and history. There are personal tales, short stories inspired from a mix of newspaper and dream, healing stories, tales of extraordinary women, of myriad voices and inflections, and sometimes music and dance. Olga Loya's journey revealed to her the capacity to make one's life a surprise, even to herself, a

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Books By Olga Loya - Author

Olga Loya Bio:

Nationally known Latina storyteller, performance artist, teacher and author, Olga Loya dramatically mixes Spanish and English in books and performances for adult, children and family audiences. Her repertoire demonstrates how stories from diverse cultures embrace and enrich so many aspects of people's lives. Loya's stories explore the struggles, complexities, and joys of being bicultural - Mexican American in the United States. Loya's August House book, Momentos Magicos or Magic Moments includes sixteen Latino stories presented in equally vibrant English and Spanish. The collection includes stories about the supernatural, animals, tricksters, strong women and myths. Olga Loya has been a featured storyteller at the First Latin-American Storytelling Festival in Guadalajara, Mexico, and the National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, appearing at the Ghost Tales Night. She also serves on the advisory boards of a number of arts councils including: Los Angeles Music Center