Mary Ellen Gonzales – Stories to Bridge Cultures

From time immemorial, stories have been used to transmit spiritual and cultural values. The stories Mary Ellen shares from colonial Northern New Mexico will shed light on some of those values. Mary Ellen, who is half Hispanic and half Anglo, grew up in a remote valley in Northern New Mexico, which at that time still felt the influence of medieval Spain. She draws on those childhood experiences, the history she has worked to learn, and the stories she loves to share to help her audience understand those values—and perhaps understand our own a bit better too. She is an accomplished storyteller who has been telling professionally for 30 years in New Mexico communities.