Last week I visited Lynn Classical High School (15 miles north of Boston) for a storytelling presentation and workshop.
I presented my stories in Spanish and English, since many of the students are recent arrivals from Guatemala and Central America.
Some students wore t-shirts with Guatemalan symbols, because as a proud Guatemalans they were happy that the speaker (me) was from their native country.
I felt so blessed to have the opportunity to share my stories with them and give them a bit of much needed representation. As a kid who came to this country, undocumented with a stutter, not knowing English I would have never thought I would grow up to be a storyteller.
Our hope was that by end of the day we would have a small group of 5 to 6 students sharing their stories at the auditorium.
By the end of the day we had 16 students sign up to share their stories for the first time ever!
We had students from Guatemala, Dominican Republic, France, Morocco, US and other parts of the world telling their fellow students about their culture and heritage.
What a wonderful thing to witness and to know that I helped in a small way to build it.
A
local newspaper published a small article about my presentation.
Here is a small part of what the article says:
“Through telling his own story of immigration, Nestor Gomez inspired students from Latin America to tell their own stories of coming to the United States. Guatemalan students even wore their Guatemalan shirts, literally wearing their pride on their sleeve just for Nestor. For the first time in their lives, these students’ voices were heard loud and proud. Nestor Gomez works storytelling magic!”
“The anti-immigration climate that we are living through had diminished my faith in the future of democracy in our country. However, seeing and hearing the students of Lynn Classical High School proudly sharing their stories in front of a packed auditorium has renewed my faith that one day this country will become the kind of country it has dreamed itself to be: a place for life, freedom, and the pursuit of happiness for all,” Gomez said. Now am back to Chicago and just like the quote from the article I now have a renewed hope of what this country could be, in spite of Trump and his hateful anti-immigration rhetoric.
They think they can bury us but they don't know that we are seeds.
