Articles

On August 5, 2021, join Humanities Texas for a special Texas Storytime event featuring author Xelena González and illustrator Adriana M. Garcia. This virtual family reading program will feature a read-aloud of their award-winning book All Around Us. In addition to sharing their perspectives as an author and an illustrator, González and Garcia will lead children, parents, and family members through a series of fun, interactive activities. The reading and activities will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.

Thursday, August 5, 2021
6:15–7:00 p.m. CT

This live, virtual event is free and open to the public. Please register online to attend. You will receive a Zoom link via email prior to the event.

Questions? Please contact us at programs@humanitiestexas.org.

About Xelena González

Xelena González practices the healing arts through writing and movement. A member of the Tap Pilam Coahuiltecan Nation, she is native to Yanaguana/San Antonio. Her debut picture book All Around Us garnered multiple accolades, including the Tomás Rivera Mexican American Children’s Book Award, an American Indian Youth Literature Honor Award, and an International Latino Book Award. Her second picture book Where Wonder Grows (forthcoming January 2022) has received starred reviews in Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly. Her storytelling skills were honed as a children’s librarian in San Antonio and in Guangzhou, China. As a visiting author, she has introduced her method of “tai chi storytelling” to more than sixty schools and libraries around the country. 

González also writes for adults, regularly contributing essays and poems to various collections. She was a member of Sandra Cisneros’ Macondo Writers Workshop in 2019. With support from the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture and the Luminaria Artist Foundation, Xelena recently developed a body of work in visionary fiction, inspired by the iconography of the Mexican Lotería game. Her resultant independent publication Loteria Remedios has already sold more than seven hundred copies. She has become a sought-after speaker on topics such as radical self love, creative early literacy strategies, inhabiting story through music and movement, and reclaiming indigenous identity in Latinx communities.

Adriana M. Garcia

Adriana M. Garcia is a homegrown San Antonio visual artist, muralist, and illustrator. Her debut picture book All Around Us was awarded the prestigious 2018 Pura Belpré Award for illustration among other honors. Her second book, Where Wonder Grows, will be released in January 2022. One of Garcia’s favorite mural creations, Changing the World, is installed at Northwest Vista College and centers around access to education. The mural project De Todos Caminos Somos Todos Uno, completed for the San Antonio River Authority, was recognized in the 2019 Public Art Network Year in Review.

Garcia has exhibited her artwork both locally and nationally and has been invited to present at conferences, schools, and museums such as the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies (NACCS) and the McNay Art Museum. She has enjoyed working as an arts administrator and an art/design instructor for both youth and adult learners. She is a big fan of portraits and loves depicting strong women as a way to honor those who have come before and those who continue to lead by example.