Join us to learn about the art of storytelling with award-winning performance storyteller Rico Rodriguez. He will also share folktales and some personal stories. 

Rico Rodriguez is a an award-winning performance storyteller, a musician and a teacher in the Toronto District School Board. Drawing from his Latinx and queer backgrounds he creates and performs personal stories and also tells folktales that are infused with equity and social change themes. Storylisteners say that his easy telling style and masterful use of humour, even when telling about the most painful of situations, enables him to draw them in, in a challenging exploration of these issues.

Rico has facilitated workshops on how to use the art of storytelling in educational settings, Community and Health Promotion Agencies. He tells in schools, theatres, libraries, festivals, pubs and conferences throughout Canada and the U.S. He has been heard on the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) radio on National Public Radio in the U.S. He founded “Queers in Your Ears” a 2SLGBTQI storytelling event now in its 27th year. Many of his storytelling projects Both projects have been funded by the Canada Council, Toronto Arts Council and the Ontario Arts Council.

Rico believes that stories convey the culture, history, and values that unite people. He will be give a talk on the Art of Storytelling as a powerful force to develop an understanding, respect and appreciation for each other and other cultures.