Juliana has always loved stories, but she never knew you could be a storyteller until she discovered Vivapalabra School for Storytelling and Oral Narration, which magically happened to be in her home city of Medellín. Instantly she joined, regretting having wasted 5 years of college on something else, but delighted to finally have found her calling.
After graduating in 2015, however, she realized that every country has its own completely different idea and style of storytelling, and there was so much more to learn. So she packed her bag (La Guerrerita), made a flag that announced “Travelling Storyteller from Colombia”, and took off around the world. In the first month of her travels someone (die, maggot!) stole all the money she’d saved for the trip, but she kept going, paying her way by telling stories in parks, cafes and theaters, and passing the hat.
Along the way she became Achira Stories, and was invited to tell at the 15th International Storytelling Festival of Greece, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and a forbidden festival organized by rebellious university students in a country where art is illegal.
The Road taught her to seek the right story for the right person at the right time, because stories, like seeds, will grow. And the good ones can heal the earth.
Sadly, when she returned to Colombia three years ago, the stories stopped speaking to her, and she hasn’t really told since. But a great storyteller she met on her journey taught her, “It is our responsibility as tellers to hold the stories for when someone asks.”
And now that the world is standing still, people are asking for stories. And so Achira is starting to tell. Thank you for listening.
Live Performance from Juliana Marin, in the Cafe
If you are enjoying this story, feel free to make a donation, everything you pop into the hat below goes directly to Juliana:
Juliana Marin Fryling
If you would like to support this teller, please make a donation
Juliana’s debut performance was Wednesday 1st at 19.00 GMT in the story circle:
Please support Juliana as generously as you can afford to via the virtual hat below. What may be a relatively affordable sum to you will make a big difference to her in Colombia.
Juliana Marin Fryling
If you would like to support this teller, please make a donation
Our Festival Performers
"Now that the world is standing still, people are asking for stories" Achira.
Justine de Mierre
A passionate, energetic and inventive storyteller who delights in connecting playfully
Gerry Donlon
aka Bards Aloud. Stories comic, and stories quirky
Trevor Millum
a writer of… poetry for children and adults, short stories, a novel, books of local interest, education resources.
Deeptha Vivenkanand
India based storyteller who loves to tell stories about stories, strong women, and political satire.
Fabio Lisboa
Storytelling Trainer who has performed/taught in Brazil, Canada and the United Arab Emirates.
Bob Kanegis
A fortunate day spent on the trail with a park ranger who combined, poetry, puppets and folktales showed Bob the possibilities of the Storyteller's Way.
Irene Lofthouse
Irene uses words to inspire all ages, regularly appearing at arts/literature festivals and children's events; she's regularly booked by schools, museums, libraries, theatres, community groups, NHS, charities and more to facilitate bespoke sessions.
Maria Papanikolaou
The last 10 years I combine storytelling with educational programs for children, in Museums, Cultural Centers, Schools, Art places, etc. I love working with children. I have also published two books, a Greek Myth and a tale of my own.
Raine Geoghegan
Raine Geoghegan, MA, poet and prose writer of Romany, Irish and Welsh descent will share tales of the English Gypsies, Romanichals through poetry, monologue and song.
Antonio Rocha
Antonio has received several awards and grants, including the once in a lifetime Circle of Excellence Award. This award was presented to him in 2015 by the National Storytelling Network for his exceptional commitment and exemplary contributions to the art of storytelling.
Dawn Ellis
Dawn’s parents calmed her down with Grimm stories at bedtime and they stayed with her. She has been performing, one way and another, ever since.
Jan Williams
Her most popular books are An amazing storytelling cat and Essex folk stories for children.
Csenge Virág Zalka
She published several folktale collections, including Tales of Superhuman Powers: 55 traditional stories from around the world (McFarland, 2013), and Dancing on Blades: Rare and exquisite folktales from the Carpathian Mountains (Parkhurst Brothers, 2018)
Zouhair Khaznaoui
Zouhair has been sharing the magic of Hikayat since 2017 in the Clock Storytelling programme.
Theresa Kelleher
Theresa was born within the sound of Bow Bells to Irish parents. Out on the streets she was known as the ‘little Irish girl’, at home admonished for her cockney accent.
David Heathfield
He runs Creative and Engaging Storytelling for Teachers courses onlinehttps://davidheathfieldblog.wordpress.com/teacher-training/ and has worked online as a storyteller and storytelling teacher trainer internationally with the British Council, IATEFL and the Hands Up Project .