Bilingual storyteller plans
visit to local auditorium
By Emily Baldauf
Staff
Writer
For anyone who has ever felt ashamed of their heritage,
for anyone who questions the state of cultural relations in this country
or for anyone who has even felt unsure about their own future: Antonio
Sacre has a story for you.
This well-known storyteller has traveled the county
telling stories about his own personal experiences growing up as the
son of an Irish-American mother and a Cuban father.
The bilingual speaker has been sharing stories
for audiences nationwide in his unusual and surprising style that combines
the English and Spanish languages.
He will be performing in Lafayette at 7 p.m. on
Sept. 28 at Ivy Hall Auditorium on the Ivy Tech campus.
Sacre first experienced the difficulties of being
torn between two cultures as early as kindergarten. Sacre, who was then
nicknamed "Papito", was picked on and teased by the other
students who soon called him "Dorito."
"At that time, I decided I wanted to change
my name to Tony and stop speaking Spanish," Sacre said. "The
older I got, the more and more Spanish I forgot."
It wasn’t until he was a teenager, that Sacre
began speaking Spanish again. His grandmother arranged for Sacre to
come stay with her for a summer. And during that summer she explained
to him that she was too old to ever learn English.
If he wanted to ever really communicate with her
again, Sacre would have to use the Spanish language.
"Only then, as a teen-ager, did I realize
that this is my culture, these are the people I love, and it doesn’t
matter if people make fun of me for it," Sacre said.
Over time he was able to re-learn his first language,
which he still uses today when he tells the stories that he believes
have the power to unite two cultures.
Kristen Serrano is the head outreach librarian
for the Tippecanoe Library, which is sponsoring Sacre's visit. She hopes
this unique program will benefit a community that is dealing with many
of the cultural issues Sacre speaks to.
"It has been a long-time dream to have a speaker
who is bilingual, and I think the message he has is one that we need,"
Serrano said. "His message is really about how kids learn how to
be brown in a white world."
Although his stories may focus on the troubles
he had growing up as a child, Sacre believes there are many lessons
in his stories that even adults can take away.
"I want to increase awareness of other cultures,"
Sacre said. "When you know something about another culture you
are less scared of them."
Besides the lessons he teaches about tolerance
and acceptance, Sacre hopes to reach many young people, especially college
students, in the Lafayette audience with yet another lesson.
After graduating from Boston College with a degree
in English, Sacre, like many college students, was unsure of what to
do next.
In fact, his father even bribed him with tuition
money to attend law or business school. However, Sacre knew his true
passion was in performing and storytelling.
Now, with a master in theatre from Northwestern
and a professional storytelling career, Sacre has some advice for all
students who may find themselves in his shoes one day.
"Pursuing what you really love to do often
leads you to what you should be doing," Sacre said. "I am
proof of that."
.For more information visit www.antoniosacre.com
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