Stories of Arrival

January 9 2022 5:30pm - 7:00pm

Esmeralda Santiago is a renowned Puerto Rican author. In 1961, she came to the United States when she was thirteen years old, the eldest in a family that would eventually include eleven children. Ms. Santiago attended New York City's Performing Arts High School, where she majored in drama and dance. After eight years of part-time study at community colleges, she transferred to Harvard University with a full scholarship. She studied film production and graduated in 1976 magna cum laude. Shortly after graduation, she and her husband, Frank Cantor, founded CANTOMEDIA, a film and media production company, which has won numerous awards for excellence in documentary filmmaking. Her writing career evolved from her work as a producer/writer of documentary and educational films. Her essays and opinion pieces have appeared in national newspapers including the New York Times and the Boston Globe, and on mass market magazines like House & Garden, Metropolitan Home, and Good Housekeeping

Danusia Trevino is an actress and a storyteller. She emigrated from Poland and escaped Martial Law by one month. She toured the United States and Europe with the New York City band FUR. As an actress, her first stage performance was at the Pyramid Club with the Black Lips Performance Cult and Anohni. Since then, she has appeared in theater (PS122, SITI Company, LaMaMa, HBPF, 59E59st, Theater Row), film (Acts of Worship, Where is Joel Baum, Metamorphosis and recently premiered at Wooster Group’s Performing Garage, Xenophilia) and webseries (The Louise Log). Danusia has taken her one-woman show, Wonder Bread, to the fringe festival in Edinburgh and various New York

Andrew McGill is a Brooklyn native comic and storyteller. Andrew began his comedy career in his junior year of high school and has never looked back: currently, he's making a name for himself in the New York comedy circuit while also graduating from Hunter College. By night, you can catch him hosting the Moth or performing at different venues throughout New York City - but during the day, he is a New York City Public School Special Educator teaching English at a high school in Harlem

Annie Tan is a special education teacher, activist, writer and storyteller based in Chinatown, New York City. Annie fights for her students, public education, teachers unions, tenants rights, and Asian American issues, all towards a better world. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Huffington Post, New Republic, and PBS' documentary series Asian Americans. Annie is currently working on a memoir. 

Martha Ruiz-Perilla is an artist based in the Lower East Side. her love for storytelling is evident in her writing, live performances, and artwork, which includes painting, sculpture, and installation. Her current work investigates facets of immigrant life in the context of parenthood, domesticity, and the viral pandemic. Ruiz Perilla’s work explores issues pertaining to folklore, popular belief, cultural hallmarks, isolation, and the Colombian diaspora. Her work is part of corporate, private, and public collections nationally and internationally. Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, she was honored with the Christie’s Education Graduate Fellowship in 2001 and later earned a masters degree in Modern and Contemporary Art. A painter and performance artist for over 25 years, Ruiz Perilla’s has captivated audiences with her stories since the age of five, debuting with The Moth in 2016.  She lives in New York with her children, her husband Marc, their dog Queso, and a whole lot of stories.