Much can be learned about a particular culture through the communal and participatory tradition of oral storytelling.

Join The Public Square at IHC and the Juan Antonio Corretjer Puerto Rican Cultural Center for a special evening with noted storyteller and anthropologist Ramon Lopez.

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

Lopez will discuss the value of oral history and storytelling as a vital part of cultural identity in Puerto Rico and on Division Street in Chicago. His presentation will be followed by a lively conversation with the audience.

Cultural anthropologist, artisan, educator, and author Ramon Lopez is renowned for his expertise in Afro-Caribbean and Puerto Rican cultural history and storytelling. He uses storytelling not only to entertain, but also to teach and keep unique memories, cultural practices, and spiritual beliefs alive.

Lopez is also a noted textile artist and has held positions as an instructor in Anthropology at the University of Puerto Rico, Principal of Aspira High School in Chicago, Director of the Research Center at the Institute for Puerto Rican Culture in San Juan, and a journalist with Dialogo newspaper. He is the author of several books, including Puerto Rican Popular Culture in the US, Puerto Rico USA: History of an Imaginary Country and Other Essays, A History of Puerto Rican Artisanry, and The Colonial Power in Puerto Rican Public Schools.

This event is part of The Public Square at the IHC’s Know More: Conversations That Matter series. The Know More series is designed to bridge the gap between the arts and social issues that are of current concern to Chicago’s Englewood and Humboldt Park communities. It is made possible by a grant from The Joyce Foundation. Programming for Know More has included visits from hip hop scholar Jeff Chang; Africana Studies scholar William Santiago-Valles; journalist Laura Washington; performer Will Power; and poet Elizabeth Alexander.

This event is free and open to the public. Refreshments will be served.

For more information, please call 312.422.5580