Hello!
My name is Vanessa Navarro Maza, and I’m the Folklife Curator at HistoryMiami Museum. I manage the museum’s South Florida Folklife Center, which is the department dedicated to documenting, presenting, and supporting the region’s traditional arts and cultural heritage. We do this through a variety of initiatives, such as research, exhibits, public programming, outreach, and more.
I organized today’s pop-up exhibit because I wanted to start a conversation about the impact of our work as storytellers and story collectors. Below are my reflections on the questions explored throughout this exhibit.
What are the power dynamics at play in the work of folklorists who collect and share stories?
Although storytellers have agency over which parts of their lives they reveal to us and how they express those experiences, I believe the power sits (for the most part) in the hands of folklorists. We decide who we’d like to interview and what we’d like to talk about. We typically guide the conversation and lead our informant to the topics we hope to cover. We ask so much of the people we interview without having to reveal anything about ourselves on tape except for our names.
We do connect with people and build trust before sitting down for an interview, but once that record button is turned on, we don’t need to give much of ourselves except for an active ear. Then, once the story is recorded, we have the power to edit, share, and frame these stories in the ways we see fit. I’ve always been blown away by people’s generosity with their time and their stories, and usually for nothing in return. We’re given so much from the people who share their stories with us, and it is our responsibility to be mindful of the ways we handle them.
I feel fortunate to work at a job where I provide spaces for people to express their identity and share pieces of themselves with others, but I know that my choices as a folklorist and curator determine who has access to these spaces and who does not. Storytelling in all its forms is a powerful tool in empowerment and in building bridges of understanding, and we should continue to think critically and reflexively about our impact and who is being given these opportunities.
Who gets to tell their story and why?
For most research projects I’ve conducted, we begin with a general topic of inquiry and then decide who are the experts who can speak to this topic. We seek out the most respected, well-known, “best of the best,” and collect their stories. We archive such wonderful information and traditional knowledge from these experts, and it’s so important to document these unique individuals.
However, it’s also important to validate the stories of everyday people. One of our initiatives at HistoryMiami Museum is the Miami Stories program. Miami Stories is an oral history project that documents life in Miami through both written submissions and audio recordings, which are preserved in the museum’s archive, and shared online and through local media outlets. Submissions for written stories are open and ongoing through our website. We also have our Miami Stories Recording Booth, which allows the museum to capture audio stories at local events.
Through Miami Stories, the museum opens the storytelling experience to the general public and allows us to crowdsource experiences of life in Miami. The program’s motto is “Share your story. Your story matters,” and when people are apprehensive about sharing a story, we assure them that everyone has a story. In my experience with this program, people feel a sense of pride and belonging when we tell them that their story matters and we take the time to listen.
Explore the Miami Stories Archives here.
What makes a story impactful?
I think a story is impactful when you arrive at the emotion of the topic at hand. Many times, this requires a degree of vulnerability on behalf of the storyteller, allowing for that human connection we feel when a story touches us. Below is a selection of stories during which the storyteller generously delves deeper into their experience, revealing the heart of the topic at hand.
STORIES “WITH HEART”
Audio Interview with Tiffany Fantasia. 2017.
3:43
Tiffany Fantasia discusses her love of drag performance and her confrontation with a protester at the 2016 Gay Pride Parade.
From the collection of HistoryMiami Museum.
Audio interview with Serge Toussaint. 2015.
3:21
Serge Toussaint reflects on how he realized his dream of becoming an artist and his unique style of sign art and mural art.
From the collection of HistoryMiami Museum.
Video interview with Casey Munga. 2018.
Casey Munga discusses homelessness in Miami and recounts her experiences as a Florida International University student sleeping in a university parking garage with her son and service animals.
Produced by Xavi Medina.
Video interview with Roger Yupanqui. 2018.
Street preacher Roger Yupanqui shares his inspiration and motivation, and preaches to passersby at Government Center.
Produced by Xavi Medina.
Click here for English translation
