Texas Folklife: The Folklorist Next Door

Send us Fan Mail As Spring returns to South Texas, the winds and rains help our iconic wild flowers break through the soil.  Communities are planning gatherings and activities that connect them with the world around them.  In this episode, we look at some of the ways ecological wisdom, spirituality and cultura have shaped the ways we interact with the return of the la primavera.   With reflections...

Send us Fan Mail This podcast explores how dance, though ephemeral, generates tangible artifacts and living histories worth preserving in San Antonio. Opening with Mona Lisa Montgomery’s poem “Bertita’s Legacy” honoring Berta Almaguer, Montgomery shares her efforts to research Almaguer through interviews, limited archival traces, and rare community-held recordings. These artifacts like shoes, cost...

Send us Fan Mail Through the stories of community members from Houston’s East End, this episode explores how culture bearers have sustained relationships with the land through transnational plant-ways, affirming their identities, in the face of colonization, migration, and neighborhood changes over time. Throughout, Alba Donajhi bears witness and synthesizes her own plant life in her accidental ho...

Send us Fan Mail Born in the working-class neighborhoods of Ponce, Puerto Rico, over a century ago, plena is a genre of music that continues to travel wherever Puerto Ricans gather and build community. Communal in nature, it is played at social gatherings of all sorts – celebrations, funerals, protests, and open jam sessions called “plenazos.” In this episode, we will identify the characteristics...

Send us Fan Mail Shrimpers in Port Isabel discuss the historical and cultural influence of the shrimping industry in the Rio Grande Valley.  Produced by Jeannelle Ramirez with reporting by Kevin Parme.  Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts

Send us Fan Mail Food scholar Erica Cavanagh discusses the importance of understanding where our food comes from.  Produced by Imgard Khosravi.  Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts

Send us Fan Mail Stewed & Chopped is a limited series produced by Texas Folklife, exploring foodways in Texas.  In this episode, food scholar Meredith Abarca (UTEP professor and producer of El Paso Food Voices) and taco expert Mando Rayo (Tacos of Texas podcast) discuss the foodways of the Texas-Mexico border, the influence of matriarchs, and shifting cultural values.  Produced by J.A. Strub. ...

Send us Fan Mail Join Community Folklife Fellow Blanca Jenkins as she takes you on a journey from Mexico to East Texas while exploring the historic and religious background, purpose, and use of crosses as focal points for roadside memorials.  Mrs. Jenkins’ journey will also explore the changes over time to this tradition that is visible all around Texas and the role of faith to overcome grief and...

Send us Fan Mail Good Dirt is the collection of stories, histories and experiences of Black and Indigenous Farmers in Texas. We discuss the connections of community, spirituality,  ancestral stewardship and foodways, in honor of the land and stories yet untold.  Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts

Send us Fan Mail Prepare your taste buds for an unforgettable journey through the history of pan de campo in this captivating podcast. Our host, Elizabeth Barger, sits down with four intriguing individuals, all with personal ties to this culinary masterpiece. Get ready to savor the anecdotes that have made pan de campo a treasure of culture and tradition for generations. Support the show Learn mor...

Send us Fan Mail Somali Bantu communities have been living in the United States for over 20 years. Yet, most people don’t know of their existence. Famo Musa catches up with three generations of women, giving us a glimpse of their journey of preserving their traditions and history while navigating life in Houston Texas, and raising the next generations.  Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife...

Send us Fan Mail Today, flamenco is taught and performed in Houston. But understanding how flamenco got to Houston requires a journey back to Spain and through South Texas, alongside the Tejanos who brought this dance form to Houston. Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts

Send us Fan Mail This episode delves into the culinary journey of Kenyan immigrants and their deep ties to traditional recipes, showcasing how food serves as a link to their homeland. Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Laura Villareal talks to folks from Central Texas Seed Savers, the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, and the Native Plant Society of Texas.  Learn more about Texas native plants, the folk practice of seed saving, and how your gardening efforts can help protect the future in the face of climate crisis.  Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This proj...

Send us Fan Mail “Chalupa y Buenas” is a podcast recorded along the United States and Mexico border.  We'll explore inter-generational family traditions along the Rio Grande Valley, especially the family game of chance, Mexican Lotería. Listen as we learn how lotería has touched individuals' lives through the years.  Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is suppo...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever wanted to be something you never thought you’d really be?  Sitting in my high school Spanish class, I decided I wanted to be a Mariachi. Unfortunately, I was raised in a small rural Midwestern town where there were no Mariachis. In fact, here was only one Mexican American family and a teacher. That was the closest I thought I would ever get to Mexico. I fell in love...

Send us Fan Mail "El dia que se apareció el diablo" takes us back to a time when "the devil" appeared on the poor side of the tracks. The terrifying experience leads a Chicana to embark on a quest for answers.  Produced by Geronima Garza, with technical production by J.A. Strub.  Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is supported in part by an award fro...

Send us Fan Mail Food is an expression of who we are. Table host and folklorist next door, Yvette Blair-Lavallais, catches up with two generations of two North Texas families as they share recipes, memories, and family history over hand-patted cultural foods like tamales, salmon croquettes and made-from-scratch biscuits. There are some surprises and memorable moments along the way. Pull up a seat...

Send us Fan Mail African American women have created beautiful works of art with quilting.  Are you holding on to a piece of family history?  Laura Casmore talks to owners of vintage quilts as they share the stories of their makers. Produced by Laura Casmore, with technical production by J.A. Strub.  Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is supported in part by an award fr...

Send us Fan Mail The Folklorist Next Door will be back on January 13th!  Happy Holidays!  Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts

Send us Fan Mail Join Gianna Elvia as she enters the kitchens of three women in San Antonio, Texas. Each woman discusses memories of their grandparents through food. You are invited to break Pan Dulce, caldo and migas with us and share in the type of storytelling that make kitchens special.  Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is supported in part by an award from the Na...

Send us Fan Mail The smelly food with a loyal following. Explore the origins of sauerkraut in the Texas Hill Country, its present makers, and sauerkraut’s  ability to stir up feelings of nostalgia. Hosted and produced by Hill Country-based fellow, Julie Gossell.  Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts

Send us Fan Mail "Ukrainian songs, whether they are sung or instrumental, tell about the history of our people and about their landscape." Dallas-based fellow Kelsey Lee explores Ukrainian folk music performance in the Dallas-Ft. Worth area. Veselka Dallas is a folk singing group that performs all over North Texas.  Kelsey interviews two singers from the group, as well as a Dallas-based...

Send us Fan Mail Host mónica teresa ortiz examines the experiences and cultural shifts of communities impacted by climate and disaster in the Texas Panhandle.  Produced by monica teresa ortiz with technical production by JA Strub. Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts

Send us Fan Mail A sneak peek of the Folklorist Next-Door, a nine episode series hosted by Texas Community Folklife Fellows in various regions of the Lone Star State. The series features local traditions ranging from sauerkraut-making to African American quilting to climate change's effects on farming culture.  Support the show Learn more at TexasFolklife.org  This project is supported in par...