June 7th, 2012

Thank God for talkers.

I grew up at the knee of front-porch talkers, of people who could tell a story and make you believe you had been there, right there, in the path of the bullet or the train, in the warm arms of a new mother, in the teeth of a mean dog. The men, sometimes dog drunk, sometimes flush with religion but always alight with the power of words, could make you feel the breath of the arching blade as it hissssssed past their face on the beer joint floor, could make you taste the blood in your mouth from the fist that had smashed into their own, could make you hear the loose change in the deputy’s pocket as he ran, reaching for them, just steps behind.

The women in my world, aunts and cousins and grandmas and a girlfriend or two, could telegraph straight to your brain the beauty of babies you never touched, songs you never heard, loves you never felt. They could make you cry about a funeral you never saw, make you mourn for a man you had never even met. They could make you give a damn about the world around you. They had a gift, one the rest of us who aspire to be storytellers can only borrow. 

The tradition of storytelling was still strong when I was born in 1959. I notice, every time I go home to Alabama, that it still is. Television hasn’t killed it. It might, yet. But it is nice to believe it will be there forever…. -“Somebody Told Me” by Rick Bragg

2 notes
alabama books journalism rick bragg somebody told me story storytelling writing pulitzer prize new york times
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@euvelab

Wassup? My name is Eugenia Vela. I was born and raised in San Pedro, Garza García in Nuevo León, México. I moved to Austin in 2008 and got my bachelor's degree in Journalism from the University of Texas.

I write. Sometimes fiction (my first love). But here you can find a few samples from my journalism portfolio. I've written for both online and print publications. I've dealt with music, film, fashion, as well as features and profiles on artists and business owners. I've covered festivals like South by Southwest, Pachanga Fest, Nrmal Fest, Fashion Freakout and Cine Las Américas. I've done video interviews with Grammy nominees and winners such as Ximena Sariñana, Anita Tijoux, Gustavo Galindo and Kinky. I also have experience with copy editing for online and print journalism. I was senior editor of UT's Orange Magazine, which included pitching story ideas, editing rounds and releasing weekly newsletters. I'm also bilingual, which has come in handy while living in the great state of Texas.

I love people. I love words. I love telling stories. Storytelling will never die, ya hear?

By the by, this site also contains my personal tumblr-- meaning you will find favorite book and movie quotes along with pictures of supermodels and cheese.