Japanese-born Motoko and Colombian-American Jasmin Cardenas will grip your heart with intimate and lively tales about their bicultural experiences.

Motoko has enchanted audiences of all ages for nearly 30 years. She trained with master mime Tony Montanaro and renowned Appalachian storyteller Elizabeth Ellis. Motoko’s repertoire includes Asian folktales, Rakugo and Zen tales, ghost stories, mime vignettes, and oral memoirs from her childhood in Osaka and life as an immigrant in the U.S.

A National Storytelling Network 2017 Circle of Excellence Award winner, Motoko has appeared on PBS’s Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and at the National Storytelling Festival, Timpanogos Storytelling Festival, and Bay Area Storytelling Festival. She is the author of “A Year in Japan: Folktales, Songs and Art for the Classroom.” Her story CDs have earned a Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Award, Storytelling World Award, and National Parenting Publications Award (NAPPA). Read all of her impressive accomplishments at motoko.folktales.net.

Jasmin Cardenas is an award-winning, bilingual storyteller, actress, writer, educator and activist. Born to Colombian immigrants, she’s always lived between two worlds. The Chicagoan says she pursues artistic and community work that will change one heart at a time. She will be featured at the National Storytelling Festival in 2021 as a New Voice. Learn more at jasmincardenas.com.