For those of you who don't mind a little salty language - in the service of telling it like it happened - here's video of a true personal story I told last fall, live at The Moth StorySLAM. Don't let the title fool you. This is a love story. I was thrilled, and a...
I may never live down The Tamale Incident, my moment of infamy in the Lopez-Lee family. In this live personal story, I confess what happened that day and why sometimes, just sometimes, I feel like a failed Mexican woman. Thanks to Larry Dean Harris for inviting me to...
I've been excited to appear in many in-person storytelling shows that have returned to the stage, but I'm also grateful for the virtual shows still online. They create opportunities for storytellers and audiences to share stories when they can't get out, make friends...
Personal storytelling is back to the live onstage world, and what a gift to fully interact with storytellers and audiences again. Through the pandemic, I've been grateful to use Zoom and other online streaming platforms to stay engaged with community via the art of...
I've been moved by the audiences who've taken an interest in the stories of my search for the family history of my Mexican-Chinese Grandma. In 2021, I had a few opportunities to share the story of my journey to China to heal an old family divide. In case you haven't...
As my holiday gift to you, allow me to share a funny, touching story that originally aired on The Otter Story Hour's show: Family Feast. Every Christmas, visions of tamales dance in my head. Actually, I eat tamales year-round, maybe because I'm a Mexican who grew up...
If you're involved in the world of live personal storytelling, as a teller or a fan, then you know the pandemic didn't stop us but only prompted us to find each other online, thanks to dedicated producers who took their shows to the virtual road. Such shows are part...
A story can mean different things at different times. In 2019, I first told this one, Cara Lopez Lee Gets A Reporting Job (a.k.a. The Boss of Last Resort) for Daniel David Shapiro's podcast, Two Truths and a Lie. It's the story of the most racist, sexist, intolerant...
At The Moth StorySlam in L.A., at Busby's East on December 11, 2019, I told a true personal story I've long hoped to tell, on a theme that means a lot to me: Family. It marked one of my most treasured moments connecting with an audience. I was proud to come in third...
? Above is a video Daniel David Shapiro recently released of me telling a story at his live L.A. show and podcast, Two Truths and a Lie. Dan's show presents irresistible challenges for storytellers, as we all strive to keep the audience guessing: If Dan asks me to...
Cara Lopez Lee is the author of They Only Eat Their Husbands. She’s a winner of The Moth StorySLAM and performs in many storytelling shows, including Unheard L.A., and Strong Words. Her writing appears in such publications as Los Angeles Times, Manifest-Station, and Writing for Peace. She’s a traveler, swing dancer, and baker of pies. Cara and her husband live in the beach-town of Ventura, California, where they enjoy tending their Certified Wildlife Habitat full of birds.
