"My Fathers Dragon" and How it Helped Me Preserve Latinx Oral Histories
- 2 hours ago
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Today I want to share.
Pictured: 7th grade, 13 years old. Disneyland. The summer I found “My Father’s Dragon.”
2000. San Diego. Summertime.
Story Time:
“My Father’s Dragon” had a profound impact on my formative teenage years, growing up in that coveted Y2K era. AOL was a luxury for the echelons of the middle class, and not something our small family could afford. Instead, libraries became a beacon where I could truly submerge myself.
Pictured Book: “My Father’s Dragon” by Ruth Stiles Gannett
That’s when I found this book. Of all places, I found it in a free bin, no doubt because of its worn-out condition, and in a way, a reflection of its wondrous content. It had been loved, and it showed.
My own father passed when I was 2.5 years old, and I always daydreamed about what kind of adventures he would go on. Perhaps he was a pirate, perhaps he was a long-lost prince, or perhaps he had a dragon.
“My Father’s Dragon” ultimately led me on a lifelong adventure of tracking down my ancestry and his estranged family. That journey also led me down the path of devoting my life to preserving Latinx oral histories and making sure our stories were archived for future generations.
For me, it started when I was 13 years old, and I embarked on sending a letter by snail mail to every person in the yellow pages who had my father’s last name. I was determined to find his dragon. And I did, years later, when I was 22 years old as a student at CalArts. But more importantly, I eventually met my own dragon. And he showed me the wonder and places we could explore together with a little bit of imagination and a little bit of courage.
To me, this is a testament that children’s stories shape us. They create heroes, role models, and leaders. And sometimes all it takes is someone’s dragon to show you you’re not alone.
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