Cuentos y Cantos al Desierto - Bilingual Field Seminar

[Stacey Villalobos]

Hola todes,

I am reaching out to share that for the third year in a row, the Mono Lake Committee has invited me to facilitate a bilingual field seminar in the Mono Basin of the Eastern Sierras. Cuentos y Cantos al Desierto is open to all native and heritage Spanish speaking people that also identify as Black, Indigenous or as a Person of Color. The program begins Friday September 4th and closes Sunday, September 6th. 

Registration is offered at a sliding scale rate and camping is free and available for those that need it. Space is limited so please keep this in mind as you plan for September. 

My ask from you today is if you could help spread the word by sharing this with your community, colleagues and loved ones in California. Water issues across the West are critical and outdoor education provides a pathway for students to become citizen scientists, advocates and more. 

Sharing allows these communities access to a fully bilingual program grounded in the desert ecology of the Eastern Sierras through cultural traditions and practices. A flyer is attached for distribution.

Below are also excerpts from the flyers and a student testimonial. Full itinerary details can be found in Spanish and in English. Registration can be found here.

Lastly, please feel free to reach out if you have any questions or comments. I am also available to facilitate similar programming in New Mexico through partnerships and collaborations. Pamparios, thank you! - Blanca Stacey 🌿

~~~

Student Reflection from 2025 Cohort

“Working with Blanca was refreshing and fluid. It awakened in me a long-held desire to engage further in my connectedness with the elements in order to strengthen my sense of community in the surrounding lands. The other than humans I encountered along this retreat shared their wisdom and beauty and helped me engage in a deeper thought process of how I navigate the next 40 years of my life. Referencing collective wisdom and wisdom that felt familiar was also needed as it bridged the gap between feeling able to take space in places that have been colonized in certain respects and understanding my own personal, social, emotional power within this context. I cannot wait to be able to have Blanca as my guide and teacher and comrade in this ongoing journey with the ecospirit.” - Michelle Pereira

Cuentos y Cantos al Desierto: September 4-6, 2026

"La tierra es testigo de nuestras ofrendas, ¿cómo podemos honrar nuestra relación con la naturaleza a través de nuestras voces? Over the course of a weekend, participants will be guided on a series of outings that will explore reciprocity as an offering through stories and song. Exchanges with plants, animals, and the elements will inform our relationship with the lands, people, and communities we call home. 

As a bilingual field seminar, we will co-create an experience for all levels of Spanish and English and welcome spanglish, pochismo, and Indigenous languages from our lineages. Some activities may include, but are not limited to: hiking, birdwatching, botany, meditation, journaling, storytelling, singing, and embodied voice practices. If you have a voice, you can sing!"

Con amor y en solidaridad, 

B. Stacey Villalobos

Pronouns: they/them/theirs

Pronombres: elle

Cultural Worker & Interdisciplinary Artist

www.blancasvillalobos.com