This Friday, StoryCorps will feature a San Antonio couple during its weekly segment on NPR’s Morning Edition, airing locally on Texas Public Radio’s KSTX 89.1 FM.
StoryCorps, is an independent nonprofit whose mission is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives. Since 2003, StoryCorps has collected and archived more than 40,000 interviews from more than nearly 80,000 participants. Each conversation is recorded on a free CD to share, and is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. StoryCorps is one of the largest oral history projects of its kind, and millions listen to our weekly broadcasts on NPR’s Morning Edition.
Henry Flores and his wife, Gwendolyn Diaz, recorded a conversation when Texas Public Radio partnered with StoryCorps in February 2008. StoryCorps parked its MobileBooth in Alamo Plaza for six weeks and recorded nearly 200 stories from Alamo City residents.
In 2008, Texas Public Radio produced local StoryCorps segments from recordings collected from StoryCorps’ visit and aired them throughout the year. Flores and Diaz’s story will air this Friday during NPR’s Morning Edition in the 7 o’clock hour, local time. Listeners can find the segment online Friday at npr.org and storycorps.org.
The couple’s story is also included in the newly released book All There Is: Love Stories From StoryCorps, by Dave Isay, the project’s founder. From the excitement and anticipation of courtship to the deep connection of lifelong commitment, the collection of stories help readers discover that love is found in the most unexpected of places. All There Is: Love StoryCorps is available online at storycorps.org/book and in local bookstores.
This March, the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center is partnering with StoryCorps to bring the project to San Antonio for two days. During this time, Texas Public Radio has invited two pairs of notable San Antonians to contribute their stories for the project, former Mayor Phil Hardberger and his wife, Linda, and Congressman Charlie Gonzalez and his mother Bertha. Texas Public Radio is also coordinating with StoryCorps for a possible return of the MobileBooth in Spring 2013.