<\/p>\n
Friday night, Raven Narratives hosted a sold-out show at the Mancos United Methodist Church, the town\u2019s first event of its kind. Nine individuals presented stories to the audience, each related to the event\u2019s theme of belonging.<\/p>\n
Rosa Sabido, who is currently taking sanctuary in the church, also presented during the event, reading English and Spanish poetry about the feeling of longing and the nature of belonging.<\/p>\n
Sabido, who is taking sanctuary in the church to avoid deportation to Mexico, brought a presence to the event that endowed the night\u2019s theme of belonging with a special resonance that was not lost on event co-producers Sarah Syverson and Tom Yoder.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last year or so has been a really special time in Mancos around Rosa Sabido,\u201d Yoder said during introductions at the event. \u201cI am so proud of this town and the stand being taken around Rosa. \u2026 It\u2019s been a really wonderful time to see people come together around a cause. Thank you, Mancos, for that as well.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sabido, who enjoyed a front-row view during the event, said the event was \u201clike a cake\u201d for her and was her \u201cnight out.\u201d She says the church, which she hasn\u2019t left since her arrival in June 2017, is not typically so lively on a Friday evening; the event was a fun respite from the quiet evenings she normally has.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou identify yourself in a bit of everyone\u2019s story,\u201d Sabido said. \u201cMy story is not going to be the same as the others, but there\u2019s something that we all connect. We\u2019re all connected.\u201d<\/p>\n
A community celebration in the church is scheduled for Nov. 10 to commemorate Sabido\u2019s more than 500-day stay at the church and to observe D\u00eda de Muertos, a Mexican celebration for honoring dead family and friends, for the first time since her mother\u2019s passing in June 2018<\/a>.<\/p>\n As Syverson and Yoder made introductions to the crowd at the beginning of the event, they expressed joy that they were \u201cfinally\u201d bringing a Raven Narratives event to Mancos for the first time.<\/p>\n \u201cI just want to say \u2018thank you\u2019 to all the people in this room,\u201d Yoder said as the event began. \u201cI feel really full right now because so many of you have helped me feel like I belong here in Mancos.\u201d<\/p>\n Storytellers who presented during the event included Lille Diane, who presented first. She presented her coming-of-age story, beginning with her escape from home to San Fransisco. Her story followed her path from court wardship to foster care and beyond, ending with her recent 50th anniversary of finally finding belonging.<\/p>\n Gabriel Bernier, a Mancos resident, presented a story about the complicated relationship he developed with his father, whom he called a \u201ccomplicated man.\u201d When Bernier was young, his father was an accessible, loving adult for him and his friends. However, as both Bernier and his father aged, each found himself falling into a deep depression. Bernier\u2019s father later died, and the story ends with Bernier\u2019s journey to find belonging once his father was gone.<\/p>\n