Today we’d like to introduce you to Karla Duarte.
Karla, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I feel deep down that my inner-storyteller has been present all along since childhood. Children are known for their imagination, so when I was a kid I used to draw stories that look like crowded cities filled with parks, people, buildings, and details. My family thought that I was going to be an architect, but I never pursued or even thought about that idea. Instead, I studied Art History and Criticism. My favorite class was Film Analysis. I can still remember my Professors’ enthusiasm and critical eye when dissecting a film, he was good and his lectures were trips to the human unconsciousness. The things that are there, but we don’t see unless someone points it out to you…surreal!
Well, I would like to define the place where I’m at today as “home.” Home is a place where I can research, play, discover, and create stories, so with this in mind I would like to share my story.
The story begins in 2010 when the Pacific Arts Movement, a local nonprofit media arts organization launched call-for-filmmakers to produce a short documentary. This opportunity invited anyone with or without experience to make a story on a community leader. That same year my first daughter, María José, was born so I was taking on two new ventures “how to be a mamma” and “how to be a storyteller.”
I filled out the application and proposed to make a story about Valentina Torres a Mixtecan Activist from Oaxaca living in San Diego. In this project, I learned about her inspirational story of struggle and success, and from that moment I became hooked with learning and documenting the stories of people. There is an interesting moment in the interview process that is magical. It is the moment of connecting with a total stranger on an intimate level. My aim as a storyteller is to journey with a particular topic and to bring forward something that could incite dialogue. Sometimes life goes by quickly, we get busy with life, and often we miss the opportunity to learn from other people. In retrospect in the last 10 years, I have listened to people’s stories from all paths of life, and I have learned that people’s stories are interconnected.
In 2012 I decided that I wanted to take storytelling into my community, and I developed an after-school program, Girls! Camera! Action! a female-lead program to teach teenage girls the power of story through the media arts. The program taught middle school girls the art of stop-motion animation, basics in scriptwriting, photography, puppet-making, storyboarding, etc. This program lasted for several years 2012-2017 and it was made possible with local and national funding. After five years of the program, I took a break because I went back to school. However, there is an opportunity to re-launch the program this year with the San Diego Media Arts Center.
In 2014 I embarked on my second short documentary titled In Tune. This project aimed to explore the power of living in the present moment through mindful listening. The documentary is participating in film festivals in the USA and abroad. I interviewed people that work with sound, noise, music, and silence. Some of the findings were that deep listening and genuine connections require present-awareness. The present is where you can bring something forward and when this happens, a new possibility or story begins. Documentary experiences like this give me a grasp of reality, and reality is a good place to wander and inquire.
Today, I am working on my third short documentary about women empowerment and liberation through the mind-body connection titled On The Beat: Feeling Body endorsed and funded by the Latino Public Broadcasting. I will share all about it soon, things are developing as we speak. I am very excited about this opportunity because for the first time my team and I will be experimenting, playing, and exploring with visual elements that I haven’t used before. It is exciting times and times of deep reflection too. However, play stay tuned we are going to have a Crowdfunding Campaign to raise some funds, please follow us on social media at @OnTheBeatDocu.
Has it been a smooth road?
I feel the question can be approached from many angles, let’s say it has been a rewarding road. The struggle for me as a storyteller is finding the quiet space and the time to write stories. I am a full-time working mother of two very active girls ten and eight years old. Also, I have a handsome one-year-old red Golden Retriever. This bunch keeps me busy, very busy. My goal is to be present in their lives and to try to be creative on the go… My mobile phone is a good ally to record some ideas on the go. Sometimes, I am driving my children to school and just like that “boom” an idea flows… At that moment I need to find a pen and some paper, but life is life and you are never 100% prepared, so instead of freaking out, I write on my hand, my daughter’s notebooks, napkins, and anything that I can reach out to because those moments might not come back as easily. They come and go at a speed of light. The struggle is making sure those ideas don’t fly away and if they do, I just have to remind myself, “I will be ready next time.” A good test to be reminded to practice self-compassion instead of judgment.
Please tell us about your work.
I am also an Expressive Arts Therapist working at the San Diego County Psychiatric Hospital. I offer storytelling workshops for people who are looking for healthy outlets to cope with life situations, change, and mental health. The Arts have always been a bridge between the world of the known and the unknown. The Expressive Arts Therapy enables the participant to witness and to process their feelings and their emotions, it provides emotional education, and a safe environment to explore their sense of Self. The goal is to create space and an environment to incite creativity, and to guide the participant to self-discovery and self-recovery.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and the least?
The best thing about San Diego is the many Coffee Shops and Coffee Rosters around town. A good short Americano or a Spanish cortado is a good motivator to start or end the day…and write a story!
I wish the wall on the border between San Diego and Tijuana was nonexistent, at some point in history it was. Have you heard that the best part of San Diego is Tijuana, and the best part of Tijuana is San Diego? Hey, this can shift perspectives and cultural dynamics…why limit ourselves by a wall?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://fduartekarla.wixsite.com/karladuarte
- Phone: (619)788-0382
- Email: thestorytellerkd@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Karla.the.storyteller
Image Credit:
Karla Duarte Girls! Camera! Action!
Karla Duarte “In Tune”
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