Xelena González

🌧️ POSTPONED Due to Rain 🌧️ Join us Mother’s Day weeked for an afternoon celebrating stories, community gardens, and Mother Earth. On Saturday May 9th at 12:30 we will be joined by celebrated picture book author @xfactor.live , creator of the titles Of the Sun, All Around Us, Por todo nuestro alrededor, Where Wonder Grows, and Donde las maravillas crecen. All tickets are free, but you can kindly donate books to children and families in attendance via the @eventbrite or @bookshop_org links in the bio. All assistance is much appreciated 💗

🌧️ POSTPONED Due to Rain 🌧️ Join us in Bette’s Rose Garden Saturday May 9th 12pm for storytime by author @xfactor.live with FREE books and planting in the garden beds 📚☀️🌻 Link in bio - registration is not required, but is VERY helpful in the preparations for the event. You can also gift a child a FREE copy of the books at @eventbrite or @bookshop_org links 💗 📍Bette’s Rose Garden 1017 Teller Ave. The Bronx, New York 10456

Join us this Friday, May 1st for a Closing Reception from noon to 2 at the @ollu_ifcc 🤗 I plan to share some of my residency reflections and will read a newly-published essay from the young adult anthology ONWARD. Enjoy conversation, Q&A, and light refreshments. Drop in! 📍International Folk Culture Center at Our Lady of the Lake University, MARC Building (411 SW 24th Street 🚙 parking available in Lot B)

Happy Earth Day 🌎 Go touch a tree🌳 And enjoy this remedy from our collection LOTERIA REMEDIOS… “EL ARBOL is a powerful symbol for anyone feeling called to return to their roots. It signifies the need to go within, to return to your own inner strength, your groundwork of personal truths and understandings. A tree’s roots can grow as far and wide as her branches reach, so her source of strength and fortification is mostly unseen. This is true for us humans as well … It is time to touch a tree, to be out in nature and receive nourishment in whatever way you may need. Try the simple practice of grounding yourself with bare feet on earth. This reminds our body to stay rooted, stand tall, and sway with the winds of change. Continue to reach up and branch out in new directions, knowing that you are a part of nature, whole and ever growing.” 📖 “El Arbol” excerpt from LOTERIA REMEDIOS Guidebook, written by Xelena González, with a 54-card deck reimagined / illustrated by Jose Sotelo Yamasaki. Published by Hay House / Penguin Random House. 📚 Available worldwide wherever books are borrowed /sold. And if not, please request it 😉 🎥 Videography by @ollusaart art major Dayanara Torres 🙏🏽 If you’d like to receive more remedies like this, please comment, share, and tell a friend 💚 #earth #earthday #affirmations #naturelover #trees

Educators, Librarians, & Caregivers, join me for a special workshop this Saturday, April 18th, 3-5pm at @ollu_ifcc 📖 During my librarian days, I began adding components of music & movement to my programs. 🎶 That has continued in my author visits over the past 8 years. Come learn my methods of “Tai Chi” Storytelling, Dancing the Elements, Embody the Remedy, and more. Educators are encouraged to attend this blend of storytime, best practices, and modeled movement. 🧘🏽‍♀️ Wear comfortable clothing & bring a journal 📝 💰 FREE for OLLU staff, faculty, students, and alum, although donations are always appreciated. Members of the community are asked to pay on a sliding scale of $8–88 to allow all income levels to participate. 📍International Folk Culture Center at Our Lady of the Lake University, MARC Building (411 SW 24th Street 🚙 parking available in Lot B)

Everybody’s favorite book festival is happening this Saturday at Central Library from 9-5📚 Then the poets will gather on the Southside at 6pm for Viva Poesía at Mission Marquee 🌙 My showtimes… 🌞 11:15 > Storytime with @adrianamjgarcia featuring our new books in the session “Lullabies & Rallying Cries” 📚 Book signing follows at noon. ✍🏽 1:45 > Illustrator Draw Off ! Join me as i emcee this crowd pleaser 🎤 🎨 📍 Both events take place at the HEB Gazebo 🏃🏽‍♀️ Then… 8:15pm at Viva Poesía @mission_marquee_plaza There’s a whole lineup of live music, poetry, and activities happening from 6-10pm 🎶 See yall out there 😎

Of the Sun is a 2026 Tomás Rivera Book Mexican American Children’s Book Award winner! ✨ 🎉 Written by @xfactor.live and illustrated by @emilykewageshig Of the Sun is a powerful and hopeful ode to Indigenous children. Thank you to @txstcoe for this honor! Image description: A 3D cover image of the book ‘Of the Sun’ with text that reads, “A 2026 Tomás Rivera Book Award winner”.

Join me TOMORROW (Sat.2/28) for two special experiences 🌹 Write Your Own Remedio > 3-4pm Embody the Remedy > 4:30-6pm This two-part workshop is based on my curative guidebook Lotería Remedios 📖🌿 Participants will write their own remedy & add gentle movement for their own healing practice ✍🏽🌱 The second component is a newly-designed somatic practice that explores icons of the traditional deck through restorative poses & guided movement. Participants may join one or both sessions. Bring comfortable clothes, water, a journal, and a yoga mat (extras are available). 💰FREE for OLLU students, staff, faculty, and alumni. Community members may pay on a sliding scale of $8—$88, allowing all income levels to participate. (A few scholarships are available thanks to a generous contribution by Jacinta Adams 🙏🏽) 🎶 Live music by @sweet_emergence 📍 The MARC/IFCC Ballroom is located at Our Lady of the Lake University 🚙 Enter campus on Providence & park in Lot B. My story will include a “how to get there” video. 🗓️ Though this will be the only offering of its kind, I’ll host a few more events this spring during my residency at the @ollu_ifcc 🌻 See pinned post for details.

Out today: ONWARD is a young adult anthology that includes my essay “The World Within” alongside a batch of fiction by other cool writers including @karinaiceberg @venkatraman.padma @airglo_ @erinentrada & others I hope to meet someday. Thank you @noracarpenterwrites for inviting me to the party💫 I must admit that I had a “cheese stands alone” moment when I realized that ~ though offered a choice ~ all the other writers submitted fiction 😆 Still, you’ll find within ALL these pages an undercurrent of care, tenderness, concern, and love for our planet that is sure to resonate with readers of many ages 🌎 My story surrounds a magical moment in nature that shaped me as a writer & a living being 🌳 So I celebrated today by planting food in my garden and reading my essay seated inside my favorite tree ~ one of them anyway 😉 You can see I make tree friends easily & everywhere: 1. Backyard, Westside 2. Woodlawn Lake 3. Miami Bayfront 4. San Miguel Charco 5. Wimberly Winter Solstice 6. somewhere in Spain 7. Puerto Escondido, Oaxaca 8. El Paso, home of @chikitlinski & @siwinski (seriously, i think i have as many photos with plants & trees as i do people 😹) Like all my books, you can get (or request) ONWARD by @charlesbridgepublishing at any library or bookstore 📚 🙏🏽

This Sunday we’re welcoming special guest, author Xelena González @xfactor.live to La Planta to guide us through a magical Oracle Lotería experience 🌀🌱 An afternoon of stories, symbolism, playful card readings, and of course, games + little prizes 🌟 Come learn a bit of the history, pull a card for fun, and hang out with us in good company. Decks + merch will be available for those who want to take a piece home. Hosted by Xelena González @xfactor.live Illustrations by @josesoteloart Join us on this interactive Sunday moment 🌀

My artist residency at the @ollu_ifcc includes 4 offerings this semester 🫶🏽 Save the dates if you’d like to join these unique experiences blending story and movement. Each slide includes event details… February 28th Write Your Own Remedio > 3-4pm  Embody the Remedy > 4:30-6pm March 14th  “Spring Cleaning” Story Circle > 3-5pm April 18th  Educator Workshop with X  > 3-5pm May 1st Closing Reception > 12-2pm 💰 All events are FREE for OLLU staff, students, faculty & alum. Community members may pay on a sliding scale of $8—$88, allowing all income levels to participate. Your donations sustain my artistic practice 🙏🏽 📍 All events will take place in the MARC/IFCC Ballroom, located at Our Lady of the Lake University 🚙 Enter campus on Providence & park in Lot B. My story will include a “how to get there” video on the day of each event.

Join us in welcoming U.S. Poet Laureate Joy Harjo to the Westside of San Antonio / Yanaguana🪶 This free event takes place Friday 1/30 at the newly-renovated Las Palmas Library. Each family will receive a signed copy of the acclaimed picture book FOR A GIRL BECOMING written by JOY HARJO @joyharjoforreal and illustrated by our community’s own Adriana M. Garcia 📚 @adrianamjgarcia Guest poets at this family-friendly event include Texas Poet Laureate Laurie Ann Guerrero and Xelena González @xfactor.live , whose picture book OF THE SUN will also be gifted to the community 🌞 A brief Q&A will follow the readings. Light refreshments and take-home art kits will be provided 🎨  We would like to thank the many organizations who sponsored this years-long dream to bring Joy to our beloved Westside, to celebrate the arrival of her beautiful new book with Adriana, and to acknowledge indigenous heritage within our Chicano community through the power of art & literature 🤎 📍 Location: 🌴 Las Palmas Branch Library, 515 Castroville Rd, San Antonio, TX 78237 🗓️ Friday, January 30th. Doors open at 5:30pm. With a special land acknowledgment by Destiny Hernandez @destiny_the_dancer_ 📕 Books are available while supplies last. 🙏🏽Generous Sponsors: Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center @guadalupeculturalarts ,  San Antonio  Public Library @mysapl , San Antonio Book Festival @sabookfestival , American  Indians of Texas at the Spanish Colonial Missions @aitscm , and Frank Jasso ❄️ Weather permitting