WEST VALLEY CITY — For families in multilingual communities like West Valley City, a story told in a familiar language can be more than words on a page; it can be a bridge between two worlds.
Valeria Nuñez and Jaime Fuentealba are a wife-and-husband author duo who spend their weekends traveling to libraries and events, sharing stories of adventure and wonder in both English and Spanish. Nuñez writes the books and Fuentealba translates them into English.
"The kids wanted it, the parents wanted it, and the people that managed the libraries also wanted bilingual materials as well. There's not much material out there that has both," Fuentealba explained.
The duo will read Nuñez's childrens' stories at the annual "Roll & Read" event on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Fairbourne Station Promenade & Plaza in West Valley City.
The duo, featured at the bilingual book festival — Libro Fest SLC — earlier this year, read Nuñez's books to kids in West Valley City and other areas, including Salt Lake City, Magna, and Provo.
Nuñez noted that language connection plays a key role in how children learn.
"When the kids have connections with the language, they can learn more easily," Nuñez said.
For the duo, literacy goes beyond reading words on a page.
"We help create moments so the children can not only understand the language, but they can feel it," Fuentealba explained. "Listening to other languages, even if you don't understand them, it makes you open your eyes: 'Oh, there are things that work differently; people come from different cultures, and react differently.'"
Fuentealba said keeping cultures alive through language has a broader impact.
"Keeping the different cultures alive can help with diversity, and the diversity can help expand our minds, learn faster, and help us feel that we're not alone in the world," Fuentealba said.
