Bryanna Mangual

 

Bryanna Mangual (15)

Uptown Summer Youth Employee 2016

Project: Jerry Ford’s House

Listen to Bryanna’s audio portrait here:

 

Do you feel that you are a storyteller?

Yeah, but I feel like I’m more interested in the mysteries. That’s why I like the abandoned buildings. I like the whole concept of figuring out who did the murder or who stole the dog.

 

Has your interest in mysteries had an impact on your work this summer?

It translates into this because it’s kind of a mystery about the house. At first, you don’t know who owned it before, the stories that were in there, and we’re basically learning that. Like the Jerry Ford story. I find that so intriguing and interesting. Because looking at that house and looking through the windows, you can see the wall, the paint peeling off. If you go back into history, [Jerry Ford] told [us] about how all his kids grew up there. You wouldn’t know that just by looking at that abandoned building. It’s just cool to know that there was once a happy family in there or that it wasn’t always sad or lost or abandoned.

 

Is there hope for the abandoned buildings?

There could be a future. If someone wants to fix up that abandoned building, like Sadie’s grandmother did, that’s a cool story.

 

How do like best to tell stories?

I like the digital. If you can show the pictures of the house and you can still put the audio over, I like the visual of it with the audio. It makes it cool. You’re seeing the building and you’re seeing it decaying.

 

What is something that you’re going to take away after Uptown Summer ends?

I think the stories that people tell here. When people come for lunch and they tell their stories and then they tell their stories after lunch – I’ll always carry that with me.

 

Is there power in being able to tell your own story?

I think it’s really powerful. You can express yourself in a story. It depends on how you’re feeling. If you’re sad, you can do a mystery or a sad story. If you’re feeling happy you can do a romance story.