WELCOME STRANGER

We foster global citizenship through storytelling that brings you new perspectives from around the world. Centered on local voices, each of our guides takes you to a new location, through stories on literature and sports to social movements and history.

Join us on the journey.

WELCOME STRANGER

Texas

How folklórico took over Texas

High schools compete in the dancing style and the best dancers find themselves recruited like all-star football players.

by Stranger’s Guide
It’s as much a religion in Texas as cheerleading and has the attention to detail of a prom. Amalia Hernández started Ballet Folklórico in Mexico in the late 1950s. The new dancing style fused Mexican mestizo with indigenous and modern dance techniques. Folklórico is now offered as a program in schools throughout Texas, allowing students to immerse themselves in the color and costumes of Mexico and represent that culture through regional dance. Today, there are ...

Global

Behind The Mask

In the wake of a pandemic like SARS or Coronavirus, the surgical mask is a misunderstood accessory.

by Stranger’s Guide
In the West, the surgical mask is a required part of the doctor’s toolkit, a must-have ...

Bogotá

The Street: Bogotá, 1960

Never-before-translated vignettes on city-life by a young Gabriel García Márquez

by Gabriel García Márquez, translated by José Vargas
In 1960 the Camacho Roldan Bookstore published a series of books under the title Colombia: Country ...

Mediterranean

Disorganized Crime

How the Albanian mafia went global

by Alex Hannaford
The takedown happened over five days in the chilly spring of 2009 in suburban New Jersey. ...

Lagos

Nollywood: The film industry where women call the shots

"Access allows you to have a voice on-screen. Access allows you to put more women in the room.”

by Daniel Okechukwu
A few years ago, Isioma Osaje was studying medicine at Igbinedion University in Benin City, Nigeria. ...

Texas

Legal Lynching

On death row in Texas

In 2016, a police officer was shot to death in San Antonio. A man was arrested, ...

Moscow

Russia’s Hip-Hop Underground

How an uncensored strain of rap is mounting a fight for free expression

by Michael Idov
Last summer at Moscow’s Flacon, a former Soviet crystal factory converted into a hub of hipster ...

Caribbean

My Father’s Land

The indelible marks of slavery in Jamaica

by Courtney Desiree Morris
Where are your monuments, your battles, martyrs? Where is your tribal memory? Sirs, in that grey ...

Global

A Pandemic Year

Observations from a year following global headlines

by Stranger’s Guide
Nearly a month before life as we knew it ground to a halt in much of ...

Caribbean

Hispaniola

The tense border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti

by Joshua Jelly-Schapiro
High in the steep, green mountains of central Hispaniola, near the long and porous border that ...

Lagos

The Kuti Legacy

Femi Kuti on politics, family and the future of Nigerian music

by
A uniquely congenial atmosphere welcomes visitors to The New Afrika Shrine in the Ikeja area of ...

Ireland

So Long Out of Ireland

Teaching storytelling as a national tradition

by Colum McCann
I have been out of Ireland for many years, but in fact, I have never left. ...

Did You Know?

Global

Ready, Willing and Able

Disaster volunteers not affiliated with an emergency response organization are often referred to as Spontaneous Unaffiliated Volunteers. While SUVs can be an asset in times of crisis, they may also pose a challenge for relief organizers, who may have trouble managing high numbers of untrained individuals in the wake of a disaster.

Captivating stories that bring the world to you.

Stranger’s Guide brings international locations into new focus, commissioning stories from local writers and photographers to build authentic portraits of a place. We design our award-winning print guides, newsletters, carefully selected products and partnerships to combat stereotypes while expanding global citizenship.

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