Antonio Rocha is a captivating fellow. A storyteller and mime, he is one of Gateway’s most popular visiting artists. Since 2007, the globe-trotting Rocha has been making a stop in western Pennsylvania to bring stories from around the world to life with elements of mime, sound effects, captivating characterizations and physical comedy. He has performed at the Kennedy Center, The Smithsonian, The National Storytelling Festival among many other venues in Europe, Africa and the Americans and now Mr. Rocha can add “author” to his list of accomplishments.

Published in September, his book The Party in the Sky is his adaptation of the traditional Brazilian folktale of how the Turtle got its decorative shell.

"This book is about facing adversities, overcoming obstacles and having your dreams come true. Turtle wants to fly to a Party in the Sky. At first it sounds like a laughable dream. A flying turtle?!!! But with perseverance, kindness, patience and hope turtle's dream does come true. It is a great read, with great illustration. Fun for the whole family," says Antonio Rocha.

Bilingual in English and Portuguese, the book is published by Educa Brazil, a division of Educa Vision, Inc. a publisher and distributor of multicultural books.  Educa Brazil’s mission is to make a valuable contribution to the body of Brazilian-related educational materials in the United States, stimulating learning and increasing knowledge of this rich culture while linguistically connecting teachers, students and community leaders.

A Festa no Céu is a delightful story with illustrations by Cedrick Dawson. The staff at Gateway are excited about its release and are already looking at ways the book can be integrated into classroom programming.

While Mr. Rocha was just here in October and visited schools in Allegheny, Butler and Fayette Counties, he is scheduled to return in April and still has some open availability for his performance program, Crossroads. Contact This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to schedule your program today.

Antonia Rocha at Edgewood Elementary, Woodland Hills School District, October 2010.