A Tribute to Denise

A Tribute to Denise

Author: International Festival of Arts & Ideas October 8, 2025 Duration: 35:36

This deeply moving special episode honors Denise Santisteban, the festival's beloved curator of ideas and storytelling events, who passed away in April 2025. Host Tiffany Hopkins shares four of Denise's most powerful personal stories, performed live between 2017 and 2020, showcasing her remarkable gift for storytelling.

In these intimate narratives, Denise takes us on journeys both physical and emotional:

"Leo" - A heartwarming tale told from the perspective of an aging dog who finds joy in watching a runner pass by his window each morning, leading to an unexpected connection.

"Peru Trek" - Denise confronts her fears during an eight-day trek through the Peruvian mountains to Machu Picchu, discovering what it truly means to persevere when facing terrifying bridges, steep ledges, and her own panic attacks.

"The Little Brown Girl" - A powerful exploration of identity and racism, tracing Denise's experiences from a childhood incident in a schoolyard to adult encounters with prejudice, and her journey toward embracing who she is.

"What's in a Name?" - Denise reflects on a lifetime of navigating her difficult-to-pronounce surname, family heritage, and the surprising moment she learned she'd been pronouncing her own name wrong.

Through these stories, listeners experience Denise's humor, vulnerability, courage, and the deep humanity that made her such an influential voice in the storytelling community. This episode celebrates her legacy and the transformative power of sharing our truths.

Season 4 is dedicated to Denise's memory, featuring programs she was preparing before her passing.

Thanks for listening and don't forget to subscribe on YouTube!


From the vibrant stages and conversations of New Haven's International Festival of Arts & Ideas comes Great Art, Big Ideas, a podcast that captures the festival's spirit of curious collision. Here, a choreographer might explain the geometry of movement alongside a physicist, or a playwright's process illuminates a community's untold history. This isn't a lecture series; it's a collection of dialogues where artistic practice and intellectual inquiry are inseparable, exploring everything from the deeply serious to the delightfully whimsical. Each episode is built on the belief that a novel and a scientific hypothesis can spark similar wonder, and that a performance can challenge assumptions as powerfully as a debate. You'll hear artists, thinkers, and innovators discuss the pressing topics that shape our local communities and the wider world, offering perspectives that often subvert expectations. Tuning into this podcast means accessing the festival's eclectic programming year-round, discovering how a single idea, examined through different lenses, can fundamentally shift your point of view. The conversations are designed to linger, prompting new connections long after the episode ends. It’s for anyone who finds fuel in the space where disciplines meet, where a big idea gives art its resonance and great art makes an idea tangible.
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