Mexican Tales
Before becoming a full time storyteller, Mike founded his company Mexican Tales, to provide Mexican cultural days in schools across Britain. It's stated aim was "to educate and inspire children, giving them a taste of a distinct, vibrant culture. Through drama, storytelling, craftwork, music and games we aim to foster a lasting interest in this unique country and culture. The most popular day with schools was a celebration of the Mexican Day of the Dead, or El Dia de los Muertos."
Whilst curriculum changes have made this a less pressing topic for primary schools, Mike retains a strong connection with Mexico and Latin America, performing at The Day of the Dead celebrations at The Old Vic, The British Museum and The Wellcome Trust. He knows many tales from the Aztecs, the Maya, Cuba, Brazil and Argentina. He speaks Spanish 'con sabor Mexicano' and loves to share these stories with British audiences, whatever their ages.
"Senor Payton provided the children with excellent range of interactive activities that got them really enthused about our Mexican topic...they had a brilliant morning and we used the visit to give them some experiences that we ourselves could not have given them in the classroom." H. Robbins, Lawns School, Derby
"We all had a fantastic day, and the children have subsequently been really excited and enthused by our topic, wanting to know more about sacrifices, Mexico, Spanish ... It really gave them the 'wow' motivating start that I was hoping for, so thankyou..." L. Collins, St. Andrew's Primary School
day of the dead workshop with year 4