stories. strategies. connection.
about
Rosanna Alvarez is an award winning author and multifaceted interdisciplinary storyteller with cross-sector experience and a knack for collective strategy. She activates her storytelling as a a writer, speaker, and collaborative strategist.
Rosanna has shared her story of growth, entrepreneurship, advocacy, and heart with various audiences who have found the sincerity of her words inspiring and relatable. Her facilitation and consulting is centered around elevating collective conversations while thriving fiercely in the fullness of authenticity.
As a published author, she writes creative nonfiction and poetry that addresses self-recovery, voice, and liberation. Rosanna describes her writing as a constant process of re-membering herself whole while translating the living legacy of the stories that have shaped us into who we have become both individually and collectively. She is a boot wearing, hat loving Chicana, a mother of three guerreras, and a trucker’s wife. She has collaborated, facilitated and strategized extensively with several local nonprofits, government agencies, and arts administrators. She currently teaches at San José State University and is the creative force behind Citlali Rose, the voice of the Hella Chingona Podcast, and the co-founder and editorial director of Eastside Magazine.
Her award winning debut poetry collection entitled Braided [Un]Be-Longing is a 2023 International Book Awards finalist for The Juan Felipe Herrera Best Poetry Book Award and for Best Cover Design.
BRAIDED [UN]BE-LONGING
Available Now
Braided [Un]Be-Longing is the long-anticipated debut collection from the sincere and thought-provoking poet Rosanna Alvarez. A braided cultural journey across space and time, the heart-felt collection intricately weaves together the most unanticipated spaces of poetic legacy found in the everyday and in everybody. The poems read like a complicated love letter to community, family, and culture, offering a glimpse into the collective excavation of journeying toward belonging.
Now available for purchase at Barnes & Noble and Amazon!
Poetry Downloads
In honor of National Poetry Month, and as an extension of the legacy of activism in our poetry, help yourself to some healing salve with free downloadable poetry!
Somos Xicanas Anthology
Available Now
Edited by Luz Schweig
Riot of Roses Publishing House
This wildly anticipated, multi-genre anthology illuminates both the enduring and the new Xicana identity, presence and culture through the voices of 80 Xicanas, including Xicana trailblazers like Ana Castillo, Sandra Cisneros, Lorna Dee Cervantes, Irene I. Blea, Carmen Tafolla, and the 24th poet laureate of the United States, Ada Limón. Other contributors include poet laureates Melinda Palacio, ire'ne lara silva and Angie Trudell Vasquez, along with the first Queer/Muxer Chair of el Partido Nacional La Raza Unida, La Doctora Chola, Vanessa Marie Bustamante.
services
In addition to book talks and poetry readings, Rosanna Alvarez collaborates with organizations and individuals to elevate collective conversations while thriving fiercely in the fullness of authenticity. She offers a range of facilitation services and workshops that reflect the breadth of her experience by incorporating healing centered engagement strategies that are culturally responsive, trauma informed, infused with art and culture, and tailored toward the specific needs of your organization, while centering equity, diversity, and inclusion. She has consulted on and facilitated work toward various culturally responsive approaches, including work on the Santa Clara County Public Health Report, development of gender responsive curriculum for youth and adults, and coached clients toward their professional development goals. Her speeches are captivating and reflect the sincerity of how she meets challenges head on with the aim to thrive in her work.
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Ideation & Creation.
It all begins with an idea and some creativity. For Rosanna, that tends to find its way into the world in several ways. One of her biggest joys is offering up curated collections of her visual and literary arts as books that inspire creativity and connection.
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Collaboration & Activation.
Eastside Magazine was co-founded by Omar Rodriguez & Rosanna Alvarez to highlight the community’s deeply rooted history, cultural vibrancy, ample assets and considerable resources. It remains a wildly beautiful humbling affirmation to continue to tell our stories con sabor y corazón. Submit a story, take a look, or subscribe at the link below.
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Reflection & Connection.
The Hella Chingona Podcast™ was created with the intent to build on an archive of stories where Chingonas thrive. The idea is to create an on-going conversation that uplifts through testimonio (our personal story telling) in a way that brings folks together across space and time anchored in sincerity, power, and community. Take a listen or contact Rosanna to be a featured guest on the podcast.
