Hella Chingona Podcast

08/02/2024

A few Chingonas trusted me enough to jump right in to assist with the 2nd Annual celebration of Women's History Month at History Park. We're jazzed the folks at History San Jose were down with our ideas and we've been working hard to represent La Raza Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley.

👉We've added:
💟 an all womens owned lowrider exhibition,
💟 a chingona floricanto (poetry+) line-up, aaaand
💟 we're hoping to have a great line-up of women-owned businesses join us as pop up vendors.

Did I mention these chingonas also brought in some sponsorships and key partnerships?! ❤️‍🔥

So, join us on March 9th! For now, spread the word to your favorite mujer vendors and nudge em to join us too!

About thr event:
Join us in our second annual celebration of Women's History Month at History Park! This year, Mosaic America will host diverse cultural performances and workshops in front of the Pacific Hotel, La Raza Historical Society will curate live poetry readings in the Empire Firehouse and a woman-owned lowrider show with Mas Dulce as the Emcee and DJ, while History San José offers interactive craft stations that highlight local historical figures. Historic buildings and indoor exhibitions will be open to the public with a range of outdoor vendors and community organization booths throughout History Park.

Complimentary meals will be given to attendees who register and check into the event (first-come, first-serve) with delicious drinks and treats available for purchase at O'Brien's, through woman-owned business Pennylane.

Don't miss this festive, family-friendly community gathering as we honor the achievements and contributions of women throughout Santa Clara Valley's history.

Thank You Sponsors
This event would not be possible without the generous support of the Santa Clara County Office of Women's Policy and Daylight Foods.

28/06/2023

Join host Rosanna Alvarez in conversation with Elodia Esperanza Benitez on the Hella Chingona Podcast. We’ll be talking about Elodia's journey as a fierce mujer and writer of flowers and fire, all while navigating a landscape that is often hostile to those she loves most - her gente. With faith and grace, flowers and fire, poetically - of course!

19/06/2023

14/06/2023

14/06/2023

Join Rosanna Alvarez in conversation with Dulce Aguilera as we talk about life, community, heart, and red lipstick resistance.

Dulce is rooted in the East Side of San Jose. She is an Adult Probation Community Worker committed to changing the narratives and lives of Justice Involved Families, while giving them the tools to thrive. A sCHOLAr Chingona, breaking generational traumas, grounded in community and heart --all while rocking those red lips!

05/06/2023

Reviving those summer vibes and bringing back the streaming live 😬

Join me in conversation with of as we talk about her storytelling mojo and the upcoming release of her debut children's book - Buttons Finds His Mojo.

Updating with Livestream details soon because I can be indecisive AF when presented with too many options, and since we out here trying to build up an archive . . . 😅 ❣️

If you can't catch it live, no big, I gotchu and you can catch it on the replay.

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.

02/05/2022

01/04/2022

Fresh off the presses: “Women and Print Culture: A Critical Exploration of the Archives of the Border Region of Mexico and the United States,” edited by Donna M. Kabalen Vanek and María Teresa Mijares Cervantes. Available soon on the Arte Público Press website!

14/03/2022

A world premiere by San José playwright Maribel Martínez!

Directed by Wilma Bonet

When 9-year-old Mariela's performance at a school talent show goes wrong, she wishes not to be different anymore. Transported to the InBetween, the land of the ancestors, she meets a sassy owl, an emotional tortoise, a singing prairie dog, an honorable snake, and a mischievous centipede. A bilingual story of the importance of self-acceptance and the powerful medicine that is carried by ancestral teachings, brought to life by a youth cast.

Becoming (MAR) is performed bilingually in English and Spanish, with English and Spanish captions.

In person April 7-10, 2022

On demand May 1-31, 2022

A new work by local playwright Maribel Martínez, Becoming (MAR) is a bilingual story of the importance of self-acceptance and the powerful medicine that is carried by ancestral teachings. When 9-year-old Mariela's performance at a school talent show goes wrong, she wishes not to be different anymor...

12/03/2022

In this Flashback Friday episode, we tap into the unreleased archive where we are joined by Claudia Fabian who shares so many gems about her journey toward embracing all of the bits that have shaped her fully --blissfully, authentically, unapologetically, fabulously.

Claudia Fabian is a first generation scholar who works in the Mental Health field as an Outreach Specialist. On her leisure time she loves to spend time with her family, el novio, her friends. She lives by Gloria Anzaldua’s wisdom: “Do work that matters, vale la pena.”

She also shares her foodie adventures over at !

👉 You can find the latest episode on the site. Link in bio.

🎙Hosted by Rosanna Alvarez 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.

09/03/2022

02/03/2022

Kicked off Women's History Month thinking of how many stories have shaped me. Featured my grandma over on my regular person account 😆 and that got me thinking about how I always had my face in a book growing up. 📖

I mean, seriously, not much has changed now that I'm grown in that regard! The only difference now, is that I don't have teachers calling my mama concerned that I'm choosing to read during my recess 😅. Shoot, I wish I had an actual recess these days.

Sooooo, I thought I'd share some books/storytellers that left their mark on me in my formative years on this account in honor Women's History Month.

First up, Lorna Dee Cervantes' Emplumada. There was something about seeing the poem 280 in a published book that stuck with me for so many reasons. Esp the bit where I was like so wait, someone kinda like me who has lived in spaces like me has published books for someone like me?! That was a whole other narrative than what we were getting.

So many gems in this gem of a poetry book, including the snippet from "Poem for the Young White Man Who Asked Me How I, an Intelligent Well-Read Person, Could Believe in a War Between Races":

"I’m marked by the color of my skin.
The bullets are discrete and designed to kill slowly.
They are aiming at my children.
These are facts.
Let me show you my wounds: my stumbling mind, my
“excuse me” tongue, and this
nagging preoccupation
with the feeling of not being good enough.

These bullets bury deeper than logic.
Racism is not intellectual.
I can not reason these scars away.

Outside my door
there is a real enemy
who hates me."

Give yourself a gift of buying this gem if you don't already own it.

I'd love to hear about what books, writers, storytellers shaped you. Feel free to tag me in your post or post a comment on this thread. ❣️

25/02/2022

Are you ready to take the plunge into publishing? Ready to tie up imposter syndrome and cast it into the ocean deep? Harness the power of your vulnerability in this 90 minute virtual workshop that will prepare you to take the next step to publicly share your writing. This online workshop is for writers at every stage of their journey.

Friday, March 18, 2022 | 6:00pm – 7:30pm | REGISTRATION REQUIRED.

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/chingonas-who-publish-writers-workshop-series-with-brenda-vaca-tickets-277758090927

About the Presenter
Chicana experiences take center stage in this intimate workshop with Brenda Vaca who is a Xicana poet from South Whittier, CA – Tongva Territory. Poetry and writing have been lifelong passions. Riot of Roses is her debut collection of poetry. She is also the founder of Riot of Roses Publishing House LLC established in 2021. You can order her book wherever books are sold or directly at: https://linktr.ee/brendavaca and connect via social media .

Registration is capped at 25 to keep the workshop intimate enough for connection and questions.

18/02/2022

In 1978, Yolanda López debuted a body of work whose imagery would reshape the visual language of Chicanx feminism.

28/01/2022

"The Wilma Mankiller Quarter is the third coun in the American Women Quarters Program. Wilma Mankiller was the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and an activist for Native American and women's rights.
She was born in the Cherokee Nation in 1945."

The Wilma Mankiller Quarter is the third coun in the American Women Quarters Program. Wilma Mankiller was the first woman elected principal chief of the Cherokee Nation and an activist for Native American and women's rights.
She was born in the Cherokee Nation in 1945.