Join us for the debut of Legacy.Legado: A poetry and storytelling lounge in honor of women's history, presented in partnership with La Raza Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley. Experience a powerful evening of poetry and storytelling from an all-women lineup, honoring resilience, heritage, and the legacies we carry forward.

Curated by Rosanna Alvarez

Register here

Participating Poets

• Rosanna Alvarez
• Arlene Biala
• Elodia Esperanza Benitez
• Rita Duarte Herrera
• Mia Xochil Hernández
• Suzy Huerta Quezada
• Milina Jovanovic
• Quynh-Mai Nguyen
• Jasmine "Azul" Sánchez
• Asha Sudra

With photography by Vanessa Palafox and art by Irene Berones Kobb.

Bios

ROSANNA ALVAREZ is a braided storyteller, educator, artist, international award winning author, and cultural curator. She is the author of Braided [Un]Be-Longing; the Co-Founder of Eastside Magazine; and the founder of Citlali Rose. You can find her work in Somos Xicanas: A Multigenre Xicana Anthology, The Early Works of Luis Miguel Valdez in El Excentrico Magazine, in the upcoming anthology Anger is a Gift, and peppered throughout several other publications including Feminist Media, Journal X, Label Me Latino/a, and the Journal of Chicana/Latina Studies. She grew up as the first-born of nine siblings in a loud and loving Mexican family, always talking back. She remains in awe of the power of storytelling, with heart in hand, ink to the page, always hollering truths.

IG @seriouslyrosanna  |  www.rosannaalvarez.com

ARLENE BIALA (she/her) is a Pinay poet and performance artist born in San Francisco, CA, and raised in the South Bay. She has been participating in poetry performances and workshops in the Bay Area for over 30 years and was Poet Laureate of Santa Clara County for 2016 and 2017. She is the author of several collections of poetry: bone, continental drift, and her beckoning hands, which won the 2015 American Book Award. Her latest book, one inch punch, was published in 2019.

 IG @bialabong  | www.abiala.com 

ELODIA ESPERANZA BENITEZ is a Mexican-American poet from Gilroy, California, who brings the strength of her ancestors and heritage to her work. She began writing at an early age as a way of processing her experiences and those around her within her community. Her poems bring to life those closest to her by way of inviting their voices to sweep across the page. She is the author of Love in Many Faces and is currently working on her second book with her publisher Riot of Roses Publishing House. You can find her work in EASTSIDE Magazine, Chicana/Latina Studies: The Journal of Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social, and on bookstore shelves.

IG @elodiabenitez   

RITA DUARTE HERRERA, a beloved community cariñosa, was raised in the Valley of Heart’s Delight by immigrant parents. She is a storyteller, educator, and equity advocate with over 40 years of experience—including roles at UCSB’s National Coalition for Equity in Education—specializing in leadership, equity, and social-emotional well-being. Through storytelling and advocacy, Rita is committed to amplifying her community’s lived experiences in driving meaningful change.

IG @rlduarteh

MIA XOCHIL HERNANDEZ is a passionate social change maker who isn’t afraid to embrace her fierce inner chismosa to create some good trouble. She is currently working on her first book Grief and Other Five Letter Words.

IG @cafeandcalaveras  |  www.coffeeandchisme.com

SUZY HUERTA QUEZADA is a mother and educator who dedicates most of her energy to the California Community College system and its inspiring student body. She is a VONA alumnus, a Lucile Clifton fellow at the Community of Writers Writing Workshop, and a Macondo fellow. Her work has appeared in Ursa Major, La Bloga, The Packinghouse Review, Imaniman: Writing in the Anzaldúan Borderlands, Poesía en Vuelo, and other anthologies.

IG @suzy_calli_ 

MILINA JOVANOVIC is the author of All Roads Lead to Jackson- a book about the history and contributions of Yugoslav Americans in Amador County, California, and the translator of Serbian Americans: History, Culture, Press. She also published a book of poetry entitled A Dog Violet in My Hair in 2007 and a poetic essay Finding Cybele in Lesbos in 2015. This essay is dedicated to all goddesses of the Balkan Peninsula and the ancient matriarchal Vinčan Culture of Serbia, that had flourished along the Danube River tens of thousands of years ago. Her hobbies include gardening, herbalism, yoga, traveling, learning about life from nature and her wise canine companions. She has written poetry for many years, especially prior to moving to the U.S. in 1994.

IG @m.vodolija  

QUYNH-MAI NGUYEN (sounds like gwin-my win) is a Vietnamese American, multidisciplinary social practice artist, visual storyteller, poet, musician, and creative producer. She has over 10 years of hands-on, on-the-ground experience in designing, producing, and community organizing for arts and culture. Her early career started as a design intern and production assistant for Left Coast Live, a local music festival in San José.  Nguyen’s passion for nurturing the arts and culture has grown since then and has allowed her opportunities to work with different communities and on different projects in varied capacities.

IG @quynh.mai.nguyen | www.quynh-mai.com 

JASMINE “AZUL” SÁNCHEZ is a first-generation Chicana born and raised in San José, CA. She is an undergraduate student at San José State University, majoring in Sociology and Chicana/o/x Studies. As a McNair Scholar, her research and poetry focus on the struggles and resilience between incarcerated fathers and their children, a topic deeply personal to her own experiences. Through storytelling, her published work serves as a powerful testimonio to the resilience of families impacted by incarceration—a tribute to their love and strength.

IG @azul_baybee  

ASHA is a multidisciplinary artist, abolitionist educator, and child of the East African Desi diaspora. Seen on the cover of Content Magazine, KQED Arts, Brown Girl Mag, and TEDx. Her first book, Crawling in my Skin, is a Kafkaesque exploration of mental health. Her second, Not Your Masi’s Generation, is a memoir-like workbook that tackles healing from intergenerational-trauma. She believes in a free and liberated Palestine, Sudan, and Congo; From the River to the Sea.

IG @asha_poet | www.ashapoet.com 

Backdrop Photography by: 

VANESSA PALAFOX A lifetime San José resident, Vanessa understands the importance of building and sustaining community. Vanessa has dedicated herself to using her passion for photography, civic engagement, and storytelling to rebuild communities of color. As a community organizer, and media maker, she hopes to create, capture, and communicate the stories of East San Jose (along with empowering others to do the same).

IG @pfox35

Backdrop Artwork by: 

IRENE BERRONES KOLB is from the Chicagoland area. Her love of drawing and painting and her interest in psychology led her to earning a degree in Art Therapy and subsequently, to several years of experience working in the mental health field.  Her paintings, which usually feature portraits, reflect these continuing interests.  Her work also celebrates and honors her culture as a Mexican American. Irene earned her Bachelor’s degree in Art and Psychology at the University of Indianapolis.  She currently resides in San José, California, with her beautiful and one of a kind husband, son and daughter. 

IG @berroneskolb |  www.ireneberroneskolb.com     

La Raza Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley

For more information about La Raza Historical Society of Santa Clara Valley, go to larazahs.org.