My name is Jo Alvarado, and I am an associate podcast producer and interviewer from UC Berkeley. I’m originally from the Philippines but am currently in Berkeley, CA. I’m double majoring in English and Comparative Literature, with French as my second language. I am so honored to be able to be apart of The Creative Process, and I am looking forward to sharing the art and stories of the incredible people around me. 

I think that my entire childhood was a journey of me falling in love with art and literature. I would lose myself in stories, but most of the time, I could never find myself in the pages of the books I was reading. I felt as though my passion for these things would fall to obscurity. When I entered my first semester at UC Berkeley and having come from a predominantly white suburb in the Central Valley, I was daunted by the prospect of being with such a large community of Filipinxs; I didn’t feel like I would belong. Then, I discovered {m}aganda Magazine, the longest-running Filipinx publication in the country. It aimed to foster critical dialogue within and across our communities through arts, literature, and education. It was a space that celebrated the heritage of Pilipino/American artists, writers, and cultural historians but that also extended their hands and voices to any and all who own truths that need to be spoken. And so, I took their hand. 

At their Open Mic Night at the beginning of the school year, I sat and listened to other artists brave the stage. Being able to see, to experience other people’s art is such a magical feeling. I felt so empowered by and so connected to all these artists that I didn’t even know. See? That’s the power of art. That’s the power of community. That’s the power of {m}aganda–to connect us all, to uplift us all. Then, other members of {m}aganda pushed me to perform one of my old spoken word poems. Those words always existed in my mind, in my mouth, and in the pages of my journal, but they never flowed freely out into the ears of others. Fraught with anxiety and cursed with shaky hands, I stood up in front of the whole room and spoke my truth. Finally. It felt kind of like flying; it was liberating, adrenaline-rushing, inspiring. Before, I was a writer to myself but never to others. But, in that moment, I stepped across that boundary. People thanked me for my words, for words that they understood but never had strung together, for words that they couldn’t find. If not for {m}, those people would have never found comfort in those words, and my narrative would still be locked behind my closed soul. This organization has given me the opportunity to be the person I never was but always wanted to be. 

Some of my recent and forthcoming projects include {m} issue 32: Indak, {m} issue 33: Babae(x): the moon and her phases, ongoing work for Gia Magazine celebrating QTPOC representation in film/tv and LGBT+ Filipinx students, and Students of Color Emerging in English: Community Zine. These are some of the underrepresented voices I am excited to share with The Creative Process community. I'm also looking forward to the opportunity to learn from and engage with international artists participating in the project.