East of the River

“A vibrant and wild time capsule of a ’90s girlhood in East L.A., assembled by a chronicler who lived it, breathed it, danced it … Guadalupe Rosales has turned the American archive on its head. Her evocative pics and tenderly witnessed stories are a treasure trove.”—Quiara Alegría Hudes, author and playwright

“Before language, before love, there is memory. Reading this book, I gasped. I laughed. I cried. This book will make you wonder: How is memory at once so private and such a communal experience?”—Daisy Hernández, author of Citizenship

“As she navigates family, grief, identity, and eventually embraces her queerness, Rosales reveals how preserving the stories of the past can shape a stronger sense of self. Heartfelt and visually stunning, this memoir is both a love letter to East L.A. and a powerful exploration of memory, belonging, and community.”—She Reads

“In her beautiful full-color debut memoir, artist and educator Guadalupe Rosales has brought together stories, photos and other ephemera from her time growing up in East Los Angeles. From poverty, parties and community, to art, freedom and chosen family, from LA to NYC and back again, Rosales captures coming of age in the 1990s with candor, love and hope.”—Ms. Magazine

“Out this month, East of the River is a genre-complicating art object that nearly throbbed in my hands. Its bare bones prose and electrifying pictures preserve, honor and celebrate the people, places and ideas responsible for Rosales’ sentimental education. Part photo album, part teen bedroom, part house party, part altar and part art gallery, East of the River never sacrifices style to content.”—The Los Angeles Times

“Guadalupe Rosales captures Los Angeles’s wondrous Eastside like no other: the air, the flavors, the relationships. The way creation cuts through the illusions and gets you into the collective truth that we all belong, we all matter.”—Luis J. Rodriguez, author of The Republic of East Los Angeles

“In East of the River, Guadalupe Rosales comes of age as a groundbreaking artist and returns home to preserve a city and its intimate stories before it’s too late… . A vital account enlivened by the handmade flyers and dusty photo albums that she has lovingly rescued from the trash can of history.”—Matt Wolf, filmmaker of Teenage

“Through a gallery of memories Guadalupe Rosales demonstrates how our lives are worthy of being archived. Here, tragedies and triumphs live side by side, intentionally curated to highlight every moment that makes a life worth living.”—Elisabet Velasquez, author of When We Make It

Guadalupe Rosales is a multidisciplinary artist and educator. She is best known for her community-generated archival projects, “Veteranas and Rucas” and “Map Pointz,” which are found on social media. These archives explore ideas about how history and culture are framed and who does the framing. As a counterpoint, the archive celebrates, humanizes, and reflects the positive and honest attributes of shared culture. In her studio practice, Guadalupe works with sculpture, photography, video, sound, drawing, and community-based projects and collaborations, as well as the archive.

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