Meet V. Alexandra de F. Szoenyi | Writer, Creative Writer, Historian, and Pop Culture Expert

We had the good fortune of connecting with V. Alexandra de F. Szoenyi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi V. Alexandra de F., what do you attribute your success to?
My work is all about empowering and informing Latinxs, especially Latinas. Having this niche has allowed me to connect with my community, and offer them content that they may not get from anywhere else. I make it a point to delve into history, pop culture, and Latinx culture and find important information that will best serve the people I’m presenting it to. Most importantly, wanting to learn about these things myself and share them with others is why I have found success in this field.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I have been involved in art since I was a child. I have shown my art and photography in exhibitions/shows, co-produced a fashion show, creative directed and styled editorial photoshoots, modeled, created and sold fashion, written hundreds of published articles on several topics, have had poetry published in several publications, and more. My art is about finding important messages and beauty in the world, and sharing that with others. If we can find something in what we experience and get something out of that that can help others, that’s what makes art important.

Being an artist is a road that’s never direct. It has many twist and turns, and and you need to know when to pivot. You have to see what works, and how to maintain that. Making money with art means you also have to know about business, and know when to let go of ideas that won’t profit. Most importantly, you have to do what makes you happy, and not just what’s going to pay your bills.

I want the world to know that I create art and share information in order to express myself, sure, but also to help others and to connect with the world on important levels. To be seen myself, but also make others feel seen. I also want to share all the beautiful facets of Latinidad, and bring those to light, because they have been overshadowed for so long. So, if I can help, I will.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
As someone who moved to the Phoenix Metro Area from the San Francisco Bay Area about three years ago, there is still so much for me to discover about Phoenix. I recently went to the Phoenix Art Museum and loved it, especially the cool fashion exhibits and the diversity of the art. I also frequent places in Chandler, where I live, and Gilbert. La Tiendita Colombiana in Mesa has been a go-to for my family for connecting with our Colombian culture and eating some great food from the motherland. I can’t wait to explore the other museums, vintage stores, galleries, and more in Phoenix and truly discover this fab city!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to shoutout to the women in my family. Their love, strength, resiliency, perseverance, and talent has inspired me, and molded me into the woman I am today. And to other amazing Latinas, like Dolores Huerta, Celia Cruz, Rita Moreno, Eva Longoria Baston, Ellen Ochoa, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who saw an important space that needed to be filled in the world, and had the confidence and self-belief to do it themselves.

Website: www.alexshewrote.com

Instagram: www.instagram.com/alex.shewrote

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/v-alexandra-de-f-szoenyi-19b58218/

Twitter: www.twitter.com/alex_shewrote