Writing & Storytelling
Andrea, a first-generation Mexican American writer, recalls writing short stories as young as ten years old. Her obsession for middle-grade and young adult novels since a young age influenced her creative endeavor in the world of writing. Her first writing conference took place her 4th grade year at Southwest Minnesota State University. In college, she started an online collegiate platform (Her Campus St. Kate’s) to create inclusive storytelling by womxn of color. In 2019, she started an oral histories platform. Andrea has extensive storytelling and writing work. She tends to dabble in places where she feels called to. In this moment, she’s exploring genres and blends of genres to see which one best fits her way of storytelling.
Writing Bio
Andrea Valeria Duarte-Alonso is a published writer and a freelance journalist who writes about what she knows—and what she is still discovering. Her work is a mix of personal reflection, poetry, and community-focused storytelling. Her work is featured in National Folklife Network Magazine, Barn Raiser, MN Women’s Press, and PRISM Reports.
Supported by fellowships from Periplus and the MN Literary Loft, as well as workshops at the Kenyon Review, Andrea aims to create writing that is accessible, honest, and deeply connected to real life. Her literary work is rooted in the belief that every landscape carries a hidden map of voices. She also writes Soy La Misma, a monthly newsletter, that shares her present experiences as a progressive rural Latina in a conservative immigrant-majority community.
Andrea is based in Worthington, Minnesota.
Published Work
Journalistic
“Meatpacking workers like my family deserve to be protected during and after the pandemic,” PRISM Reports, February 2021
“VIEW: A Mural Grows in St. James”, MN Women’s Press, June 2021
“Michelle Rivero Identifies the Labels of Fear” MN Women’s Press, January 2019
“Genuine Questions Guide Northfield Questions,” Project Optimist, April 2025
“Preguntas autenticas guian al artista de Northfield,” Project Optimist, April 2025
“Immigrants Find A Home In This Minnesota Town,” Barn Raiser, July 2024
“For My immigrant Family, The Library Opened New Doors,” Barn Raiser, May 2023
Personal Essays
“Cempasúchitl Across Mediums,” National Folklife, September 2025
“Genuine Questions Guide Northfield Questions,” Project Optimist, April 2025
“Immigrants Find a Home in This Rural Minnesota Town,” Barn Raiser, 2024
“For My immigrant Family, The Library Opened New Doors,” Barn Raiser, May 2023
“VIEW: Through an Immigrant's Eyes,” MN Women’s Press, January 2021
“VIEW: COVID Blues,” MN Women’s Press, February 2021
“VIEW: Vaccines in Small Yowns,” MN Women’s Press, March 2021
Poetry
“Home,” National Folklife Network, September 2025
“Small-town Living, 2025,” National Folklife Network, September 2025
“Small-town Living, 2015,” National Folklife Network, September 2025
“(Human) Seed,” Periplus Collective Press, 2023
“On Midwestern Rural Land,” Right to Life Anthology, Folkways Press, 2023
Audio Stories
“Routes to Roots”, Rural Remix Podcast, (episode 2 and 3), September 2025
“Meatpacking in Minnesota: How Migration and Labor Transformed Worthington” (episode 109), Minnesota Historical Society, March 2025
“Finding Home In Rural Minnesota,” Ampers, 2024
Stories From
Unheard Voices
Stories from Unheard Voices is an online storytelling platform sharing the histories and lived experiences of immigrants and children of immigrants across Greater Minnesota, amplifying voices and preserving stories that shape our communities.
Soy La Misma
Newsletter
In the Soy la Misma newsletter, Andrea reflects on her upbringing in the rural Midwest as the daughter of Mexican immigrants, sharing stories about education, culture, identity, and the experiences shaping her life.
Connect
With Me
Have a question, idea, or collaboration in mind? Reach out to connect about writing, storytelling projects, speaking opportunities, or creative partnerships. I’d love to hear from you and explore ways we can work together.