Journalism Career
While a student at Berklee, Valdes-Rodriguez began writing freelance music reviews for The Boston Globe. After graduating from Berklee in 1992, she took an unpaid internship at the Village Voice, before going back to school to earn a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in 1994.
Valdes-Rodriguez joined the staff of The Boston Globe in 1994, where she wrote for the Living/Arts section. Her essay for The Boston Globe Magazine, "Daughter of Cuba," won first place in the 1998 SUNMAG essay contest. In 1999, Valdes-Rodriguez left Boston for a position as staff writer in the Calendar section of the Los Angeles Times. Her articles have appeared in dozens of newspapers, and she has written cover stories for Glamour Magazine and Redbook.
In 2001, Valdes-Rodriguez emailed a 3400-word resignation letter to her superiors at the Los Angeles Times. The letter was widely circulated on the Internet and reprinted in the St. Petersburg Times. In the letter she accused the newspaper of racism and discrimination, especially in its synonymous use of the word "latino" with "Spanish-speaker", a practice she equated to genocide.
Read more about this topic: Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez
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