Deep Dive in Five with Sendy Tapia, Managing Editor of EASTSIDE Magazine

There is more than one way to tell a compelling story. Just ask the creative team behind EASTSIDE Magazine , a quarterly print and digital bilingual publication that highlights the art, writing and narratives of San José's iconic East Side. Founded in 2019 by Omar Rodriguez, '05 Marketing, and Rosanna Alvarez, '11 MA Chicana and Chicano Studies, EASTSIDE Magazine will be celebrating its fifth anniversary with a special exhibit at the Jennifer and Philip DiNapoli Gallery at the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library this fall.

Each of the stories published by EASTSIDE Magazine are available in English and Spanish, and can be submitted in either language.

EASTSIDE Magazine's managing editor Sendy Tapia, '25 Public Relations, '27 MA Chicana and Chicano Studies, answered some questions about the publication and the upcoming exhibit, which will be on display early September through late October 2026 , in today's Deep Dive in Five.

Tell us about EASTSIDE Magazine.

Sendy Tapia (ST): The magazine was created by two alumni from San José State, Rosanna Alvarez and Omar Rodriguez. After Omar began his own company called Kooltura Marketing, he had this idea for the magazine. He brought in Rosanna because she has always been very community-centered and also has that editorial background.

I started off as their marketing communications specialist in 2022, and eventually evolved into being the managing editor. I do everything from the operations side to going out and trying to encourage people to reframe the way they see themselves, whether they're artists or your local food vendor. We carry stories wherever we go. I encourage people to think about the magazine as a place that can hold your stories. [That's powerful because] the stories then get shared with the broader community and also get translated - and that in itself is history-making. Not only do you get to preserve that history and wisdom and knowledge, but you also get multiple generations to really enjoy what you are sharing, and they can also see themselves in the stories that we all carry today.

What will the exhibit include?

ST: You'll see a good dose of art history, from past magazine covers to the people who did the cover art themselves. We do have some covers that were designed in-house, but we also go out and seek emerging and established artists. We will have a lot of photography on display from people who have submitted their work to the magazine, and some poetry. We have such an abundance of poems that come through the magazine.

It has such a powerful impact on people who read such moving poetry coming through San José because they see themselves in every line. I hope our contributors will be able to see themselves on a wall in the gallery.

How do your readers engage with the magazine?

ST: The first time I had ever tabled at an EASTSIDE event was in October 2022 at the Mexican Heritage Plaza during their Avenida de Altares (Avenue of Altars), which is their big Día de los Muertos event. There was a gentleman who did a double take and asked, 'We have a magazine?' And I said yes, and explained that we're bilingual with intention, not only to diversify who gets to tell their story, but also to reach the audiences that we really want to reach. He told me that he was born and raised in East San José, and how there's a stigma around the east side. But seeing the magazine, he said, 'I have proof that the East Side of San José is my home, and it isn't a bad spot. There is such diversity, vitality and culture there.' So for me to not only offer this platform for people, but also steward that and change the minds of people who are curious about it.

I also met a mother who uses the magazine to teach herself English while also teaching her kids Spanish. They read the magazine side by side, so it's a cute bonding moment.

Sometimes if I am somewhere and I meet people who speak Spanish, I'll tell them to tell me their stories, and I'll translate them to English. This helps them feel seen and heard, and they also can find out what's going on in their communities. We can write ourselves into history.

To what extent does your graduate work in Chicana and Chicano Studies inform your work on the magazine?

ST: There's definitely an intellectual line. I decided to go to graduate school because our cofounder Rosanna encouraged me to go to a conference called Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social . I got to see some amazing Latina and Chicana women engaging with their graduate work, research, and even law. I settled in Chicana and Chicano Studies because I wanted to better understand where we were historically as a people so I can better understand our present and navigate or steward that future.

My graduate work also ties back to my roots. I come from a farm working family, and I was a farm worker for about seven years. I want to make sure that we get to steward this knowledge because it isn't necessarily something we talk about, and yet during the pandemic, farmworkers were considered essential workers. And now they are being hyper-criminalized. My work is very similar to the magazine because I want to hold onto these stories. I want to share the stories of their migrations, how they navigate climate change, how they navigate policy change. But the cherry on top of my project is to create a gallery exhibit that features some of my favorite artists in the Bay Area, and to center it on asset-based farmworker futurism.

What does it look like when we adequately invest in the protection of our farmers and our farmworkers? How can we radically imagine the protection of their bodies while also making sure that our produce is clean, our farm animals are clean, and that we're not only ethically sourcing these things, but we're doing it organically and it doesn't damage the soil, nor the bodies, nor anything we consume?

How can Spartans get involved with EASTSIDE Magazine?

ST: We're a really small team, but we're also really approachable. If people want to stay connected or get involved, I invite them to pitch us or message us on Instagram to learn more. We understand how the publishing industry works, and we want to make sure that as many people as possible get to publish their stories. None of this is being gate-kept. We want to publish your artwork and poetry because it's powerful to hold something tangible and say, 'Wow, I did that.' It was just a dream, and now it's reality.

The EASTSIDE Magazine exhibit will be on display at the Jennifer and Philip DiNapoli Gallery on the second floor of the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library from September-October.

About the Jennifer and Philip DiNapoli Gallery

The Jennifer and Philip DiNapoli Gallery in the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library is now accepting exhibit proposals for the 2026 calendar year (January-December 2026). A total of six exhibitions will be selected, with each running for a duration of two months. This opportunity is open to both SJSU affiliates and members of the public.

Proposal Deadline: September 15, 2026