Writer | Scholar | Actor

As Anthony Acevedo. Chicago performance, 2025.

This is me—now. Rodolfo Alvarado. I write, I perform, I remember. Every story I tell is a way to reclaim voice, honor truth, and offer something lasting to the world.

Me (yes, some years back!), who I like to describe as a runny-nosed kid from Lubbock, Texas, who wanted nothing more than to make his mother proud!

With Mary Forney and the late-great hall of fame jockey Garrett Gomez. At the release of his biography in Los Angeles.

With Mark Simon, the editor of the Thoroughbred Times, and Shane Ryan, the son of Tony Ryan, the founder of Ryanair airline, after winning the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award for The Untold Story of Joe Hernandez: The Voice of Santa Anita.

Presenting Sheila Ford Hemp, the owner of the Detroit Lions and philanthropist, with the key to the Henry Ford Birthplace at Greenfield Field Village. After a devastating fire I led the team that restored the home to pristine condition in time for the 100th anniversary of Ford's first car, the Quadricycle.

Rodolfo Alvarado is a dynamic and rising force in American letters and performance—an award-winning writer, playwright, historian, and performer whose work boldly explores the intersections of memory, identity, and cultural legacy. Splitting his time between Michigan and New York, Alvarado’s career spans the literary page, academic research, the theatrical stage, and emerging digital platforms.
His acclaimed one-man play Undesirable Secrets—based on the life of Anthony C. Acevedo, a WWII medic, Holocaust survivor, and the first Mexican American to register as such—made its Off-Broadway debut at Theatre Row during the 2025 United Solo Theatre Festival, following a sold-out hometown premiere in Michigan. Written and performed by Alvarado with the full support of the Anthony Acevedo Educational Foundation, and co-produced by New York’s Danisarte, the piece continues to move audiences across the country with its emotional power. It is slated to appear at the 2026 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
Building on that momentum, Alvarado returned to New York City with Sofía: A Forgotten Child of the Border, a press-conference-style drama that he wrote, directed, and co-starred in. Produced by Danisarte, the piece was performed in December 2025 at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza across from the United Nations, as well as at Thalia Spanish Theatre in Queens, where it received a standing ovation. The work amplified the human cost of family separation policies in conjunction with International Migrants Day—intertwining art, activism, and empathy in signature Alvarado fashion.
Alvarado’s literary voice reached a new personal milestone with the release of Brown Son of Lorca: A Boy Reclaimed in Poems, Stories & Voice, published June 9, 2025, by Caballo Press of Ann Arbor. The book launched at La Nacional in New York City as part of a Danisarte event honoring Federico García Lorca, under the artistic direction of acclaimed actress Alicia Kaplan. The standing-room-only reading reaffirmed Alvarado’s power as both a literary and performance artist.
A recipient of the Dr. Tony Ryan Book Award and a two-time finalist, Alvarado has published nine books, including the widely respected America’s Latinos: A Quick Reference Guide and Words That Matter. His biography The Untold Story of Joe Hernandez: The Voice of Santa Anita remains a benchmark in Latino sports history. His bilingual children’s podcast, The Perla Garcia Mysteries, won the Latin Podcast Award for its cultural impact and creative innovation.
His writing has appeared in The Americas Review, Latino Book Review, The Texas Observer, and across respected academic presses including the University of Michigan Press and Michigan State University Press. He has been published by Arte Público Press’ Piñata Books and Texas A&M University Press, and is regarded as a trusted voice in both literary and historical circles.
Alvarado holds a Ph.D. in Fine Arts and an MFA in Playwriting from Texas Tech University, as well as an MA in History from Eastern Michigan University, where he was both a University Fellow and a Parks/King/Chavez Fellow. He has taught at the University of Michigan, Eastern Michigan University, Texas Tech, and Ave Maria University, and has served as a consultant for The Ford Motor Company and The Henry Ford Museum.
Beyond the page and stage, he recently co-chaired the Ypsilanti Food Co-op’s 50th Anniversary Committee and co-authored its institutional history with General Manager Corinne Sikorski. Alvarado continues to be a beloved presence in schools, libraries, and communities across the U.S., performing works that awaken dialogue and preserve cultural memory.
As his writing and performance careers converge, Rodolfo Alvarado remains committed to giving voice to those long unheard—bringing the past into the present with clarity, grace, and undeniable truth.