This section really is all about you, send in your pictures and stories to me at rosarioonline@gmail.com and I’ll post it here as you wrote it. Tell us about your experiences meeting Rosario or if you haven’t, tell us about why you’re such a big fan. All credit to photos and stories goes to its authors. To view larger versions simply click on the photos.

Danielle’s Story

I get to see Ms. Dawson a few times a month because one of my bosses at the Fashion company I design for in NYC is also a film producer/director, and has cast her in at least one of his films. I am attaching a pic I took with her (I look tore up, but that’s okay), and a pic the receptionist here took with her. I think she is a down to earth overall nice person, not jaded and diva-like. Everytime she comes in, she looks like a regular person, and not at all like she looked in Alexander and Sin City, to name just a few of her credits. I LOVE YOU ROSARIO! Good luck with everything! xoxo Danielle. The one with three people in it is a lady i work with named May, Rosario, and Me. The second is Rosario, and our receptionist Tameka. Samantha’s Story

My name is Samantha and I was so lucky to have the previledge of attending the Rent World Wide Premiere at the Ziegfeld theater. I got to celebrate the opening of a FANTASTIC movie along with the amazing cast it is filled with. Rosario’s reaction when they read her name at the front of the theater was classic! She jumped out and just did this halarious point thing to fellow castmate Tracie Thoms. I was also fortunate enough to go to the after party, which is where I was able to meet, talk, and get a picture with Rosario. I walked up to her and she was just SOOOOOO warm welcoming. We talked for a very short while, but she was so sweet, and just so funny. We took a picture and on my merry way i was. It was just so surreal and I am so grateful for it all.

Diana’s Story

I had the opportunity to meet Rosario after a performance of Two Gentlemen of Verona on September 3, 2005. She was so sweet and was in a rush but stayed behind to talk to us for a few minutes about the Rent movie and take pictures. That was about it.

Gabrielle’s Story

I met Rosario for the first time before a dress rehearsal of Shakespeare in the Park on Sunday, August 14th 2005. We got tickets through a theater intern group I’m in and I went with my friend Alyssa- eventhough there was a torrencial downpour going on outside (which explains my soaked t-shirt in the picture- and no, I do not sweat in odd places!) Before the show Rosario walked past us (already in make-up, wig cap and robe) and we saw her talking to Tracie Thoms (also of the Rent movie) and we went over the say Hi. They were both very sweet and genuinely nice people.

Sheira’s Story

I was at Bryant Park this summer on August 4th 2005 and my group of friends and I got to sit pretty much as close to the stage as one could get, and Rosario’s mom, Isabel, sat right among us and was about two seats from me. Between the sound checks for Seasons of Love and Take Me Or Leave Me, Rosario, like most of the other cast members, came and sat, or crouched in Anthony’s case, with the crowd, so she was right next to her mom, which put Rosario about four feet from me. Instantly she was getting people throwing the postcard with the new poster on it in her face, asking her to sign it and this and that, and she said she would sign it all, but insisted that they wait until after Idina and Tracie were done because it was so good, so the second Idina and Tracie walk off stage, Rosario is once again surrounded and though she was so close to me, I couldn’t get within a foot of her to say hi. My friend has a completely legal/legitimate copy of the script that she received from her teacher, whose daughter knows Daphne, so Isabel took the script back to where the cast was and got every single person to sign it and personalize it for my friend, that is, with the except of Jesse since he wasn’t even at the park. So we decide to see Two Gentlemen of Verona on August 16th and thought if tickets went on sale at 1pm that getting there at 1:07 would be okay. Wrong. The line was really long and before we got by half of it, we saw Isabel standing there, and she recognized us as being from the park and came to say talk! The line went through its thing and we didn’t get tickets so we went to find Isabel and she said she may have two extra tickets, and to call her later in the day when she would know, so she gave us her number and we went to wander around 81st Street and get some lunch, during which time we picked up two small gifts for Rosario and Isabel. Her phone wasn’t on, so we just got in the standby line and ended up with two third row seats for that night. After the show we went to the gate and since it was still in previews, the entire cast minus the dog had to stay and work, so we saw Isabel inside and then when she came out we went up to her to give her the presents and she even tried to get them to let Rosario come out, but she had to stay, so we chatted with Isabel then we all left. One Wednesday, two friends and I saw the matinee of RENT and saw Two Gentlemen of Verona again, but because of the rain they had to hold up the first act in the middle of it for an hour, and one of my friends’ parents freaked out and said we had to be home by midnight, so we had to leave at intermission, which didn’t happen until 10:30, so that went out the window. Then, on September 3rd, the day before I left for Smith, one of the two people from the previous Wednesday and I went in to see the matinee of RENT and then try to see Rosario again. The standby line gave us luck again and we managed to get seats AT 8pm; the moments leading up to us being first on line were the most intense ever. Rosario was amazing as usual and afterwards we were determined to meet her, so we stuck it out by the gate and eventually she came out and we had to wait around because everyone and their mother wanted to meet her, so we were patient and eventually she walked by us and I said, “Rosario! Hi! My friend and I were the ones who gave those gifts to your mom for you and her!” and she said “Really? Hi!” and she shook my hand. I was so nervous that I probably squeezed her hand too hard. My friend and I both got pictures with her. It was an incredible evening, the best I could have asked for the night before leaving for college.Joliz’s Story

So I’ve had the privilege of meeting Rosario twice. I’ve been actively involved in activist movements since I was a sophomore in high school so going to different events wasn’t something new to me. My sister and I had tickets to “Vagina Vote! Chick Rock!” at the Apollo Theater back on September 13, 2004, which was an event to encourage women to vote featuring many different performances and speakers. Just before the show started I ran into a woman named Daphne who was actually the first person to encourage me to go the activist route, but with the lights dimming she had to run to her seat and I made a mental note to say hello during intermission. Intermission came and as I made my way towards where Daphne was sitting I spot Rosario two rows ahead of her. After pointing this out to Daphne, who subsequently laughed at my fangirlness (ok really who could blame me?) I waited for a few minutes while Rosario finished talking to this girl. I can barely remember what I said to her but I’m sure it sounded pretty silly and stupid. I remember saying I really looked up to her and she said she really looked up to her mom who happened to be standing right next to her. At some point I asked if I could take a picture with her and her mom, who really is the most awesome person ever, offered to take it for us. Daphne was still laughing at me as I walked back to my seat but hey, I didn’t care. A year later it’s August 4, 2005 and the cast of the film adaptation of RENT (which included Rosario) is performing on the Today Show. Now I’ve been a fan of the Broadway production since around 1997, having seen it when I was 13. So to have Rosario and RENT together was like a really awesome belated birthday gift. I’m not going into the whole waiting there all night and random conversations deal. Some point in the morning I spot Rosario’s mom and call her over to the section I was at, now I don’t know if it was that she remembered me or if she’s just really that nice of a person but she greeted me with a kiss on the cheek and was all “Hey!” and I reminded her where I’d first seen her and she nodded along and joked with me and the whole crew of fans that were standing there. Rosario and the cast perform Seasons of Love and were completely amazing, having hundreds of fans to tend to she eventually got around to me where we took a quick picture and that was about it. That day was far too hectic for any meaningful conversation, but memorable nonetheless.