In this interview series, host Alicia Menendez talks to remarkable Latinas about making it, faking it, and everything in between. In often-hilarious and always-revealing episodes, Alicia and her guests take on the challenges of existing, and then thriving, as women of color.
https://www.latinatolatina.com
Gesamtlänge aller Episoden: 5 days 2 hours 51 minutes
episode 34: Novelist Lilliam Rivera Builds Worlds for All of Us
As a young reader, she didn’t realize people who looked and lived like her were missing from some of her favorite books. “It felt to me like I was reading science fiction in a lot of ways because it was so outside of my own childhood….And I was accepting of it like, okay, cool this is a different life,” award winning young adult author Lilliam Rivera tells Alicia in this emotive episode. But her perspective quickly changed after reading award-winning Latino writers in college...
episode 33: How HeyFranHey’s Francheska Medina Healed Herself
Her body was really sick and giving up on her--fast. Indifferent doctors recommended unthinkable treatments. But her natural instincts were pushing her in a different direction. In a way, by taking charge of her health, lifestyle guru Fran Medina took her life into her own hands. She studied, she learned, she listened to people who knew more, and to her own body. Some years later, she’s crafted a lifestyle model that emphasizes physical, mental, and spiritual health...
episode 32: How Jess Morales Rocketto Became a Political Ninja
"What I'm trying to do is motivate people into their purpose." Easy, right? It is if you're Jess Morales Rocketto, a digital political organizer ninja who helped orchestrate historic runs by Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams. Now she's mobilizing millions in the fight against family separation and the movement to bring the masses to the ballot as the Chair of We Belong Together, National Domestic Workers Alliance's feminist campaign for immigration reform...
episode 31: Why Climate Scientist Nicole Hernández Hammer Takes the Fight to the Streets
There's a direct connection between climate scientist Nicole Hernandez Hammer's childhood in rural Guatemala and her tireless work to teach the rest of us how to adjust our lives so we can preserve our planet for the grandchildren. And the life that unfolded between those two points is remarkable, including that time she stepped on Michelle Obama's foot.
Follow Nicole on Twitter @NHH_Climate and IG @NicoleHernandezHammer...
episode 30: Master Chef Lorena Garcia Says It Takes More Than Sharp Knives
She handed her law degree to her mother to thank her, and quit an elite Miami law firm on her first day. Then she headed to culinary school—in France. Might be easy to say the rest is history, but that’s not the case with this Venezuelan powerhouse and former Top Chef Masters star. From being told her accent would hold her back, to being discouraged from having her own television show, Lorena has never allowed other people’s limitations to hold her back...
episode 29: How Mend App Founder Elle Huerta Comforts Broken Hearts
After getting her heart broken, and finding zero advice that was actually useful, Elle Huerta decided to build her own “personal trainer for heartbreak.” Her self care app, Mend, guides users on how to handle and move on from a breakup, a divorce, the loss of a loved one, even being fired. She’s grown the company from a website she built after teaching herself to code to a category-defying digital platform on the leading edge of hand-held emotional assistance...
episode 28: "In the Heights" Playwright Quiara Alegria Hudes Writes So People Remember Us
She has written about Latinos in Washington Heights, about her close cousins and extended family, about what it means to be Latina. And now she’s writing about herself in her first memoir. Quiara is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Water by the Spoonful, the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights, she's also mastered the art of reflection...
episode 27: Gina Rodriguez Is Making Boss Moves
Gina Rodriguez will always be associated with her star-making and award-winning portrayal of the titular character on The CW’s Jane the Virgin. And she's so grateful. But she's also ready to move from in front of the camera to behind it as a producer and director of shows and films that reflect the many ways of being Latina today. On this episode, she talks about the setbacks, the family support, and the toll of being an outspoken public figure...
episode 26: Michelle Poler Inspires Fearlessly
Growing up the descendant of Holocaust survivors, keynote speaker and influencer Michelle Poler says fear is practically in her DNA. And that being raised in Venezuela during turbulent times only made things worse. While in grad school in the US, she set out to conquer 100 fears and live a life free from worry. In the process, she has inspired thousands to face up to their greatest challenges.
Follow Michelle @michellepoler and Hello Fears @hellofears on Twitter and Instagram...
episode 25: Cover Girl and Disability Activist Jillian Mercado Takes on Her Dreams
As a teen, Jillian Mercado hoarded fashion magazines. She idolized designers and always looked stylish at school. Never did she imagine she’d one day grace magazine covers, tower over New York fashion central as a billboard in Times Square, or sit among VIPs at Fashion Week. Now she’s a barrier-breaking model for IMG and disability activist, showing the rest of us just what is possible when you stay true to your calling, no matter what others think or say...