Latina To Latina

Gina Rodriguez will always be associated with her star-making and award-winning portrayal of the titular character on 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.Follow Gina on Twitter and IG @HereisGina. If you loved this episode, listen to Christy Haubegger and Gina Torres for more on finding your place in Hollywood. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

After experiencing violence and media censorship in her native Venezuela, Mariana Atencio embarked on her journalist career in the United States. An early opportunity at Univision gave her the chance to hone her skills before making the leap to English-language television. But soon a personal tragedy tested ethics, faith, and her place in the world. She put it all in her new book, Perfectly You.Follow Mariana on Twitter and IG @marianaatencio. And buy her book, Perfectly You: Embracing the Power of Being Real. If you loved this epsiode, listen to Ilia Calderón and María Elena Salinas for more on journalism. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

On Starz’s megahit Vida she plays a determined, smart and sensual woman. And Mishel Prada readily admits her character reflects part of who she is. She talks to Alicia about making it in showbiz as a Latina, growing up in a religious home, and refusing labels that limit with whom she can fall in love.Follow Mishel on Twitter and Instagram @MishelPrada; and follow Starz on Twitter and IG @VIDA_STARZ @Starz. If you loved this episode, listen to Stephanie Beatriz and Melissa Barrera for more on acting. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Fun fact: This was the first time we had to check protocol before interviewing someone. And Alicia had to call the current head of the United Nations’ General Assembly Madame President. It was amazing! And María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés deserves that accolade and so much more for her decades-long career in international affairs and diplomacy. Only the fourth woman to preside over the assembly, she is steadfast in her belief that women should lead at every level--and she’s working from within to make it so at the UN.Follow María on Twitter @mfespinosaEC; and follow the UN on IG @UN and @UNWomen. If you loved this episode, listen to Senator Catherine Cortez Masto and Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz for more on politics and leadership. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

This captain of industry comes from a family of self-starters that has always banded together--from her father’s travel agency to her billion-dollar company. Did we mention she owns 100% of it? But her story is also one of unthinkable tragedy and immeasurable sacrifice—from her and her family. Today, Nina is among the most respected CEOs in the country, an advisor to presidents, and a tireless champion of Latinos and immigrants everywhere.Follow Nina @ninavaca on Twitter and IG; and follow Pinnacle on Twitter @pinnaclehq and IG @ninavaca. If you loved this episode, listen to Katia Beauchamp and Nathalie Molina Niño.  Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Legal weed is among the fastest growing industries right now. And thanks to women like Gia Morón, from Women Grow, more people will have a chance to enter the business. For her, opening doors to legal weed is about inclusion and the potential for some redemption in an industry whose legal ramifications have long maligned black and brown people in the country.Follow Gia @gia_vm on Twitter and IG; and Women Grow @womengrow on Twitter and IG. If you loved this episode, listen to Julissa Prado and Nathalie Molina-Niño for more on entrepreneurship and disrupting industries. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

By the time she was 26, Cyndi Ramirez-Fulton had worked her way from cocktail waitress to being a partner in a bar. She’s now applying her experience in hospitality and natural flare for branding and marketing to grow her new venture, Chillhouse, a day spa that serves signature cocktails and fashionable coffee in spaces designed to help us slow down and relax. And Cyndi has an even bigger ambition: to turn Chillhouse into a global brand for modern self-care.Follow Cyndi and Chillhouse on Twitter @cyndiramirez @chillhousenyc and Instagram @cyndiramirez @chillhouse. If you loved this episode, listen to Nicole Mejia and Joanna Vargas for more on the business of wellness. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

There’s no denying Latinas are making serious moves across the political map. But the real power players are not always in the spotlight. Alexandra Rojas is one Latina working to change the face of politics thanks to her role as executive director of Justice Democrats, which helped elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and other history-making women to Congress. Rojas talks about her political awakening, how she stays centered amid the chaos, and why she believes the future of the country depends on electing a new wave of leaders.Follow Alex on Twitter @alexandrasiera and IG @rojasalexandra. If you loved this episode, listen to Jess Morales Rocketto and Nelini Stamp for more on politics and advocacy.  Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

She came to Miami on vacation from her television job in Colombia and, while visiting Telemundo with a friend, walked herself into an opportunity of a lifetime. Then Ilia Calderon really went to work, leading the country’s premier Spanish-language news program on Univision and making headlines for her intrepid reporting and intelligent disaster coverage. She talks with Alicia about confronting a KKK leader, reporting on the family separation crisis as a mother, and navigating life as a hyphenated Latina.Follow Ilia on Twitter and IG @IliaCalderón. If you loved this episode, listen to María Elena Salinas and Mariana Atencio for more on journalism. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Some of us daydream about what we want in our lives. Some of us pray about it. Actress Angelique Cabral writes it down as literally as she can and puts it where she can see it every day. Then she goes to work making it happen. Her beautiful home, her artistic development, and her hit CBS show all resulted from laser-focused manifestations. She breaks down how this practice has made her life fuller and her work more rewarding.Follow Angelique on Twitter and IG @angeliquecabral. If you loved this episode, listen to Melissa Barrera and Aimee Carrero for more on acting. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Becoming a doctor is a huge accomplishment unto itself, requiring years of study, sacrifice and discipline. But if you’re a smart, driven, black Latina it can often feel like a Herculean feat. Dermatologist Dr. Laura Scott and her close cohort of friends created a bond that strengthened and protected them as they navigated and excelled at Harvard University and beyond. Today, under her Instagram handle LauraLacquer, she has a large and growing audience that look to her for inspiration and a little bit of lacquer.Follow Laura on Twitter and IG @laurascottandco. If you loved this episode, listen to Fran Medina and Melissa Alcantara for more on health and influencing. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Knowing that “beauty is hard to sell on the internet,” this subscription box CEO still pursued a breakthrough company model that would eventually redefine beauty buying habits. But it was not a straight line from a business-school idea to a multi-million dollar annual revenue. Potential investors didn’t get it. Makeup purveyors didn’t see the vision. And customers had to be found. Katia tells Alicia the full riveting story.Follow Katia on Twitter @katiawwb and IG @katiawb; and Birchbox @birchbox. If you loved this episode, listen to Elle Huerta and Nina Vaca for more on entrepreneurship and tech.  Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Before you follow her on social media or try out her tailored fitness routine, there’s one thing you need to know about fitness coach and entrepreneur Melissa Alcantara: “I approach everything in beast mode.” And why shouldn’t she? She went from being in the worst shape of her life and feeling hopeless after years of yo-yo dieting to training her body and mind to achieve olympian fitness levels. And did we mention Kim Kardashian asked her to be her personal trainer. Melissa tells Alicia how she made it all happen by sheer will and determination.Follow Melissa on Twitter and IG @fitgurlmel. If you loved this episode, listen to Fran Medina and Laura Scott for more on health and influencing. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

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. She soon became so empowered she came to see herself as an author of books for young adult readers. She is the author of the newly released book, Dealing with Dreams.Follow Lilliam on Twitter and IG @lilliamr. And buy her book, Dealing in Dreams. If you loved this episode, listen to Frances de Pontes Peebles, Quiara Alegría Hudes and Carmen Maria Machado for more on writing and summoning the muse. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

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.Follow Fran on Twitter and IG @heyfranhey. If you loved this episode, listen to Melissa Alcantara and Nicole Mejia for more on wellness. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

"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.Follow Jess on Twitter and IG @jesslivmo. If you loved this episode, listen to Nelini Stamp and Paola Mendoza. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

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. If you loved this episode, listen to Cecilia Muñoz and María Cristina González. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

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. Now, as the head of a growing culinary empire, she looks back at the unconventional way she made it to the top.Follow Lorena on Twitter @lorenagarcia and on Instagram @cheflorena, @lorenagarciaculinaryloft and @chicarestaurants. If you loved this episode, listen to Fran Medina and Nicole Mejia. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

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.Follow Elle @ellehuerta and Mend @letsmend on Twitter and Instagram. If you loved this episode, listen to Nathalie Molina-Niño and Nicole Mejia. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

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. She talks about the intersections in her life that led her down this path: her santera mother, Jewish paternal family, love of music, and a deep love of writing.Follow Quiara on Twitter @quiarahudes and IG @quiaraalegria. If you loved this episode, listen to Frances de Pontes Peebles, Lilliam Rivera, and Valeria Luiselli. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!