Latina to Latina

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 t...

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,...

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. Fol...

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 st...

Here’s the thing about Stephanie Beatriz: she doesn’t fall for traditional messages. Growing up in Texas, blond contest queens reigned, but she understood there was more to beauty. Catholic church told her being bisexual was a sin, but she knew there was nothing wrong with her. Hollywood tried to convince her there’s only ever room for one Latina, but she flatly ignored them. And now she’s living...

With faith and hard work, Iris Beilin has gone from the MAC counter at the mall to makeup maven with a million YouTube subscribers. But her life hasn’t always been glamorous. Iris opens up about immigrating from Panama to the US, an eating disorder and addiction to diet pills that almost killed her, and what social media stardom really means when you “come from the struggle.” Follow Iris on IG @ir...

Latasha tells Alicia, “I’m in the most found place I’ve ever been.” And her sense of self, her deep connection to her work, and her artistic genius seem to radiate in waves around her. “I’m practical magic,” she says at one point. And it’s easy to believe it. But the lyricist, singer and self-described “energy worker” also knows the music game so she calls it like she sees it: she’s clear that Car...

She says growing up Latina in Miami gave her the cojones to face life in Hollywood. Her career so far, including roles in Disney Channel’s Elena of Avalor, FX’s The Americans and Freeform’s Young & Hungry is ample proof of that. Aimee tells Alicia that being Latina also gave her the confidence to know that she deserves to be in the room. She opens up about wrestling with imposter syndrome, learnin...

The Mexican actress’ crossover has been years in the making. Raised in Monterrey, Melissa attended NYU, then found fame back home as a telenovela star. But even as she built a career in Mexico, Melissa knew that her future was in the States. She reveals why she almost passed on auditioning for the Starz show Vida, shares how her immigration status nearly cost her the role, and explores the tension...

She launched her first startup at 20, and made lots of mistakes. Today, she runs Brava Investments, which only funds companies that have the potential to put money in the pockets of millions of women. Raised by an immigrant family with deep entrepreneurial roots, where money was always dinner conversation, Nathalie satisfied her “need for freedom” by launching companies that took on the abysmal st...

On The Today Show and while covering red carpet fashion for Access Hollywood, Lilliana Vazquez has become one of the most sought-after style experts. As a first-generation Latina growing up in Texas, she assumed she’d become “an accountant, a lawyer or a doctor.” Instead, with her blog, The Cheap Chica’s Guide to Style, as a foundation, she built a fashion brand at “the intersection of aspiration...

This episode gets real quickly. Alicia talks to journalist Janel Martinez, founder of Ain’t I Latina, about how forming her Afro-Latinx identity was an intentional act—often in defiance of the “resistance to black identity within the landscape of Latinidad.” From how blackness is erased from the foundations of our cultures, to “diaspora wars” that include “fighting over the colonizer’s language,”...

The Brazilian-American novelist says she never had to claim her Latina identity because “it embraced me” as she grew up bilingual, bicultural, and multinational. On tour for her latest novel, The Air You Breathe, de Pontes Peebles tells Alicia about wrestling with the tension between needing time and space to create while meeting the demands of being a dedicated mother. She also recounts difficult...

Maria Cristina Gonzalez Noguera was an executive at Estée Lauder when she became First Lady Michelle Obama’s communications director. The devoted mother of a one-year-old, her mother, and her husband, headed to DC where Maria Cristina committed herself to a “once in a lifetime opportunity.” She talks with Alicia about the people who inspire her, turning down a future in finance, and juggling life...

Let’s talk about money. The average Latina earns 54 cents for every dollar earned by white, non-Hispanic men. To earn what he earned one year, we have to work an extra 10 months into the next year—until November 1st. That’s recognized nationally as Latina Equal Pay Day. To mark this important date, Alicia wanted to have a bigger conversation with personal finance expert, author and podcast host Ca...

Gloria Calderón Kellett runs the show. Literally. She’s the co-showrunner and executive producer of Netflix’s One Day at a Time, and with each season, she’s adding more credits to that list: writer, director and actor. She talks with Alicia about her rise through Hollywood’s writers’ rooms (How I Met Your Mother, Devious Maids, and Drunk History), and argues for letting good things be good. And re...

Amara La Negra knew she was destined to be a star at five years old. And she started putting in the work then. From her first big break on Univision’s Sabado Gigante, to her scene-stealing role on VH1’s Love & Hip Hop: Miami, Amara’s larger-than-life personality catapulted her into the spotlight. She tells Alicia about how racism and colorism sometimes limit her career, why she can’t shake her “po...

After decades of beaming into our homes from her perch on the Univision anchor desk, Maria Elena Salinas is enjoying finally speaking for herself and pursuing her own ideas and work. She jokes that she didn’t want her legacy to be that “I worked at Univision and then I died,” but Alicia also gets her to open up about that lingering doubt we all feel, the hard choices of being a working mom, and th...

As a child, Christy Haubegger knew what she wanted to be when she grew up: a boss. As the founder of the iconic Latina magazine, a film producer, and now an agent at one of the most powerful talent agencies in Hollywood, Creative Artists Agency, Christy is more than a boss; she's a force to be reckoned with. Born to a Mexican-American mother, and then adopted and raised by non-Latino parents, Chri...

Film director and activist Paola Mendoza embodies today's political resistance. As Creative Director of the Women's March, her visionary work helped galvanize millions around the world, and continues with the "I Am a Child" campaign and efforts to stop the latest Supreme Court nominee. Paola was raised by a single mother, and, as a rebellious teen, found salvation in the arts. She talks with Alici...

A rising star in Netflix’s Orange is the New Black as Maritza Ramos, Lina in Jane the Virgin, and Sofia in Superior Donuts, Diane Guerrero embodies quintessential Latina powers. She's grounded in her strong family roots but still shaped by the trauma that separated them apart when she was a teenager. Somehow she harnessed the loss and pain into unmatched self-determination and drive. She opens up...

We're baaaack!!! And we're now a Latina-owned podcast. For months, we've been talking to incredible women who inspire us, and have been itching to get these fresh episodes to you. So, settle in for your weekly dose of Latina realness.    Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

US Senator. Mentor. Deal-maker.  How Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto drives Washington D.C. into the next era of politics. Follow Catherine on Twitter @CatherineForNV and Instagram @catherinecortezmastoforny. If you loved this episode, listen to UN President María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés , Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz and Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez for more on paths into service. Show your love and bec...

Strategist. Connector. Talent magnet. How Daisy Auger-Dominguez creates a space in corporate America for the rest of us. Follow Daisy on Twitter @DaisyAD and Instagram @daisyaugerdominguez. If you loved this episode, listen to Christy Haubbeger . Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our c...

Singer. Broadway star. Revolutionary. How Mandy Gonzalez commands — and captivates — on stage and in person. Follow Mandy on Twitter @_mandygonzalez and Instagram @mandy.gonzalez. If you loved this episode, listen to Quiara Hudes , Dessa and Stephanie Beatriz for more on finding a place for yourself in the performing arts. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter! Hosted by S...