100 Latina Birthdays

"Being a Latina in general in the United States and beyond the United States honestly is really having to put on this matriarchal role in societies that are really not. You have to be tough in a certain sense, and not really show too many weaknesses. And that can be tough when you're neurodivergent because the whole thing about neurodivergence is neurodivergence is claiming that you have a disabil...

Excerpt... A pioneer in the community health network, Ilda considers her advocacy and community building as part of her life’s purpose. "Now it’s my turn. I say, they helped me and now it is my time to help the community." In 2024, she won a Community Health Worker of the year award. The glass trophy is featured near a caricature of her and another promotora. Their nickname: “Las Sunshines” – whic...

Excerpt... Beatriz "I know they called me a lesbian. They actually looked at me and said, oh, you are a lesbian. That just helped me bury it. And of course then after that I was over the top boy. Crazy. Partly because I was boy crazy, but also because I needed to show everybody that No, no, no, no, no. I wasn't a lesbian. I definitely liked boys." Carmen "How did this affect your mental health in...

She served for almost six years. The work was hard on her body, and the physical labor hurt her back, much of it due to her need to fit in. "Especially being a female, I think we have to kind of prove ourselves to be at the level of the guys. … I feel that I definitely had to grow a thick skin." Carolina recalls the jeering from male sailors, and the unwanted attention she received simply for bein...

Excerpt... Celina’s office in Chicago’s Irving Park neighborhood is a studio loft, with high ceilings and an open, airy feel. It’s clear that this is a place where healing begins. It’s bright, filled with plants, and has a peaceful ambiance. Celina Huerta: A lot of women are also learning that if they don’t want to have sex, and you know, their partner still wants to they’re learning like oh that’...

Excerpt... Hilda mostly works in neighborhoods with higher Latino concentrations, such as Cicero, Pilsen and Berwyn. Half of the work is driving around the city to talk to people about what they have, where to go and to help people make the appointments. The other half is learning.  "O sea, tengo muchas actividades." ("In other words, I have a lot of activities.") Add to all that — caring for her...

Excerpt... Back in the small community room in Enlace Chicago, the group of women continues chatting about how menopause can take a toll on their intimate relationships. And then there’s a celebrity twist. "El ex de Shakira qué dijo? Que estaba con la muchacha, con Clara Chia, es que con ella tengo sexo diario… que dio a entender? Que con Shakira no, no? Shakira es más grande. A lo mejor Shakira e...

Excerpt... Ana explains that guilt around sex is deeply ingrained, especially for women who’ve been taught to view their bodies as shameful or something to be hidden. "It’s sinful to even think about your body, and even things such as basic, as your genitalia, which is just another body part, your arm or your vagina or what have you." She says that stories passed down generationally keep women fro...

From healthcare to home care, education to service industries, Latinas are at the forefront of essential labor—but their contributions come at a steep cost. With one of the highest labor market participation rates in the U.S.—even surpassing pre-pandemic levels—Latinas are critical to the workforce, but their stories are often left unheard. How do overloaded schedules, burnout, and workplace safet...

Between 2015 to 2019, unsheltered homelessness increased among two populations: women and Latinos. Homelessness carries a social stigma, and getting help is difficult because people do not disclose how much they’re struggling. But housing insecurity—overcrowding, doubling up, and moving often—can be traumatizing and have life-long impacts on a person’s health and well-being.  In this episode, repo...

 Between 2015 to 2019, unsheltered homelessness increased among two populations: women and Latinos. Homelessness carries a social stigma, and getting help is difficult because people do not disclose how much they’re struggling. But housing insecurity—overcrowding, doubling up, and moving often—can be traumatizing and have life-long impacts on a person’s health and well-being. In this episode, repo...

This week, we are sharing an episode from our Peabody-nominated series, 70 Million.  The newest season focuses on the ways that Immigration and Customs enforcement, or  ICE, detention impacts those in its custody who identify across the gender spectrum. We hope you like it.   Many make the dangerous trek across South and Central America to arrive at the U.S. border to seek asylum and safely. But f...

Being diagnosed with ADHD can feel like a complicated and isolating experience—but for Vanessa, her ADHD diagnosis as a 28-year-old Latina gave her much-needed clarity. Vanessa spent most of her life questioning why "simple" tasks were so challenging. She knew something was not right, so she sought out a psychiatrist who specializes in anxiety disorders. In this two-part episode, reporter Carmen M...

 Being diagnosed with ADHD can feel like a  complicated and isolating experience—but for Vanessa, her ADHD diagnosis as a 28-year-old Latina gave her much-needed clarity.   Vanessa spent most of her life questioning why "simple" tasks were so challenging. She knew something was not right, so she sought out a psychiatrist who specializes in anxiety disorders.  In this episode, reporter Carmen Marqu...

Nearly 80% of Latino youth suffer childhood trauma, but many don’t start actively healing and acknowledging adverse childhood events until later in life – often when they start showing up as physical symptoms – stomach pains, headaches, racing heart rates. Some Latinas are starting to recognize the inextricable link between the mind and body, and reconnecting to ancestral medicine to heal. But in...

Nearly 21.4% of Hispanic and Latino adults report having a mental illness. In this episode, Juleyka Lantigua, the creator of our show, sits down for a roundtable discussion with two mental health practitioners to discuss some of the most prevalent mental health issues among Latinas and to unpack how Latinas understand and cope with their mental wellbeing. Generalized anxiety disorder, major depres...

This is Part 2 of a special two-part episode of 100 Latina Birthdays. After serving 10+ years in prison, Destiny and Diana had to adjust to a new life outside of prison. From finding a new job, to rebuilding relationships, and learning to regulate their emotions, returning to the community, their families, and their kids was often an overwhelming experience. Reporter Francesca Mathews investigates...

The negative health impacts of incarceration on Latina mothers and their families are profound and long-lasting, even beyond a release from prison. Destiny and Diana were incarcerated during their transition from adolescence into adulthood and motherhood, so they had to learn about their bodies and reproductive health, as well as their physical and mental wellbeing in the dehumanizing setting of p...

In Chicago, there are 77 community areas ranked by their social vulnerability index, a tool that helps explain how underlying health disparities can make some Latino neighborhoods more vulnerable in the face of environmental or man-made disasters. Reporter Francesca Mathews spends time in the southwest side speaking with residents and advocates, like organizers from the Chicago Environmental Justi...

The popularity of "magic mushrooms" or psilocybin is on the rise. While its use has been decriminalized in very limited contexts in some states, it remains illegal in most of the U.S. Journalist Carmen Marquez reports on Chicago and LA-based Latinas who are raising awareness about the potential of these psychedelics to heal, to nurture, and to connect us with our roots.   100 Latina Birthdays is a...

This is Part 2 of a special two-part episode of 100 Latina Birthdays. If you haven’t listened to Part 1, we suggest you do that first. Mariela "Ella" Vazquez had a hysterectomy at age 11, after being diagnosed with endometriosis. As an adult, like many Latinas with this condition, Ella had to learn not just how to manage her chronic pain, but how to speak about it openly with loved ones. Reporter...

This season we’re documenting the health, wellness and lifetime outcomes of Latinas between the ages of 20 and 40. 29-year-old Mariela "Ella" Vazquez was diagnosed with endometriosis at an unusually young age, and figuring out how to understand and address her physical symptoms became a lifelong journey. Journalist Julia Binswanger reports on Ella's personal experience understanding her body and h...

Celiana Lopez, Gisselle Cambron, and Yami Rodriguez are three students at Loyola University Chicago. Attending a predominantly white institution, or PWI, has presented challenges to all three girls, but Celiana, Gisselle, and Yami have found joy and community in Lambda Theta Alpha, their Latina sorority, and in programs meant to support first generation and low income students like Loyola’s Achiev...

Art has always been an important way for 20 year-old Kaelah Serrano to explore and express her queer identity. Born and raised on Chicago’s southwest side, Kaelah found an artistic home in Yollocalli Arts Reach, a nonprofit based in Little Village that provides arts, media, and storytelling education for young people—many of them Latinx—in Chicago. Yollocalli is an example of a crucial “third spac...

Dariana Urbina is just 17 years old, but she is responsible for far more than the average teenager. She takes care of her three younger siblings—budgeting, cooking and cleaning, and doing paperwork and translation for her parents, who work jobs with grueling hours. Dariana’s heightened burden of responsibility is an example of what experts call “adultification” or “parentification”, in which child...