Café with Strangers

37 - Carlos In this episode, I sit down to talk with Carlos about growing up in Mexico and being walking distance to the US, living in Seattle and Los Angeles and machismo. Tune in to hear Carlos share his experiences and what this episode has to do with pitayas (dragon fruit). February is Black History Month. Follow Carlos on Instagram @carloscotophoto @carloscotofoto and on Twitch @mexstoner – “...

36 - A Brief Discussion on Immigration Facts and Statistics The first episode of the year takes influence from the book Enrique’s Journey by Sonia Nazario and the previous episode retelling Enrique’s story. Along with sharing some facts and statistics from the book, the episode also takes a small dive into some realities that a person from Latin America is likely to encounter in their pursuit to b...

Browsing the shelves of the local library, skimming hundreds of titles, I had about fifteen minutes before the library closed to try to find a book. After a few minutes, I started to think I wouldn’t be able to find a book today, and was starting to question what made me think it was a good idea to arrive at the library so late, when a title immediately caught my attention: Enrique’s Journey . The...

Happy Halloween! In celebration of the season, the episode dives into the lore of La Llorona. Tune in to hear about the beginnings of her tale and the inspirations she’s had throughout history. – Trigger Warnings: Death - mention of suicide, infanticide, homicide – Episode on Aztec Mythology: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4YcXtl8VixajUypYBiCFp1?si=aaf95c86cedf4608 “La Llorona” by Mamselle Ruiz...

Every year from September 15 to October 15, America spends the month celebrating Hispanic and Latinx Heritage Month with events and festivities sharing the culture, celebrating and appreciating the contributions the Hispanic community has made in this country. There were several people who helped start this and turn it into a month-long event, but there were two Mexican-American men involved who h...

After an long and unexpected break, Cafe with Strangers returns with the continuation on the topic of the decades long civil war and genocide of the indigenous population that occurred in the 20th Century in Guatemala. In part one, the history of what led up to the start of the war and the death and destruction that affected the country, including its more vulnerable populations. This episode will...

When Guatemala's president in the 1950's wanted to give back to the indigenous people, some who were opposed to it started a chain of events that lead to the country enduring a civil war that lasted nearly 40 years. This episode goes into what happened that lead up to death and destruction in Guatemala that affected some of the most vulnerable populations. – Trigger Warning: human rights violation...

What's the difference between the Hispanic and Latino identities? Is there a significant difference? And how did these identities come about? Tune into the episode to learn some history behind them along with Chicano and some gender inclusive terms. – Some website sources: https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/2022/10/01/hispanic-latino-latinx-latine-words-history/ https://daily.jstor.org/where...

Earlier this month, J.A. Bayona's film Society of the Snow (Sociedad de la Nieve) was released on Netflix. After several weeks of research and months of anticipation for the film's release, to say I was excited was a serious understatement. Tune in to hear some live reactions and after thoughts of the film. - Follow the podcast on Instagram at @cafewithstrangers for updates and more. And if you’re...

What happens when you have a final for a class assignment that asks you to create it as if was a podcast? You call up the cousin who hosts one and create an episode together, of course. I'm joined by my cousin, Janetzy, to help create a podcast episode for her class about the article "Chicanas/Latinas Advance Intersectional Thought and Practice" by Maxine Baca Zinn and Ruth Enid Zambrana. In the v...

We were standing and waiting, shuffling ourselves down the aisle of the plane to get to our assigned seats. I had been digging deep into Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 recently and there I was boarding this aircraft. I've been on so many planes in my life, I've seen Final Destination, and I have anxiety so of course I've thought about what I'd do if I was on an airplane that crashed. Crashed and s...

Have you ever heard about Coatlicue? Coyolxauhqui? Or maybe even Huitzilopochtli? In this minisode, tune in to hear some of the lore behind these gods and their influence to not only the Mexica but the influence throughout the last century. – TW: brief mention of decapitation/dismemberment and events of the September 11 attacks – Gloria Anzaldúa - https://gloriaeanzaldua.com/ San Francisco Arts Co...

After a brief hiatus, we're back! Join me in speaking with Urayoán as they discuss growing up in Puerto Rico, their passion and inspiration for art, and the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. We share in the similarities and differences in our gender identity journey and, in the spirit of the season, chat about Halloween and Día de los Muertos. Ura also speaks on past history and present status of Puer...

In this week’s episode, we (virtually) reached across the PNW to talk to Macarena earlier this year. Macarena, Maki, shares what it was like moving from Paraguay to the states as a young child and living and growing up in central Oregon as a South American. She also shares part of her journey in self-discovery and inner child healing involving an extended visit to Paraguay and a Daiso account. Fol...

Welcome to the first minisode of the podcast! I’m joined this week with a guest from season one, Candice, and we go on a journey talking about an Argentine artist named Delia del Carril. Born in 1884, Delia lived a life filled with so much beauty and tragedy from traveling regularly between Latin America and Europe, living through both World Wars, aiding refugees to escape Europe and including hav...

Meet the first guest of season two: Gaby. Recording for the first time over video chat, Gaby tells her story about what it was like growing up first gen in a borough in New York City, spending summers with family in the Dominican Republic and the experiences and culture shock of moving to and living in Chicago, Illinois. She also recounts the details of the obstacles and struggles she had to endur...

Welcome to Season Two of Café with Strangers! It's been a busy several months but CWS is back to continue elevating our voice, the latinx voice. In this intro episode, I'll be sharing some updates including info about future episodes. You'll also get to hear a bit about me, my story, from growing up in California and moving to Idaho as a young teen, dealing with mental illness, and how my coming o...

Welcome to the final episode of Season One of Cafe with Strangers! Join me in speaking with Alex as she tells us about growing up in Chicago, what haunted houses are like in the midwest, ADHD and sexuality, including asexuality and aromanticism. We also discuss a bit about our personal pets and cover subjects involving mental illness. TW: mention of suicide, suicidal ideations, some mention of chi...

Join me in this week’s episode where we get the opportunity to converse with Gabby. Gabby is an Ecuadorian Mexican American that was born in Washington and raised by her Ecuadorian grandmother for most of her life. Tune into her episode to hear her talk about the type of relationship she has with her parents, sexuality and experiences had as a POC in her adult life. You’ll also hear us discuss a b...

In this week’s episode we get the chance to meet Alexis. As the first nonbinary person interviewed, he describes what their journey was like in discovering their gender identity and also other identity struggles and experiences he had, including being raised Pentecostal Christian. Alexis also tells us about the journey he and his family made from Mexico City to the US in the early 2000s. TW: menti...

We’re back in Seattle for this week’s episode where we get to meet Kevin. Kevin is a first gen Salvadoreño American who grew up in Southern California for a majority of his life before spending time in Chicago but ultimately ended up in Seattle. Tune into his episode to hear him talk about family and untangling its politics, culture shock and experiences living in Chicago and mental health, includ...

Join me this week in speaking with the third and last guest of the Los Angeles trip, Marisol. Sitting across from each other in a library study room, she recounts what it was like growing up first gen as the youngest of eight children, memories of time spent in Mexico and career changes. With some difficulty, but a lot more strength, we discuss the subjects of alcohol abuse and sexual assault. TW:...

In this week's episode we meet Marilyn, a woman who traveled from Colombia to America as a young girl with her mother in a journey that lasted over six months. Join me in talking with Marilyn as she openly shares what it was like for her growing up in several states, from dealing with traumatic school situations to the loss of her mother and its aftermath. Together we also touch on the subject of...

Café with Strangers heads down to SoCal to spend some time in sunny Los Angeles and where we meet our first guest from the trip, Susana. In this week's episode you'll hear Susana talk about her experiences and struggles leaving Guadalajara, Jalisco as a little girl and growing up in LA. Together we discuss generational traditions and expectations, including the subjects of machismo and gender role...

In this week's episode we meet Candice. Recorded in a park on a warm day, Candice talks about growing up Mexican and Filipino, the similarities between both cultures and the identity struggles she faced. We also discuss what it's like being a middle child, religion and culture and struggles going through school. Follow Candice on Instagram @cannjari. Follow the podcast on IG @cafewithstrangers or...