Chancleta Generation

We just began hispanic heritage month and brands and campaigns are rushing to do their Latinx focused social media posts. Seeing all the hispanic boxes being checked by others, we want to ask - what this month mean to us Latinos, if we need a month, and if we care about it. Then as usual we’ll give our 2 cents about the steps we can take to make this month work for us.

As season 1 comes to a close, and after talking about so many actions and systems that have been hurting or dividing us - we wanted to end on a hopeful note. We’ll be uncovering some of the aspects of our Latinidad that we share, and that if we harness them they will unite us. Because now more than ever, we need us.

The pandemic and many other factors made filling out the Census incredibly difficult last year, but nevertheless results are in, and there are battles going on all over the country about where the lines will be drawn. Redistricting will affect how local and federal politics will be run for the next 10 years, why aren’t more of us out protesting?

We have a very special guest, Helen Torres, CEO of Hispanas Organized for Political Equality (HOPE). For the past 30 years, HOPE has been tirelessly working to give Latinas the tools they need to occupy more seats in political and leadership roles. We can’t think of someone with more expertise to talk about representation, the barriers we face, and what we can do to help them in their efforts.

Empowerment is certainly a buzzword in many organizations nowadays, but we’re wondering what that really means in practice. We’ll be talking about our own path to empowerment, what it means to us, and what we need to collectively heal to continue on it. Yes, all the mushy stuff we love.

A recent report by the Federal Reserve shows Latinx were more affected financially by the pandemic than any other ethnic group. In this episode we'll analyze the systemic issues that cause this, and of course - what we can do about it. Because we can always do something about it! 

47 states have now passed new voting rules each with a different flavor. We’ll go over what these are and what this means to our communities. We’ll also discuss what we can do to change these laws, because after all, we have the power.

There are some scary parallels between what’s going on in Colombia right now and some of the things that have been happening in the US. We’ll be discussing how situations like these are affecting what Latinx are thinking in terms of trust, stability, and what the future holds.

After going all the way back to the history of assimilation, we bring it around to what us Latinx can start doing to heal, and seeing ourselves for who we are. Because when we’re inside the voting booth, who are we really thinking of and voting for?

Where are you in the assimilation scale? The way we vote many times depends on the level of assimilation we have. But assimilation doesn't just happen from one day to the other, it starts in many different places and situations. We'll be discussing where they started for us, and how these systems permeate our beliefs and values. As Ceci says "the fish don't see the water"...

There's something that has been lurking in the shadows for generations, and that permeates the lives and political choices of Latinx everywhere... Find out what level of assimilation we're all in, in the first part of this conversation.

We continue analyzing the reasons why Latinos continue to answer the calls from campaigns at the 11th hour, and give our 2 cents into what we need to start doing to bring some change. If you haven't listened to part 1, time to do that now!

Why are Latinx only engaged when a political campaign needs them? Hmm, it almost feels like we're a booty call… In this episode we grab a page from the psychology books, and our own lives and explain why the Latinx community continues to pick up the (political) phone call at 2am.