Convos With Sazón

With over a billion followers worldwide and players from five continents, FC Bayern Munich has become one of the most influential clubs on earth. Long before the 2026 World Cup spotlight arrived, its managing director of the Americas Dee Kundra, has been helping grow FC Bayern Munich's presence across North, Central, and South America. She discusses the opportunities, challenges, future of foo...

Eddy Cruz and Pedro Paredes have turned memories, Dominican culture, and a whole lot of love into one of New York City's most coveted dining experiences. In this episode, they share how opening up their home to strangers, sharing family traditions and creating community became the core ingredients behind the Nine26 Supper Club.

Customers see beautiful chocolates, but what does it really take to master a craft that demands equal parts artistry and precision? Chocolatier Laura Klemer shares the winding path that brought her into the world of chocolate, including the lessons from years of training, experimentation, and dedication. She also opens up about the realities of pursuing a culinary career, the mindset needed to kee...

Few people have been able to blend stand-up comedy and soccer media the way comedian & soccer personality Alexis Guerreros has, and his journey is a reminder that success rarely follows a straight line. In this episode, he talks about how he built a career by combining multiple passions instead of choosing just one. He also reflects on risk-taking, self-belief, and why the most rewarding oppor...

Artist and professor Meliksah Soyturk has built an international career using photographs, a pen, watercolors and inspiration from two cities central to his life: New York and Istanbul. In this episode, he shares how his passion for history, architecture, and storytelling has evolved into a body of work that bridges cultures and generations.

Fashion designer and creative director, Alicia Corradini, is redefining what modern fashion can look and feel like. In this episode, she reflects on her Colombian-Italian-British identity, emotional storytelling, and why fashion should create more space for authentic self-expression, softness, fluidity, and individuality. She shares inside scoops about her work with Tory Burch, the upcoming launch...

From Movimiento Ananda to her jewelry line Amunet Ilah, Gabriela Figueroa’s work as a movement artist, somatic practitioner and jewelry designer is rooted in ritual, symbolism, and remembrance. She shares the philosophy behind everything she does and the deeply personal experiences that shaped her work into a healing practice centered on movement, breath, sound, and emotional integration.

 For Gabriela Maria Aguilar, MAKEUP BY MARIO’s Social Video Art Director, content is more than just content, it’s culture. She reflects on how her background informs her work and how she approaches storytelling with intention, authenticity, and purpose.

Dance educator, choreographer and Alvin Ailey’s first NY Style Mambo instructor,  Katherine Jimenez joins Convos With Sazón to talk about representation being more than just a buzzword, and rather a responsibility she carries in every room she enters. She shares her perspective on visibility, culture, why showing up authentically matters now more than ever, and the importance of making dance acces...

Nicol Varona Cancelmo, co-founder of OCOA Beauty, shares the deeply personal journey behind unlearning beauty standards that didn't reflect her truth and reclaiming her natural curls, which inspired the creation of her clean, high-end curl care line. Nicol talks about how her Dominican roots shaped the brand and how culture lives at the center of everything she creates alongside her sister. Th...

From the vibrant streets of San Juan to the world’s biggest stages, artist, dancer, teacher and choreographer Carlos Falú has built a career rooted in both tradition and transformation. His journey is a testament to what’s possible when talent meets relentless pursuit. From local beginnings to performing on global stages including Broadway, Coachella and Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl, he also reflects on...

In an industry rooted in European traditions, Melissa Gallardo is carving out space for Latin heritage through candlemaking. She breaks down how her brand, Valorosa, is redefining what luxury and fragrance can look and smell like.

Filmmaker Joel Alfonso Vargas and actress Destiny Checo unpack their upcoming film "Mad Bills to Pay," rooted in real stories, real people, and real New York.  Set during a sweltering NYC summer, the film follows Rico, a young Dominican man navigating responsibility, identity, and survival as he comes of age in the Bronx. Told through a raw, unfiltered lens, it captures the rhythm, press...

Dominican children’s book author, Luz Maria Mack, shares how she moved past seeking publisher approval to center her community, creating stories rooted in culture, truth, and lived experience. Along the way, she also opens up about the realities of self-funding her work and navigating rejection, while thoughtfully exploring how to translate complex themes like identity, struggle, and belonging int...

Most people see the shelves, but not the work behind them. The New York Public Library’s (NYPL) curator for Latin American, Iberian and Latine Research Collections, Paloma Celis Carbajal, pulls back the curtain on what librarians actually do, from building research collections to maintaining cultural memory. She also reflects on how those ideas guide her work preserving the stories, literature, an...

For architect-turned-mixologist Ximena Hoyos aka the Gin & Tonic Queen, hospitality has always been at the center of everything she does. From childhood memories of her parents entertaining guests to designing hospitality spaces and then hosting curated cocktail experiences across New York City, she shares why connection is the true ingredient behind every great gathering. She also talks about...

Growing up in a family of garment workers, Jenniffer Quezada’s parents experienced the harsh realities of the fashion industry firsthand. Today, they’re rewriting that story together by building a company that uplifts designers, immigrant workers, and small businesses alike. She joins me alongside her father, Pedro Quezada, to talk about Digital Moda’s inception, which is truly a family story deca...

Photographer and director, Rey Fernandez, shares how a decade in corporate America left him successful, but spiritually depleted. In this episode, he opens up about choosing uncertainty over comfort and how picking up a camera at 27 changed the trajectory of his life. Rey’s story is ultimately about courage: the kind required to believe in yourself before the world does.

Named among The Maldon® Salt’s 50 in 2025 as a globally renowned chef whose skill, talent and creativity is making waves and headlines at home and abroad, Colombian chef and entrepreneur Stephanie Bonnin left behind the “stable” path to follow a calling rooted in memory, migration, and intuition. In this episode, she shares how nostalgia, courage, and Caribbean flavors shaped a culinary project th...

Leandra Caprini-Rosica redefines wedding photography as emotional storytelling and legacy-building. In this episode, she shares how empathy, intuition, and presence shape her signature blend of editorial direction and cinematic documentary style images that outlive the day itself. She also announces her digital artist residency and her British Vogue feature on out on stands this week.

Professional ballerina, author, choreographer and activist, Ingrid Silva opens up about navigating race, class, and access in an elite art form not designed with her in mind. Through resilience and radical self-belief, she carved space not just for herself, but also for those coming after her. From the global performance stages to the United Nations, she unpacks how movement can also be a tool for...

Comedian, impressionist, media host and content creator, Andrea Lopez wears a lot of hats and has many voices. From Jennifer Coolidge to Kourtney Kardashian, Andrea explains how she builds impressions that feel sharp, specific, and human. This episode dives into craft, observation, and why her approach to comedy is more than just doing a voice. She breaks down how persistence, observation and embr...

Before fashion, Kevin Leonel dreamed of playing Major League Baseball and that competitive, disciplined mindset still defines his work today. In this episode, Kevin traces how sports shaped his identity, creativity, and resilience, ultimately leading him to fuse athletic culture with high-concept fashion in unexpected ways. Episode 38 is now live and available on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts,...

From Chile to New York City singer, songwriter, producer, and label founder, TONI, opens up about building an artistic identity across cultures, languages, and genres. In this episode, she shares how emotional honesty, creative risk, and independence shaped her path. She also announces the release of her first ever album: Gei-SHA, set for February 27th.

Dietitian and author, Dalina Soto, encourages listeners to enjoy food without shame by offering a blueprint for stepping out of restrictive diet culture and into empowered, culturally aligned nourishment. This episode is a reminder that reclaiming our relationship with food can reconnect us to identity, joy, and family.