Latina To Latina

This week, we continue with one of our most beloved conversations with members of the new literary canon. As if setting out to write a book about the undocumented immigrant experience across the country wasn’t hard enough, Karla Cornejo Villavivencio set a much higher bar for The Undocumented Americans. “I promised everyone in the book, all of my subjects, that I would get Americans to care. And that's a promise that I couldn't guarantee that I could keep,” she tells Alicia in this searing conversation about not wanting to be a political tool, being among the first undocumented immigrants to graduate from Harvard University, and not thinking too much about herself to avoid “going into dark places.”Follow Karla  on instagram @karlarrriott.

Raised in El Paso by a Mexican immigrant mother and a father who worked as a truck driver, this first gen college student started her career at the Republican National Committee. Then dual tragedies, the September 11, 2001 attacks and the sudden death of her father, changed everything. Olivia describes her career pivot to national security; her choice to work for Vice President Pence, her decision to leave and the fall out; and why she, a lifelong Republican, is now openly campaigning for Kamala Harris.   

Administrator Guzman, the fifth Latina to serve in a U.S. presidential cabinet, shares how she learned to be “as entrepreneurial as the small businesses” she serves, the growing pains of pivoting from behind-the-scenes player to principal, and her best advice for other Latinas who want to do the same. 

At UnidosUS's annual conference in Las Vegas this year, LTL's Juleyka Lantigua moderated a keynote conversation with the founder of the award-winning beauty brand during the event's Latinas Luncheon. Sandra opened up about the creative transition from rock musician to lifestyle entrepreneur, the business acumen and personal evolution required to grow Nopalera, and the powerful ways our choices as Latina consumers can generate community wealth. 

This week, we share another one of our favorite interviews from Latinas in the art world. Her poems have gone viral and reached millions. Now the writer behind "Brown Girl, Brown Girl" opens up about finding her way out of an abusive marriage, the decade where her kids became her poems, and the power of putting what you want into words.Find Leslé's latest book here and follow the author on IG @leslehonore. If you loved this episode, listen to How Coco Illustrator Ana Ramírez González Extends Herself with Her Art and How Writer Karla Cornejo Villavicencio Maintains Control of Her Narrative. 

For her newest YA book, Solis, Paola teamed up with co-author Abby Sher to tell the story of a near-future  America where undocumented people are forced into labor camps in service of an autocratic regime, and the four courageous rebels who decide to start a revolution. Paola shares the process of co-creating, what she had to say "no" to in order to say "yes" to YA fiction, and reflections on her own quest for freedom.Follow Paola on Instagram @paolamendoza .  Find her new book Solis, here and her book tour dates here. If you enjoyed this episode, listen to her first episode on Latina to Latina, Paola Mendoza Teaches Us That Joy Is an Act of Resistance. 

The award-winning journalist delves into the reporting behind her new book, Defectors: The Rise of the Latino Far Right and What It Means for America; reflects on how being a Latina lesbian informs her storytelling; and shares what her grandfather’s life and death have taught her about the pursuit of individual freedom.Follow Paola @paoramos on Instagram and find her new book here. 

This week, we bring you one of our favorite conversations with Latina artists. iLe’s natural and inherited musical talents were nurtured between classic piano training and the hyper-political songs of Calle 13, Puerto Rico’s most influential group in the last few decades. Now the singer/songwriter takes center stage with her haunting and flaring album Almadura. She and Alicia revisit moments of inspiration and desperation—especially for her beloved PR’s political limbo—and pull threads from the vivid stories and powerful messages that elevate her music to anthem status.Follow iLe on IG @cabralu. If you loved this episode, listen to Dessa for more on music. 

She was in her early 30s when a stranger's intervention forced Jessica to confront her addiction. Recovery required Jessica to revisit early traumas, and contend with deeply ingrained ideas about achievement and self-worth. Now, the founder of @NuevaYorka is sharing her story in her highly anticipated memoir First in the Family: A Story of Survival, Recovery, and the American Dream.Follow Jessica on Instagram @jessicahoppeauthor and @NuevaYorka.  Find her new book here.

In her new book, Tías and Primas: On Knowing and Loving the Women Who Raise Us, Prisca helps us understand the women in our lives: la loca, tu tía escándalosa, la prima perfecta and so many more. Prisca shares her own path from la prima perfecta to la loca, and her best advice for truly getting to know the women we love.Follow Prisca on instagram @priscadorcas. Find her latest book here. 

Our Top 25 Countdown Continues! The Ivy League educated holistic psychologist is revolutionizing her field with Indigenous healing, curanderos, sound baths, and Reiki therapy. In this conversation we had well before the release of her book Break the Cycle: A Guide to Healing Intergenerational Trauma, Dr. Buqué breaks down her work in mental wellness, and how we can use “micro moments” to connect with ourselves.  Find Dr. Buqué's book here. Follow her on Instagram @dr.marielbuque. 

We continue with our favorite conversations with Latinas in journalism. She came to Miami on vacation from her television job in Colombia and, while visiting Telemundo with a friend, walked herself into an opportunity of a lifetime. Then Ilia Calderon really went to work, leading the country’s premier Spanish-language news program on Univision and making headlines for her intrepid reporting and intelligent disaster coverage. She talks with Alicia about confronting a KKK leader, reporting on the family separation crisis as a mother, and navigating life as a hyphenated Latina.Follow Ilia on Instagram @IliaCalderón. If you loved this episode, listen to María Elena Salinas and Mariana Atencio for more on journalism.

This week, we share another one of our favorite interviews from Latinas in the world of journalism. Noticias Telemundo’s Washington D.C. bureau chief shares her unlikely path from correspondent to newsroom leader, and one of the most influential journalists in Spanish-language television.Follow Lori on Instagram lorimontenegro_ .If you loved this episode, listen to Why Investigative Journalist Jean Guerrero is Leaning into the Power of Her Personal Experience.

This week we bring you one of our most beloved interviews with inspiring Latinas in journalism. After decades of beaming into our homes from her perch on the Univision anchor desk, María 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 the freedom that comes with stepping boldly into your destiny.Follow Maria @MariaESalinas on Instagram. If you loved this episode, listen to Mariana Atencio and Cristina Costantini on their paths into journalism. 

We continue counting down our top 25 episodes of all time. It took her years to get back to herself, but now the singer-songwriter who exploded onto the world stage as part of Fifth Harmony has her first solo EP, Prelude. And she's also on a mission to help others heal.Follow Lauren @laurenjauregui on Instagram. If you loved this episode, listen to Why iLe’s New Album, Almadura, Is Both Departure and Evolution from Calle 13 and Why DaniLeigh is Destined to Be a Music Mogul.  

This week, we bring you another one of our favorite interviews since the start of our show. She learned on the job as an assistant to one of the most powerful women in Hollywood, and spent nine years at Twentieth Century Fox before making the leap to Netflix. Now its director of original programing, she lets us in on what it takes to sell a big idea.    Follow Carolina on Instagram @thedancingdiary. If you loved this episode, listen to How Showrunner Dailyn Rodriguez Stays in High Demand and LEVEL UP: This Life Coach Says Now's the Time to Level Up. 

Today, we bring you another one of our most beloved interviews with Latinas in entertainment. "If you find yourself in an industry doing all the jobs around the job you really want to do, check in on that," Linda tells Alicia. "There's some sort of fear around you not doing the thing you really want to do." She would know. After years of working in film and digital creative, Linda decided to follow her true passion: writing. Within two years of making that commitment, she was pitching and selling a television series. And there's so much more to Linda's story--breaking with tradition, sacrificing something of great value, and working harder than she thought she could.Follow Linda @lindayvettechavez on Instagram. If you loved this episode, listen to Ilana Peña, and Gloria Calderón Kellett for more on creating Latina narratives in Hollywood.

We continue with our favorite conversations with Latinas in the entertainment industry. Growing up, television writer Ilana Peña was a student of books, where, she says, "girls could be complicated." Now, as creator of Diary of a Future President on Disney+, Ilana brings that vision of girlhood to life. She tells Alicia about rising from assistant to writer’s assistant to writer to creator, how the early loss of her father taught her to use “grief as an engine,” and why being in charge forced her to stop saying “maybe.”Follow Ilana @lanstagram on Instagram. If you loved this episode, listen to Linda Yvette Chavez and Cristela Alonzo for more on creating Latina shows in Hollywood.

This week, we bring you one of our best-loved episodes about Latinas in the entertainment industry. 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’d 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 reveals her plans to take her storytelling to the next level.  Follow Gloria on instagram @gloriakellett. If you loved this episode, listen to Cristela Alonzo and Linda Yvette Chavez on what takes to write and run a television show. 

We continue with our Top 25 Countdown! The Hollywood A-lister reveals how she advocates for herself, maneuvers through complex power dynamics, and deflects the “Brown Discount.” She also shares about the work that went into Season 2 of the smash hit, Gentefied, streaming on Netflix now!   Follow America @americaferrera on Instagram. If you loved this episode, listen to Why TV Showrunner Ilana Peña Craves Complicated Girl Characters and How Queens' Star Nadine Velazquez is Making the Most of a Second Chance.