In this episode, I introduce you to Rosalia Rivera, Founder of Consent Parenting, host of the About Consent Podcast, and creator of Consent Wear. Rosalia teaches parents, particularly child sexual abuse survivors, how to educate their children on body safety, boundaries, and consent so that they can empower their families to prevent abuse and break intergenerational cycles. Rosalia is on a mission to end child sexual abuse, dismantle shame, and help survivors heal and become thrivers.

Throughout this episode, you will hear clips from Rosalia discussing the importance of consent as it relates to the parent-to-child physical relationship. Paired with her insight, I begin to discuss some of my own experiences with physical boundaries being crossed. As a parent, it is hard to imagine crossing boundaries with our own family, but as Rosalia points out, it can be in the subtlest of ways in which we connect with our family that can have the biggest impact.

I began speaking at local Denver middle schools about my career as a graphic designer and the beginnings of our first film, being eñye. I realized pretty quickly that sharing sometimes uncomfortable personal stories was the way I could make the biggest difference. Looking back, I see that the seeds of of Project Eñye were planted long ago and these early talks were messages of belonging in disguise and were very much my “baptism” into public speaking. I'm pulling back the curtain as they say on my process with hopes that you will be inspired by the beautiful and often messy process it is crafting a brand new message. 

During this pandemic, I found my certainty in an unexpected place –– right outside my own front door!

Meet Paul Romaine, my neighbor and Founder of the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts and leader of the band that played their hearts out night-after-night during the toughest part of the quarantine - the part that felt like it would never end.

The band started with Paul the drummer, then Rico a saxophone player and slowly, more instruments were added. Soon, our whole neighborhood was coming out every night fold up chairs in hand, sitting 6' apart to allow themselves to feel joy in a time of great uncertainty.

We decided to structure this episode a little differently. We call it "experimental" you might call it raw.

We wanted to fully embrace this feeling of uncertainty paired with the possibility of connecting to others in the community by showing what this really feels like.

Through this process, we found connections we didn’t know were there! 

Now is the time to play, now is the time to dance, and now is the time to find joy wherever you can find it.

Rita is the Founder of the Latina Podcasters Network and also hosts her own women’s empowerment podcast called, “Empowerment and All That.” This episode is inspired by a message she left us that made us all think about what we’ve learned throughout this quarantine experience. 

She said, “I’m alone, but I’m not lonely.” 

Through our conversation with Rita, we discuss how her quarantine journey has led her to feel more comfortable in her own skin and what steps she took to get there. As social beings, this experience has forced us to redefine our relationships with others. We have had to find ways to feel connected while also creating and contributing to a new future. It’s hard to believe that there is something positive ahead. It’s easy to get caught up in the turmoil of the moment. 

However, as Rita says, “You can’t live in that space forever. As a community, we can come out of these times more united than ever!”

Her words ring even more true now as the country has come face to face with the aftermath of the murders of George Floyd, Brionna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others to White Supremacy.

“We are all running our own race. Sometimes we think we are prepared, but there’s someone out there who will run it with you.” This statement from Rita encourages us to remember that we are not alone! Although sometimes we may feel as though we are living in a “survival-mode,” we can make a conscious decision to thrive instead! 

In this episode, we asked about the power of love in the time of COVID and how you have shown love during this time to friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, or even strangers. We thought we would hear stories about romance, or even random acts of kindness, however, we learned that love is much more. Love is about speaking your truth, listening to others, and giving. One of our responses was from Ana, an entrepreneur originally from New York and currently residing in Florida and who is also member of our Dream Accelerator coaching group (EDA). We had the pleasuring of bringing her on to discuss her love story –– a story about how she speaks her truth and love through honesty while living with depression. 

In this week’s episode, we collaborated with the founders of "Latina Podcasters" Rita Bautista and Cole Hernandez along with some of your favorite podcasters Brenda Gonzalez of "The Tamarindo Podcast", Luz Warrior of "Let Their Be Luz" and Rosalia Rivera from "The About Consent Podcast." Listen to these strong Latina voices as they come together to deconstruct the controversy surrounding the New York Times Bestseller novel American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Jeanine’s book, the novel tells the story of a mother and son who flee Mexico for the United States, leaving their life behind to escape cartel violence. Jeanine, an American author with Puerto Rican roots, has had pushback from the Latinx community about the authenticity and misrepresentation of this immigration story.

On this week’s episode of The Self-ish Latina Podcast, I had the honor of meeting with the one and only Kali Fajardo-Anstine. Kali is a Colorado native and author of the story collection series Sabrina & Corina, which has been recognized as a National Book Award Finalist in Fiction, among many other recognitions and awards. Kali’s stories, which take place right here in the familiarness of Denver, Colorado, explore themes of identity, relationships, the truths and exploitation of ones homeland, and navigating indigenous ancestry. With strong Latina females as the protagonists in her pieces, Kali emotionally and elegantly deconstructs systems of oppression, confronts the experience of abandonment, and speaks to her truth. In this episode, we not only discuss Kali's stories, but we step into vulnerable and deep territories. 

Along with Kali, I feature a conversation with our summer intern, April Morland. April is also from Denver, Colorado and is in her fourth year at Santa Clara University studying Communication and Film! She worked alongside the team this summer helping with podcast production, social media content creation, and has even helped us behind the scenes with the exciting projects yet to come (read: She was deeply involved in several development conversations about our new film!) She not only taps into some of the themes discussed by Kali, but shares her own story of healing through the exploration of her roots and the importance of personal expression through art.   

In this episode, we talk about:

• Kali’s journey of writing Sabrina & Corina and how she has to be self-ish in order to get to where she is today through honoring her calling. She speaks about coming to own her Latinidad through the many barriers presented to her. Some of the topics we discuss include the complexities of the mother-daughter relationship, the abandonment of one's roots through colonialism, and learning to embrace who we are through our own “enoughness.” We touch on navigating being in “two worlds” and the ever familiar not feeling “Latino/a enough.” 
• One of the main themes of this podcast is sharing how we can use personal experiences and hardships to create art, heal, and touch others. We can make beautiful out of the ugly and difficulties life throws at us. I speak with April about her journey as an artist and how she uses her art (filmmaking) as a form of healing. 
• Through our conversations, I introduce concepts often discussed in the Eñye Dream Accelerator (EDA), such as allowing ourselves to ask for help. That fact that it is OKAY to seek help from others as uncomfortable as it may feel and one of my personal favs, you earn your success in life simply by being who you are.

Join the conversation about this episode in our Facebook group or shoot me a DM on IG @projectenye and share some of your answers with me there!

Is selfishness the path to self fulfillment? 

Three women and members of the Eñye Dream Accelerator, Rosalia, Irisneri, and Gina, talk about their journey reaching for their biggest dreams. For those of you who haven’t heard of the Eñye Dream Accelerator, it is a program I designed to bring ambitious Latinas together to coach them to make significant progress with their dream, utilizing the collective power of the group to both support you and keep you accountable.

On this podcast, you will meet these three incredible ladies. Rosalia is a consent educator, host of the About Consent Podcast, creator of Consent Wear, and an abuse survivor turned thriver. Irisneri is a genealogist who’s committed to supporting others to discover their stories through learning their ancestry. Gina has spent a long and successful career in the advertising and marketing industry, but has always dreamed of being a writer. She joined EDA to support her in finally writing her book and she joins the podcast having just finished the first chapter. 

It has been truly incredible going on this journey with these strong women and seeing how far they have come in such a short amount of time. Each of them were not only able to realize what they truly wanted out of their lives but they used EDA to take action putting them all solidly on track to realizing their vision.

On this week's episode, I had the pleasure of speaking with the beautiful and fierce Linda Garcia, also known as Luz Warrior. Luz is a California naitive with a rich career in the television and film industry. Notably, one of her main focuses is on spiritual growth by empowering women to harness their feminine power and intuition during their menstruation cycles. Luz launched her own podcast in 2017, Let There Be Luz, which focuses on these ideas and has received an extraordinary response from women all over the world. 

In 2018, Luz was accepted as a “storyteller” for the We All Grow Summit which brings together some of the most influential Latina creators and entrepreneurs. This is a BIG. DEAL. Luz’s name had been brought up to me a number of times with people telling me I had to meet her, so naturally, I decided to check out her Instagram. When browsing, I came across a post that particularly stuck out to me. Luz had created a post about her acceptance to speak at the We All Grow Summit. However, instead of focusing on herself, Luz decided to utilize the post to acknowledge the readers who might be triggered by her big accomplishment. She explains that this achievement came from a long road of personal pain, scars and rejection. She gracefully shows her followers that when we are in touch with our “shadow side” and can lean in to those unwanted feelings, we can heal, grow and better understand ourselves and what we need. 

In my conversation with Luz, we dove into the topic of femininity and the power of a woman’s intuition through the lens of religion, menstruation, and moon cycles. For some, these types of conversations are considered uncharted territory - taboo even. But by tapping into ideas and feelings that at times are uncomfortable, we begin to have the hard conversations that must be addressed so that we can find freedom from the past.

You do not want to miss this weeks thought provoking episode on harnessing the woman power within us all!  

Here is a sneak peek of what we talk about in this episode:

• Luz speaks about her process of working through rejection to get to where she is today in the context of the We All Grow Summit. She encourages us all to see rejection as a development stage and to keep working at our goals. 

• We analyze our  “Ah-Ha” moments and experiences with religion and what it meant to us growing up. We think critically about the positionality of the feminine through the lens of religious teachings and the complexities that come with how this shapes one’s identity. 

• Luz enlightens us about getting in touch with femininity and the process of listening to one’s higher self. She shows us how we can honor and embrace our feminine divine power to its fullest including giving ourselves permission to let the tears flow.

• She shares her personal work with moon cycles and how these phases align with menstruation. She teaches us how we can utilize and embody the four phases to move through our monthly calendars and better execute our goals. We can be, and are empowered through our natural bodily functions.   

Overview of the moon phases-a new way to view our menstruation cycles: 

Wise Woman Phase: 

This phase occurs during your bleed and when you have the biggest capacity to tap into your intuition. Make sure to protect and nurture yourself so your intuitive voice can come through. It is okay to embrace this down time. Set intentions, goals, and most importantly, make sure you are caring for yourself. 

Virgin Phase:

This young and tender phase is your time of rebirth. During this time, you must be more selfish in moving to executing these goals. Consider how you want to execute the goals set in the Wise Woman Phase. Give yourself permission to be selfish. This is when you have the most energy! 

Mother Phase: 

During this ovulation phase, we consider the questions, “How can I be of service?” How can I support others in their goals?” During this time of growth, we extend a helping hand.  

Enchantress Phase:

We are making our way back to Wise Woman Phase. We can become irritable and upset OR we can listen to our body and triggers, center ourselves, and honor that we are going into the next chapter of the cycle. Embrace the pain of menstruation and treat them as sacred (lasts 2-4 days before the bleed).   

Thought questions/reflections: 

• At what age did you examine your own beliefs? Did you experience a religious questioning? How have your religious or spiritual practices, if at all, shaped who you are today? 

• Think about a time when you felt your “shadow side” show. How did this feel? Did you come out of this? What would be possible if you went back and embraced this side? What  would be different? What do you need in order to walk through this darkness? 

• What can you delegate during the times in your cycle when you need extra help? How can you receive other’s support? What will you do to honor your moon cycle phases and harness your feminine power? 

• Think about our discussion about the power of our menstruation cycles. Have you had THESE kinds of talks with friends and families? Why do you think people become uncomfortable when talking about something so natural as the monthly calendars all women have?  

Join the conversation about this episode in our Facebook group or shoot me a DM on IG @projectenye and share some of your answers with me there!

We are jumping back into the Project Eñye Breckenridge retreat and getting intimate with the lovely and talented Brenda Aviles. Brenda is a self proclaimed “Brooklyn girl all day every day” and we love her for it! She’s brave, she’s exciting, and her energy is contagious, calming and feels like it just flows through you. Brenda is a true soul sister who keeps it real. We love her, and I know you will too!

Brenda is a certified life coach, who has in-depth experience as a teacher and trainer to teachers in NYC. She aides others by helping them tap into the power to transform themselves and their lives.

In this episode:

• You will get a first-hand listen and feel into the intimate moments during our retreat.
• You will experience the raw emotions and the building of a sisterhood.
• Brenda candidly shares her “Collective love letter” to the group. Get your tissues ready ladies, because it is a beautiful (and emotional) ride.
• We introduce you to Melody Estrada, an amazing, smart, and beautiful (inside-and-out) human, who we all agreed is the hope and inspiration for our next generation. She’s also a quarter-rican but you’ll have to listen to the episode to find out more!

Believe me when I tell you, this episode is emotional, raw, and as real as it gets. We crafted it to give you a taste of what a Project Eñye retreat is like - . beautiful at times, intense, and absolutely life affirming. The sisterhood and relationships that were built are forever and are real. You do not want to miss this one, listen today!

The voices you hear alongside Brenda and Melody are: Cindy Robles, Eloisa Perez-Lozano de Castelan, Lupe Montes-Hirt, Janeli Saucedo and Theresa Gonzales.