Latina to Latina

Some of us daydream about what we want in our lives. Some of us pray about it. Actress Angelique Cabral writes it down as literally as she can and puts it where she can see it every day. Then she goes to work making it happen. Her beautiful home, her artistic development, and her hit CBS show all resulted from laser-focused manifestations. She breaks down how this practice has made her life fuller and her work more rewarding.Follow Angelique on Twitter and IG @angeliquecabral. If you loved this episode, listen to Melissa Barrera and Aimee Carrero for more on acting. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Becoming a doctor is a huge accomplishment unto itself, requiring years of study, sacrifice and discipline. But if you’re a smart, driven, black Latina it can often feel like a Herculean feat. Dermatologist Dr. Laura Scott and her close cohort of friends created a bond that strengthened and protected them as they navigated and excelled at Harvard University and beyond. Today, under her Instagram handle LauraLacquer, she has a large and growing audience that look to her for inspiration and a little bit of lacquer.Follow Laura on Twitter and IG @laurascottandco. If you loved this episode, listen to Fran Medina and Melissa Alcantara for more on health and influencing. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Knowing that “beauty is hard to sell on the internet,” this subscription box CEO still pursued a breakthrough company model that would eventually redefine beauty buying habits. But it was not a straight line from a business-school idea to a multi-million dollar annual revenue. Potential investors didn’t get it. Makeup purveyors didn’t see the vision. And customers had to be found. Katia tells Alicia the full riveting story.Follow Katia on Twitter @katiawwb and IG @katiawb; and Birchbox @birchbox. If you loved this episode, listen to Elle Huerta and Nina Vaca for more on entrepreneurship and tech.  Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Before you follow her on social media or try out her tailored fitness routine, there’s one thing you need to know about fitness coach and entrepreneur Melissa Alcantara: “I approach everything in beast mode.” And why shouldn’t she? She went from being in the worst shape of her life and feeling hopeless after years of yo-yo dieting to training her body and mind to achieve olympian fitness levels. And did we mention Kim Kardashian asked her to be her personal trainer. Melissa tells Alicia how she made it all happen by sheer will and determination.Follow Melissa on Twitter and IG @fitgurlmel. If you loved this episode, listen to Fran Medina and Laura Scott for more on health and influencing. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

As a young reader, she didn’t realize people who looked and lived like her were missing from some of her favorite books. “It felt to me like I was reading science fiction in a lot of ways because it was so outside of my own childhood….And I was accepting of it like, okay, cool this is a different life,” award winning young adult author Lilliam Rivera tells Alicia in this emotive episode. But her perspective quickly changed after reading award-winning Latino writers in college. She soon became so empowered she came to see herself as an author of books for young adult readers. She is the author of the newly released book, Dealing with Dreams.Follow Lilliam on Twitter and IG @lilliamr. And buy her book, Dealing in Dreams. If you loved this episode, listen to Frances de Pontes Peebles, Quiara Alegría Hudes and Carmen Maria Machado for more on writing and summoning the muse. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Her body was really sick and giving up on her--fast. Indifferent doctors recommended unthinkable treatments. But her natural instincts were pushing her in a different direction. In a way, by taking charge of her health, lifestyle guru Fran Medina took her life into her own hands. She studied, she learned, she listened to people who knew more, and to her own body. Some years later, she’s crafted a lifestyle model that emphasizes physical, mental, and spiritual health.Follow Fran on Twitter and IG @heyfranhey. If you loved this episode, listen to Melissa Alcantara and Nicole Mejia for more on wellness. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

"What I'm trying to do is motivate people into their purpose." Easy, right? It is if you're Jess Morales Rocketto, a digital political organizer ninja who helped orchestrate historic runs by Hillary Clinton and Stacey Abrams. Now she's mobilizing millions in the fight against family separation and the movement to bring the masses to the ballot as the Chair of We Belong Together, National Domestic Workers Alliance's feminist campaign for immigration reform.Follow Jess on Twitter and IG @jesslivmo. If you loved this episode, listen to Nelini Stamp and Paola Mendoza. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

There's a direct connection between climate scientist Nicole Hernandez Hammer's childhood in rural Guatemala and her tireless work to teach the rest of us how to adjust our lives so we can preserve our planet for the grandchildren. And the life that unfolded between those two points is remarkable, including that time she stepped on Michelle Obama's foot.Follow Nicole on Twitter @NHH_Climate and IG @NicoleHernandezHammer. If you loved this episode, listen to Cecilia Muñoz and María Cristina González. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

She handed her law degree to her mother to thank her, and quit an elite Miami law firm on her first day. Then she headed to culinary school—in France. Might be easy to say the rest is history, but that’s not the case with this Venezuelan powerhouse and former Top Chef Masters star. From being told her accent would hold her back, to being discouraged from having her own television show, Lorena has never allowed other people’s limitations to hold her back. Now, as the head of a growing culinary empire, she looks back at the unconventional way she made it to the top.Follow Lorena on Twitter @lorenagarcia and on Instagram @cheflorena, @lorenagarciaculinaryloft and @chicarestaurants. If you loved this episode, listen to Fran Medina and Nicole Mejia. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

After getting her heart broken, and finding zero advice that was actually useful, Elle Huerta decided to build her own “personal trainer for heartbreak.” Her self care app, Mend, guides users on how to handle and move on from a breakup, a divorce, the loss of a loved one, even being fired. She’s grown the company from a website she built after teaching herself to code to a category-defying digital platform on the leading edge of hand-held emotional assistance.Follow Elle @ellehuerta and Mend @letsmend on Twitter and Instagram. If you loved this episode, listen to Nathalie Molina-Niño and Nicole Mejia. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

She has written about Latinos in Washington Heights, about her close cousins and extended family, about what it means to be Latina. And now she’s writing about herself in her first memoir. Quiara is the author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning Water by the Spoonful, the Tony Award-winning musical In the Heights, she's also mastered the art of reflection. She talks about the intersections in her life that led her down this path: her santera mother, Jewish paternal family, love of music, and a deep love of writing.Follow Quiara on Twitter @quiarahudes and IG @quiaraalegria. If you loved this episode, listen to Frances de Pontes Peebles, Lilliam Rivera, and Valeria Luiselli. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Gina Rodriguez will always be associated with her star-making and award-winning portrayal of the titular character on The CW’s Jane the Virgin. And she's so grateful. But she's also ready to move from in front of the camera to behind it as a producer and director of shows and films that reflect the many ways of being Latina today. On this episode, she talks about the setbacks, the family support, and the toll of being an outspoken public figure.Follow Gina on Twitter and IG @HereIsGina. If you loved this episode, listen to Ilia Calderón and Christy Haubegger. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Growing up the descendant of Holocaust survivors, keynote speaker and influencer Michelle Poler says fear is practically in her DNA. And that being raised in Venezuela during turbulent times only made things worse. While in grad school in the US, she set out to conquer 100 fears and live a life free from worry. In the process, she has inspired thousands to face up to their greatest challenges.Follow Michelle @michellepoler and Hello Fears @hellofears on Twitter and Instagram. If you loved this episode, listen to Jillian Mercado and Mariana Atencio. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

As a teen, Jillian Mercado hoarded fashion magazines. She idolized designers and always looked stylish at school. Never did she imagine she’d one day grace magazine covers, tower over New York fashion central as a billboard in Times Square, or sit among VIPs at Fashion Week. Now she’s a barrier-breaking model for IMG and disability activist, showing the rest of us just what is possible when you stay true to your calling, no matter what others think or say.Follow Jillian on IG @jillianmercado. If you loved this episode, listen to Michelle Poler, Annie Elainey and Lilliana Vazquez. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Here’s the thing about Stephanie Beatriz: she doesn’t fall for traditional messages. Growing up in Texas, blond contest queens reigned, but she understood there was more to beauty. Catholic church told her being bisexual was a sin, but she knew there was nothing wrong with her. Hollywood tried to convince her there’s only ever room for one Latina, but she flatly ignored them. And now she’s living her dreams as a television star, newlywed, and outspoken LGBTQ advocate.Follow Stephanie on Twitter @iamstephbeatz and IG @stephaniebeatriz. If you loved this episode, listen to Mishel Prada, Gina Torres and Aimee Carrero. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

With faith and hard work, Iris Beilin has gone from the MAC counter at the mall to makeup maven with a million YouTube subscribers. But her life hasn’t always been glamorous. Iris opens up about immigrating from Panama to the US, an eating disorder and addiction to diet pills that almost killed her, and what social media stardom really means when you “come from the struggle.”Follow Iris on IG @irisbeilin. If you loved this episode, listen to Melissa Alcantara and Cyndi Ramirez-Fulton. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

Latasha tells Alicia, “I’m in the most found place I’ve ever been.” And her sense of self, her deep connection to her work, and her artistic genius seem to radiate in waves around her. “I’m practical magic,” she says at one point. And it’s easy to believe it. But the lyricist, singer and self-described “energy worker” also knows the music game so she calls it like she sees it: she’s clear that Cardi B’s realness beat out Nicki Minaj’s invented self, that women rappers are still held back by the industry, and that she won’t change who she is to be famous.Follow Latashá on Twitter and IG at @callmeLatashá. If you loved this episode, listen to Amara La Negra, iLe, and DaniLeigh for more on finding your creative voice. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

She says growing up Latina in Miami gave her the cojones to face life in Hollywood. Her career so far, including roles in Disney Channel’s Elena of Avalor, FX’s The Americans and Freeform’s Young & Hungry is ample proof of that. Aimee tells Alicia that being Latina also gave her the confidence to know that she deserves to be in the room. She opens up about wrestling with imposter syndrome, learning to say no, and the “big trap” of feeling like you’ve made it.Follow Aimee on Twitter and IG @aimeecarrero. If you loved this episode, listen to Angelique Cabral, Mishel Prada and Gina Torres for more on the art of acting and navigating Hollywood.  Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

The Mexican actress’ crossover has been years in the making. Raised in Monterrey, Melissa attended NYU, then found fame back home as a telenovela star. But even as she built a career in Mexico, Melissa knew that her future was in the States. She reveals why she almost passed on auditioning for the Starz show Vida, shares how her immigration status nearly cost her the role, and explores the tension between being a “good Mexican” and the demands of playing a self-assured, sexually-liberated Latina.Follow Melissa on Twitter and IG: @MelissaBarreraM, @Vida_Starz and @Starz. If you loved this episode, listen to Aimee Carrero, Gina Torres and Mishel Prada for more on the art of acting and navigating Hollywood. Show your love and become a Latina to Latina Patreon supporter!

She launched her first startup at 20, and made lots of mistakes. Today, she runs Brava Investments, which only funds companies that have the potential to put money in the pockets of millions of women. Raised by an immigrant family with deep entrepreneurial roots, where money was always dinner conversation, Nathalie satisfied her “need for freedom” by launching companies that took on the abysmal state of venture capital investments in women of color, whom she calls “the single most entrepreneurial community in this country.” Oh, and she wrote a book about all of it: Leapfrog: The New Revolution for Women Entrepreneurs. Her motto: “We cannot wait for people to give us what we’re entitled to. We have to build it ourselves.”Follow Nathalia on Twitter @NathalieMolina and IG @nathaliemolinanino. And buy her book, Leapfrog: The New Revolution for Entrepreneurs. If you loved this episode, listen to Nina Vaca, Elle Huerta, and Katia Beauchamp for more on entrepreneurship and funding your business. Show your love and b