November 29, 2023 • 38 mins
For this episode of Locatora Radio, we continue our coverage of the crisis in Palestine. We're joined by Loren Medina, founder of Guerrera Marketing & PR. Medina is of Cuban and Palestinian descent and for her, the personal IS political. She breaks down how we can all join movements and what solidarity looks like.
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Speaker 1 (00:07):
Loka to A Radio is a radiophonic novella.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Which is just a very extra way of saying a podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
I'm diosa m and I am Mala Munjos. Lokatra Radio
is yr Brima's favorite podcast, hosted by us Mala and Viosa.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
We're two ig friends turned podcast partners, breaking down pop culture, feminism,
sexual wellness, and offering fresh takes on trending topics through
nuanced interviews with up and coming LATINX creatives.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Known as Las Lokatas, Las Mammis of Myth and Bullshit
and Las Bocaces Prosas. We were podcasting independently since twenty sixteen,
but joined iHeartMedia's Microtura network in twenty twenty two.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
This year, we're continuing to share stories from the LATINX community.
Barto el Mundo.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Welcome to season eight.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Are you listening?
Speaker 1 (01:02):
O La la Loca Motives, Welcome to season eight of
lok at Tora Radio. I'm Theosa and I'm Mala. You're
tuning in to Capitolos one eighty three.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Last time on loc at Tora Radio, we interviewed Goatalina
Garcia of Monsieur Berne about her new album about her
performance at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the La
Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel alongside like a really fabulous host
of other Latin American vocalists. Yosa and I actually attended
the concert after we interviewed Gotelina Garcia. It's a fabulous interview.
(01:37):
Go ahead and subscribe to loc at O Radio, leave
a review and share with a friend.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
So we're going to just dive right into it today
because we have a jam packed episode as always, but
we did want to provide some social context because, as
we mentioned in our previous episode, we will be continuing
to cover the crisis in Palestine for the rest of
the season, and we actually only have like nine episodes
(02:02):
left this season, so we will be continuing to cover
this because we know it's an ongoing crisis, and so
just to provide some more context as to where we
are right now. Monday, November twenty seventh, according to Al Jazeera,
more than fourteen thousand Palestinians have been killed in Gaza
since October seventh, with thousands more believed to be trapped
in the rubble in Israel. The official death toll stands
(02:25):
at twelve hundred and for the past four days, there
has been a cult pause of bombardment but no ceasefire,
and people around the world have demanded a ceasefire. We're
continuing to encourage our listeners to be informed, to follow
the different journalists that are on the ground in Gaza
and call the representatives to demand a ceasefire.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
So today, to continue the conversation and to bring in
some more voices who can speak directly to the matter.
We're really excited and lucky to have on the show today.
Lauren Mavina, who is the owner of Guerrera PR. Lauren
is an adjunct instructor in the USC Thornton School of
Music Industry program. She has worked in the music industry
(03:08):
for twenty two years and she, as I said, currently
owns Guerrera Marketing and PR, company of bilingual hybrid agency
focused on public relations, marketing, consulting, and brand partnerships representing
avant garde LATINX artists who strive to create their musical lanes.
Lauren is of Cuban and Palestinian descent and has been
vocal about free Palestine for many years. It's part of
(03:31):
her personal and political praxis and she's joining us today
to discuss solidarity with the Palestinian people and Christian Zionism
in the Latino community.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
So, without further ado, we are going to bring on
Laden to talk to us about all the things Mala
mentioned and we hope you like this episode. So today
we are joined by Laden Merina. She is the founder
of Guerrera pr and Marketing, and so we're going to
be having a conversation with her about really the crisis
(04:02):
in Palestine and where she stands as someone that's in
between both cultures and has been talking about the Free
Palestine movement for a very long time. So, Londan, without
further ado, can you introduce yourself and say hi to
our listeners.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Hi, how's everyone doing?
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Thank you first and foremost for having me diosa Mala.
Thank you to everyone who's listening, and to everyone who's
supported LOKA. It's really important to support podcasts such as yours,
which are female owned and operated, and the topics that
you cover are really important for our community.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
So I want to thank you and acknowledge that.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
So, yeah, my name is larn and I'm Palestinian and
Cuban also have reces in Colombia. Because my mom was
born in Columbia after after the first Nakba.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
I do public relations.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
I'm also an adjunct professor at USC which I also
teach public relations there. I've been in the music business
for twenty two years and I've been teaching for coming up.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
That's pretty much me in a nutshell, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Yeah, thank you for joining us again, Thank.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
You, thank you so much. You know, We've been wanting
to speak to our audience about Israel Palestine in a
way that like captures a what are Palestinian people saying
about what's going on? What are Palestinian folks asking, and
also keeping in mind that our audience is a largely
LATINX Latina audience, and so what does our audience that
(05:31):
specific audience sort of need to hear or what are
we missing when our community specifically is talking about Israel Palestine.
And so you, with your background and being who you are,
you can sort of speak to both communities at the
same time to some degree. So just thank you for
being here to facilitate this conversation.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And I definitely can speak on that.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
So just to give you some context, my dad is
my dad passed away, but I still talk about him.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Like cac because for me is right.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
So my dad was a political prisoner in Cuba, so
he was part of a militia movement that was actually
fighting against Castro and the revolution. And so then my
grandparents are Palestinian and obviously like they lived through the
first Knakba and the Nacba basically is what you're seeing
right now, the second Nacbab, which is the expulsion of
(06:23):
thousands of Palestinians. And so I, you know, politics and
politics and life have been conflated. Since I was a kid,
I have been taught about this. That's why my company
is called Geera because I'm.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
A product of war. I'm a product of war refugees
like I.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
If it wasn't for these things that happen in Cuba
and Palestine, like.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
I wouldn't be alive.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
So I think that one of the things that is
really important to talk about with Latinos is that, you know,
Palestinians are part of a marginalized group, just like Latinos
are in the US. Just like a lot of Latinos
have experience in their own countries. Right, So, all throughout
the history of Latin America, we've seen so many civil wars.
(07:08):
We've seen so many revolutions, We've seen so much oppression.
We've seen, you know, the oppression from white Latinos towards
indigenous Latinos. We've seen, you know what Mexicans have had
to go through coming to the US, even like until
recently under Trump, you know what that looks, what that
looks like on the trum Trump and still what that
(07:29):
looks like now right, Like you have somebody like Gregory
Avin in Texas and like what he's doing to prevent
you know, immigrants come into this country. So just like
a lot of Mexican Americans like to remind you know,
white people, it's like, listen, Texas, California, that was part
of Mexico. We are the indigenous people of this land.
(07:49):
And Palestinians are the indigenous people of Palestine. And they're
not the only ones. And I want to just be
fair to say that they're not the only ones. That
you know, Palestinian people come from the Philistines, and the
Philistines were a sea.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
People and nomadic people that were up and down the coast.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
But you know, back then you're talking about like you know,
thousands of years ago, like that land was conquered by
so many different empires, so it's been a land that
has been home to so many different people of so
many different religions. But Palestinians are definitely have always been
the indigenous people of the land. So there are a
(08:27):
lot of parallels between Latinos and Palestinians in the sense
where they are two groups of people who have been
constantly marginalized. And let me just start with the Latinos
here in the US, right, and so they've faced oppression.
You know, most Palestinians are not as light as me.
(08:48):
They're mostly brown folks, right, and so you know, they've
been discriminated because of their culture, because of their race,
because of their skin color, because they're predominantly most Even
my family was Christian, but their Patasans are predominantly Muslim,
so they have all these things working against them. And
(09:08):
it's the same for a lot of the Latinos who
come to this country that don't come from the Spaniards
that are indigenous, you know, from Central and Latin America,
who look like who look very much indigenous, who are brown,
and they face the same type of oppression.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
So there's a huge parallel, you know, between the Latino
communities and Palestinians.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Yeah, that's a great example of some of the things
we've been talking about here at Lokatoa too, is like
the historical solidarity between these two groups. And I think Loden,
like one of the reasons we invited you is because
you're a great example of someone that combines a personal
and political I mean you said that right off the bat,
like this has been your whole life, and obviously you
(09:54):
see how this intertwines not only with you but with
other people. And it's apparent in your work as well.
You know, you said ghetas marketing, like that's why it's
named what it is, right, So how do you continue
to embody and practice this in spite of maybe pushback
you like, you know, set blows and a lingua here
(10:16):
you are, So how do you continue to embody this?
And you know, just thinking of too, how this can
inspire someone right to be like, you know what, I
can be about it too, and I can talk about
it too.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Yeah, I mean I don't think that I have the
privilege to separate the two because that's part of my identity, right,
So I can't just separate that and just say, well
you know, I need to keep my political point of
view away from work. I also am lucky enough that
(10:46):
I own my own business and I could and I
choose to work with people who are aligned. You know,
I lost a client earlier the first week that that
this happened. That when Hamas invaded Israel, I spoke out
day one. I mean, I've been speaking out, but I
posted something about, you know, one of the war tanks,
(11:07):
one of the bulldozers breaking through the fence, and I said,
what is the price of freedom?
Speaker 3 (11:12):
And I got.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
Immediately accused of being anti Semitic, which, for your anybody listening,
like Arabs are Semites. So I'm not anti Semitic because
I cannot be against myself. Well, I'm not a selfating
Middle Eastern person, right, But I was called anti Semitic.
I was, I said, you know, I was told that
I was a mass empathizer, that I was celebrating a mask,
(11:35):
kidding innocent Israelis.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
And it has nothing to do with that.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
It just had to do with the simple with the
simple fact that like for many people living in Gaza,
for them to see a bulldozer break through a fence
that which they've been under a military blockade for over
a decade. Was this beautiful feeling of freedom of having
someone come and like rescue them of like break down
(11:59):
that wont let them out. Right, So I'm never not
going to be vocal about this issue and many other
social issues which I champion, right, I'm very vocal about,
you know, a very very vocal about championing the LGBTQ community,
about champion championing migrants, about championing indigenous folks, about Black
(12:21):
lives matter. I've always been so for me, I think
we're living in a world and we're living in a
time where if your heart is in those places and
you really support and want to uplift the voices of
marginalized people, you can't separate the two anymore because the
same like the same people who follow gueretra on Ig
(12:44):
follow me. So I'm not about to make my you know,
profile private because I'm scared about the backlash is going
to be.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
I already lost the client. I've already been warned.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
You know, maybe you shouldn't, you know, be so vocal
because a lot of people in the music industry are
pro Israel, and a lot of people in the music
industry are Jewish and I was like, I have nothing
against anybody who's Jewish.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
I have a problem with Zionists.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
So everything that I've been talking about is now so
evident that if people don't see it, then you have
to ask yourself why you don't want to see it,
Like why don't you want to see the truth that
is being unfolded? Like I'm not making stuff up when
I'm saying three Patestinian kids got shot by a white
(13:32):
supremacist and burningson Vermont two days ago.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Oh sah, there it is. This is what we've been saying.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
I really appreciate that not seeing things that are right
there in front of you. And I think something that
we've talked about in past episodes with regards to Palestine
and Latinos and something that in asking around on the
issue the issue of like Christian Zionism, right, and you're
touching upon Latino Latina, LATINX Latine who are social justice oriented,
(14:04):
there may be a blind spot when it comes to
Palestine and what's going on in the region. And I
think for I tend to believe and I think we
tend to identify that blind spots as being like there
because so many of us are Catholic. So many of
us are Christian, and there is like a reverence for Israel.
And I know there's a lot of Senoras who like
(14:27):
will go basically on pilgrimages to Israel, you know buis Reel,
and it's like a big thing for a lot of Catholics.
And I'm curious about your thoughts on the Christian Zionism,
that Catholic Zionism with regards to Latinos.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
Yeah, I mean, I think it all comes down to doctrination.
You know, this, this is indoctrination. I myself grew up Catholic,
and being in Catholic school all through high school, I
was very I was indoctrinated, and it's it took years
of me consciously just taking all of that out of
(15:06):
my system because it wasn't just cognitive, it was just
in my body, like the physical reaction that I would
have when I would have sex with someone that I
wasn't in a relationship with the guilt, you know. So
it took years years for me to deprogram myself. So
I think that a lot of these people, you know,
(15:28):
they don't know any better, and their ignorance is their
beliefs in Catholicism or or Christianity are conflated with the
location of Israel, because Jerusalem is in Israel. So it's like,
you know, they automatically associate Israel with being the Holy Land.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
But before Israel, before Israel.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
Was established, so prior to nineteen forty seven, what was
it called. It was called Palestine, right, So it was
the British Mandate of Palestine. It was Palestine, and it
was supposed to always be a place where all the
three major religions had a point of convergence, and that's Jerusalem.
(16:18):
And so it's Jerusalem is holy for Christians, it's holy
for Judaism, and it's holy for Muslims. So this is
what they've been taught. This is what some you know,
Jewish kids have been taught their whole life about what
Israel means to them and why having a state is
so important because of persecution and.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
All of that has merit and there's a lot of
truth to that.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
At the same time, I think we have to start
asking ourselves. If you are a Christian or a Catholic,
you have to start asking yourself, what is the price
to pay for your upholding those beliefs? Is it worth
a whole, this respect and love for the Holy Land
(17:03):
when it's acting like a terrorist group.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yeah, I wanted to ask you to You know, a
lot of our listeners are Latinas, they tend to be
social justice oriented, community focus, all of that, right, But
what would you say to people in the community, in
our community, our listeners right that are just tapping into
this movement for the first time.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
I would say that we need your support like we
need you.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
If you are a social justice activists and you want
to make changes, then you cannot just go for hard
for one cause or your cause and that's it.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
It doesn't work that day. And even though the genocide
is happening, you.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Know, five thousand miles away, we are living in the
country that is making that possible. Israel is one of
the richest countries in the world, one of the riches.
So the four billion dollars they get every year from
the US, ninety percent of that goes into their military,
which has the fourth largest army in the world.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
So we are paying for that with our tax dollars.
That should infuriate you. It's time to stop being scared
because otherwise this is never going to change. And I
know that it feels like we can't do anything, but
yes we are.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
The boycotting it's really helping the divestment, it's really helping
the protesting. It's putting international pressure. We have never and
my mom cries all the time. My mom's like yonoka eriopoo,
that meon and the persona all over the world. She said,
I've never seen this before. I've never seen this type
of solidarity. And you have to ask yourself, why are
(18:48):
millions of people marching for Palestine and ef for Israel.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
It's a great question. I think the the numbers and
the show of support like speaks volumes here in La.
Even this past weekend there was another march in solidarity
with the Palestinian people. On our instagram we posted like
a big march that took place downtown. Also they marched
to Pershing Square a couple of weeks ago now, and yeah,
(19:14):
and I think that that says a lot about where
at least where LA seems to stand on the issue.
Speaker 4 (19:20):
Yeah, and look at the type of people that go
to the pro Israel of marches and the Palestinian marches.
The diversity in our marches, like Latinos need to see
themselves in that because the people who are marching like
people of color are not supporting Israel, They're supporting Padestan,
(19:44):
They're supporting Palestinians. And most of us Latinos, even if
we're white Latinos, we're still not fully white.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
We're still you know, like our.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Lineages are mixed, where Mestizos we're all we all have
We're still not considered white people in this country. You
know what I'm saying, Like, yeah, I'm a white Latina
and a white Middle Eastern woman, but I'm still not
white in this country. Right.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
So my point is is that just.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Look at the diversity, look at how the indigenous communities
who they're supporting.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Look who the black community is supporting. You know, So
that says a lot.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
That says a lot I think too. Like in one
of the examples of solidarity is like thinking from the
local perspective, is that cut a Hay. They are the first,
like local city in LA to pass a resolution demanding
a ceasefire, right and like the city of La hasn't
done that, no surprise, right, but cut a Hay, like
a small city in one of the gateway communities, right,
(20:43):
it asked for a ceasefire, So I agree, Like it
does make you question, like, okay, wait, countries all over
Latin America, countries all over the world, not just the people,
but also the governments are in support of Palestine. So
what does that tell you?
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Right?
Speaker 1 (20:58):
I think it's a very introspect question of like it,
like you said earlier, like it's right in front of you.
Like if you're choosing to not see it, that's one thing,
but it's the examples are there?
Speaker 4 (21:07):
Yeah, it's if you look at the votes in the
UN on who wants to call a ceasefire, there's only
like five seven countries that don't. It's like the US, Canada,
no surprise there, you know, France, UK, I mean predominantly
(21:28):
white countries led by white people, colonizing countries.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
So it's like, no one can sit here and tell me, oh,
because Russia.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
And Iran and husb Lah they support you know, Hamas,
which is true, and it's just like wait, wait, wait,
hold up, there's a ton of countries in Europe that
are also against Israel.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Spain is leading the.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
Front on that one, which is beautiful to see, you know,
because they got a lot of they got am that
was wild.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
I mean that one surprised me. I mean, they have
your right, they have been super vocal in the human
rights violations, right, But I was also very shocked clearly
obviously the colonial legacy that Spain has, so it was shocking.
But I agree, like, yeah, they are in leading it.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
Yeah, there's there's there's several countries you know in in
Europe that that are that are championing Palestine. But you know,
at the end of the day, just it's without having
the emotion, like take away the emotion from all of this,
just looking at it from a factual point of view,
it's like, you know, just through the numbers, just look
at the countries, the amount of countries that support a ceasefire,
(22:43):
that support Palestinians, that that feel like Palestinians have the
right to self determination, to live in sovereigntyes, to have
their own state. Just look at the numbers versus not
and most of the and the and the seven countries
that support Israel and fund and our Israel's allies are
(23:03):
all colonizing countries. So as Latinos, this should infuriate you
because every country in Latin America was colonized, you know
what I mean. And we're still living with the effects
of that, with the repercussions of that. It is colonization
is well alive today in the systems that govern that
(23:26):
govern our country. I was just reading right now how
the APAC it wants to spend is trying to get
candidates up against Rashida to lead for twenty million dollars,
is trying to pay.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Them, you know, to run against her.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
Like I mean, at the end of the day, it
should just be infuriating to everyone. And listen, I want
to also acknowledge that the Palestinian genocide is not the
only genocide that's happening right now.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
We're seeing this happen in Sudan, We're seeing this.
Speaker 4 (23:58):
Happen in the Congo, Yemen has undergone like a brutal
civil war, and Syria.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
So there are so many countries. We're not the only one.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
And it's it's it's comparable to to the George Floyd situation.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
He wasn't the first, the last, and won't be the last.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Unfortunately he you know, his death sparked an outrage, and
so the Palestinian genocide has sparked an outrage. But it's
the conduit, you know what I mean, it's it's the
conduit for people to start opening their fucking eyes and
be like, yo, the US and Israel are terrorist states
(24:40):
that have started all these wars and fund all these
proxy wars in the name of wealth and greed. Because
Gaza is sitting under five billion dollars of oil natural gases.
That's really what's going on. That is really the bottom line, right.
(25:01):
So the US bacs Israel because they needed a geopolitical
partner in that area to have to they needed an
ally in the Middle East, and the geopolitical location of
Israel is perfect, and the amount of wealth that's in
(25:22):
the levant region in terms of oil, they've already like
when the war, as soon as the war started, like
two weeks in, they were already licensing contracts to six
major oil companies to start drilling. And they can't drill
under Gaza. Why not to mention that Israel funded and
(25:42):
propped up on us. But that's a different that's that's
another podcast.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yes, Yes, I am wondering, Lauren, if we have we
have listeners out there who want to know how they
can show solid, how they can participate, how they can
get involved beyond posting on Instagram, right, what is What
(26:09):
are your recommendations? What do you think is most helpful,
especially for like a Latino community who does not want
to fall into the Christian Zionism side of things, who
wants to show their support for the Palestinian people.
Speaker 4 (26:22):
I think there are so many ways, you know, the
obvious ones are obviously like going to a protest, talking
to people right, listening to people who are Pedestinian who
are on the ground, and following all of those accounts
and just really informing yourself. I would suggest that if
you want to inform yourself on the situation, do not
(26:46):
follow any American media. They have been super biased and
falsely reporting stuff, from CNN to NBC to.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
All of them. Basically, I would say follow Al Jazeera,
rots I on the Middle East.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
There's several several news outlets and and and Instagram accounts
that you can follow. I think the other thing is
boycotting that really works, you know, boycotting Nestle, which has
an espresso. Unfortunately I am, oh god, I am an
espresso person, but I just you know, I know more
(27:22):
in an espresso for me Disney and uh Starbucks that's
overpriced and grows. Anyways, you know, and I think we
need to start, you know, like like really decentralizing like
our monies. Like I have investments, and I have money
(27:42):
in stocks, and I called my financial advisor and I'm like,
pull my money out of every company that I have
any stocks and that may manufacture weapons, any of these
companies that support Tesla or that support any of these
other companies. I think shopping local, you know know, like
I'm a person who would never.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
Buy anything that the Kardashian makes.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Like we need to stop making rich people richer, and
we need to start investing in in like.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
Our own community.
Speaker 4 (28:13):
So now I'm like, you know, buying makeup from brands
that are made by Latinos latinas I'm you know, Middle
Eastern folks. So I feel like there needs to be
we need to fight money with money, because this is
all about money. This whole entire conflict is about money.
That is that is the truth. Like, aside from the genocide,
(28:36):
and aside from all the religious stuff and aside from
the land, that is just the icing on the cake.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
The real, real, real reason is money.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
It always has been. It was that for Iraq, it
was that for everything else. I think to finish answering
your question boycotting to divestments.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
If you have any money in stocks, like talk to.
Speaker 4 (29:00):
Whoever your financial advisor is, or if you don't have
a financial advisor, to.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
Start investigating and boycotting.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
We give all these major corporations way too much money,
and what are they doing with that money?
Speaker 3 (29:14):
A lot of these people are doing really.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
Evil shit with that money and supporting these wars and
supporting these genocides. And it's just like we we have
to be diligent about and hyper vigionant about where we're
spending our money. And I think that is the one
And obviously besides donating you know, uh, donating money to.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Organizations who are on the ground and gaza.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
But other than that, that's that's the only thing we
can do that keep marching, keep keep signing petitions, calling
your reps like however, but they they we can't let
up because the next marginalized group that some shit happens too.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
We all have to have the same energy.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
At the end of the day, the US cannot survive
without our tax money.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
They need us.
Speaker 4 (30:07):
The two percent is not gonna put their own money
to run this country. They need us. That's what people
don't understand. I feel powerless a lot of times personally
because obviously this is so much.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
But then I'm like, wait a second. You know, if
millions of us.
Speaker 4 (30:24):
Have solidarity and we get on the same program, they're
gonna be fucked and it's gonna be really scary. Imagine
if like, you know, two hundred million people decided they
weren't fucking paying taxes no more, right, two hundred million
people in jail.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Yeah, and that is often the thing, jailing people and
you know, taking jobs away from people. They do that
to discourage others from joining in, right, And the examples
that you gave at the top of the episode of
people who have spoken out and then lost jobs. It
is scary and it does scare people, and it's this
sickly thing. You know, the Red Scare was a big deal,
(31:02):
and people lost their jobs and their livelihoods if they
were even considered to be at all like, uh, you know,
empathetic towards communism, and a lot of Black Lives Matter
activists over the years have gone missing or turned of
dead or in jail. And now folks that are expressing
solidarity with Palestine are experiencing similar repercussions, and so it
(31:24):
is very scary, you know, to be that person to
step up. But you're right. When there is strength in numbers,
when the masses come together, that's when the powers that
be end up. They have to relent. A change has
to happen. Something's got to give, right.
Speaker 5 (31:40):
Yeah, yeah, I mean we've seen it with the Civil
rights movement, but I mean it you they galvanized millions
of people, and I feel like, you know again, I
don't I don't think that anybody should be looking at
this as oh, this is just a Palestinian issue.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
This is a first people of color issue. This is
a marginalized community issue. You know.
Speaker 4 (32:01):
What's been really beautiful for me to see is that
in all the protests, I try to go to a
protest at least once a week, and and so I see,
you know, the LGBTQ community show up for us.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
I see, you know, the Indian community show up. I
see a lot of Jewish folks show up.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
Those make me cry all the time. I see obviously
black folks show up. I mean at Kailani run. I
run into her literally at every protest. You know, kai
Lani for president for real. And so you know, it's
really beautiful to see that and all the other marches
I've been to for for Black Lives Matter and for
(32:42):
you know, when Trump got elected, it was just I
think that's the one thing that gives me hope when
I see, you know, all these people in protests. I
think the only thing that's missing is that not enough
people are posting because they're scared.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
And and it's like, I get it.
Speaker 4 (32:59):
And I'm talking from a position of privilege because I
own my own business, and if a couple of clients
fire me, it's not going to affect me.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
It's not I'm going to be able to pay my
bills just fine. So I understand that I want.
Speaker 4 (33:12):
To acknowledge that I also come from a place of
privilege and that not everybody has the luxury to do that,
because there's people who are you know, relying on brands
money for their podcast, or they're relying on brand money
for their events, and a lot of these brands maybe
may have ties to people who are you know, pro Israel,
(33:32):
who want us who would silence them or they would
lose the job.
Speaker 3 (33:36):
And and so I understand.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
So if you're in that situation, I don't need you
to risk your your you know, I don't need you
to like end up in a bad financial situation, because
that's not gonna I don't want, we don't want that
for you, right. But if if that's not the case,
then I feel like, Okay, you know, show up up
(34:00):
for us, and we're gonna show up for you always.
You know, we're always because man, I'm telling you, if
if anybody knows war and genocide, oppression being called terror,
my mom's my mom was called the terrorists her whole
fucking life living in Miami, Miami, that was always like
(34:20):
predominantly white Cuban as you know, a lot of Cubans
vote for Trump the majority.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
You know, Cubans are pro Israel the majority.
Speaker 4 (34:32):
And my mom is a Palestinian woman living in Miami
was called una India and in a derogatory way, right
because white Latinos used that term in a derogatory way.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
It was called Unatta, you know.
Speaker 4 (34:46):
Was my mom was super vocal about about being Palestinian
and had a sticker in her car that said, yo, am,
my mom has always been writing hard and she.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
Is the.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
Quintessential Palestinian angry woman who's always like you know, depicted
as yelling, as angry, and I get her, and I
get it now because she has faced so much backlash
just for existing, just for being who she is. So
if anybody else has gone through that, then this should
(35:24):
really pull on your heartstrings.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
Man. You know they should really like hit you deep
and say fuck you know what.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
I come from a community that we live that shit too,
you know, so we got to ride for each other.
Speaker 3 (35:37):
It's the only way. It's the only way.
Speaker 4 (35:40):
And it's not like, well, you know, I really love Starbucks, man,
fuck Starbucks, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Like, you know, think when you think about the next
time you think about getting a fucking Starbucks.
Speaker 4 (35:49):
Think about that kid that they found under the rubble,
that could have been your daughter, that could have been
your little brother, that could have been your niece, your nephew.
Think about that shit. Starbucks is not that good. Ah.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
This is true, hard truths, hard truths. But I thank
you so much for sharing your perspective and for giving
our audience you know some some ways, some action steps
that they can take to actually express their solidarity and
get involved.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Thank you so much for joining us, Loden. We really
appreciate you for giving us some of the personal and
political examples. So yeah, thank you for your time.
Speaker 4 (36:26):
Thank you ladies so much, and I appreciate it, and
so everybody who's listening, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (36:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
All right, well, thank you lokomotives for tuning in to
another episode of lok At Radio. We will catch you
next time.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Bessitos.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Lokat Radio, a radio funding novela is executive produced and
hosted by Me Mala Munios and VIOSA.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
Fem story editing by Me diosa.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Audio editing by Stephanie Franco.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Thank you to our locomotives, our listeners for all of
your support. Bessie First Look at the Radio, a radiophonic.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Novela hosted by Mala Munyas and.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
The ASAF Fan
Speaker 3 (37:59):
Hey geus to your network
Loka to A Radio is a radiophonic novella.
Speaker 2 (00:10):
Which is just a very extra way of saying a podcast.
Speaker 1 (00:15):
I'm diosa m and I am Mala Munjos. Lokatra Radio
is yr Brima's favorite podcast, hosted by us Mala and Viosa.
Speaker 2 (00:25):
We're two ig friends turned podcast partners, breaking down pop culture, feminism,
sexual wellness, and offering fresh takes on trending topics through
nuanced interviews with up and coming LATINX creatives.
Speaker 1 (00:38):
Known as Las Lokatas, Las Mammis of Myth and Bullshit
and Las Bocaces Prosas. We were podcasting independently since twenty sixteen,
but joined iHeartMedia's Microtura network in twenty twenty two.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
This year, we're continuing to share stories from the LATINX community.
Barto el Mundo.
Speaker 1 (00:57):
Welcome to season eight.
Speaker 2 (00:59):
Are you listening?
Speaker 1 (01:02):
O La la Loca Motives, Welcome to season eight of
lok at Tora Radio. I'm Theosa and I'm Mala. You're
tuning in to Capitolos one eighty three.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
Last time on loc at Tora Radio, we interviewed Goatalina
Garcia of Monsieur Berne about her new album about her
performance at the Walt Disney Concert Hall with the La
Philharmonic and Gustavo Dudamel alongside like a really fabulous host
of other Latin American vocalists. Yosa and I actually attended
the concert after we interviewed Gotelina Garcia. It's a fabulous interview.
(01:37):
Go ahead and subscribe to loc at O Radio, leave
a review and share with a friend.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
So we're going to just dive right into it today
because we have a jam packed episode as always, but
we did want to provide some social context because, as
we mentioned in our previous episode, we will be continuing
to cover the crisis in Palestine for the rest of
the season, and we actually only have like nine episodes
(02:02):
left this season, so we will be continuing to cover
this because we know it's an ongoing crisis, and so
just to provide some more context as to where we
are right now. Monday, November twenty seventh, according to Al Jazeera,
more than fourteen thousand Palestinians have been killed in Gaza
since October seventh, with thousands more believed to be trapped
in the rubble in Israel. The official death toll stands
(02:25):
at twelve hundred and for the past four days, there
has been a cult pause of bombardment but no ceasefire,
and people around the world have demanded a ceasefire. We're
continuing to encourage our listeners to be informed, to follow
the different journalists that are on the ground in Gaza
and call the representatives to demand a ceasefire.
Speaker 2 (02:47):
So today, to continue the conversation and to bring in
some more voices who can speak directly to the matter.
We're really excited and lucky to have on the show today.
Lauren Mavina, who is the owner of Guerrera PR. Lauren
is an adjunct instructor in the USC Thornton School of
Music Industry program. She has worked in the music industry
(03:08):
for twenty two years and she, as I said, currently
owns Guerrera Marketing and PR, company of bilingual hybrid agency
focused on public relations, marketing, consulting, and brand partnerships representing
avant garde LATINX artists who strive to create their musical lanes.
Lauren is of Cuban and Palestinian descent and has been
vocal about free Palestine for many years. It's part of
(03:31):
her personal and political praxis and she's joining us today
to discuss solidarity with the Palestinian people and Christian Zionism
in the Latino community.
Speaker 1 (03:42):
So, without further ado, we are going to bring on
Laden to talk to us about all the things Mala
mentioned and we hope you like this episode. So today
we are joined by Laden Merina. She is the founder
of Guerrera pr and Marketing, and so we're going to
be having a conversation with her about really the crisis
(04:02):
in Palestine and where she stands as someone that's in
between both cultures and has been talking about the Free
Palestine movement for a very long time. So, Londan, without
further ado, can you introduce yourself and say hi to
our listeners.
Speaker 3 (04:16):
Hi, how's everyone doing?
Speaker 4 (04:18):
Thank you first and foremost for having me diosa Mala.
Thank you to everyone who's listening, and to everyone who's
supported LOKA. It's really important to support podcasts such as yours,
which are female owned and operated, and the topics that
you cover are really important for our community.
Speaker 3 (04:35):
So I want to thank you and acknowledge that.
Speaker 4 (04:37):
So, yeah, my name is larn and I'm Palestinian and
Cuban also have reces in Colombia. Because my mom was
born in Columbia after after the first Nakba.
Speaker 3 (04:49):
I do public relations.
Speaker 4 (04:51):
I'm also an adjunct professor at USC which I also
teach public relations there. I've been in the music business
for twenty two years and I've been teaching for coming up.
Speaker 3 (05:00):
That's pretty much me in a nutshell, you know.
Speaker 1 (05:03):
Yeah, thank you for joining us again, Thank.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
You, thank you so much. You know, We've been wanting
to speak to our audience about Israel Palestine in a
way that like captures a what are Palestinian people saying
about what's going on? What are Palestinian folks asking, and
also keeping in mind that our audience is a largely
LATINX Latina audience, and so what does our audience that
(05:31):
specific audience sort of need to hear or what are
we missing when our community specifically is talking about Israel Palestine.
And so you, with your background and being who you are,
you can sort of speak to both communities at the
same time to some degree. So just thank you for
being here to facilitate this conversation.
Speaker 3 (05:51):
And I definitely can speak on that.
Speaker 4 (05:53):
So just to give you some context, my dad is
my dad passed away, but I still talk about him.
Speaker 3 (05:59):
Like cac because for me is right.
Speaker 4 (06:02):
So my dad was a political prisoner in Cuba, so
he was part of a militia movement that was actually
fighting against Castro and the revolution. And so then my
grandparents are Palestinian and obviously like they lived through the
first Knakba and the Nacba basically is what you're seeing
right now, the second Nacbab, which is the expulsion of
(06:23):
thousands of Palestinians. And so I, you know, politics and
politics and life have been conflated. Since I was a kid,
I have been taught about this. That's why my company
is called Geera because I'm.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
A product of war. I'm a product of war refugees
like I.
Speaker 4 (06:41):
If it wasn't for these things that happen in Cuba
and Palestine, like.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
I wouldn't be alive.
Speaker 4 (06:47):
So I think that one of the things that is
really important to talk about with Latinos is that, you know,
Palestinians are part of a marginalized group, just like Latinos
are in the US. Just like a lot of Latinos
have experience in their own countries. Right, So, all throughout
the history of Latin America, we've seen so many civil wars.
(07:08):
We've seen so many revolutions, We've seen so much oppression.
We've seen, you know, the oppression from white Latinos towards
indigenous Latinos. We've seen, you know what Mexicans have had
to go through coming to the US, even like until
recently under Trump, you know what that looks, what that
looks like on the trum Trump and still what that
(07:29):
looks like now right, Like you have somebody like Gregory
Avin in Texas and like what he's doing to prevent
you know, immigrants come into this country. So just like
a lot of Mexican Americans like to remind you know,
white people, it's like, listen, Texas, California, that was part
of Mexico. We are the indigenous people of this land.
(07:49):
And Palestinians are the indigenous people of Palestine. And they're
not the only ones. And I want to just be
fair to say that they're not the only ones. That
you know, Palestinian people come from the Philistines, and the
Philistines were a sea.
Speaker 3 (08:02):
People and nomadic people that were up and down the coast.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
But you know, back then you're talking about like you know,
thousands of years ago, like that land was conquered by
so many different empires, so it's been a land that
has been home to so many different people of so
many different religions. But Palestinians are definitely have always been
the indigenous people of the land. So there are a
(08:27):
lot of parallels between Latinos and Palestinians in the sense
where they are two groups of people who have been
constantly marginalized. And let me just start with the Latinos
here in the US, right, and so they've faced oppression.
You know, most Palestinians are not as light as me.
(08:48):
They're mostly brown folks, right, and so you know, they've
been discriminated because of their culture, because of their race,
because of their skin color, because they're predominantly most Even
my family was Christian, but their Patasans are predominantly Muslim,
so they have all these things working against them. And
(09:08):
it's the same for a lot of the Latinos who
come to this country that don't come from the Spaniards
that are indigenous, you know, from Central and Latin America,
who look like who look very much indigenous, who are brown,
and they face the same type of oppression.
Speaker 3 (09:29):
So there's a huge parallel, you know, between the Latino
communities and Palestinians.
Speaker 1 (09:34):
Yeah, that's a great example of some of the things
we've been talking about here at Lokatoa too, is like
the historical solidarity between these two groups. And I think Loden,
like one of the reasons we invited you is because
you're a great example of someone that combines a personal
and political I mean you said that right off the bat,
like this has been your whole life, and obviously you
(09:54):
see how this intertwines not only with you but with
other people. And it's apparent in your work as well.
You know, you said ghetas marketing, like that's why it's
named what it is, right, So how do you continue
to embody and practice this in spite of maybe pushback
you like, you know, set blows and a lingua here
(10:16):
you are, So how do you continue to embody this?
And you know, just thinking of too, how this can
inspire someone right to be like, you know what, I
can be about it too, and I can talk about
it too.
Speaker 4 (10:26):
Yeah, I mean I don't think that I have the
privilege to separate the two because that's part of my identity, right,
So I can't just separate that and just say, well
you know, I need to keep my political point of
view away from work. I also am lucky enough that
(10:46):
I own my own business and I could and I
choose to work with people who are aligned. You know,
I lost a client earlier the first week that that
this happened. That when Hamas invaded Israel, I spoke out
day one. I mean, I've been speaking out, but I
posted something about, you know, one of the war tanks,
(11:07):
one of the bulldozers breaking through the fence, and I said,
what is the price of freedom?
Speaker 3 (11:12):
And I got.
Speaker 4 (11:14):
Immediately accused of being anti Semitic, which, for your anybody listening,
like Arabs are Semites. So I'm not anti Semitic because
I cannot be against myself. Well, I'm not a selfating
Middle Eastern person, right, But I was called anti Semitic.
I was, I said, you know, I was told that
I was a mass empathizer, that I was celebrating a mask,
(11:35):
kidding innocent Israelis.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
And it has nothing to do with that.
Speaker 4 (11:38):
It just had to do with the simple with the
simple fact that like for many people living in Gaza,
for them to see a bulldozer break through a fence
that which they've been under a military blockade for over
a decade. Was this beautiful feeling of freedom of having
someone come and like rescue them of like break down
(11:59):
that wont let them out. Right, So I'm never not
going to be vocal about this issue and many other
social issues which I champion, right, I'm very vocal about,
you know, a very very vocal about championing the LGBTQ community,
about champion championing migrants, about championing indigenous folks, about Black
(12:21):
lives matter. I've always been so for me, I think
we're living in a world and we're living in a
time where if your heart is in those places and
you really support and want to uplift the voices of
marginalized people, you can't separate the two anymore because the
same like the same people who follow gueretra on Ig
(12:44):
follow me. So I'm not about to make my you know,
profile private because I'm scared about the backlash is going
to be.
Speaker 3 (12:53):
I already lost the client. I've already been warned.
Speaker 4 (12:56):
You know, maybe you shouldn't, you know, be so vocal
because a lot of people in the music industry are
pro Israel, and a lot of people in the music
industry are Jewish and I was like, I have nothing
against anybody who's Jewish.
Speaker 3 (13:08):
I have a problem with Zionists.
Speaker 4 (13:10):
So everything that I've been talking about is now so
evident that if people don't see it, then you have
to ask yourself why you don't want to see it,
Like why don't you want to see the truth that
is being unfolded? Like I'm not making stuff up when
I'm saying three Patestinian kids got shot by a white
(13:32):
supremacist and burningson Vermont two days ago.
Speaker 3 (13:35):
Oh sah, there it is. This is what we've been saying.
Speaker 2 (13:40):
I really appreciate that not seeing things that are right
there in front of you. And I think something that
we've talked about in past episodes with regards to Palestine
and Latinos and something that in asking around on the
issue the issue of like Christian Zionism, right, and you're
touching upon Latino Latina, LATINX Latine who are social justice oriented,
(14:04):
there may be a blind spot when it comes to
Palestine and what's going on in the region. And I
think for I tend to believe and I think we
tend to identify that blind spots as being like there
because so many of us are Catholic. So many of
us are Christian, and there is like a reverence for Israel.
And I know there's a lot of Senoras who like
(14:27):
will go basically on pilgrimages to Israel, you know buis Reel,
and it's like a big thing for a lot of Catholics.
And I'm curious about your thoughts on the Christian Zionism,
that Catholic Zionism with regards to Latinos.
Speaker 4 (14:44):
Yeah, I mean, I think it all comes down to doctrination.
You know, this, this is indoctrination. I myself grew up Catholic,
and being in Catholic school all through high school, I
was very I was indoctrinated, and it's it took years
of me consciously just taking all of that out of
(15:06):
my system because it wasn't just cognitive, it was just
in my body, like the physical reaction that I would
have when I would have sex with someone that I
wasn't in a relationship with the guilt, you know. So
it took years years for me to deprogram myself. So
I think that a lot of these people, you know,
(15:28):
they don't know any better, and their ignorance is their
beliefs in Catholicism or or Christianity are conflated with the
location of Israel, because Jerusalem is in Israel. So it's like,
you know, they automatically associate Israel with being the Holy Land.
Speaker 3 (15:52):
But before Israel, before Israel.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
Was established, so prior to nineteen forty seven, what was
it called. It was called Palestine, right, So it was
the British Mandate of Palestine. It was Palestine, and it
was supposed to always be a place where all the
three major religions had a point of convergence, and that's Jerusalem.
(16:18):
And so it's Jerusalem is holy for Christians, it's holy
for Judaism, and it's holy for Muslims. So this is
what they've been taught. This is what some you know,
Jewish kids have been taught their whole life about what
Israel means to them and why having a state is
so important because of persecution and.
Speaker 3 (16:38):
All of that has merit and there's a lot of
truth to that.
Speaker 4 (16:43):
At the same time, I think we have to start
asking ourselves. If you are a Christian or a Catholic,
you have to start asking yourself, what is the price
to pay for your upholding those beliefs? Is it worth
a whole, this respect and love for the Holy Land
(17:03):
when it's acting like a terrorist group.
Speaker 1 (17:07):
Yeah, I wanted to ask you to You know, a
lot of our listeners are Latinas, they tend to be
social justice oriented, community focus, all of that, right, But
what would you say to people in the community, in
our community, our listeners right that are just tapping into
this movement for the first time.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
I would say that we need your support like we
need you.
Speaker 4 (17:31):
If you are a social justice activists and you want
to make changes, then you cannot just go for hard
for one cause or your cause and that's it.
Speaker 3 (17:43):
It doesn't work that day. And even though the genocide
is happening, you.
Speaker 4 (17:47):
Know, five thousand miles away, we are living in the
country that is making that possible. Israel is one of
the richest countries in the world, one of the riches.
So the four billion dollars they get every year from
the US, ninety percent of that goes into their military,
which has the fourth largest army in the world.
Speaker 3 (18:09):
So we are paying for that with our tax dollars.
That should infuriate you. It's time to stop being scared
because otherwise this is never going to change. And I
know that it feels like we can't do anything, but
yes we are.
Speaker 4 (18:24):
The boycotting it's really helping the divestment, it's really helping
the protesting. It's putting international pressure. We have never and
my mom cries all the time. My mom's like yonoka eriopoo,
that meon and the persona all over the world. She said,
I've never seen this before. I've never seen this type
of solidarity. And you have to ask yourself, why are
(18:48):
millions of people marching for Palestine and ef for Israel.
Speaker 2 (18:52):
It's a great question. I think the the numbers and
the show of support like speaks volumes here in La.
Even this past weekend there was another march in solidarity
with the Palestinian people. On our instagram we posted like
a big march that took place downtown. Also they marched
to Pershing Square a couple of weeks ago now, and yeah,
(19:14):
and I think that that says a lot about where
at least where LA seems to stand on the issue.
Speaker 4 (19:20):
Yeah, and look at the type of people that go
to the pro Israel of marches and the Palestinian marches.
The diversity in our marches, like Latinos need to see
themselves in that because the people who are marching like
people of color are not supporting Israel, They're supporting Padestan,
(19:44):
They're supporting Palestinians. And most of us Latinos, even if
we're white Latinos, we're still not fully white.
Speaker 3 (19:51):
We're still you know, like our.
Speaker 4 (19:54):
Lineages are mixed, where Mestizos we're all we all have
We're still not considered white people in this country. You
know what I'm saying, Like, yeah, I'm a white Latina
and a white Middle Eastern woman, but I'm still not
white in this country. Right.
Speaker 3 (20:07):
So my point is is that just.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
Look at the diversity, look at how the indigenous communities
who they're supporting.
Speaker 3 (20:15):
Look who the black community is supporting. You know, So
that says a lot.
Speaker 1 (20:21):
That says a lot I think too. Like in one
of the examples of solidarity is like thinking from the
local perspective, is that cut a Hay. They are the first,
like local city in LA to pass a resolution demanding
a ceasefire, right and like the city of La hasn't
done that, no surprise, right, but cut a Hay, like
a small city in one of the gateway communities, right,
(20:43):
it asked for a ceasefire, So I agree, Like it
does make you question, like, okay, wait, countries all over
Latin America, countries all over the world, not just the people,
but also the governments are in support of Palestine. So
what does that tell you?
Speaker 4 (20:58):
Right?
Speaker 1 (20:58):
I think it's a very introspect question of like it,
like you said earlier, like it's right in front of you.
Like if you're choosing to not see it, that's one thing,
but it's the examples are there?
Speaker 4 (21:07):
Yeah, it's if you look at the votes in the
UN on who wants to call a ceasefire, there's only
like five seven countries that don't. It's like the US, Canada,
no surprise there, you know, France, UK, I mean predominantly
(21:28):
white countries led by white people, colonizing countries.
Speaker 3 (21:34):
So it's like, no one can sit here and tell me, oh,
because Russia.
Speaker 4 (21:38):
And Iran and husb Lah they support you know, Hamas,
which is true, and it's just like wait, wait, wait,
hold up, there's a ton of countries in Europe that
are also against Israel.
Speaker 3 (21:52):
Spain is leading the.
Speaker 4 (21:54):
Front on that one, which is beautiful to see, you know,
because they got a lot of they got am that
was wild.
Speaker 1 (22:01):
I mean that one surprised me. I mean, they have
your right, they have been super vocal in the human
rights violations, right, But I was also very shocked clearly
obviously the colonial legacy that Spain has, so it was shocking.
But I agree, like, yeah, they are in leading it.
Speaker 4 (22:20):
Yeah, there's there's there's several countries you know in in
Europe that that are that are championing Palestine. But you know,
at the end of the day, just it's without having
the emotion, like take away the emotion from all of this,
just looking at it from a factual point of view,
it's like, you know, just through the numbers, just look
at the countries, the amount of countries that support a ceasefire,
(22:43):
that support Palestinians, that that feel like Palestinians have the
right to self determination, to live in sovereigntyes, to have
their own state. Just look at the numbers versus not
and most of the and the and the seven countries
that support Israel and fund and our Israel's allies are
(23:03):
all colonizing countries. So as Latinos, this should infuriate you
because every country in Latin America was colonized, you know
what I mean. And we're still living with the effects
of that, with the repercussions of that. It is colonization
is well alive today in the systems that govern that
(23:26):
govern our country. I was just reading right now how
the APAC it wants to spend is trying to get
candidates up against Rashida to lead for twenty million dollars,
is trying to pay.
Speaker 3 (23:38):
Them, you know, to run against her.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
Like I mean, at the end of the day, it
should just be infuriating to everyone. And listen, I want
to also acknowledge that the Palestinian genocide is not the
only genocide that's happening right now.
Speaker 3 (23:56):
We're seeing this happen in Sudan, We're seeing this.
Speaker 4 (23:58):
Happen in the Congo, Yemen has undergone like a brutal
civil war, and Syria.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
So there are so many countries. We're not the only one.
Speaker 4 (24:10):
And it's it's it's comparable to to the George Floyd situation.
Speaker 3 (24:15):
He wasn't the first, the last, and won't be the last.
Speaker 4 (24:18):
Unfortunately he you know, his death sparked an outrage, and
so the Palestinian genocide has sparked an outrage. But it's
the conduit, you know what I mean, it's it's the
conduit for people to start opening their fucking eyes and
be like, yo, the US and Israel are terrorist states
(24:40):
that have started all these wars and fund all these
proxy wars in the name of wealth and greed. Because
Gaza is sitting under five billion dollars of oil natural gases.
That's really what's going on. That is really the bottom line, right.
(25:01):
So the US bacs Israel because they needed a geopolitical
partner in that area to have to they needed an
ally in the Middle East, and the geopolitical location of
Israel is perfect, and the amount of wealth that's in
(25:22):
the levant region in terms of oil, they've already like
when the war, as soon as the war started, like
two weeks in, they were already licensing contracts to six
major oil companies to start drilling. And they can't drill
under Gaza. Why not to mention that Israel funded and
(25:42):
propped up on us. But that's a different that's that's
another podcast.
Speaker 2 (25:47):
Yes, Yes, I am wondering, Lauren, if we have we
have listeners out there who want to know how they
can show solid, how they can participate, how they can
get involved beyond posting on Instagram, right, what is What
(26:09):
are your recommendations? What do you think is most helpful,
especially for like a Latino community who does not want
to fall into the Christian Zionism side of things, who
wants to show their support for the Palestinian people.
Speaker 4 (26:22):
I think there are so many ways, you know, the
obvious ones are obviously like going to a protest, talking
to people right, listening to people who are Pedestinian who
are on the ground, and following all of those accounts
and just really informing yourself. I would suggest that if
you want to inform yourself on the situation, do not
(26:46):
follow any American media. They have been super biased and
falsely reporting stuff, from CNN to NBC to.
Speaker 3 (26:55):
All of them. Basically, I would say follow Al Jazeera,
rots I on the Middle East.
Speaker 4 (27:01):
There's several several news outlets and and and Instagram accounts
that you can follow. I think the other thing is
boycotting that really works, you know, boycotting Nestle, which has
an espresso. Unfortunately I am, oh god, I am an
espresso person, but I just you know, I know more
(27:22):
in an espresso for me Disney and uh Starbucks that's
overpriced and grows. Anyways, you know, and I think we
need to start, you know, like like really decentralizing like
our monies. Like I have investments, and I have money
(27:42):
in stocks, and I called my financial advisor and I'm like,
pull my money out of every company that I have
any stocks and that may manufacture weapons, any of these
companies that support Tesla or that support any of these
other companies. I think shopping local, you know know, like
I'm a person who would never.
Speaker 3 (28:03):
Buy anything that the Kardashian makes.
Speaker 4 (28:05):
Like we need to stop making rich people richer, and
we need to start investing in in like.
Speaker 3 (28:12):
Our own community.
Speaker 4 (28:13):
So now I'm like, you know, buying makeup from brands
that are made by Latinos latinas I'm you know, Middle
Eastern folks. So I feel like there needs to be
we need to fight money with money, because this is
all about money. This whole entire conflict is about money.
That is that is the truth. Like, aside from the genocide,
(28:36):
and aside from all the religious stuff and aside from
the land, that is just the icing on the cake.
Speaker 3 (28:43):
The real, real, real reason is money.
Speaker 4 (28:46):
It always has been. It was that for Iraq, it
was that for everything else. I think to finish answering
your question boycotting to divestments.
Speaker 3 (28:56):
If you have any money in stocks, like talk to.
Speaker 4 (29:00):
Whoever your financial advisor is, or if you don't have
a financial advisor, to.
Speaker 3 (29:03):
Start investigating and boycotting.
Speaker 4 (29:07):
We give all these major corporations way too much money,
and what are they doing with that money?
Speaker 3 (29:14):
A lot of these people are doing really.
Speaker 4 (29:16):
Evil shit with that money and supporting these wars and
supporting these genocides. And it's just like we we have
to be diligent about and hyper vigionant about where we're
spending our money. And I think that is the one
And obviously besides donating you know, uh, donating money to.
Speaker 3 (29:37):
Organizations who are on the ground and gaza.
Speaker 4 (29:40):
But other than that, that's that's the only thing we
can do that keep marching, keep keep signing petitions, calling
your reps like however, but they they we can't let
up because the next marginalized group that some shit happens too.
Speaker 3 (29:56):
We all have to have the same energy.
Speaker 4 (30:00):
At the end of the day, the US cannot survive
without our tax money.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
They need us.
Speaker 4 (30:07):
The two percent is not gonna put their own money
to run this country. They need us. That's what people
don't understand. I feel powerless a lot of times personally
because obviously this is so much.
Speaker 3 (30:19):
But then I'm like, wait a second. You know, if
millions of us.
Speaker 4 (30:24):
Have solidarity and we get on the same program, they're
gonna be fucked and it's gonna be really scary. Imagine
if like, you know, two hundred million people decided they
weren't fucking paying taxes no more, right, two hundred million
people in jail.
Speaker 2 (30:40):
Yeah, and that is often the thing, jailing people and
you know, taking jobs away from people. They do that
to discourage others from joining in, right, And the examples
that you gave at the top of the episode of
people who have spoken out and then lost jobs. It
is scary and it does scare people, and it's this
sickly thing. You know, the Red Scare was a big deal,
(31:02):
and people lost their jobs and their livelihoods if they
were even considered to be at all like, uh, you know,
empathetic towards communism, and a lot of Black Lives Matter
activists over the years have gone missing or turned of
dead or in jail. And now folks that are expressing
solidarity with Palestine are experiencing similar repercussions, and so it
(31:24):
is very scary, you know, to be that person to
step up. But you're right. When there is strength in numbers,
when the masses come together, that's when the powers that
be end up. They have to relent. A change has
to happen. Something's got to give, right.
Speaker 5 (31:40):
Yeah, yeah, I mean we've seen it with the Civil
rights movement, but I mean it you they galvanized millions
of people, and I feel like, you know again, I
don't I don't think that anybody should be looking at
this as oh, this is just a Palestinian issue.
Speaker 3 (31:54):
This is a first people of color issue. This is
a marginalized community issue. You know.
Speaker 4 (32:01):
What's been really beautiful for me to see is that
in all the protests, I try to go to a
protest at least once a week, and and so I see,
you know, the LGBTQ community show up for us.
Speaker 3 (32:13):
I see, you know, the Indian community show up. I
see a lot of Jewish folks show up.
Speaker 4 (32:19):
Those make me cry all the time. I see obviously
black folks show up. I mean at Kailani run. I
run into her literally at every protest. You know, kai
Lani for president for real. And so you know, it's
really beautiful to see that and all the other marches
I've been to for for Black Lives Matter and for
(32:42):
you know, when Trump got elected, it was just I
think that's the one thing that gives me hope when
I see, you know, all these people in protests. I
think the only thing that's missing is that not enough
people are posting because they're scared.
Speaker 3 (32:57):
And and it's like, I get it.
Speaker 4 (32:59):
And I'm talking from a position of privilege because I
own my own business, and if a couple of clients
fire me, it's not going to affect me.
Speaker 3 (33:07):
It's not I'm going to be able to pay my
bills just fine. So I understand that I want.
Speaker 4 (33:12):
To acknowledge that I also come from a place of
privilege and that not everybody has the luxury to do that,
because there's people who are you know, relying on brands
money for their podcast, or they're relying on brand money
for their events, and a lot of these brands maybe
may have ties to people who are you know, pro Israel,
(33:32):
who want us who would silence them or they would
lose the job.
Speaker 3 (33:36):
And and so I understand.
Speaker 4 (33:39):
So if you're in that situation, I don't need you
to risk your your you know, I don't need you
to like end up in a bad financial situation, because
that's not gonna I don't want, we don't want that
for you, right. But if if that's not the case,
then I feel like, Okay, you know, show up up
(34:00):
for us, and we're gonna show up for you always.
You know, we're always because man, I'm telling you, if
if anybody knows war and genocide, oppression being called terror,
my mom's my mom was called the terrorists her whole
fucking life living in Miami, Miami, that was always like
(34:20):
predominantly white Cuban as you know, a lot of Cubans
vote for Trump the majority.
Speaker 3 (34:28):
You know, Cubans are pro Israel the majority.
Speaker 4 (34:32):
And my mom is a Palestinian woman living in Miami
was called una India and in a derogatory way, right
because white Latinos used that term in a derogatory way.
Speaker 3 (34:43):
It was called Unatta, you know.
Speaker 4 (34:46):
Was my mom was super vocal about about being Palestinian
and had a sticker in her car that said, yo, am,
my mom has always been writing hard and she.
Speaker 3 (34:59):
Is the.
Speaker 4 (35:02):
Quintessential Palestinian angry woman who's always like you know, depicted
as yelling, as angry, and I get her, and I
get it now because she has faced so much backlash
just for existing, just for being who she is. So
if anybody else has gone through that, then this should
(35:24):
really pull on your heartstrings.
Speaker 3 (35:26):
Man. You know they should really like hit you deep
and say fuck you know what.
Speaker 4 (35:30):
I come from a community that we live that shit too,
you know, so we got to ride for each other.
Speaker 3 (35:37):
It's the only way. It's the only way.
Speaker 4 (35:40):
And it's not like, well, you know, I really love Starbucks, man,
fuck Starbucks, you know what I'm saying.
Speaker 3 (35:45):
Like, you know, think when you think about the next
time you think about getting a fucking Starbucks.
Speaker 4 (35:49):
Think about that kid that they found under the rubble,
that could have been your daughter, that could have been
your little brother, that could have been your niece, your nephew.
Think about that shit. Starbucks is not that good. Ah.
Speaker 2 (36:01):
This is true, hard truths, hard truths. But I thank
you so much for sharing your perspective and for giving
our audience you know some some ways, some action steps
that they can take to actually express their solidarity and
get involved.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Thank you so much for joining us, Loden. We really
appreciate you for giving us some of the personal and
political examples. So yeah, thank you for your time.
Speaker 4 (36:26):
Thank you ladies so much, and I appreciate it, and
so everybody who's listening, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (36:32):
I really appreciate it.
Speaker 4 (36:33):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (36:34):
All right, well, thank you lokomotives for tuning in to
another episode of lok At Radio. We will catch you
next time.
Speaker 3 (36:40):
Bessitos.
Speaker 2 (36:43):
Lokat Radio, a radio funding novela is executive produced and
hosted by Me Mala Munios and VIOSA.
Speaker 1 (36:49):
Fem story editing by Me diosa.
Speaker 2 (36:51):
Audio editing by Stephanie Franco.
Speaker 1 (36:53):
Thank you to our locomotives, our listeners for all of
your support. Bessie First Look at the Radio, a radiophonic.
Speaker 2 (37:11):
Novela hosted by Mala Munyas and.
Speaker 1 (37:15):
The ASAF Fan
Speaker 3 (37:59):
Hey geus to your network
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