May 22, 2025 • 16 mins
América has been on a long hiatus. It’s a long story, but she won’t trauma dump or bore you with it today. She’s here to give a quick update and let her friends know what she’s been up to. Even though she’s still had a few “mental health breakdowns” along the way, her head is still in the game and more focused than ever.
Fair warning: the audio levels in this episode are a little all over the place. She tried to fix it, but it’s a bit chaotic, kind of like her life right now.
Like everything América does, she completely overthought this podcast and this episode. She recorded it twice, tried editing the second take, then realized she liked the first one better. She spent way too much time trying to cut out the ums (she says a lot of ums) and adjust the audio. In the end, she decided to leave it. Everything online is too filtered so lets leave it unfiltered and a little messy, just like the country she is in.
Help shape future episodes!
Leave a voicemail or shoot us a text. I actually wanna hear from you! I like constructive criticism.
Follow along on TikTok and Instagram: @la_ameriquita, @lachismosadelvalle
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:01):
okay i am just testing this and seeing if i can
record on my phone in my truckthat's right i am a truck girl
(00:24):
now it fits the vibe of the newtown that i am in Don't worry.
I have everything I need.
I have a little mic, water, andsomething to record.
I don't have a guest.
It's just me.
So I don't really need anythingfancy right now.
Let's just record and let's justdo this.
(00:47):
Okay?
Hi, everyone.
It's been a minute.
Actually, it's been...
a little over two years since ilast posted anything on here but
before we get into it i justwant to say yes the name has
(01:07):
changed this podcast wasoriginally called las chismosas
del valle and to my englishspeaking friends that translates
to the gossip girls of thevalley but now it's just me so
welcome to la chismosa del vallewhy the name change well i'm
still very much that girl thattalks a little too much and
(01:32):
maybe asks a little too manyquestions but maybe you know
asks either the wrong questionsor doesn't ask them directly or
um just doesn't ask anyquestions at the right time I
brain freeze, and I think that'swhy I get a little nervous to
come up here.
But after all, that's what Iwent to school for, is to learn
(01:56):
how to use my little brain ofasking whys and then turn them
into something, right?
So it's kind of what I've knownfor, and whether I like it or
not, I figured I might as welljust own up to it.
Truthfully, I'm learning to talka little less and smile more.
while keeping that young scrappyand hungry energy alive okay so
(02:22):
now back to it I don't have aperfect excuse for a long break
life has happened actually a lothas happened mentally
emotionally I couldn't getmyself behind a mic I started
this podcast in college.
After I graduated, I was soburnt out from media, work, and
(02:44):
school.
I thought I'd rest for thesummer and come back in the
fall, but life just keptspiraling.
The political climate gotheavier and so did my mental
health.
If you've listened before, youprobably know I'm a DACA
recipient, and if you follow meon social media, I have shared a
(03:06):
lot of my personal struggleswith mental health.
So no matter what people say, nomatter how normal some people
tried to make it sound, thesetimes are not easy for those of
us living without a status orunder DACA.
When I first started journalism,I think I've said this like a
bajillion times, the presidentwas attacking both the media and
(03:31):
Mexicans.
And here I was, here I am.
A Mexican trying to work inmedia.
And I'm honestly, I have beentrying to do my best without
taking things too personally andtaking things too heavy.
What helps me keep going ishearing other Latinx stories,
people who are out therenavigating this messy,
(03:54):
complicated country just likeme.
Their voices remind me that I'mnot alone and that my voice
still matters even when itshakes a little.
If you can't tell.
Every DACA recipient has theirown story.
And looking back, I realizedthat when I got involved in
activism, I was just a kid andadults were expecting to carry a
(04:17):
weight I barely understood.
Now I'm a little older.
I've lived a whole life.
Mumble starting.
There you go.
I said my age.
Oh, my God.
I understand the risks, thefears, the responsibilities a
lot more clearly now.
And I also kind of understandwhat the fight is about more.
(04:40):
Like when I was a kid, I just Ididn't know, you know, and now I
I'm like more aware, you know,and it's honestly just people
every day that are justconstantly educating me about
something.
I love that.
My family still believes inkeeping it low-key, and I
respect that.
Not everyone wants to be openabout their status, especially
(05:03):
right now.
But for me, the silence onlyadds to the anxiety.
I've learned the hard way thatspeaking out can have
consequences, but staying quietcan eat you alive too.
I've never been good at playingthe traditional reporter role.
I don't know if you can hear mespeak, but I...
stutter a lot my speaking is notthat well um i asked too many
(05:27):
questions that poke at thesystem itself that's why i
created this podcast in thefirst place to make space for
things that don't always fitinto the mainstream and to be
clear i'm not anti-newsroom iget it we all have bills to pay
and honestly i grew up watchingthe news like honestly i would
watch it to get the weather,like just to get the weather to
(05:50):
see what cute outfit I neededfor school, what the day was
going to look like.
It was going to rain.
I was in California, so itbarely rained, but you never
know.
And so I would just watch it andthen, you know, the hosts were
so funny, just listening to themtalk, chat, like be friends.
And I understand like theconcept of like, you know, the
(06:12):
newsroom of like, okay, this is,we only have so much time to
talk about so much time, whichis, you know, why I'm here.
And I understand like justworking in a, you know, bigger
media, especially corporate canbe a little hard.
So, yeah.
You know, this podcast doesn'tpay my bills.
So for now, I'm free to saywhatever I want to say.
(06:35):
I'm hoping that doesn't reallychange.
But during my hiatus...
I watched how podcasting playeda huge role in politics.
It helped shape narratives andeven helped Trump win the
election.
I've got a lot of thoughts onthat, but I'll save those for
(06:58):
another time.
Right now, I really want toshare is that I moved.
I left the valley.
I know you can take a girl outof the valley though, but you
can't take the valley out of thegirl.
That's for sure.
And I'm going to tell you rightnow, sometimes people sometimes
i'll walk around and be moremaking fun of me and i will i
(07:20):
don't care i am a loud proudvalley girl i like my accent i
like my style i don't care idon't care if i come off very
valley very la okay um it wasn'teasy for me to leave okay but it
was time The influencers camein, they kicked us all out, and
now I got nowhere to go.
I'm a struggling artist.
(07:41):
I failed.
I felt...
No, I'm just kidding.
I need a space to grow,actually.
I need a space to grow, toexplore, and to just reconnect
with my creativity.
I've landed somewhere in thePacific Northwest.
The area I moved, it's...
pretty gloomy and you can getdepressed very easily and i
(08:02):
think for like you know thefirst couple months that i was
there i was very convinced thati would move back home within
three months so i made like notime to make friends and this is
kind of a state or area that youkind of have to give yourself
time to enjoy and like and makefriends and then you will
appreciate it a little more andi need a space to grow to
(08:23):
explore and to reconnect with mycreativity i've landed somewhere
in the pacific northwest i meani'm pretty loud i'm sure you
know where i am um it's it'sjust rainy but i miss home i
miss home and but you know whatthis area has been good to me so
far i hope well yeah being awayfrom la has just helped me slow
(08:46):
down and reflect and while ihave hope to go back one day
this has just reminded me tothat you don't need to be in la
to tell a good story honestlyyou don't and also the area that
i'm in like there's so muchnature and in the areas that you
know i grew up in like I lovethe beach and I love it but you
(09:11):
know I love that I can walk downto a little lake here and it's
like not that far and it's likethere's little trees and I feel
like in California you have tokind of drive for that you know
so it just made me like just I'ma nature girly now like oh my
god the valley girl loves naturenow but hiking We're still
(09:38):
working on that.
I can still go on a hike, but,you know, on a good day.
Not on a rainy day.
Lately, I've started meetingpeople in the area who've
inspired me all over again.
So I have new stories, newperspectives, and hopefully some
future guests for this podcast.
(10:00):
And this time I actually meanit.
I know last time I said it andthen I dropped it and that seems
to be like a thing with me.
Okay, call me out.
It's hot.
okay uh but if you're still hereif you're still listening after
all this time if you're stillfollowing my journey on social
media whether i'm being messy tomake a point i don't know who i
(10:26):
think i am jesus or someone orif you're following you know my
little comic uh she'll be back ijust want to say thank you
there's been a couple of youguys that have reached out to me
personally and have just reallyencouraged me to keep going you
(10:46):
guys really see what i'm doingyou see my work and honestly i
don't need a thousand followerslike i don't need like all the
following in the world i likei've said it so many times i
like i like my small audienceyou know because i feel like
they've really seen me grow andthey've really seen me change
(11:06):
and they've really seen my voicechange and they're still with me
and I love that and I cherishthat and they keep me going and
at the end of the day like Idon't know I just I do this for
everyone like and I don't knowat the end of the day like it
just makes me like want to keepdoing what I love you know and I
(11:29):
know I am inconsistent with mywork Things keep happening, I
swear.
The plot keeps changing.
The plot keeps getting crazier.
The plot keeps twisting.
There's always a plot twist.
Every time I think I havesomething, I'm like, oh, plot
(11:49):
twist.
But I see, trust me, I see thebigger picture.
And it's one of the reasons thatI was able to just honestly get
my butt out of bed and just say,let's do this.
Let's just record this today.
Or I'm just going to keeppushing it off and I'm just
going to do it in my truckbecause why is there people home
(12:14):
all the time?
Why is working from home a thingnow?
Okay.
Sometimes I want a littleprivacy.
I'm just kidding.
My schedule is all over theplace.
So I guess I have time now.
to focus on this and i don'tactually have an excuse anymore
so you can call me out next timeyou see me in person if you do
(12:37):
not see another episode withinthe next two months oh my god
you probably just heard someoneturning on their car i'm really
excited to see where this nextchapter takes us but before i go
I want to leave you withsomething I've been thinking
about lately.
For a long time, I felt thisintense pressure to represent my
(13:03):
entire community, to save us, tobe the perfect voice, the
perfect spokesperson, the onewho gets it right every time,
which I'm going to tell youright now, no.
There's this idea that we haveto be, like, the perfect
dreamer, that the media wantsthe perfect dreamer, or it's
(13:24):
just, you know, I don't know.
There's bigger consequences, youknow?
And so there's a lot of weightfor one person to carry.
And then a couple years ago, Iwent to a screening of
Lightyear, and there was a scenethat hit me hard.
(13:44):
Quick context.
The gang got stuck in a room,and Buzz, being Buzz, tries to
control and save the day, but indoing so, he isolates himself.
That's when Izzy says to him,you don't need to save us, you
need to join us.
And I don't know, but I reallyneeded to hear that, especially
(14:05):
coming from Izzy.
It made me realize how much Iinternalized this I need to save
my people mindset, which, let'sbe real, is kind of a white
savior complex that doesn'tbelong to me or my culture.
My people don't need saving.
They taught me community, how toshow up for each other, how to
(14:29):
struggle together, how tocelebrate together.
Sometimes I forget that.
Sometimes I forget that's thevery mindset that keeps us
strong.
I don't know what we need to besaved from, but I don't know.
I found Jesus already, butThat's on me.
I can't save you like that.
It's really funny.
This country says that we havefreedom of speech and freedom of
(14:53):
religion, but we can't even talkabout Jesus in a public setting
or in a public space.
I think that this country needsto learn how to communicate
better and learn how to agree todisagree and walk away
(15:15):
especially when things are justnot going their way or things
are getting heated and thatapplies to me it applies to
everyone and i think in allsorts of relationships no matter
what your religion or politicalside you're in at the end of the
day we work better as a team andthis podcast is just me joining
(15:38):
the conversation not trying tolead it alone everyone is saying
that i have to start filmingmyself while filming the podcast
and i guess i will but i kind ofmiss the old radio vibes like i
just remember listening to theradio as a kid and hearing the
(15:58):
dj's voice but never likeactually like knowing how they
look like and for some reasonthat was just so refreshing to
me and then when i did look at aphoto of them every once in a
while i was like huh interestingthat's how you look like i was
kind of hoping for that vibe buti guess i have to put myself out
(16:19):
there so yeah welcome back to lachismosa del valle Hay que
empezar a chismear.
okay i am just testing this and seeing if i can
record on my phone in my truckthat's right i am a truck girl
(00:24):
now it fits the vibe of the newtown that i am in Don't worry.
I have everything I need.
I have a little mic, water, andsomething to record.
I don't have a guest.
It's just me.
So I don't really need anythingfancy right now.
Let's just record and let's justdo this.
(00:47):
Okay?
Hi, everyone.
It's been a minute.
Actually, it's been...
a little over two years since ilast posted anything on here but
before we get into it i justwant to say yes the name has
(01:07):
changed this podcast wasoriginally called las chismosas
del valle and to my englishspeaking friends that translates
to the gossip girls of thevalley but now it's just me so
welcome to la chismosa del vallewhy the name change well i'm
still very much that girl thattalks a little too much and
(01:32):
maybe asks a little too manyquestions but maybe you know
asks either the wrong questionsor doesn't ask them directly or
um just doesn't ask anyquestions at the right time I
brain freeze, and I think that'swhy I get a little nervous to
come up here.
But after all, that's what Iwent to school for, is to learn
(01:56):
how to use my little brain ofasking whys and then turn them
into something, right?
So it's kind of what I've knownfor, and whether I like it or
not, I figured I might as welljust own up to it.
Truthfully, I'm learning to talka little less and smile more.
while keeping that young scrappyand hungry energy alive okay so
(02:22):
now back to it I don't have aperfect excuse for a long break
life has happened actually a lothas happened mentally
emotionally I couldn't getmyself behind a mic I started
this podcast in college.
After I graduated, I was soburnt out from media, work, and
(02:44):
school.
I thought I'd rest for thesummer and come back in the
fall, but life just keptspiraling.
The political climate gotheavier and so did my mental
health.
If you've listened before, youprobably know I'm a DACA
recipient, and if you follow meon social media, I have shared a
(03:06):
lot of my personal struggleswith mental health.
So no matter what people say, nomatter how normal some people
tried to make it sound, thesetimes are not easy for those of
us living without a status orunder DACA.
When I first started journalism,I think I've said this like a
bajillion times, the presidentwas attacking both the media and
(03:31):
Mexicans.
And here I was, here I am.
A Mexican trying to work inmedia.
And I'm honestly, I have beentrying to do my best without
taking things too personally andtaking things too heavy.
What helps me keep going ishearing other Latinx stories,
people who are out therenavigating this messy,
(03:54):
complicated country just likeme.
Their voices remind me that I'mnot alone and that my voice
still matters even when itshakes a little.
If you can't tell.
Every DACA recipient has theirown story.
And looking back, I realizedthat when I got involved in
activism, I was just a kid andadults were expecting to carry a
(04:17):
weight I barely understood.
Now I'm a little older.
I've lived a whole life.
Mumble starting.
There you go.
I said my age.
Oh, my God.
I understand the risks, thefears, the responsibilities a
lot more clearly now.
And I also kind of understandwhat the fight is about more.
(04:40):
Like when I was a kid, I just Ididn't know, you know, and now I
I'm like more aware, you know,and it's honestly just people
every day that are justconstantly educating me about
something.
I love that.
My family still believes inkeeping it low-key, and I
respect that.
Not everyone wants to be openabout their status, especially
(05:03):
right now.
But for me, the silence onlyadds to the anxiety.
I've learned the hard way thatspeaking out can have
consequences, but staying quietcan eat you alive too.
I've never been good at playingthe traditional reporter role.
I don't know if you can hear mespeak, but I...
stutter a lot my speaking is notthat well um i asked too many
(05:27):
questions that poke at thesystem itself that's why i
created this podcast in thefirst place to make space for
things that don't always fitinto the mainstream and to be
clear i'm not anti-newsroom iget it we all have bills to pay
and honestly i grew up watchingthe news like honestly i would
watch it to get the weather,like just to get the weather to
(05:50):
see what cute outfit I neededfor school, what the day was
going to look like.
It was going to rain.
I was in California, so itbarely rained, but you never
know.
And so I would just watch it andthen, you know, the hosts were
so funny, just listening to themtalk, chat, like be friends.
And I understand like theconcept of like, you know, the
(06:12):
newsroom of like, okay, this is,we only have so much time to
talk about so much time, whichis, you know, why I'm here.
And I understand like justworking in a, you know, bigger
media, especially corporate canbe a little hard.
So, yeah.
You know, this podcast doesn'tpay my bills.
So for now, I'm free to saywhatever I want to say.
(06:35):
I'm hoping that doesn't reallychange.
But during my hiatus...
I watched how podcasting playeda huge role in politics.
It helped shape narratives andeven helped Trump win the
election.
I've got a lot of thoughts onthat, but I'll save those for
(06:58):
another time.
Right now, I really want toshare is that I moved.
I left the valley.
I know you can take a girl outof the valley though, but you
can't take the valley out of thegirl.
That's for sure.
And I'm going to tell you rightnow, sometimes people sometimes
i'll walk around and be moremaking fun of me and i will i
(07:20):
don't care i am a loud proudvalley girl i like my accent i
like my style i don't care idon't care if i come off very
valley very la okay um it wasn'teasy for me to leave okay but it
was time The influencers camein, they kicked us all out, and
now I got nowhere to go.
I'm a struggling artist.
(07:41):
I failed.
I felt...
No, I'm just kidding.
I need a space to grow,actually.
I need a space to grow, toexplore, and to just reconnect
with my creativity.
I've landed somewhere in thePacific Northwest.
The area I moved, it's...
pretty gloomy and you can getdepressed very easily and i
(08:02):
think for like you know thefirst couple months that i was
there i was very convinced thati would move back home within
three months so i made like notime to make friends and this is
kind of a state or area that youkind of have to give yourself
time to enjoy and like and makefriends and then you will
appreciate it a little more andi need a space to grow to
(08:23):
explore and to reconnect with mycreativity i've landed somewhere
in the pacific northwest i meani'm pretty loud i'm sure you
know where i am um it's it'sjust rainy but i miss home i
miss home and but you know whatthis area has been good to me so
far i hope well yeah being awayfrom la has just helped me slow
(08:46):
down and reflect and while ihave hope to go back one day
this has just reminded me tothat you don't need to be in la
to tell a good story honestlyyou don't and also the area that
i'm in like there's so muchnature and in the areas that you
know i grew up in like I lovethe beach and I love it but you
(09:11):
know I love that I can walk downto a little lake here and it's
like not that far and it's likethere's little trees and I feel
like in California you have tokind of drive for that you know
so it just made me like just I'ma nature girly now like oh my
god the valley girl loves naturenow but hiking We're still
(09:38):
working on that.
I can still go on a hike, but,you know, on a good day.
Not on a rainy day.
Lately, I've started meetingpeople in the area who've
inspired me all over again.
So I have new stories, newperspectives, and hopefully some
future guests for this podcast.
(10:00):
And this time I actually meanit.
I know last time I said it andthen I dropped it and that seems
to be like a thing with me.
Okay, call me out.
It's hot.
okay uh but if you're still hereif you're still listening after
all this time if you're stillfollowing my journey on social
media whether i'm being messy tomake a point i don't know who i
(10:26):
think i am jesus or someone orif you're following you know my
little comic uh she'll be back ijust want to say thank you
there's been a couple of youguys that have reached out to me
personally and have just reallyencouraged me to keep going you
(10:46):
guys really see what i'm doingyou see my work and honestly i
don't need a thousand followerslike i don't need like all the
following in the world i likei've said it so many times i
like i like my small audienceyou know because i feel like
they've really seen me grow andthey've really seen me change
(11:06):
and they've really seen my voicechange and they're still with me
and I love that and I cherishthat and they keep me going and
at the end of the day like Idon't know I just I do this for
everyone like and I don't knowat the end of the day like it
just makes me like want to keepdoing what I love you know and I
(11:29):
know I am inconsistent with mywork Things keep happening, I
swear.
The plot keeps changing.
The plot keeps getting crazier.
The plot keeps twisting.
There's always a plot twist.
Every time I think I havesomething, I'm like, oh, plot
(11:49):
twist.
But I see, trust me, I see thebigger picture.
And it's one of the reasons thatI was able to just honestly get
my butt out of bed and just say,let's do this.
Let's just record this today.
Or I'm just going to keeppushing it off and I'm just
going to do it in my truckbecause why is there people home
(12:14):
all the time?
Why is working from home a thingnow?
Okay.
Sometimes I want a littleprivacy.
I'm just kidding.
My schedule is all over theplace.
So I guess I have time now.
to focus on this and i don'tactually have an excuse anymore
so you can call me out next timeyou see me in person if you do
(12:37):
not see another episode withinthe next two months oh my god
you probably just heard someoneturning on their car i'm really
excited to see where this nextchapter takes us but before i go
I want to leave you withsomething I've been thinking
about lately.
For a long time, I felt thisintense pressure to represent my
(13:03):
entire community, to save us, tobe the perfect voice, the
perfect spokesperson, the onewho gets it right every time,
which I'm going to tell youright now, no.
There's this idea that we haveto be, like, the perfect
dreamer, that the media wantsthe perfect dreamer, or it's
(13:24):
just, you know, I don't know.
There's bigger consequences, youknow?
And so there's a lot of weightfor one person to carry.
And then a couple years ago, Iwent to a screening of
Lightyear, and there was a scenethat hit me hard.
(13:44):
Quick context.
The gang got stuck in a room,and Buzz, being Buzz, tries to
control and save the day, but indoing so, he isolates himself.
That's when Izzy says to him,you don't need to save us, you
need to join us.
And I don't know, but I reallyneeded to hear that, especially
(14:05):
coming from Izzy.
It made me realize how much Iinternalized this I need to save
my people mindset, which, let'sbe real, is kind of a white
savior complex that doesn'tbelong to me or my culture.
My people don't need saving.
They taught me community, how toshow up for each other, how to
(14:29):
struggle together, how tocelebrate together.
Sometimes I forget that.
Sometimes I forget that's thevery mindset that keeps us
strong.
I don't know what we need to besaved from, but I don't know.
I found Jesus already, butThat's on me.
I can't save you like that.
It's really funny.
This country says that we havefreedom of speech and freedom of
(14:53):
religion, but we can't even talkabout Jesus in a public setting
or in a public space.
I think that this country needsto learn how to communicate
better and learn how to agree todisagree and walk away
(15:15):
especially when things are justnot going their way or things
are getting heated and thatapplies to me it applies to
everyone and i think in allsorts of relationships no matter
what your religion or politicalside you're in at the end of the
day we work better as a team andthis podcast is just me joining
(15:38):
the conversation not trying tolead it alone everyone is saying
that i have to start filmingmyself while filming the podcast
and i guess i will but i kind ofmiss the old radio vibes like i
just remember listening to theradio as a kid and hearing the
(15:58):
dj's voice but never likeactually like knowing how they
look like and for some reasonthat was just so refreshing to
me and then when i did look at aphoto of them every once in a
while i was like huh interestingthat's how you look like i was
kind of hoping for that vibe buti guess i have to put myself out
(16:19):
there so yeah welcome back to lachismosa del valle Hay que
empezar a chismear.
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Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.