September 4, 2025 • 41 mins
I sat down with Beatriz Rivera-Cruz, a former Spanish teacher turned entrepreneur who quit her job to start her own Spanish immersion daycare when she couldn't find what her family needed. As a Puerto Rican mami married to a non-Spanish speaker, Beatriz shares the real struggles of preserving her language and culture, and why perfectionism almost derailed her entire journey.
For detailed show notes, visit vivalamami.com/episode135
What You'll Hear:
- Why immigrant mothers carry an invisible burden that monolingual moms don't face
- How perfectionism and judgment kept her from supporting other bilingual families
- The moment her son's relationship with Spanish completely changed through community
- Why "good enough" bilingual parenting is actually extraordinary
- Practical ways to start your bilingual journey without moving mountains
Ways to Follow Beatriz:
- Charla Collective: www.charlacollective.com
- Follow on Instagram and Facebook
- Email: beatriz@charlacollective.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (00:00):
You see them say, I'm committing to
(00:01):
speak to my kids in Spanishevery day after school for an
hour.
And then they get 15 minutes inand they're like, I've failed.
And it's just, I just hateseeing everyone think that
they're failing when it's like,no, you are not.
15 minutes is enough, right?
Like today, it's 15 minutes.
Tomorrow it might be an hournext month you might go to
Mexico for, for a week, right?
(00:22):
Some days you nail it and somedays you don't.
I'd like to compare it to goingto the gym.
I think the same should be trueabout the Spanish language.
Like some of us are.
Some of us are training for atriathlon.
Okay, you're moving.
You're moving to anothercountry.
You are like you are doing anIron Man.
Okay?
And then there are some of usthat are like, you know what,
I'm okay if I just like find theright school and my kid is going
(00:44):
to that Spanish immersion school30 minutes away.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (00:47):
Mm-hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (00:47):
every now and then, or May and maybe
at home, my commitment isduring, during dinner we speak
in Espanol, or my commitment isthat on Sundays we go to Aita.
And you know what, you're notrunning a an Ironman.
You're just going to the gym andyou're getting on that
StairMaster and you're workingup a good sweat.
And that should be enough foryou too.
You know?
But I just, I'm tired of peoplethinking that whatever they're
doing is not enough.
The only thing that is notenough is nothing at all.
(01:10):
There are just little thingsthat you can do, and over time
that amounts to so much morethan doing nothing at all
because you've frozen and you'rein like this, uh, decision
fatigue where you don't know ifit's enough.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (02:27):
Alala.
Welcome to the Viva la MamiPodcast.
I am so excited to have BeatrizCruz.
I.
Appreciate the world ofbilingualism.
And
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (02:37):
know.
Jessica (02:37):
know, uh, we are raising for the most part
Spanish dominant kids.
And I'm always curious aboutwhat other parents do and how
they navigate raising bilingualchildren.
And so for today, we haveBeatriz, and I'm very excited
just because out of raisingbilingual kids, she decided to
create her own daycare.
(02:58):
And so Beatriz, Beatriz, I wouldlove for you to introduce
yourself first, and then we candelve into the conversation.
So
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (03:05):
yes.
Hello.
My name is Beatriz, as you said.
Gosh, I'll do like a littlepersonal intro and then I guess
I'll talk a little bit moreabout the the daycare component.
But, so I'm a military brat.
I grew up kind of.
Living all over the world.
And my parents were both bornand raised in Puerto Rico.
And so growing up, that was theone thing that was our constant,
(03:27):
even though we were movingaround our culture and our
language was always the focusin, in the home.
So me and my sister were verylucky in that way that we had
resos and they were like,doesn't matter where in the
world we're living in.
And that was a gift.
That was a gift that I didn'trecognize until I was an adult.
And so when I had my son in2019, I just assumed that I was
(03:51):
going to be able to do the samething.
And I was a middle schoolSpanish teacher once upon a
time.
And so my Spanish has alwaysbeen solid.
My spouse doesn't speak Spanish,and so therein came the problem
where by the time my son wastwo, I was losing sleep.
About it.
I could not find any Spanishimmersion daycares in Southern
(04:12):
California where I'm living inNorth County, San Diego.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (04:16):
Really?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (04:17):
there are a lot closer to the border,
but I'm a solid hour away fromfrom the border of Mexico and
the United States.
So I, you know, I, I justassumed when I got pregnant that
it would be easy.
It wasn't.
So by the time he was turningthe corner to three, I was
getting the same comments inPuerto Rico from my mom, from my
aunts and my uncle saying, andI'm like, oh no, here we go.
(04:41):
Like, this is, I, I can't be it.
I can't be the one that thatbrings my kid home to Puerto
Rico.
And, and he's not speaking inSpanish.
So I had to do something drasticand I was like.
I'm just gonna quit my job andstart an in-home daycare because
if I can't find what I need I'mjust gonna have to create it.
And so that was in, I think 2022is when I started the process.
(05:05):
Chala Collective is kind of theumbrella it's exciting because
the, the long-term goal wasalways, well, we can provide
Spanish immersion Monday throughFriday for working parents.
But what about the ones that arestay at home moms?
Or what about the ones that, youknow, we're a little too far
away from them during the week,but they want to be able to
immerse their kids in daycare.
So, Chad Luck Collective islike, this is the brand and this
(05:27):
is the building.
So we have our daycare, and thennow we're also moving into
evening and weekend events sothat we can do like Spanish
camps, Spanish labs, SensorySabados, like all kinds of
events where it's like.
Just bring your kid, you know,we wanna serve babies, toddlers,
and then also like elementaryaged kids and say like, just
(05:49):
bring your kids.
and We'll do all the fun thingsthat you see people doing all
the time in the community thatare family friendly.
The only differences that, Ialways like to tell people we
don't teach Spanish.
We teach in Spanish.
And so
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (06:07):
Yeah.
I love it.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07 (06:10):
Because we get a lot of American
families that it's wonderfulthey're, they love the idea of
their kids speaking Spanish, butsometimes they're mistaken where
they sit, they think, I'm justgonna drop my kid off.
And they're gonna learn Spanishthe same way that they would
drop their kid off at pianolessons, or the same way that
they would drop their kid off atkarate.
Be like, I'm just gonna drop youoff.
(06:31):
You do your thing.
I'll come back and get you.
That's not what we're doing.
Like we're not doing flashcards,we're not doing vocabulary,
we're not doing Spanish bingo.
We are simply speaking to kidsin Spanish and doing things that
kids enjoy.
And so that's why you eitherhave to be very comfortable with
your kid being.
Fully immersed in a languagethey've never heard before, or
(06:51):
we're really catering to peoplelike us.
It's like we're speaking Spanishin the home.
They're hearing Spanish fromAbuelita and from Titi and from
Tio, or from, you know, whoeverit is in their family.
This isn't a new language tothem.
It isn't a shock to them.
But we are reinforcing it in sothat they realize this is
relevant outside of your homeand outside of your family.
(07:12):
There are other families justlike you.
There are other biculturalfamilies, other bilingual
families.
'Cause that's what I hear is thestruggle for a lot of families
is, and what was for my son atthe beginning where he is like,
ma, please speak in English.
Because he just thought, this isjust the language Mommy speaks
and this is just the languageabuela speaks.
The second he saw that a wholenother crowd of people also
(07:36):
spoke, that it became relevantto him and we never had that
fight again.
interesting that, of familiesthink that raising
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (07:43):
that raising a bilingual kid is like
Abuelita's job to do it,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (07:47):
that is it,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (07:48):
is
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (07:48):
know,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (07:49):
You know?
Oh, just put some
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (07:51):
you know.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (07:51):
you know, whenever they're in
Abuelita's house, they'll befine.
No,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (07:56):
not
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (07:56):
when you really think about it,
raising a bilingual kid takes acommunity, a whole ass village.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (08:03):
whole ass village.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (08:04):
Yes.
A whole ass village.
It also is the environment,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (08:09):
like
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (08:09):
Like.
You know, when you look at your
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (08:12):
library, you have
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:13):
if you
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (08:13):
collect.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:14):
of books at home, look at the books
that you have.
Are they in Spanish?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (08:19):
they,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:19):
Are they in English
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (08:21):
are they a little bit of
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:22):
bit of both, depending on your
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (08:23):
Right, so.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:24):
So it is a lot of work that parents
do in raising a bilingual child.
If that is your intention, ifthat is your goal, it can be
possible,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (08:35):
Just
jessica_1_06-08-2025_ (08:36):
shouldn't just be like a number of
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (08:39):
right, like,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (08:39):
Like, like Aita,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (08:40):
you know,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:41):
you know,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (08:42):
it's
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:42):
is a whole, like how
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (08:43):
a collective
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:44):
It is a whole community of
individuals so that the.
Child feels like, oh my gosh,this
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (08:50):
Which matters.
Right?
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (08:51):
Right?
This is important to my family.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (08:53):
is more than just
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (08:55):
than just like this little
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (08:57):
that I have
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (08:57):
that I have with me abuela,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (08:59):
and
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:59):
and I don't
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (09:00):
I.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (09:00):
your thoughts are, but I think that,
that is the premise of raising abilingual child, in my opinion.
I don't know what your thoughts
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (09:07):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's the
difference.
What I tell people is that forlike, let's say American
families speaking, the languageis the end goal.
They can put it on their little,uh, I don't know, in their
college applications.
You can brag about it at brunchthat, you know, Connor is
bilingual.
Great.
But for Latino families, it'sthe beginning.
It isn't the end goal.
The language is that gateway torelationships with families, to
(09:29):
being able to visit yourheritage countries and have them
be able to fully participatewith their cousins.
And not only that, I mean, so myhusband is gringo.
Sometimes I'm listening to asong in Spanish, or sometimes
there is like a documentary thatI'm watching that is from Latin
America, if I'm honest with you,because I'm like.
(09:51):
Your world is half as big asmine.
Maybe mine's even bigger'causethere's 26 Spanish speaking
countries.
Right.
But I'm like, there's so much Ilove my husband and he's so
supportive, but I'm like, youdon't, you don't have the
breadth of, of like culturalunderstanding and you also don't
have access to all of thesethings that I have access to.
(10:12):
Right.
Like sometimes I'm jamming to abad bunny song and it just makes
me chuckle and I'm like, youdon't get that.
You don't get that.
You're never gonna get that.
You have no idea what he'ssaying, and so I feel bad for
him.
And so I agree with you thatit's like this is about a, this
is about a community, and thisis more than just a skill that a
child has.
Yes, it's a wonderful skillset,but it's a doorway into so much
(10:33):
more that they get to enjoy andexplore as adults.
And the other thing too is thatlanguage is not something that's
in isolation.
Language is communication.
Language is a community event.
Okay?
It's not a, it's not anindividual sport, it's a team
sport.
So the, the goal should never belike they speak it, and that's
it.
Check the box.
It's they speak it.
And now what do we get to do?
(10:53):
Because they have access to thislanguage.
You know,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (10:57):
yes, yes.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (10:58):
that association, it's that identity.
Yes.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (11:02):
You know, of,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (11:03):
a Spanish speaker,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0 (11:05):
speaker, and within that it's like your
ura it's like the
beatriz_1_06-08-202 (11:08):
traditions, you know.
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-08-2025 (11:10):
everything else that is within that, uh,
hierarchy, I guess, of likebeing bilingual and, or, you
know, Spanish speaking in thiscase.
And,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (11:20):
I love that.
I
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (11:21):
that.
I love it that it, it all islike connected to not just the
language, but also other aspectsof like
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (11:28):
love her,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (11:28):
are as individuals.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (11:30):
sure you probably have experienced
this, I hear this often, butdon't you feel like a different
person when you're speaking inSpanish?
You know, like your sense ofhumor is different.
Your, even for me, the tone ofmy voice is different in the
different languages and likethere, it, it's just, it's just
different.
I recognize it's like I'm, I'mmultifaceted there and now as an
(11:53):
adult or even as a teenager, itwas all very compartmentalized.
I think that's why it felt verymuch like.
I'm two different people now, asan adult, I'm trying to say like
I'm not two different people.
I'm the same people, but I havedifferent dimensions and I'm
trying to intertwine them asmuch as possible and
interconnect them more than theywere before and share more of my
(12:14):
culture, especially when I'm in,in mixed.
In a mixed space.
But yeah, like, and I want thatfor my kids.
I want them to be like, oh,here, okay, I'm American here,
but when I'm, when I'm in PuertoRico, like this is, this is also
who I get to be.
I get to be more than oneperson, if that makes sense.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (12:33):
Yes.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (12:34):
to raising
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (12:34):
raising bilingual children,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_ (12:36):
surprised you the
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (12:37):
you the
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (12:38):
about
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (12:39):
raising bilingual kids over the past, I
dunno, five, six years sinceyour first was born?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (12:46):
Yeah, the, that's a great question.
I think nothing really surprisedme about the kids.
I think I already knew havingtaught middle school Spanish,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (12:55):
Yeah.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (12:56):
just.
I don't know, living that.
I'm like, kids are awesome.
Kids are curious.
Kids are so adaptable.
So none of that was whatsurprised me.
The biggest surprise for me camefor how my opinions have been
shifting I was so rigid.
When my son was born, at first,I told my husband like, I don't
want you to speak any Spanishbecause if you're not speaking
(13:18):
it correctly.
I don't want him to be exposedto like broken Spanish.
My opinion has changed on that.
When my husband started topractice his Spanish, his number
one, his Spanish has improved,and number two, it is now a
family thing.
You know, like my son is used tomy, to my husband's speaking in
Spanish and sometimes hecorrects them, but he corrects
(13:38):
him gently and with love and Ithink it's just a really
beautiful, full thing to, for myson to see my husband trying and
for my son to see my husband.
Honoring our culture.
the other thing that hassurprised me too is my
perspectives on the correct wayto raise bilingual kids.
You know, this is probablyinternalized white, white
(14:00):
supremacy in this sense.
But like I've grown up aperfectionist and I had to let
that go.
And I also had to stop judgingother Latinas or Latinos who
were trying to raise bilingualkids with whether or not they
did enough Spanish immersion orwhether or not, or not they were
bilingual enough or fluentenough.
I realize now that that wasunfair.
(14:21):
Because everybody is coming to,everyone is coming home to their
culture.
In our generation, at leastthat's what I'm noticing, right?
Like we all had theseexperiences.
I think, at least for me, let mespeak only for myself of growing
up in the United States, gettinghere when I was 11 years old.
My goal was the goal of mostyoung people, which is like, I
just wanna fit in.
(14:42):
I just wanna do what theAmericans are doing.
I just wanna listen to whatevermusic you're listening to and
dress the way that you'redressing.
And then as you age, andparticularly once you have kids,
you have this like coming backhome to yourself.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (14:55):
Mm-hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (14:55):
so as I've started to raise
bilingual kids, as I've startedto connect with other Latinas, I
have gotten a lot morecompassionate and a lot more,
just empathy for the ones whomaybe not are as fluent as me,
or the ones who maybe grew up ina household whose parents
weren't for whatever reason.
And there are all kinds ofreasons why they may or may not
(15:17):
have.
And so I guess surprised by likehow much more supportive I have
been and saying.
You know what come as you are,come at whatever level of
fluency that you're at, becausewe're all in this together and
we all have the same goal, whichis preserving our identities and
raising a generation of kids whoare proud of who they are and
(15:37):
proud of their Spanish, even ifit isn't perfect, you know?
it.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (15:41):
love
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (15:41):
love it,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (15:42):
love
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (15:42):
and I think it
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (15:43):
I
beatriz_1_06-08-2025 (15:43):
ultimately gives you this sense of
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (15:46):
of,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (15:47):
giving yourself grace.
Yes.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (15:49):
right?
Because
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (15:50):
Lot of work
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (15:51):
lot of work.
It is so much work, andsometimes you may feel isolated
depending on
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (15:56):
where you live
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (15:57):
you live, where you are raising your
kids, and.
I know that we all have theintentions and the goals for our
children to have
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (16:06):
at a layer of
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (16:07):
of this sense of,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (16:09):
right?
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (16:10):
Right.
Whether, if it's culturallylinguistically, I,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (16:14):
think we,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (16:14):
think we have that leverage in
implementing this added, youknow, notion of like raising
bilingual kids.
But it is a lot of work
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07 (16:24):
whether we're successful
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (16:26):
or not, whatever success looks
like.
Uh, because I believe that eventhough we have the intentions of
raising bilingual kids, they mayor may not wanna continue on
with the language.
And it's okay.
We did our best, we did all whatwe could.
There isn't like a right orwrong way.
It's just the same thing asparenting,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (16:46):
Yes.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (16:46):
in general
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (16:47):
And,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (16:48):
and.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (16:49):
and I think that it
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (16:50):
that it is okay if you know your plan
isn't it is okay if your kidsare pushing back and they're
like, no, I'm not
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (16:59):
Spanish.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0 (17:00):
anymore.
But I think the, the premise ofthis, conversation is
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (17:04):
we,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (17:04):
can we support our
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (17:06):
how can,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (17:06):
can we also like, give ourselves
that grace,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_ (17:09):
whatever, happens.
I think
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (17:12):
I
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (17:12):
that
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (17:13):
that we can at least
beatriz_1_06-08-2025 (17:15):
celebrate.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (17:17):
the little things.
oftentimes we forget about that.
We forget to celebrate thelittle milestones
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (17:23):
I think is important because it is
a lot of work, right?
I, you know how a lot of timesnow that people are talking
about the emotional labor, laborof mothers, that a dad is just
hanging out, enjoying his day,and we're going through all of
the different things that weneed to be doing.
I think that when you're animmigrant mother, whether you're
Latina or whether you belong toanother immigrant community.
(17:44):
What is so deeply unfair aboutthis is that other moms,
American moms are not doingthat, that work.
They are not losing sleep overwhether or not their kid is
speaking their heritagelanguage.
They are not doing tons ofresearch, right?
When it comes time for, I don'tknow, I'm not American, but my
assumption is that when it comestime for an American woman to
(18:05):
say, I gotta put my kid indaycare because I wanna work, I
wanna work on my career.
So what am I looking for?
I'm looking for something close.
I'm looking for something withinmy budget and I'm looking for, I
don't know, let's say a learningmodel, whether it's Montessori
or Reggie or whatever it is,when they put that search into
Google, they have so manyoptions at their disposal for
(18:28):
us.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (18:29):
Mm-hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (18:29):
number one priority is raising
bilingual kids.
We have to move mountains.
We put our search in Google andwe have one to two options,
maybe three.
Then we have to ask ourselves,is it 50 50?
Is it just Spanish exposure?
Are they just teaching'em anaccount one to 10, or is it
immersion?
And then we have to go, how faris it away?
For me?
(18:50):
The whole reason that I like, Iexploded my life.
I quit my full-time job.
Because the only one I couldfind was 20 minutes away, and it
was$2,100 a month from 9:00 AMto 3:00 PM so it wasn't even a
full day.
Right?
And so already they're like, I'mstressed.
That was years ago.
And I'm still stressed becauseI'm like, well, another working
(19:10):
mother is just like, oh, thisdaycare's perfect.
I'm gonna put'em in five minutesaway from home.
I'm asking myself, okay, theyopen at nine, but I start work
at eight.
Is it possible that I can movemeetings around?
Is it possible that I can.
Start working at five.
Clean up my inbox.
Like do certain things, take abreak.
Take my son to school becauseit's the only Spanish immersion
(19:30):
in town.
Is it, is it then like then if Ihave to pick'em up by two?
It was actually a nine to twoprogram.
I'm full.
I'm a full-time worker.
Okay.
So then you are doing all thismental gymnastics on top of
saying like, so it's, it'sconsuming time, it's consuming
energy, and it's consuming ourbudget because we don't, we
don't get that many options.
So it's like you pay for it oryou don't pay for it.
(19:52):
You make it work or you don'tmake it work.
And so I just, I have so much.
Compassion for Latinas becauseit's like we have more work than
the average mother, particularlyif we have a job.
And so then our options are likewe make these huge commitments
to be able to take'em to thatschool, or we do these gigantic
(20:14):
life changes, like I quit myjob.
That was a very cozy job when itcame to income and had to
totally change.
Careers to early childhoodeducation because I couldn't
find what I wanted.
So, so I made it happen.
Or for you that you're justlike, this just isn't enough.
This isn't, so I'm going to packup my life and move to another
country.
(20:34):
And while it's wonderful andthere are people like me and you
who are just like, let's do itall in, we can't expect that's
not accessible to everybody.
We can't expect every Latina inthe United States to take those
kinds of risks.
And so the question I ask myselfis.
How do we make it easier?
How do we make it moreeffortless?
How wouldn't it be amazing if welived in a world where a Latina
(20:57):
said, I wanna raise my kid,bilingual.
And she threw that into Googleand she had five schools nearby
that she had to choose from, andthat's just not the world that
we live in.
Which brings me all the way backto what you're saying.
It's like.
We have to then create thisvillage.
We have to create thiscommunity.
We can't all be martyringourselves and feeling like the
burden and the responsibility issolely on our shoulders because
(21:19):
the world is not set up tosupport us.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (21:22):
I think the
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (21:22):
ultimate to not feel
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (21:23):
not
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_ (21:24):
isolated.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_ (21:24):
isolated, to not feel like you're doing
this alone and.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (21:28):
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (21:29):
Uh, yeah, I
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (21:30):
I totally agree with you.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (21:30):
with you.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (21:31):
And you did talk about how
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (21:33):
how, you know, releasing
perfectionism aroundbilingualism and stopping
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07 (21:38):
parents
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (21:39):
other
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (21:39):
like yes.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (21:41):
helped you, I guess, change your
perspective.
Can
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (21:44):
You know, tell us a little bit more
about that.
Like
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (21:45):
tell us a little bit more
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (21:46):
what really
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (21:47):
really changed for you?
beatriz_1_06-08-2 (21:50):
conversations with other moms, conversations
with other moms and just.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (21:55):
Yeah.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (21:55):
I grew up in a house where my, I
mean, my mom would judgeeveryone and be like, like, it
was always shame, shame, shame,shame, shame.
Right?
And so I did, I grew up, Iinternalized that.
I'm like riaa, like, uh,shunning her culture, RIAA, like
her name, you know, her name isGuadalupe, and her son is like,
Spencer, what is she doing?
You know, like, I'm like, andbut it's not okay, right?
(22:19):
Like it's not okay.
It's funny and it's not okay atthe same time because.
When I actually, it's, it's thesame thing as like trolls on the
internet.
It's very easy to judge fromafar when you're looking
somebody in the eye and they'resaying, I'm embarrassed about my
Spanish, or like, I'membarrassed that I look this
Latina.
And I don't speak a word of it.
I'm struggling because I'mworking full time and I could
(22:42):
speak in Spanish now.
English is my stronger language.
And so I told myself.
Or you see them fail, right?
You see them say, I'm committingto speak to my kids in Spanish
every day after school for anhour.
And then they get 15 minutes inand they're like, I've failed.
And it's just, I just hateseeing everyone think that
they're failing when it's like,no, you are not.
(23:03):
15 minutes is enough, right?
Like today, it's 15 minutes.
Tomorrow it might be an hournext month you might go to
Mexico for, for a week, right?
Like.
It's, it's a, it's a cycle andit's a flow.
And some days you nail it andsome days you don't.
And so it's not, and I see thiswith everything.
I see this, I'd like to compareit to going to the gym.
(23:23):
I think the same should be trueabout the Spanish language.
Like some of us are.
Some of us are training for atriathlon.
Okay, you're moving.
You're moving to anothercountry.
You are like you are doing anIron Man.
Okay?
And then there are some of usthat are like, you know what,
I'm okay if I just like find theright school and my kid is going
to that Spanish immersion school30 minutes away.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (23:44):
Mm-hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (23:44):
every now and then, or May and maybe
at home, my commitment isduring, during dinner we speak
in Espanol, or my commitment isthat on Sundays we go to Aita.
And you know what, you're notrunning a an Ironman.
You're just going to the gym andyou're getting on that
StairMaster and you're workingup a good sweat.
And that should be enough foryou too.
You know?
But I just, I'm tired of peoplethinking that whatever they're
doing is not enough.
The only thing that is notenough is nothing at all.
(24:07):
Mm, Right?
But I mean, anything else islike, if you insist that when
they want you to read a book formy son when he's like, will you
read a book to me before?
But I'm like, so
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (24:18):
Mm-hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (24:20):
and so, there are just little things
that you can do, and over timethat amounts to so much more
than doing nothing at allbecause you've frozen and you're
in like this, uh, decisionfatigue where you don't know if
it's enough.
that you mentioned this becauseyes, we put
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (24:35):
yes, we
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (24:35):
pressure on ourselves and I think it's
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (24:38):
it's
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (24:39):
maybe we wanna,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (24:40):
wanna, I.
our culture, reclaim ourlanguage, or maybe because we
were raised in a household wherewe had to fully assimilate that
now we wanna get into
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (24:53):
of,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (24:53):
sort of phase.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (24:54):
know, like we wanna be.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (24:55):
like, we wanna be intentional and
raising bilingual children orbecause we are gonna feel
judged,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (25:00):
Exactly.
And so it's just like this kind
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (25:06):
like this kinda.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (25:08):
one way or the other type of
experience.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (25:09):
of experience that we feel like, oh
my gosh, I, I still feel,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (25:13):
Yes,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (25:14):
and that's what makes it so
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (25:16):
yes,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (25:16):
it's having the sense of belonging as
Latinas and now as moms.
And I feel like there is thisadded pressure that we get once
we become parents.
It's like, oh my gosh.
Well what is our plan?
And I find this interesting andI don't know if this is common
and especially'cause you workwith families now facility.
A lot of people when they startplanning to have children or
(25:40):
when they find out that they'repregnant, I wonder, and I wonder
if there should be a study justbecause I come from academia,
right?
Like, do
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (25:49):
Or families talk
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0 (25:50):
families talk about their bilingual
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (25:53):
Yeah.
You know,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (25:54):
You know,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (25:55):
is this an added convers
jessica_1_06-08-20 (25:57):
conversation that Latina FA
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (25:59):
families have
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (26:00):
have that perhaps monolingual
families don't have?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (26:04):
Yes.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (26:05):
I just wonder,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (26:06):
Bueno, Jessica, go ahead.
Apply for that PhD program.
Do the dissertation.
Uh, I'm not gonna, but, uh.
Yeah, you know, I think that, Ithink that's a great question,
and my assumption is that I trynot to be binary, right?
Of like, you're either doingbilingual or you're not.
Or you either have a languageplan or you don't, however.
(26:27):
I, I imagine that it's like thedeath conversation.
You know how they talk aboutlike, not enough people talk
about dying, not enough.
People talk about like, this iswhat I want you to do But it's a
conversation that should be had.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (26:37):
And I think
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (26:38):
It's there.
There's never like a
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (26:40):
never
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (26:40):
time.
I think you just have to
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (26:42):
have
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (26:43):
start if you wanna
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (26:44):
if
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (26:44):
Exactly.
And then move forward.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (26:45):
then move
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (26:46):
Yeah.
And you know, and then this
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (26:48):
in this essence of like.
beatriz_1_06-08-20 (26:50):
environment,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (26:52):
and community and having a village,
right?
Like I think you are creatingthis for many families in your
area, which I think it's amazing
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (27:00):
and I'm honestly just like.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (27:02):
just like surprised that you are, are
you like considered the onlybilingual daycare in your
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (27:10):
I'm the only infant center.
Yes, I am the only Spanishimmersion center in North County
San Diego that takes childrenunder the age of 18 months.
So the one I sent my kid to is20 minutes down the road.
They only take 18 months andabove.
So, which is wild to me becauseeven though they're not speaking
from zero to 18 months, zero tothree years is the crucial
(27:33):
window.
Like it is the best time.
So yeah, I'm the only one, atleast in my city for sure, and
in like the Tri-City area.
So I'm in Vista, California, andthen we've got Oceanside, San
Marcos and Carlsbad.
So there's like four that areall bundled.
And from what I can see, I'm theonly one who takes babies and
does 100 present Spanishthroughout the day.
(27:53):
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (27:55):
Wow,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (27:56):
It's
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (27:57):
And, and the, it's, it's
beatriz_1_06-08-202 (27:59):
California.
Yeah.
Like especially still inCalifornia.
Like it's good for business, butI don't take pride in that.
I'm like this, I should not bethe exception.
This is insane.
There should be other peopledoing this.
What are we doing here?
You all right?
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (28:13):
Right.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (28:14):
And I think it just,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (28:14):
I think it just,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (28:16):
telling, it's.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (28:16):
it's telling right, that maybe for
our, the systems that are built,you know, bilingualism isn't a
priority
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (28:24):
in fact, like everywhere else
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (28:26):
else outside of the United States,
like being a multilingualperson,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (28:32):
matters, it's an expectation.
It's,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (28:35):
It is, it
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (28:36):
yeah, and
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (28:37):
And wow.
And so let's talk about ChalaCollective, which I love.
So can you tell our listeners alittle bit more about it?
You, we kind of, you added alittle bit of an introduction,
but just so that our listenershave a better idea, can you tell
us what it is?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (28:56):
If I had to sum up Chala
Collective, it would be that weare a community of Padre Latinos
who are committed to preservingour Spanish language and our
heritage cultures, both at homeand enc.
Like that would be it in anutshell.
And for those who are local, itmeans that.
(29:18):
They can participate in all thegreat events that I have to
offer.
Right.
And if they're not, I think itcould be a, you know, you can
admire from afar, you can seewhat we're doing.
And quite frankly, you canreplicate it in your town.
You know, like my grandmotherhas this, well she had, she
passed away, but we still visitour house and my mom owns that
(29:40):
house actually.
And so when we go, there's thislittle key chain that I love to
see that says.
And that's what I tell Latinosas well is like, yeah, we can,
we can spend all day admiringthe problem and pointing out
what's missing.
If you notice that something ismissing, bring it.
(30:00):
Like bring it to your community.
Find ways to create it whereyou're at.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (30:03):
Yeah.
And
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (30:05):
how like
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (30:06):
like
beatriz_1_06-08-20 (30:07):
relationship
jessica_1_06-08-20 (30:07):
relationship with Spanish change, you know,
your,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07 (30:11):
changed everything
jessica_1_06-08-2025 (30:13):
everything for your
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (30:14):
and
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (30:14):
And so,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (30:16):
so what does that tell you about
the
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (30:18):
you about the power of community in
language
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (30:21):
power?
I think what it, what it sharesfor me is that like I.
Modeling is everything.
Exposure is everything.
And as much as possible, makesure that your children see.
See what you want to be trueoutside of the home.
(30:44):
You know, we, our kids love us,but it probably isn't just for
language learning.
It's anything we ask them to do,they're going to, right.
Like it's like, please drinkmore water.
Please eat more vegetables.
But like you go to a birthdayparty and there's a kid eating
broccoli and all of a sudden yousee your kid pick up broccoli,
be like, what is it?
Tomorrow I'm gonna eat broccoli.
So I think that that is theadvice that I would give of
(31:04):
like, this is a social.
Event.
This is a community based event.
This does require youth goingout and seeking people who are
living the lifestyle that youwanna live in terms of
bilingualism andmulticulturalism and like lean
on that and take advantage ofthat because in that sense it is
a little monkey c monkey.
Do you know, like you kids wantto fit in?
(31:28):
So put them in places where,where they want to fit in is by
embracing their culture and byembracing their latinidad and
that identity.
would you
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (31:36):
what would you say, to a mom that's
listening
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (31:40):
what
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (31:41):
like what
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_ (31:42):
practical
jessica_1_06-08-2025_ (31:43):
practical tips would you offer to her?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (31:46):
feels.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (31:46):
she feels like she is struggling
with either exposing andimmersing their kids into the
language
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (31:54):
Know
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (31:55):
know where to start, just like how
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (31:57):
bring
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (31:58):
her break out of that perfectionism?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (32:01):
would say apply for a PhD program and
do this study that we talkedabout.
No, I'm kidding.
I, gosh.
I mean, I would say listen tothis podcast.
Listen to the guests, fig, findthem on Instagram.
Buy that like in-home homeschoolcurriculum.
Uh, I just.
You've just gotta make a planthe same way that if you were to
(32:21):
run a half marathon, can youtell I'm a long distance runner
and I like the gym.
All my analogies are about that.
But you know, like, you're notgonna, you're not gonna say, I'm
running a marathon and do ittomorrow.
You gotta get your trainingplan.
You are gonna go read your book,you're gonna like change your
diet.
You're gonna start by walking 30minutes and like treat it the
same way, like set an end goal.
That's realistic.
Break it out into chunks.
(32:43):
Just do it.
You know, like,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (32:45):
Yeah.
Yeah.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (32:46):
is that too vague?
I mean, I also think thateveryone is so different and so
like, what's gonna be possiblefor you?
It may not be possible foranother person, right?
Like, I can't just tell people,get a passport, get on a plane,
and spend a thousand dollarsonce a year, or$5,000.
I can't tell people to do that.
Like, you gotta, you gotta dowhat works for you.
(33:06):
What's within your control andwhat's within your budget, to be
honest.
But I think there's plenty offree things that can be done if
you're scrappy, but you know, itrequires energy.
It requires energy, and itrequires time.
That, unfortunately is ourburden living in the United
States of America.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (33:24):
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_ (33:25):
FaceTime,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (33:26):
in today's times.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025 (33:26):
especially in today's times.
Yeah, but this is telling, thereis a code
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (33:31):
is a
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (33:31):
of
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (33:32):
of
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (33:33):
mamas and parents in general.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (33:34):
in general, right, about, their
intention of raising bilingualchildren.
And I think it starts out bylike.
Just like reflecting andunderstanding, like, okay, what
is your goal?
What have you and your partnerif you are in a partner in a
relationship agreed with.
And it,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (33:50):
late.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (33:50):
never too late too, like
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (33:52):
It's never too late.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (33:52):
that I often interview
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (33:54):
too late to
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (33:55):
too late to raise a
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (33:56):
No,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (33:56):
child
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (33:57):
I actually just met a couple that
came to tour my daycare a coupledays ago.
Mom is Mexicana Papa.
And he grew up with an Americanstepfather and just never
learned the language.
He, he moved to Ecuador when hewas 17.
He also like knew, he is like,I'm all in.
Let's do it.
Like I'm gonna, and just, hetook like a little three years
(34:18):
sabbatical and he learned, hesaid, I learned at 17, and his
Spanish is beautiful.
And so it is.
It's never too late.
It is just simply about like,how bad do you want it and what
is your timeline?
That that's it.
Like there are some of you thatit's like, I'm gonna do it.
I'm gonna go all in.
I'm gonna move to Latin Americafor three years.
And that's a great way of doingit.
Short in a short timeframe.
(34:40):
You want it quick, do it thatway.
Right?
And then there are also peoplethat's like, or you can like
build on it.
Start it.
Start your kid at 15, make surethat he does a study abroad
program or a foreign exchangestudent program in high school.
Make sure that he does studyabroad when he's in.
In college, if that's what hewants, because I also don't
wanna just push college.
That's also anotherconversation.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (35:00):
Mm-hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (35:01):
but just make a plan.
Make a plan.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (35:04):
Yeah.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (35:05):
on your timeline.
There are things that can bedone really quick, and there are
things that can be done that isgonna amount to the same
results.
Just make the plan and, andstick with it.
And then, and also forgiveyourself when you don't, and
then start the plan over.
Or tweak the plan or recognizethat was too ambitious.
Let me not, and just, just keepgoing.
Whatever you do, just keepgoing.
(35:25):
and thank you for sharing that.
I think this can,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (35:27):
think this
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (35:28):
this will inspire our listeners who
just
jessica_1_06-08-2025_ (35:30):
listeners to just
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (35:32):
too much pressure on themselves
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (35:34):
on themselves.
You know, to give themselves
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (35:37):
and
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (35:38):
you know, to always
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07 (35:40):
things.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (35:41):
modify things if needed, and that is
okay to give themselves thatpermission to do
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (35:44):
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (35:45):
you for sharing that.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (35:46):
Like, don't even start with your kids.
How about don't worry about yourkids.
Worry about yourself.
What are you doing to enrichyour identity every day?
Like for me, when I'm brushingmy teeth and tweezing my
eyebrows, it's bad bunny and itmakes me feel alive, girl.
It makes me feel alive.
And so, you know, I thinksometimes modeling is the best.
My son sees how much I love myculture.
My son sees me speak in Spanish.
(36:08):
My son sees me reaching out andtrying to find other Latinas in
the community that I can befriends with.
My son sees me opening up thewindows on Saturday morning and
putting Latin music on andsweeping and mopping and, you
know, and so I know that I'mnot, when I do those things, I'm
not intentionally doing anythingwith him.
I'm not asking him to like, whatdo you want?
(36:29):
You want water?
No, you don't want, you want.
No, I don't have to.
I don't have to make it abattle.
I can tell him like, look howI'm living fully into my
identity.
Look at what a proud Latina Iam, listen to how good this
music is, like taste how goodthese alas are.
And I know that like he's goingto love himself because he sees
that I love myself.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (36:49):
Uh, I love it.
You talked a lot about this, butI did not prepare you for
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (36:55):
You.
Oh, no.
Are you gonna make me cry?
Because I look real hard on theoutside, but I'm a softie.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (37:02):
Well, who knows?
We'll see.
I've definitely made a
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (37:04):
No.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (37:06):
But
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (37:06):
How are you?
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (37:07):
are you redefining Madre Hood?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (37:11):
I love this question because I
don't like mother culture that Isee on the worldwide web.
Not that I don't like it, itdoesn't fit for me.
It's not a good fit.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (37:20):
Hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (37:21):
And I just, I just hosted a baby
shower yesterday, so I feel likeI, I've, I, we had a prompt like
this yesterday as well, but if Iwere to redefine Madre hood, I
would say that I model, I modelwhat I wanna see in my children.
(37:41):
Specifically as it relates toidentity?
It is, I almost, uh, this islike, is this a bad analogy?
I almost feel like I'm a build abear where like I take what I
want from all of the cultures.
I, I want them to, I want tomodel for them that you can be
multiple things at once.
(38:03):
That you can integrate so muchof your identity that there
doesn't have to be any shame inbeing Latina.
And there also doesn't have tobe any shame in being a little
gr is what I call myself.
I'm a little gr okay.
There are some things that Ilike, I, I do, that I picked up
from American culture that I,quite frankly I like and I'm
(38:23):
keeping.
And so, I think it is, if I hadto like sum it up, it'd be like,
I do me.
I do.
Me
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (38:31):
Mm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (38:31):
and I, I, I opt in to the things
that I want to opt into and Iopt out of what isn't serving
me.
And I remain open and fluid andopen to changing my mind.
All in service of raising kidsthat are bicultural and and are
curious about the world and arealso open to growing as people.
(38:56):
And, and evolving in theiridentity as they get more
experiences and moreinformation.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (39:03):
Hmm.
Thank you so much, Riz,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (39:06):
for
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (39:06):
for
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (39:07):
being on the show.
I love this conversation.
jessica_1_06-08-2 (39:09):
conversation.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (39:10):
I really appreciate sharing
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (39:11):
you sharing.
like your story, your expertise,and the
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (39:17):
as well.
jessica_1_06-08-2025 (39:17):
collective as well.
I wish you nothing but
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (39:20):
Thank you.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (39:21):
in this business model because it
is so
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (39:24):
So I know this matters to a lot of
people.
I'm stumbling, but I'm learningwhere can people follow you?
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (39:31):
people follow you?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (39:32):
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (39:33):
with you
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (39:33):
I would say you can follow me on
Instagram.
That's probably where I'm themost active.
I'm so reluctant to get onTikTok and all those other
things, but I'm sure at somepoint I'm gonna have to.
But it's, everything is at ChalaCollective Facebook and
Instagram.
Or you can just email me atbeatriz@chalacollective.com.
And I'll, I'll answer.
I'm a real person and I lovetalking about this.
(39:56):
I could talk about this all daylong, so just reach out.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (39:59):
Oh yes.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (40:00):
Well, thank you so much for being
here.
I really appreciate it.
And I, like I said,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (40:06):
like I said, I wish you nothing but
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (40:07):
and
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (40:08):
and luck.
You know, I think that this is agreat opportunity for, you know,
people to support you and follow
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (40:15):
your journey, not just like.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (40:16):
not just like as a business owner,
but also in your.
Uh, parenting right?
And your experience in parentingand raising bilingual children.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (40:25):
you so much for being here.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (40:26):
much for being here.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (40:28):
has filled my cup up.
and Thanks for spending timewith me.
This, this, this really made myday.
Thank.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (40:33):
great.
Thank you.
You see them say, I'm committing to
(00:01):
speak to my kids in Spanishevery day after school for an
hour.
And then they get 15 minutes inand they're like, I've failed.
And it's just, I just hateseeing everyone think that
they're failing when it's like,no, you are not.
15 minutes is enough, right?
Like today, it's 15 minutes.
Tomorrow it might be an hournext month you might go to
Mexico for, for a week, right?
(00:22):
Some days you nail it and somedays you don't.
I'd like to compare it to goingto the gym.
I think the same should be trueabout the Spanish language.
Like some of us are.
Some of us are training for atriathlon.
Okay, you're moving.
You're moving to anothercountry.
You are like you are doing anIron Man.
Okay?
And then there are some of usthat are like, you know what,
I'm okay if I just like find theright school and my kid is going
(00:44):
to that Spanish immersion school30 minutes away.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (00:47):
Mm-hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (00:47):
every now and then, or May and maybe
at home, my commitment isduring, during dinner we speak
in Espanol, or my commitment isthat on Sundays we go to Aita.
And you know what, you're notrunning a an Ironman.
You're just going to the gym andyou're getting on that
StairMaster and you're workingup a good sweat.
And that should be enough foryou too.
You know?
But I just, I'm tired of peoplethinking that whatever they're
doing is not enough.
The only thing that is notenough is nothing at all.
(01:10):
There are just little thingsthat you can do, and over time
that amounts to so much morethan doing nothing at all
because you've frozen and you'rein like this, uh, decision
fatigue where you don't know ifit's enough.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (02:27):
Alala.
Welcome to the Viva la MamiPodcast.
I am so excited to have BeatrizCruz.
I.
Appreciate the world ofbilingualism.
And
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (02:37):
know.
Jessica (02:37):
know, uh, we are raising for the most part
Spanish dominant kids.
And I'm always curious aboutwhat other parents do and how
they navigate raising bilingualchildren.
And so for today, we haveBeatriz, and I'm very excited
just because out of raisingbilingual kids, she decided to
create her own daycare.
(02:58):
And so Beatriz, Beatriz, I wouldlove for you to introduce
yourself first, and then we candelve into the conversation.
So
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (03:05):
yes.
Hello.
My name is Beatriz, as you said.
Gosh, I'll do like a littlepersonal intro and then I guess
I'll talk a little bit moreabout the the daycare component.
But, so I'm a military brat.
I grew up kind of.
Living all over the world.
And my parents were both bornand raised in Puerto Rico.
And so growing up, that was theone thing that was our constant,
(03:27):
even though we were movingaround our culture and our
language was always the focusin, in the home.
So me and my sister were verylucky in that way that we had
resos and they were like,doesn't matter where in the
world we're living in.
And that was a gift.
That was a gift that I didn'trecognize until I was an adult.
And so when I had my son in2019, I just assumed that I was
(03:51):
going to be able to do the samething.
And I was a middle schoolSpanish teacher once upon a
time.
And so my Spanish has alwaysbeen solid.
My spouse doesn't speak Spanish,and so therein came the problem
where by the time my son wastwo, I was losing sleep.
About it.
I could not find any Spanishimmersion daycares in Southern
(04:12):
California where I'm living inNorth County, San Diego.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (04:16):
Really?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (04:17):
there are a lot closer to the border,
but I'm a solid hour away fromfrom the border of Mexico and
the United States.
So I, you know, I, I justassumed when I got pregnant that
it would be easy.
It wasn't.
So by the time he was turningthe corner to three, I was
getting the same comments inPuerto Rico from my mom, from my
aunts and my uncle saying, andI'm like, oh no, here we go.
(04:41):
Like, this is, I, I can't be it.
I can't be the one that thatbrings my kid home to Puerto
Rico.
And, and he's not speaking inSpanish.
So I had to do something drasticand I was like.
I'm just gonna quit my job andstart an in-home daycare because
if I can't find what I need I'mjust gonna have to create it.
And so that was in, I think 2022is when I started the process.
(05:05):
Chala Collective is kind of theumbrella it's exciting because
the, the long-term goal wasalways, well, we can provide
Spanish immersion Monday throughFriday for working parents.
But what about the ones that arestay at home moms?
Or what about the ones that, youknow, we're a little too far
away from them during the week,but they want to be able to
immerse their kids in daycare.
So, Chad Luck Collective islike, this is the brand and this
(05:27):
is the building.
So we have our daycare, and thennow we're also moving into
evening and weekend events sothat we can do like Spanish
camps, Spanish labs, SensorySabados, like all kinds of
events where it's like.
Just bring your kid, you know,we wanna serve babies, toddlers,
and then also like elementaryaged kids and say like, just
(05:49):
bring your kids.
and We'll do all the fun thingsthat you see people doing all
the time in the community thatare family friendly.
The only differences that, Ialways like to tell people we
don't teach Spanish.
We teach in Spanish.
And so
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (06:07):
Yeah.
I love it.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07 (06:10):
Because we get a lot of American
families that it's wonderfulthey're, they love the idea of
their kids speaking Spanish, butsometimes they're mistaken where
they sit, they think, I'm justgonna drop my kid off.
And they're gonna learn Spanishthe same way that they would
drop their kid off at pianolessons, or the same way that
they would drop their kid off atkarate.
Be like, I'm just gonna drop youoff.
(06:31):
You do your thing.
I'll come back and get you.
That's not what we're doing.
Like we're not doing flashcards,we're not doing vocabulary,
we're not doing Spanish bingo.
We are simply speaking to kidsin Spanish and doing things that
kids enjoy.
And so that's why you eitherhave to be very comfortable with
your kid being.
Fully immersed in a languagethey've never heard before, or
(06:51):
we're really catering to peoplelike us.
It's like we're speaking Spanishin the home.
They're hearing Spanish fromAbuelita and from Titi and from
Tio, or from, you know, whoeverit is in their family.
This isn't a new language tothem.
It isn't a shock to them.
But we are reinforcing it in sothat they realize this is
relevant outside of your homeand outside of your family.
(07:12):
There are other families justlike you.
There are other biculturalfamilies, other bilingual
families.
'Cause that's what I hear is thestruggle for a lot of families
is, and what was for my son atthe beginning where he is like,
ma, please speak in English.
Because he just thought, this isjust the language Mommy speaks
and this is just the languageabuela speaks.
The second he saw that a wholenother crowd of people also
(07:36):
spoke, that it became relevantto him and we never had that
fight again.
interesting that, of familiesthink that raising
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (07:43):
that raising a bilingual kid is like
Abuelita's job to do it,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (07:47):
that is it,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (07:48):
is
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (07:48):
know,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (07:49):
You know?
Oh, just put some
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (07:51):
you know.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (07:51):
you know, whenever they're in
Abuelita's house, they'll befine.
No,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (07:56):
not
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (07:56):
when you really think about it,
raising a bilingual kid takes acommunity, a whole ass village.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (08:03):
whole ass village.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (08:04):
Yes.
A whole ass village.
It also is the environment,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (08:09):
like
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (08:09):
Like.
You know, when you look at your
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (08:12):
library, you have
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:13):
if you
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (08:13):
collect.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:14):
of books at home, look at the books
that you have.
Are they in Spanish?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (08:19):
they,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:19):
Are they in English
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (08:21):
are they a little bit of
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:22):
bit of both, depending on your
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (08:23):
Right, so.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:24):
So it is a lot of work that parents
do in raising a bilingual child.
If that is your intention, ifthat is your goal, it can be
possible,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (08:35):
Just
jessica_1_06-08-2025_ (08:36):
shouldn't just be like a number of
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (08:39):
right, like,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (08:39):
Like, like Aita,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (08:40):
you know,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:41):
you know,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (08:42):
it's
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:42):
is a whole, like how
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (08:43):
a collective
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:44):
It is a whole community of
individuals so that the.
Child feels like, oh my gosh,this
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (08:50):
Which matters.
Right?
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (08:51):
Right?
This is important to my family.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (08:53):
is more than just
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (08:55):
than just like this little
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (08:57):
that I have
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (08:57):
that I have with me abuela,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (08:59):
and
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (08:59):
and I don't
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (09:00):
I.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (09:00):
your thoughts are, but I think that,
that is the premise of raising abilingual child, in my opinion.
I don't know what your thoughts
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (09:07):
Yeah, I mean, you know, it's the
difference.
What I tell people is that forlike, let's say American
families speaking, the languageis the end goal.
They can put it on their little,uh, I don't know, in their
college applications.
You can brag about it at brunchthat, you know, Connor is
bilingual.
Great.
But for Latino families, it'sthe beginning.
It isn't the end goal.
The language is that gateway torelationships with families, to
(09:29):
being able to visit yourheritage countries and have them
be able to fully participatewith their cousins.
And not only that, I mean, so myhusband is gringo.
Sometimes I'm listening to asong in Spanish, or sometimes
there is like a documentary thatI'm watching that is from Latin
America, if I'm honest with you,because I'm like.
(09:51):
Your world is half as big asmine.
Maybe mine's even bigger'causethere's 26 Spanish speaking
countries.
Right.
But I'm like, there's so much Ilove my husband and he's so
supportive, but I'm like, youdon't, you don't have the
breadth of, of like culturalunderstanding and you also don't
have access to all of thesethings that I have access to.
(10:12):
Right.
Like sometimes I'm jamming to abad bunny song and it just makes
me chuckle and I'm like, youdon't get that.
You don't get that.
You're never gonna get that.
You have no idea what he'ssaying, and so I feel bad for
him.
And so I agree with you thatit's like this is about a, this
is about a community, and thisis more than just a skill that a
child has.
Yes, it's a wonderful skillset,but it's a doorway into so much
(10:33):
more that they get to enjoy andexplore as adults.
And the other thing too is thatlanguage is not something that's
in isolation.
Language is communication.
Language is a community event.
Okay?
It's not a, it's not anindividual sport, it's a team
sport.
So the, the goal should never belike they speak it, and that's
it.
Check the box.
It's they speak it.
And now what do we get to do?
(10:53):
Because they have access to thislanguage.
You know,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (10:57):
yes, yes.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (10:58):
that association, it's that identity.
Yes.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (11:02):
You know, of,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (11:03):
a Spanish speaker,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0 (11:05):
speaker, and within that it's like your
ura it's like the
beatriz_1_06-08-202 (11:08):
traditions, you know.
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-08-2025 (11:10):
everything else that is within that, uh,
hierarchy, I guess, of likebeing bilingual and, or, you
know, Spanish speaking in thiscase.
And,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (11:20):
I love that.
I
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (11:21):
that.
I love it that it, it all islike connected to not just the
language, but also other aspectsof like
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (11:28):
love her,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (11:28):
are as individuals.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (11:30):
sure you probably have experienced
this, I hear this often, butdon't you feel like a different
person when you're speaking inSpanish?
You know, like your sense ofhumor is different.
Your, even for me, the tone ofmy voice is different in the
different languages and likethere, it, it's just, it's just
different.
I recognize it's like I'm, I'mmultifaceted there and now as an
(11:53):
adult or even as a teenager, itwas all very compartmentalized.
I think that's why it felt verymuch like.
I'm two different people now, asan adult, I'm trying to say like
I'm not two different people.
I'm the same people, but I havedifferent dimensions and I'm
trying to intertwine them asmuch as possible and
interconnect them more than theywere before and share more of my
(12:14):
culture, especially when I'm in,in mixed.
In a mixed space.
But yeah, like, and I want thatfor my kids.
I want them to be like, oh,here, okay, I'm American here,
but when I'm, when I'm in PuertoRico, like this is, this is also
who I get to be.
I get to be more than oneperson, if that makes sense.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (12:33):
Yes.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (12:34):
to raising
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (12:34):
raising bilingual children,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_ (12:36):
surprised you the
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (12:37):
you the
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (12:38):
about
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (12:39):
raising bilingual kids over the past, I
dunno, five, six years sinceyour first was born?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (12:46):
Yeah, the, that's a great question.
I think nothing really surprisedme about the kids.
I think I already knew havingtaught middle school Spanish,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (12:55):
Yeah.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (12:56):
just.
I don't know, living that.
I'm like, kids are awesome.
Kids are curious.
Kids are so adaptable.
So none of that was whatsurprised me.
The biggest surprise for me camefor how my opinions have been
shifting I was so rigid.
When my son was born, at first,I told my husband like, I don't
want you to speak any Spanishbecause if you're not speaking
(13:18):
it correctly.
I don't want him to be exposedto like broken Spanish.
My opinion has changed on that.
When my husband started topractice his Spanish, his number
one, his Spanish has improved,and number two, it is now a
family thing.
You know, like my son is used tomy, to my husband's speaking in
Spanish and sometimes hecorrects them, but he corrects
(13:38):
him gently and with love and Ithink it's just a really
beautiful, full thing to, for myson to see my husband trying and
for my son to see my husband.
Honoring our culture.
the other thing that hassurprised me too is my
perspectives on the correct wayto raise bilingual kids.
You know, this is probablyinternalized white, white
(14:00):
supremacy in this sense.
But like I've grown up aperfectionist and I had to let
that go.
And I also had to stop judgingother Latinas or Latinos who
were trying to raise bilingualkids with whether or not they
did enough Spanish immersion orwhether or not, or not they were
bilingual enough or fluentenough.
I realize now that that wasunfair.
(14:21):
Because everybody is coming to,everyone is coming home to their
culture.
In our generation, at leastthat's what I'm noticing, right?
Like we all had theseexperiences.
I think, at least for me, let mespeak only for myself of growing
up in the United States, gettinghere when I was 11 years old.
My goal was the goal of mostyoung people, which is like, I
just wanna fit in.
(14:42):
I just wanna do what theAmericans are doing.
I just wanna listen to whatevermusic you're listening to and
dress the way that you'redressing.
And then as you age, andparticularly once you have kids,
you have this like coming backhome to yourself.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (14:55):
Mm-hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (14:55):
so as I've started to raise
bilingual kids, as I've startedto connect with other Latinas, I
have gotten a lot morecompassionate and a lot more,
just empathy for the ones whomaybe not are as fluent as me,
or the ones who maybe grew up ina household whose parents
weren't for whatever reason.
And there are all kinds ofreasons why they may or may not
(15:17):
have.
And so I guess surprised by likehow much more supportive I have
been and saying.
You know what come as you are,come at whatever level of
fluency that you're at, becausewe're all in this together and
we all have the same goal, whichis preserving our identities and
raising a generation of kids whoare proud of who they are and
(15:37):
proud of their Spanish, even ifit isn't perfect, you know?
it.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (15:41):
love
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (15:41):
love it,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (15:42):
love
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (15:42):
and I think it
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (15:43):
I
beatriz_1_06-08-2025 (15:43):
ultimately gives you this sense of
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (15:46):
of,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (15:47):
giving yourself grace.
Yes.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (15:49):
right?
Because
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (15:50):
Lot of work
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (15:51):
lot of work.
It is so much work, andsometimes you may feel isolated
depending on
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (15:56):
where you live
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (15:57):
you live, where you are raising your
kids, and.
I know that we all have theintentions and the goals for our
children to have
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (16:06):
at a layer of
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (16:07):
of this sense of,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (16:09):
right?
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (16:10):
Right.
Whether, if it's culturallylinguistically, I,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (16:14):
think we,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (16:14):
think we have that leverage in
implementing this added, youknow, notion of like raising
bilingual kids.
But it is a lot of work
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07 (16:24):
whether we're successful
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (16:26):
or not, whatever success looks
like.
Uh, because I believe that eventhough we have the intentions of
raising bilingual kids, they mayor may not wanna continue on
with the language.
And it's okay.
We did our best, we did all whatwe could.
There isn't like a right orwrong way.
It's just the same thing asparenting,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (16:46):
Yes.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (16:46):
in general
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (16:47):
And,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (16:48):
and.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (16:49):
and I think that it
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (16:50):
that it is okay if you know your plan
isn't it is okay if your kidsare pushing back and they're
like, no, I'm not
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (16:59):
Spanish.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0 (17:00):
anymore.
But I think the, the premise ofthis, conversation is
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (17:04):
we,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (17:04):
can we support our
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (17:06):
how can,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (17:06):
can we also like, give ourselves
that grace,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_ (17:09):
whatever, happens.
I think
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (17:12):
I
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (17:12):
that
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (17:13):
that we can at least
beatriz_1_06-08-2025 (17:15):
celebrate.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (17:17):
the little things.
oftentimes we forget about that.
We forget to celebrate thelittle milestones
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (17:23):
I think is important because it is
a lot of work, right?
I, you know how a lot of timesnow that people are talking
about the emotional labor, laborof mothers, that a dad is just
hanging out, enjoying his day,and we're going through all of
the different things that weneed to be doing.
I think that when you're animmigrant mother, whether you're
Latina or whether you belong toanother immigrant community.
(17:44):
What is so deeply unfair aboutthis is that other moms,
American moms are not doingthat, that work.
They are not losing sleep overwhether or not their kid is
speaking their heritagelanguage.
They are not doing tons ofresearch, right?
When it comes time for, I don'tknow, I'm not American, but my
assumption is that when it comestime for an American woman to
(18:05):
say, I gotta put my kid indaycare because I wanna work, I
wanna work on my career.
So what am I looking for?
I'm looking for something close.
I'm looking for something withinmy budget and I'm looking for, I
don't know, let's say a learningmodel, whether it's Montessori
or Reggie or whatever it is,when they put that search into
Google, they have so manyoptions at their disposal for
(18:28):
us.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (18:29):
Mm-hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (18:29):
number one priority is raising
bilingual kids.
We have to move mountains.
We put our search in Google andwe have one to two options,
maybe three.
Then we have to ask ourselves,is it 50 50?
Is it just Spanish exposure?
Are they just teaching'em anaccount one to 10, or is it
immersion?
And then we have to go, how faris it away?
For me?
(18:50):
The whole reason that I like, Iexploded my life.
I quit my full-time job.
Because the only one I couldfind was 20 minutes away, and it
was$2,100 a month from 9:00 AMto 3:00 PM so it wasn't even a
full day.
Right?
And so already they're like, I'mstressed.
That was years ago.
And I'm still stressed becauseI'm like, well, another working
(19:10):
mother is just like, oh, thisdaycare's perfect.
I'm gonna put'em in five minutesaway from home.
I'm asking myself, okay, theyopen at nine, but I start work
at eight.
Is it possible that I can movemeetings around?
Is it possible that I can.
Start working at five.
Clean up my inbox.
Like do certain things, take abreak.
Take my son to school becauseit's the only Spanish immersion
(19:30):
in town.
Is it, is it then like then if Ihave to pick'em up by two?
It was actually a nine to twoprogram.
I'm full.
I'm a full-time worker.
Okay.
So then you are doing all thismental gymnastics on top of
saying like, so it's, it'sconsuming time, it's consuming
energy, and it's consuming ourbudget because we don't, we
don't get that many options.
So it's like you pay for it oryou don't pay for it.
(19:52):
You make it work or you don'tmake it work.
And so I just, I have so much.
Compassion for Latinas becauseit's like we have more work than
the average mother, particularlyif we have a job.
And so then our options are likewe make these huge commitments
to be able to take'em to thatschool, or we do these gigantic
(20:14):
life changes, like I quit myjob.
That was a very cozy job when itcame to income and had to
totally change.
Careers to early childhoodeducation because I couldn't
find what I wanted.
So, so I made it happen.
Or for you that you're justlike, this just isn't enough.
This isn't, so I'm going to packup my life and move to another
country.
(20:34):
And while it's wonderful andthere are people like me and you
who are just like, let's do itall in, we can't expect that's
not accessible to everybody.
We can't expect every Latina inthe United States to take those
kinds of risks.
And so the question I ask myselfis.
How do we make it easier?
How do we make it moreeffortless?
How wouldn't it be amazing if welived in a world where a Latina
(20:57):
said, I wanna raise my kid,bilingual.
And she threw that into Googleand she had five schools nearby
that she had to choose from, andthat's just not the world that
we live in.
Which brings me all the way backto what you're saying.
It's like.
We have to then create thisvillage.
We have to create thiscommunity.
We can't all be martyringourselves and feeling like the
burden and the responsibility issolely on our shoulders because
(21:19):
the world is not set up tosupport us.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (21:22):
I think the
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (21:22):
ultimate to not feel
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (21:23):
not
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_ (21:24):
isolated.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_ (21:24):
isolated, to not feel like you're doing
this alone and.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (21:28):
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (21:29):
Uh, yeah, I
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (21:30):
I totally agree with you.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (21:30):
with you.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (21:31):
And you did talk about how
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (21:33):
how, you know, releasing
perfectionism aroundbilingualism and stopping
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07 (21:38):
parents
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (21:39):
other
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (21:39):
like yes.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (21:41):
helped you, I guess, change your
perspective.
Can
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (21:44):
You know, tell us a little bit more
about that.
Like
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (21:45):
tell us a little bit more
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (21:46):
what really
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (21:47):
really changed for you?
beatriz_1_06-08-2 (21:50):
conversations with other moms, conversations
with other moms and just.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (21:55):
Yeah.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (21:55):
I grew up in a house where my, I
mean, my mom would judgeeveryone and be like, like, it
was always shame, shame, shame,shame, shame.
Right?
And so I did, I grew up, Iinternalized that.
I'm like riaa, like, uh,shunning her culture, RIAA, like
her name, you know, her name isGuadalupe, and her son is like,
Spencer, what is she doing?
You know, like, I'm like, andbut it's not okay, right?
(22:19):
Like it's not okay.
It's funny and it's not okay atthe same time because.
When I actually, it's, it's thesame thing as like trolls on the
internet.
It's very easy to judge fromafar when you're looking
somebody in the eye and they'resaying, I'm embarrassed about my
Spanish, or like, I'membarrassed that I look this
Latina.
And I don't speak a word of it.
I'm struggling because I'mworking full time and I could
(22:42):
speak in Spanish now.
English is my stronger language.
And so I told myself.
Or you see them fail, right?
You see them say, I'm committingto speak to my kids in Spanish
every day after school for anhour.
And then they get 15 minutes inand they're like, I've failed.
And it's just, I just hateseeing everyone think that
they're failing when it's like,no, you are not.
(23:03):
15 minutes is enough, right?
Like today, it's 15 minutes.
Tomorrow it might be an hournext month you might go to
Mexico for, for a week, right?
Like.
It's, it's a, it's a cycle andit's a flow.
And some days you nail it andsome days you don't.
And so it's not, and I see thiswith everything.
I see this, I'd like to compareit to going to the gym.
(23:23):
I think the same should be trueabout the Spanish language.
Like some of us are.
Some of us are training for atriathlon.
Okay, you're moving.
You're moving to anothercountry.
You are like you are doing anIron Man.
Okay?
And then there are some of usthat are like, you know what,
I'm okay if I just like find theright school and my kid is going
to that Spanish immersion school30 minutes away.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (23:44):
Mm-hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (23:44):
every now and then, or May and maybe
at home, my commitment isduring, during dinner we speak
in Espanol, or my commitment isthat on Sundays we go to Aita.
And you know what, you're notrunning a an Ironman.
You're just going to the gym andyou're getting on that
StairMaster and you're workingup a good sweat.
And that should be enough foryou too.
You know?
But I just, I'm tired of peoplethinking that whatever they're
doing is not enough.
The only thing that is notenough is nothing at all.
(24:07):
Mm, Right?
But I mean, anything else islike, if you insist that when
they want you to read a book formy son when he's like, will you
read a book to me before?
But I'm like, so
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (24:18):
Mm-hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (24:20):
and so, there are just little things
that you can do, and over timethat amounts to so much more
than doing nothing at allbecause you've frozen and you're
in like this, uh, decisionfatigue where you don't know if
it's enough.
that you mentioned this becauseyes, we put
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (24:35):
yes, we
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (24:35):
pressure on ourselves and I think it's
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (24:38):
it's
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (24:39):
maybe we wanna,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (24:40):
wanna, I.
our culture, reclaim ourlanguage, or maybe because we
were raised in a household wherewe had to fully assimilate that
now we wanna get into
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (24:53):
of,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (24:53):
sort of phase.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (24:54):
know, like we wanna be.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (24:55):
like, we wanna be intentional and
raising bilingual children orbecause we are gonna feel
judged,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (25:00):
Exactly.
And so it's just like this kind
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (25:06):
like this kinda.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (25:08):
one way or the other type of
experience.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (25:09):
of experience that we feel like, oh
my gosh, I, I still feel,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (25:13):
Yes,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (25:14):
and that's what makes it so
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (25:16):
yes,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (25:16):
it's having the sense of belonging as
Latinas and now as moms.
And I feel like there is thisadded pressure that we get once
we become parents.
It's like, oh my gosh.
Well what is our plan?
And I find this interesting andI don't know if this is common
and especially'cause you workwith families now facility.
A lot of people when they startplanning to have children or
(25:40):
when they find out that they'repregnant, I wonder, and I wonder
if there should be a study justbecause I come from academia,
right?
Like, do
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (25:49):
Or families talk
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0 (25:50):
families talk about their bilingual
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (25:53):
Yeah.
You know,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (25:54):
You know,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (25:55):
is this an added convers
jessica_1_06-08-20 (25:57):
conversation that Latina FA
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (25:59):
families have
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (26:00):
have that perhaps monolingual
families don't have?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (26:04):
Yes.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (26:05):
I just wonder,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (26:06):
Bueno, Jessica, go ahead.
Apply for that PhD program.
Do the dissertation.
Uh, I'm not gonna, but, uh.
Yeah, you know, I think that, Ithink that's a great question,
and my assumption is that I trynot to be binary, right?
Of like, you're either doingbilingual or you're not.
Or you either have a languageplan or you don't, however.
(26:27):
I, I imagine that it's like thedeath conversation.
You know how they talk aboutlike, not enough people talk
about dying, not enough.
People talk about like, this iswhat I want you to do But it's a
conversation that should be had.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (26:37):
And I think
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (26:38):
It's there.
There's never like a
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (26:40):
never
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (26:40):
time.
I think you just have to
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (26:42):
have
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (26:43):
start if you wanna
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (26:44):
if
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (26:44):
Exactly.
And then move forward.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (26:45):
then move
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (26:46):
Yeah.
And you know, and then this
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (26:48):
in this essence of like.
beatriz_1_06-08-20 (26:50):
environment,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (26:52):
and community and having a village,
right?
Like I think you are creatingthis for many families in your
area, which I think it's amazing
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (27:00):
and I'm honestly just like.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (27:02):
just like surprised that you are, are
you like considered the onlybilingual daycare in your
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (27:10):
I'm the only infant center.
Yes, I am the only Spanishimmersion center in North County
San Diego that takes childrenunder the age of 18 months.
So the one I sent my kid to is20 minutes down the road.
They only take 18 months andabove.
So, which is wild to me becauseeven though they're not speaking
from zero to 18 months, zero tothree years is the crucial
(27:33):
window.
Like it is the best time.
So yeah, I'm the only one, atleast in my city for sure, and
in like the Tri-City area.
So I'm in Vista, California, andthen we've got Oceanside, San
Marcos and Carlsbad.
So there's like four that areall bundled.
And from what I can see, I'm theonly one who takes babies and
does 100 present Spanishthroughout the day.
(27:53):
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (27:55):
Wow,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (27:56):
It's
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (27:57):
And, and the, it's, it's
beatriz_1_06-08-202 (27:59):
California.
Yeah.
Like especially still inCalifornia.
Like it's good for business, butI don't take pride in that.
I'm like this, I should not bethe exception.
This is insane.
There should be other peopledoing this.
What are we doing here?
You all right?
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (28:13):
Right.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (28:14):
And I think it just,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (28:14):
I think it just,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (28:16):
telling, it's.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (28:16):
it's telling right, that maybe for
our, the systems that are built,you know, bilingualism isn't a
priority
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (28:24):
in fact, like everywhere else
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (28:26):
else outside of the United States,
like being a multilingualperson,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0 (28:32):
matters, it's an expectation.
It's,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (28:35):
It is, it
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (28:36):
yeah, and
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (28:37):
And wow.
And so let's talk about ChalaCollective, which I love.
So can you tell our listeners alittle bit more about it?
You, we kind of, you added alittle bit of an introduction,
but just so that our listenershave a better idea, can you tell
us what it is?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (28:56):
If I had to sum up Chala
Collective, it would be that weare a community of Padre Latinos
who are committed to preservingour Spanish language and our
heritage cultures, both at homeand enc.
Like that would be it in anutshell.
And for those who are local, itmeans that.
(29:18):
They can participate in all thegreat events that I have to
offer.
Right.
And if they're not, I think itcould be a, you know, you can
admire from afar, you can seewhat we're doing.
And quite frankly, you canreplicate it in your town.
You know, like my grandmotherhas this, well she had, she
passed away, but we still visitour house and my mom owns that
(29:40):
house actually.
And so when we go, there's thislittle key chain that I love to
see that says.
And that's what I tell Latinosas well is like, yeah, we can,
we can spend all day admiringthe problem and pointing out
what's missing.
If you notice that something ismissing, bring it.
(30:00):
Like bring it to your community.
Find ways to create it whereyou're at.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (30:03):
Yeah.
And
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (30:05):
how like
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (30:06):
like
beatriz_1_06-08-20 (30:07):
relationship
jessica_1_06-08-20 (30:07):
relationship with Spanish change, you know,
your,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07 (30:11):
changed everything
jessica_1_06-08-2025 (30:13):
everything for your
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (30:14):
and
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (30:14):
And so,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (30:16):
so what does that tell you about
the
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (30:18):
you about the power of community in
language
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (30:21):
power?
I think what it, what it sharesfor me is that like I.
Modeling is everything.
Exposure is everything.
And as much as possible, makesure that your children see.
See what you want to be trueoutside of the home.
(30:44):
You know, we, our kids love us,but it probably isn't just for
language learning.
It's anything we ask them to do,they're going to, right.
Like it's like, please drinkmore water.
Please eat more vegetables.
But like you go to a birthdayparty and there's a kid eating
broccoli and all of a sudden yousee your kid pick up broccoli,
be like, what is it?
Tomorrow I'm gonna eat broccoli.
So I think that that is theadvice that I would give of
(31:04):
like, this is a social.
Event.
This is a community based event.
This does require youth goingout and seeking people who are
living the lifestyle that youwanna live in terms of
bilingualism andmulticulturalism and like lean
on that and take advantage ofthat because in that sense it is
a little monkey c monkey.
Do you know, like you kids wantto fit in?
(31:28):
So put them in places where,where they want to fit in is by
embracing their culture and byembracing their latinidad and
that identity.
would you
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (31:36):
what would you say, to a mom that's
listening
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (31:40):
what
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (31:41):
like what
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_ (31:42):
practical
jessica_1_06-08-2025_ (31:43):
practical tips would you offer to her?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071 (31:46):
feels.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (31:46):
she feels like she is struggling
with either exposing andimmersing their kids into the
language
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (31:54):
Know
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (31:55):
know where to start, just like how
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (31:57):
bring
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (31:58):
her break out of that perfectionism?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (32:01):
would say apply for a PhD program and
do this study that we talkedabout.
No, I'm kidding.
I, gosh.
I mean, I would say listen tothis podcast.
Listen to the guests, fig, findthem on Instagram.
Buy that like in-home homeschoolcurriculum.
Uh, I just.
You've just gotta make a planthe same way that if you were to
(32:21):
run a half marathon, can youtell I'm a long distance runner
and I like the gym.
All my analogies are about that.
But you know, like, you're notgonna, you're not gonna say, I'm
running a marathon and do ittomorrow.
You gotta get your trainingplan.
You are gonna go read your book,you're gonna like change your
diet.
You're gonna start by walking 30minutes and like treat it the
same way, like set an end goal.
That's realistic.
Break it out into chunks.
(32:43):
Just do it.
You know, like,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (32:45):
Yeah.
Yeah.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (32:46):
is that too vague?
I mean, I also think thateveryone is so different and so
like, what's gonna be possiblefor you?
It may not be possible foranother person, right?
Like, I can't just tell people,get a passport, get on a plane,
and spend a thousand dollarsonce a year, or$5,000.
I can't tell people to do that.
Like, you gotta, you gotta dowhat works for you.
(33:06):
What's within your control andwhat's within your budget, to be
honest.
But I think there's plenty offree things that can be done if
you're scrappy, but you know, itrequires energy.
It requires energy, and itrequires time.
That, unfortunately is ourburden living in the United
States of America.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (33:24):
Yeah.
Oh my gosh.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_ (33:25):
FaceTime,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (33:26):
in today's times.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025 (33:26):
especially in today's times.
Yeah, but this is telling, thereis a code
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (33:31):
is a
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (33:31):
of
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (33:32):
of
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (33:33):
mamas and parents in general.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (33:34):
in general, right, about, their
intention of raising bilingualchildren.
And I think it starts out bylike.
Just like reflecting andunderstanding, like, okay, what
is your goal?
What have you and your partnerif you are in a partner in a
relationship agreed with.
And it,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (33:50):
late.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (33:50):
never too late too, like
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (33:52):
It's never too late.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (33:52):
that I often interview
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (33:54):
too late to
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (33:55):
too late to raise a
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (33:56):
No,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (33:56):
child
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (33:57):
I actually just met a couple that
came to tour my daycare a coupledays ago.
Mom is Mexicana Papa.
And he grew up with an Americanstepfather and just never
learned the language.
He, he moved to Ecuador when hewas 17.
He also like knew, he is like,I'm all in.
Let's do it.
Like I'm gonna, and just, hetook like a little three years
(34:18):
sabbatical and he learned, hesaid, I learned at 17, and his
Spanish is beautiful.
And so it is.
It's never too late.
It is just simply about like,how bad do you want it and what
is your timeline?
That that's it.
Like there are some of you thatit's like, I'm gonna do it.
I'm gonna go all in.
I'm gonna move to Latin Americafor three years.
And that's a great way of doingit.
Short in a short timeframe.
(34:40):
You want it quick, do it thatway.
Right?
And then there are also peoplethat's like, or you can like
build on it.
Start it.
Start your kid at 15, make surethat he does a study abroad
program or a foreign exchangestudent program in high school.
Make sure that he does studyabroad when he's in.
In college, if that's what hewants, because I also don't
wanna just push college.
That's also anotherconversation.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09 (35:00):
Mm-hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (35:01):
but just make a plan.
Make a plan.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (35:04):
Yeah.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (35:05):
on your timeline.
There are things that can bedone really quick, and there are
things that can be done that isgonna amount to the same
results.
Just make the plan and, andstick with it.
And then, and also forgiveyourself when you don't, and
then start the plan over.
Or tweak the plan or recognizethat was too ambitious.
Let me not, and just, just keepgoing.
Whatever you do, just keepgoing.
(35:25):
and thank you for sharing that.
I think this can,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (35:27):
think this
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (35:28):
this will inspire our listeners who
just
jessica_1_06-08-2025_ (35:30):
listeners to just
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (35:32):
too much pressure on themselves
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (35:34):
on themselves.
You know, to give themselves
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (35:37):
and
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (35:38):
you know, to always
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07 (35:40):
things.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (35:41):
modify things if needed, and that is
okay to give themselves thatpermission to do
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (35:44):
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (35:45):
you for sharing that.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (35:46):
Like, don't even start with your kids.
How about don't worry about yourkids.
Worry about yourself.
What are you doing to enrichyour identity every day?
Like for me, when I'm brushingmy teeth and tweezing my
eyebrows, it's bad bunny and itmakes me feel alive, girl.
It makes me feel alive.
And so, you know, I thinksometimes modeling is the best.
My son sees how much I love myculture.
My son sees me speak in Spanish.
(36:08):
My son sees me reaching out andtrying to find other Latinas in
the community that I can befriends with.
My son sees me opening up thewindows on Saturday morning and
putting Latin music on andsweeping and mopping and, you
know, and so I know that I'mnot, when I do those things, I'm
not intentionally doing anythingwith him.
I'm not asking him to like, whatdo you want?
(36:29):
You want water?
No, you don't want, you want.
No, I don't have to.
I don't have to make it abattle.
I can tell him like, look howI'm living fully into my
identity.
Look at what a proud Latina Iam, listen to how good this
music is, like taste how goodthese alas are.
And I know that like he's goingto love himself because he sees
that I love myself.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (36:49):
Uh, I love it.
You talked a lot about this, butI did not prepare you for
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (36:55):
You.
Oh, no.
Are you gonna make me cry?
Because I look real hard on theoutside, but I'm a softie.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_0918 (37:02):
Well, who knows?
We'll see.
I've definitely made a
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (37:04):
No.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (37:06):
But
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (37:06):
How are you?
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (37:07):
are you redefining Madre Hood?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (37:11):
I love this question because I
don't like mother culture that Isee on the worldwide web.
Not that I don't like it, itdoesn't fit for me.
It's not a good fit.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (37:20):
Hmm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (37:21):
And I just, I just hosted a baby
shower yesterday, so I feel likeI, I've, I, we had a prompt like
this yesterday as well, but if Iwere to redefine Madre hood, I
would say that I model, I modelwhat I wanna see in my children.
(37:41):
Specifically as it relates toidentity?
It is, I almost, uh, this islike, is this a bad analogy?
I almost feel like I'm a build abear where like I take what I
want from all of the cultures.
I, I want them to, I want tomodel for them that you can be
multiple things at once.
(38:03):
That you can integrate so muchof your identity that there
doesn't have to be any shame inbeing Latina.
And there also doesn't have tobe any shame in being a little
gr is what I call myself.
I'm a little gr okay.
There are some things that Ilike, I, I do, that I picked up
from American culture that I,quite frankly I like and I'm
(38:23):
keeping.
And so, I think it is, if I hadto like sum it up, it'd be like,
I do me.
I do.
Me
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (38:31):
Mm.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (38:31):
and I, I, I opt in to the things
that I want to opt into and Iopt out of what isn't serving
me.
And I remain open and fluid andopen to changing my mind.
All in service of raising kidsthat are bicultural and and are
curious about the world and arealso open to growing as people.
(38:56):
And, and evolving in theiridentity as they get more
experiences and moreinformation.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (39:03):
Hmm.
Thank you so much, Riz,
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (39:06):
for
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (39:06):
for
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (39:07):
being on the show.
I love this conversation.
jessica_1_06-08-2 (39:09):
conversation.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (39:10):
I really appreciate sharing
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (39:11):
you sharing.
like your story, your expertise,and the
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (39:17):
as well.
jessica_1_06-08-2025 (39:17):
collective as well.
I wish you nothing but
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (39:20):
Thank you.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (39:21):
in this business model because it
is so
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (39:24):
So I know this matters to a lot of
people.
I'm stumbling, but I'm learningwhere can people follow you?
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (39:31):
people follow you?
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (39:32):
Yeah.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (39:33):
with you
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (39:33):
I would say you can follow me on
Instagram.
That's probably where I'm themost active.
I'm so reluctant to get onTikTok and all those other
things, but I'm sure at somepoint I'm gonna have to.
But it's, everything is at ChalaCollective Facebook and
Instagram.
Or you can just email me atbeatriz@chalacollective.com.
And I'll, I'll answer.
I'm a real person and I lovetalking about this.
(39:56):
I could talk about this all daylong, so just reach out.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (39:59):
Oh yes.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_0718 (40:00):
Well, thank you so much for being
here.
I really appreciate it.
And I, like I said,
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (40:06):
like I said, I wish you nothing but
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (40:07):
and
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (40:08):
and luck.
You know, I think that this is agreat opportunity for, you know,
people to support you and follow
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_07185 (40:15):
your journey, not just like.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091857 (40:16):
not just like as a business owner,
but also in your.
Uh, parenting right?
And your experience in parentingand raising bilingual children.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (40:25):
you so much for being here.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_09185 (40:26):
much for being here.
beatriz_1_06-08-2025_071851 (40:28):
has filled my cup up.
and Thanks for spending timewith me.
This, this, this really made myday.
Thank.
jessica_1_06-08-2025_091 (40:33):
great.
Thank you.
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