Latina to Latina

Her genre-bending new memoir, "In the Dream House," recounts an abusive lesbian relationship and implodes safe notions of intimacy. Carmen talks with Alicia about revisiting trauma, mourning for her former self, and the risks of complicating queer narratives.

Follow Carmen @carmenmachado on Twitter and IG. And buy her book, In the Dream House. If you loved this episode, listen to Valeria Luiselli and Quiara Alegría Hudes for more o...

The Grio’s VP of Digital Content and Senior Correspondent, and CNN political analyst joins Alicia to talk about blending memoir and cultural analysis in her new book, American Negra.

Follow Natasha on Instagram @natashasalford and learn more about her book American Negra here. If you liked this episode, listen to How Claudia Forestieri Made the Pivot from Journalism to Scripted Television and How O Magazine’s Arianna Da...

She got her big break playing Gloria Estefan in the musical hit On Your Feet. She cherished the role, but it also forced her to “erase Ana to sustain Gloria.” Now, with Chicago, her second Broadway show under her belt, and big projects on the horizon—like Apple TV+'s Bad Monkey—Ana’s learning how to allow her art and her life to live side-by-side.

Follow Ana on Instagram @anavillafaneofficial. If you l...

On The Today Show and while covering red carpet fashion for Access Hollywood, Lilliana Vazquez has become one of the most sought-after style experts. As a first-generation Latina growing up in Texas, she assumed she’d become “an accountant, a lawyer or a doctor.” Instead, with her blog, The Cheap Chica’s Guide to Style, as a foundation, she built a fashion brand at “the intersection of aspiration and a...

The Founder and CEO of Bloomi, a wellness brand focused on clean intimate care essentials, shares how her experience as a single mom inspired her entrepreneurship, the creative approaches she utilized to close a one million dollar funding gap, and the crossroads she finds herself at today.

Follow Rebecca on Instagram @rebeccaalvarezstory. If you liked this episode, listen to How Cece Meadows Built a Cosmetics Line as an Homage to I...

By the time she was 26, Cyndi Ramirez-Fulton had worked her way from cocktail waitress to being a partner in a bar. She’s now applying her experience in hospitality and natural flare for branding and marketing to grow her new venture, Chillhouse, a day spa that serves signature cocktails and fashionable coffee in spaces designed to help us slow down and relax. And Cyndi has an even bigger ambition: to turn Chillhouse into a g...

She made history as the first Latina to serve as a U.S. Magistrate Judge and a Federal District Judge for the District of New Jersey. Then, in 2020, a self-avowed anti-feminist violently targeted her family, injuring her husband and killing her son, Daniel. In this powerful episode, Judge Salas reflects on love, faith, grief, and her commitment to keeping her son's joyful memory alive.

If you loved this episode, listen to Why Assem...

The entertainment attorney behind J. Balvin, Juanes, Los Tigres del Norte, Carla Morrison and Snow the Product shares how she forewent a performing career of her own to advocate for others, what she’s learned about protecting artists’ rights, and the necessity of studying and understanding the entire entertainment industry.

Follow Marjorie on Instagram @pajareezy. If you liked this episode, listen to Why Doris Anahí Bri...

She pirouetted into our lives on Season Five of So You Think You Can Dance, stole our hearts on Roswell, and is now making us question the line between villain and hero on this season of Prime’s Cross. Jeanine talks with Alicia about the lessons in leadership that come with leading a television series, going through IVF days before filming, learning to inhabit a pedestrian body after years as a dancer, and why on-the-ground a...

She handed her law degree to her mother to thank her, and quit an elite Miami law firm on her first day. Then she headed to culinary school—in France. Might be easy to say the rest is history, but that’s not the case with this Venezuelan powerhouse and former Top Chef Masters star. From being told her accent would hold her back, to being discouraged from having her own television show, Lorena has never allowed other peo...

The successful owner of makeup brand Reina Rebelde talks about how she chose to leave a high-profile law career to find her way back to herself. And how she convinced her family that starting a business was the right path for her.

Follow Regina Merson on Instagram @reginamerson.

If you loved this episode, listen to How Girls Night In Founder Alisha Ramos Started a Stay-at-Home Movement and How Beauty Insider Tina Hedges Cr...

Her hilarious BuzzFeed portrayals of Latina moms hooked us, and now, her magnetic energy keeps us glued to Netflix's Gentefied. Julissa reveals what she willingly risked to earn roles that welcome her fullest self.

Follow Julissa @lajulissa on Instagram. If you loved this episode, listen to America Ferrera Knows What Real Power Looks Like and When Gentefied Co-Creator Linda Yvette Chávez Realized She Couldn’t Quit.  ...

Her body was really sick and giving up on her--fast. Indifferent doctors recommended unthinkable treatments. But her natural instincts were pushing her in a different direction. In a way, by taking charge of her health, lifestyle guru Fran Medina took her life into her own hands. She studied, she learned, she listened to people who knew more, and to her own body. Some years later, she’s crafted a lifestyle model that emphasiz...

Growing up in Detroit, she wondered why her peers recognized her as Black, but not Mexican. Now, the Yo Soy Afro Latina founder is building the community she always yearned for.

Follow Bianca on Instagram @biancakathryn_. If you loved this episode, listen to other Latinas building community: Why Nathalie Huerta Founded the First Queer Gym in the Country and How Girls Night In Founder Alisha Ramos Started a Stay-at-Home Movement. Sh...

One of the original innovators in the personal blogging space, Ana Flores is not only an early adaptor but also a born innovator. She saw an opportunity in connecting brands to popular online personalities—today’s influencers—and ran with it. Her company brought in millions one year and filed for bankruptcy the next. Like a phoenix, Ana rose from the ashes to build the super successful We All Grow Latina.

Follow A...

This Panamanian-Jamaican-Jewish New Yorker spent the early part of her career in Latin music, before launching her own creative agency. Zoila reflects on how she secured her first clients, the three years she spent building Word Agency before she started making money, and the secrets to great brand campaigns. 

Follow Zoila on Instagram @zoiladarton. If you liked this episode, listen to Why Doris Anahí Brings a 'Heart of Servic...

After decades of keeping her psychic abilities hidden from her family and friends, Zulema Arroyo Farley found herself unable to deny that she could communicate with the spirit world. The decision to be public about it came with much criticism and pushback, but she knew to be her complete self she needed to not just accept this part of her, but share it with others. In this fascinating episode, she also tells Alicia about the rare c...

For more than two decades, she has led the largest Latino civil rights organization in the United States. In this revealing conversation, Janet shares her stewardship of a massive brand transition, her personal frustration with the elusiveness of immigration reform, and what it requires to go toe-to-toe with the President of the United States.

Visit www.unidosus.org to learn more about the organization's work. 

Hosted by Si...

Becoming a doctor is a huge accomplishment unto itself, requiring years of study, sacrifice and discipline. But if you’re a smart, driven, black Latina it can often feel like a Herculean feat. Dermatologist Dr. Laura Scott and her close cohort of friends created a bond that strengthened and protected them as they navigated and excelled at Harvard University and beyond. Today, under her Instagram handle LauraLacquer, she has a...