I began speaking at local Denver middle schools about my career as a graphic designer and the beginnings of our first film, being eñye. I realized pretty quickly that sharing sometimes uncomfortable personal stories was the way I could make the biggest difference. Looking back, I see that the seeds of of Project Eñye were planted long ago and these early talks were messages of belonging in disguise and were very much my “baptism” into public speaking. I'm pulling back the curtain as they say on my process with hopes that you will be inspired by the beautiful and often messy process it is crafting a brand new message.
During this pandemic, I found my certainty in an unexpected place –– right outside my own front door!
Meet Paul Romaine, my neighbor and Founder of the Colorado Conservatory for the Jazz Arts and leader of the band that played their hearts out night-after-night during the toughest part of the quarantine - the part that felt like it would never end.
The band started with Paul the drummer, then Rico a saxophone player and slowly, more instruments were added. Soon, our whole neighborhood was coming out every night fold up chairs in hand, sitting 6' apart to allow themselves to feel joy in a time of great uncertainty.
We decided to structure this episode a little differently. We call it "experimental" you might call it raw.
We wanted to fully embrace this feeling of uncertainty paired with the possibility of connecting to others in the community by showing what this really feels like.
Through this process, we found connections we didn’t know were there!
Now is the time to play, now is the time to dance, and now is the time to find joy wherever you can find it.
Rita is the Founder of the Latina Podcasters Network and also hosts her own women’s empowerment podcast called, “Empowerment and All That.” This episode is inspired by a message she left us that made us all think about what we’ve learned throughout this quarantine experience.
She said, “I’m alone, but I’m not lonely.”
Through our conversation with Rita, we discuss how her quarantine journey has led her to feel more comfortable in her own skin and what steps she took to get there. As social beings, this experience has forced us to redefine our relationships with others. We have had to find ways to feel connected while also creating and contributing to a new future. It’s hard to believe that there is something positive ahead. It’s easy to get caught up in the turmoil of the moment.
However, as Rita says, “You can’t live in that space forever. As a community, we can come out of these times more united than ever!”
Her words ring even more true now as the country has come face to face with the aftermath of the murders of George Floyd, Brionna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery and countless others to White Supremacy.
“We are all running our own race. Sometimes we think we are prepared, but there’s someone out there who will run it with you.” This statement from Rita encourages us to remember that we are not alone! Although sometimes we may feel as though we are living in a “survival-mode,” we can make a conscious decision to thrive instead!
In this episode, we asked about the power of love in the time of COVID and how you have shown love during this time to friends, family, coworkers, neighbors, or even strangers. We thought we would hear stories about romance, or even random acts of kindness, however, we learned that love is much more. Love is about speaking your truth, listening to others, and giving. One of our responses was from Ana, an entrepreneur originally from New York and currently residing in Florida and who is also member of our Dream Accelerator coaching group (EDA). We had the pleasuring of bringing her on to discuss her love story –– a story about how she speaks her truth and love through honesty while living with depression.
In this week’s episode, we collaborated with the founders of "Latina Podcasters" Rita Bautista and Cole Hernandez along with some of your favorite podcasters Brenda Gonzalez of "The Tamarindo Podcast", Luz Warrior of "Let Their Be Luz" and Rosalia Rivera from "The About Consent Podcast." Listen to these strong Latina voices as they come together to deconstruct the controversy surrounding the New York Times Bestseller novel American Dirt by Jeanine Cummins. For those of you who aren’t familiar with Jeanine’s book, the novel tells the story of a mother and son who flee Mexico for the United States, leaving their life behind to escape cartel violence. Jeanine, an American author with Puerto Rican roots, has had pushback from the Latinx community about the authenticity and misrepresentation of this immigration story.