Episode 02: It’s just the beginning.

Hi! I’m Karina, host of Elevating La Cultura Podcast. This is only episode 2, but before we get into this first season, I wanted to share with you the inspiration behind me launching this podcast. As the podcasts develop, I’ll keep sharing more of my story along with other amazing women, but first I wanted to start off with my vision. So let’s get into it.

Some of my best memories are driving to and from college. I went to college in a small town in Michigan. The drive from my childhood home was a little over three hours, and it was usually my father who drove me before I had a car.

You see he used to be a truck driver in his early years in this country. One of the many MANY jobs he had, so long drives didn’t, and still don’t bother him at all.

It was during these drives that my father shared his stories. My mother gave up her career to devote her life to her kids. She wanted to be there to make us breakfast, and be there to pick us up from school, take us to the park during the summer, and just be mom. My father worked hard to build financial stability for his family which meant that he was working long hours most days. Now that you know this about my parents, it’s no surprise that I am a homeschool mom, AND an entrepreneur. I mean with role model parents like mine, it was hard to pick one way to live, so I took after both.

Because my father worked all the time, I didn’t really spend quality time with him until these drives to and from college. And that’s when he started to share his life with me, story by story. And in those stories was the wisdom of years upon years of experience. After the first few rides, I really came to appreciate those times and realize how valuable they were to me. Every so often he would drop little nuggets of wisdom that I still quote and live by to this day, like “you have to take care of yourself, your greatest asset is your health because if you aren’t doing good mentally, then you won’t be able to do any of the other things you want to do”. He was teaching me about self-care before self-care was really a trendy thing. And when I was going through an awful break up, he took me on a mini vacation, and said, “it’s ok to be sad, it’s ok to be upset. Take a few days to feel bad, but after that you have to make a plan, and move on.” I’ve used that advice on so many occasions. Many of the stories he told ended with a piece of advice like these, or at least a good laugh at the end. Like the time he was a truck driver driving watermelons, and went the wrong way only to find out he had no way to turn around, so he had to back a whole truck up down this mountain. I don’t remember the whole story, but I remember that we were laughing about it at the end. Because of these stories, I tried my hardest to stay awake on these drives even though like a typical college kid I was TIRED and ready to doze off. I even started to keep track of stories from my college life that I think he would find funny, or I’d bring up something I was struggling with in hopes he could walk me through it or give me advice.

This is one of the reasons I created this podcast. I believe a conversation builds relationships. It deepens understanding. It helps develop empathy. Conversations form connections that not only help us grow, but empower others to step into their own purpose. I got to step into my father’s world and understand the reason he did things a certain way, or wanted us to do things. It opened up an understanding of, and gave reasons to the WHY of how he had designed a life for his family.

The second reason I created this podcast is because about 5 years ago I realized that I was tired of compartmentalizing my life to fit into the spaces I occupied. After 10 years of building a business with my husband, I decided to start a new business that took me on a journey to dive into my Mexican culture. And along the way, I had met other Latinas that had similar stories as mine, as a daughter of an immigrant. I realized that part of my legacy could be lost, if I didn’t change the narrative and find a way to elevate my culture instead of hiding it.

Right now we are living during a time where it should be easy to see the importance of cultural legacy and breaking down stereotypes.

Now, by cultural legacy, I mean the inheritance of cultural traits that influence our success or failure. They are often determined by cultural practices from centuries ago that have been passed down through each generation. Now you see why the chats with my father on our drives were so precious to me. Cultural legacies are powerful. They have deep roots that transcend and persist generation after generation. They play such a role in directing attitudes and behaviors. So we therefore need to be taking cultural legacies seriously so that we can better understand ourselves and others. It’s worth noting that highlighting cultural legacies can make it easier for us to see problematic racial and gendered generalizations. And that’s that goal: To break through the assimilation. To break through past experiences and rewrite the narrative so you can create a legacy for your children that elevates your culture, now, and for the future.

I’ve seen a shift in the past few years that people are becoming more vocal about their cultures. They’re being unapologetic when sharing special traditions, foods, clothing styles, hair styles. Honestly what is happening is the realization that assimilation is a lot of work, and that it has forced us to either compartmentalize or choose between the spaces we want to fit into. And for what? For who? And what is the cost. Take a moment to think about how this relates to your life? Even if you aren’t Latina or a person of color, have you created spaces for others to feel comfortable being their whole self, culture and all?

Just like I learned so much on those drives with my father, I knew that we could all learn so much from other stories of Latinas doing amazing things, and changing the narrative to elevate their families cultural legacy. It was during those drives that I started to see the cultural legacy that my father was passing down to me. And I admit it’s taken a lot of internal work to sift through it to bring me to the place that I’m at now mentally, but that was the start. Those stories. Those pieces of wisdom. That relationship with my father, was the start of it all.

The women that I have the privilege of knowing, and building a relationship with. Many of these friendships started online, via social media. It started with us cheering each other on in what we’re doing through instagram posts, which then turned into real life conversations. It started with vulnerability in sharing a piece of our stories, and finding connection to dig a little deeper.

Their stories, like mine, are complex, a work in process, and beautiful all at once. I hope that you find connection, encouragement, and hope in sharing your story as well. This first season will be featuring women that are business owners. They’re taking that ancestral energy and creating a business that excited them because they’re able to do by including their culture in their brand. I hope you enjoy season one.

Thanks for listening. If you enjoyed this podcast, please share, take a screenshot and tag us on IG @elevatinglacultura, and keep listening to hear stories from other Latina women being awesome, and elevating la cultura.