00:02 - Hi. Welcome back everyone.

00:04 - I hope you had an amazing time in those breakout sessions

00:07 - and that you learned a lot.

00:09 - Before we continue today's activities, I would like to thank our dear friends.

00:15 - I am our whole care for being this year's lunch sponsors.

00:19 - Thank you so much for your partnership and thank you

00:22 - so much for your unconditional support.

00:26 - Joining us now with a special with a special message is Karen Rawlins,

00:31 - French director of corporate responsibility for Highmark

00:35 - Whole Care.

00:39 - Company.

00:40 - Thank you very.

00:46 - Not. You you know, not.

00:50 - Who hear me? But.

00:54 - Bonus is that's in better than.

00:57 - Good afternoon.

00:58 - But I was enjoying my theme music, so I think.

01:02 - Does everyone get a give theme music when they come up as they should?

01:06 - We all should have theme music.

01:09 - So I'm

01:09 - Karen Rollin Fitch, director of corporate social responsibility for Highmark Health

01:13 - Care, one of the 44,000

01:18 - employees of the Highmark Health companies.

01:23 - We are here today because we belong here and you belong here.

01:30 - When I, George first told me he was going to do the Latino Health

01:33 - Summit here, I thought, how wonderful, because we belong here.

01:39 - We belong at the top organizations

01:42 - and event spaces that our state and Commonwealth have to offer.

01:46 - And I'm happy that to see so many people in this room on behalf of Highmark

01:51 - Whole here in Highmark Health, I want to thank you for coming here today.

01:56 - I want you to know that we care about your health,

01:59 - and that this is the example of you taking the extra step

02:04 - to care and be concerned about the health of yourself,

02:08 - as well as your consumers and the people that you work with.

02:12 - So thank you for being an outstanding part of our community

02:16 - and continue the great work that you're doing each and every day.

02:20 - Have an enjoyable summit.

02:22 - Thank you.

02:25 - Thank you Karen.

02:26 - We now welcome to the stage doctor Daniel Kasher, emergency medicine

02:30 - physician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

02:41 - Tell so.

02:44 - My. Hello.

02:46 - I'm so happy to be here with you today.

02:49 - I'm Daniel kasher.

02:51 - I'm a general pediatrician.

02:52 - I work in the emergency department at Children's Hospital

02:56 - Philadelphia, at the King of Prussia campus.

03:00 - We're really happy to be a sponsor for the fourth annual Latino Health Summit.

03:05 - Just want to tell you a few things

03:06 - about the middleman family pavilion at Chop, King of Prussia.

03:11 - It's the second pediatric hospital

03:13 - in Chop's 165 year history,

03:17 - and it's the first freestanding children's hospital in the nation.

03:21 - Chop serves to improve the health outcomes for children

03:24 - through research and superb clinical care.

03:28 - We're also very involved in quality improvement

03:31 - in every setting, and I want you to know every discussion

03:35 - of quality improvement at Chop involves a focus on health equity.

03:39 - My colleagues and I are absolutely devoted to ensuring that

03:43 - we improve outcomes for all children, and we look at our own bias

03:48 - and make sure that we're improving outcomes for all populations.

03:52 - King of

03:52 - Prussia is a 108 bed pediatric hospital.

03:56 - We opened our doors to the community in January of 2022, and this facility

04:01 - exclusively for children, has a 24 seven emergency department.

04:06 - We also have a neonatal intensive care unit, a pediatric intensive care unit.

04:11 - We have surgery services, oncology, adolescent medicine,

04:16 - and in addition to all of our outpatient specialty clinics,

04:20 - we have, neuro diagnostic and radiology services like X-ray and CT.

04:25 - We do infusions and we have an urgent care.

04:28 - So we're really chopped in King of Prussia.

04:31 - The whole of chop.

04:33 - So Chop, King of Prussia takes chop's well-known

04:36 - pediatric care and expands to communities outside of the greater Philadelphia area.

04:42 - And I'll tell you, the parents that come to our hospital are so happy

04:46 - we're there were more accessible to more children.

04:50 - We strive to be welcoming,

04:52 - caring, collaborative and engaging.

04:56 - I can speak for the emergency department.

04:59 - We have interpreters, video interpreters so that we can always

05:03 - communicate with families in the language that's most comfortable for them.

05:07 - And when we give discharge information to families,

05:09 - we make sure it's in a language that they can read.

05:13 - So we are excited for the future at, King of Prussia.

05:17 - And we're thrilled to be part of the community that we serve.

05:21 - Thank you again for allowing us the opportunity to support the summit

05:24 - and community events such as these, and please enjoy the rest of the event.

05:29 - Thank you.

05:41 - Representation matters

05:43 - and it is the most perfect combination between inclusivity, equity and progress.

05:49 - Our next speaker not only embodies that,

05:51 - but he works tirelessly to advance progress and opportunities

05:57 - for Latino and Hispanic students, families, and communities.

06:01 - Penn State University alumnus with a bright career in Washington, DC.

06:06 - He is a truly remarkable example

06:09 - of what Latino youth political leadership should look like.

06:13 - It is with great honor that we welcome to this fourth annual Latino Health Summit.

06:18 - Mr. Kevin Lima, deputy director of the white House Initiative on Advancing

06:23 - Educational Equity, Excellence and Economic Opportunity for Hispanic.

06:31 - And. Students of

06:38 - four years old.

06:40 - When I start this

06:43 - number is Kevin Lima.

06:45 - And I have the honor of serving as a deputy director for the white House

06:49 - Hispanic Initiative.

06:52 - I'm thrilled to be here among you all today.

06:54 - And can we get a round of applause for Jerry, George

06:58 - and the rest of the team who have put this together?

07:02 - So incredible.

07:08 - I was born and raised in Rosita, California.

07:11 - My parents came from Guatemala, where they were both teachers

07:15 - before they decided to immigrate to the United States in this new country.

07:20 - My mother became a dedicated housekeeper

07:23 - while my father pursued a career as a house painter.

07:27 - This story of people

07:29 - leaving their homes and careers and starting over is not unique.

07:34 - It's a narrative echoed from California

07:37 - to New York to Puerto Rico to here in Pennsylvania.

07:42 - But an

07:42 - often overlooked and important piece of this story

07:45 - is that our parents were not just working to make a living.

07:49 - They were investing their evenings into teaching us,

07:54 - and through their unwavering dedication, they instilled in us

07:57 - the profound value of education.

08:00 - I firmly believe that my parents commitment

08:04 - to education is the reason that I'm standing here today

08:08 - as the son of formerly undocumented choppiness,

08:12 - who sent their son to Penn State University,

08:16 - who knows a thing or two about dodging a chancla.

08:20 - Now working for President Joe Biden.

08:29 - And while I was walking right now with George and Jerry

08:33 - and they're teaching me, about, you know, the work that they're doing,

08:37 - I had a in my mind that it reminded me of a story that when I was growing up,

08:45 - my parents used to take me to a doctor.

08:47 - His name was Doctor Petrushka.

08:49 - He was a Russian Jewish man.

08:51 - And, you know, my cousins, my tias, my ideals, everyone went to this doctor.

08:56 - But I always disliked going to him because we had to wait

09:00 - three, 4 or 5 hour wait time so that we could go see him.

09:05 - And so when he retired, my parents stopped going to the doctor.

09:09 - I stopped going to the doctor.

09:12 - You know, I got really familiar with Vicks Gatorade,

09:14 - and my grandma also passed and.

09:20 - I asked them later when I was older.

09:22 - Hey, like, what happened?

09:24 - Why did you stop going to the door?

09:25 - Petrushka.

09:26 - And she told me,

09:26 - because he was the only doctor in our neighborhood that spoke Spanish.

09:31 - His staff all spoke Spanish

09:34 - and that stuck with me.

09:37 - And that has stuck with, you know what?

09:39 - While I'm here with you all and learning about what you're doing

09:43 - and everyone here in this room is an inspiration to me

09:46 - and to so many other Latinos in this country.

09:49 - And, you know, that's what this Hispanic initiative is working on, right?

09:52 - We need more doctors.

09:54 - We need more staff that speak Spanish.

09:56 - We need more teachers.

09:57 - We need more engineers.

09:59 - And through the federal government, we're pursuing

10:02 - that and changing policy so that we can increase that.

10:06 - And so at the white House, we have president

10:09 - Joe Biden has appointed 21 commissioners to provide recommendations

10:13 - to the presidents on matters pertaining to educational equity

10:17 - and economic opportunities for the Hispanic and Latino community.

10:22 - I work as a liaison with over 30 federal agencies,

10:25 - including the Department of Health and Human Resources,

10:29 - including the Department of Commerce,

10:31 - Department of Treasury, SBA, all of these federal agencies

10:34 - so that we can work together and collaborate because we know it takes

10:38 - a whole community to fix these issues in the Latino world, right?

10:42 - We can't talk about health without talking about housing.

10:45 - We can't talk about health without talking about education.

10:48 - And so all these things are tied together.

10:51 - And I just want to really,

10:55 - you know, recognize that for a lot of you who have done this work

11:00 - and you're undertaking this challenging journey,

11:03 - it's a lot of the times you're by yourself and no one

11:06 - has, you know, shown you the path and you're going at it by yourself.

11:09 - But just know that there is another generation following right behind

11:13 - you and everyone here in this room is working on paving that

11:18 - so that the future generation has roads and these big five lane highways

11:23 - so that they can get to their careers and then they can get to where

11:26 - they want to be.

11:27 - So I just want to recognize that this determination and unwavering

11:31 - commitment to health is nothing short of inspirational here in this room.

11:35 - So if you're a practitioner, you work in this space, please

11:38 - give yourself a round of applause because you guys are doing the real work.

11:47 - So my one call to action here is

11:50 - let's foster these connections we've created here

11:55 - to work together.

11:56 - You all in this room are the leaders that we are striving to learn more from.

12:01 - Let's reimagine the way Latino students develop skills

12:05 - and earn credentials that lead to rewarding careers and thriving lives.

12:09 - Let's dream big together.

12:11 - Thank you and enjoy the rest of the program.

12:14 - Delante.

12:26 - Thank you, Kevin,

12:26 - for so kindly joining us today and reassuring with your words

12:30 - that the welfare of Latinas is, in fact,

12:33 - a top priority for President Biden's administration.

12:37 - I am thrilled to introduce our next speaker.

12:39 - And I've been told he's a people's person, and that his wonderful work

12:43 - for the city of Bethlehem speaks volumes of

12:48 - unwavering devotion and great commitment.

12:52 - Please join me in welcoming the state to the stage.

12:55 - The honorable J.

12:56 - William Reynolds, Major of the City of Bethlehem.

13:01 - Oh, yeah.

13:01 - He needs more men. Oh,

13:05 - man, I'm better than that.

13:08 - That's hard. That's hard to follow from Kevin.

13:10 - That was that was impressive and inspiring.

13:12 - And only a few minutes and I think that's a great transition

13:15 - to what I'm here to do, which is welcome you to the city of Bethlehem.

13:20 - we are very, very proud of this fantastic facility.

13:24 - But what we're most proud of is that vibe, that spirit that hopefully,

13:27 - hopefully you felt as soon as you came into the city

13:30 - and that's that there's optimism and that we're a team

13:33 - that we work together around here.

13:35 - We've made a lot of progress in our city, but it's looking at those systemic issues

13:39 - and that idea that nobody wins unless everybody wins.

13:42 - And for me, it goes back to I was a school teacher for a long time.

13:46 - Then I taught over in Allentown,

13:48 - and the majority of my students were English, a second language speakers

13:53 - and the first thing I did was I realized it was my responsibility that I needed to

13:57 - learn Spanish, to be able to talk to them and to be able to reach them.

14:01 - And what I learned over my years was that the students I have,

14:06 - those leaders that Kevin are talking about, they're coming, they're here.

14:10 - They just want the opportunity.

14:12 - And what this is about, what we do in the city of Bethlehem,

14:14 - our devotion to equity, our devotion to systemic investment.

14:17 - Our community is under the idea that, like in America, if you work hard,

14:21 - you should be able to have that opportunity

14:24 - and you should be able to get what you need.

14:26 - And health is tied to housing.

14:27 - It's tied to all these different issues

14:29 - that we're investing here in the city of Bethlehem.

14:31 - And I go back to the pandemic just a few years ago, and I know

14:34 - we get further and further away.

14:35 - And sometimes some of those feelings like dull.

14:38 - But a lot of things were shown during the pandemic that were broken,

14:42 - systems that weren't working for everybody.

14:45 - I saw this when I was teaching.

14:47 - I saw this in our city that groups of people were able to succeed.

14:51 - My wife is a family physician.

14:53 - She would come home and she would tell me that as well,

14:56 - that it is unfair in this country that people have more opportunity

15:01 - based on where they live, what they have down the street from them,

15:06 - and the opportunities that they didn't have any ability to create for themselves.

15:11 - And that's what we're dedicated to here in the city.

15:14 - And when I was coming in today, what I noticed

15:16 - was that there's a lot of people here

15:18 - that are talking to each other that are working on solving a problem.

15:21 - We like to say there's a difference

15:22 - between feeling like you're helping people and helping people.

15:26 - A lot of people think the first one's enough that when you go home,

15:30 - you look yourself in the mirror and you're like, I did something good today.

15:33 - I tried to help these people, but that doesn't make anybody's lives better.

15:37 - What makes people's lives better is when you get to

15:39 - when you get people in the same room, they have the same goals,

15:42 - the same priorities, and you ask yourself not what the process is

15:47 - that we're looking for, but what's the solution?

15:50 - And then you're flexible with your process because as I like to say,

15:53 - you can pick the process

15:55 - or you can pick the solution, but you can't pick both and too often.

15:59 - Thank you for clapping too often

16:03 - we become wedded

16:04 - because of our own education, or our own authority or own position,

16:08 - that we know how to solve something and we don't, which is not just

16:13 - about creating opportunities, it's about creating outcomes.

16:17 - And there's a lot of opportunity right now in America,

16:19 - and there's a lot of great conversations going on around those ideas about equity

16:23 - and diversity, inclusion and things like that.

16:25 - But what it comes down to, and I'll finish with this, is are we willing

16:29 - to understand that once we have ours, how can we help other people get theirs,

16:34 - that a system doesn't work unless it works for everybody?

16:38 - That's what you hear.

16:40 - I, Kevin's boss, president Biden was up the line a couple of days ago

16:43 - talking about Scranton values.

16:45 - Those are Pennsylvania values and American values

16:48 - that it's not just our job to make sure that Bethlehem

16:50 - Steel got people jobs 100 years ago.

16:52 - We sent people to college.

16:53 - We have that same responsibility right now in Bethlehem, in Pennsylvania

16:56 - and in America.

16:57 - And I just want to thank everybody for coming together,

17:00 - because it did not take long for me to realize that the people here

17:03 - are not about feeling good about helping each other,

17:06 - but it's coming up with solutions.

17:07 - Welcome to Bethlehem. Thank you.

17:13 - Thank you so much, Mr.

17:15 - Major, for joining us and supporting this event.

17:17 - Our two next guests are incredible leaders in their own right.

17:22 - She represents women leadership in health care as an executive leader at Aetna.

17:26 - And he's a Puerto Rican born radio

17:28 - personality reaching millions with his boys every day.

17:32 - All the mega Allentown here to host a conversation with our celebrity

17:36 - keynote speaker Paula Starnes and Victor Martinez.

17:42 - Yeah.

17:43 - Everyone's watching.

17:45 - You know, I'm serious.

17:46 - We're getting closer.

17:47 - This isn't over yet. Precious.

17:50 - Are you feeling a.

17:53 - You got a ride?

17:55 - Leave it up.

17:56 - Hello, everyone.

17:59 - Stand.

17:59 - Let's let's come over here.

18:00 - Let's loosen up a little bit.

18:03 - How you guys doing today?

18:06 - Hi I'm Paula

18:07 - Starnes with Aetna and I'm so happy to be here today.

18:10 - It's beautiful to see

18:12 - all of the black brown people in the room and supporting a good cause.

18:15 - As you can see at Aetna healthier happens together.

18:19 - If you look up under our cube that's what we believe in.

18:22 - And we work really, really hard in the community

18:24 - to make sure that we're addressing all of the needs of the community.

18:28 - As you should know,

18:29 - our health and wellness, our bodies are our most important asset,

18:33 - and there's a lot of people that don't have the access, the resources,

18:37 - the supports to really address their whole person health.

18:41 - So we're really excited to be here to contribute and partner

18:44 - with Latino Connections and all of the wonderful organizations here today

18:48 - to help bring awareness and support to our most important asset ourselves.

18:53 - Listen, I am thrilled to be here, and I'm so excited to see all of you.

18:57 - And I'm glad and happy to see this big room full of people.

19:02 - I'm gonna tell you why an event like this is so important,

19:06 - and I'm going to give you another reason why an event like this is so important.

19:11 - And I'm going to give you some information that you can take with you, in case

19:14 - you didn't know.

19:15 - Now, you may learn something new today.

19:19 - Latino.

19:20 - This is the Latino Health Summit.

19:23 - Our Latino community is growing.

19:26 - And I'm going to give you some numbers.

19:29 - So in the city of Allentown, the Latino population,

19:33 - it's 55%. Yes.

19:38 - In the city of Redding,

19:40 - the Latino population is 69%.

19:45 - All right.

19:46 - We have cities like Bethlehem right where we're at.

19:49 - The Latino population is 30%.

19:53 - We got cities like Philadelphia, big City, and over 9 million people.

19:57 - The Latino population is 15%.

20:01 - I'm going to give you more numbers.

20:04 - Pennsylvania in the last

20:07 - survey

20:09 - became the third largest state

20:12 - with the biggest Puerto Rican community in the United States.

20:16 - We are beating new Jersey. And now,

20:19 - if you're from new Jersey, I'm sorry.

20:22 - We're we're crossing the bridge.

20:24 - We're all coming here.

20:26 - So now you have New York,

20:29 - Florida and Pennsylvania

20:32 - and then new Jersey.

20:34 - But okay,

20:36 - but I'm giving you all this numbers

20:38 - and I'm telling you all of these things because we are growing.

20:42 - We're not going anywhere.

20:45 - The Latino community, population,

20:47 - the Latino community, it's important is thriving, is growing.

20:51 - We are opening businesses.

20:52 - We're becoming doctors, nurses, lawyers.

20:56 - And so events like this are important because with the growth

21:00 - of our community, our health is very important.

21:04 - You know the numbers.

21:05 - We're number one in obesity.

21:07 - We're number one, diabetes, high blood pressure.

21:13 - So it is a great opportunity to have people like you come here

21:18 - and then tomorrow have our community come here and get educated.

21:23 - And while they're here, they're going to get checked.

21:25 - They're going to have some,

21:26 - things that they can do, get their diabetes check and, and be able

21:31 - to enjoy a beautiful afternoon, and the whole day here.

21:35 - But again, I just want to emphasize how important this is because

21:40 - our community is growing the Latino population in Pennsylvania, it's growing.

21:46 - We are the future.

21:47 - in here in the Lehigh Valley last week and there was an article

21:50 - that said that the, only area in the state of Pennsylvania

21:54 - where the population is actually growing, it's in the Lehigh Valley.

21:58 - And I will take credit for that.

22:01 - You know, Latinos, we love kids.

22:05 - So if there's any growth on the population

22:07 - in the state of Pennsylvania, I can almost guarantee it's us

22:12 - having babies.

22:15 - No. But seriously, again,

22:18 - I want to thank the Latino Connection for doing this.

22:21 - Last year was Redding.

22:22 - This year is, Lehigh Valley, Bethlehem.

22:26 - And we need to make sure that you guys continue to do this

22:29 - and make sure that every year is bigger and bigger and bigger,

22:32 - because we need events like this.

22:33 - We need people like you to interact with our community,

22:37 - help our community, educate our community, and motivate our community.

22:41 - So with that being said, an example

22:45 - of what our community is here in the United States.

22:50 - We have a great, young woman who's here with us.

22:54 - She's an actor.

22:55 - She's an into preneur.

22:57 - She is a producer.

23:00 - some of you might have seen her in Netflix, some of you have seen her

23:04 - in, Amazon Prime.

23:07 - She has a series, A next lead,

23:10 - which she has a series in Amazon Prime, and she's here with us today.

23:13 - Right.

23:14 - So let's let's make sure she comes out.

23:17 - Please welcome with a big round of applause

23:20 - all the way from Los Angeles, California.

23:23 - Julissa let on,

23:31 - My job is to find you in person.

23:33 - Thank you.

23:33 - Your name is a sex worker.

23:34 - That's not a problem, Nash.

23:36 - I can put in a complete, just to verify your email is spic

23:40 - and juicy at gmail.com.

23:44 - Yes. Okay.

23:46 - Thank you.

23:48 - The chat. Chat.

23:49 - I believe you done.

24:00 - I. Do

24:05 - need a smidge of inventory on.

24:10 - You. So

24:11 - much for the quality

24:14 - to keep me on the list.

24:19 - But I'm a big piece. And.

24:25 - I love.

24:27 - I love.

24:31 - You. Hi, everyone.

24:34 - Oh, no no no no no no.

24:36 - Hi, everyone.

24:39 - Thank you.

24:39 - We said Latino me.

24:41 - So I know we need to bring some energy.

24:43 - Hopefully I can bring that for you all.

24:45 - Thank you all for having me here.

24:47 - Thank you for being here.

24:48 - We're glad and happy to see you.

24:50 - I am thrilled this is the first time that I get to sit next to someone

24:54 - that I actually watch your next flick, so for me,

24:57 - I'm thrilled to have, you know, being able to be here.

25:00 - I can't wait for my selfie later so I can brag about.

25:02 - Yes, you see her in next flick, and I'm here with her.

25:07 - So let's

25:08 - let's get started because you have a series of of, the

25:12 - Dream and manifest journals,

25:15 - beginning with, well, beginning with this one,

25:19 - I want to apologize beforehand.

25:21 - This is the actual title, so it is called manifest.

25:26 - That shit,

25:29 - we're all adults.

25:30 - This okay is good.

25:32 - which was released in 2021,

25:34 - followed by your recent 2024 release.

25:37 - Are you ready to manifest?

25:39 - So let's begin there.

25:41 - what is manifestation to you

25:44 - and what what role does that play in your life?

25:48 - Yeah, you know, the word manifestation.

25:51 - I feel like nowadays is tossed around so much.

25:55 - I, when I first released this,

25:57 - I thought about it since, like, right before, the pandemic.

26:01 - And, I'm a serial journal.

26:03 - I've been journaling for 14 years, and so I wanted to do something

26:09 - and bring out something and jump into entrepreneurship

26:13 - with something that I felt like was going to be that something that I use,

26:17 - but most importantly, something that my community wanted would use

26:20 - and would be helpful.

26:22 - And so manifestation for me, for me, when you write it

26:26 - down, it's just written prayers.

26:28 - And so I have this thing where for me, manifestation is how I move in my life.

26:33 - Everything that I want, the outcome, the life that I live,

26:36 - is all with manifestation and for and for me is like

26:39 - I have a four step process to manifestation.

26:42 - And the first one is absolutely,

26:45 - wholeheartedly, without a doubt, believing in what you want.

26:48 - Your subconscious here's all.

26:50 - And sometimes it doesn't feel when you're

26:52 - when they don't know that your subconscious doesn't know.

26:54 - Sometimes when you're doubting or where you're not,

26:55 - and where you're truly believing in it so wholeheartedly believing in

26:59 - whatever it is that you want, or want to be, whatever it is.

27:03 - Number two is writing it down and being specific, very, very specific.

27:07 - Whether it's like

27:08 - you want something by a a date, then write the date down, envision that.

27:13 - And the third one, which is probably what people don't think manifestation is,

27:18 - is that you have to work with whatever it is that you want in this life.

27:22 - You gotta work for it.

27:23 - It's not like, oh yeah, I want to make $500,000 next year,

27:27 - and then I'm gonna sit here and I'm away for year.

27:28 - You never going to get it. So Brando,

27:32 - and then the last step, which is probably the hardest step

27:35 - for most people, it's having the faith and letting it go.

27:39 - Because if you truly believe in what it is that you want or who you want to be,

27:43 - if you're writing it down and if you're working for it, it is coming to you.

27:47 - It's inevitable.

27:48 - However, it might not be on your timeline line, but it is coming to you.

27:52 - So if you have the faith and you just let it go, it'll come.

27:56 - And so yeah, that's manifestation for me.

27:58 - And I've seen what journaling has done for me, for my mind,

28:01 - for my mental health, for the way that I navigate this world.

28:05 - And I just wanted to give something back to my community

28:07 - that I felt like would be really beneficial.

28:11 - Because as we know, we talk about therapy.

28:13 - But, you know, so back in the day, therapy was taboo out.

28:16 - I we're talking about a little bit different.

28:17 - But before I was like, okay, why are you going to therapy.

28:20 - What's going on.

28:21 - And so now it's something that, you know, a lot of us are doing

28:25 - and we're making it a priority.

28:26 - And so to me, this is a part of therapy for me.

28:30 - And putting it out there to the community and for everyone to be using

28:35 - this journal is it's a blessing.

28:37 - Amen. Right.

28:40 - I might have to take my yacht off my vision board.

28:43 - Okay. Yeah. I don't know if that's for sure.

28:47 - So let's talk a little bit more about your upbringing.

28:49 - I know you're here with your beautiful mother.

28:51 - I don't know where she is.

28:52 - Oh, I see her.

28:52 - I see her father a lunch.

28:54 - where are you from?

28:56 - And how did you grow up?

28:57 - And did you always carry such confidence in yourself to become successful?

29:03 - I originally I was born in New York,

29:05 - although I never talk about New York, but I. Yes.

29:09 - Yeah. Shout out to, I was born in New York.

29:11 - My family's from Washington Heights.

29:13 - and but I was raised in Miami, so I say I'm a Miami girl,

29:18 - and, Yeah, I, I think if you ask anybody

29:21 - in my family, they all say that I had this confidence since I was little.

29:25 - I can't remember it.

29:26 - but I want to say that ever since I can actually remember,

29:30 - I think I live unapologetically me and I.

29:35 - And I think that's a very difficult for a lot of people to do.

29:37 - And it's when you're when you're talking about living unapologetically

29:40 - you, it comes with a lot of black.

29:42 - It comes with a lot of, I think, backlash and I say backlash.

29:46 - Not in a bad way, but just it's really hard for you

29:49 - to walk in this earth unapologetically you standing in what you believe in.

29:53 - Because sometimes a lot of times people aren't.

29:56 - And so whatever your light looks like might aggravate someone,

30:01 - someone else, right, because they're not walking in their truth.

30:03 - And so I've always walked in my truth, and

30:07 - I think it's led me to where I am because I genuinely am who I am.

30:11 - And I and I, I think that comes from my family.

30:13 - I think it comes from my upbringing.

30:15 - I think it comes from like being the only girl amongst three boys

30:18 - and then roughing me up and being like, you know, you gotta, you gotta fight back.

30:22 - And so you fight back within with your confidence to fight back with your words.

30:27 - You fight back with how you maneuver through this life,

30:29 - standing with your shoulders back a little bit

30:31 - and going for everything you want to go for.

30:33 - My mom is here.

30:34 - and I, I feel like I wouldn't be who I am

30:39 - without without the support of my mom, of my grandma, of my family.

30:43 - When you have support like that, you feel like you could conquer the world.

30:47 - You're like, oh, I could do anything.

30:48 - I could jump off a bridge and I'm a fly know

30:52 - and get better.

30:53 - I don't know how it's going to work, but I feel like that's how I've always been.

30:57 - I've jumped and the leap and taken leaps and the the net

31:01 - that was always there was my family and I knew that I had that.

31:04 - So I maneuvered through this life like that.

31:07 - That's really great to hear.

31:08 - And I and I felt your little passion

31:10 - when you were talking about yourself in your confidence.

31:12 - You did this little move

31:14 - so you couldn't you can tell that you're you certainly embraced who you are.

31:19 - given that, what role has mental

31:21 - health and well-being played in your personal life, in your career?

31:24 - Yeah. You know what? I,

31:27 - I talk about after college, I went to the University of Florida Go Gators.

31:31 - And, I graduated

31:35 - with a theater degree and a telecommunications degree.

31:38 - And so no one tells you when you are graduating

31:41 - with these degrees that you're not going to have a job.

31:45 - No one tells you and you're like, yeah, I'm

31:47 - going after my passion is like, okay, then what are you going to do with that?

31:51 - And so I graduated and I found myself with two degrees

31:55 - from this major university, and I found myself back at home.

32:00 - And so I didn't know it at that moment.

32:02 - But now, in hindsight, I realize I was depressed,

32:06 - during that time because I had, you know, you see, your peers and your peers are

32:10 - they have jobs and they're moving away and they're doing all of these things

32:13 - and starting their life. And you're like, wait, what's going on with me?

32:16 - And why is this happening?

32:17 - And did I did I make the wrong decision

32:20 - by studying this and wanting to pursue this?

32:23 - And so during that time frame, for about a year or so, I was at home,

32:27 - and I was very, very sad about my life and what was going on.

32:31 - And journaling was something that I did a lot,

32:34 - and it was something that helped me,

32:35 - although I felt like I didn't know that at that time.

32:39 - But I find notes now.

32:41 - in my in my old journals and I'm like, oh my God, everything that I wanted

32:45 - and everything that I am now, I was writing about then

32:49 - and so it did play a part.

32:50 - Mental health is such a big deal, especially

32:55 - in our communities, because we don't talk about it.

32:57 - We don't talk about enough like, hey,

32:59 - I'm struggling right now and I need somebody to help me out.

33:02 - I need someone to see me, just see me, just hear me.

33:06 - And so yeah, it did. It played.

33:07 - It played such a big role in the way that I felt

33:10 - like I strapped on my boots and I was like, okay, well,

33:13 - you're sad about this, but like, what are we going to do about it?

33:16 - And are we going to change?

33:17 - All right, we're going to sit in it. Are we going to change it?

33:19 - What are we planning to do?

33:20 - And so yeah, I think that navigating

33:24 - from that point to now has been a lot of check ins with myself.

33:28 - and I couldn't do that to circle back to everything.

33:31 - I couldn't I couldn't check in on myself and make sure I was okay

33:36 - if I didn't know myself or stand in who I unapologetically am.

33:41 - And I think that's the whole thing of it.

33:43 - When you know who you are, you can check on yourself.

33:46 - You can say,

33:46 - oh my God, I am not myself right now or in this season, what's going on?

33:50 - Why am I not?

33:51 - Why am I not feeling like that?

33:53 - But you have to be able to know yourself.

33:55 - You have to be able to also be hold yourself accountable.

33:59 - and I think I've done that for, for, for a very long time now.

34:03 - Thank you.

34:05 - I want to go back real quick to something you say,

34:07 - because I think it's important, especially with our youth.

34:10 - you know, unfortunately,

34:13 - we live in an era where we want instant gratification.

34:17 - We want things to happen now.

34:19 - And you talk about manifest stating what you want,

34:22 - thinking it, saying it, writing it.

34:25 - But we don't talk enough about the work.

34:28 - the putting in the work

34:30 - that it's not that you graduated and now you dare.

34:33 - Right?

34:34 - It's not that you were great in basketball in high school,

34:37 - and now you're in the NBA,

34:39 - or that you're great in football and now you're in the NFL.

34:42 - I don't think that we talk to our youth enough about putting in the work.

34:47 - Yeah.

34:48 - You know, and, and the fact that sometimes you may even

34:51 - put all the work in and it may not turn out to be.

34:54 - So it's been a little bit on that, on,

34:58 - on making sure that we talk about putting the work.

35:01 - Yeah.

35:01 - I don't know about it not coming to be I don't believe in those things.

35:05 - It's going to happen for me one way or the other because I'm putting in the work.

35:09 - I, I agree, but I also know that it doesn't always happen on your timeline.

35:13 - And yes, we do live in a generation now

35:15 - where, you know, social media plays such a big role in what we see.

35:19 - and people only put highlight reels up.

35:21 - Right? And so you're not seeing the failures.

35:24 - You're not seeing the many times that people cry themselves to sleep,

35:26 - that figure that we're thinking, oh my God, how am I going to pay my rent?

35:28 - How am I going to do this? You don't see that.

35:30 - I see now people talk about me and they're like, oh my God, that's so great.

35:33 - You're doing so many awesome things.

35:34 - And I'm like, you have no idea what it took to get here.

35:37 - I've been living for ten years in L.A.

35:39 - and so I'm still not where I want to be, but I'm in a great space right now,

35:43 - and so it's taking me so long to get to this point.

35:47 - but what I, what I've seen and what is a pattern

35:52 - in my whole life and in every step that I gradually take and get higher

35:56 - and higher and climb higher and higher is the work that I continue to put in.

35:59 - But I come from a family of working women.

36:01 - And so we there was no not working.

36:04 - There was no we can't just sit and sit around and see what happens.

36:08 - That that wasn't that wasn't what I saw.

36:10 - And so because I didn't see that that's not what I embodied.

36:13 - I embody work, I embody, I enjoy it.

36:17 - And I also think that the biggest thing about it

36:20 - when when you see people don't want to put in the work, is because people are not

36:24 - pursuing what they're passionate about.

36:26 - I think when you're passionate about whatever it is you're doing,

36:29 - whether you are an entrepreneur,

36:30 - whether you're working in 9 to 5, it doesn't matter.

36:33 - You got to be passionate about it, because when you are,

36:35 - you genuinely work for it and you enjoy it.

36:40 - I think we we, we have this we have this thing where, you know,

36:43 - everyone's different,

36:44 - but we have this thing where you're going to sometimes settle.

36:48 - And when we talk about settle, we don't talk about

36:49 - just one thing we talk about all across the board.

36:51 - You settle

36:52 - in, okay, I'm just going to do this for the rest of my life, and that's okay.

36:55 - But it's not okay if you're not actively enjoying it

36:59 - and not working for it, you work for it.

37:01 - Whether it's the climb, the corporate ladder,

37:03 - if you are enjoying that and you are saying, okay, I love doing this,

37:07 - I love helping people in this specific way, whether it's in whatever it is,

37:12 - you are going to work ten times harder because that's going

37:15 - to give you some type of, I don't know, it's like a umph, right?

37:18 - It's like feeling good, like you go home at the end of the day and you are happy

37:23 - with what you accomplished.

37:25 - That is putting in the right work.

37:27 - There is real work.

37:28 - There is work just to do it.

37:29 - Just, I'm just getting through it and getting by.

37:32 - And then all of a sudden, 15 years later, you're like,

37:34 - what have I been doing for the past 15 years?

37:36 - So yeah, work is necessary.

37:38 - So whatever you want to do. But it got to be the right work.

37:40 - What is it that they say if you love?

37:42 - What if you do what you love? You don't work a day in your life.

37:44 - Yeah, I don't know about I. I'm working. You know,

37:48 - a lot of people ask

37:49 - me, how do I get up at 345 in the morning every day, right.

37:53 - And I tell people I love what I do.

37:56 - You know, I do a morning show four hours a day, but

38:00 - those are the best four hours of my day, because

38:03 - when I'm in there, I disconnect.

38:06 - I don't have to worry about a thing.

38:08 - I don't have to worry about the bills.

38:10 - I don't have to worry about anything else.

38:11 - I'm just there in the moment,

38:13 - in those four hours, whether it's entertaining or informing.

38:17 - But but I'm. I'm loving what I'm what I'm doing.

38:20 - So, this year, for this year, the, the theme for

38:24 - this event is fueling, revolution inspire hiring change and embracing

38:30 - unity for Latino, well, well-being. So

38:35 - what or who,

38:38 - has inspired you

38:40 - to to grow, to change your life and why?

38:43 - Embracing unity for Latinos well-being is so important for the community.

38:48 - that's a great question.

38:50 - I don't have a specific, like, person.

38:52 - I think we

38:53 - a lot of us look at like, celebrities and we're like, that person inspires me.

38:57 - And that's not the case for me.

38:58 - I think, my family inspires me.

39:01 - I always say my grandma is my North Star.

39:05 - She's no longer here with us. Right?

39:06 - But she did so much work for me to be able to sit on this stage and say,

39:10 - this is my job.

39:11 - I know that those generations before me

39:15 - had it way harder, than I.

39:19 - Than I can ever even imagine.

39:21 - And so I do that for them. I do all of that.

39:23 - I do for them.

39:24 - I think I owe it to my family.

39:27 - I owe it to my grandmother and to her sisters

39:30 - who left the country and decided, hey, we're going to go to America.

39:34 - We're going to see what happens there.

39:35 - And not and not knowing

39:36 - what was on the other side of it and just taking a risk and leaving.

39:40 - And so me not sitting, me not taking every day and being like, you know what?

39:46 - I got to do?

39:46 - I got to go full force with whatever it is. Right?

39:48 - It is my homage to them.

39:50 - It is my ode to them for what they have done, for the sacrifices

39:54 - that they did to get to this country.

39:56 - For me to say, I'm going to be a theater major,

40:00 - most people wouldn't be able to do that.

40:02 - And so that is that is what I think of I that's what I think of when I think

40:06 - of community and when I think of unity, and when I think of,

40:09 - you know, setting the needle forward and opening up the door

40:12 - for the next generation of Latina, Afro Latina women and just people in general.

40:18 - I, I always say, I've said this lately,

40:22 - I've had an epiphany, when I released, the second journal.

40:26 - Are you ready to manifest?

40:27 - And I catered the second journal more to women.

40:31 - The first one was for for anyone.

40:33 - and the second one was more to women because I felt like

40:36 - I don't have any sisters.

40:38 - Three boys, just me.

40:39 - and so I always wanted a sister, but I realized

40:43 - that I am not a, I wasn't a sister to anyone because.

40:46 - Or two women, because I was meant to be a sister to everyone.

40:50 - And so for me, that's community.

40:52 - And so I can't be there to touch you and talk to you every single day.

40:56 - But my journal could.

40:57 - And so the prompts that are in there that I wrote, you should read in my voice,

41:01 - and I am the sister that is talking to you, to encouraging you to move forward.

41:05 - Take it a day at a time

41:06 - and know that you can do whatever it is that's possible within your mind.

41:11 - Now. That's very, very powerful.

41:15 - I think what you're saying is resonating with me.

41:18 - my mother has been my strength.

41:21 - I have a sister.

41:22 - we we we get along sometimes.

41:25 - Sometimes we don't, as typical sisters do.

41:28 - but I think you've touched on it a bit.

41:30 - But how do you want to inspire others?

41:33 - I think I want to.

41:35 - I know that I inspire others by living unapologetically like myself.

41:39 - like I said, I think it's hard to do because people.

41:46 - I mean, we're human, right?

41:47 - It's just it's hard to get someone.

41:51 - It's hard for you to stand in your truth and say what you mean and mean what

41:54 - you say without someone looking at you and scrunching their face up.

41:57 - Even if they don't agree with you

41:58 - and you still stand ten toes and say that's what I believe in.

42:01 - It's hard.

42:02 - And so I think that's my that's my truth.

42:05 - I've always been that way.

42:06 - I've always like, had a little, you know, I love sass in me since I was a kid.

42:10 - I've always I've always stood up for what I believed in.

42:13 - I kind of talk mandala.

42:14 - and so I think that that is how I inspire

42:19 - that I inspire people by being myself so that they can be themselves.

42:24 - So they can say, oh, I could do it.

42:26 - I could do it, too.

42:26 - Because like I said, I'm just a little Dominican girl from Miami, Florida.

42:31 - I don't come from nothing crazy.

42:33 - I had a I had a working mom, single mom for kids.

42:36 - I am no different than anyone else.

42:38 - I have the same 24 hours.

42:40 - I just decided to use them up.

42:42 - And so me being who I am and walking like this in my power,

42:46 - talking with power, knowing my purpose, talking with purpose

42:50 - and meaning when I say I hope it inspires people to also do that.

42:54 - Even when your voice shakes, even when you're nervous,

42:57 - even when you're like,

42:57 - I don't know if they're going to slam the door in my face and anything.

43:01 - Stand up for what you believe in.

43:02 - Because if not, what are you doing?

43:05 - Wow. So

43:11 - how do you incorporate your your

43:14 - your physical health, your your will, your wellness practice?

43:18 - especially in your daily routine when you're in such a demanding industry,

43:24 - the entertainment industry where you have auditions

43:27 - that you have to go shoot and come here and come back.

43:29 - So how do you incorporate wellness in your daily life?

43:33 - Well, I saw nobody in the gym this morning.

43:36 - I just wanted to put that out there.

43:37 - I was in there by myself at 8:00 in the morning.

43:41 - in the past two years, specifically year and a half,

43:45 - I have taken my health, physical health extremely serious

43:49 - and moving every single day like I don't have. oh.

43:54 - I'm going to work out four days a week.

43:55 - Oh, I'm going to work out five days a week.

43:56 - No, I just work out every single day until the day that I'm like, oh, I'm tired.

44:00 - And today I'm just going to rest. Whether that's a Monday with a Sunday,

44:02 - whether that's a Friday, it doesn't matter.

44:04 - I just move my body and I've seen what that has done for me, not just physically.

44:09 - Yes, I am extremely strong. Yes.

44:11 - What matters in the gym,

44:12 - a lot of the times in the entertainment industry is how you look short.

44:16 - That's great.

44:16 - But I think that there's something about the way that I feel

44:19 - when I walk out of that gym, knowing that I push myself to a limit,

44:23 - and that I also feel better about whatever.

44:26 - However I went in, I do not come out.

44:29 - And so the endorphins that you release, that is a real thing.

44:33 - And I've seen the transformation.

44:35 - It just makes me feel good, like I've never walked in.

44:38 - They say that you never walk out of the gym regretting it.

44:40 - I've never walked out of the gym, but like, oh, I regret me working.

44:43 - Oh, I should have stayed in bad sleeping.

44:46 - No, you are happy.

44:47 - You're like, whoa, this feels good.

44:49 - And so it's something that I, I actually try to hold myself accountable

44:54 - for with posting about it every day on my Instagram.

44:57 - And I always tag it saying, did you move today?

45:00 - And I feel like I've been getting so much responses.

45:03 - At first I thought it was annoying, almost like I am.

45:05 - I'm more like they don't want to hear it.

45:08 - Like every day, girl, we get it.

45:09 - You'll be moving again. Yeah.

45:11 - And then I started getting a lot of messages of people saying thank you.

45:15 - Like that's helping me get up.

45:17 - Or when I see your video,

45:19 - when I see a post of you posting it and saying you did, you move today?

45:23 - Now I'm like, nope,

45:23 - I was not going to, but now because you said it, I'm going to do that.

45:26 - And so these are the ways that I feel like I am a sister

45:30 - for my community, whether it's mental health and journaling,

45:33 - whether it is moving my body, this is all a part of wellness

45:37 - and wellness all comes back to who am I, what is my purpose and how am I inspiring?

45:42 - That's how I look at it.

45:44 - That's so you talked about the physical health

45:47 - and getting up and working out, but we also know nutrition

45:50 - plays a pivotal role in your overall health and well-being.

45:53 - So can you share some of your favorite healthy eating habits

45:56 - or recipes that help you maintain a healthy and balanced life? Yes.

46:00 - Listen, I actually just did a video recently

46:04 - where I talked about my mom was in, Los Angeles.

46:07 - I live in Los Angeles.

46:08 - She was in Los Angeles for two weeks, and she was staying with me.

46:10 - And obviously, listen, we Latinos in here, right?

46:13 - We come from, I'm not some Indian girl.

46:15 - I come from the background.

46:16 - So what we're eating is originally Cali,

46:19 - mango seed thrown up to, you know, like we're eating all of the things.

46:23 - Are you get excited about that.

46:24 - That's going to you like diabetes. You know.

46:29 - Am I it

46:30 - going that was going on like that's a real thing.

46:33 - And so I think that you know, it started it started with me

46:37 - seeing progress in the gym and seeing like oh okay.

46:40 - My body is looking great.

46:41 - This is amazing.

46:42 - Now I gotta make sure I eat so that it could be, you know, it could

46:46 - it could do well by me.

46:47 - And then I started realizing what these things really, really meant.

46:51 - And so recently my mom was, like I said, in L.A.

46:54 - and so I decided to cook for her throughout the time

46:58 - that she was there, which is usually not the case.

47:00 - Right? She's going to always cookery.

47:02 - But this time I was like, no, I want

47:03 - I want to show her the different things that I eat.

47:05 - And so I've literally just changed my diet completely.

47:09 - I don't eat how I used to eat and I think you do it enough.

47:13 - Anything, right? You you do anything. Enough.

47:16 - You are going to start.

47:17 - It just becomes habit.

47:19 - And so food has now become habit like good food,

47:23 - nutritious food has become a habit for me.

47:25 - Now I'm not just throwing down whatever for breakfast.

47:28 - I'm like, okay, what can I eat?

47:29 - Some days it's oatmeal, some bacon and egg whites.

47:33 - Other days is this amazing cottage cheese on avocado toast and some honey.

47:38 - It's good. Try it

47:40 - or I'm doing like I'm still eating my rice, right?

47:43 - But I'm having a smaller portion and I'm making maybe,

47:47 - a pokey bowl at my house with some raw tuna and raw salmon,

47:52 - some lettuce and some cucumbers and a little bit of sauce.

47:55 - And these things are good.

47:56 - There's so many things.

47:58 - There's no excuse at this point right now.

48:00 - Like we have the World Wide Web, we have social media.

48:03 - You can find so many things literally if you go, I have

48:06 - like a folder in my social media where it's all food recipes.

48:10 - And so I'm like, oh, today I want to try this.

48:12 - There is just no excuse now.

48:13 - And so I think that because I, I and I always do what I enjoy, like

48:18 - I'm making things and I actually enjoy that are really delicious.

48:22 - You're just doing

48:23 - I'm just doing better for myself and for my body and I'm seeing it.

48:26 - You literally feel it and you literally see it

48:28 - like your skin gets better, your hair starts growing like it's

48:32 - these things are good for you, whether you whether you don't want it sometimes.

48:36 - Right. You're like, I kind of want something else.

48:38 - I kind of want this ridiculous sandwich.

48:41 - And it's like, okay, you can have the sandwich.

48:43 - How can we how can we make it better for you?

48:45 - Hanson? How can we make it good?

48:47 - Like we don't have to throw on, like, pounds of mayonnaise, you know, like

48:51 - we can do it.

48:51 - Everything, I think to everything in, in,

48:55 - you know, in proportional, I'm being like, okay, this is how much I can have.

48:58 - Maybe I don't have to have.

48:59 - And if you have a cheat day, it doesn't have to have it a cheat.

49:01 - They don't mean the whole day.

49:03 - Your, ways.

49:05 - It's a cheat day. Have it. Yeah.

49:07 - Have a meal with that day that you cheat, but not the whole day.

49:11 - Because then you.

49:12 - That whole day just.

49:13 - We literally just said, okay, forget the rest.

49:15 - Like, it literally just took away all the five days before.

49:18 - See, that's my problem.

49:19 - My sheet, days, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack.

49:23 - I see no, no for a cheat. Stomach.

49:27 - That's why we're here.

49:28 - So you were talking about your your your your wellness within your body

49:32 - and what you eat. But sleeping.

49:34 - Yeah, sleeping is so important.

49:36 - Is considered a cornerstone of well-being.

49:38 - How do you prioritize? Right.

49:40 - How do you put the making sure you sleep

49:44 - with a career that keeps you busy?

49:47 - I, I told you, I'm really honest when I'm out myself,

49:51 - and so I'm not going to sit here

49:52 - and try to lie and say, yup, I get eight hours of sleep every day.

49:56 - It's not it's not a thing.

49:57 - because it's a busy life.

49:59 - Because there's a lot going on.

50:01 - some days. Right.

50:03 - I do get my eight hours some day I get sick, some day I get four.

50:06 - However, on the days that I do not have

50:09 - things that I have to get to, I do make it a priority.

50:12 - I do not have a TV in my bedroom.

50:15 - that's one of the ways that I decided not to be able to get sleep.

50:18 - Because for most of us, if we don't know, we turn on the TV,

50:21 - we lay there and we're trying to,

50:23 - okay, we're going to just watch TV until we fall asleep,

50:25 - and then you fall asleep with the TV on and you do not get the proper rest

50:29 - when that happens, that it's not a real thing.

50:31 - and so that's, that's something that I was that I'm conscious

50:35 - that I made a conscious decision on.

50:36 - But for the most part, I'm still I'm still working on it.

50:39 - So if anybody got some tips

50:40 - on how to sleep better, teach me, because I'm still working on it.

50:43 - It's it is really hard, but I do try as much as possible.

50:46 - Like last night, I was I was in the bed early,

50:50 - and I closed everything

50:51 - and I made sure, like, I went to sleep because I didn't want to wake up at seven

50:55 - something this morning to be in the gym to make sure I had a kickstart,

50:59 - a good kickstart to my day. So it's just also,

51:01 - I think with with everything that we're talking about, right?

51:04 - It's just making conscious decisions is standing by whatever decision you made.

51:08 - If you said, oh,

51:09 - I'm going to bed today at 11:00, stand by that and go to bed at 11:00.

51:13 - Like make sure whatever it is that you do, you really, really stand by it.

51:17 - I think my phone went off and I think it's my wife saying, see,

51:21 - we don't need a TV in the room. I told you,

51:24 - but but you know, it is it is interesting how,

51:28 - you know, you say the days that that you decided

51:31 - those are the days are you're going to take the extra time

51:34 - or when you decide you're going to go to bed at that time, you make sure you do it.

51:37 - Those little things make a difference.

51:40 - Absolutely. They do. It's little effort.

51:42 - So you're not going to from one day to the next.

51:44 - You don't just change everything.

51:45 - That's the quickest way to fail is

51:47 - making is implementing little things every single day that will help you.

51:51 - Little things add up to the big thing, and all of a sudden, here

51:54 - you are six months into the year and you're like, whoa,

51:56 - I feel like a different person.

51:58 - And that's because you are.

52:00 - And never underestimate the power of a good nap or a 20 minute nap.

52:04 - You don't need an edge because then you go into the sleep well.

52:07 - Within 20 minutes you wake up, you're off.

52:09 - You're like energized. You're ready to go.

52:12 - So many people struggle with work life balance and especially

52:15 - in high pressure industries like entertainment.

52:19 - What strategies of self-care practice do you implement

52:23 - to manage stress and maintain a sense of balance to your personal life?

52:27 - Yeah.

52:27 - Oh, work life balance is hard.

52:30 - especially when you love what you do and you want to get to that next step.

52:35 - You're going to go hard.

52:36 - You're going to go a little harder than you normally do.

52:39 - and so that's something else that I'm still trying to figure out,

52:41 - because I do work really hard and I enjoy it.

52:44 - I enjoy working hard.

52:45 - However, I also I think my balance of that is, rewarding myself.

52:51 - Right?

52:51 - Whether it's like, oh, I'm staying in bed on the or I'm staying on the couch

52:55 - all day and I'm ordering Uber Eats.

52:57 - That's my like work life balance.

52:59 - I'm like, all right, you've been working for three weeks straight. Okay.

53:01 - This is one day you can get to do whatever it is,

53:03 - or I'm gonna go shopping today or that's for me.

53:06 - I, I do as much as I can, and that's

53:11 - unfortunately, just like what happens when you're just on, on the grind.

53:14 - I feel like I don't I don't like the word.

53:17 - I don't like the I don't like the word hustle.

53:19 - And I don't like hustle culture.

53:20 - I don't think that's something that sits well with me.

53:24 - But grinding, right is something that sits with me.

53:27 - I'm like, okay, I'm grinding to get to the next level.

53:29 - I'm grinding to do what I got to do

53:30 - to make sure that my family is okay, to make sure that nobody has to worry.

53:33 - When I have children, they're not going to have to worry.

53:35 - I know that there's time periods.

53:38 - There's some like, right now, I'm not on a show,

53:40 - so I don't have to be on set every single day.

53:43 - So it's just you're seeing, like, the pockets.

53:45 - You use them as you go.

53:47 - Because I know that when I get on the next show, yeah,

53:49 - I'm going to be waking up

53:49 - at 4:00 in the morning and getting to set and being there for 12, 15 hours.

53:54 - So, you know, you understand what it is, how it is, and you navigate like that.

53:58 - And so that this week specifically, I've been flying and traveling,

54:02 - speaking in different places.

54:04 - And so next week I'll be a little better, I'll be home and I'll be more relaxed.

54:07 - And so you just I literally have a calendar of the month in my office.

54:13 - And so I have everything written out for the month, and I plan things

54:17 - in my head on that calendar, figuring out, okay, this is what's going to happen.

54:21 - This is I'm going to have a massage every month no matter what.

54:23 - It doesn't matter where I'm at. A massage is happening.

54:26 - And so there's things like that, right?

54:28 - That to me

54:28 - is there's little pockets of of rewards and the work life balance for me.

54:34 - All right.

54:34 - Well ladies and gentlemen, let's give it up.

54:36 - Julissa Calderon, let's let's get up.

54:39 - Let's let's get let's let's move over here.

54:42 - So I am told that we got a little bit of time.

54:45 - If you got to want to ask any question, anything you want to ask or something.

54:50 - And then we can take it from there.

54:52 - So we have a little room for a Q&A if anybody is interested.

54:56 - How are we going to do this?

54:57 - We got microphones.

54:59 - All right.

54:59 - So raise your hand if you want to ask a question

55:02 - if there's anything you want to know.

55:07 - Over here. Who?

55:08 - Say who? Say it. Me.

55:10 - They'll walk up to you if you have a question.

55:17 - All the way to the back.

55:18 - We're going all the way to the back. Hi.

55:21 - I was just wondering, so you are acknowledging

55:25 - that in the media, and how does it feel to be that sort of representation

55:29 - for everyone, in your space that you're in?

55:32 - Oh, man. I just got that.

55:35 - I just was speaking at, Bebington University a couple of days ago,

55:39 - and the room was filled with all these little Afro

55:42 - Latinas that came, and they were, like, fangirling.

55:45 - And I was like, okay, hair, you know?

55:47 - And they all of the questions were like that.

55:49 - and, and they kept saying, you know, you're the Afro Latino.

55:53 - And I'm like, there's so many Afro Latinos in entertainment.

55:55 - And they were like, no, but you, you're the one.

55:57 - And so, I've been I've gotten this before, so many times when they're like,

56:02 - you know, you're the representation right now for, for that.

56:05 - and I think that's a big role to fill because I like I said,

56:09 - I think there's so many people that are that in this industry.

56:12 - However, I think I'm very proud of it.

56:15 - And I, and I understand what that means now.

56:18 - I understand what it means to be kind of the first,

56:21 - and that means like, okay, well, then I'm going to I'm

56:24 - going to embark on some things that haven't been done.

56:26 - I'm going to say some things that have never been said.

56:29 - I'm going to stand in the power that I am a black woman who speaks Spanish and

56:32 - know my roots and know where I come from.

56:35 - I stand by these things.

56:37 - And so I now know that knowledge is power.

56:40 - And before I didn't even like that term

56:42 - when it first came out, because it's a new term, guys.

56:44 - So when I first came out, I was like, what is this?

56:47 - Why are we doing that?

56:47 - We're making a subdivision of a division already.

56:49 - I'm a Latina and that's it.

56:51 - But understanding that it's allowing others to understand

56:54 - where it come from and what that means and what that looks like.

56:58 - Now I have a duty, and my duty is to educate

57:01 - and to do it with grace because everybody doesn't know everything.

57:03 - And so why not educate and why not, be proudly afro-latina and talk about it?

57:10 - And when I first started, thank you.

57:12 - When I first started in this industry, I started doing videos

57:15 - and I did a lot of videos on Afro-Latina that so that those girls

57:18 - who were at Bennington University who were like,

57:21 - made me feel very old, because when a girl we grew up on you, I was like, oh, I,

57:25 - I'm not that old.

57:27 - but they, they were like, you know, we, we grew up watching you

57:29 - and thank you for making it a safe space and telling us who we were and and showing

57:34 - and being proud of who you were so that we could stand up here and say

57:37 - we are proud Afro Latinas.

57:39 - And so I'm grateful for it.

57:40 - But I'm also grateful for the Rosie Perez that came before me.

57:43 - And the Rosario Dawson's

57:45 - that those women are Afro Latinas too, but they didn't have a name for them.

57:49 - And so now that we have a name, I'm going to stand up

57:51 - and make sure that I use it every single chance I get there.

57:54 - You go.

57:58 - We have another question somewhere else.

58:02 - We can't see you guys.

58:03 - So if you got the mic, go for it.

58:07 - They're walking all right.

58:10 - Another question from the back.

58:13 - No, not so much a question but more of a thank you.

58:19 - you know, always watching you in Peru, like with Gardel.

58:24 - And, you know, I appreciate all the phrases

58:29 - that US Hispanic saved from our parents and whatnot to watch that,

58:36 - some of the things that came up for me about you was being unapologetic.

58:42 - And I thank you that you said that today

58:45 - because I'm like, man, she she is who she is, right?

58:49 - Like, sometimes when you go out and you present to people like us, right?

58:55 - Organizations and business people, you know, sometimes you become reserve.

59:00 - Oh, I got to act like this or I got to act like that.

59:05 - Be you.

59:05 - Continue to represent us.

59:08 - Be who you are.

59:09 - Unapologetic.

59:11 - Represent us. Represent us well.

59:14 - So I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

59:18 - Keep on saying your stuff.

59:20 - Be who you keep. You live.

59:22 - Keep, keep your head up high.

59:24 - I truly

59:25 - appreciate everything that you're doing because our kids are watching you as well.

59:29 - and so I appreciate who you are.

59:32 - Keep on representing.

59:34 - thank you so much. Yes.

59:38 - We got we got one more, one more.

59:41 - My questions going to be quick.

59:43 - Hi, everyone.

59:44 - thank you so much for making a difference and paving the way

59:48 - and just doing what you're doing

59:49 - and living in your purpose on a page, unapologetically.

59:53 - my daughter is going to be majoring in theater and film,

59:59 - 098 and as a Latina mom, I almost died.

01:00 - 06.736 That was really hard for me.

01:00 - 10.239 I'm still processing it, so I feel like this was God

01:00 - 13.276 checking me right now, as you were telling me.

01:00 - 16.379 And you were telling all of us that you went to theater school.

01:00 - 22.318 And how can a mom support her kid that's going to theater school?

01:00 - 23.820 What would be your advice like?

01:00 - 27.557 What can I do to help support my daughter in that decision?

01:00 - 30.326 Oh my. I should give my mom up here too. So this is,

01:00 - 36.232 I think I think the fact that you just said right now that some,

01:00 - 39.736 you know, maybe it was God right now, like trying to tell you something.

01:00 - 43.139 I think right now, it was just maybe the maybe the the switch just went on.

01:00 - 44.040 Right. Maybe you need it.

01:00 - 47.043 I always say that there's gems in this life that we come across

01:00 - 47.910 and we gotta pick them up.

01:00 - 50.413 And by the end of it, we have a handful of gems and we don't know.

01:00 - 52.048 We didn't even know that we were picking up along the way.

01:00 - 53.916 So hopefully you picked up something today

01:00 - 57.387 that allows you to know and and understand that if you pour into her,

01:00 - 00.490 she's going to pour everything she has into what she loves.

01:01 - 04.193 And if that's what she genuinely loves, it's going to show

01:01 - 05.595 because she's going to put the work in.

01:01 - 08.898 And so I don't know what it is to be a mom because I'm not that yet.

01:01 - 12.635 But I do know that support is the biggest thing that any parent

01:01 - 14.103 could give any child,

01:01 - 17.674 because you feel like you could conquer the world when you're when your mom is

01:01 - 21.210 beside you or your father is beside you and they're saying, hey, you got this.

01:01 - 23.613 it's I will say that I

01:01 - 25.715 it's hard.

01:01 - 27.016 It's not easy.

01:01 - 29.852 it's not an easy career to embark on.

01:01 - 35.892 It's really not the percentage of people who actually make it is very, very slim.

01:01 - 36.459 Right.

01:01 - 39.662 However, someone could have told me that and said the same thing, and

01:01 - 42.765 I still would have been like, wow, here I'm gonna be the slim percentage.

01:01 - 45.968 And so she could also be that, but we have to make sure

01:01 - 49.005 that we pour into her and, and and how can you help?

01:01 - 51.674 In what ways can you help? There's so many different ways. Right?

01:01 - 54.811 Whether it is getting her in acting class, whether it is looking for the best

01:01 - 58.981 theater school, whatever it is, however, you can show up in your own way.

01:01 - 02.685 Do that because I'm sure she's going to be so thankful for it.

01:02 - 04.387 All right, well, there you go.

01:02 - 07.156 We are out

01:02 - 10.159 of time, but I hope you had a good time.

01:02 - 12.061 I hope that you enjoy our chat.

01:02 - 14.097 Once again, thank you for coming.

01:02 - 15.064 Thank you for being here.

01:02 - 16.999 Thank you for sharing your experience

01:02 - 19.335 and your life and everything that you do with all of us.

01:02 - 22.338 So once again, let's give it up one more time.

01:02 - 25.508 Thank you, Lisa Caledonians.

01:02 - 30.113 And I'd like to thank for that you, Lisa and Victoria

01:02 - 34.851 for giving us your valuable time and this very enriching conversation.

01:02 - 38.087 If you'd like a chance to chat a little more with you, Lisa,

01:02 - 42.358 we are going to have a meet and greet happening at the vape your room,

01:02 - 46.129 and you might even go home with a signed copy of her book.

01:02 - 49.732 So if you're interested in that, please head to the vape room.

01:02 - 54.303 Up next, we have a lot of interesting conversations happening at our afternoon

01:02 - 58.775 breakout sessions, so please refer to the screens for more.