Q. What is your favorite part about being Latina?
A. We are unique. We are strong despite the many challenges we face in this country, and our power makes us unique- in addition to our passion. The combination of power and passion takes us far when we choose to fight for something. When we go for something, we go for it.
Q. What is your superpower?
A. Believing- really believing. I’m not talking about just believing in myself, but rather believing in everything. I think many people see the worst in things –the worst in their work environment, in other people, etc. But I think that if we see the good in things, if we believe that bad people and bad experiences can be turned into something good, we have a superpower. Whatever we believe has the power to change our experiences.
Q. Tell us about your background.
A. I was born in Mexico City and moved to the Yucatán Peninsula when I was young. My parents didn’t have money- my dad was a taxi driver, and my mom was a stay-at-home mom. They always told me I wouldn’t go to college, not because they didn’t want me to be successful or better myself, but because they didn’t believe it was within our means. But I decided that I had to do it. I didn’t know how, but I knew I would do it. I got a scholarship to study communications at a University in Mexico. While I was studying, I decided I needed to have something to show on my resume when I graduated, so I learned everything I could about editing, production and being on the microphone. After many castings, I was selected to be on a radio show in my home state — for free, I didn’t get paid — and I kept building my skills in TV production. I knew I didn’t have money, so I couldn’t afford not to have experience. When I graduated, I landed a job in one of the biggest radio stations in Mexico, while also working as a reporter for Televisa in my state. I also worked as editor-in-chief of a magazine.
Q. You were having a lot of success, why leave and move to the US to start over?
A. I asked myself what was next and realized I was still hungry for more. I sold my car, broke up with my boyfriend, left everything behind, and moved here as an au pair. I applied to graduate school multiple times, until I got in. From there, Univision hired me in New York City.
Q. You accomplished some very remarkable things in your tenure at Univision, tell us about them.
A. When they hired me, there were three people in the podcast department. They didn’t have any producers or shows and we went on to build something amazing. I had a show about unsolved mysteries — including unsolved murders, paranormal activity, etc.– and it just took off! I remember seeing ten downloads, then 100, then 300,000 a month. At the time I thought how is this happening? We had no support from the larger institution, but we kept believing that we could build this amazing thing. Then we added other shows, and we kept growing.
Q. What do you think was the key to your podcast becoming so popular with your audience?
A. Being honest with the audience was very important. There were things we couldn’t answer, but I would present all the facts and possible theories, and then I would include the audience. I would ask them what they thought was the most plausible theory and ask them to share their experiences with the paranormal or the supernatural. We aired the audience’s testimonials in a separate episode each week. This gave them a voice and made them part of the show. They went from being just the listener to being part of the show.
Q. You are an expert in bringing people together, what do you think it will take to bring powerful Latinas together to exercise the collective power we hold?
A. The first thing is we have to support each other. I still see a lot of Latinas (and Latinos) who “se meten el pie,” as they say- we trip each other up. And that’s a shame because we are a community, and need to stick together, especially between women. We still are nowhere near making the same amount of money as men for the same job, even though we often do it better- not to brag, just being honest. In the entertainment industry, as a woman, when you near your forties, they start looking for the next young thing, while men can get fat and old. So, the way to come together is to celebrate and be genuinely happy for each other’s successes and to hold the door open and include someone else when you’re in a position to build, as I’ve tried to do in the positions I’ve held. Also, at the end of the day, “dos cabezas piensan major que una,” two heads think better than one.
Q. Tell us what you’re hoping to accomplish now as the head of audio for MundoNow?
A. We are building a vast podcast network at MundoNow. We are creating Latino podcasts for a new generation, focusing on Latinos in the US. We have a huge repertoire in English and Spanish because we know that the experience of Latinos in the US is unique, regardless of the language.
Q. Who is someone else we should feature on Informada?
I would recommend both La Bronca and Carla Medano.