The Voices We Carry | Latina Leadership Podcast with Andrea Diaz

[Andrea Diaz] Hola Amiga. Welcome to the Latina Leadership Podcast, a podcast by Latinas for all women. Get ready because today’s conversation is really special.

Hey everyone, welcome to another episode. I’m your host, Andrea Diaz. Last week, we gave ourselves our permission slip. We talked about quieting the internal pressure but being gentle with ourselves as we start this new year. That was about the voices we carry inside. But there are other voices we carry—heavier ones. Stories that aren’t just about self-improvement, stories about survival, about reclamation.

This week is a little different. We’re not just talking about these stories. We’re going to experience them together. We have three powerful video submissions from listeners. Each one is a window into a life, rebuilt after something tried to break it. These are stories about starting a business. They’re about that much harder work of rebuilding a self, you know, of finding your voice in a room where you were told to be silent. So we’re going to watch and then we’re going to talk about what they mean, not just for them, but for all of us.

We’re calling this one “The Voices We Carry.” The first video is from Rosanna. She’s a survivor of domestic violence in a seven-year court battle to see her daughter, Destiny. Let’s watch it together. So let me pull up my phone here. I got my headphones. And let’s watch it.

[Rosanna] I hope that when survivors of domestic violence see my story, they feel motivated to fight. And they feel inspired by my strength because if I can do this for seven years and still be here to speak about it, and I haven’t lost my mind and I haven’t jumped off a bridge and I haven’t gone to jail, I would like them to learn how to survive.

I was scheduled to see Destiny for a one-hour supervised visit right after Mother’s Day. The building was gray and sterile. I signed in with the security guard as I had a hundred times before, for two years in the pit of my stomach. I felt nauseous and my head ached because I had to see our daughter in a room where someone was writing everything we said and everything we did. The room was hot and there were no windows. I could not breathe. I felt like a criminal.

I walked into that white room, scattered with old toys. I dragged my rolling suitcase full of Destiny’s books and games from home. I carried the manicure set for our weekly mommy and daughter ritual. She loved one until pictures on her nails. I always covered my face before she walked into the room. I acted surprised with delight. There she was. She walked into the room with a violin case. She said, “Mommy, you didn’t come to my first violin recital, so I’m going to give you a concert.” She proudly played Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. I smiled, but I wanted to break down and cry. I had wanted to be at her recital like every other mom, but her father said no. And the Law Guardian backed him up.

We started to sit at a little table in the corner of the room, but the chair was broken. So we sat on the bed sofa and she laid her head on my lap and I stroked her hair. Just loving being her mom. I looked at Destiny’s long fingers, just like mine, and I marveled at how much she’s grown and how very beautiful she’s become. I looked at my watch because the hour had evaporated and it was almost time to say goodbye. I wonder how many more recitals I’ll have to miss. How many more birthdays and Christmases. I’ve been in court for seven years. I want to pick up Destiny from school every day, and I want to put her to bed every night.

[Andrea Diaz] Oh my God. That was emotional video. Well, like that sound. That tiny, perfect song in that horrible white room. It’s not just a song. It’s her daughter’s way of saying you’re still my mom. This system doesn’t get to take our music.

So Rosanna ends by saying she hopes her story teaches other survivors how to survive. What a story teaches us is that it’s about more than one mom. It’s about institutional resilience. It’s about navigating systems that can be really hostile, especially to a woman of color, and finding a way to hold on to who you are at your core. Rosanna’s voice shows us that sometimes leadership is the stubborn daily act of not giving up. It’s persistence as a form of love.

The next video is a total shift from Rosana’s. It’s a bright news feature on Mija Books, a company that sells all kinds of diverse children’s books. We meet Maritere as she’s talking about her book, “Tio Ricky doesn’t speak English.” So let’s put the headphones back on. And watch this together.

[News Reporter] There is one local author. Maritere Bellas. Good morning. Muchisimas gracias, thank you for being with us. You have a new book coming out. It’s called “Tio Ricky doesn’t speak English.” And let me tell you, Michel, when we tell you about the story, it’s something that I don’t know if you can relate, but I can certainly relate to money today. Tell us about the book.

[Maritere Bellas] Yes. Tio Ricky doesn’t speak English, Tio Ricky No Habla Ingles. It’s about a little boy that has to translate for his visiting uncle, which is the reality of many Latino and bilingual families that, where the child becomes the voice of loved ones that don’t speak English. So it’s a cute little story about how Enrique discovers that translating is not a chore, but is really an act of kindness and love. And it’s a superpower because he can communicate in two languages.

[News Reporter] That is fantastic, and it’s a great lesson. And as I said, I can certainly relate to that. I remember going with my parents to the doctors or to certain appointments where you kind of had to, you know. Yeah, definitely be the translator. So it’s always a superpower. Wow. Well, what an amazing story. Especially with Mija Books and their mission and a superpower like that.

[Andrea Diaz] That part of it got me. I was, you know, I was that kid. I remember the weight of it at a doctor’s office, you know, being scared that I’d mess up a word. I never thought of it as a superpower. I thought of it as my job, and it felt heavy. Maritere is doing something really special here. She’s reframing a collective experience so many of us have had. She’s taking a job that comes from a place of necessity and sometimes from a parent’s vulnerability. And she’s flipping it, flipping the script. She’s telling kids your ability to speak to world. That’s an act of love. That’s your strength.

Why this matters for our community is that it is about linguistic pride and intergenerational strength. It’s fighting any shame about being a translator kid and the pressure of adult responsibility. Maritere’s work builds up our cultural pride from the very start. She’s making sure the next generation carries that voice with pride. Not with a burden. And with her work with Mija Books, she’s creating a space where kids from various cultures can see themselves reflected through stories. Leadership in Maritere’s way can give your community a new, better story about itself.

Our third video is from Paola. She’s an insurance agent and coach specializing in relationships and self-esteem. She starts by sharing that she is a survivor of domestic abuse. So let’s watch. Watch her story together. My headphones back on and let’s watch it.

[Paola] Hola, mi nombre es Paola. Tengo 31 años y vivo aquí en el área de Houston. Muy agradecida de que hayan abierto este espacio para compartir nuestras historias porque creo que realmente puede ayudar a diferentes mujeres. Quiero compartirles un poquito de quién soy, qué es lo que hago y qué es lo que me ha motivado a emprender. Yo soy mexicana, nací en el estado de Guanajuato, México, pero llevo más de 20 años viviendo en Estados Unidos. Actualmente trabajo en mi 9 a 5, pero por las noches y los fines de semanas no soy un insurance agent, soy Paola coach en relaciones y autoestima. Mi propósito es ayudar a las mujeres a pasar de ansiosas a seguras. El comienzo de todo esto va más allá de emprender. Se trata de ayudar a otras mujeres a descubrir el brillo que ya tienen dentro.

Hace dos años pasé una situación muy abusiva. Soy sobreviviente de abuso doméstico. Mi vida cambió cuando empecé a trabajar en mí, a buscar ayuda, a poner acción a mis palabras, a levantar mi voz y a creer en mí misma. Durante mucho tiempo pensé que algo estaba mal conmigo — que era demasiado sensible, demasiado emocional — pero no había nada malo en mí, sino con quién me relacionaba y cómo me relacionaba. Hoy vivo una vida completamente distinta.

I was a slave. To my emotions, to my thoughts just it was just horrible. And I know that there’s women out there still living. Just still surviving in life. And they don’t see what else is out there for them. And that’s where I come in. I help you regain that confidence. I help you navigate relationships, I help you navigate this part of healing. And that can sometimes be very confusing and difficult. But yeah, super supportive. So thank you so much. I hope to be a part of it. And yeah. (Note: Audio overlapping/garbled around 11:00 mark omitted for clarity )

[Andrea Diaz] What other amazing story from Paula and what she said is so impactful. She said there was nothing wrong with who I was. How many of us have believed the opposite? You know, that our feelings or sensitivity or the problem. But the story of what happened to her, and she rewrote it where the blame belonged, you know, she didn’t take it on herself. And now she helps other women go from anxious to confident. So the big takeaway here is that Paula story leads us from, you know, just surviving to what experts call post-traumatic growth.

She points out a huge need in our community. We need more culturally aware, safe spaces to talk about hard things. You know, she says many times, it’s not that we don’t want to talk is that we don’t find safe spaces to express ourselves. And her work is about building those spaces. This is leadership as a healing service. You know, it’s using your own healing to light the path for someone else.

Walking the same dark road, three women, three different stories. And at first glance, what ties them together is not just struggle, it’s what they do with their story after the struggle. Rosanna uses her voice as testimony. She speaks to show other survivors the map of survival, to say, I’m here, you can be too. And Maritere uses her voice as translation. She takes a common experience and gives it a new empowering name, a superpower. And Paola uses her voice as therapy. She turns her inner work into an outer guide, creating a safe space that was missing for her.

Each of them took a voice that could have been defined by pain, and every author did. They took the narrative and rewrote the ending. And this is leadership in its purest, most grounded form. It’s about the profound act of reclaiming your narrative and using it to hold the door open for someone else.

So what is the voice you carry? Maybe feels heavy or too quiet, or like it’s not yours to clean yet, but your voice as Rosanna, Maritere and Paola has shared with us isn’t your weakness. It’s your material. It’s the exact thing that allows you to connect, to translate an experience and say to someone else, I see you. I know you don’t have to have it all figured out. You can start by acknowledging the voice you already have. That’s how we lead. By carrying our voices and listening to each other’s.

If you have a story ready to share, you can send us a video, audio, or text by DMing us on socials or send us an email info@latinaleadershipocast.com to Rosanna, Maritere, and Paola, thank you for sharing your video stories with us and to everyone listening watching. Your voice matters. And I’m Andrea Diaz. And as for la proxima. Bye amigas.