Spanish Sin Pena

Today we’re hearing from Vilmarie Fraguada Narloch. She’s a clinical psychologist based in Chicago, who moved from Puerto Rico to the U.S. with her family as a young girl. When she first arrived, she vividly remembers not being able to speak a lick of English, but slowly she assimilated and lost her native tongue. For the past three years, she’s been an instructor for Spanish Sin Pena where she’s been building back her confidence. 

In this episode, we talk to Vilmarie about her work in addressing drug addiction and harm reduction through psychedelic therapy. She’s also a strong advocate for alternative therapies, especially when it comes to building community around cultural wounds, like language. 

Vilmarie Fraguada Narloch, ~recomendaciones~

In this episode, we chat with Carmen Blanco. A Washington D.C. native who now lives in South Carolina, she works for an agency that’s supported by the University of South Carolina whose whole mission is to increase the health incomes of the community. Basically, she trains healthcare workers to help them bridge clients to necessary resources.

Recently, Carmen was able to translate a webinar curriculum for community health workers. She said it was great to see how much she knew in Spanish and how she could identify spots where she could make the translation more "conversational" Spanish rather than formal. Because of that & being able to sit in that class with “promotores de salud,” she felt comfortable not only being in that space but possibly seeing herself being able to navigate in the Spanish-speaking professional world. 

Carmen’s ~recomendaciones~ 

In this episode, we’re going to chat with Gina Marie Rodriguez. She's an actress and filmmaker based in New Jersey. She's Puerto Rican and Italian-American who, like us, didn’t grow up speaking fluent spanish. Gina shares her experience as a multi-cultural Latina who’s felt imposter syndrome when it comes to her Latinidad both onscreen and off. We dive into what it means to write or create authentically in the film, TV, and media world. 

Gina's ~recomendaciones~ 

Welcome to another new season of the Spanish Sin Pena Podcast! This time, we're going to focus on how Español appears in our careers and everyday lives. In this first episode, we'll get to know our new hosts Suzy Exposito and Liz Sanchez. They'll share their personal histories with pena, and their current language goals. 

Suzy Exposito is an award-winning journalist and artist based in Los Angeles. Her family hails from Cuba and Belize. You can read her work in Vogue, Rolling Stone and the Los Angeles Times.

Liz Sánchez is a freelance audio producer, writer, DJ, and tennis coach (yup, you read that right!) born and raised in L.A.'s San Fernando Valley. Her Chicago-native mother moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in radio and film, where she met Liz's squash-playing Mexican father -- and the rest is history. Liz has produced shows for Marketplace, KCRW, Sony Podcasts - Neon Hum Media, CBS News, and more. 

Suzy & Liz's ~recomendaciones~

An adoptees journey of connection and letting go. Videographer and video strategist Kel Tracey shares how she’s been learning Spanish, connecting to her Mexican roots, and reimagining her ideas of what it means to be a Latina.

Being between two cultures, feeling othered, and a sense of belonging in alternative music are a few things Emmy-nominated documentary film producer Jamie Rogers Caballero opens up about on today’s episode.

Our relationship with the Spanish language is, well, it’s complicated. Today, Ecuadorian-American author Paul Hlava Ceballos shares his relationship with the language, also he talks about his book banana, poetry, and chicha music.

Raise your hand if you, like today’s guest, also had/have a grandparent you communicate with only in English and they respond only in Spanish? Today educator Jacquelyn Fabian shares memories of her abuela and how their relationship will always be the connecting thread to the Spanish language and Mexican culture.

Poetry, storytelling, Shakira - Oh My! Storyteller Adrian Gaston Garcia aka AGG, shares how the poetry within Shakira’s music, the strong storytelling skills of his family and the intersection of his identities all influence his art.

Reggaeton is not for everyone. What do you do when you don’t vibe with what’s popular? Event planner and video game nerd Zach Kuiland shares how he found his way to Spanish rock music and other resources that help him on his journey with the Spanish language.

Actor, writer, and podcaster Christopher Rivas shares part of his journey towards conscious, honest expansion in his work and life.

Family racism, inequity within the Catholic Church, and elitism in the arts. Opera singer Marcelle McGuirk shares her experience finding peace and power navigating the parts of her life she loves most: family, faith, and the arts.

Spiritual health is an integral part of our well-being. Folklorist Selina Morales shares how growing up in a tight-knit Puerto Rican family and working in their botanica has helped shape the work in art, activism, and advocacy she does today.

 ***the translation of espiritismo is spiritism not spiritualism which I referred to it as in the episode, that was my mistake and I wanted to make sure that was corrected***

Nature is a powerful healer. Today we’ll hear from mycologist Laurena Re and her growth towards self-realization and how the study of nature not only helps soothe her soul but inspires her to educate the world about the gift of Mother Nature.

Cycles continue until we are brave enough to break them. Today’s guest, Monica Casillas, shares how sometimes our children experiencing the same shame we’ve felt is that extra motivation we need to continue our journey of rediscovering ourselves.

Believing you belong in the Latinx community and your life experience is just as valid as anyone else’s is the first step in both changing and creating narratives about the community. For Panamanian-American actor/playwright Gabby Wolfe being reminded she belongs in the room where things happen has fueled her to create, adapt, and reimagine the stories of the Latinx community through her work all while embracing the joy of being Latina.

Finding blessings in trauma, shifting the film industry forward, and remembering we will die are all on the table for today’s chat with LA-based Cuban-American producer Gabriela Gonzalez.

Sometimes you grow up surrounded by the culture of your family's Latino heritage and other times you don’t know you’re part of the pack until you do a DNA test. That’s the truth for today’s guest, film student Michelle Carter.

Today we get to share in gratitude, love, and laughs with las jefas de Spanish Sin Pena, Wendy Ramirez y Jackie Rodriguez. Holiday cheer, intentions for 2023, wacky secrets, and behind-the-scenes shenanigans are all in store for this bonus end-of-year treat. Grab a glass of coquito and celebrate the end of 2022 with Wendy and Jackie.

Growing older for many people also means becoming more inquisitive and living bolder. Perhaps it means finally learning a skill or doing something you’ve always dreamed of doing – like learning Spanish. My guest today, podcaster and film student Sarah Cosper, shares that with me. We’ll hear how turning 40 is the beginning of new adventures and passions that lead to a further connection to her Mexican roots.

Fear can keep us safe AND keep us locked in our mental cages unable to do the things we long to. Today we’ll hear from Miguel Diaz-Lopez, a Nuyorican Ph.D. student in mechanical engineering, as he shares his journey of releasing the shame and fear around speaking his first language. Letting go of fear is his first step in communicating with his Puerto Rican relatives and inspiring those on the island to reach for the moon, as he’s doing with NASA’s Artemis project.

When you sit at the intersection of two identities being able to hold both your reality and see the changes that need to be made are essential. Today we’ll hear how Violeta Donowa, a second-generation Panamanian and African American social worker in Detroit, navigates blackness in latinidad and discusses why she feels therapy is a tool none of us should leave unexplored.

Sometimes you can grow up with Spanish all around and still not “magically” know it. And when that happens it can really affect your confidence around the language. That’s what my guest today, copy editor Tess Espinoza, shares with me. We’ll hear how she finds connection with her Colombian heritage and how becoming a peer facilitator for Spanish Sin Pena has helped strengthen her confidence in speaking Spanish.

Making sure you’re understood and can communicate with those you love is super important. And if your parents come from different cultures, speaking different languages, it can make communication with the extended family difficult. It’s one of the reasons why today’s guest, Lydia Villalba a seventh-grade English teacher, had a pause put on learning Spanish at home. Now she’s working to reclaim that lost language so she can advocate for her students and cross that bridge to more fluent communication with her Paraguayan familia.

Every parent wants to keep their child safe. Some families’ eradication of a language or cultural practices evolves from a deep desire to ensure the safety of their loved ones. In today’s episode, we’ll talk to Chloe Bostian, a visual effects artist and food blogger, who feared as a young child that Spanish was not something to speak out loud (unless you were angry) and you don’t talk about Cuba. We’ll see how she’s unpacking all those feelings and finding ways to connect to her Cuban heritage, sin miedo, without fear.

Every family has a story of why a language or customs may have stopped being passed down to the next generation. And there are those who feel compelled to reignite that connection. In the story of our guest today, Carmen Blanco a social justice advocate, we’ll hear about a Nicaraguan father’s wishes for his daughter to thrive in a new land with the language that would help her the best. And how now she is at a point in her life to finally learn the language left behind and make it stick.

We each have ways of learning that feel the most natural and areas of interest that easily catch our attention and spike our curiosity. Join me, Taisha Cameron creator of this new season of Spanish Sin Pena, as I’m interviewed by founder Wendy Ramirez sobre mi historia, about my story, and how using my skills as an actor, a storyteller, can help me find my voice en español.

Have you ever felt judged about the Spanish you speak even from, or especially from, your own community? Have you been interested in changing that or just finding other people who know exactly how you feel? Well, you've ended up in the right place. Welcome to the Spanish Sin Pena podcast.

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