Category: ¡Hola, Madrina!

¡Hola, Guapa!, ¡Hola, Madrina!, Edición No. 4: Reflection, English, Healthy Comadres

Las Madrinas & Your Inner Madrina

shared

Respectful, Role Model, Mentor, Loving Friend, Confidante, Amorosa, Responsible, Sabia, Second Mother, Supportive, Atenta, Loves-You-No-Matter- What, Good Listener, Patient, Cariñosa, Loving.

These are some of the words that the women in our groups in Albuquerque came up with when I said, “Tell me what you think of when I say, Madrina.”

Most Latinas Get a Madrina Shortly after Birth

Your first Madrina was likely the woman that stood next to your mom at your baptism. She vowed that if something happened to your mother, she would take care of you. Your madrina can also be the woman that sponsored your confirmation, first communion, quinceañera, and/or was your Maid of Honor at your wedding.  

The concept of Madrina (and Padrino) comes from our Spanish Catholic roots and it goes way back to the early middle ages. However, even those of us who don’t practice Catholicism anymore, keep our Madrinas and Comadres. That’s because they make our lives richer and offer us love, wisdom, guidance and much needed support.

Do you have a Madrina? I hope you do! I have an 85 year old Madrina thriving in New York City, but I had several Madrinas growing up. I wrote a whole book about it.  It’s called, what else but, Las Madrinas: Life Among My Mothers (Tres Chicas Press).  

So, I hope you are lucky enough to have a Madrina in your life, but if you don’t, how do you get one? I want to have a conversation about this because it is a tradition that we as Latinas need to keep alive. How do we do that? How do we keep this relationship alive for our daughters and granddaughters?  

Your Inner Madrina

Another idea that I want to explore with you is the concept of the Inner Madrina. We hear and read a lot about Inner Wisdom these days. Trusting yourself. Intuition. Higher Power. There are many words to describe this act of reaching inside yourself for wisdom. But what about fostering a relationship with your Inner Madrina?  

Natalie Goldberg, a well-known writer and writing guide from Taos, New Mexico, writes about the “Sweetheart,” that can help you write. As writers, we have very active and sometimes mean inner critics that tell us that our writing sucks. And Goldberg has conjured up an inner sweetheart that will counter the inner critic. When the inner critic tells the writer that she’s dumb and a bad writer, the sweetheart says, “Keep going, you’re doing fine.” That inner sweetheart, from my point of view, is an Inner Madrina.  

Robin Scritchfield, author of Body Kindness talks about having an “Inner Caregiver” that you could develop inside yourself to give you guidance and to show yourself kindness. My aha moment as I was reading her wonderful book came when I realized that she too was talking about an Inner Madrina.  

Call her your Fairy Godmother, Your Guide, Your Sweetheart, Inner Caregiver or Blessed Mother, but you too can have an Inner Madrina!

At De Las Mías, we affirm our culture and our power as Latinas. We uphold these relationships that still thrive in our familias and comunidades. We hold up our community of hermanas, comadres and madrinas to help us live healthier, more supported lives. We have several experts on our team to serve you and we refer to them respectfully as Madrinas. Madrina Malena is our expert nutritionist; Madrina Lori is the test kitchen chef, Madrina Yoli has given us great guidance on how to be more physically active.

But what about an Inner Madrina? And wouldn’t it be fabulous to conjure one up for yourself?

So, in this new year, we want to invite you to explore the concept of the Inner Madrina with us. Look back to the words that our comadres in Albuquerque used to describe Madrina and ponder a while on those qualities: Wise, Respectful, Role Model, Mentor, Loving Friend, Confidante, that Sabia, Second Mother, Amorosa, Supportive, Atenta, Loves You No Matter What, Good Listener, Patient, Cariñosa.

If you had an Inner Madrina, what would she be like? What quality would she represent?

Here are some questions to get you started, but don’t stop there:

  • What’s your Inner Madrina’s name?  
  • How would she help you counter the negative messages you give yourself? 
  • What words would she use to comfort you?
  • How would she guide you take better care of yourself?
  • How would she greet you in the morning?
  • What kind words might she say to you right before you go to sleep?

Send me your Inner Madrina Story! It doesn’t have to be long or fancy; just a personal telling of your experience. Use the prompts I provided or make up your own. The first 10 Cuenteras who send me your Inner Madrina Story will get a complimentary copy of my memoir, Las Madrinas: Life Among My Mothers.

Email Ana at ana@delasmias.com

 

¡Hola, Guapa!, ¡Hola, Madrina!, English, Healthy Comadres

The journey of a Latina-founded health tech startup

shared

 

Poco a Poco — A little bit at a time…how we got to the iOS App Launch

 

With the launch of the De Las Mías iOS app on the App Store, I’m reflecting back on the last 4 years and how much we have accomplished. When my mom and I founded De Las Mías we were confident we knew how to build a community, share our expertise in bilingual health education, and ultimately create a business that would positively impact the health and wellness of Latinas across this country. But what we did not know was A LOT. And, in particular we did not know a lot about building apps.

We did not start out this process thinking we were going to build an app. We started this process designing a solution to a problem, specifically the lack of culturally engaging health information and healthy living tools for Latinas. Our discovery process brought us to the solid realization, that what today’s Latinas needed to help them on their journey to a healthier life was an engaging experience they could have at their fingertips to use on a daily basis. Enter the Smartphone and the fact that Latinas are early adopters and robust users of Smartphones, social media and the internet to access health information online. Here is what we call the “DUH”  moment. That epiphany, obvious as it was, launched us on the journey to build a better healthy lifestyle app for Latinas.

And we are still learning. Every. Single. Day.

One of the biggest take-aways is: It’s all about the TEAM. I may not know how to build an app, but I know how to find people who do! We knew from the beginning we needed a solid team.

With a fantastic opportunity in the shape of a highly competitive grant from the National Institutes of Health and National Cancer Institute Small Business Innovation Research (NIH-NCI SBIR), we built a terrific team of health researchers, obesity experts, nutritionists, exercise physiologists, digital strategists, and bilingual health communications experts. We found top-notch developers and UX/UI designers. And then we did a ton of user testing and conducted a randomized trial with nearly 200 bilingual Latinas in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

And we did it! We created the first-ever healthy lifestyle app specifically designed for Latinas!

 

 

Here’s a brief timeline of what it took to create De Las Mías and the tools you see today:

    • 2015: Awarded a SBIR grant from NIH-NCI  – America’s Seed Fund!

    • 2016: Built v1 of the Android app

    • 2017 to 2018: Conducted a 9-month-long randomized trial testing the Android app with 200 bilingual Latinas in Albuquerque, NM (The women in this study were our greatest teachers and we learned SO much!)

    • 2018: Took ALL THAT, iterated the heck out of it (No Foolin’), and created a better version of the De Las Mías Android app. And oh yeah, built a bilingual website to go with it. Published and continue to publish all our content in English and Spanish. (No biggie!)

    • 2019: Built the next, always-improving-version of the app only this time for all those iPhone user Super Mujeres!

    • (Phew!)

 

This has been and continues to be a dream come true. Come on! Who gets to have a crack at solving a problem that is going to make the world a better place for Latinas and their familias? We do!

Huge kudos and thanks to the National Institutes of Health and the National Cancer Institute (NCI Grant # 4R44CA177037-02), and to the State of Oregon’s Business Development Department who provided us with an SBIR matching grant funded in part by the Oregon State Lottery funds.

As we continue to grow and improve De Las Mías, research, user testing and a customer-centered approach will always be central to how we develop products, content and the platform. Audience-Centered Design is simply part of our DNA.

We are committed to presenting our community with the latest research and tools that make sense to us as Latinas. We will continue to use proven, evidence-based approaches to help Latinas live happier, healthier lives. And to make sure we are always in step with our community, we will continue to go out into the places Latinas live, work and play to ask you what’s working and what’s not working. We want to know how we can help you, your familia and ultimately Nuestra Comunidad.

There’s a reason we call this De Las Mías and that is because we are on this camino together. We belong together on this quest. Poco a poco. Paso a paso.

 

¡Unidas for a Healthy Life!

 

¡Hola, Comadres!, ¡Hola, Guapa!, ¡Hola, Madrina!, Spanish

Con la ayuda de nuestras comadres: parte 2

shared

La semana pasada aprendimos que varios estudios han comprobado que los fuertes lazos que tenemos como latinas en nuestras familias, en nuestras amistades y nuestras comunidades nos protegen, y que nos pueden ayudar a lograr cambios saludables. Esta semana, quiero compartir una historia personal y una práctica que espero les parezca útil.

Con el apoyo de mi comadre

Miriam y yo nos hemos ayudado una a la otra a través de muchos cambios de vida   — incluyendo la muerte de su esposo, mi divorcio, sacar adelante a nuestras hijas, desarrollar nuestras carreras, la lucha de prevención contra la diabetes y hasta en el decorado de nuestros hogares. Pero lo mejor de todo ha sido ayudarnos una a la otra a vivir una vida sana y feliz. Cada año, alrededor del primer día del otoño, Miriam y yo nos juntamos y sostenemos la misma plática, con un proceso muy específico. Hacemos una lista sobre los 7 aspectos más importantes de nuestras vidas:   

  • Relaciones personales
  • Aspectos de salud y bienestar
  • Aspectos financieros
  • El ambiente donde vivimos
  • Carrera y trabajo
  • Expresión creativa
  • Cuidado de nuestra paz interior

Recorremos cada una de las 7 áreas de nuestra vida y nos turnamos para hablar sobre cada uno de los aspectos.  Esto lo hacemos sin interrupciones. Sólo escuchamos lo que cada una tiene que decir. No hacemos comentarios hasta el final de la plática. Respondemos a 4 preguntas básicas para cada uno de los 7 aspectos:

  1. ¿Qué ha resultado bien?
  2. ¿Qué no ha resultado tan bien?
  3. ¿Qué nos gustaría cambiar?
  4. ¿Qué tipo de apoyo o ayuda necesitamos una de la otra para lograr el cambio que queremos?

A través de los años, esta plática nos ha ayudado a lograr muchas metas. Hemos mejorado nuestras carreras, mejorado las relaciones con nuestras hijas, tomado mejores decisiones en nuestros negocios y hasta nos hemos convertido en mejores escritoras. Las dos hemos llegado a ser más sanas y felices. (Y no es por nada, pero las dos bajamos cerca de 25 libras de una manera saludable y sin mucho sufrir.) Nuestra plática de cada año es una de las cosas más valiosas y consistentes que hemos hecho con nuestras vidas y han enriquecido nuestra amistad. Ahora ya estamos en nuestros sesentas, y es justo decir que somos personas más satisfechas y felices como resultado de esta simple plática de todos los años. Miriam y yo confiamos una en la otra.  Nos tenemos tal confianza que a veces admitimos que no queremos hacer lo que tenemos que hacer, o bien, que no estamos listas para cambiar. Simplemente con admitir que estamos luchando nos ayuda a derribar barreras. A veces tenemos éxito y a veces no.  Pero siempre somos fieles en ayudarnos una a la otra sin juzgarnos. Sabemos que cada una de nosotras sólo quiere lo mejor para la otra. Tener una comadre, una amiga de apoyo, en nuestras vidas puede ser de gran ayuda para lograr cualquier meta e incluso para lograr una vida saludable y feliz.

¡Hola, Comadres!, ¡Hola, Guapa!, ¡Hola, Madrina!, English, Healthy Body, Healthy Comadres

Find a Physical Activity That Brings You Joy

shared

Physical activity keeps our hearts fit and pumping oxygen, our muscles strong and our joints healthy. The only way to do this is to move. You don’t have to be a superstar athlete to reap the benefits. Finding a physical activity that brings you joy means taking the “work” out of workout. Here’s a story from our resident fitness coach, Madrina Yoli, that will inspire you to move.

Why We Need to Be Active

I remember when my mom was turning 50 and going through the changes. She came home and told me, “Mija, the doctor said I had to start an exercise program. ¡Ay Dios! I can’t do all you do! I will die!” I was just finishing my degree in exercise physiology and was eager to help her. So I started by explaining to her the reason why we need to be active and how it will help her body. “Mami, you do not need to run a marathon or be a weightlifter to be healthy. You can do things like walk to the store instead of drive. Do some stretching while you watch TV, or maybe we can get you a stationary bike. We could even plant a garden with flowers and vegetables in the backyard and working on it will be part of your exercise.” She said, “I’m ready to start!” I said, “Okay! I will be your exercise comadre—it’s best if you have a training buddy.” We started by writing down her goals for the week in a workout journal. I showed her, “See, here are all of your goals for each day, and here you write down when you complete them in order to keep track of your progress.” I taught her that we needed to start slow in order to let her ligaments and tendons grow stronger to avoid injuries. After that, we started to work on the heart and I reminded her the only way to work out the heart is through aerobic exercise. All you need to do is increase your heart rate. Our ultimate goal was 150 minutes of aerobic exercise per week, so we started out with three 30-minute sessions per week and picked her favorite exercises: dancing and walking. “Later on, Mami,ˮ I said, “we can get you some resistance bands and begin to work on some strength training, but for now, just remember one important thing.” “What’s that, Mija?” “Have fun!” After 12 weeks, we could see a big difference. Find a physical activity that brings you joy and you will see a difference too.

¡Hola, Guapa!, ¡Hola, Madrina!, Edición No. 8: Healthy Habits, Healthy Comadres, Spanish

Mujeres y altares, nichos y santuarios – ¡Que viva la Morenita!

shared

Cada año durante las fiestas navideñas, siento mucho orgullo por ser mexicana. En esta temporada siento todas las culturas que llevo dentro de mí con más fuerza.  Podría ser porque todos los 5 sentidos se me despiertan con los sabores de nuestra maravillosa comida, los colores brillantes de las luces y decoraciones, la música de las Posadas y toda la diversidad de nuestras celebraciones Indo-hispanas.  Hay tradiciones tan bonitas que celebramos en esta temporada.  Y aunque pienso que nos enfocamos demasiado en “la compradera”, de todos modos, sigue siendo la temporada más mágica del año.

En nuestra familia, la temporada comienza con el día de la fiesta de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe.   

Uno de mis primeros recuerdos me lleva de regreso a mi niñez en Nogales, Sonora y Arizona.  Era la costumbre que muchas familias en el lado mexicano de la frontera hacían una ofrenda a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe y la ponían en las ventanas dando a la calle.  

Mi mamá nos llevaba a pasear por los vecindarios para ver a las distintas formas en que la comunidad honraba a Nuestra Señora. Desde la distancia mirando hacia las lomas de Nogales, se podían ver las docenas de ventanas iluminadas con foquitos de muchos colores. ¡Era algo maravilloso!

Como mexicana, soy una clásica Guadalupana, y venero a la Morenita todos los días del año. Creo que es precisamente porque le llamamos la Morenita que tengo tanto amor por ella.  

La leyenda dice que ella vino a las Américas para dar consuelo a los pueblos indígenas para aliviar un poco su sufrimiento.  Me da consuelo ese pensamiento y siempre lo llevo en mi corazón. Hay otras explicaciones más cínicas sobre el milagro de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, como ya lo saben.  Como que nuestros antepasados españoles inventaron la historia con el fin de convertir a los pueblos indígenas, pero yo sigo creyendo en ella.

Una costumbre encantadora que muchas latinas practican es en hacer pequeños altares o nichos a Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe. Cuando yo estaba criando a mi hija Sara, teníamos fiestas de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe e invitábamos a los amiguitos a hacer nichos de cartón.  Recogíamos pequeñas cajas, papel de China y cartulina, restos de otros diferentes papeles o telas, cualquier cosa que se nos antojaba o que podíamos encontrar.  Así nos juntábamos a hacer los nichos y hacíamos fiesta.

Había una señora encantadora en Santa Fe, llamada Connie Hernández. Ella era muy devota y tenía una pequeña tienda religiosa donde se vendían estampitas religiosas de varios santos. Yo hacía mi carrera anual a con Connie para comprar las estampitas de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe para poner en nuestros nichos. A los niños les encantaba esta actividad, pero siempre fue divertido ver a los adultos que querían participar también.   

Aquí están algunos de los nichos, altares y arreglos que tenemos en nuestras casas y algunos que hemos hecho para esta ocasión especial.

Comadres, si tienen un santuario, nicho o altar para honorar a Nuestra Señora, nos encantaría verlos y publicarlos!

¡Felices Fiestas, Comadres!

¡Y que viva la Morenita!

¡Hola, Guapa!, ¡Hola, Madrina!, Edición No. 4: Reflection, English, Healthy Comadres

Women and Altars, Nichos and Shrines – ¡Qué Viva la Morenita!

shared

Every year around the winter holidays, I am full of pride for my cultura. It is this season when I feel all the cultures that I carry within me more strongly. It could be because all the senses are awakened with the flavors of our wonderful food, the bright colors of the lights and decorations, the music of Las Posadas and all the diversity of our Indo-Hispano celebrations. There are so many rich and delicious traditions that we partake in this time of year, that even with all its consumerism, it is still a magical time of year.

In our family, the season kicks off with Our Lady of Guadalupe’s Feast Day.  

 

One of my earliest memories takes me back to my childhood in Nogales, Sonora and Arizona. It was the custom that many families on the Mexican side of the border erected shrines to Our Lady on their windows facing out to the street.  My mom would drive us around the neighborhoods, so we could take a closer look at all the different ways the community honored Our Lady. Even from the distance, looking up at the Nogales hills, you could see the scores of windows illuminating Our Lady with multi-colored strings of lights.

As a Mexicana, I am a classic Guadalupana, and I venerate and honor Our Lady every day of the year. Even as I seized to call myself Catholic, I retained my devotion to La Morenita. I think it is precisely because she is called La Morenita that I have so much love for her. The legend says that she came here to give the indigenous people of the Americas comfort for their suffering. And I can so get behind that idea, that I hold it dear to my heart. There are other more cynical explanations, if you care to look, like that our Spanish ancestors made up the whole story in order to convert the indigenous people, but I choose to continue to hold her in very high esteem. Here’s a great summary from the Huffington Post that you might find interesting.

A lovely custom that many Indo-Hispanos like us practice is to build or erect shrines, altars or nichos to Our Lady of Guadalupe. When I was raising Sada, we had annual Our Lady of Guadalupe parties and we would invite the children in our lives to make shrines. We collected small cardboard boxes, construction paper, old remnants of tissue paper and fabric, glitter and whatever else you could find in your craft drawer and have a party. There was a lovely woman in Santa Fe at the time, Connie Hernandez, who had a little religious shop where she sold old-fashioned devotional cards of various saints and milagros, and I would make my yearly run to Connie’s to buy the estampitas to put in our shrines. The kids loved the activity, but it was always fun to see the adults wanting to take part in it too.   

Here are some of Our Lady of Guadalupe shrines that we have in our home and some we made for this special occasion!

Comadres, if you have a shrine, nicho or altar to honor Our Lady, we would love to see it and post it!

¡Felices Fiestas, Comadres!

¡Y que viva la Morenita!