Missed our Politics & Self-Care event? Watch the event below.
Politics and Self Care Transcript
Panelists
Sara Maldonado, Powerful Latinas Rising
Amanda Reyna, Latina Vote
Patricia Ruiz-Cantu, Todos con Biden Leadership Coalition
Griselda Aldrete, City of Milwaukee
Aila Castane, Health and Wellness Expert and Healer
Introduction
[Speaker: Sara Maldonado, Powerful Latinas Rising]
Welcome everybody! I’m Sara Maldonado and I’m the Executive Director of Powerful Latinas Rising and I am so excited to be doing this event today with Amanda Reyna from Latina Vote. We have Patricia Ruiz-Cantu from Todos con Biden Leadership Coalition, we have Griselda Aldrete from the City of Milwaukee, and then Aila Castane and she is our health and wellness expert and healer. We’re really excited to be having this event to talk about how we can really practice self-care during this time. I think a lot of us deeply care about the issues in our community and everything that’s been going on with the election. No matter which side you’re on or whatever candidate, it can take a toll on your body and it can take a toll on your mind when you’re just ruminating over all these stressful things that are happening. We care about our communities and we want to do good by our communities, but it’s really hard to give from an empty cup. We really want to talk today about how our leaders in our community such as Griselda handle this type of stress so that you can continue giving back and then we’ll end the day with some meditation and healing, which will be wonderful. We will kick it off with Latina Vote to give us a few facts and information that I found really helpful in understanding what is going on in our community in terms of voting. With that, I’ll pass it off to Amanda.
Part 1: The Power of the Latina Vote
[Speaker: Amanda Reyna, Latina Vote]
Thank you so much Sara and I am so excited to partner with Powerful Latinas Rising. I think what you’re doing out there is amazing. Having since started Latina Vote, I have met so many awesome latinas and women in general who are doing great things in their community. It’s really great to see and it’s been a really cool journey to go on. A little bit about Latina Vote – I started it about a year ago; it’s a platform to share information, resources, and encourage other people to get out and vote. We have held pop-up voter registrations here locally in San Antonio and over the past couple of weeks we’ve registered tons of new voters, which is really neat to see a lot of our youth getting out there registering to vote and really getting prepared and ready to use their voice. Latina Vote in particular focuses on latinas because as I’ve mentioned before, I think we have a unique opportunity to be advocates within our own family. Many of us were already planning to go and vote, but what are we doing to get our family, friends, other community members, and neighbors out to vote? This really encourages us to get out and not only use our voice, but help others use theirs as well.
In the 2016 election, 6.9 million latinas voted compared to 5.8 million latinos. We definitely came out in higher numbers in 2016 so I’m really excited to see the number for this election. I know here locally we have had an increase in registered voters and I’m anxious to see what that number is going to be. I will definitely be sharing that updated information on Latina Vote. I wanted to give you guys an idea so that when you see the numbers coming out this year, you have an idea of the increase, which in 2016 was 6.9 million.
[Next Slide]
Currently there are 32 million latinos eligible to vote in the 2020 presidential election. Giving you this number again so that when you see the stats come out for this year, you can see how many went out to actually go and vote. There’s 32 million of us so that’s a lot; that is a lot to go out and just imagine if every latino went out and voted. The decision is really in our court. Seeing this number just encouraged me to go out and make sure that everybody was registered and has the information and resources. I think that’s another important topic to discuss. A lot of people have questions on what is on my ballot, where can I go and vote? They have some general basic questions about the voting process. One of the resources that Latina Vote really promotes is vote411.org which is produced by the National League of Women Voters. Most cities have a chapter and they have a lot of great information. There’s also Vote.org and then a number of other resources that are available, but those are the ones that I found are very helpful. They also have information in spanish which I think is equally important to share.
[Next Slide]
One of the things that Latina Vote also wanted to promote is taking time to reflect on what’s important to you and what issues are important. As I mentioned, this election for me has been very stressful in the climate that we’re in right now. Taking time to reflect I think is important. These are some of the issues that are high up there with people: healthcare, education, economy, immigration, and the environment. Those are some of the popular topics that come up regularly. Taking time to reflect on which of these topics are important to you, why they’re important, where the candidates stand on these topics, and where they align with your values and your morals.
[Next Slide]
How can you help? One of the things that Latina Vote does is we aim to take action. We want you to not only share information, but actually take some action. Help others register to vote, share information on social media, donate your time to phone banks or to your particular candidate of choice campaign, donate your time to block walk. We also put some door hangers on people that were not registered to vote. Those are some of the things and ways that you can help and go ahead and take action. That’s a little bit about Latina Vote.
Part 2: Interview with Griselda Aldrete
[Speaker: Sara Maldonado, Powerful Latinas Rising]
Thank you so much for that information Amanda. I think it’s really helpful to get that context and kind of understand where we’re at. Next we’re going to be talking to Griselda about her experience in the political arena. We will transition to her and Patricia, who will be moderating some of the questions.
Patricia is a member of the Wisconsin Todos con Biden leadership team based in Milwaukee. She works as a community liaison, department of administration. She’s the current Milwaukee County Democratic Party and former DPW Chair of the Latino Caucus. I will go ahead and kick it off to Patricia and then Griselda if you could introduce yourself a little bit.
[Speaker: Griselda Aldrete, City of Milwaukee]
Good morning, everyone. Thank you for sharing a part of your day with us. Thank you to Sara for creating the space for us, and Latina Vote for helping to support. My name is Griselda Aldrete and my most previous role is the Executive Director of the Fire and Police Commission for the City of Milwaukee, which many believe to be the most powerful civilian oversight board in the country because it’s one of the oldest ones. In that role, obviously in the last year, I’ll get more into detail about it as we continue to chat. We are responsible for the hiring and recruiting of both police and fire firefighters, policy decisions are made by us and it’s been an interesting year that’s for sure. Prior to that I’d spent almost 12 years in the nonprofit world leading nonprofits so thank you Sara for inviting me to participate.
[Speaker: Griselda Aldrete | Moderator: Patricia Ruiz Cantu, Todos con Biden]
Welcome everybody, buenos dias. It is such an honor to be here. I think it was overdue so welcome everybody, bienvenidas todas y todos. I am with Todos con Biden and I want to give a little bit of an overview of why we decided to have Todos con Biden. In this particular moment, in this country, we have to let our community know that the ticket, Biden and Kamala, is here for us, that we are such an important role. It doesn’t matter what party you belong to, but we are going to be the difference. We’re going to be making the difference on who’s going to be our next leader in this country, so bienvenida Griselda. Well let’s start the interview.
Patricia: Griselda, can you go over the different leadership roles you have held and how you ended up where you’re at right now? because like you mentioned, this is one of the most important jobs in the city.
Griselda: My bachelor’s in Criminology and Law Studies from Marquette University here in Milwaukee. Then I went over to Omaha to get a Masters in Criminal Justice, came back to Milwaukee, and eventually got my law degree from Marquette University Law School. It’s weird because I spent so much time in my previous role at Hispanic Professionals of Greater Milwaukee working with first generation students and motivating them to go to college. As I’m a first generation latina, I think you find yourself in spaces where you never thought you would be and some of it is really trial and error. I mean I’ve had jobs as a reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and most people don’t know that. I have a minor in speech pathology and most people don’t know that. I share that because all of us end up in spaces that sometimes you don’t expect to be in. That was certainly my case. If you would have told me a year ago or two years ago I’d be in this role, I would have said “no.” I mean, I thought I was going to stay at a non-profit or some people thought I was going to corporate, but I’ve taught for almost 11 years now. I’ve taught undergraduate students in the space of criminal justice and so I think for some people it was a surprise that I made the leap to go into government. For people that really knew me, it was no surprise, but definitely has been a very challenging year. One that I’m happy I experienced, but I also made the decision to walk away earlier this year. We’ll get into that later.
Patricia: Perfect and it’s a perfect segue to knowing your current position and just the nature of the political scene these days: what does self-care look like for you?
Griselda: My job is really tough because we are on call. I mean we might as well be doctors because every time there’s a crime, a shooting happens, I as a chief examiner have to show up to crime scenes. Most people don’t know that either. Imagine with this crazy year of civil unrest [talk about self-care, look who’s joining me – my little guy *cute dog*] – this is how I practice self-care, he put a little bow tie for you guys, so cute. I say that because sleep is really important and I’ve done very little of that this year. My workouts are important so running is really important to me, working out, meditating. I have my sage burning here, but also surrounding yourself with really good people is just as important. I think nobody understands what we all do every day in our jobs better than the people that know you the best. That would include for me my parents, my sister, and really close friends that took the time to take care of me and check up on me because you can google my name and my name has been in the paper more times than I’ve wanted to this year and for negative reasons. I think in the world of social media we’re so quick to judge and so quick to just assume that whatever is written out there about people is right instead of having a conversation so that’s why I’m happy we’re having this dialogue. I think in my role too I had to keep a lot of things confidential and so I never was afforded really an opportunity this year to share my voice, my experience, and a lot of people just assumed that what was written about me was true, but the real people that cared took the time to still follow up with me and check up on me. To me that’s self-care in and of itself.
Patricia: That’s fantastic because especially with social media one little article could just explode and then the labels stay with the individuals. This is a perfect next question: how do you stay true to your values, to your roots, in your professional life in the midst of this simply hectic political landscape? It is very important with everything that’s happening in the media and then what’s really happening inside your professional and your personal life?
Griselda: You have to take the time to celebrate your wins even as small as they are to be able to stay true to you. I was really excited to be the first latina to ever be appointed to this position. That was back in August of 2019. I entered full of enthusiasm, but it quickly became a role that was plagued with drama, a lot of politics went into play, and I never shied away with who I was. I am a strong personality, not a mean one, I have a very strong personality, I have conviction, and I think to do this job you have to follow that instinct because it’s so easy for you to get sidetracked. I mean people have asked me “can you walk me through a normal day for you?” and I’m like “I can’t,” because I will start off one morning in one meeting and then shootings happen all the time, there’s a fire that breaks out, so your whole day could be disrupted. People love to sue the city so I’m inundated with lawsuits that I’m constantly working on and reviewing. I’ll explain it this way – my role was unique in the sense that I’m appointed by the mayor of Milwaukee, confirmed by the common council, and then I have a Board of Commissioners that are also appointed by the mayor. I was always in this space of almost like I have three bosses and none of them got along so you never knew who you had to listen to. The council meetings were always public and I will say that the climate right now in Milwaukee, as it is in many other cities – very tense. Between police and common council members and for my role specifically, I was criticized a lot this year by the common council publicly. In some ways I would believe it was bullying, but I was never afraid to call it what it was. In fact I wrote an open letter where I called common council members, some – not all, misogynistic and sexist because of the way they would treat me at the table as opposed to men who would show up at the table. I think for me it was always going to be important to be Griselda, who’s always been honest, open, as transparent as I can be and that’s why I made the decision to walk away because I knew that this was not going to be the space where I was going to be valued, respected, and allowed to grow. You have to just step aside and let somebody else lead and hopefully they’ll have a way better experience, but I’m walking away. I’m happy I’m walking away content with what I’ve accomplished and you know, with my integrity intact which is equally as important for me.
Patricia: That’s fantastic, Griselda. I’m going to say that and I personally have seen all the work that you have done so kudos to you. Is there anything in particular that grounds you to keep your values and your roots?
Griselda: It’s my mom and the fear that she’ll throw a chancla at me at any point. Yes – because the hearings are always public, my parents were so cute they would always tune in and pretend like I was on tv all the time. I’m like mom, it’s the city channel – nobody really watches the city channel, but she thought it was cute. I mean you my parents would both always say like “I know they’re gonna push your buttons, but just remember we’re watching” and that was always in the back of my head. I’m like “she’s gonna throw a chancla at me for sure,” but no, I mean I think just being honest, transparent, and coming back to your roots. Like I said for me, my parents are very important to me, my sister, and my really close friends that I’ve had for decades now and years. I mean Alfonso I’ve met who’s here and I’ve met back in 2012. It’s as simple as people just checking up on you, you checking up on them, and building really solid relationships that are going to carry you through life, not through a job.
Patricia: That’s fantastic. One of the reasons why I asked that is because I’ve always seen your mom and I think that for us latinas a lot of times, that role model of our mother is so strong and it keeps us grounded of who we are so congratulations to your mom.
Griselda: My dad now tells me, he’s like: “I told you so, I told you not to take that job,” and I’m like “ugh” you know?
Patricia: What advice would you give latinas looking to branch into leadership roles and political office?
Griselda: Go for it. I mean you don’t know until you try it. I think right now we need diversity and I say that because diversity isn’t just the buzzword. We need latinos and latinas in positions of leadership. I made the decision to walk away from what I would consider one of the most important tables in our city, but I did that because for my personal sanity. I would never dissuade anybody who would want to branch out into politics or leadership positions because we need them. We need you, we need you at the table and I think for me, for someone that’s older, seasoned not older, it’s my job to encourage and it’s my job to continue to open doors. Networking for me has helped me tremendously and I continue to believe in it and I think utilizing those connections in a genuine way will keep us all relevant. I still have the hope that before I die I’ll see a latino vice president or president. I want people to keep succeeding. Absolutely.
Patricia: Thank you, I think that those are fantastic answers and yes, we as latinas need to support each other and help each other because there’s always people rooting against us. I think it’s so important that we have that core circle that’s going to be supporting us even if it’s a bad day in the media or in the news and so congratulations.
Griselda: Thank you
Part 3: Audience Q&A with Griselda Aldrete
[Speaker: Griselda Aldrete, City of Milwaukee | Audience Participation]
Sara: Thank you so much Patricia and Griselda. That was really enlightening and I love hearing about Griselda’s experience and how she views it from her lens. Does anybody have any questions for Griselda?
Attendee: Hi Griselda, thanks for hopping on here and talking to us today. How do you…I mean when I noticed that you’re stepping away from your current position, I was like wow, that must have been a very difficult decision to make based on your professionalism, based on knowing who you are. How do you and how can you really stand up for yourself? it must have been difficult, especially if there’s a majority of men right? There’s the majority of people that are at the table, they were men. How do you stand up for yourself without looking like an angry latina, without making it seem like “she’s just an angry latina,” you know what I mean? I have struggled with that. I currently have voiced my opinions, my concerns in the organization I work for, but it always seems like I’m this angry latina.
Griselda: I would say always come with your receipts to the table, which I always did. One of the things that I think was coming overly prepared. It’s no secret that as women we are treated differently (sorry for the men watching) but thank you – it’s the truth, we are treated differently and it’s almost like you have to over prepare to show up to spaces where you know you’re gonna be asked for information and questions. Like I said, I got tired of mansplaining. I mean that was at the crux every time I showed up to the table. They always thought they knew more than you even though you’re the one doing the job. I would just say my motto has always been being overly prepared, anticipate as many questions that you think they’re going to ask you. A mentor showed me a trick years ago, she said anytime I’m in the meeting if you ever notice, I always have a pen in my hand and I squeeze the crap out of it when I’m angry. Just because you know when you do, you can see me, I use my hands all the time, and a mentor told me a long time ago that it could also be seen as aggressive as you’re speaking. Even though you know, we’re latinas, we’re animated. Not just latinas, but maybe women in general. A trick for me is always having a pen in your hand, that’ll help you sort of release the negative energy and also keep your hands together, but yes it was a very hard decision. One that I cried about, I’m not afraid to admit that, one that I tossed around and when I told the mayor that I would accept the appointment, even that was a struggle. Then choosing not to after I had publicly gone for it was also something that wasn’t an easy decision, but ultimately I’m at peace with it and I’m confident that the city will move forward in a great way and I’m very proud of what I’ve been able to do in the last year so thank you.
Sara: I think we have time for one more question.
Attendee: It’s not a question, but I just want to say that Griselda is a great leader. It’s amazing knowing her for all these years and she’s right, we’re seasoned we’re not older, but one thing that she mentioned and I think it’s something that a lot of latinos don’t do and we need to do more of is to take that leap of faith and like she did with this job, she said she didn’t know that she was going to go from working in a not-for-profit to working in government. You never want to be left with that what if? and I applaud Griselda for doing that because I remember when she was telling me she was making this shift and I think that’s awesome. From all the conversations we’ve had and you can see it in her heart when you know her is that she really does care about people and to make an impact you really do have to get into the nitty-gritty of things. Milwaukee is very similar to what we’re experiencing in Chicago in regards to the complexities of what happens in city government and some of it is obviously great and phenomenal, I love the city that I’m from, but some of it is a lot of the things that happen in the background right? that a lot of people are not aware of but when once you become part of the process it’s like wow what did I step into, but Griselda does have a strong character so I know that she gave her best shot and she was there always prepared so I want to say good luck and to the next thing. I know wherever you go, you’re going to do some great things, and they’re going to be very happy to have you.
Griselda: Thank you.
Sara: Thank you so much I think that’s a really good point about just taking a leap of faith. I think through our content we’re really working hard to show the kind of diversity and perspectives in the latino community. We were kind of unhappy with how latinas were viewed in the media and how they were left out of the media and so for us it was like well we’re just going to create our own space. We’re not going to wait for other people to start creating the content that we want to see. I totally agree with what you’re saying and taking that leap of faith and taking the jobs that we want and being at the tables that we want.
Amanda: If I may make a quick comment; Griselda, thank you so much for sharing your story. I think this also highlights the importance of having mentorship programs where we can connect with other latinas that are in positions where we would hope to be one day or have experienced those things. That way we can have some knowledge and have a little bit of heads up on what we might be getting ourselves into so I think mentorship goes a long way too. Just wanted to put that out there if you guys already have those programs or maybe starting one that would be a great opportunity.
Attendee: We had a quick question in the chat. Maybe we’ll go a little bit more into this after with Aila, but a question about self-care. I would love to learn Griselda’s spiritual practices including the process of burning sage.
Griselda: For me it’s like sitting in peace and quiet. I think it’s a lot of introspection, meditation. Patricia, don’t tell this to the mayor, but I used to burn sage in my office too. Sometimes people would be like “do you smell that?” I’m like “no, I think it’s the elevator burning.” I would do that nine times out of ten going into the council chambers because you know it was this anxiety that a lot of us felt as people who sat in front of those chairs because it was this public almost shaming that you almost had to endure. I don’t think anybody should ever work in those environments, but yeah my spiritual practice for me – I burn sage. I believe in the spirit of letting things go and my sister and I share a practice. We get our cards read so we have someone that professionally reads our future (but not in that way) and then for me it’s just taking the time every night or every day, it doesn’t have to be at night, at any point in your life, things you’d like to change and being intentional about it.
Sara: Thank you so much for sharing that.
Part 4: Raffle
Sara: With that, we’re actually going to turn this over to Yvonne. We have a few items to raffle. You may have seen some of the emails, but we’ll actually get started with a Latina Vote t-shirt. You may see that Amanda is wearing a blue shirt so Latina Vote has so kindly agreed to give away a t-shirt so we’re really excited about that. Yvonne is going to go ahead and spin the wheel and see who won the Latina Vote t-shirt.
Yvonne: Alrighty so I’m pretty sure I got everybody on here that just entered. Holler if you don’t see your name. Sara, if you want to go ahead. Alright here we go everyone:
*wheel spinning*
The winner is Nathan! We’ll connect with you after the meeting is over so we can get your information. Yvonne, if you want to spin the wheel again, we have a pumpkin churro candle from Amor y Flor that we’re giving away, which is a latina owned small business so we’ll wait while Yvonne gets the wheel back up.
Amanda: Nathan, I have a Vote shirt so I have a different style for men too so don’t worry, I got you covered.
Sara: Just a quick plug, Amor y Flor is in our Julia’s List, which is our latina owned business directory. If you have or know of any latina-owned businesses, definitely let us know.
*wheel spinning*
The winner is Jasmine! We’ll connect with you about the pumpkin churro candle. It’s awesome so I’m super excited that you won.
The last gift is a fifty dollar gift card gifted by Griselda.
*wheel spinning*
The winner is Dolores! Dolores is one of our editors that helps edit the content that’s on our site. If you’re ever wondering who is behind the scenes, you’ll notice it’s one of our editors. Congratulations everyone. Congratulations to all the winners. Now we are going to move into the self-care portion with Aila
Part 5: Guided Meditation and Self-Care with Aila Shai Castane
[Speaker: Aila Castane, Health and Wellness Expert and Healer]
Aila: Hello everybody. Thank you so much, first of all to Powerful Latinas Rising for inviting me to this event as well as Latina Vote, thank you so much. I love the conversation that we’re having. When I was first approached about this I was like, I don’t really know because voting, politics, and election – all these systems, how does that flow with wellness and self-care? All these feel good things and you think of the state of our country right now, it doesn’t really warrant those same emotions right? Somebody said that I really appreciate you talking about how you stay grounded in your role and also listening to you. I recognize that what we do is one thing, but who we are is another. Being able to step into those roles is basically an extension of who we are. It’s not all that we are, but it’s an extension, but before we can even be us in those spaces: who are we when it’s just us, who are we when we’re outside of those roles, outside of those systems.
When I was thinking about how I wanted to lead today’s session, three words really came up for me and they are: identity, erasure, and abandonment. What do I mean by that? We’re about to vote in one of the most torn elections in this decade just given everything going on. Your identity, who are you, where did you come from, what makes you, you? What ways have you felt like you have been erased or what ways can you prevent further erasure. I love that this workshop is happening right after Indigenous People’s Day because that is a day where we all just think about the history of the country that we live in right now. The history of the countries that our lineages are rooted in. So who are we and how can we maintain that moving forward despite whatever happens on November 3rd, whatever happens, how can we continue to remain ourselves. Then abandonment, being true, staying true to who you are. You all talked about that Griselda and Patricia, staying true to who you are and to not abandon yourself.
I really want us to do a meditation thinking about identity, erasure, and abandonment. I have my little sound bowl here so if you all just get comfortable where you’re sitting. Stand up straight or sit up straight, and just close your eyes and allow yourself to get out of your heads, outside of where you are, outside of the roles that you play, outside of who it is that you are expected to be, by all these obligations you have, all these systems that you are a part of, organizations you are a part of, community you are a part of, who are you when it’s just you and you. Who are you when it’s just you and your ancestors and your lineage. Who are you when it’s just you and your roots, so think about that.
*Sound bowl singing*
Just get into your body, and I want you to think about your name and where your name comes from. Think about your identity and when I say your name, I don’t mean the letters on the end or the beginning of your name, I mean who you were when you were birthed. Where does your name come from, where do you come from, and as you get into your body start to regulate your breath and find your own rhythm.
*Sound bowl singing*
As you breathe in, think about all of the things that you call in that are in alignment with your identity, that are in alignment with who you are and what you value. What do you call in as you inhale, and as you exhale, what do you let go of, what do you release, what is it that does not align with who you are, where you come from, with your values, with your beliefs, with your narrative, with your story. What do you let go of? What is it that you reject, that you say no mas to, and these are all things that you decide because you have power over your decision and over your choice and even as we live in a society where it may feel as though our power is limited because of the color of our skin, because of our name, because of where we were born, because of who our parents are, because of who we are. Understand that your power is stronger than any limitation, any boundaries, any walls that are put up. Understand that you are more powerful and you are stronger and we are still here despite any systems, any rules, any regulations that have been put in place to silence us, erase us, diminish us, and that the lineage that we come from is stronger because we’re still here. So when you think about self-care, it’s not just about pouring into yourself and it’s not just about making sure you don’t pour from an empty cup because all those things matter of course, but what also matters is staying grounded, and staying rooted to who it is that you are. The people that you come, from the people that you serve. So continue to inhale and think about what are your values and call all those things in your inhale and exhale anything that either you adopted or made to believe is supposed to be your truth and decide whether or not it really is your truth, and if it’s not in your exhale you can release it. Get in flow with the rhythm of your breath, your rhythm is your rhythm, your flow is your flow. As you breathe, I want you to take and think about three things: I come from, I am, and I will not abandon my…fill in the blank. Think about that. I come from, where do I come from, who do I come from, what do I come from. I am. Only I can define myself. Right only you can define you so as you think about I am, this is the fun part. You get to decide and no matter what happens after election day you are still going to be that because at the core that’s who you are and lastly I will not abandon my… What parts of you have you been told to give up or to silence or to erase. What parts of you from this day forward will you no longer abandon so think about that. As you come out of meditation, pull out a piece of paper, a pen, and write down those three things that came to you. I’m gonna play some music.
*Music softly plays*
So write down: I come from…fill in the blank and take about three minutes to do this. I come from…fill in the blank, I am…fill in the blank, I will not abandon my…fill in the blank.
*Music softly plays*
Where, who, what do you come and this could be location, this could be culture. I am. That can only be defined by you. Not a box that you check, not something on a survey. I mean it’s really what you define. Lastly I will not abandon, and that those are the parts of you that you call in, that you hold on to no matter what. Take another minute to really marinate on those questions and let the answers just expose themselves and just fill onto the paper.
*Music softly plays*
Hello gonna give it about 30 more seconds.I come from, I am, and I will not abandon my… When you’re ready you can stand up wherever you are and you can choose to be on the camera or not, but I will stand up so you can see me. Whenever you’re ready, stand up and just take a deep breath, and think about everything.
*Slowly stand up and stretch*
Inhale, and as you inhale, think about all those things that you wrote down about where you come from and just hold them back to you. These are things that can always be accessed because they are a part of you. Inhale and as you exhale, release all the things that no longer align. When you think about what you won’t abandon, tap your arms, and wake that part up your body.
*Tap body lightly up and down*
This is something I like to do in the mornings to wake up and it’s a good way to stay grounded and as you tap your body lightly think about your I am statement. As you’re tapping think about that I am statement being imprinted into your body. Tap a little bit harder and this is you really declaring yourself and actually you can even say out loud that I am statement. Maybe you came up with one or a few things, but really set that into your body and this time squeeze squeeze squeeze. Wake yourself up, and to remind you what it is that you value, where you come from. To never forget your roots, what grounds you. Actually lightly brush and let everything fall off that does not align with who you are, where you come from, and just sway.
*Sway body softly*
Remind yourself that no matter what happens after election day that I’m still going to be me and I’m still going to be grounded in my roots. That the community that I belong to, that supports me, is still here for me.
*Music slowly lowers*
Thank you so much you guys. I hope that helps as we transition out and as you prep for the big day and really think about: I really like that question asking Griselda what is it that grounds her and what is it that keeps her rooted. We all have different things that keep us rooted. I think at the core it’s who we are and only you can decide that for yourself. Moving forward, really think about these things that you wrote down, where is it that you come from, where you came from is going to inform where you’re going. It doesn’t have to mirror that, but it informs how you move forward right? I am. Only you can define that for yourself. This election season is crazy, a lot is on the line, no matter how you vote. That’s your personal choice, but so is your identity. It’s your personal choice to always hold on to that and not abandoning yourself no matter what. We are all part of a system that makes choices for us, but regardless of those choices, you have the power to not abandon the parts of you that make you you. Remember that and thank you so much. I hope this was helpful for you. I’m going to turn it back over to Sara.
Part 6: Thank you outro
Sara: Thank you so much Aila for that. I feel so refreshed and grounded and that was just so wonderful so thank you so much for sharing that with us. What a great experience. Thank you Griselda for being so candid about your own experience as well and Patricia for helping with the questions and for pulling all that information out. Of course Amanda for grounding us with the facts of what’s going on in our community, voting, and providing that great information.
Thank you all for joining us today and if you would like to join Powerful Latinas Rising and Latina Vote, I believe Amanda put her information in the chat box. I put my LinkedIn if you want to connect with me directly. We’ll be sending out more information. We’re on instagram, facebook, twitter, linkedin, everything. Definitely check out our content and hopefully you’ve all decompressed and are ready for the next part of the election cycle. Definitely feel free to reach out if you have any other lingering questions and we’ll connect with the winners as well. Connect with us as we have a lot more events coming up. Paloma, who’s actually on the call, she’s our programs manager and has a really great slate of educational programming coming up. I believe we have an event on the 24th, which is about linkedin and how to use it for your job search. A lot of really great things are coming up and we hope you’ll stay connected. With that, thank you so much and have a wonderful rest of your weekend.
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