October 08, 2024

Army Brat, Dolly Parton and Puerto Rico | Leyla Santiago

16 minutes

Leyla Santiago answers Robyn's questionnaire that she sends to all her guests before the show.

Three words to describe America?

AT A CROSSROADS

Where did you grow up?

I'm an Army brat, so I moved around quite a bit. Born in Puerto Rico, moved to Panama during the Noriega conflict, then moved to South Carolina when my dad was stationed at Ft. Jackson

If you could time travel, which era in American history would you like to visit? Why?

If I'm being honest, the idea of traveling back in time as a minority is not thrilling. But if I had to pick an era, I would travel back to either the roaring 20s to watch women (though not all) obtain the right to vote or to the '60s to see the civil rights movement in action, albeit tough to watch.

Iconic American landscape that means something to you? Or epitomizes your America?

Stateside, Shenandoah National Park inspires me. Of course nothing soothes my soul and inspires me quite like the mountains of Puerto Rico. They have a way of reminding me of the resilience of my own people.

Dream dinner party guests? Which Americans would you invite to you Thanksgiving table (dead or alive?)

Felisa Rincon de Gautier

Dolly Parton

Harriet Tubman

Selena

Chapters

00:00 Three words to describe America?

01:14 Dream dinner party guests

04:55 From somewhere else

08:40 Nature and Landscape in America

09:48 Echo Chambers and Political Discourse

12:48 Lessons from Family and Personal Reflections

14:44 The Current State of Being American

http://www.searchingforamericapod.com

Got a great idea for an episode? Drop Robyn a message here with the subject line PODCAST IDEA
Subscribe to Robyn's Substack.
Visit her website here.
To book Robyn to speak at your event, get in touch here.

More about Robyn's public speaking
Robyn Curnow is a sought-after public speaker on what it takes to create positive leadership in complicated times. As a South African now living in the American South, Robyn is determined to bring a hopeful and light-hearted tone to all conversations.

She reflects on her interviews with U.S. Presidents Bush, Clinton and Carter and First Lady Michelle Obama. She has impactful stories of working alongside Nobel Peace Prize Lauretes Nelson Mandela and Archbishop Desmond Tutu

She has delivered talks and hosted events around the Blue Economy in the Principality of Monaco where she introduced Prince Albert of Monaco and Prince William, Prince of Wales and French President Emmanuel Macron, the Lincoln Centre in New York, the Science Museum in London, the Swedish Royal Palace in Stockholm, the YPO annual conference in Cape Town, the United Nations, a Haaretz newspaper panel in Jerusalem, the Nantucket Yacht club and many more.

She has recently worked with Prince Albert II Foundation in Monaco and Philadelphia, the Swedish royal family in Stockholm, Made by Dyslexia in London, the Red Cross of Georgia in Atlanta alongside Delta Airlines.

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

...more

View all episodes

By Robyn Curnow, Bleav

1010 ratings