Sometimes, healing begins in motion. In this episode, Nina Rodriguez sits down with Bianca Alba, founder of This Latina Travels, to explore how grief, identity, and travel intertwine. What starts as a conversation about exploring the world becomes a deeper story about returning to yourself.

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Video available here

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Her story begins in a single-parent household where vacations felt like something other people did, faraway dreams that didn’t belong to families like hers. Today, Bianca has traveled to six continents and uses her platform to show women of color what’s possible when you give yourself permission to go. Her work reminds us that representation isn’t just inspiring, it’s necessary.

Nina and Bianca also reflect on the power of community, having recently shared virtual space as speakers at the Latinas in Podcasting Summit 2025. The conversation moves through grief, identity, purpose, and the courage it takes to keep expanding your life after loss.

Bianca opens up about the Lola Challenge, a three-day running event in Puerto Rico that connects her to her body, her resilience, and the island she now calls home. She recounts a deeply emotional moment on a beach in the Virgin Islands that reminded her how grief meets us wherever we are.

They also explore the complexities of traveling during political and social turbulence, including recent US disruptions affecting travelers. Bianca speaks honestly about the privilege and guilt of being a travel content creator during difficult times, and how she balances joy with responsibility, visibility, and awareness.

Her love for Puerto Rico weaves through the conversation—its beauty, its challenges, and the hope she carries for change. Bianca shares her vision for future retreats on the island: spaces rooted in culture, learning, healing, and community. Places where women can breathe, honor their grief, and rediscover parts of themselves that got lost along the way.

This episode is an invitation to rethink how movement, land, and connection can hold us through grief. A reminder that healing isn’t linear; it’s lived, mile by mile, moment by moment.

Key Takeaways:

• Travel can be a companion to grief, offering new ways to process loss.
• Representation matters—It can be life-changing for women of color to see themselves in spaces historically closed to them.
• Grief and joy often coexist, and choosing adventure after loss isn’t forgetting—it's honoring the fullness of being alive.
• Community heals—from podcast summits to shared stories, connection lights the way forward.
• Travel during turbulent times is complex, and it’s okay to hold both gratitude and discomfort as you navigate privilege and responsibility.
• Puerto Rico holds deep lessons about resilience, culture, and what it means to belong to land and community.

Guest: Bianca Alba

• Blogger & Podcaster
• @thislatinatravels
• thislatinatravels.com

Hosted by: Nina Rodriguez

• griefandlight.com
• @griefandlight
• Resting Grief Face on Substack
• Grief Tending Toolkit

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