Today I have the honor of speaking to Sonia Manzano known by many as Maria on Sesame Street, who she's played for 44 years. Sonia introduces Alma's Way, a new show on PBS Kids about a young 6-year-old proud, confident, Puerto Rican girl living a fast paced life in the Bronx alongside her family, friends, and neighbors. Sonia, a Puerto Rican just like Alma, has been nominated for an Emmy twice for Best Performer in a Childhood Series and has won 15 Emmys for her television writing. In 2016, Sonia was awarded a Lifetime Achievement Emmy Award by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, recognizing her as a pioneer in representation of Latinos on television and for portraying Maria.

You can watch Alma's Way now on PBS Kids. 

On this episode I speak to Yvette Bodden, Founder and Author of Awakened-Woman, a digital platform designed to inspire and invigorate females. Her writing seeks to empower and encourage women searching for personal definitions of success to build strong communities through powerful storytelling. In just two years, Awakened Woman has amassed tens of thousands of followers, thanks to a combined 500+ articles centered around celebrity profiles, relationships, love, abuse, motherhood, and Latino culture, infused with a signature blend of Yvette’s pragmatism and compassion. Yvette is also a motivational speaker, channeling her own growth experiences to empower others.

Her debut book, A Journey to Becoming the Best Self (Black Rose Writing)—part memoir and part prescriptive fiction, inspired by Yvette’s own post-divorce path from devastation to joy—was published in 2019, and received praise from The U.S. Review of Books. In 2021, she was also named one of the “Bella Bosses We Admire” by Bella Magazine.

Visit Awakened-Woman.com and read her book A Journey to Becoming the Best Self available on Amazon. 

You can also follow Yvette @womanawakened on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Today, we lift the curtain of La Condesa, a thriller that has plenty of thrills behind the scenes as it does on screen. Produced and directed by Honduran director Mario Ramos, the film holds one mystery after the other as two couples decide to stay in a family home that has a dark past.

With me is Peruvian actor Sebastian Stimman, who plays Eduardo Hikar in La Condesa. We'll talk about filming during the pandemic, mysterious happenings in their set location, which comes with its own past, supporting Central American productions, Sebastian's hidden and not so hidden talents, and more.

La Condesa is now available on demand in the U.S. and Canada. 

Learn more at lacondesamovie on IG and FB or at lacondesamovie.com. 

You can follow Sebastian @Sebastianstimman on FB, IG, and TW.