Hello listeners, this week we have a conversation with Laura Rivas.

Who would’ve thought a 1980 Pontiac Firebird Trans-Am Bandit would be the reason why Laura's family lives in the U.S. today. Her father came to pick up the Firebird and decided to stay in the land of the free, followed shortly by her mom, her sister, and her a year after. Their first year in America was in her uncle’s living room in the city of Compton. Laura remembers looking out the second-floor living room window on Christmas day and seeing a drunk Santa Claus shooting his gun in the air shouting a cheerful “Merry Christmas Motherf*ckers.” They settled down in the backhouse of Mexican Santeria worshippers for the next fourteen years. On her tenth birthday, Laura's mother bought her a Sony Mini DVD camcorder to capture the two scarlet macaws, five Chihuahuas, four chickens, and a cat that roamed freely in their front yard. From that day forward, she was hooked on capturing the good, the bad, and craziness of life through the lens of a camera and she hasn’t looked back since.
 
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During our conversation, Laura and I talked about:

• Navigating helping family during the pandemic
• The Latinx experience when it comes to traveling
• The Latina experience in the film industry

 
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