Secret Scholar

Hola, hola! This episode I am joined by Sussan Garcia, founder of the CentAm Collective. We talk about hidden Central American history, studying abroad, the chisme surrounding UCLA getting its own Central American Studies program and so much more! You can follow the CentAm Collective on Instagram @thecentamcollective 

Note: This was recorded in January which is before COVID-19 impacted our lives and that's why there's no mention of it. 

Email [email protected]

Follow Secret Scholar on IG @secretscholarpodcast

After a brief hiatus I'm back!

This week's guest is Natalie Santizo who appropriately summarizes the amazing work she does in the bio below. 

Natalie is a fourth year Ph.D. student in Chicana/o and Central American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research focuses on historic Latinx foodways- the production, consumption, and distribution of foods and foodstuffs- in the San Gabriel Valley during the early 20th century. Utilizing local archives, primary documents, oral history, and GIS mapping, Natalie focuses on Latinx farmer-entrepreneurs and laborers, piecing together the history of the Central San Gabriel Valley (Baldwin Park, El Monte, La Puente) from a Latinx perspective through a centralizing of foodways. Making local history accessible in the San Gabriel Valley is an important part of her work. You can follow her social media project @writewithnat on Instagram to learn more about SGV history and supporting small business.

¡Viva el Inland Empire!

This week I am joined by Gabby Bobadilla, career coach and advocate for WOC. On this episode we talk about how to value your worth, side hustles, study abroad, how the return home can be more painful than leaving and so much more! 

You can find Gabby @gabbybobadilla on IG and Twitter

Email [email protected] 

Follow Secret Scholar on IG @secretscholarpodcast

Welcome to Season 2!

TW/CW: Sexual Assault

This episode I sit down with Jocelyn Flores to talk about their poetry, how friend breakups hurt the worst, self love notes from elementary school kids, tupperware sex toy parties and more. We get real and we get vulnerable. (This was recorded during peak Cancer szn so don't hold us liable)

Follow Jocelyn: 

@jocemite on Instagram 

Email [email protected] with your advice, questions and recommendations!

I'm so happy to close out the end of the season with an interview with Yeiry Guevara. On this episode we talk about growing up in Texas, One Day at a Time (before we knew it was cancelled), creating zines for family, emotional room in your art and more! 

Yeiry Guevara is a writer, multimedia artist, and your favorite Salvadoran/Texan living in NYC. Yeiry's work explores identity, family and memory in mediums ranging from zines, embroidery, and gifs. 

You can find her work on yeiry.com or yeirybird on Twitter and Instagram

Welcome to the first cross-country internet interview ever on Secret Scholar! This week I interview Joy Valerie Carrera (aka the artist formerly known as Part Time Exploradora) about her career from working at a startup to freelancing, "Becoming" by Michelle Obama, traveling to 20+ countries with internet friends, code switching, and so much more. 

Apologies for the audio quality but yo girl doesn't have the funds for a fancy mic! 

You can find Joy on Instagram @joyvaleriee

Send your questions or suggestions for future guests at [email protected]

This week I am joined again by the lovely Melina Chavarria- this time to talk about comics! We discuss indie comics such as "Quince", KALE (not the veggie), the problems with having a token voice, and why it's sometimes to keep stories away from mainstream publishers. 

PS. I know I said bonus a lot in this video but ya girl got busy so I'm releasing it as a regular episode. 

Follow Melina on Instagram @the_magic_glasses 

You can email questions or love to [email protected] or give a follow on Instagram  @secretscholarpodcast

This week I am joined by Melina Chavarria, author of the Magic Glasses and editor-in-chief of Aurtistic Zine. We discuss media representation, secret comic expos, blogging as a mother and more. 

You can follow Melina @the_magic_glasses and @aurtisticzine on Instagram

Discussed on this episode: 

"Queens: Rulers of Feminist Comedy" from Plot Twist Publishing 

"La Voz de Mayo: Tata Rambo" by Henry Barajas

@Lunaperdida on IG 

DSTL Arts

Latino Comics Expo 

You can reach Secret Scholar on 

[email protected] or @secretscholarpodcast on Instagram

CW: Domestic violence, emotional abuse 

This week I speak to Shannen Roberts about her website The Strange Is Beautiful and her music as Cusi Coyllur. 

Shannen Roberts (she/her) is the queer, Peruvian-American, founding editor of The Strange is Beautiful, solo artist of Cusi Coyllur, and trauma-informed yoga instructor residing in Los Angeles. Her music and activism coincide with each other, and are featured on HuffPost, Remezcla, Ms. Magazine, Lavendaire podcast, and more. For years she's been a regular tabler at LA, SF, and SFV zine festivals, and has self-published many zines and publications about mental health and domestic abuse.

Links:

TheStrangeisBeautiful.com

@thestrangeisbeautiful  

CusiCoyllurMusic.com

@cusicoyllurmusic 

Contact email:

[email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

Things discussed: 

@bydivya

@eladanii

Adelitas Apparel Nurture Your Loneliness Like it is A Small Animal in Need of Being Held by Laura Matthis Hairy Femme Mother by Skinned Knees

Chingona Magic by Angela Aguirre

On Struggling Bodies by Brown Recluse Zine Distro Processes on Meditation by Tara Oliver Queer Asian Musicians by Mixed Rice Zines

Shotgun Seamstress: A Zine By and For Black Punks by Osa Atoe L.A Sewcial Club "Blank Space" by Cusi Coyllur

"Nano 2" by Cusi Coyllur 

You can reach Secret Scholar on [email protected] or @secretscholarpodcast on Instagram

Welcome to our very first episode and guest! This week I interview Janel Pineda and we discuss poetry, navigating white academic spaces, #centralamericantwitter, pupusas in London, Salvadorean vs Salvadoran and more.

Janel Pineda is a Los Angeles-born poet and the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants who fled the US-funded Salvadoran Civil War. She has performed her poetry across the country and internationally, most recently as part of Festival Internacional de Poesía Amada Libertad in El Salvador. Janel has been published in various anthologies, including: The Wandering Song: Central American Writing in the United States. She was also a member of the 2018 Radical Roots Delegation through the Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador. Janel holds a BA in English from Dickinson College and has studied at the University of Oxford. She is a 2019 Marshall Scholar.

You can follow Janel on Twitter @pineda_janel