The Global Latin Factor Podcast

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Creció en un pueblo del occidente antioqueño, entre minas de oro, café y caña para panela. Su mamá fue su primera maestra. Estudió bibliotecología en la Universidad de Antioquia, trabajó con el gobierno colombiano, vivió tres años en Honduras y llegó a Chicago, la ciudad que hoy llama su segundo hogar. Después de 35 años fuera del país, pasó siete años buscando dónde retirarse y escogió la vida en el campo en Guatapé.

Escucharás:
 Qué significa para ella ser latina e iberoamericana
 Cómo escoger tu camino: primero el objeto de estudio, después darlo todo sin esperar recompensa
 Por qué en Chicago un inmigrante no se siente inmigrante
 Cómo planear un retiro con intención
 Su consejo para la vida: vivir el instante

In English: 

A Colombian woman shares her journey from Antioquia to Honduras and Chicago, and back home to retire in Guatapé after 35 years abroad. Episode in Spanish.

Síguenos, déjanos una reseña y comparte este episodio con alguien que sueña con volver a casa.
 [email protected]
YouTube: @thegloballatinfactorpodcast

 ¿Dónde te gustaría vivir tu retiro?

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Santiago Díaz Urrea creció en Guatapé pensando que era un pueblo aburrido. Hoy trabaja en la Subsecretaría de Cultura para que el mundo lo conozca más allá de la Piedra del Peñol. Grabado en Guatapé, Colombia. Episode in Spanish.

 Grabado en Guatapé, Antioquia, Colombia, este episodio de nuestra serie internacional nos presenta a Santiago Díaz Urrea, asistente administrativo en la Subsecretaría de Cultura de Guatapé y estudiante de administración turística y hotelera.

Santiago llegó a Guatapé a los 6 años. De niño soñaba con ser veterinario, hasta que descubrió que le aterra la sangre. Una práctica en la alcaldía, una llamada inesperada y una conversación con su jefa lo llevaron al turismo, y hoy conecta el turismo con la cultura del municipio.

Hablamos de:

• Qué hacer en Guatapé además de subir la Piedra
• Por qué cada fachada lleva un zócalo y qué cuenta de cada familia
• Cómo el embalse transformó a un pueblo ganadero en un destino turístico
• Las capacitaciones gratuitas para negocios locales
• Las fiestas, el carnaval del 31 de diciembre y un día perfecto en Guatapé
• Su lección: mirar más profundo y valorar lo que tienes

English: Santiago grew up in Guatapé thinking it was boring. Now he works in the town’s culture office. We talk town history, the meaning behind the colorful facades, festivals, and why visitors should stay longer than a day trip. In Spanish.

Website:

https://thegloballatinfactor.com

 ¿Qué lugar aprendiste a valorar solo cuando creciste? What place did you only appreciate once you got older?

 Sigue el podcast, deja tu reseña y comparte este episodio. Follow, review, and share with someone planning a trip to Colombia.

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Karolina’s family left communist Poland when she was three. They lived as political refugees in a camp near Naples, then settled in a small village in the Italian Alps as the only immigrant family in town. Just as she finally felt Italian, her parents told her they were moving to Chicago. At 12, she packed her whole life into two suitcases.

In this Exchanging Cultures episode, recorded in Colombia, Crispin Valentin talks with Karolina, an internal medicine physician and founder of PlantMed Health. They start with Preguntas al Chile, pierogi versus tacos, then get into her story. She learned English from an old textbook the summer before school. She watched her professional parents start over in basic jobs. She talks about the priest who told her she couldn’t be an altar girl, and why she left the Catholic Church. She also explains how she earned a U.S.-recognized medical degree in Poland.

Then the turn. A book on the placebo effect, burnout during COVID in Hawaii, and an ayahuasca retreat in Costa Rica led her to leave hospital medicine. She shares why psychedelic research stopped in the 1970s, what she means by holding space, and why she believes plant medicine calls for intention, respect and reciprocity.

What you’ll take away:
 How immigrating twice shaped her sense of belonging
 Why she says doctors get almost no nutrition training
 What the placebo effect reveals about belief and healing
 The history behind the psychedelic ban and its return
 Her view on the right way to approach plant medicine

This episode reflects Karolina’s personal experience and is not medical advice.

Connect with Karolina:

[Instagram] https://www.instagram.com/karolinamikosmd/

[Website] https://www.plantmedhealth.com/

 Connect with us: 

YouTube @thegloballatinfactorpodcast 

[email protected]m

Listener question:
 What’s one thing your family left behind when they moved, and what did they bring that still shapes you today?

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De niña, Angelina no podía leer como los demás y nadie sabía por qué. Hoy es doctora en ciencias, coach de salud y bienestar certificada y fundadora de Ix-Ik Health & Wellness LLC.

Grabamos este capítulo internacional en la finca de su familia en Guatapé, Colombia. Escucha los pájaros, el agua y la calma del lugar mientras Angelina cuenta su historia: nacida en Honduras, de padres colombianos, criada en Chicago, con un año en Medellín que le devolvió su español.

Hablamos del cómic de Darwin que la hizo soñar con ser científica, de los maestros que la vieron cuando más lo necesitaba y del momento en la universidad cuando por fin supo que tenía dislexia. También nos cuenta por qué dejó la investigación del cáncer para trabajar en prevención, cómo nacieron sus cuatro pilares de conexión y cómo la casa misma le pidió convertirse en un retiro.

Lo que vas a escuchar:

1. Qué sintió al recibir su diagnóstico y qué cambió después
2. Cómo la ansiedad y la dislexia se alimentaban entre sí
3. Por qué un medicamento puede tardar unos 15 años en llegar a la comunidad
4. Sus cuatro pilares: conexión contigo, tu comunidad, tu cultura y la naturaleza
5. La respiración "911": suelta el aire más lento de lo que lo tomas

In English: Dr. Angelina Ix-Ik' Londoño shares her journey from undiagnosed dyslexia to a PhD, and from the lab to hosting wellness retreats in Guatapé, Colombia. Episode in Spanish.

Conecta con Angelina y Ix-Ik Health & Wellness:
 https://www.ixikwellness.com

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Part 2 of our conversation with Dre, known as FadesxDre, barber and owner of Ritual Barber Studio in Grapevine, Texas.

We pick up with Dre's time working for the state. She opens up about CPS cases, the pressure on caseworkers to close cases by the numbers, and why she eventually walked away. Then it shifts. In 2020, working from home, she cut her son's hair with a clipper kit from Walmart. It didn't look bad. That week she went to the nearest barber school and enrolled on the spot.

What followed was a lot at once. A divorce, two boys, online barber school during COVID, and a front desk job at a pet hotel with a boss who gave her grace when she needed it most. She lost her school's owner and instructor to COVID before finishing. She found a mentor who let her watch, split cuts with her, and never charged her. Then she packed a U-Haul, hitched her Jeep, and drove her boys to Dallas, where two realtors had the keys, pizza, and a stocked fridge waiting.

Dre talks about networking beyond barber events, being the only Latina on a business board, cutting for the Mavericks G League team and the UT Cotton Bowl team, judging barber competitions, and why she and her husband scaled back to a studio closer to home after their baby was born.

She closes with advice for anyone starting out: stay consistent, stay disciplined, and learn business first. And a reminder that your job is never your identity.

Takeaways:
 Why structure and discipline matter more than fast money
 How mentors outside your industry can teach you the most
 What it takes to prove yourself in a male-dominated field
 Why showing up for people should never be transactional

Content note: this episode includes discussion of child abuse cases from Andrea's time working for CPS.

Connect with Andrea:
 Instagram, TikTok, Facebook: @fadesxdre
 Ritual Barber Studio: @ritualbarberstudiodfw
 Sparkyard Greetings: sparkyardgreetings.com | @sparkyardgreetings

The Global Latin Factor Podcast with Crispin Valentin
 YouTube: @thegloballatinfactorpodcast
 Email: [email protected]

If this story meant something to you, follow the show, leave a rating and review, and send it to someone who's thinking about starting over. Go show Andrea some love too.

WEBSITE: https://thegloballatinfactor.com/

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He was a kid in Mexico wearing huaraches. He couldn't see what was coming: crossing into the U.S. undocumented at 11, serving in Iraq with the U.S. Army, fighting PTSD, and one day sitting behind a microphone telling Latino stories.

In this solo episode of The Global Latin Factor Podcast, host Crispin Valentin tells his own immigrant story for the first time on the show. He goes from undocumented kid to U.S. citizen, from Iraq veteran to rebuilding his life, from a career in banking and mortgage to community work with the Fort Worth Hispanic Chamber and 1 Million Cups. He also shares why, after hundreds of episodes, he still believes Latino stories matter.

What you'll take away:

• Why "immigrant," "resident," and "citizen" are years of a life, not just categories
• How leadership can mean getting up, asking for help, and taking the next step
• Why some people don't need money, they need an introduction
• The difference between significance and fame, and between success and significance
• Why you don't need the whole plan, just the next step

Website: https://thegloballatinfactor.com/

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Before she ever picked up the clippers, Andrea, known as FadesxDre, worked inside a male maximum security prison in Texas.

In Part 1, Crispin sits down with Andrea for her second time on the show. She was one of the very first guests ever, but technical difficulties meant a redo. She grew up between Del Rio, Beeville, and New Mexico, raised mostly by her grandma after her parents separated. Her grandma's faith and her handmade Sonora tortillas were home. By Andrea's own words, there was no direction back then, just survival.

Her dad spent his whole career with the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. When she needed stability for her daughter, she followed him in. She started in administrative work in Ad Seg, where inmates are locked up 23 hours a day. Then she went through the academy, where the class locked arms and walked into pepper spray together, and put on the uniform as an officer.

She explains how she earned respect by being fair and consistent, and why inmates spend their days studying every officer's habits. She also talks about why she went to therapy after years of seeing things most people never will, and why mental health needs to be talked about more in Latino families. Plus Preguntas al Chile, cumbia Tejana, and a couple of unit stories we couldn't stop laughing about.

What you'll take away:
 How consistency and fairness earned her respect in a male max unit
 What the corrections academy is really like
 Why being too friendly can cost you your power
 How one steady person, her grandma, changed everything
 Why she's normalizing therapy with her own kids

Content note: This episode includes a brief mention of suicide and a discussion of trauma. If you or someone you know is struggling, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, US).

Connect with Andrea
 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fadesxdre/
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@fadesxdre

The Global Latin Factor Podcast
 Website: https://thegloballatinfactor.com

Collabs and sponsorships: [email protected]

 Who was the grandma in your life, the person who made you feel safe when everything else was falling apart?

 If Andrea's story stayed with you, follow the show so Part 2 lands right in your feed. Leave us a quick rating or review, and send this one to someone who needs to hear it. Go show Andrea some love on Instagram at FadesxDre. Nos vemos en la próxima.

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Before she was Sabor Puro, she was a girl in Webb Chapel, Dallas, walking past a trap house on her way to the bus stop, and dancing to Selena in her living room like nobody was watching.

In this episode, Sylvia Paola of Sabor Puro sits down with The Global Latin Factor Podcast to talk about growing up Mexican-American in North Dallas, how a middle school Selena tribute became a turning point for her identity, and her journey through Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts, learning salsa and Latin music from scratch. She also opens up about her Graves’ disease diagnosis, an autoimmune condition that forced her to rethink how she takes care of herself, on and off stage.

In this episode you’ll learn:

•How a childhood Selena performance became a defining moment in Sylvia’s cultural identity

•What it was like growing up near Harry Hines Blvd. in Dallas, and the perspective it gave her

•Why Booker T. Washington High School (also attended by Erykah Badu and Norah Jones) pushed her performing to another level

•What Graves’ disease is, how she manages it, and what she wishes she’d known sooner

•How her love of teaching and performing led her toward Sabor Puro

This is part 1 of 2. Part 2 is coming soon, so make sure you’re subscribed.

The Global Latin Factor Podcast (also known as La Neta Que Conecta / Exchanging Cultures) brings real, bilingual conversations about Latino culture, identity, and community stories from the DFW area and beyond

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JD sat alone in an empty room for the first hour of his debut art show. Then the room filled up — and his pieces started selling.

In this episode of The Global Latin Factor Podcast, host Crispín Valentín talks with JD, a self-taught Salvadoran American artist and Kava bartender from Irving, Texas. JD shares how he found music before painting, how he turned his parents' garage into a home studio, and what pushed him to finally host his first art show, "My Inner Child In Me," in Deep Ellum.

JD talks through his abstract neo-expressionist style, why he prefers oil pastels and spray paint, the influence Jean-Michel Basquiat had on his approach, and how a recent trip to New York City museums reshaped how he thinks about color and technique. He also opens up about going 100 days without alcohol and how working at a Kava bar reshaped his relationship with going out and socializing.

Listeners will hear what it's like to sit with the nerves of hosting a first show, how JD describes entering a painter's "flow state" during late-night sessions, and why he believes connection — not recognition — is the real reason he creates.

JD on Instagram: [main account handle — verify exact spelling before publishing] and [art account handle — verify exact spelling before publishing]

The Global Latin Factor Podcast is a bilingual, weekly show based in the DFW area covering Latino culture, identity, entrepreneurship, and community stories.

Follow the show and connect with us at [email protected] or @thegloballatinfactorpodcast.

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There was a trap house across the street and prostitutes on the corner two blocks from her school bus stop — and Sylvia says she never felt scared, because that neighborhood also taught her who she is.

In Part 1 of this two-part conversation, singer Sylvia of the band Sabor Puro opens up about growing up Mexican-American in Dallas's Webb Chapel neighborhood, the shame she once felt speaking Spanish in front of her white friends, and the seventh-grade talent show where dancing to Selena changed how she saw her own culture.

She talks about being raised largely by her older sisters while her dad battled leukemia, coming from a family of musicians going back to her grandparents' conjunto, and the anxiety that eventually sent her to therapy in college after it started affecting her performances. She also opens up, for the first time in this conversation, about being diagnosed with Graves' disease — an autoimmune disorder that attacks the thyroid — and the fear that she might lose her ability to sing altogether.

Listeners will hear about the years she spent going back and forth between shame and pride in her identity, the specific moment a sex worker in her neighborhood told her to keep getting good grades, and how she eventually found her people — and her voice — through a performing arts magnet school built around the same halls that shaped artists like Erykah Badu and Norah Jones.

This is a Mexican-American identity story, a family story, and a health story, told by someone who grew up two blocks from the streets she now sings about overcoming. Part 2 continues the story soon.

In this episode:

• How a Selena talent-show performance in 7th grade became the turning point in Sylvia's relationship with her own culture
• What it was like growing up near Harry Hines Blvd. in Webb Chapel, Dallas
• How being placed in different academic tracking groups in middle school shaped her sense of belonging
• Why Sylvia went to therapy for performance anxiety in college
• What it was like being diagnosed with Graves' disease mid-career, and why she chose daily medication over surgery to protect her voice

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Website: https://thegloballatinfactor.com/

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