new year, new role✨ it is with great pride that i share @nopalera.co has officially hired me full-time as their west coast representative –& yes, my face & hands are on the marketing too. 😌🤲🏽
if you didn’t already know, Nopalera is Latina-owned, created for modern beauty consumers ( like myself ) who value high-quality, niche products. my entire body needs rich hydration every–single–day !! my daily rituals depend on it & Nopalera has always had my back. 💅🏽✨💕
this new role has me out in the streets again !! you will catch me at community events or a shop near you spreading skin & body care knowledge –so if you see me, say hi, i gotchuuu.
to @officialslv ( our CEO ) & @prisca.macho ( our vp of sales ) – it is an honor to call you my directs. tysm for your mentorship & trust. i look forward to the all abundance ahead !! endless appreciation for the entire team. 🫱🏽🫲🏾 🌟🌵🧡
fun fact: the mature model in the last photo is my auntie – aka, Tia Alba. 🥹💐
a week ago today, Hilda Solis, the first Latina to ever serve in a Presidential Cabinet & current Los Angeles County Supervisor declared October 13 as ‘Edward James Olmos Day.’ Olmos was honored alongside 10 individuals for Hispanic Heritage Month —& i was one of them.
i have to admit two things: 1) i was shocked when i received the news & got imposter syndrome 2) i felt guilt for feeling happiness over this triumph while witnessing genocide.
although the Israeli-Palestinian war is one of the world’s longest conflicts, this is the first time we are collectively witnessing atrocious war crimes committed against innocent children & people —& it’s straight-up WRONG, PERIOD! Olmos shared similar thoughts & shed light on how identity politics create war.
he thanked our outspoken Aries rebel, icon living, Dolores Huerta who was in attendance —she’s the civil rights activist who co-founded the United Farm Workers alongside Cesar Chavez —& thanked her for her lifelong dedication to social justice —& that’s when it hit me; Huerta is 93, & like her we must remain resilient through it all.
after a week’s worth of self-reflection, i now feel proud to have shared a space with some real ass legends. even during our most difficult times, by celebrating our wins & accomplishments we provide hope & inspire others to keep going, to keep pushing! when you believe you are capable of making your dreams come true you inspire others to do the same. ¡imposter syndrome ni que nada! the work i’ve done as a student, as a mentor, as a proud Los Angeles native & now model was honored by my city & making my family proud was the cherry on top. 🍒🥹
fun fact: in the 90’s my dad was an extra in one of Olmo’s films. taking their photo in present time was the highlight of my day. 🤩
i’m rebuilding & i will be romanticizing it.🌹 manifested a cozy little nook with checkered floors, a yard, big windows & enough space for my records & all the lil things i like to collect. 🥹 don’t get me started on the views or the neighborhood peacock !! 🦚❣️ ~ lowkey, feeling rich. 🤭
btw, living completely on your own in LA as a first generation daughter of immigrants comes with pressure. the amount of times i’ve had my choices questioned by older women simply proves that i’m breaking old cultural patterns & ways of thinking.
i be like: “NO, living with a man, getting married & having kids is not the only indicator of success for women. plus, there’s no man in my life that’s ready to pay my bills yet –& I ain’t ready to cook for one.” 😌
all i need right now is my inner peace. i don’t care how cheap rent & mortgages are outside of LA (no shade).
i’m a city girl for life.
IF YOU’RE NOT ANGRY, YOU’RE NOT PAYING ATTENTION.
THIS HIDEOUS PRESIDENCY IS BUILT ON CRUELTY, ABUSE OF POWER, AND THE DENIAL OF BASIC HUMAN RIGHTS. THERE IS NOTHING PATRIOTIC OR ADMIRABLE ABOUT THAT. 🙅🏽♀️
CRIMES AGAINST OUR INNOCENT IMMIGRANT FAMILIES ARE A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE OF POLICIES DESIGNED TO HURT, NOT PROTECT.
TO EVERYONE STANDING UP AGAINST ICE: HISTORY’S RIGHTEOUS LEADERS ARE PROUD OF YOU. 📣✊🏽❤️🔥
MAY THEIR WORDS SERVE AS A REMINDER THAT WHEN FASCISTS ATTACK, WE FIGHT BACK.
LOS ANGELES, I LOVE YOU. CHANGE COMES FROM PEOPLE WHO SPEAK UP.
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TANK & PHOTOS BY @bridgie.jpg . TANK IS 100% COTTON. LETTERS ARE UP-CYCLED SILK FROM INDIA. 50% OF PROCEEDS ARE DONATED TO THE IMMIGRATION DEFENSE PROJECT.
PROUD DAUGHTER OF IMMIGRANTS FOR @haagendazs_us 🍦✊🏾✨
s/o to all immigrant parents whose sacrifices make our dreams possible!
i allow myself to be a vessel & this commercial work to serve as a reminder that kids of immigrants are the ones shaping culture as we take up the space we deserve.
as always, grateful to the entire production team for their care & the chance to cross paths with some cool creatives (tagged here).
& to all those who reached out about seeing me on screen: i will forever carry your kind words with me. ♥️
in case y’all forgot that my natural state consists of waves & texture 🌀 truth is, these curls are high-maintenance… i’m sure all the curly hair honeys would agree.
@thenorthface 🫶🏽
i knew some day i’d be in winter clothes during the summer. 🤭 so grateful for the lovely people i’ve met at TNF & certainly grateful for this bag. catch me on their site.✨
grieving an old version of myself while i give life to a new one. `new me’ reminds `old me’ that no matter who or what, i was & will always be light. 🌟
On March 10, 2024, my beloved grandfather Hugo made his way to heaven. 🕊️
When I was 16 years old, my grandpa gifted me his mariachi photograph. It was taken in 1969. He claims to have been serenading the president’s daughter; he wrote a sweet note on the back.
My grandpa was adored & respected by his pueblo for dedicating his life to music as a mariachi. I now proudly wear his favorite black sombrero —which he would let younger musicians borrow —& promise to take care of his guitar & treasured vinyl record, El Rey by José Alfredo Jimenez —the OG, undisputed king of rancheras, until the day I leave this earth.
The Virgencita is in my grandparents’ town. The black & white photo features my grandpa Hugo (he’s the little one in the front with the shorts & cute ears) along with his older brothers & my great-grandparents, Manuel & Marta.
