Scarlet in Moana

Scarlet got a small part in the 92Y's performance of Moana as a villager :)  

Scarlet has been inspired by her cousin, Ava Mendoza, who has played lead roles in many musicals. It's amazing the impact of seeing people who look like you and being inspired to follow in their footsteps! 

Here is the professionally shot video of the musical

https://youtu.be/OtcKjXoqbWQ

Analiza in a NYC Boss Up Video

I’m grateful that Women of Color Rise early this year won a grant with NYC Boss Up for military veterans!

A heartfelt thank you to Ron Moelis and his foundation, Commissioner James Hendon, Commissioner Kevin Kim, Kitty Chan, and the NYC Small Business Services team for your support.

Thank you for the opportunity to be featured in the NYC Boss Up video, where I share how my parents and family inspired me to start Women of Color Rise. Our mission is to provide coaching and facilitation services to empower diverse leaders to secure their seat at the table.

Watch the video here:

https://youtu.be/iU742oJrziI

I am also incredibly grateful to the military veterans I've had the privilege to build community with:

-         Ron Holloway - Healthy pet food through Woofbowl

-         Don Rossi - Hot Dog King

-         Serghio Adams - STEM and test prep courses through Brothers Building Blocks

-         Vance Gorman - Photography and film services through Vanso Visual Imaging

-         Tuesday Brooks - Financial management through AJOY

-         Joelle Lynch - Tree cutting services through Tree Army

-         Marlin Santos - Restaurant entrepreneur and doctor

-         Tsikata Apenyo - Empowering campus health and wellness through indeHealth

-         Kat Perez - Videos (including this one!) through Kat D Productions

Let's continue to support our military veterans!

Learn more about NYC Boss Up here: https://www.nycbossup.org/

#WomenOfColorRise #NYCBossUp #Veterans #SupportOurTroops #DiversityAndInclusion #Leadership #CommunityEmpowerment

 

Scarlet Takes Her First Solo Flight to Ohio!

 8 years old and Scarlet flew from NYC to Ohio!

NYC Sight Seeing: Museums and More!

Nana visited NYC while I was in Bolivia. She spent time with the kids at the Bronx Zoo, Intrepid, Banksy Exhibit. I also got to take the kids to the NJ Science Museum and Museum of Natural History. Scarlet also did some paintings at the park and got a firefly at the swings.

Antigua, Guatemala

Scarlet and I spent 2 weeks in Antigua, Guatemala. We were happy to spend the first week with my brother, Miss Uncle Robbie, as the kids call him. We spent a weekend at Lake Atitlan together after a 4 hour drive through curvy roads where we almost vomited. We stayed at Posado de Don Rodrigo

We spent 4 hours each day in 1:1 classes at Antiguena Spanish School. We loved our teachers (mine was Lily and Scarlet's was Elena). We had class in the school's beautiful garden and enjoyed the weekly hourlong programming on corn and Mayan weddings. Scarlet was not a fan of the salsa dance classes, so we ended up skipping those.
We also loved volunteering with God's Project, which provides food for families, after school services, dental services, a home for babies (and their mother's if the mother is still with them), and home building. Scarlet and I loved volunteering each afternoon and playing games with the 7 year olds and babies too, as well as giving out food (and cakes) to families.

We were thrilled to meet some families from the US who were staying at a hotel next to the school called Apartmentos Los Nazarenos. Jess and her daughter Shanti are from Boston. Aurora, Brent, and their daughter Nina are from New Rochelle. Lindsay and her two boys Max and Hayes are from the Upper West Side of Manhattan. We loved hanging out with them at their pool and are tempted to come back and stay there with Scarlet going to the Circus Camp, Green School, and even chess lessons. We also enjoyed having a jade making class at Casa Jade with Jess and Shanti.

Our homestay was unfortunately not great. The host mom, Liliana, put Scarlet and me in one room that could barely hold two twin beds. There wasn't a closet or shelves so we barely had enough room on the floor to open our suitcase. Thankfully I was able to get Liliana to give me a separate room since we had paid for 2 rooms. Liliana had a granddaughter named Valerie who was Scarlet's age but they didn't end up liking to spend time together. While meals at the homestay weren't great (she tended to serve cereal for breakfast, eggs for dinner, and leftovers), we liked the terrace which had a nice view of the volcano.

Overall, we loved our Antigua experience. Next time we will probably opt for the hotel :)