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306.
I feel like I should ask you about
the Puerto Rico comments.
I am so down, and you know I
came ready for my party. So Uh-oh. Uh-oh.
So,
so what would you say that,
Trump lost
80% of the Puerto Rican vote, 90% of
the Puerto Rican vote? Like, what's this looking
like right now?
Okay. So I just feel like
yeah. Right away, I'm sure votes are going
to be pulled, but it's just really is
something that
we as a community
are just writhing over. Right now Yeah. I
mean, the Puerto Rican community
is in an uproar. And not that we're
reacting, but we're responding. And I feel that
there's a difference.
I do You've definitely seen the people, like,
especially prominent Puerto Ricanos coming out and just
kinda being like, hey. So I'm gonna go
ahead and just tell you who we are
supporting and how this is gonna play out.
It's just that I mean, it's it's a
ongoing disrespect of,
folks living in the legacies and the current
realities of colonialism and imperialism.
But, I mean, we knew they thought this
way about us. Right?
Yeah. But it just really is just so
jarring
to see what we already know exists, but
to see it play out on such a
national stage and with so much permission.
And as and as
a Boricua,
you know, I mean, we all know this.
The arino Puerto Rico is a commonwealth. We
are a US territory.
And so
to be so insulting like that and mask
it under the guise of a joke, nobody's
laughing. And Yeah. You know what? Jokes are
supposed to be funny.
Yeah. And
this is not funny, and we will continue
to push back, and we will continue to
resist. So thank you for asking that question.
I'm sure our ancestors
are somewhere
ready to just be, like, looking. It's just
it's like whatever you put. Also, just for
new listeners, I'm not identifying as Puerto Rican.
I'm not Puerto Rican. Chicano. You know me.
I'm the Chicanito from the east side, so
please don't think I'm trying to, like, hop
on this identity. But I feel like I
feel like,
Chicana people and Puerto Ricanos, man, we, like,
we definitely,
have lived
similar
things.
Alright.
Well, let's just jump into this.
Hey. Yo. What's going on? Welcome to the
Chicano Logs. I'm your host Gerard Munoz,
aka Philosopher King. I am out here exploring
the complex Latine
identities,
all of our complexities, all of our layers,
all of our exceptionalities
and specificities,
if you will,
from my positionality is just a little Chicanito
from the east side. The Chicano Logs is
a 2DOPE production.
If you're interested in hearing more stories like
this, more content like this, please hit us
up
on,
2DOPE teachers,
and that whole podcast feed. We do have
our own podcast feed.
Still struggling to get some engagement there, but
we tend to get the listens,
on the 2DOPE teachers page,
podcast feed. So make sure you, subscribe
to that podcast. Leave us a 5 star
review,
that helps others discover
this
show.
I wanted to come to you today. I've
got a great interview,
on tap with,
the great Sofia Gonzales,
a teacher in the Chicagoland
area,
who I think you're gonna find her extremely
interesting and poignant and powerful and motivational.
So we're gonna have that in a minute.
But I wanna take a moment and just,
say what's up to y'all. It's been a
really long time,
since
I came to you.
I think the last time you heard from
me was when I interviewed,
the walking vibe herself, Sandra Jo Galvan, formerly,
superintendent
of Greenfield Union,
in Greenfield Union School District.
We
understand that she has now moved to another
school, and, of course, she's making a splash.
But that was the last time we had
a Chicanolog. So, the Chicanologues
is a place to monologue and dialogue about
our complex, identidades.
No one Latine person is the same. I
use Latine because that is
a kind of inclusive
term where hopefully
more of our hint they can find a
way into the conversation through that through that
broad,
categorization.
These ethnic and national and identity categories aren't
perfect. Right? But it gives us a way
to come in,
to the fold.
We have a big house. It's a Latine,
gente,
and,
we hope that you can find a room
or build an addition or customize it for,
what makes sense
for you.
And so and once you're in, we honor
your identities. I identify as Chicano. My
pronouns are he, him, el
and that does not mean everybody has to
identify like me.
Well, I wanna talk a little bit about
this long absence.
I think the last time I dropped a
Chicano Logs podcast
was prior to the passing of my father,
Leonardo
Munoz.
Rest in peace. He, went to be with
the ancestors
on June 27th,
of this year at about 9:12
PM. And, those of you who follow me
on other platforms know that that really did
shake me,
to my core.
I'm gonna be really honest and say my
dad and I did not have the best
relationship for
a lot of years
and,
but I always loved him. I will always
love him. And it's really weird to kinda
say this, but I feel like since his
passing, I feel a little bit closer to
him.
I feel like his spirit is, reaching out
to me
and, showing up in his very patented Leonardo
ways. And so I just wanna I just
wanna let you all know that,
that I'm on the
I'm on this healing tip. It's gonna be,
it's gonna be a while and, I don't
feel like I'm the same person I was,
prior.
What that is manifested in is it makes
it really difficult
to engage people whether in person or whether
from the safety of this microphone in 2
Dope Studios.
It's hard y'all. Like it's just it's a
lot to carry. The work situation hasn't been
great.
The financial situation hasn't been great. My mental
health hasn't been great. But I just want
to let everybody know that I'm working my
way back,
because I really do hope to establish a
talking space, an existing space,
a
humanizing space for our gente.
At some point, we're going to have kind
of a longer conversation about the 2024 election.
A lot of lot of eyes still on
us as a comunidad.
And you'll notice I don't use. We're
not one community.
We are a collective
of
so I'll always refer to our communities in
the plural because we're not all the same,
but it doesn't mean that we can't connect.
That's what coalition building is y'all. That's what
solidarity is.
So,
if you are new to the Chicano logs,
you can hit us up. We are out
here. You can reach us the same way
you reach any other 2 Dope production, 2
Dope,
teachers atgmail.com.
You can follow us on socials,
on
Instagram, on x formerly Twitter,
at 2 Dope Teachers. You can find us
on TikTok at 2 Dope Teachers. You can
also,
give us a like on Facebook. This is
where that's also where I'll post some of
our episodes,
which is facebook.com/2
dopeteachers and a mic with all the hyphens
between the words.
And listen y'all,
times are hard, and I know times are
hard for all of us right now.
And,
2DOPE productions could really use some financial support.
We're not a nonprofit. We would just ask
you to do this out of the
out of the generosity of your heart,
without the benefit of a of of a
tax write off. We're not there yet. Maybe
a while before we're there, but we're still
trying to bring you stories and, Tudor productions,
we got about 3 to 5000 downloads a
month that tell us that there are folks
out there that value what we do.
For as little as $5 a month to
Patreon,
you can
you can support us.
And at $15 a month, you get a
sticker. We're gonna remake some of what's available,
but,
you know, really we just hope that you
value,
storytelling from black and brown communities as much
as I do, as much as Kevin does,
as much as,
the very, very small staff at Tudo Productions.
This amazing content.
We really do it really does mean the
world to us, those of you who support.
And we just thank you for sticking with
us when we're inconsistent.
But you know that this art is always
ready for you when you are ready for
it.
I wanna do a quick pivot
and wanna talk a little bit, and that's
really funny,
but for reasons I'll explain in a second.
My guest today is a pretty dope human,
y'all.
Sophia Gonzalez is 20 19 teacher of the
year with the National Society of High School
Scholars.
Sofia is a nonprofit leader for the organization
project 214
and an education activist from the Chicagoland area.
She's a very sought after public speaker. If
you don't believe me, follow her Instagram,
at sophia speaks,
regarding the state of education,
who is known for her cutting edge presentations
and dynamic illustrations with a passion that is
infectious.
And I'll tell you, I met Sophia
at the National Network of State Teachers of
the Year Conference here in my hometown,
and I've never seen a keynote like that
before.
There were props.
There was
music. There was performance.
It's like the kind of key if like,
if a BIPOC keynote was brought to life,
this is what it would look like.
And it gets you motivated, and it gets
you wondering if you can tap into your
own,
into your own creativity
when you speak in front of a group.
She is a high school teacher. She's been
teaching for 15 years.
A veterana,
a teacher leader, an alumnus,
an alumna, I should say, in a variety
of spaces like Fulbright, Latinos for Education, the
Latinx Education Collaborative,
Storytellers for Change, and Urban Leaders Fellowship.
Sofia's passion and energy towards education equity remains
a leading voice for the 21st century classroom
and beyond. Sofia believes that education is a
fundamental right and not a privilege for the
select few, and aims to lean from her
Latina
identity.
Her recent focus has been taking her seat
at the decision making tables
and traveling the country as a keynote speaker
where she can amplify the lived experience of
the Latino community
for the sake of social change and informing
education policy. And I'll tell you, I'm gonna
tell you right now, get ready for a
ride. This is,
this is a very energetic episode. We touch
on lots of topics. And I'll be really
honest, I didn't really know exactly
how to
craft this interview as a producer, because Sofia
just has so much to offer and so
much to say to all of us. And
so I just kinda let it go y'all.
I just let it ride, and it's a
fantastic
conversation.
We talk about why she took this
big leap to bet on herself and travel
the country to speak and connect and get
to know and network folk with folks.
Trigger warning, she does speak very openly
about her students,
struggles and pain and and some of the
tragedies that often come with being a high
school teacher.
She speaks very openly about these things.
And we have a fun game at the
end,
that I think you will enjoy. So,
I hope you have a long drive. I
hope you're on a walk somewhere. I hope
you're maybe you're just chilling by the fire
pit,
with a little beverage in hand, and you're
just trying to listen to this, conversation. So,
without any further ado, I bring you my
conversation,
with
the Sofia
Gonzales.
This has been a long time coming.
Right?
We have it's kinda crazy, though. We've only,
like, actually known each other 3 months at
this point. Yeah.
But I feel like you're the kind of
person that, like, you you impact a person's
life from the moment that they see you,
and then it's hard to imagine
a world where we didn't know you.
What is up everybody? We are on the
Chicano logs.
As you know, I am,
just a Chicanito from the east side trying
to bring stories of our Latine gente, and,
this this is an amazing conversation. I think
I think we're we're about to have a
blast right here.
It's at the end of a long school
day, but I wanna introduce
to you a person whose credentials I listed
in the intro,
which is why this episode is so long,
because this sister has
accomplished a lot of things.
Welcome to the Chicano logs,
Sofia Gonzales.
Man,
said, I am so excited to be here.
I'm so excited to share space with you.
And likewise, I feel like
I've only known you for just a short
while, but, you know, the impact is mutual.
And when you come
into contact and when you cross paths with
like minded and with people who operate on
the same frequency of equity and justice and
functioning
in your Latino,
Latinx
identity.
There's something powerful about that, and and that's
something with that's that's worth mentioning.
Yeah. Absolutely.
Like, what I was just having this conversation
with a friend about
what does belonging mean, and what does it
mean? Like, what do you do? So we
talked a lot about masking
and how masking is a part of, like,
our everyday identities, but also neurodiverse identities.
And,
like, one of the ways
to start being able to take off the
mask is to find your people, is to
find people that you know you can be
yourself with. I've for me, it's always been
argente
and coming
into
community with you
at a really, really hard time in my
life was really awesome.
So,
there's, like, folks,
Sofia is a purse so you know how
they got that saying? Like
like, some people
have some people choose leadership,
but not leadership. It's greatness. I'm doing great
with quotes today.
Some people choose greatness, others have greatness thrust
upon them, but I feel like there's,
like, a third option, which is both,
where I feel like you engage spaces with
greatness,
but I also feel like greatness has found
its way to your doorstep. And I think
y'all are gonna get a really,
just a really amazing story
from,
from this Maestro,
from miss g out in,
Chicago Landia,
which I always almost slip and call it
Chicano Landia.
That's where I, like, I live and stuff.
But let's let's start really quickly,
with just kind of the the origin story.
Right? Like, superheroes have an origin story.
What is what was your road to becoming
a teacher? Did you always wanna teach?
So yeah. So that's a good question that
I often get asked because of where I'm
at right now in my path. People are
like, where did you come from? Like, what's
your story? Like, we don't even know where
to me that, but I feel like they
mean something different when they ask me. Where
did you come from?
Like, who are you? Who even are you?
So I didn't always start with the idea
of wanting to become a teacher. I actually
started
my professional journey in the nonprofit sector.
So I was in the nonprofit world, and
I was running, like, after school programs for
at risk youth. And then I eventually became
a traveling guest speaker for another nonprofit
that won funding from the state to go
into
classrooms,
both middle school, secondary.
And we would go into their health classes,
and we would talk stuff like sex,
relationships,
dating,
marriage,
divorce,
healthy
choices, sexually transmitted diseases.
So you name it. Okay? All the all
the things that young ones wanna know about.
Like all the things that the young ones
wanna know about, the hot button topics, and
you really had to be dynamic and you
really had to be believable.
You had to be relevant. Like, you had
to have this certain energy and vibe.
And I think once I got into the
classroom as a guest speaker, I'm like, yo,
there's like a vibe here. There's an energy
here. Like, I was connecting with the students.
The students were connecting with me,
and we were just having, like, a lot
of moments
and just
really powerful,
just sacred times that I was having with
the students. And I'm like, I think I
wanna pivot. I think I wanna go into
the classroom. I was also doing, like,
a lot of, social justice work and social
activism work too at the time. And so
it was like this juxtaposition,
like this mix of paths, so to speak,
that kind of pushed me, into the classroom.
So I entered the classroom in the fall
of 2009.
That's that's so interesting. It's like, because well,
I feel I feel like there's been a
lot of circular, like,
patterns in your life because I think, like
but most people will go into teaching and
then and then do something like going into
the nonprofit world or going,
you know, getting on the speaker circuit. And
I and it's been kind of,
it's been kind of simultaneous for you, but
you kinda went the other way. I'm really
interested in this idea of
I I find that so just, like, reading
over some of your stuff and just kinda,
like, you know, getting a sense for your
ideas that are out there. One thing I'm
really curious
about
is,
like, what's it like in miss g's classroom?
Like, how do
culture and identity
kinda show up in that classroom? Like, I
I have a sense, and I've I've seen
little clips here and there that you've posted.
It seems like a really unique space. Can
you talk a little bit about just what
it's like in that classroom?
Yeah. Absolutely.
So first of all, just for your listeners
to understand, like, the intersectionality
of my identity,
half Puerto Rican, half Mexican,
half Chicana,
half Boricua, half That's
like 4 ass.
Listen.
That those are my taglines.
Those are my taglines. You don't teach math,
though. Right? It's not math. It's like literature.
It really is a creative
process for me. So Yeah. No math,
all English, language arts.
Fair. Right? Yeah. You don't want me teaching
math. Okay? You definitely don't want me teaching
math. I just know the basics at this
point.
So
I first and foremost, you know, lead from
my cultural identity. So that's very prominent,
in my classroom.
I have a huge Mexican flag. I have
a huge Puerto Rican flag hanging That's what's
up. In my classroom just to kind of
just show first and foremost the pride. Right?
And represent who I am as their teacher
and as their leader and as someone who
is their advocate and guide.
My kids, most of them come from Mexico.
They're 1st generation.
And so,
I mainly serve black and Latinx students.
As I mentioned, most of them come from
Mexico.
And so I really am so intentional
about
integrating
culture, identity,
1st and foremost, in the classroom. Right? So,
visually,
let me just tell you, okay, Gee, my
class is a vibe. Okay.
I know you're not shocked about that, but
I feel like
environment
ambiance is everything.
It is everything
from the lighting.
I'm like
burning essential oils with my diffuser. I have
lamps.
I have a beanbag section.
I have just, like, a lot of representation
on the walls from the poster says, archavez,
Dolores Huerta. Dolores
signed a poster for my students.
Who you met? Y'all gotta go to miss
g's,
Instagram, and you can really see, like, some
of the amazing folks she's been in space
with.
Thank you. I so appreciate it. You know
what? But you attract that. You know, the
energy that you put out, the love that
you put out, that comes back to you.
And so first and foremost, to answer your
question, is the space. I'm very intentional about
the space. Yeah. And then secondly,
I
disrupt the text. I disrupt the text often,
every school year, whatever section I teach.
The folks know, the people know.
And so it's not just about representation in
the space, but also representation in the text.
I think that's equally important.
Yeah. And so they're studying some of their
freedom fighters,
and they're studying some of their poets, some
of their artists that are from their cultural
landscape, their cultural identity.
Spanglish is welcome. Translanguaging
is welcomed.
You know? And so there's just a mix
of just cultural celebration,
and I think that the kids,
gee, have been yearning for it. They have
been craving it. They're even bringing their friends
in. They're like, can I just So funny?
Like, you already have your own English class.
And they're like, no, just transfer
me. I'm like, I would, my love, but
you have to go back to class. I
know. It was always like that. There one
of my favorite memories from,
from when I was a classroom teacher,
there was a couple of boys who were
ready to fight in the hallway. I had
no idea. I was, like, you know, in
my room,
and, kids are starting to, like, come in.
And, like, one of the teachers kinda drags
this boy, David, into my classroom
and was like, he's trying to fight. Don't
let him. Just don't let him out of
the room. I'm like, alright, man. Hey. Just
take a seat real quick. And we're playing,
like, cumbias, and there's, like, I got Papel
Picado up, and all the artwork is, like,
student generated. And the kids are just kinda
hanging out. I'm like, yo, man. It's
just, you know, taking the vibes, taking it's
pretty chill in here. It's like, yeah. It's
it's okay in here. Yeah. It's like, you
don't wanna fight anymore. Right? We got too
many vibes in here. It's like, no. You're
right. You're right. I'm and it's great. And
so fast forward a couple years later, I'm
on,
I don't even I think I was on
the 10th floor of the admin building where
I work now. There's a big cardboard cutout
of him because we have all these, like,
pictures of kids, like, all over the place,
and so how do kid how do kids
react when they first come into your classroom?
Like,
do they know what's coming? They probably do
a little bit if they've been at the
school previously,
but
I I'm just curious how how kids react
when they walk into miss g's classroom.
Yeah. Some of the kids, like, I've had
their siblings as students, and so they get
the 411. Like, oh, miss, she's this way.
She's this way.
Like, you know, she's
pretty cut from a different cloth, and you're
gonna experience this and that and the other.
So some of them get, you know,
prepped and primed, and some of them catch
me on social media because sometimes our district
will post some of my work.
But then some of them meet me for
the first time. And, you know, that 1st
week of school, right, that get to know
you 1st week,
I lay it out, you know, and
I lay the groundwork
of who I am, where I'm coming from,
how much I care for them. Like, right
away, they must think it's so strange. Like,
how does this lady, like, already care about
me so deeply? And, like, I just got
here.
But I really feel like,
you know, once you set that precedence and
once you give them an opportunity to feel,
like, instant concern, instant compassion,
instant
empathy, and, like, instant, like, I am team
you.
I think that that really sets the stage
for the school year. And some of them
are quite taken back. Like, you can tell,
like, they're just, like, woah. And I and
I try to contain my energy because you've
seen me keynote.
And I know that keynoting and teaching,
they're different, but there are some similarities. Right?
Absolutely. Absolutely.
For engagement piece. Like, I think Yeah. I
think people so
downplay,
what
student engagement looks like and what that practice
of engagement is.
I taught for 23 years. I've seen lots
of, like,
nonengagement
and disengagement.
It's not that easy to do.
So, yeah, I mean, you there is,
there is an essence of the performer
that I think great teachers have to have.
Even even if you're not this, like, outgoing
gregarious
personality, there is a character that that is
presented.
Absolutely. And I
once I step in front of them, sometimes
I don't know the difference. And so, like,
I just, like, come out the gate, and
I'm just, like,
weaving in and out the aisles and I'm
like tapping shoulders and I'm just like leaning
in and they're like, woah, does this lady
have like a dimmer? Like, I'm not sure.
And then some of them by like the
2nd week of school, like, they're like, miss
g, we love you. Like, we're here for
you. Like, don't let anybody tell you nothing.
Like, they're just, like, instantly, like, who we
gotta fight? I'm like, I'm good. We're good.
See, when I started coming in like, because
there are days I just came in on
1,
and the students would be, like, sleepy, and
they'd be like,
They never called me mister. It was always
just.
You're here. You need to be here.
Like, we need you to we need you
to not do this to us right now.
This kinda leads me to another question. So
we know that the
so so many things I wanna I wanna
kind of comment on.
The first thing is, like, so knowing that
the teaching profession is still predominantly white predominantly
white women, I think the last data I
saw was 78%,
nationwide
of teachers are white.
So
how
do you have your colleagues historically
reacted to you? And you don't have to
throw anybody under the bus right now. I
understand we all gotta go to work tomorrow,
but how have colleagues
reacted to you?
Yeah. I will say that in former buildings
that I was in just even going
way back, you know,
I started at a 2nd chance charter,
and I shared some of my story when
we were both in Denver at the NSTOY
conference
of how it was a 2nd chance charter,
and the kids were either kicked out or
dropped out of the Chicago Public School System.
And their last chance was with this charter
school network that we were all at.
And, of course, it was 100%
student body of color.
And,
you know, I started losing my students to
getting into gun violence pretty early on when
I was there,
in the fall of 2,009
and into 2,012.
And I clearly can recall one of my
white colleagues saying, you're you're not gonna make
it in the world of education if you
care for these kids this much.
I mean,
you you really can't care for these kids.
And I looked at her, and I'm like,
these kids?
Like, first of all and I I remember
this conversation,
g, as clear as day. I said, first
of all, who's they?
And she's just like, I mean, you know,
I just mean, like, the students, like, our
students. And I said, I think that that's
a better way to phrase it, number 1.
And number 2, do I not should I
not care about them for me to be
able to teach them? Or
is that is that what you're saying? And
quite frankly, I'm one of the only woman
of color teachers here in this building. Yeah.
That's right. And she was just kind of,
like, taken back by my candor
and by my forthrightness.
But to answer your question,
I think I disappointed
a lot of my colleagues,
in many instances. Like, you're caring too much,
you're doing too much, you're going too far.
And, you know, obviously,
there's this dichotomy
of, like, meeting the student where they're at
and ultimately going the extra mile and being
more than just a teacher
and kind of, like, ebbing and flowing in
that space.
But
I was met with a lot of disappointment.
I was met with a lot of microaggressions,
a lot of implicit bias.
And
I, early on, was like, wow. So these
are some of the barriers, and these are
some of the sensations that my students feel
every single day. Right. Right? Yeah. That was
definitely the experience I had because I I
think I think we probably talked about this,
but my my career started very much as
like yours did. I was an alt licensee
who essentially in in the state of Colorado,
you, like, you get a job, and then
they put you in a licensure program, and
so those things had to run parallel.
And so I had no experience. I was
22 years old. I was
a kid, and, realizing very quickly that I
had more in common with my students than
I did with most of my colleagues, and
the and especially if you're younger, like, it
puts you in this really interesting space, but
then I realized with age it didn't change.
Like, there was still
this kind
of sense that I wasn't I was a
thing apart
from the rest of the staff, and that
my comfort zone was really with my students
and their families. Like, that's really where it,
like, lived for me.
The the other thing I wanna kinda name
is that, you know, you've been very open
about
about experiencing loss among your students.
And even very
recently,
there
it seems to me
that there is a sort of resiliency
that
that one
should really develop
as as a teacher. I I think that
whoever was it made those comments to you.
To me that to me that's a trauma
response.
Mhmm. Because it's kinda like, well, why don't
you care? It probably hurts too much to
care. You've probably seen what society has done,
what the world has done to these young
people, but talk a little bit about that
resiliency and what that journey has been like.
Yeah. I think, man, that's such a deep
and that's such a real question.
I think early on keep it real over
here. You know? I know. I see. Eastside
style. You know? See it. Wow. I'm down
with
it. Double g action right here. That's right.
That's right. That's right. You know, early on
in my career, I really had to come
to terms with,
damn. Do I do I really wanna do
this, or do I not wanna do this?
Because when I commit to something, it's like
I'm all in. And
there's just
no
middle ground for me. And so resilience was
something that I really had to learn
how to adapt to and also adjust in,
if that makes sense. If I was going
to survive,
right,
obviously, there were pivots that I had to
engage.
I was only able to stay at the
charter that I started my teaching journey in
for a few years,
because it just got increasingly dangerous. And then
it was there. And I'm also very open
about my mental health challenges
where I, you know, was diagnosed with post
traumatic stress disorder and vicarious trauma and compassion
fatigue.
And
that's something that I don't think we talk
about enough, and that's something that I feel
like is my personal social and civic responsibility
as a teacher that has committed to teaching
in high needs, high stakes environments
to talk about. Because we have to tell
our stories. Because if we don't tell our
stories, somebody's gonna tell our stories for us.
And guess what? They're gonna get it wrong.
And so let me set the record straight.
Right?
And so but with that, you know, I
had to
know when to pull back. Right? And know
when to call on my support. So I
became an advocate,
not just for my students, but for myself.
Yeah. I was not gonna suffer in silence.
I was not gonna sit here in silo
and isolation.
I was in my principal's office. I was
in my school psychologist's office. You know what
I'm saying? Like, I was just tapping into
all my resources.
I was just rallying other like mindeds. I
was calling on community organizers.
I was working with the Chicago police department.
I could keep going.
But to answer your question,
resilience isn't just an individual act, but it's
collective agency in addition to that. I've yeah.
And that's what's gotten me here. Yeah. I'm
really glad that you said that because I
think that particularly when we talk about teacher
wellness, when we talk about things like burnout,
we talk about these things as if they're
individual
situations.
At worst, people talk about them as if
they're an individual choice. Right? Mhmm.
And,
you know, and this this is in an
old podcast episode. I recommend folks go back
and find my conversation with Emily Santiago
who sorta talks about how,
you know, burnout is a community issue, and
so the community has to be willing to
step up. We also have to realize we're
not alone in this, and I just think
that's, like, super powerful.
Last thing I wanna say is I love
how you describe your classroom
as a text.
Right? Mhmm. Like
and and how
and this is something I always try to
cultivate in in my practice as a teacher,
and I still kinda do it, you know,
working in central office because some of these
people need to be taught. I'm not even
gonna lie to you.
But I think about,
you know, before kids can be reading books,
in your classroom, they gotta read the environment.
They gotta read the room. They're reading us
as teachers.
They're reading what's on the walls. They're That's
right. They're sometimes they're reading what we drive,
which hurts my feelings sometimes.
I just this actually reminds me. So would
you say that my my sneaker game is
is decent?
Yeah. I was thinking of your sneaker game
in Denver. Yeah. It it wasn't always like
that. Like, I was a new teacher at
the school I was teaching at, and I
was there for registration.
Some little 7th grade dude runs up to
me. He's like, are you a teacher here?
I'm like, yeah. He's like, I know. I'm
like, how'd you know? He's like, your shoes.
Oh, no. And I looked down, and I
was wearing these raggedy Vans, and they just
didn't look great. And, literally, I was there
to move things into my classroom,
but I made a I made a decision
that day to never be identifiable as a
teacher by my shoes ever again.
But I think about what
kids are reading
and the way they're constantly interacting with how
we show up and cultivate
environments.
That's right. And that's what they're reading before
they read
any instructions that we give them. And it
sounds like
you've really put a put a premium
on
not only establishing a text around them, but
kind of being a text for them to
read.
And I think to your point, like, that
was out of survival
at first. Mhmm. That was out of survival,
and that was actually to not just set
the environment, but to create a safe space,
for some of my most prominent gang members
in Chicago.
I needed to create some type of an
environment that they can at least
halfway wanna come back to because
I didn't always win the kids over. And
so,
like, a lot of them had issues with
me, like, why you all up on my
grill? Like, why you Yeah. Why you care
too much? Like, why you do too much?
Like, do you know what I mean? And
so they didn't always like me. No. And
and that's that's backhanded compliment I got from
a student was, like, in my 2nd or
3rd year,
and I asked him to, oh, could you
revise this real quick? Like, you just have
a couple of things to do. And he
walks away. He's like,
okay. I guess you're one of them good
teachers and just was so annoyed. I'm like,
thank
you. Wait.
Thank you. Wait. And let me just circle
back to the shoe game. The shoe game
is real, and that gives you so much
street credibility.
So my son had to take me to
school and educate me on the shoe game.
So now I've got the You need the
you need the sneak yeah. You need I
got the Chicago lost and founds. I've got
the black and whites, the pandas.
Yep. Listen.
Got to being out there in the Shai
for real, like, that you you have to
come correct. Out here, like, it it's just
different in Denver. People don't, like,
do this as much.
We're gonna get to a really quick break.
When we come back, we're gonna talk a
little bit about miss g going to a
next level,
in her work as an educator and as
a public figure. But first,
miss g, when you first started teaching,
did you were you thinking about building generational
wealth?
Did you feel like you have made enough
money to start building generational wealth as a
brand new teacher?
Well, we know the answer to that. That
is I mean, no. Oh, wild. No. Yeah.
Like, we don't we don't think about generational
wealth being a thing in the same, like,
universe as teachers. Like, I always thought that
the way you do you do you get
generational wealth is to be born with it.
Right?
So my friends, Alex and Tori,
over at Saterra Investments, they're out of Pasadena,
California. Pasadena's dope, by the way. It's really
pretty unaffordable for me, but
Tori and Alex, Tori's mom,
is a teacher, and so they both work
as financial planners,
and they have a way that even brand
new teachers can start investing and start building
their financial future. It's super dope.
Do you feel like as a new teacher
you would've wanted to know that that you're
not making a lot of money, but we
can start helping you build wealth now. Would
that have been something that would've interested you?
That would've been extremely helpful. Yes. Cool. I'm
gonna text Alex right now and tell him
that no. I'm just kidding. So,
so they've got a subscription based service. They
are sponsors of this of this podcast,
and
they are just doing this amazing work. They
both have a heart for educators.
Alex is completely familiar with all the retirement
systems all over the place,
and, he's even helping me a little bit
with my retirement, which may be sooner rather
than later.
Okay. I'm getting very excited about that, but,
hit him up. If you go to the
link in the show notes, it's alexandtorre.cetera.com/2dope.
That's t o o d o p e.
You can get 25%
off of some of their services,
and also shout out to, Alex and Tori.
Hope little Frankie's doing they got a new
baby.
They're on that end of, like, building that
family, and they got this new little baby
named Frankie, and so we hope you and
Frankie are doing well. Hit them up. Seterra
Investments.
Alright. Back here
with the imminent,
the dopest, Sophia Gonzales here on the Chicano
logs.
So your path is really interesting to me.
Like, I was always a person
who felt,
for no good reason whatsoever, that I needed
to wait my turn.
Mhmm. That if I wanted to be heard
or if I wanted to influence bigger spaces,
then I just had to wait my turn
that I wasn't that person. And so
a lot of it and and it and
it's like dueling things. We all have, like,
the generational trauma that we're born into
Yeah. And the trauma that this profession kinda
wrought upon me for the first few years
that I was doing it. Sure. What I
see in you is somebody
who was like,
if I wait my turn, I'm gonna be
here forever.
And so at some point
in
your journey, you decided to go into a
new level
of
advocacy, including this incredible project 2 214 214.
Can you talk a little bit about that
project and how what it represented for you?
Yeah. Great question. So
early on, as I had mentioned, when I
was working in our city Chicago,
with some of I feel are were our
nation's most vulnerable youth,
A nonprofit was actually born,
and it started very grassroots.
We call it project 214 in honor of
my first classroom number, room 214,
where the magic, the mess, and the cinema,
I like to say, all began.
And it really was just a response to
basic needs that families
demonstrating.
And so at the classroom level,
I was bringing in donations. I was bringing
in donations,
resources,
classroom materials,
snacks,
and I was providing it for my students,
bus passes.
And at at the time, I was also
servicing,
a local church, and I would do, like,
the mission,
the international
exploit work. And
I wound up in Central
America at the same time that I was
teaching inner city at this particular charter.
And it was kind of like a merging
of my international
mission humanitarian
work and my classroom
advocacy
and justice work. And that's kinda like where
project 214 was born.
And I thought to myself, you know, the
world is a global classroom and every student
matters. So Yeah. The same area we were
in El Salvador at the time, which is
our longest standing partnership. We sponsor a children's
home out there. We've sent
children to school and provided resources
through grant monies that we won,
which I am extremely proud of.
And we started doing back to school stuff
out there in Central
America. And Yeah. We were passing our backpacks.
We were doing back to school parties. We
were, you know, just hosting these presentations.
Mira,
I was giving keynotes in Spanish.
Yeah. Like, I had to say everything in
Spanish, and I was, like, sweating.
But you know what? Like, you fake this
till you make it. Okay? I would have
been I would have been the biggest in
El Sabo kid up in the mix. Like,
that would I would probably died.
That's that's that's a different podcast, but I
had to reclaim my language. Because when my
parents came, the message was we speak English
here. They spoke English to myself and my
brother, so I had to reclaim it.
But nevertheless,
and so a group of volunteers
and leaders,
they're like, let's 501c3
this. Like, let's create a nonprofit. Like, you're
doing work at the local level, and then
we've already been doing work at the international
level in the name of education.
Let's just make this a legit organization, and
so we did. And I cofounded,
with a with a few, like, really good
friends of mine at the time, and it
just took off.
Yeah. I I think, like and that speaks
to so many levels. Like, I I did
a little research on just project 214 and
just kinda looking at the commitment to
disrupting and eventually ending the school to prison
pipeline.
Yeah. Also, it appeals to my intellectual
heart. I was a Latin American studies major
as an undergrad
in understanding
the
that through line
of anti communism
into
dictatorships in Central America,
which then drove refugees out of the region
into the US and then falling in with
gangs and then being deported back, and how
we've got this kind of transnational,
epidemic of corruption and violence. It's kinda happening,
and I think that that's just such a
powerful thing.
I think also
it's funny. You talked about the language. This
wasn't necessarily a topic of conversation, but that
that decision to reclaim the language, I don't
people I don't think people understand
the challenge of doing that. Like, when we
talk about heritage language,
people think that we're only talking about
people who speak Spanish as their first language
and and learned English. Heritage language is the
language of your roots, and Right. You know,
for me,
it was a lot of the same stuff.
I just never had a chance to learn
the language until I became
an adult, and now I feel like I'm
passable in English in Spanish and, well, in
English too.
But I think,
I I think that takes
such a monumental commit commitment and effort
to Yeah. To go out there and and
actually make a statement that I'm gonna reclaim
my language.
And so shout out. The closest thing I
have to do at keynote in Spanish was
when we were doing a pair of the
teacher session in my district,
and we didn't have interpretation,
and so I had to do the slides
both in English and in Spanish, but I
didn't always know what the Spanish was. And
so I'm kinda like talking around it, but
then I realized that there were some Latinos
in the audience
who knew enough of the language to be
able to, like, translate.
So it turned into this, like, total
community
translation sort of
thing. We're all, like, helping each other out.
I love it. This is cool. I feel
so inadequate right now, but it's so great
to, like, be in this space where we're
helping each other through the language. But, yeah,
I'm a long way away from a keynote
in Spanish. So, like, that's just facts.
But
so the work with project 214 continues.
So what's been going on with project 214
is this. Project 214,
has been in the midst of some restructuring.
Okay. And so right now, we're Post COVID,
it's crazy too. Like, post COVID, yeah, there
were just, like, you know, my board of
directors, many of them resigned.
And,
it was just difficult
to maintain the funding
and the
what I call the task force.
But
I still have some volunteers,
and,
there are some folks that are interim board
members.
And
here is my latest
idea with project 214 because I don't want
project 214
to die,
is
I am the vice president,
for the ed council
5238
for LULAC.
And for Okay. Yeah. And and for your
audience United Latin American citizens. Sorry. This is
for people who don't know. This is but
let the people know.
Gotta let the people know. Come Come on.
We gotta let the people know. It's like
the oldest it's like the oldest organization, isn't
it? It's like even before
council,
which is now,
like, USA or Latinos. Okay. Now I'm really
Yeah. Latinos.
Yeah. So LULAC has, like, a 94 year
history.
Yeah. And many folks have compared it, you
know, to the n, double a, c p.
So it's like it's almost like our n,
double a, c p, right, of Yeah. Advocacy
work and just a long
history.
So
I recently became VP for Illinois.
What? What is that? I'm like What is
that? What is that? She says fully aware
that she deserves it and has earned it.
Gosh. He's like, what?
It still freaks me out.
I'm so freaked out right now.
Like, a little bit slower.
And,
just speaking with my mentor
who's on the board with me, and on
the council,
you know, we're looking
at project 214 becoming an initiative
of LULAC.
That's not oh my god. You heard it
here first? Maybe not. But maybe you heard
it here first. Maybe you didn't. Yes.
Yes. So for the listening audience who wants
to wish that good vibes and good energy,
you know, there's some votes that has to,
you know, go go forth. But I think
that, gee, this is an opportunity,
for project 214 to survive. A lot of
nonprofits ebb and flow and go through highs
and lows. Yeah. And That's what's up.
You gotta be able to adapt. Right? Like,
you gotta be able
to like, the landscape
that the organization was born of is is
not the same landscape that we're sitting in
today, and I think a lot of a
lot of organizations are looking at that reality.
We're living in wild times, man. And by
the time this episode is out, the election
might have passed.
Right. So we don't know. We we don't
know at this moment.
You know, somebody from the future just help
us, you know, feel better about it. But
but that's really dope, and I think it
kinda goes into Thank you. The moment
where where I met you,
which is just
seeing
you just grabbing opportunities whether you have the
capacity or not. Like Yeah. Just realizing that
there's a moment to seize.
You gave a really dope keynote at the
National Network of State Teachers of the Year,
conference. I'd never seen a keynote like that
before, and then I was, like, shaking my
head saying, why don't more people,
like, really make it this kind of, like,
multifaceted, multisensory kind of experience? But this was
something
that I found out later
that you just kinda bet on yourself, like
going out and doing these things. Like again,
this is kind of like the difference between
you and me historically
is just saying I have something to say.
I'm gonna find a place to say it.
What did it
take to do that?
How was that year? You took, like, a
whole year I did. You weren't teaching.
You you weren't, like, in the classroom. You
kind of walked away from that entire safety
net. Yeah. Talk about that a little bit.
Oh my gosh. Oh, you just, like,
in my heart valves now.
Yeah.
Because my wife would have been like, hell
no. Like, you stay working. K? Right?
Well yeah. So this leave of absence was
just this past year, and it was my
1st year in 15 years where I was
out of the classroom. So that in and
of itself was very epic and very monumental.
I was after a professional opportunity and fellowship
that event that that unfortunately
fell through.
And so I found myself
at a crossroads.
I couldn't go back to the classroom because
they had given my teaching assignment to someone
else,
And
I didn't wanna apply to another school because
I knew that I wanted to return back
to my school community.
Not every teacher gets to teach where they
live.
And I find that something very personal for
me. I wanna teach in my community.
I wanna be with my families. I wanna
be with my students, and I know that
that's not the vibe or the flavor for
many stew or for many teachers. So you're
not you're not a colonizer.
That's right. Like, look at I teach
where I live,
and that's important for me to put my
roots down and for me to sow seeds,
in my barrio.
And so I did. I I came at
a crossroad, and I'm like, well, what am
I gonna do with the year?
I wasn't planning on having all of this
time,
and so
I created my own national tour.
And I leaned into what I was occasionally
doing on the side, which was
here and there some webinars, some online conferences
here and there, but I'm like, you know
what? Like, to your point, I'm like, I'm
gonna bet on myself.
Do you know what I'm saying? Because I
take very seriously. I am my ancestors' wildest
dreams, and we are the ones that we
are waiting for. That's right. And so I'm
like, let me just do it. So I
started leaning into my networks and my other
speaker friends and my other EDU activists and
act you know, and and people who advocate.
Yeah. And I'm like,
hey. Like, do you do you know how
I could generate
speaking opportunities
and, you know, getting myself out there?
And folks just started rallying around me and
giving me opportunities,
encouraging me, you know, showing me how to
create reels and videos
and
1 pagers. I had never created I didn't
even know what a 1 pager was, g.
I was like, what's a 1 pager?
Like, 1 page or what? Yeah. Yeah. Exactly.
Page of what? And they're like, well, your
topics, like, what are your rates? And this
is a whole other podcast too. But let
me tell you something, like the gender equity
pay gap and the misogyny
is Oh,
yeah. I can't even imagine because, like, it's
such an informal economy.
Yeah. You you can't. And,
you know, I really had to face that
head on as an extra barrier. And because
I'm a woman and because I'm a Latina,
a woman of
color, I was, like,
begging almost. And I'm like, wait a minute.
I should be begging here. Like, I'm gonna
rip this roof off. I'm not just any
kind of speaker here. I'm not gonna sit
behind a podium
and turn slack why we have to have
this on video. You're like you're like in
it right now. Yeah. Exactly. Saying. Like No.
But that's right. That's right. And I think
that level of, like,
of passion and commitment, like, I think that's
something that a lot of us can can
learn from because
I think I think of all the rooms
that folks like us walk into and walk
out of wishing Yeah. That they had
said something, wishing that they had been more
authentically themselves.
I think it's a real, like, example of
that that
and
it seems like it wasn't
I mean, I know for a fact wasn't
self serving. This was for you to be
able to be the advocate
that our communities needed, and
we didn't have
this Borico, Mexicana, Chicana like voice out there,
so we needed it to, like, to show
up.
What are some of the big
sort of learning experience takeaways? Like, what what
did you take out of that year? Because
I remember you expressed some sort
of trepidation about going back into the classroom
this year after being out for a year.
So what was it that you gained from
that experience
that you'll that just kinda help propel you
forward?
Yeah. I think I came to the understanding,
and I mentioned it in the keynote. And
it became, like, one of my taglines that
it's not just about getting a seat at
the table, but the realization that I am
the table.
That I am the table. Like, I am
the damn table as a global majority. And
here's something else that I came to discover
pretty early on in my tour
is that to your point, and you mentioned
it,
I didn't see a lot of lived experiences
and a lot of
perspective and the point of view that I
was coming from in these national education spaces,
in these equity spaces.
I didn't see a lot of folks coming
from
my vantage point, title 1,
urban
education
in the neighborhood, out the gate, this mix
of social justice
and EDU equity issues,
and really just amplifying,
not just speaking
for the students and families that I serve,
but amplifying the voices that they already have.
And
I really felt like and then the way
that I packaged it. Right? So Mhmm. I'm
I'm a I'm a poet by nature. I
my theater was my minor in undergrad.
I know you're shocked.
And
Not not shocked because you told me. But
yeah. Like
That's that's true. But And I wasn't shocked
when I found out either.
Yeah. So, like, this whole being in front
of an audience
and inspiring
and,
you know, all of that is is just
really at the intersection of I feel like
are all of my gifts. And so folks
didn't see me coming. They're just like, woah.
Like, what's happening? Yep. Because I'm bringing the
poetry, because I'm bringing the testimonials,
because I'm bringing my heart, because I'm bringing
very provocative,
in your face, come to the funeral with
me, and stand with me at the casket
as I peer in and look at my
17 year old student with Jordan's and a
jersey and a pair of jeans on gone
too soon. You will hear the details.
I'm not gonna do broad strokes because guess
what? This isn't theory to me. This is
personal experience.
And I think too many people in decision
making tables
only understand these issues in theory and by
data. I am the data point. My students
and families, we are the data point. And
so with that being said, we deserve
to be heard because That's right. These are
the issues
that
we need to address if we wanna move
the state of education forward and if we
wanna close these opportunity gaps. I'll pause because
you're already in my heart, and
you you know how I get all
riled up. No. But but I but I
think it is it is it is such
an important reminder that, you know, there are
human beings on the other side of these
decisions that are being made. And I will
echo that that is a challenge to the
humanization
of this work in our communities. We talk
the talk of equity and anti racism,
but the reality of it is a lot
more profound than what a lot of people
realize. Like, how do we embed that in
our policy decisions? How do we embed that
in our strategic road map? Correct. I don't
know, man. Maybe I need to be a
superintendent or something, but nah. Amen.
Nah. Could could not pay me enough. Actually,
let me know because, like, maybe there is
enough.
So
as you all notice,
miss g is a whole vibe.
I feel like I'm gonna take an audience
poll right now. Audience,
do we need to bring miss g back
at some time? Oh, okay. Okay. Everybody's yelling
at me right now Hey. From the other
side of the podcast,
because I think there's a lot
to you and a lot to this work
that you do.
So we're gonna get you out of here
soon.
However,
however,
do you consider yourself more Mexican than Puerto
Rican?
Why are you gonna put me out there,
g? I mean
I mean,
I do have an assessment
that might suggest,
like, where you where you fall. Like Okay.
Okay. Tell me your tell me your observation.
So what we're gonna do well, it's I
don't have observations. I'm gathering data right now.
You talked about data. You are the data
point. I'm gathering data right now. Okay. Okay.
I'm going to
play a little game with you of this
or that. Oh, gosh. Right? I'm gonna put
I'm gonna put
Puerto Rican things and Mexican things out there.
And you just don't, like, think about it.
Like and I'm keeping score. Right? So I
have Oh, man. So I have, like, this
little score sheet. One side is Mexican, and
one side is Puerto Rico.
And I understand.
And you just gotta, like, respond. And Oh
my gosh. And I won't share the data
without your permission because I know you got
you got cred that you gotta maintain.
Are you gonna mess up my street credibility?
Are you I would never do that.
I mean, it depends. Like, you know no.
I would never do that. I would never
throw an herbanita under the bus. Alright. Here
we go.
Question number 1.
Salsa or rancheras?
Uh-huh.
What am I supposed to take? You're taking
too you're supposed to choose 1.
Oh, oh, like okay. Like, of what I
okay.
Yeah. Salsa or rancheras? Tarsa.
Okay.
2nd question, Ana Gabriel or?
Alright.
3rd question,
Sanchez or Hector Lavo?
Hector.
Whoo. This this is, very one-sided, this one.
Or tacos?
Mhmm. 1 and 1? Yep. You gotta pick
1. You gotta pick 1. I love me
some taquitos.
Alright. Some empanadas.
Yeah.
Okay.
I'll just go with taquitos.
Alright.
Guillermoertos
or carnival?
Ivan.
That's what I'm talking about. I knew I
was what you're saying. Baseball or football?
Baseball.
Mhmm.
I feel like this is gonna be very
one-sided. Yeah. Regueton
or?
I feel it. Regueton.
I mean, spoiler. Marc Anthony or Alejandro Fernandez?
Marc Anthony.
What was the song you karaoke? You were
the one singing Marc Anthony, not me. This
assessment is not about me. This is about
you. Let them This is a You are
out there singing Marc Anthony. Marc Anthony may
as my as my late father said, Marc
Anthony
sings
like Puerto Rican music for Mexicans.
Alright.
I feel it. I feel it. Juan Ines
de la Cruz or Miguel Algarin?
Say it again.
Sor Juan Ines de la Cruz or Miguel
Algarin. These are poets here.
I wanna say that I've read more from
Miguel.
Okay.
You should watch the Netflix episode, show, Juanaines.
It's about the life of Jorge de la
Cruz. Oh. Amazing. Mexican boat queen. Yeah.
Mexico City or San Juan.
Really? You're really gonna do this to me?
I sure am. You're really gonna do this
to me. I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna
do it.
I long to go to Mexico City, but
I've been to San Juan, Bienho San Juan,
Mexico City. Nice. Okay. Alright. We'll we'll give
you a little bit of a pass on
that one. Thank you. Last one, Rosario Ferre
or Sandra Cisneros?
Oh, Sandra
Cisneros.
Come on. How's San Mango? Come on. Seriously?
How you feel about
do you wanna know what the results are?
I already know what they are, but go
ahead and tell me. I already know. Alright.
I already know it. Go ahead.
Okay. Are you you're okay with the people
knowing this and with it being out in
these streets and all that?
It's Sure. It's it's pretty obvious. So, actually,
you know, I'm a assess myself real quick.
Alright.
So
for me,
salsa,
India,
Chalino
wait. Hold on. Tacos,
football,
Dia de Muertos,
Cumbia,
gotta say Marc Anthony,
Juan Ines,
Mexico.
Oh, of course. Go over here.
Sandra Cisneros.
Oh, there's one more. My bad.
This isn't this so this is a family
friendly show, but I I gotta ask you
this one.
Tequila or Ron?
I'll go with tequila.
Alright. I know. Right?
Alright. So,
your final score,
you had
a
10 on the Puerto Rican side, 3 on
the Mexican side. Yeah.
Not surprising. Because we were No. It's true.
I I I have a reason for that,
and that's because
my mother is from Puerto Rico.
Yep. And my parents divorced when I was
about 14 years old,
and my father lost contact with his family
from Mexico,
way before I was born. In addition to
that,
he lost his father, my grandfather,
very young at 12 years old, never met
my grandfather.
And my grandmother, his mother, long story short,
developed Alzheimer's
and just never recovered from
her
death, and I didn't have a lot of
connection with her, the food, or anything like
that. So there was, like, a big disconnect
between me and my Mexican roots
very early on, stemming way back to my
childhood. Now my mom, on the other hand,
she
was part of the great migration
in the forties.
And so many of
the
Ricans either went to New York or they
came to Chicago. Chicago.
And so my mom was part of the
great migration
coming to the city of Chicago,
and a lot of her family members came
as well. So I was born and raised
immersed in the Puerto Rican culture,
the domino slamming, the salsa dancing, arroz con
gandules, tostones,
empanadas.
You if you do you know what I'm
saying? Even the way that I speak Spanish.
Yep. Very, very influenced by the Puerto Rican
diaspora.
And here's so now I feel bad for
giving you the quiz.
So what what
I wanna reclaim.
I'm telling my listen. I'm telling
my Mexican colleagues,
Toro Chicanas,
they go to Mexico to their families' ranches
every summer. I'm like, y'all take him as
g. I'm gonna be on your in your
You got it. House, and I'm gonna go
because my father, he's from Monterrey.
And I wanna go to Monterrey,
and I wanna go to the ranchos, and
I wanna eat street food.
You gotta go to the Ciudad de Mexico.
It's the best city in the world. That's
where I want that. To. K.
In Mexico City and Doctores. And,
yeah. And I think, like, the this this
wasn't meant to get, like, deep, but I
think I think there is, particularly within all
of our our identities,
like, how it is that we sort through
everything that we are and the things that
we had access to and the things that
we did and the things that were uplifted
in us and the things that That's right.
Weren't. But I think,
we were talking about heritage a little bit
earlier, and I think I think you always
have an opportunity to reclaim that heritage. And
so right. I actually just consider you both
like, all 3, Mexicana, Chicana, Puerto Ricania. Like,
it's all good. I love it. Because, you
know, these
these
provincial dis divisions
don't serve us
as a community.
So, really,
this was an awesome conversation. You have no
idea how bad I needed this today. Yeah.
And so it's really amazing. How do people
find you on the socials?
Yes. So Or follow your work and, like,
whatever. Like, do all that stuff.
Yeah. Sure. So I do have a website.
You can go to
sophiaspeaks.com.
Notaph,
s o f I a. The real spelling
right there. The real spelling. Oh my gosh.
We're so bad.
Sorry. No no offense to our peoples. We're
just kidding.
Yeah.
And then my
handles
for IG and for Twitter x, they're the
same at Sophia Speaks.
And I'm also on LinkedIn too, my first
and last name. First name, Sophia Gonzales.
And then I have my master's
initials, m e d m a, if you
wanna find me on LinkedIn.
But find me out there. I'm trying to
keep my voice out there.
I'm trying to amplify these issues. I'm just
really trying to be the change that this
world needs.
It's great content y'all.
Really amazing things that'll get that'll affirm you,
that'll get you thinking, that'll be provocative
and disrupt you in all the right ways.
Sylvia Gonzalez, thank you for coming on to
the Chicano loves
today.