Hijas De La Chicanx Christina Davila and Yaritza Pule

How do pervasive body images and idealized understandings of “femininity” and “masculinity” affect (and/or damage) the relationship we have with our body and self? In this episode, Christy shares her lived experiences with listeners as Ritzy attempts to delineate societal constructions of “beauty” as well as the imprint of colonialism on women’s bodies. Is “beauty” really in the eye of the beholder? Indisputably, we all have different forms of honing body positivity and practicing self-love. However, this episode calls for a need to disrupt shaming/oppression and embrace an unapologetic, loving relationship with the body.

As Chicanx/Latinx, how do we experience music in the U.S.? How are musical compositions and/or reinterpretations central to connections/constructions of culture and homeland? In this episode, Christy and Ritzy attempt to survey the evolution of Mexican American/Chicanx artists north of the border—from Ritchie Valens and Linda Ronstadt to millennial artists. Through reflection and deliberation, they sift through varied manifestations of Chicanx music in their lives. By and large, this episode aims to consider the complexity and heterogeneity of the music that has contributed to Mexican American cultural production past and present.

After enjoying a short hiatus, Christy and Ritzy talk about traveling to variegated topographies and celebrating sibling’s academic achievements. Following their month-long-hiatus-conversation, they deep dive into the complexities and intensities of firstborn lived experiences. What is it like being the eldest daughter and first-born child? What does being the eldest daughter signify? (Undoubtedly, we all have varied and complex family dynamics.) Nevertheless, this episode’s raw and introspective nature leads to a wonderful, stirring conversation about each host’s experiences as daughters/sisters and first-born women.

Popular culture influences societies through the creation of all-embracing, wide-ranging forms of cultural production and practices. As Chicanx and/or Latinx how do we look for the vernacular to express our identities? How does the vernacular reconstruct our parent’s (and ancestor’s) memories? Still further, how does popular culture lend itself as a means of time travel? In this episode, Christy and Ritzy explore the variegated forms of popular culture that collectively molded their identities as Chicanx daughters—and granddaughters. Tune in as Christy and Ritzy untangle memory, identity, and popular culture across borders.

This episode focuses on shame—understanding its social nature and racializing practices. As a Chicanx or Latinx we’ve almost all encountered shame, (oftentimes in varied settings). Though we reside in a “melting pot,” a “pluralistic meeting place,” the U.S. is perpetually complicit in shaming practices and social stigmatization. What happens when we are irrevocably, overtly shamed? How do we grapple with the string of emotions that trail behind? In a rather intimate conversation, Christy and Ritzy share some of their lived experiences. Here they explore the emotions evoked by recounting such memories and find ways in which sharing them can act as a means of connectedness, resistance, and empowerment.

In this episode Christy and Ritzy elucidate the genealogy of the term Chicanx and the beauty(and obscurity) of telenovelas. Yes, telenovelas. A topic roughly every Chicanx and Latinx home can speak to! Be it “aquí” or “allá.” We’ve all encountered a telenovela in some shape or form. There’s no denying the influence they wield both inside and outside borders. But how do our understandings of self and society improve or deflate? How are we reflected back? If in fact telenovelas are more than fantastical, comedic relief but rather hybrid instruments that serve to inform and divert a wide scope of viewers, how can we unpack them? Listen in, as we discuss the good, the bad, and the obscure—leaving the door ajar for future conversations.