When You're Invisible

When You're Invisible

My Cultura and iHeartPodcasts

This is my love letter to the working class people and immigrants who shaped me. Too often we focus on stories about people who have achieved positions of influence, wealth, and power. On this podcast, we won’t be doing that. Many of our guests have never been interviewed before. I want to shed light on the experiences of folks who feel invisible. What do everyday people have to say about their lives, their country, their hopes and dreams, and what they believe would make the world a better place?  I’m your host, Maria Fernenda Diez and I’m a first...

Rosaena: An Intergenerational Conversation With My Abuela

Rosaena: An Intergenerational Conversation With My Abuela

Rosaena is always dressed to the nines with her hair curled and her signature pink lipstick on. Aging hasn’t changed her desire to look beautiful. I want her to feel her best, but she’s almost 90. Doesn’t she deserve a break from putting on eyeliner to go to the grocery store?! This is one of the questions I decided to finally ask her point blank when she came with me to the recording studio.  My abuela has lived with my family part of the year since she was in her 50s so we’ve always been close

Jan 6, • 52:55

Yajaira: Being Underestimated as a Young Latina Mom

Yajaira: Being Underestimated as a Young Latina Mom

Finding out she was pregnant came as an utter shock to a 16 year old who hadn’t yet realized that her actions had consequences. Letting down her immigrant parents was her biggest fear. She learned at a young age to believe in herself, no matter what.  Today as a 26 year old mother to a nine year old daughter, Yajaira is still eager to prove herself. She thrives off the energy of New York City’s hospitality industry, but that doesn’t mean her career always provides the stability she needs, or tha

Dec 30, 2024 • 45:45

Abby: A Indigenous Chicano’s Homecoming

Abby: A Indigenous Chicano’s Homecoming

When Abby ended up at Alcatraz Island one cold winter night in his 20s, he had found himself at the epicenter of the Indian Pride Movement. It blew his mind and made him feel that he had come home to a part of himself that had been missing.  Abby is an Indigenous Chicano leader who is part of the Yaqui tribe. It’s been 50 years since that night at Alcatraz, but it stands out as a turning point in his life. Together, we look back at his family history and the history of his people to reflect on I

Dec 23, 2024 • 47:21

Danny, Terry & Charles: Fighting for Unions in Coal Country

Danny, Terry & Charles: Fighting for Unions in Coal Country

Too often miners are painted almost as caricatures - as conservative, ignorant, poor, depressed, and selfish. The reality is that miners often go unheard. Coming from families of multi-generational coal miners is a core part of who Danny, Terry, and Charles are. But what they’re most proud of is being in a union. From their childhoods spent playing in the Appalachian mountains, to their first day inside the mines, to a career-defining strike, they paint us a picture of their lives over decades.

Dec 16, 2024 • 37:27

Daniel: Being a Double Minority in a Red State

Daniel: Being a Double Minority in a Red State

Daniel says being trans is just a small part of his identity. His obsession with Radiohead is a way bigger part of his life—it’s often in the queue during his drive to and from high school. Most high schoolers are probably fixated on their favorite bands. But most 16 year olds haven’t testified in front of their representatives or organized a protest (and dance party) in front of the Supreme Court.  Daniel invites us into his world as a young trans Latino in Arizona. Growing up near the border h

Dec 9, 2024 • 39:02

Mr. J: Becoming a Black Male Teacher in Baltimore

Mr. J: Becoming a Black Male Teacher in Baltimore

Students often ask Mr. J why he’s a teacher. They say he just seems too cool. He used to be one of these students - he went to the high school he teaches at today. Back then, being a teacher seemed like the lamest job in the world to him. But now, he’s a testament to the fact that you can indeed be a “cool teacher.”  As Black man in his early thirties, Mr. J knows he’s in a unique position to teach in the predominantly Black community where he was born and raised. Sometimes it’s not just about w

Dec 2, 2024 • 41:21

Kiana: Redefining Life with Chronic Illness

Kiana: Redefining Life with Chronic Illness

It was during her teenage years that Kiana’s life changed dramatically due to pain. She wanted to be an actor and a singer but her condition put that dream on hold. Instead of attending a prestigious performing arts program, she spent her early 20s confined to her bed.  I met Kiana doing theater in high school, but didn’t know everything she was going through. More than a decade after graduating, it was a privilege to reconnect. We talked about her diagnosis and how it’s affected her relationshi

Nov 25, 2024 • 44:42

Francisco: My Brother’s Path to Community Organizing

Francisco: My Brother’s Path to Community Organizing

In high school, Francisco didn’t fit in with his white, upper middle class, conservative classmates and he didn’t want to. Maybe it was teenage angst, but his identity revolved around being different and rebellious. As he got older, he channeled his punk rock spirit into a fight for social change. Now, he’s a community organizer in Philly dedicated to finding common ground.  My brother Francisco has always been someone I’ve looked up to because he’s never been afraid to stand up for what he beli

Nov 18, 2024 • 42:57

Introducing: When You’re Invisible Season 2

Introducing: When You’re Invisible Season 2

Community, resilience, legacy and being underestimated are the themes at the heart of this season. Meet everyday yet extraordinary Americans - from a community organizer in Philly, to a trans teen in Arizona, unionized coal miners in West Virginia, and an artist with chronic illness in Minnesota. These stories will leave you feeling inspired, connected, and seen. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 11, 2024 • 1:56

Happy May Day!

Happy May Day!

UPDATE: We will be back in November!  We’re honoring International Workers’ Day with an exciting announcement - season two of When You’re Invisible is coming this July! We’ll be talking about labor, organizing, and community.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

May 1, 2024 • 1:00

Claudia and Francisco: My Parents’ Immigrant Story

Claudia and Francisco: My Parents’ Immigrant Story

My parents often had to take risks in pursuit of change, whether emigrating from Mexico or taking a leap of faith on a job that moved our family across the country. They open up about their childhoods in Mexico, and their journey from food stamps to the middle class. Being away from grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins in Mexico, our nuclear family has always been close and we unpack what we’ve learned from each other, be it American expressions or more complex conversations about race, sexu

Jan 16, 2023 • 53:13

Jen: Bridging the Divide

Jen: Bridging the Divide

The white rural working class is so often depicted in the mainstream media as just Trump supporters; but there’s a lot of layers to this community that go unseen. Jen comes from this world and she’s also a new member of my family (my sister-in-law’s sister). We talk about her experience as the first in her family to date a person of color, the isolation caused by grief, and her struggle at times to fit in with her community. You’ll witness the most in depth conversation she and I have ever had,

Jan 9, 2023 • 41:02

Lani: Authenticity as an In-Betweener

Lani: Authenticity as an In-Betweener

Today my friend Lani lives very authentically, but she has struggled with perception and invisibility throughout her life. She unpacks the complexities of living a rough childhood that took her around the world and the nuances of her identity as a half-Korean, half-white woman who never looked like the rest of her family. She gets real about the power dynamics of past relationships and talks about how she hopes to maintain a full range of humanity and sexuality as a soon-to-be mom. From a disabi

Jan 2, 2023 • 38:29

Kate: Owning Our Imperfections

Kate: Owning Our Imperfections

I wanted to interview Kate because I didn’t know much about stuttering before meeting her. One percent of the population stutters and unconscious bias can impact this group’s self esteem, work opportunities, and social life. A white 30 year old woman living in New York, Kate has had a stutter since she was a kid but always believed she would grow out of it. She confronts speech therapy techniques that she’s come to see as destructive to her mental health, shares the pivotal story of how she disc

Dec 26, 2022 • 25:48

Franklin, Lucely, Gilberto, & Ines: Unsung American Heroes

Franklin, Lucely, Gilberto, & Ines: Unsung American Heroes

Franklin Lucely, Gilberto, and Ines cleaned up Ground Zero and New York City in the aftermath of 9/11 alongside hundreds of fellow undocumented Latin American workers. These American heroes discuss their experience on the ground during the days and months following 9/11 and the illnesses they developed as a result of their service. While the country has largely forgotten them – offering only token settlements, lack of robust healthcare, and no path to citizenship – they haven’t forgotten each ot

Dec 19, 2022 • 30:28

Anicia: A Seat at the Table

Anicia: A Seat at the Table

Anicia is an entrepreneur and works as a personal chef and nanny for the ultra-wealthy in New York City. Having met on a photoshoot, Anicia and I bonded over our shared experiences walking into these homes as educated women of color. She’s a first generation Nigerian American and discusses the complexities of power and personhood and some shocking stories from behind the scenes of this industry. In our conversation, the problems surrounding America’s fascination with celebrity and wealth collide

Dec 12, 2022 • 31:55

Louie: Two Sides of an Institution

Louie: Two Sides of an Institution

Louie worked alongside Ralph at the Columbia University package center, which was an oasis for me in a high stress environment. Being two Latin kids around the same age, Louie and I experienced two sides of this elite institution – me as a student, and Louie as an employee. Louie, ever positive, manages to distill life lessons from encounters with students and colleagues. He also shares his experience of being the oldest of three growing up ‘free range’ in the Dominican Republic and the clash be

Dec 5, 2022 • 25:24

Ralph: Tales from an Ivy League Mailroom

Ralph: Tales from an Ivy League Mailroom

Ralph – a Marine vet, first generation Dominican American – was the manager of the package center at Columbia University, which is where I went to school for undergrad as a scholarship kid. An unexpected bonding over Spanish led to conversations with him that helped me when I wanted to drop out. He describes his upbringing in Washington Heights as a game of ‘Cops and Robbers’ and then we rehash our early encounters, unpacking the assumptions we made about each other.  “I think the world would be

Nov 28, 2022 • 37:55

Introducing: When You're Invisible

Introducing: When You're Invisible

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Nov 21, 2022 • 2:18

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