Summary

In this post, I talked about the Latinas, Culture and Community with Lorena Kourousais in the "Latinx visions podcast". Her story and work in the organization Mixteca, with community, gender violence, mental health, and more.

In this episode of the podcast “Latinx Visions,” the interview was with Lorena Kourousais, who is an Immigrant Civic Leadership Fellow. She is part of the organization Mixteca, which is a community-based organization located in Sunset Park. Mixteca advocates for health, education, social, and legal issues facing Mexican and Latin American immigrants.
Throughout the episode, Lorena talks about the workshop the organization offers for the Latin community, photography, painting, mental health, and more. She deeply understands the immigrant experience in the US, which is why she advocates for them. The subject matter that resonated with me was when Kourousais says “In order to be part of this society you have to act a certain way, and in order to be part of our families and the Latino community we have to act in another way”. Because I’m an immigrant as well, and during all the time I’ve resided in NY I felt this way but felt incapable of explaining it to others the way she explains it.
I lived in Peru for 19 years, so I adopted a whole culture, values, language, society rules, and friends. That’s why when I moved to NY, I noticed these differences when interacting with people. Nobody taught me how to do it, I was just thrown into the ocean with the sharks. But little by little I adopted this new way of behaving with friends, family, co-workers, classmates, and friends back at home. Do not forget to mention the language barrier, which I’m still overcoming day by day, and is getting better.

Finally, I think this episode of the podcast demonstrates the value of Latinx Studies and working with Latinx Communities by showing representation. Lorena puts herself, Mixteca, and her work out there for people like her and, like me, who might need help, or be looking for a community, where they share similar cultural traits and human experiences. The way she cares so much for others is heartwarming and admirable.