Latina South welcomes Rita Bautista, podcaster and founder of the Latina Podcasters Network – the first and only network committed solely to amplifying the growing number of Latina podcaster voices. Let’s listen to Rita as she shares with us how her Honduran background, or being Catracha, embodies her bold and gritty approach to life. For Rita, being Latina in the South includes kindness, food, sports, and both the good and the bad of traditions.
“I don’t necessarily believe in the idea we were fed that everybody is in competition with each other. I truly believe that with collaboration you can actually accomplish a lot more, and what better way to be able to grow in so many different markets if you’re able to work with us instead of against us.” – Rita Bautista
Episode 10 Notes
Rita shares her vision for the Latina Podcasters Network. Adela asks, “Why Latinas? And Why now?” Rita says, “Why not Latinas?” The Latinx community has a 1.7 Trillion dollar buying power, and Latinas are the fastest-growing segment of small business developers. It is time, and representation matters. Latinas are an important part of what is going to shape this country.
Rita talks about the beauty of Honduras and mentions a recent hurricane that devastated the area. She shares her parent’s background – her father was a merchant marine, and her mother bravely moved to the US on her own as a young woman. Rita describes how she brings the bold and gritty aspects of being Catratcha, or Hondureńa, to her everyday life.
Living as Latina in the South, specifically in the unique cities of Houston and New Orleans, leads her to appreciate the prevailing sense of tradition and keeping those traditions alive – whether good or bad. Kindness, football, and food are also important aspects she enjoys. She talks more about sports and how it allowed her to be loud with her family.
Her family had a big influence on her being a visionary and tells us all to stop worrying about what other people think. She shares more about the 10:10:1 concept: 10 goals she wants to accomplish, 10 things to be grateful for, and the 1 next step to help you get closer to accomplishing at least one goal. It’s how she trains her mind to see the opportunities all around her.
Rita talks about her approach to welcoming and providing support to Latina podcasters which includes building community and resources for helping to monetize their work. She talks about the uniqueness of Latina voices in the South and showing the talent coming out of the region, and changing the narrative of Latina’s contributions to the community.
She reveals how she’s worked on herself a lot and has been in some challenging and uncertain times in her life.
She shares some words of wisdom – we must be the ones to determine what happiness looks like and position ourselves to get want we want. And also, take a second to look at the happiness you already have around you.
Thank you for listening!
