My why
I am here today for the little girl with big dreams I once was. I am here for the immigrant I still am. I am here for the businesswoman I have become. I know that out there one little girl with big dreams is watching. One immigrant. One businesswoman. All of them with amazing gifts that this earth needs. But we are not just watching, we are becoming, we are building, we are creating, we are adding value to the marketplace, and we are here to stay, challenging all odds.
Who am I?
My essence, my flow, my mojo
My mom, my grandma & me in Lima, Perú
My cousin Karito & I living our best lives
I was born in Perú
My roots are in Peru. Peru birthed me and the generations of strong women that came before me. They paved the path for me to become who I am today. Peru to me is the food I love the most (ceviche!) and the heartfelt music (Eva Ayllon & Los Hermanos Yaipen). Peru gave me my features, my skin color, my Latin rhythm, and my essence.
Peru gave me the grit, the fight, the determination to seek opportunities, the artsy eye, and the intelligence. Peru also gave me my innocent heart, my parents, my mamacita, my cousins, my family, and the friends who became family with whom I am always connected from the heart (and WhatsApp).
I am honored by my heritage and very proud of the amazing, successful, hard-working people that my country has birthed. Go Peru!
Our friends from Hiram Bingham school in Lima
My first heartbreak
When I was 7 years old, we moved from Peru to Spain. The day we said goodbye to everyone at the airport was the day I experienced my first heartbreak.
On the plane, there was this still energy that felt as if time had stopped.
Crossing the Atlantic, and as a premonition of what was to come, there were very strong turbulences. My mother, my grandmother, and I held hands as we embarked on this new adventure that will change our lives forever, always together.
1/3 of our beloved family in Peru - all of us didn't fit in the picture
The day we left Peru at Jorge Chavez airport. My tio Marcos, my grandma and my cousin Rita are watching from heaven now.
My abuelita Lourdes forever with me
My stepfather Manu becoming my dad
Ms. Carmen would give me my inhaler & ask my schoolmates to play with me
The life of an immigrant
The first years in Spain were rough for my mother, my grandmother, and me. Many people still remember seeing us struggle to adapt. The life of an immigrant can be tough. We missed home and our family.
I felt like an outcast. I cried a lot. I had asthma, I became shy, and I was living outside of my body most of the time. I turned to books and journaling at a very young age. In books, I could escape from fear.
I am grateful for Spain, a beautiful country full of warm people. (and the south of Spain - Cadiz - is the most amazing place!) When we first arrived in Spain, many people helped us. At home, my stepfather (Manu), his mom (my abuelita Lourdes), and his brother (my tito Javi) made everything better for me and always made me feel loved and welcomed. They taught me that not only does blood create family, love does.
It's okay to be different
I grew up in a small town in Southern Spain, at my school there was a very small percentage of Latinas. Throughout my childhood and teenage years, it was obvious to me that I was different from everyone else around me, My face was rounder. I was bigger, darker. I spoke a different Spanish. I ate different things. I listened to different music. I wanted to look and sound and be like everyone else around me. I couldn't understand back then that all the things I felt self-conscious about, were also some of the things that made me me, that made me special.
Growing up, my heart felt homesick and lonely. I developed bulimia and anorexia at age 13 and I beat it at the age of 23, after 10 long years of healing. Today, I am a strong advocate for mental health and healing the shame that surrounds it. If you are struggling with your mental health, I encourage you to seek help and to know that you are unique, special, and worthy of love.
My amazing round face, black hair & brown skin
Me developing serious swag as a teenager
Adapt to Survive?
My life as a teenager was intense. Some may say I was a rebel, intense, extroverted, fun...
I went from shy and quiet to bold and forward. I got a couple of tattoos and a couple of piercings. I liked motorbikes. I made it through my first heartbreaks. At my high school graduation, my nickname was Che-Gamarra for being so... outspoken.
I made a decision to adapt - not just to survive, but to thrive. My teenager self did the best she knew at the time to protect the little girl that still lived within me. She did her best to be strong, and I am grateful for her bravery.
Becoming an immigrant again
Growing up, I had seen my mom work extremely hard and sacrifice so much for everything she ever had. When we first got to Spain, my mom worked cleaning homes, became a caregiver, and then a hairstylist for years - all while she was going to university for the second time around. She then became the owner of a few dental clinics in the south of Spain. Bottom line: my mom is a businesswoman who can make s%*t happen.
As much as I was grateful for our home, our lifestyle, and our blessings, I needed to know... without my parents, without my safety net, who was I? How much could I build? And what better place to find out than Los Angeles, California. The land of dreams and opportunities.
Very spontaneously, I got a college scholarship at California State University Long Beach and I embarked on a new adventure. This time, I sat on a one-way plane ticket by myself to the USA, holding my grandmother and my mom's hands in my heart.
My mom becoming a dentist for the first time
My farewell party at our Spanish home before traveling to the USA
Some of our first Skype calls when I moved to the USA
Starstruck in Hollywood for the 1st time
On film sets in Los Angeles
_JPG.jpg)
Meeting business legend Marshall Goldsmith at an EO event
My mom, my stepfather Vicente and I at my graduation at CSULB, California
The land of the opportunities
My time living in California has been the most intense experience I have ever had in my entire life - and my life has been pretty intense.
​
Here in the USA, I became obsessed with my personal and professional development. I worked 60-80 hour weeks for years focusing on mastering eCommerce and digital marketing, becoming a better leader, learning how to communicate better and how to increase my emotional capacity. I invested thousands of dollars in business and personal coaching, courses, therapies, books, seminars, networking events, and travel. I have done hundreds of hours of therapy and tried different self-development modalities - cognitive therapy, Neuro-linguistic programming (NLP), hypnotherapy, inner child work, and meditation.
During this time, I learned to trust that things happen for me, and not to me. I became even more obsessed with books - not to escape, but to become. I embraced my nerd within and developed my personal and professional self with intensity and dedication - with the same obsession I had when judging myself, now I build myself and those around me.
Who I am today
Today, I understand the generational impact that all of my actions, words, beliefs and thoughts can have. I build myself and my business for my nephews and nieces. For the little girls that are afraid, that feel less than (or bigger than). I support the future of our Latin community, I stand by the development of women in this world, I am for the inclusion in our society of different gender and sexual identities & expressions, I am for entrepreneurship, self-development, growth, and always challenging the status quo.
In my experience,
Business is another way of expressing human creativity. It is like making art. It has the effect of remembering my grandmother when I listen to an Hermanos Yaipen song or getting goosebumps when a Flamenco dancer pours their soul onto the stage. It is the gut feeling that brings tears to your eyes when you see a business doing right by society. It is the power to impact others, it is the opportunity to make a difference.
I love working with my team and my clients. I love mentoring and being mentored. I love partnering with those who think and live outside of the box, those hungry for an opportunity, that are ready to "comerse el mundo". I see myself reflected in them, I see my mother, my father, those who came before me, and those who will come after me.
I invite you to become part of the revolution, within
I worked with Daniella for close to 2 years at BalanceGenics. During my time there, she helped me grow as a marketing professional by supporting me, motivating me to push myself further, and inspiring me to keep learning. As a manager, Daniella displays integrity, optimism, understanding, and a clear vision. She was always open to improving herself and encouraging everyone else on the team to do the same. I'm glad I was able to work with Daniella.
Stephanie Winter, Marketing Manager