Mamacita | Mamá cita

Mamacita: a mother who is both empowered and empowers other women to be their best most complete selves.
Mamá Cita: mom and date, as in a social appointment in Spanish. In other words, a momma date.

Example- Hola Mamacitas! Thanks for joining us on our weekly mamá cita! (See what we did there?) Clever right? Always love to nerd-out with a play on words.
Learn More About the Mamacitas

Listen to the mamá cita podcast
​season #1

Listen anywhere you get your podcasts.

Episode #1
​what is a mamacita?

When you think of a mom, what images come to mind? Join us for the Mamá Cita Podcast debut episode as we discuss what motherhood can look like today. 

episode #2
Talking to our kids?

How much do you talk to your children? The modern American mother that I am becoming talks all the time. The traditional Latina mother that I was raised, by did not. Open and honest communication, building a relationship based on trust and respect, all skills I had to figure out along the way, and definitely not what came naturally when I began my parenting journey.   ​

EPISODE #3
post-birth, the unmentionables

There were so many things I didn’t know. I read so much about parenting, a little about giving birth, and nothing regarding post-birth. What do you wish someone had told you about the postpartum experience?

Episode #4
OMG! Religious upbringing

Latin mamas, then and now, have felt a great cultural pressure to participate in some kind of religious practice. Do you see your religious practice as a way to teach your Latin culture and less really about the actual religion? How are you teaching your kids about religion? Are you, or will you give your kids the autonomy to choose?

episode #5
​Food for thought

What did you grow up eating? Armed with the knowledge we have now regarding nutrition and the benefits of a healthy diet, are you feeding your kids the same foods you ate as a child? My guess is that we are not raising our kids with the same food traditions that we grew up with because so much has changed in the food industry, we are better educated about food and its effect on our bodies, and we have culinary lifestyle choices that were not available, or easily accessible to past generations.

Episode #6
​Screen time

I would like to say that I am totally against screen time regarding my children, but I am not. I use it daily but with a purpose. And I guess that’s the key word here, purpose. My big generalization is that our mothers didn’t worry about screen time in the same way we do because there were not that many screens around, or so much content created by people who were not being regulated. The TV was just always on.
What was your relationship with TV as a kid? Do you monitor your child's screen time more, or less than your parents? 
EPISODE #7
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SINGLE MAMA DRAMA

Being a mom is hard. It’s amazing and beautiful, yes... But also exhausting and challenging! Especially when you’re a single mom.
EPISODE #8

VALENTINE'S DAY

Valentine's Day has always been a downer. Our ideas and expectations of romantic love will never live up to reality and this hyped up holiday is not doing anyone any favors, but rather creating more reasons to feel bad about ourselves and our love lives.
Have you ever had a good Valentine's?
What were your ideas of romantic love before having experienced love?
My mother used to say del amor no se vive, one cannot live off of love. Did your mom have any of these totally unromantic sayings?
EPISODE #9

THE ​MULTI-GENERATIONAL HOUSEHOLD
​
My parents live in my house, down the hall, and did I ever imagine that this is how my life would be as an adult with a husband and a couple of kids? No. Is it hard sometimes? Yes. Would I change it? No. What most would call a “burden” has actually been a beautiful new beginning for my parents and I. 
My big generalization is that since the pandemic, more people are going to adopt this very traditional family structure and like it.
​Would you ever create a multi-generational home on purpose?
EPISODE #10

PLAYING WITH OUR KIDS, A PANDEMIC WAY OF LIFE
As a mom with 2 small children during a pandemic, this is what I am supposed to do right, complain? I don’t know, I can’t… It’s hard because my kids are great, but yes, it has been extremely hard to be a mom during the pandemic. My kids know that their job is to play and to learn. I am the mom and so I facilitate all of this. What does that mean for me? It means I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time on the floor playing. 
My big generalization is that our Latin mamas did not play with us because they were not aware of the cognitive benefits of playing in children. The idea that kids learn through playing is a new concept and so for them playing was just not necessary.
Did your parents engage in active playtime with you? How much do you play with your kids? How have you coped with the monotony that is every day with a kid?
​EPISODE #11

​ KEEPING UP WITH GENDER IN THE MODERN AGE
I am thankful that my kids are growing up in an era when the world view is shifting on so many topics specifically those around gender. They will have a world that is much more open to them and I’m looking forward to seeing how they develop as people. They will be able to define themselves as they see fit and hopefully will not be shackled to cultural expectations around gender. 
What do gender roles mean to you? What gender stereotypes do you conform to? Which do you challenge? How will you explain gender roles and gender stereotypes to your kids?
EPISODE #12

GOOD GIRLS
Be a "good girl." What does this even mean? We understand how it can be an automatic phrase used when parenting. It is a seemingly simple phrase that kids can understand. But good and bad, boy and girl, black and white are not simplistic opposites. They are very nuanced and complex terms. 
In Spanish there is no phrase that is used in parenting that is the exact translation of "be a good girl." We say "portate bien," which translates to "behave well."
Do you find yourself using the phrase "be a good girl," with your daughter?
What are you really trying to say when you use this phrase?
Is this something your mother said to you?

EPISODE #13
The Mamacita confessions

In the Latina motherhood system the seven deadly sins are considered especially heinous. In Southern California, the dedicated podcasters who confess these scandalous stories are members of an elite squad known as the Mamá Cita Podcast.
These are their stories.
But all joking aside, what are some things you’ve done that you hope your kids will never do?
Do you have actual regrets about these actions?
Will you be open and share your questionable decisions with your kids in the hopes that they will do better?

EPISODE #14
Superstitions: Tu me hiciste brujería

Our lives are filled with so many superstitions. Even today, when we consider ourselves more educated because of the advancements in science and technology, we partake in superstitious rituals just in case. These rituals are a way to make us feel like we have control over what is often times uncontrollable, like luck, love, and the opinion of others, to name a few.
What are some superstitions you grew up with? 
Do you find that these superstitions are true or provide comfort or a sense of control? 
Are you passing down these superstitions to your kids?

EPISODE #15
Latina Mom Stereotypes in the Media

In the past, the representation of Latino women in the media has been extremely stereotypical at best. We have been portrayed as the sex pot, the maid, the gangster or as immigrants that cannot speak English, or speak English with an accent. And while I admit that all stereotypes are founded in some truth, and that we all know one of these archetypes in our own circles, what is missing is everyone else in between. Real, complex, complicated, people that straddle and navigate both worlds with ease and distress.
What are some stereotypes of the Latina woman or mom that you’ve encountered in the media?
Do you see yourself accurately represented?
What would you like to see in the portrayal of Latina women and moms in the media?

EPISODE #16
Making Mom friends

One of the hardest things we have ever had to do was make mom friends. We are being very deliberate about not just saying friends, because a mom friend is very specific. A mom friend is someone you can go through motherhood with. A mom friend is an ally, a confidant, an ear, and a fellow soldier in the trenches.
What was your experience making mom friends?
Do you think having mom friends is important?
What do you think the benefits of having a mom friend group have been for you?

EPISODE #17
Latinidad

Politicians, marketers, content creators want to speak to us and appeal to us because we are a fast growing population who will soon be approaching our peak earning years. Having a term like Latino, makes it easy for them, the people in power, the patriarchy, however you want to call it, to put a very diverse population into a very neat little box. The real question here is: is it easier on us to be or become Latinos in the US or is it just another confusing term of identity we have to adapt to and learn to be a part of?
How do you explain Latinidad to your kids?
Is this a term you identify with?

EPISODE #18
Things we miss From our pre-mom life

The thing is that no matter what advice you get, what books you read, what mother adjacent experience you may have had, nothing can prepare you for the realities of becoming a first time mom. It is just impossible to comprehend until you live it and see how your body, your mind and I dare say your soul, will react. It is an intense and difficult transition and it is all encompassing especially at the very beginning, so it isn’t until you kind of feel like you have the hang of it, that you can even recall who you were before you became a mom.
What are some of the things you miss from your pre-mom days?
Knowing what you know now, what advice would you give your pre-mom self?

EPISODE #19
Quinceañera

People love a party and a quinceañera is a party on crack. There is church, a procession, pageantry, synchronized dancing, and of course, glamour and drama. It is the stuff that literally movies, documentaries, and TV shows are made of and have been made of.
For this week’s podcast we interview Jesse Garcia, the star of Quinceañera, the movie from 2006.
We talked with Jesse a little bit about quinceañeras, but mostly we talked about the movie. Enjoy!
​Did you have a quinceañera?
Will your daughter(s) have one?

EPISODE #20
Mother Dearest

Mother’s Day is this weekend and we thought that it would be interesting to discuss the complexities of the mother daughter relationship. Then, we actually thought about it and decided that maybe therapy should come first before we let ourselves fall deep into the emotional well, that is our own relationships with our mothers. So… I poured us a cocktail and we decided to watch Bad Moms instead. 
The perfect mom is an unattainable illusion. The expectations  placed on mothers are ridiculous. If we buy into these ideals of what motherhood is supposed to look like, we will never be good enough and always be unhappy.
How will you celebrate Mother's Day?
How will you practice being kinder and more patient with yourself?

EPISODE #21
​Drowning in kid stuff

​Kids require an enormous amount of equipment. You have all the gear for sleeping, feeding, transporting, dressing, cleaning and entertaining. Because kids grow so fast, once you are in the never-ending loop of kid stuff, you are kind of stuck in it until one day you wake up and it looks like a Toys 'R Us and a Gap Baby exploded in your house. 
How do you keep the kid's stuff from taking over your house?
What items have you found to be the most useful? Which were the least useful?

Season 1 Finale

When we first started this podcast, we knew we were making something special. Something for a niche community: Latina moms, from a certain generation, who also happen to listen to podcasts. Along the way though, we’ve realized that while we are creating a product for a niche community, it can be consumed by everyone because no matter who you are, or where you come from, the truth is that motherhood and the topics related to it, are universal. Plus, you know what else is universal? Laughter and friendship. And if you’ve listened to our podcast at all, you know that these two things are at the core.