Conversations over Cafecito: Stories of motherhood and fatherhood

From our podcast, Conversations Over Cafecito, we bring you a collection of stories focusing on motherhood and fatherhood- the good, the challenging, and those that fall in between. Our staff and network will share moments of struggle, sadness, joy, and hope, which some may find difficult to hear.

Robert de Leon

Robert de Leon takes us back to 2013, the year he got married and shortly after discovering he was about to become a father. It’s a momentous occasion filled with joy and happiness, but soon after, weighed down by sadness after an emergency visit to the hospital. As Robert shares his experience, there is a powerful message of renewed celebration and, most of all, hope as he finds his way as a husband and a father.

Alberto Vasallo III

Alberto Vasallo III talks about his thrilling story of becoming a father, his relationship with his daughter, Alex, and how she changed his life.

Emiliano Diaz de Leon

Emiliano Diaz de Leon and his 11-year-old son Joaquin interview each other on what it’s been like to be at home under quarantine, remaining optimistic during these uncertain times, and the importance of doing the best that you can as a father and a son.

Dr. Manuel Xavier Zamarripa

Dr. Manuel Xavier Zamarripa tells of his journey as a father, specifically as a Chicano/Latino dad, reflecting on the connection to his own father who passed when he was just 12 years old. How would losing his father at such a young age impact his own ability to be a father?

Paula Gomez Stordy

When Paula Gomez Stordy was five years old, her mother sent her to live with her grandmother in Chile. Paula reflects on this experience – understanding as a mother now herself how this decision was driven by love and how this has guided the way she parents her own children.

Adrienne Todela

Adrienne Todela spent her childhood in the Visayas region of the Philippines, living with her family in an expansive garden. She didn’t know it at the time, but spending her days tending to this garden with her mom would change her life.

Ivette Izea-Martinez

Ivette Izea-Martinez remembers growing up with a mother who taught her countless lessons- loving nature, understanding healthy relationships, and approaching any situation with creativity and humor.

Martha Hernandez-Martinez

Martha Hernandez-Martinez shares with us the challenges of being a single parent during a pandemic and the strength she derives from the wisdom and love passed down by her maternal and paternal grandmothers.

Tlazoltiani Zamarripa

Tlazoltiani Zamarripa identifies as mami activist and community organizer who shares a few lessons of motherhood and acknowledges that her greatest teachers are children and, “that nothing, nothing has ever brought” her, “to a raw understanding of all the different parts” of who she is like her children.