The conversations on QUIERO the Show, a Latinx talk show web series, are centered on the Latinx experience. Priscilla Garcia Jacquier sits opposite her guests, the likes of Alexander Dinelaris, Emma Ramos, and Michelle Veintimilla, as she builds a conversation on their experiences pursuing their truest passions.

“The show is about tools for success, so I like to think through people’s lives and how their experience could help other people,” explains Garcia-Jacquier. “Sometimes that means that they’re at the top of the game, sometimes that means that they’re just starting out, but their hustle is on point.”

The series has a complete first season with 10 episodes currently available on YouTube with plans to film season 2 this summer in Los Angeles.

“It became clear that I wanted to build a platform that would both help people’s hearts and also give them the tools necessary for success — LatinX success,” shares Garcia-Jacquier. “LatinX hunger gets confused into a sort of ‘grateful immigrant’ narrative that I have really become tired of. No, we’re not here working away our gratitude every day and thanking the borders for letting us through in humble submission. We are here to build, to create, to empower, and honestly, to have an economic impact.”

Quiero’s first season is the result of hustle and pure determination — filmed in Garcia-Jacquier’s New York City bedroom with equipment her and her team already owned. Season 2 is a dream supported by a community of individuals who supported their Kickstarter campaign and understood the vision, and the need, for a series like Quiero.

“As an entrepreneur, I’ve learned it’s going to take time and that I have to make direct asks,” shares Garcia-Jacquier. “Somehow, I’ve approached a lot of exchanges surrendering my instinct and allowing others’ expertise to overpower my gut. I’m learning that I need to follow my instincts and be very direct in the asks that it requires. It’s the only way that people meet you halfway.”

Below Garcia-Jacquier shares the behind-the-scenes of building a web series, leaving behind her 9-to-5 for her own passion project, and the advice she has for Latinx.

Vivian Nunez: When did you know it was time to quit your job to focus on your passion projects? 

Priscila Garcia-Jacquier:I have been assisting at the highest levels of entertainment since I was 19. My mentors’ projects have always been the most important tasks for me and I took to their lives as if they were my own. That’s what you’re supposed to do, that’s what being a Hollywood assistant means— that’s how you learn and absorb. I have loved every step of the way. However, this year, it became increasingly difficult to leave my projects at home, even for the day. I felt a pull to prioritize them, to prioritize myself. I think some people do figure out a way to work and apprentice and still go home to their projects with their whole heart. I admire those people. That was not the case for me. If someone else’s project is in front of me, I will completely surrender into it. It’s easy to lose sight of the importance of your own script when the one at work stars a major celebrity. I’m 26 now and I wasn’t okay with that anymore. I realized that the only way to really create a boundary for myself was to start working for me.

Nunez: What inspired Quiero? 

Garcia-Jacquier: A year ago, I was feeling stuck and frustrated. I felt bogged down by the work I wasn’t creating and felt pressured to produce. I sat down with myself and I thought— what can I produce right now? What can I bring my team together to start making tomorrow? In the meantime, I was really thinking about the things that actually interested me and how I actually liked to spend my time. It turns out that I’ve always been a self-help junky and consume the medium relentlessly. Lewis Howes, Marie Forleo, Gabby Bernstein, Oprah, are all people whose content I invest in and whose lessons I apply. I allowed myself to start thinking about it— what if this isn’t just your hobby? What if part of your interest is that you want to… do that? I sat down with my EP and kind of whispered this crazy idea to her that I wanted to start my own talkshow. That my favorite part of any job is always the connection. Who will have a meaningful impact on my life next?

Nunez: Why do you think a show like Quiero is necessary? 

Garcia-Jacquier: I made Quiero because I needed Quiero. Quiero is my way to fight the harmful narratives about LatinX that have arisen from our current political climate. But Quiero is also my way of learning about the community— we’re very misunderstood, both inside and outside of the community. We all come from different countries, with different cultures, and very different Spanishes, and then we arrive here and are expected to be the same. Not to mention that my experience as an LatinX immigrant differs greatly from someone who is first, second, or third generation. We have to be open in saying that we are here and we are building a new culture. To be Latino American is a new and different thing. I’m curious about that thing, I want to partake in building what that means— but we have to be open about it, all while highlighting our success. That’s Quiero.

Continue onto Forbes to read the complete article.

Over 119 bike-share systems now exist across America, and with the rise of dockless bikes, more and more communities are gaining access to these crucial mobility tools. But if you look at the map, you’ll see that the spread of bike-share services has left out an entire population: the more than 570 Native American tribes in the United States.

Today, Lime (formerly known as LimeBike) took the first step toward providing access for a Native American territory. The dockless bike-share company will launch in the Reno-Sparks Indian Colony, as part of a larger northern Nevada regional partnership that will also bring bikes to the University of Nevada, Reno and a handful of cities. The Reno-Sparks Indian Colony is situated not too far outside the cities of Reno and Sparks, and tribal leaders told Lime that they’re looking forward to the opportunity to reduce automobile traffic and boost mobility for residents.

If this launch is successful, Lime could look to expand to more remote reservations that have been overlooked in the bike-share boom.

Continue onto Fast Company to read the complete article.

There was no way for Olga Maria Czarkowski to know that the condition that she was once bullied for would become the driving force behind her biggest passion project — Dreams in Heels — but she’s thankful it did.

“I was born with a leg condition whereby my Achilles tendon is shorter than average. I cannot walk with my feet flat on the ground; I can only walk on my tippy toes. Thus, heels are much more comfortable for me,” explains Czarkowski. “This experience made me stronger and taught me never to judge others based on their looks and inspired me to turn something negative (as being bullied) into something positive, my brand.”

Dreams in Heels is a lifestyle blog that Czarkowski started 5 years ago as a way to give a home both to her personal story and every day adventures. Since then she’s amassed a dedicated following that spans across her blog and her travel-centered community, Latinas Who Travel.

“Once I launched the group through word of mouth, people started to join and say how much they dreamed about finding a group like this, a community for them to connect with other Latinas who have the same passion for traveling the world, or wish to travel, and want to learn from others who are already doing it,” explains Czarkowski.

Through her brands, Czarkowski aims to connect Latinas with each other and with the possibility of exploring the world on their own terms.

Below she shares her entrepreneurial story, traveling advice, and how she’s overcome her most challenging moments.

Vivian Nunez: How would you describe your trajectory as an entrepreneur? 

Olga Maria Czarkowski: I think it all started when I realized how much I did not like working in a traditional office setting and not being myself. I really was craving freedom, openness to create and just do more. Then it all started by my exploring all of the areas of interest to me (like fashion/beauty, charity work, organizing events, social media marketing, traveling, writing, photography) and then finding something that combines all of the above.

I think that it is okay to explore, to evolve, and to transition into different careers or niches. When you cannot find what fuels your passion, oftentimes you need to be creative and reinvent yourself. I do feel proud of each of my steps and of everything I’ve learned along my journey. For me, it is all about the journey, even if I’m still a work in progress.

Nunez: What is one of your biggest lessons learned when it came to starting a brand based off of your own personal story? 

Czarkowski: I think for me, there are a few lessons that I’ve rolled into one: Learn how to say no, know your worth, charge for your time and separate your business from your personal life. I had to learn all of these the hard way.

Oftentimes, when you start a brand off your personal story, people try to mix personal with business; they ask for favors, they do not value your time and try to get things from you as a person rather than a business. As much as it is nice to help others, you do need to realize your worth and remember how hard you had to work to start a brand and maintain it.

Nunez: What advice do you have for other Latina storytellers and entrepreneurs who are looking to start a movement/brand based off their own stories? 

Czarkowski: My best advice would be that personal branding and social media are key to being successful. Throughout the years I’ve dedicated myself to building my personal brand/image and also my social media network. You always need to be aware of what you share online and offline. In addition, it is more important to convey who you are, where you are going and your mission to others. A strong personal brand can help you transition to different careers

Continue onto Forbes to read the complete article.

At the Lower East Side Preparatory High School in New York, it’s not unusual to hear different languages flowing in the classroom — in one sentence.

“Mira, mira guey, I don’t understand la tarea,” — “Look buddy, I don’t understand the homework,” says one young boy to his classmate.

“Are you tarado?” — Are you dumb?, his friend shoots back, laughing.

This has been a part of America’s dialogue since the nation’s start — the mixing of two languages in a conversation, whether it be Spanglish (Spanish and English), Chinglish (often Mandarin and English) or another combination.

The use of Spanglish or other language combinations has been seen by many as a sign of laziness or poor language skills. In recent years, however, scholars have found there is sophisticated brain work behind code-switching, or CS, the linguistic term for switching between two languages in one conversation.

“There is widespread agreement that CS is patterned, i.e., not random,” said Almeida Jacqueline Toribio, of the University of Texas at Austin, who has been studying bilingualism since the early 1990s.

In fact, Toribio’s research shows that even those who are not completely bilingual or proficient in both languages still follow logical, grammatical rules when they code-switch.

Arturo E. Hernandez, a professor of psychology at the University of Houston and author of “The Bilingual Brain,” has found that what English-Spanish code-switchers do when they speak is similar to what people do when they multitask — for example, driving and talking on a cellphone at the same time.

“Everyone is born with this task-switching gene,” he said.

Perhaps this will pave the way for a different view of this common practice, though scholars like Toribio acknowledge that’s not how many see it.

“CS remains a stigmatized bilingual behavior, viewed as a failure on the part of speakers to ‘control’ their languages,” Toribio said. Some see it as a lack of competence or even poor manners, she added.

Among the millions of Americans who are bilingual and bicultural, there is a lively debate about switching languages.

Continue onto NBC News to read the complete article.