This week on Entre Tías y Amiguis, we’re talking about what happens when the life you built no longer fits.

In this powerful conversation, Adri is joined by alignment and visibility coach Gina Moreno, founder of Empowermente, to talk about choosing yourself, over and over again. From walking away from engineering to navigating family estrangement and healing from PCOS, Gina shares the non-linear, grief-soaked, intuitive path that brought her back to her voice.

This episode is for the cycle breakers who are in the in-between. The ones doing everything “right” but still feeling disconnected. The ones afraid to choose joy because it might disappoint others. The ones becoming someone they haven’t met yet.

Together, we talk about:

• First-gen disillusionment and realizing success didn’t mean fulfillment
• Burnout, grief, and how the body always tells the truth
• The spiritual and emotional weight of walking away from a toxic caretaker
• Rebuilding health and identity after PCOS and burnout
• How storytelling becomes a tool for healing, rest, and reconnection
• Working in seasons, embracing rest, and redefining legacy on your own terms

Gina reminds us that healing isn’t always pretty, but it’s always powerful. And that sometimes, the scariest choice — choosing yourself — is the most sacred one.

This is tía wisdom in real time. Tune in when you’re ready to remember who you’re becoming.

About Gina Moreno

Gina Moreno is a first-generation Mexican-American alignment and visibility coach, speaker, and founder of Empowermente, a platform dedicated to helping multi-passionate Latinas step into their power. From engineering and tech to public speaking and coaching, Gina’s journey is all about breaking cycles and building a life rooted in purpose, clarity, and bold action.

Through her signature programs and content, she helps women embrace their full selves, share their stories, and create impact on their own terms.

Connect with Gina and her work:

• Website: https://soygina.com/welcome-to-empowermente-the-journey-of-personal-empowerment/
• Empowermente Podcast: Spotify
• Instagram: @soyginamoreno

Welcome back to Entre Tías y Amiguis! Season 2 begins with mucho corazón y dedicacion a la comunidad. In this special episode, Adri is joined by fellow therapist and tía Sofia Mendoza, LCSW, for a tender conversation on what it means to return, pause, and feel it all during a season of collective grief, burnout, and survival.

This is not a “how to feel better fast” episode. It’s a spacious, compassionate reminder that your body knows, your nervous system is doing its best, and your humanity is worth honoring, even when you’re in low power mode.

Together, we talk about:

• Why our bodies slow down before our minds catch up
• The iPhone “low battery” metaphor you didn’t know you needed
• Garlic parts (not onions) and letting your inner teen rest
• How collective grief is activating ancestral, political, and personal trauma
• Small joy as resistance: music, mangoes, mutual aid, and movement
• Why can’t we dream if we’re not sleeping

We also take intentional pauses, invite you to check in with your own body, and remind you, you’re not alone in any of this.

This is comadreo con terapia — raw, real, and rooted in love.

About Sofia Mendoza, LCSW

Sofia Mendoza is a Latina licensed clinical social worker in Long Beach, CA. She's a proud daughter of Salvadoran and Mexican immigrants. She works in community mental health and private practice, specializing in helping women of color recover from trauma and burnout. Sofia is passionate about helping people live the life they dream of, full of joy, creativity, and recovery. As a former child therapist, she uses her creativity to make mental health topics accessible and digestible for the entire familia. Sofia is also a writer and has published over 30 different mental health journals, planners, and notebooks. Many of her books are bilingual or offered in Spanish. This year, she's also co-authoring a book on Healing from Racial Trauma, which will be released around November 26.

Connect with Sofia and her work:

• Website: www.sofiamendozalcsw.com
• Webinar for Therapists — "When Fear Becomes Reality": https://sofiamendozalcsw.com/service/webinar-when-fear-becomes-reality/
• Therapy IG: https://www.instagram.com/mendingrootstherapy
• Books IG: https://www.instagram.com/mendingrootshealingspaces
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sofia-mendoza-lcsw-baa19510/
• Free E-Book — "Cultural & Creative Practices to Combat Burnout": https://p.mendingrootshealingspaces.com/burnoutcreativity
• Newsletter Signup: https://mendingroots.kit.com/updates

Listener Invitation:

Take this episode slow. Pause when you need to. Stretch. Drink water. Go for a walk. Check in with yourself. And if something resonates, share it with someone you care about.

We are the helpers. We are the healers. And we deserve to rest, too.

In this final episode of Season 1 of Entre Tías y Amiguis, Adri sits down with her dear friend Andrea Vargas, LMFT, for a heartfelt conversation on the unexpected paths life takes us on, healing generational wounds, and learning to trust the process. Andrea shares her journey from aspiring accountant to therapist, the lessons she's learned along the way, and how our families, cultures, and inner voices shape our healing.

Together, Adri and Andrea reflect on what it means to navigate life as first-gen Latinas, the challenges of balancing our past and future, and the importance of choosing healing—both for ourselves and for those who come after us.

About our Amiguis:

Andrea Vargas is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist and the creator of Sana Sana Colita de Trauma, an Instagram platform offering mental health resources for the Latino community, with an emphasis on Spanish-language accessibility. Andrea specializes in supporting first-gen individuals, immigrants, and their families as they navigate generational trauma and healing.

What You'll Learn in This Episode:

• How Andrea’s journey from business to therapy unfolded unexpectedly
• The impact of assimilation, acculturation, and identity on our mental health
• How first-gens navigate the contradictions of adulthood and family expectations
• The role of chosen family and community in healing
• Why dismantling inherited narratives is key to self-discovery
• How we can invite our parents and elders into mental health conversations

In Andrea's Words::

"We don’t just grieve what happens; we grieve what doesn’t happen. Healing isn’t about erasing pain—it’s about making space for something different."