On the Golden Goddess Affirmation Podcast, we invite Asian women to focus on our mental health. In this transformative episode, Trixi hosts mother, professor, and community organizer Kirin Macapugay.

Kirin chose "No one can take away my heritage or history. At the same time, it is up to me to discover and embrace that knowledge." from the Golden Goddess Affirmations deck. She explores the significance of “Igorota” heritage, its profound impact on identity, and how it informs so much of what she does.

[00:03:45] “I didn’t realize how Igorota I am.” - Kirin

[00:04:58] Episode Affirmation and sense of self

[00:05:30] SENSEI - Student Empowerment through Narrative Storytelling Engagement and Identity

[00:13:18] Cultural genocide and restricting languages

[00:17:54] The need for reclamation and rejecting forced cultural norms

[00:22:49] Every Filipina “has ripped out her own heart, loving everybody else.”

[00:27:00] Introducing mental health to family.

[00:37:22] Communal care and APICA forums

[00:41:40] Losing Filipinos to mental illness

[00:47:55] Advice for communicating to older generations

[00:49:25] Q: What does being Igorota mean to you? Like, what does it smell like?”

In 2015, Kirin started Asian Pacific Islander Community Actions (APICA). Now, she leads the Human Services and Social Work program at San Diego City College.

They talk about the need for culture reclamation and when people realized, “Trying to act American isn’t working.”

Some advice Kirin has for getting through to older generations, “Model the behavior you wish you had.”

Kirin is in the book Closer to Liberation: Pin[a/x]y Activism in Theory and Practice Edited by Amanda Solomon Amorao, DJ Kuttin Kandi, and Jen Soriano, which discusses what it means to be Pinay.

Follow Kirin on Instagram at [https://www.instagram.com/professorkirinmac] and learn more about her projects on her website [https://www.kirinmac.com/].

Find out more about Golden Goddess Affirmations at [https://thethoughtfulbeast.com/] and follow Trixi here [https://www.instagram.com/thethoughtfulbeast].

Music created by WINLOVE

https://www.instagram.com/winlovethethird

https://www.winlovemusic.com/

...
This podcast is being produced by the Far South Border North grant [https://www.sandiego.gov/far-south-border-north]. Trixi received this grant with 59 other individual artists and a number of non-profits in the San Diego and Imperial Counties.

On this week’s Golden Goddess Affirmation Podcast, we invite Alicia DeLeon-Torres to focus on our mental health. Alicia has over 25 years in working with and advocating for the AANHPI community.

She chose, “My voice is my own. When I am quiet, it is because I want to be. When I am loud, it is not out of rebellion. My voice is not a reaction to you. It's an expression of me.”

Alicia’s activism in the 90s and early 2000s taught Asians to use their voices together. “As an Asian woman -a Filipina woman - the stereotype is for us to be quiet and submissive.” She has since learned that silence can be a strength.

Timestamps

[00:02:29] Episode Affirmation

[00:04:35] “Not louder as in yelling…”

[00:07:00] Explaining the homogenization of our populations in previous generations

[00:11:27] How being one of the only Asian woman activists affected her voice

[00:18:00] How to properly reach out to your community

[00:23:00] Advice for people who find it really hard to speak up

Alicia is old enough to know when to shut up and let somebody else speak. She gives us insight on communicating with journalists and giving voices to the community.

She currently serves on the Honorary Philippine Consul Advisory Board and the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Community Advisory Board.

Alicia is the Deputy Director of The Nemeth Foundation. Find out more about this philanthropic organization here [https://thenemethfoundation.org/].

Learn more about Golden Goddess Affirmations at [https://thethoughtfulbeast.com/] and follow Trixi here [https://www.instagram.com/thethoughtfulbeast].

Music created by WINLOVE

https://www.instagram.com/winlovethethird

https://www.winlovemusic.com/

...
This podcast is being produced by the Far South Border North grant [https://www.sandiego.gov/far-south-border-north]. Trixi received this grant with 59 other individual artists and a number of non-profits in the San Diego and Imperial Counties.

On the Golden Goddess Affirmation Podcast, we invite Asian women to focus on our mental health. In this transformative episode, Trixi hosts Babay L. Angles, also known as Bomba Brown. Baby is known for her dancing and community work. She describes herself as a woman, artist, and educator whose work centers on intergenerational healing, joy, and rest.

Babay chose "I love myself to honor the women who came before me." from the Golden Goddess Affirmations deck. She explains her personal Mother Wound and the journey out of self-hate.

[00:02:15] Episode Affirmation and Babay’s life’s work

[00:05:56] What is a Mother Wound?

[00:08:26] Babay’s journey being hard, and long, and funny, and joyous, and painful

[00:09:48] Growing up and reckoning with her pain

[00:12:00] Finding the love that she deserved in a healthy way

[00:18:00] Trixi on getting out of those patterns: “Familiarity isn’t always a good thing.”

[00:23:40] Breaking the cycle on burning out, getting mentally messed up, then resting

[00:25:43] On creating spaciousness so there’s time to listen

[00:33:50] Capitalism, self-care, and hetero-patriarchal systems

[00:44:55] Baby on setting boundaries with her mother

[00:54:25] Showing up with compassion and encouraging self-exploration

[01:01:06] Closing and knowing healing is possible

Babay tells us who Haggard Girl is, and how she is learning how to listen to her body when it’s about to repeat old patterns.

Connect with Babay L. Angles on Instagram at [https://www.instagram.com/babaylangles] and [https://www.instagram.com/bombabrownlovesyou], and keep an eye out for Olongapo Disco.

Find out more about Golden Goddess Affirmations at [https://thethoughtfulbeast.com/] and follow Trixi here [https://www.instagram.com/thethoughtfulbeast].

Music created by WINLOVE

https://www.instagram.com/winlovethethird

https://www.winlovemusic.com/

...This podcast is being produced by the Far South Border North grant [https://www.sandiego.gov/far-south-border-north]. Trixi received this grant with 59 other individual artists and a number of non-profits in the San Diego and Imperial Counties.