Meet Julissa Contreras | Writer, Podcaster, & Creative Curator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Julissa Contreras and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Julissa, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I’ve come to realize that the balance that I aspire to strike is not a work-life balance its a intuition-action balance. The best decisions I make personally, professionally, and creatively come from me being well grounded in my intuition and being in touch with my emotions so that I can better navigate where my mind body and heart are at when I need to step into my power or leadership. What I want in work and life are always evolving so to commit myself to the thing that isn’t permanent feels off. I rather navigate from a place that is being guided by that voice in my soul that keeps me tethered to my purpose so that my surrounding circumstances don’t confuse me out of remembering what matters most and what is of my highest good.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I hate navigating tites in the art world. I’m a creator, I create a when I feel led to. I’m a playwright, poet, performer, podcast producer, community curator, storyteller, shit talker, and am otherwise spending my time in rooms with innovators and builders in the start-up spaces. I’m at the place in my journey where describing my journey is difficult because I’ve been in a reflective mindset since 2020 and there are SO many levels of self awareness to examine and I don’t think I’m done taking it all in. My answers today might be completely different a year from now. The Julissa who wrote ‘Shit Spanish Girls Say’ a decade ago is handling her voice in a much more intentional way now, but the possibilities keep expanding and my random bursts of creative distractions have made it challenging to stick to one thing and be great at that first. Then again, it’s COVID outside with a side of Global climate crisis. Ain’t nobody got time to overthink everything. Bronché has been my creative playground and I have so many aspirations for it; I can’t wait to really lock in because these past few years has just been a tech rehearsal of our capacity.

Bronché (n): spanglish for brunch. Bronché is a sacred time of spilling tea, clinking glasses, and indulging in all the decedent perspectives on news, entertainment, politics, and experiences life’s menu has to offer. Mimosas soften the blow; who says you can’t talk about everything at the table? We make difficult conversation palatable, first by accessing the heart with a meal and loosen the nerves with some cocktails, then by creating a safe space where people can walk away with a new understanding of a different perspective. Ladies Who Bronché means so much to me as a manifestation of the permission I gave myself to engage a form of storytelling and dialogue that I had no clue how to navigate,

Listening to podcasts has been challenging to immerse myself in because they never felt accessible to me. The transition from live radio to podcasting lost me somewhere between downloading music directly to my iPods to using platforms like Spotify. I always made a point to ignore the podcast sections because something about venturing off into that world felt intimidating; that’s for white people and poli-sci nerds. Besides there were too many to choose from and I found myself missing the culture of radio I grew up with. It felt ours, like Angie Martinez, Funk Flex, the dudes from La Mega, and other were the real gatekeepers of variety of news, music, gossip, and entertainment. They created clout around parts of my life that made it feel like WE dictated culture despite what mainstream media decided to market.

Before the world was obsessively tuned into the “Afro-Latino”, LGBTQ, and Millennial experience I found myself participating community dialogue around the intersections of our experience that no one seemed to be doing in podcasting in a way that had a massive following. But more than the discussion, the facilitation of those conversations seemingly weren’t being led by the demographic themselves. One day I turned to Skittlez and said “we’re mad funny, we should start a podcast. Don’t worry I’ll figure out the logistics.” And I did. In some of the most challenging years of my life I created space for our voices.

The podcast is nowhere near as polished as I wish it was, but I had to recognize that the existence of the space mattered more to me than being the best sounding. If anyone wants to bless us with some production dollars, amazing, otherwise this is where we are at the moment. The real juice is in the conversation and there are so many podcasts that have overproduced dialogue and I think we are better than them. It’s not meant to be arrogance but it’s the same way we all know that as easy and delicious as Chipotle is, it’s not better than the food made by the hands of the actual source, no matter how run-down their restaurant might be (if it’s a brick and mortar at all).

I took that stance and moved forward. We’ve definitely grown but more than the actual numbers, we have so many people who love to collaborate and create spaces with us that the podcast simply being a produced audio story is to dismiss a strong and active community that are the legs to that table. I try to never forget how regardless of measurable financial gain or being picked up by a larger network, we are deadass adding value to the world one engagement at a time. There isn’t another Julissa and Skittlez out there and so much of who we are and the cultures that raised us serve as the blueprint of how we lead; it’s not always perfect but when we make mistakes, we always recommit to trying again.

The best advice I could ever give folx, don’t let the slip up become a downfall. No one gets to decide what success needs to be, only you can do that. And if what you want doesn’t feel any good along the journey, there’s something worth investigating there and you should honor however long it takes for you to orient yourself around your purpose and you highest personal well being. Everyone should know why they’re dedicating themselves to something and hold permission to change their mind at any time. There are so many lanes for me to switch into that I have to let myself have fun when I’m on any given lane, rather than obsess over one specific outcome in my creative journey. Do and try it all.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Okay so we love to bronché, so naturally, we’re going to share our faves:

Rosa’s at Park- MASSIVE mimosa glasses–bottomless, delicious menu, and DJ’s that will make you burn calories as you indulge.

Havana Café– Okay it’s a Cuban spot but the way their Magu 3 golpes hits us right in the Santo Domingo?! We love their Sangria and mimosas but also be sure to indulge in dessert.

Lido- Harlem is my second home and Lido is the fancy looking spot with excellent service but still has uptown vibes that make is cozy and just lovely. Their food is mouthwatering and their mimosas got them good bubbles. Great for dates!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
Our friends and family have played the biggest role in our success. People underestimate the power of showing up– it’s a strong form of validation. The feedback we receive helps us grow and stand true as a platform that wants to focus authentic community dialogue at the center of our work. Our internal Bronché Bonche team is incredible and we literally couldn’t execute without them. The list of names is not hard to find– we are always sharing and celebrating the people who uplift us the most because we believe collaboration is key in being foundational support in each other’s endeavours. A special shoutout goes to The Almighty Pineapple for helping us have the tools to remain confident and focused on or creative journeys–it’s a tough business! But with Vida’s guidance we have yet to give up!

Website: https://ladieswhobronche.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ladieswhobronche/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/julissa-contreras-b52a71108/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ladieswhobronche/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgC7YU4zVu9J5sI3vXGRxrg?view_as=subscriber

Other: https://www.julissacontreras.com/

Image Credits
Connie Chavez Mikey Cordero Grizz da Kid