Meet Milena Monrroy & Jennifer Aguillon | Podcast hosts – Latina Life With Jen and Milena

We had the good fortune of connecting with Milena Monrroy & Jennifer Aguillon and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Milena Monrroy & Jennifer Aguillon, what habits do you feel play an important role in your life?
Habits that have helped us both succeed with “Latina Life with Jen and Milena” was discipline. We both have full time jobs, and families. We choose to commit to working on the weekends so we can research, pitch and do interviews for the podcast. Being organized is something we both do; we make sure to write everything down and overall communication is very important when launching a podcast. We also make sure to not take “no” for an answer. Together we push ourselves to remember the goal and why the podcast is important. Networking is also very crucial to do because through word of mouth we have found guests, obtained meetings with big companies and gotten really good advice from experienced podcasters.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

I’m Jen, and I’m a two-time Emmy winning Bilingual television producer with over 20 years of news experience in the national and local LA markets. I also co-host a podcast called “Latina Life With Jen and Milena” with my best friend, Milena Monrroy. I’m a first generation Mexican-American. .

Milena is also a three-time Emmy nominated Bilingual producer with over 20 years of entertainment experience in the national and local California markets. She is also first generation with her parents being from South America.

We met while launching a Los Angeles based lifestyle entertainment show a few years ago. We had worked in the  television industry for 20 years, on similar shows and had mutual friends but we never crossed paths until then… Unbelievable! Especially since there were very few Latinas in the industry, on news shows, while we were coming up in the industry.

The pandemic gave me, like all of us, a moment to reflect on how I wanted to live my life with intent and what type of impact I want to make. I want to lift up, support and showcase Latinas who are making positive impacts in their fields and representing the Latina Community with their beneficial contributions. I knew Milena felt the same way. So, in January 2021 our podcast, “Latina Life with Jen and Milena”, was created!

We want people to know that we are two Latinas from Los Angeles whose mission is to introduce the world to all the Super Latinas making a difference globally. Not just the entertainment space, but in the beauty, tech, community, corporate, sports sectors and more. What makes me unique is my story as a first-generation Mexican American, growing up in Beverly Hills, working and succeeding in the television news industry. It is a unique experience being first generation. Not to mention second, third or originally from this country. We aren’t 100% one or the other. Our communities at times will always see us as “the other”. These stories are not heard or understood enough. The difference is what makes us unique and should make us stronger but it’s also what divides us and takes our strength away.

We want to help each other. In the podcast space we are able to talk to people in-depth about their stories, their journey, their struggles and triumphs. They are able to share key lessons they learned and advice that helped them personally. They inspire us. That is what I want our listeners, our subscribers to know about this brand. It’s about uplifting, supporting, inspiring and representing Latinas who have a key role in different communities and industries and whose work touches our lives.

There have been a few challenges with launching the podcast. Concern about it being perfect. Nothing is perfect. That need to be perfect kept us from publishing the first episode for a while. It wasn’t until a friend of mine told me “To rip the band aid off” and just do it, and that’s what we did. We reached out to people in the podcast space for conversations, advice, and suggestions. Our biggest challenge is time and how to manage it with our current careers, family and life overall. The biggest lesson learned is that consistency is key. It is also the biggest challenge.

This is a passion project; it is part of who we are and what we believe in. That’s why we continue to do it. I feel like something is missing when we aren’t sharing a new story. I feel complete and full of purpose every time we talk to a new guest. Some of the advice from our guests has resonated with me 100%.
“Make it what you want, to take it to the next level.”
“Lean into your story…that is what drives you eventually in your career.” Leaning into who we are has guided us to this point and we plan to have that lead us to the next level.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.

If we had a friend staying for a week, I would like to take them to different areas that represent California.

Sunday
First day would need to be a beach day. The best place would be Paradise Cove Beach Cafe in Malibu. We would start off with brunch with a table outside, kick off our shoes and bury our feet in the sand. They do have lounge chaises for rent that is a splurge, but anyone can bring beach chairs, umbrellas, towels and lunch for a day’s stay without spending anything extra. We’d spend the rest of the time at the beach, walk along the shoreline, go swimming, boogie boarding. For dinner, we’d head over to Malibu Farm for dinner, cocktails and to watch the sunset.

Monday
We love to hike so we would hike up to the Griffith Park Observatory from Fern Dell (off Loz Feliz). We would tour the Observatory and view one of the programs there. “Signs of Life” is always amazing to watch.

Tuesday
We love the mountains so we’d have to drive up to Lake Arrowhead and stay at least one night. If it’s during the summer we’d go kayaking, hiking, water tubing. During the winter, when it’s white and full of snow, we’d go skiing and tubing.

Wednesday
We’d head back to LA in time to freshen up for our taco crawl around the city. First we would start off with pedal boat rides in Echo Park. Then we will hit up many of my favorite places – Pinches Tacos in Culver City, Guisados in DTLA, Chicas Tacos in DTLA, Tacos Por Favor in Santa Monica, Homes State in Playa Vista and more.

Thursday
In the past friends who had visited would tell me that their favorite part of the visit was always visiting the beach. So, I would want to head back to the beach again. We would grab acai bowls from Backyard Bowls in Santa Monica and head to the Santa Monica Beach south of the pier. We’d park ourselves at Perry’s Pizza to eat breakfast then rent bikes and bikes as far north as we can go and back. Then we’d spend the afternoon on the pier – do the games and rides. At night, I’d like to make sure we see a Broadway show at the Pantages Theater or concert at Disney Hall downtown.

Friday
As Los Angeles is associated with the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, the last full day would be about entertainment. We’d either go to the Warner Brothers Studio Tour and Universal Studios or Disneyland. Everyone always wants to go to an amusement park tour, and I love them both!

Saturday
We’d like to get in one more hike to leave my friend with views to remember so depending on the timing it would be a hike at the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook or one of the trails by Zuma Beach in Malibu

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 shoutout goes to our families and close circle of friends. When we decided to create a podcast, we knew it would take time away from our loved ones, but they were so supportive and encouraging. They cheered us on from the start even though that meant time away from home, late night meetings and no time on weekends. Our families and friends helped with interview ideas, spreading the word about our podcast, helping us promote it on social media. Without their support it would have been very hard so that’s why this shout out is to them!

Instagram: @latinalifepodcast

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/milena-monrroy-07705281/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-aguillon-37b5903/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100083503741074

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@latinalifewithjenandmilena7305

Other: iHeartradio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-latina-life-with-jen-and-m-89358863/ Apple:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/latina-life-with-jen-and-milena/id1588961202 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6RViDjKbIEy42H5bdtKMvS

Image Credits
Patrick Rivera Photographer