I recently had the opportunity to speak with Bianca Alba, the founder of This Latina Travels. This brand motivates and breaks barriers so more women of color can travel, too. Bianca shares her traveling experience and tips on her website, newsletter, and podcast of the same name.
In her episode, Bianca shared her experience of growing up in the DMV or DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. Also, visiting Bolivia for the first time since moving to the US. And moving to Puerto Rico, where she currently lives.
Let’s get started.
Growing Up in the DMV
Bianca shares that growing up in Northern Virginia, she was a minority, although currently, it’s more diverse. Even though she was born in Bolivia, Northern Virginia will always be home. She said she grew up more on the poverty side of things and is a proud recipient of the Free Reduce Lunch Program. (I actually was a recipient, too, growing up).
Another program Bianca was involved with was the EIP or Early Identification Program, which is a college-bound program. This program was specifically designed for George Mason University, Bianca’s alma mater, and the program helped Bianca with the resources and the tools throughout her school years to attend GMU. Through this program, Bianca went to the university on a full scholarship. She studied Public Health, which helped her land a job at the CDC and eventually move to Puerto Rico, which we’ll get into below.
This Latina Travels to Bolivia
At eleven years of age, Bianca travels to Bolivia with her family for the first time since she and her mom had moved to the US. Bianca says she remembers a few things about this trip. One, it’s a journey to get to Bolivia, and it’s expensive, so the fact that the whole family was able to go was a big deal. Secondly, coming from the US, people back home in Bolivia expect you to pay for everything. And third, it was nice to meet family members Bianca had only previously talked to on the phone.
Moving to Puerto Rico
Bianca used to work for the CDC and when the Zika outbreak happened on the island, she was deployed for work because they needed a Spanish-speaking employee there. It was supposed to be a 30 to 60-day deployment, but it landed her a full-time job on the island.
She reminds people that her move to Puerto Rico was a unique and privileged one because she had her job, and her job paid for her move there.
Bianca has been living on the island for eight years, so I asked her what keeps her there because she always has the option to move back to the States, and she said, “It’s the culture, the warmth, and the community that keeps me here.”
Listen Now to This Latina Travels
Listen to Bianca’s full episode.
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With Love, Heidy
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