Today’s guest is Lory Martinez, the founder of Ochenta Studios, a podcast production studio. Lory grew up in New York to Colombian immigrant parents. She wanted to be an international journalist, and that dream led her to create her podcast production company.
Lory hosts the Mija Podcast, which started as a fictional audio novela narrated by a young girl who shares her family’s stories. She also interviews other mijas or daughters, and I had the opportunity to be a guest on her show.
Growing up in New York
Lory says she loved growing up in New York because it was so diverse that being in a multicultural classroom with students worldwide wasn’t unusual. To her, this is how the rest of the United States looked, but we know that’s not the case. It wasn’t until she went to college in upstate New York that she had a culture shock when she was the only Latina in the classrooms.
Every summer, Lory had the privilege of visiting her grandmother in Colombia. She loved being exposed to the culture even more and speaking the language, although her mom always talked to her in Spanish in the States. And just like the majority of second-generation immigrants, Lory experienced that identity crisis because, in the States, she would be called Latina. Still, she would be called gringa (American or white girl) in Colombia.
How Lory Got Into the Radio Journalist Space
She always knew she wanted to be a journalist because her grandfather was a journalist in Colombia—he was an editor at El Tiempo, one of the most prominent newspapers in the country. So what happened was her aunt invited her to London as a graduation present, and she started talking to the passenger next to her on the plane ride. She mentioned to her that she wanted to be a journalist.
Come to find out, she worked at BBC Radio 4 and told her to come check out the studio. One day, she was visiting the radio station, and they were interviewing a Spanish movie director. And Lory was the only one in the office that day who could speak Spanish. She ended up translating the interview. Because of this experience, she fell in love with the radio side of everything, which led her to start her podcast production company in Paris.
Lory says don’t fear telling people your dreams because you never know where it can lead.
Watch Lory’s Interview
You can watch Lory Martinez interview on YouTube or listen wherever you listen to your podcasts.
If you want to share your immigrant story experience, please email me at Heidy@heidydelacruz.com.
Check out my SEO Guide and Free Podcasting Resources at – https://stan.store/heidydelacruz.
With Love, Heidy
