From Hiding to Shining

You can’t hide from it. It is everywhere. Whether you walk into your local restaurant, watering hole, radio station or scrolling through TikTok. It’s there. One of the top Mexican songs breaking records. “Ella Baila Sola”, a modern take on regional Mexican music, by Mexican artists Eslabon Armado and Peso Pluma hit #1 globally last week! ?

This week, it is dropped to the #2 spot?by Grupo Frontera, a regional Mexican group and Bad Bunny’s song “un X100to” . “La Bebe” follows them at #3 which means that this week the top 3 spots on the Global Billboard 200 are held by Latinx artists.?

These artists are not only rising to the top globally but here in the U.S. as well. Last week “Ella Baila Sola” hit #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. This week it rose to #4 followed by “un X100to” who leapt from #15 last week to #5 this week.?

This music is also reaching new audiences in new ways. In a collaboration that took place last year, Banda MS, one of the most popular Mexican regional music groups, teamed up with Activision 's popular video game franchise, Call of Duty. ?

Their music was featured in the game's soundtrack, which introduced their music to a wider audience. Since the video was posted on YouTube, it has received over 40M views! This collab highlighted the growing influence of Latinx music in pop culture and showcased the unique sound and style of Banda MS to a new and diverse audience.?

Why does this matter to me? Growing up I never thought I would see this open and global celebration of our Latinidad. As the daughter of undocumented immigrants,?growing up was different for me. We had to move about the world under the radar, never drawing attention to ourselves or speaking up, always outworking others, never ruffling any feathers. ?

If we drew attention to ourselves, it could mean deportation of my parents, breaking our family apart.

This burden weighed heavily on me as a small child, and I know there are millions of First Gen Latinx children who have gone through this or are still going through it.?

While my family and close circles openly celebrated our Latinidad, in the real world we kept it under wraps. This followed me as I broke into corporate spaces and even more so when I broke into tech. ?

Many times, I was the only woman and only person of color in a room, so I kept my Latinidad as a separate identity and assimilated to corporate spaces to succeed. Having separate identities was not easy.

When I saw those around me being promoted and having the success that I longed for, I would further cover up my Latinidad. Over time, I have learned to bring pieces of myself to work.?

Now I see so many First Gen young adults unapologetically embracing their Latinidad and it is so inspiring! ?

First Gen DannyLux’s story , who recently performed at?Coachella , resonated with me. Like my parents, his came to the U.S. from Mexico for a better life and opportunity. His dad’s first job was in agriculture then he began working for the company who cleans up the Coachella Festival grounds. ?

Something very touching his proud dad did during the festival?was to purchase signs around town and the venue saying: “My last time at Coachella I was picking up the trash. Now I’m back to see my son perform this Friday. Te amo DannyLux Tu Papa.” ?

The pride beaming from his father is the type that many First Gens’ parents feel.

Their children have accomplished something they could never imagine or dream of. They are so proud of us and we are so proud of them for taking such a big life risk, facing the unknown, and always finding a way to survive, provide, and hopefully thrive. ???

Similar to DannyLux's story, I now work in the type of office buildings that mi Papi cleaned while growing up.

There are so many First Gen success stories but?there is still so much more work to be done.

In the?tech world, I know there is still a big opportunity to increase Latinx representation, advancement to senior leadership positions, and an even bigger opportunity to increase Latinx representation at the executive level and board room. ?

Having our Latinidad shining in the global spotlight is a proud moment. I am always inspired by our community to continue doing the work (especially when it is hard), reaching back, and pulling more of us into these corporate tech spaces.?

I encourage you to mentor, support, advocate,?hire, and promote Latinx talent.?

How has music had an impact on you? I’d love to hear about it!?

PS: I’m very excited for Banda MS and Ice Cube’s collab being released this?Friday!???

#firstgeneration #latinasintech #musicindustry