Yaritza Jinette Peña is a Dominican notary with her business, YFP Notary. Yaritza loves helping the Hispanic community in every way she can.

When she’s not working or studying, she enjoys her soccer mom duties and reading the news to stay up to date.

She’d like to see more resources for the Hispanic community in New Orleans: “Sometimes it’s hard to even open a bank account in Louisiana without an
ID/social security number.

I would also love to see a reform in the way driver’s licenses and vehicle registrations are handled for undocumented immigrants.

Para leer en español, presiona aquí: Tania Valeska, Reina de Todo.

Por AnaMaria Bech

Tania Valeska is a renowned Latin artist in New Orleans who got attention with her colorful Latin music and Samba dance performances. Born and raised in Nicaragua, her parents instilled a love of art and enrolled her at an early age in ballet classes and dance competitions. Tania found her passion for dance and knew it would be her professional career. She became the first non-Brazilian Latin American woman to obtain the title “Rainha de Bateria” in the 2022-2023 Rio Carnival.

She attended the University of Commercial Sciences (UCC) in Managua, where she met a Brazilian instructor who introduced her to the batucada and discovered an excellent affinity for Samba because it resembled Palo de Mayo, the typical national dance of Nicaragua she had already mastered.

When she was 18, she moved to Chicago. “I met all of Brazil,” said Tania, referring to the large Brazilian community of that town. She danced with various musical groups and continued perfecting her Samba moves, capoeira, and Brazilian rhythms. Tania participated in shows and competitions with the Chicago Samba Brazilian Band in different cities. She obtained the title of Samba Princess and Samba Queen of Chicago, a great recognition among many other accolades.

Her first visit to the Rio Carnival came in 2015, where she danced as a Passista with two samba schools: Curicica and Unidos do Viradouro. Tania has consecutively participated in the carnival as Passista with several samba schools, including Alegria da Zona Sul, Estacio de Sa, and Imperio Serrano. In 2021, she became the first foreign “Rainha de Bateria” at the Encima da Hora School, an honor highly respected by local Samba queens and the Samba school community.

Tania Valeska settled in New Orleans in 2019. With her knowledge of various rhythms and enviable physical condition, the Nicaraguan Samba Queen has worked as a dance instructor for children and adults, had her own dance studio, and formed Samba Carioca in New Orleans. The amateur Samba group performs at various events and festivals in the region. She is also a physical trainer in different gyms and created samba tutorials for weight loss to define the body and work muscles with a unique and fun routine.

Her current great passion is fashion design and making suits. Her role as a designer is inspired by her experience in dancing and the need to move with comfort and confidence while still looking elegant and sexy. “You have to show some skin. All women should feel sexy,” says Tania. Sharing with designers through her presentations throughout the country and living surrounded by colors, fabrics, rhinestones, and sequins led her to learn many wardrobe tricks. The need for many outfit options for her competitions also prompted her to make her designs. “When I started to see that I could glue a rhinestone or sew to fix a dress, I knew I could also glue a rhinestone for a cocktail, gala, or prom dress,” says Tania. 

That’s how she decided to take sewing classes, continued sketching her dresses, and launched her fashion lines for carnival, gala costumes, swimsuits and exercise clothing. Her brand, Royal T Couture, has already hit the catwalks at New York Fashion Week, and several of her designs received praise during the famous fashion event. On Miss Nicaragua Sheynnis Palacios’s visit to New Orleans, Tania spent some time with her. She took her measurements to make an exclusive design for the new Miss Universe. 

As with everything she sets out to do, Tania Valeska will turn her clothing line into a success. If you want to feel like a queen during the Mardi Gras carnival balls, at your prom or your next gala event, you can contact Tania to design a dress in your style. Visit royaltcoutureboutique.com and let Tania Valeska turn you into a Royal T, Queen of Everything, like her.

Workforce Heroes Program

Para español clic aquí ->Programa de Héroes de la Fuerza Laboral

The Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana in a Partnership with Delta Administrative Services announced a new initiative to support the community impacted by COVID-19 by recognizing Workforce Heroes. This program consists of placing impacted individuals into jobs for six to eight weeks at a time to help return displaced workers back into the workforce and to help stimulate the economy. The program is generously funded by Delta Administrative Services, long time partners of HCCL who share the interest of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Louisiana in helping those who are most affected by the current situation.

One of the recent hires by the program is Anabelle, who was placed in a customer services position at Metairie Bank. You can refer individuals who have been impacted by the pandemic and you would like to see returning to the workforce. 

The Hispanic community has been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic in different areas including health, access to capital, and unemployment.  As the largest Hispanic business organization, we felt the need to respond to the urgency to help individuals without gainful employment. The Workforce Heroes Program is only one of the actions taken by our organization in response to COVID-19. During this extraordinary time, it is important to remember that there is strength in community, and supporting each other through hardship is how we will rise together.

To apply to be eligible for this initiative, please fill out the following form: Workforce Heroes Application

The Continuous Improvement Cycle

By Carolina Lozada

Click aqui para español- > El ciclo de mejora continua

What is the continuous improvement cycle? Continuous improvement is an ongoing effort to improve products, services or processes. These efforts can seek “incremental” improvement over time or “breakthrough” improvement all at once.

This strategy became relevant in the 1950s with the growth of consumerism and the large-scale expansion of the middle class. Its applications are innumerable and can be used to address questions of productivity to bring about effective changes.

Among the most widely used tools for continuous improvement is a four-step quality model—the plan-do-check-act (PDCA) cycle.

Sounds simple, right? Even though we have always known these actions, we usually do not think of them as a strategy.

That’s why I want to ask: when you plan something, do you write down your plan? Do you follow up when you finish your plan? It is by doing this that you can find the difference in acting and obtaining success. 

There will always be actions that, although they have been planned, will not work out as expected. Some of them will take you closer to what you want to achieve, and others, unfortunately, will delay you. The success of this strategy is to identify the results of your actions.

We constantly “do” tasks and actions, but we rarely stop for a moment to check the results. Checking will allow you to identify what to do “more of” and what “stop” doing. With these lessons you will be increasingly efficient in your daily life to move into the next “act.” 

When we have an ambitious plan, the recommendation is to divide the “plan” into several stages and to check and improve along the way.

“There are no difficult or impossible things; it is the organized approach that allows us to see beyond obstacles, recalculate our direction, and achieve our goals. Do it now.”

The Organization/Happiness Connection

By Carolina Lozada

Click aqui para español- > La Conexión Entre Ser Organizado y La Felicidad

We frequently hold many conversations that include productivity and organization. When talking about organization, usually your mind refers to having your work or home organized. However, organization can have more transcendental effects. Beyond knowing where to find an object, organization can help reduce stress, increase happiness and help your brain get some rest.

Studies have determined that, in general, a poorly organized life produces a tiredness effect and diminishes creativity, since the brain interprets information as confusion. Some things you can implement quickly, and inexpensively to become more organized are:

Keep a calendar

For appointments, meetings, celebrations:

Keep a calendar on you. Whether you keep it on your cell phone or a physical agenda, take note and record your commitments to prevent conflicts with your schedule. Make sure you include personal time and with your loved ones. Ah! And always before committing to an event, check your calendar first!

Focus on what brings you joy

For your belongings: In addition to the method of defining a place for everything and putting everything in its place, we suggest you read the KonMary method of the Japanese organizational coach, Marie Kondo. Her method consists of several steps, but in a few words, it focuses on discarding any article that no longer generate happiness. The book costs less than $10 and it’s short. After applying this method, I was surprised that there were so many things that I had that had completed their cycle and after getting rid of them, I have felt better and relaxed when at home.  Perhaps it is the effect of being surrounded only by things that make me happy.

Plan your meals

For your meal: Plan for the week. Include a simple and flexible plan for your family. You will save time and money by having what you need to cook in your cupboard, and you will avoid throwing away food that you bought and got damaged.

Play it in your favor! Increase your happiness, get the most benefit of a better organized life!

Establishing Meaningful Connections

By Carolina Lozada

Click aqui para español- >Forja conexiones valiosas

Has this ever happened to you? You have a conversation with a stranger, then find yourself walking away with a smile on your face because you found a new perspective when you least expected it.

In this edition of Lead-Up, we examine three words and the roles they play in how we interact with others.

Connecting

Connecting with someone usually involves three factors: who they are, what they do, and what they can do for you. You may not even notice, but the mind is transactional, and your mind makes these assessments every time you interact with someone,

The risk you take when connecting with people is that you may end up disconnecting from yourself. Interacting with others by way of “connecting” often involves conversations surrounding achievements, services, business, etc., leaving no room for spontaneous interaction, creativity or innovation. It’s not surprising that the process of “connecting” leaves you feeling drained.

Knowing

When we meet someone, we awaken a genuine interest in them. Getting to know someone requires being a curious and active listener.

Knowing someone is an important part of what makes us human. It makes us sensitive, compassionate, and understanding. It also opens our minds to learning from others, generating new ideas, and discovering new solutions to old problems.

The value of getting to know others lies in the discovery of new worlds in each person. As others get to know you, they in turn will discover your world, which will only expand your horizons.

Being Coherent

Once you connect with and get to know new people and allow them to get to know you, you will begin to generate new ideas, receive feedback, and create new experiences.

Be coherent in your words and actions, and always remember that every interaction is viewed from all angles and multiple perspectives.

Plant your seeds while aligning your actions to your words and you are sure to reap prosperous harvests.

The Four Agreements

By Carolina Lozada

Click aqui para español- > Los cuatro acuerdos

The Toltecs, a civilization of thousands of years ago, are known for having a wealth of knowledge. They defined four agreements as a way of living their societal life. These four agreements continue to be relevant today and are used by those who lead their own lives and by those who are in leadership positions and guide others on a day-to-day basis.

First agreement:

Be impeccable with your word

• To build and motivate others 
• Towards truth and love
• Say only what you mean
• Use your words in a positive way towards yourself and others

When you are impeccable with your words you will feel good, energized, happy.

A former boss of mine used to say, “complaining will not change anything, so why do it?”

Second agreement: Do not take anything personal

When you do not take situations in a personal way, you remove the emotional load it contains.

We all have good days and not so good days, and this influences our reactions, so do not take it personally. You never know if a person is going through a personal storm during that moment of his or her life. By not taking things personally, you prevent falling into victimization behavior.

Third agreement: Always put your best effort

When you give your 120%, you know you gave the best of you so you will not regret anything. You may not see immediate results, but sometimes you are sowing for tomorrow.

Fourth agreement: Do not suppose

Be clear when asking. If you have doubts, if you see a behavior in someone that is of interest to you, ask with prudence. Supposing increases the risk of fabricating unfounded stories in your own mind.

Cool your mood and keep your productivity with a S.O.D.A.

By Carolina Lozada

Click aqui para español- >Refresca tu estado de ánimo y mantén tu productividad con una S.O.D.A.

Have you experienced one or a couple of external situations that have ruined your day?

You cannot always control what happens around you. However, you can always control how you respond to the situation and therefore you can control and keep being productive.

The following method is based on neuroscience and can be very helpful when you feel that your mood is starting to go from a good to a not so good mood. It’s known as S.O.D.A., which stands for Stop, Observe, Detach, and Act. It has been proven effective, and takes only 1 minute to put in practice. You and your body will thank you for it.

STOP: 

Stop for a moment and...

If you are sitting in a meeting, move your body slightly from front to back.

If it’s conversation on the phone, walk.

Drink a glass of water.

Observe: the situation as if you were outside it to gain perspective and rationality.

Detach: The emotions associated with the event like frustration, sadness

Act: Take the most convenient actions to adapt or manage the event.

The objective of these actions is to send a different signal to the brain and distract it from the “getting angry” signal. A sudden change of mood is interpreted by the brain as a threat, so it sends a message to your whole body of “fight or flight”, which reduces your ability to make rational decisions and increases impulsivity.

Consequently, in the short term, you will lose much of your physical and mental energy feeling literally as if you had been in a physical fight. This leaves you exhausted, which takes recovery time and affects your productivity. A long term consequence is that, you are at risk of saying or doing something that you will regret later once the event has passed.