publisher’s letter

Why does Cuerpo exist? Why did we create a new magazine for Latin women — and all the non-Latinas who share our world? Why should you sample this issue, read it, absorb it, subscribe to it?

Passion for life is the answer. Real passion, the kind where you say what you mean and mean what you say and then act on it. Real life, not a slick, idealized, homogenized, focus-grouped, shrink-wrapped version of it. My passion for life is a positive and fiery passion, with a love for peace and beauty and well-being at its core.

But while I routinely expose my heart for all to see and act on this energy, my head is not in the clouds. You and I are real people, with families we love and strong cultural heritages that both inspire and sometimes hamper us. We cherish and celebrate many parts of our heritage. But we also want to evolve beyond the parts that tell us what we cannot accomplish or decide for ourselves. Our families and heritages should be the foundation, the stage, from which we leap and dance. From this stage we gain the courage and conviction to change and grow, to reach beyond the expectations of our mothers and grandmothers.

Cuerpo (body) represents the center of all my beliefs and efforts. It’s not just pretty pictures and glossy ads and celebrity news and a way to kill time in the doctor’s waiting room. This magazine means something very important to me, and I hope it affects you deeply. I want it to be your place to meet others like you, to find out about the struggles and successes of others who may not always be exactly like you, and to learn and expand.

Cuerpo is the nexus of all the threads in my life (please take a deep breath here!): Strength, growth, curiosity, spirituality, healing, self-acceptance, wellness, balance, arts, community, and activism.

Yes, that’s a lot of threads! But I list all of these because they are so strongly intertwined. These threads form the fabric of our lives — or, at least, they should. In a truly healthy, positive, and constructive life, a life bursting past doubt and narrow-mindedness, these threads flex and grow and criss-cross endlessly to create an unstoppable whole: a oneness, a body, a cuerpo.

My beliefs, my passion for life, my yearning — my fire — all have roots in my Latin heritage (Puerto Rican, if you’re interested). I tap this well daily, and I’m absolutely driven to reach out and draw on the energy and creativity of all my Latin sisters. But I also know that “Latin” is not the beginning and end of my world or yours. We live together in a wonderful multicultural guisado, and I want to learn whatever I can from my Anglo sisters, my African sisters, my Asian sisters, all of whom are here with us in the Americas.

Cuerpo Magazine is Latin-flavored and Latin-inspired (I hope you feel the heat!), but it is for all women of the Americas — at least, all the women who share this passion for growth and spirituality and enlightenment.

So please: keep the peace and pass the love. And tell your best friend about Cuerpo.