Health 101: La Loba Loca

It should be no secret that Health 101 is my absolute favorite thing about this blog. All the interviews represent a diversity that is invaluable. Every time I read one of these interviews, I gain a new perspective, and my knowledge grows in a way that I don't think I could have gotten any other way. I was truly blown away by the following interview. I sought out La Loba Loca after reading an amazing article she wrote, and was overjoyed when she agreed to share her views here at Hella Natural. 

Enjoy this thoughtful, thought-provoking article, and don't forget to share! 

How would you define healthy living?

This is a tough question! The quick answer is: when you are working with your body, mind, spirit, and environment in a healthy manner. The answer to that question gets complicated though, I think it is very important to know that 'healthy living' is not accessible for most people, and also that this 'search' for healthy living is so commercialized, white and often portrayed as a personal journey. 

I live in Echo Park, a neighborhood that has been white-fied and turned into this horrible white hipster/yuppie playground. There are all these small businesses that focus on vegan food, fruit-juice cleansing, organic vegan ice creams, and all these other horribly expensive spots that are viewed as 'healthy'. These new 'healthy' spots are by no means accessible to long-term residents of color. This is just one example of the way 'healthy' living can be very commercial and white. 

This white-fication and appropriation of sustainability and health enrages me. People of color and indigenous communities have been practicing sustainability and traditional medicine forever, but we are not recognized. The only time when traditional healing practices pertaining to people of color are recognized is when white people steal them, name them something else, and sell them for ridiculous amounts of money. We need to start decolonizing and de-commercializing healthy living, and making sure that the information is getting to The People.

It bothers me that mainstream healthy living puts such an emphasis on the individual. What do I get by being healthy when there is people in the same neighborhood that I live in that: 1) can't afford the good veggies at the farmer's market 2) are literally being kicked out/evicted from the homes they have been living for decades 3)are being constantly harassed by the police and incarcerated 4) are in fear of deportation 5) are in fear of white people calling the cops on their children 6) are impacted by systemic violence that in turn impacts people's mental and physical health.

To me, healthy living needs to come from a community base and social justice perspective. It is great that I am able to be healthy right now, but what am I doing to provide resources and information to those people around me so they can be healthy as well? That is one of the reasons why I started my tumblr/blog, I wanted to make sure that I was sharing resources and talking about the appropriation of healing practices. I also started an online cooking show series called La Loba Loca Coxina, the idea behind this project is to show people of color cooking healthy and plant-based food. I also offer skill-shares in community events and university settings, I call them knowledge shares, and the idea is to create a dialogue between the participants and myself and to learn from each other.

If we are talking about healthy living, we have to keep it real, and to acknowledge our privileges and also understanding that our survival depends on Mother Earth, non-human animals such as pollinators, and labor of people. The current system is based on the compartmentalization of labor makes us forget that we need Mother Earth and animals to have food to eat, it also separates us from food production and the labor (often times slave migrant labor) that it takes to get an organic tomato into our salsa. We need to start looking at ourselves in the plants growing in our gardens, in the bees looking for nectar, and also in the workers that pick our food. We need to stop thinking in a linear fashion, and start understanding the world around us through connections, if we do not respect Mother Earth, and if we do not think about how we negatively affect Mother Earth's health, then what are we doing?

Was there a turning point in your life that made you decide to become healthier?

I had the privilege of growing up with a mama that only cooked vegetarian meals, she hated soda and it was almost impossible to get my parents to take us to a fast food restaurant. We are from a place in Peru called Arequipa, so my parents grew up eating mostly locally grown foods. We moved to Santiago, Chile when I was young, and fast food was way more expensive than actual food, so my parents rarely fed us fast food. I was lucky to come from a family, specially my mama that was into DIYing everything and cooking from scratch. 

When I moved to the US, I started eating horribly, I ate all the meats I could get a hold of because it was something we didn't have at home. When I was around 20-years old I started waking up with pain in my hands and fingers, it scared me, so I asked some of my family members if they knew what was happening and my aunt told me that pork meat makes your joints hurt. So I decided to stop hurting myself and stopped eating meat. Little by little, I started realizing that there were certain food, like milk and cheese that made me feel gross, so I stopped eating those as well. 

I started realizing the impact that migrating to the US had on my health, so I like to think of my health practices and choices as a way to resist the sickness that invades this country– it is all about decolonizing that health! I also started thinking about my current healthy habits as a way to honor the labor my family, specially my mama, did to keep me healthy and strong when I was growing up and under their care.

What piece of knowledge would you like to share with others?

Two things: eating more raw food and acknowledging the importance of ancestral knowledge. I recently started being more conscious about eating raw food, I grew up eating tons of raw veggies and fruits, but in the last couple of years I started falling for the comfort of cooked food. I have been including fermented foods and drinks to my diet, as well as sprouting and marinating veggies. 

I have this 50% raw & 50% cooked guideline I created to make sure I am eating enough raw food. Having a good raw sauce always makes a big difference; I make this delicious green sauce in the blender that you can use as a salad dressing or just eat it straight up from the blender! Get a blender, add some garlic, lemon juice, greens (any greens!), nuts, some salt, and some chile, blend it and you will end up with a delicious creamy green sauce.

 Introducing raw food to your diet makes you feel more energized and also lighter, cultures around the world have fermented and marinated fruit and veggies so ask around, ask your grandparents and see how they were eating raw back in the day. I think that the system we currently live in makes us forget that our families and ancestors possess healing and health practices that have been passed down generation to generation. We need to start documenting, asking, and interviewing our elders and families about healing practices and medicines- I call the ancestral knowledge that is passed down through word of mouth, Abuelita Knowledge. I recently wrote an article focused on reusable mxnstrual products and Abuelita Knowledge, you can find it here.

What is the one natural product you can’t live without?

Breathing! I recently realized that for most of my life I was not breathing correctly. Nobody taught me how to breathe and nobody told me the importance of breathing! Oxygen is necessary for the appropriate functioning of the body, breathing can help us re-charge, increase energy levels, de-stress, boost our immune system, increase flow of oxygen, give our muscles more flexibility and more! Also, air is free and natural (minus the pollutants) so take advantage of the air; take a deep breath and see how the air fits in your body.

What piece of advice would you give your younger self?

Growing up I always felt that I had the potential to make beautiful things, and create change. I never voiced it, but I always felt a fire right above my tummy and in between my ribs. I would like to go back and tell my younger self: Yes that fire that you feel in you is real, you are powerful and yes you have the power to create change. I would also like to go back and tell my younger self that ageism is real (we live in a very anti-youth system) and that no matter how old you are you are always going to deal with shit (that whole ' it gets better' corporate gay campaign is a lie) so stay true to yourself and question EVERYTHING. I am still young though, I am only 24-years-old! 

What makes you hella fresh?

Mmm... I am not sure... I mean there are qualities about myself that I am proud of and very grateful to possess, but I see these qualities reflected in many people around me, so they are not 'unique' to me.

Where can we find you in the webosphere? 

I am literally everywhere in the internet. My main site is lalobaloca.com where you can find more information about my photography work, body-powered tattoo art, and skill-shares I offer. I also have a tumblr, which is a blog where I post original writings, ramblings, images, resources and more.- you can check it out at lalobalocaart.tumblr.com. I also have a FB page where I keep folx up to date with what I am up to, you can follow me at facebook.com/lalobaloca. You can also check out my online store at lalobaloca.bigcartel.com where you can purchase re-purposed bike jewelry and reusable moonstrual pads. Finally, you can check out my fundraiser page here if you are interested on supporting Queer Brown Birth Workers,  I have tons of perks in the fundraiser, and all funds will go towards my midwifery and full spectrum doula/support education. 

Want to read more from La Loba Loca? Check out these articles:

D.I.Y and Locally Made Food: What the Hipsters Didn't Tell You
Reclaiming Abuelita Knowledge as a Brown Ecofeminista