Latina Leader Spotlight: Sam Carmenate
Q: What is your ethnicity, where have you lived, and where do you currently live?
A: Mami y Papi are Cuban and I was born and raised in Miami, Florida. I moved to Gainesville, FL for undergrad, and am now in Maine for med school - the exact opposite of Florida, and yes, I am terrified of what's to come in Winter! The worst "winter" I experienced in Miami was about 55 degrees!
Q: Tell us about Twinkle!
A: So, if you take a quick look at any of the FairyTales that Mami y Papi read us when we were kids, you'd see that they're pretty damn terrible. Women are married off against their will, they always need a prince to save them, and all the focus is on their singing and looks; there is never any real mention of their smarts, personality, and to top it off - there is zero diversity! I don't think any parent would argue when I say that I don't want my kids absorbing these messages! Through Twinkle, I will aim to change all of this :)
I've gained the interest of 30+ artists from around the world who truly believe in this message, artists from 6 of the 7 continents actually (couldn't find anyone in Antarctica)! Once we manage to reimagine the classic fairytales we all know, each artist is going to choose old myths and legends from their home countries, and we are going to bring those to life, too! The way I see it is, what better way to teach our kids about other cultures, than to read them captivating stories from other countries? Once we get the ball rolling, I also plan on having the stories translated into many different languages, as well as audiobook capabilities for those with vision impairments!
Q: Why did you create this app?
A: The app isn't actually made, yet! I launched a Kickstarter Campaign in order to raise funds to create the app, and in return, I am offering backers a nostalgic, Gold-Foiled FairyTale Book :)
Starting around the time I was 12 years old, while reading fairytales to my much younger sister, I began realizing that the stories had terrible messages, especially for younger girls. I ended up having to omit certain parts of stories, or change them all together. Fast forward 11 years later, and it seems like nothing has changed for those old tales! I began seeing articles pop up about schools banning these books from their libraries, and celebrity parents banning them from their houses - this made me sad! I understood why they were being thrown away, but I had an attachment to them and wanted my kids to enjoy them like I did. Then came Twinkle.
Q: What is the goal for your creation?
A: Studies show that approximately less than a quarter of all characters in kids books that are human (a lot of characters are animals) are minorities - less than a quarter! My goal for Twinkle is to rewrite classic fairytales that include princesses who don't need no man, create better examples for little boys, and represent the beautifully diverse world we live in so that any child can relate to the characters :)
Q: What does it mean to you to be a Latina entrepreneur?
A: It's the thing I am most proud of honestly. Since I left Miami, I never really experienced what it was like to be a minority - everyone in Miami is like me! My time in Gainesville, and now Maine, have really opened my eyes to this and have made me more proud than ever to represent Latinx culture through a creation of my own :)
Q: Who is your Latina inspiration?
A: Shakira, hands down. Her work ethic is incredible, and she does so much charity work without immediately contacting some PR company to report on it - it's impossible to not like her.
Q: How can people follow your journey and support the dream?
A: Share the Kickstarter Campaign! Take a look at the Hardcover I am having printed for Kickstarter supporters, and share it with your family and friends - it's beautiful and makes a great gift for the holidays! For those who would like to support the campaign, but don't have children, I am offering a package with no shipping costs which has the book delivered to the charity you pick from my list (I have a list on the page which are all wonderful). :)
I've gotten a lot of great feedback on my campaign, but I've spread it almost entirely by word of mouth. I am a student living on loans, so I can't go out and pay for advertising like the big projects do - I love me some arroz con frijoles y huevo, but I wouldn't want to live off that for months!
