Latina Leader Spotlight: Ana Consuelo Matiella

Q: Introduce yourself, what is your ethnicity, where have you lived and where do you currently reside?

A: I am Ana Consuelo Matiella and I am Co Founder and Content Director of De Las Mias.I identify as a Chicana and my heritage is Mexican and Spanish. My mom was born in Mexico; my dad was born in Spain; and I was born in Mexico - Nogales, Sonora, to be exact. So I am a border rat in addition to being a proud Chicana. I currently live in Portland, Oregon but spent the last 30 years in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I raised Sada, my daughter. She is also Co-Founder and CEO.

Q: Tell us about your creation De Las Mías!

A: De Las Mias is a bilingual platform - built by Latinas for Latinas. Sada and I founded De Las Mias because we saw a great need and a great problem. Over 50% of Latinas are obese and 73% of us are overweight. These statistics put us at high risk for prediabetes, diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and some cancers.

There is more than one thing wrong. One thing that is wrong is how we treat the issue of overweight and obesity and what we expect bodies to look like. Obesity is a public health problem but how the mainstream deals with obesity and Latinas (and other POC) is another problem.

So we set out to build a solution that is built for Latinas and by Latinas. We are always iterating of course, and we don't always get it right. But our philosophy is that our food is healthy, our bodies are beautiful and worthy of all good things, and that if we unite and create a culture of health we will overcome and become the healthy chingonas we are destined to be.

We are not a diet club. We believe that if we build good and healthy habits over time, we will arrive at a healthy weight in a more natural way. We are not a "lose 30 pounds by Christmas" - solution.

Q: What was your inspiration to create?

A: The dismal way that health education and health information is delivered to our people.

Q: Why is mental health just as important as physical health?

A: It is all connected. You can't be have one without the other. Take the depression diabetes connection. Depression is very high among folks with diabetes and there are many reasons and layers to this. Fat stigma is real and it turns into a mental health crisis pretty quickly.

Q: Where does the inspiration for your recipes come from?

A: Lori, my sister and test kitchen chef is a great cook and her husband developed heart disease at a very young age - in his 30s - and she learned to cook for him in a way that knocked our socks off. I remember the first time she made pozole out of chicken instead of pork and how amazing it was.

She and Malena Perdomo, who is our nutritionist and a certified diabetes educator adapted all of our recipes. They meet the highest USDA standards and you have no inclination to feel deprived from enjoying these recipes.

Q: What do you envision for your app in the future?

A: I envision that our platform, not just the app, right? De Las Mias is much more than an App. We want to create a movement; we want to create a culture of health where eating good food and moving our bodies with joy becomes a way of life for us. I don't want Latinx kids to have diabetes. I want that to stop.

We want to create a culture of health for our community. Latinas are the power center of the family. If we are healthy, the whole family benefits. If we are not, the whole family suffers. We have to take that power and make it ours. We have to control this narrative so our people can thrive.

Q: What’s a good first-step to living a healthy lifestyle?

A: Move your body every day for 30 minutes. Find some physical activity that gives you joy and do that. Get a bike. There are many first steps. If you look at our healthy lifestyle checklist, you can choose any one of those activities and that is a good first step.

Q: Who are your Latina inspirations?

A: My maternal aunts, mis madrinas, - I wrote a book about them. Las Madrinas - Life Among My Mothers. My tia Paqui was a teacher in Mexico and she taught me how to write, and my Mamachelo, paternal aunt was a business woman and philanthropist. Read my stories about them.

I hope they inspire other Latinas. We all have powerful Latina women in our lives; we need to find those stories and tell them, live them, retell them. We are strong people. Did you know that Latina life expectancy is higher than anyone's in this country? We live long lives. Now we just have to live long healthy lives. Imagine what we could do if we were healthier? Watch out, world!

Q: What advice do you have for Latinas who want to do what you do?

A: FInd what you love and do it. Work hard. Find a mentor. Preferably a powerful Latina, if you are Latina, but mentors come in all shapes, colors and sizes. Eat vegetables. Drink water.

Q: How can we keep up with you?

A: Jackie Rodriguez is our social media guru and she does a fantastic job on instagram. Follow us on instagram and please give us suggestions and feedback. We need you.