Let Your Sazón Shine Through - podcast episode cover

Let Your Sazón Shine Through

Aug 25, 202333 minSeason 4Ep. 26
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Episode description

H&C sit down with viral sensation Little Sazon Packet, Rita Torrez.


The Boricua from the  Bronx opens up about leaving her government job to entertain and inspire us on social media via her funny yet very relatable videos. But not all is fun and games when it comes to the social media, Rita tells us how she deals with negativity and hateful comments plus shares tips for creators on the fence about sharing their content. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

Speaker 1

I'm Honey German. My parents are Dominican. I was born and raised in New York City. I love sneakers and I'm a body positive padicate.

Speaker 2

I'm Carolina Bermudez, Soy Nika a wendsay, but I was born and raised in Ohio. I'm a wife, a mama, and a worker bee. This is life in Spanglish over the pandemic. She has racked up so many views, over one hundred million views. She has over three hundred thousand follows on Instagram and Facebook. She is one of my personal favorites. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome Lil suss On Package. I don't know I should I call you Rita because that is your real name? Right? Which iver was found with me?

Speaker 3

Little sass On packet is fine and Rita's fine.

Speaker 2

Whichever is fine. The first question I have is how did you come up with Little sass On packet? Because anybody who listens to Life in Spanglish knows the little sass On packets that mom and dad had to use right where you meet Mom and dad how us. So it's funny enough.

Speaker 4

I actually got that nickname from going to battle rap events. I was the only Latina. That was like really in the front. So at one point I had the artists. When I got to know them, they were like, you need to make sure you come because you're like a little Spanish seasoning.

Speaker 2

I was like, yeah, I'm like a little sas on packet. Huh.

Speaker 3

And they're like, that's it, that's name, that's it. And I was like, okay, I guess that's what we're calling me now. So my drop, my drop little packets here.

Speaker 2

And then Eminem is going to battle. Right, little name in there said.

Speaker 4

Your your full name, give it to us. Your full name is Rita.

Speaker 2

Oh my gosh, I couldn't Spanish all the way. My father was like, let that ring. Yeah, that just rolled. That rolled off the So. So but your friends call you Rita. Yes, so now we're friends and you're Puerto Rican. Yes, I am from the Bronx. Hello, So you're the only one, right, No, I'm.

Speaker 1

So.

Speaker 2

Is that where you were born and raised?

Speaker 4

Born and raised in the Bronx. Yeah, I have a big family. I'm one of so yeah.

Speaker 2

Why by the way, I'm one of six, so I don't know.

Speaker 4

You know, big families and stuff. So yeah, yeah, I'm like the middle from my mom. Again, there's eight of us, three from my mom. Papa was a rolling stone. But I love my big family and that's what I guess. Well, the personality comes from Okay.

Speaker 2

So now I have to put honey on. The first time I ever saw you on Instagram, I swear I had to rewatch this video several times.

Speaker 1

Remember which video was?

Speaker 2

Absolutely? Because it's a series? Now is it a series for you? Because of how to look good? Pachi? This is actually a fat cheep right now.

Speaker 3

Yes, yeah, it's a series for me that I started.

Speaker 2

I don't know what the algorithm did to bless me. But this day I was, you know, on your Discover page, like you don't know, like what you're gonna find.

Speaker 1

I've always for you today, Caen.

Speaker 2

Totally, So I was on there. I'm always looking for recipes or like you know, organization things or whatever. And then somehow on the reals section, she pops up and she's like me, MEI and I died because it's so true. That's something like you know that we as latin As we have that you know where it's like my my grandmother, my Abelita, used to say noees el bastillo es la Perca. That's facts, and I felt like that in the media connection to you. So then I was like, this girl

is funny. So then I went to your page and I started watching all of your other reels and I just was like, Oh, that's crazy.

Speaker 3

It's amazing to hear that from you. Honestly, yes, but I did.

Speaker 2

You know, Normally, you watch a video, you crack up, and then you move on, you know. But then I was like, I need to know more about this girl, because there is something so dynamic and beautiful about you, and we're going to get into like, you know, your messaging and what you know, your messages to your fans and everything. But I just loved it because I thought to myself, I'm like, how many times do we as women want to look amazing but we just don't have it? You know, It's just not there.

Speaker 4

It's crazy because when I when I first the video, Honestly, whenever I do video, I don't think that they're gonna hit.

Speaker 3

It's not like I sit there and I think, oh, this was going viral.

Speaker 4

It was just one of those days that I put on a little twenty dollar dress that I got and I was like, oh, Mama, looked good. And then I was just like, I'm gonna record this because I was like, again, like you said, there are so many of us as women, we just want to look good. We want to go out and feel good about ourselves. And sometimes people get caught up in the names Gucci to be Chuocci and you gotta wear.

Speaker 3

A product, and I'm like, listen, I got at it.

Speaker 2

I'm not mad at it.

Speaker 3

If you got it, you got it, but I ain't got it.

Speaker 4

So I was like, you know what, whatever I do got, If I got Rainbow money, that's what's gonna happen today, and we're gonna make sure we treat.

Speaker 3

It like I'm out here, yes at the Oscars.

Speaker 2

And then sometimes you got that Zara money sometimes that's it. Sometimes you got the Fashion Nova money. Like it's whatever your budget is. You can look good for whatever your price ranges. And so when I when I made the video, I really didn't think nothing of it. And then people started messaging me and like.

Speaker 4

Oh my god, yes I like my little five dollar dress too, but I got like three dollar braces, and.

Speaker 2

I'm like, yes, this is a whole world. People like this, so but we need more moments like that. I feel like as women just in general, to just connect with each other and also to keep it real, because like that is the one thing about Instagram that I've been seeing more and more. Like that's why we say like real versus fake, you know. And there was just something that was so real and genuine about you that I

just appreciated. And it's not all clothing and things like you get great messaging about dating and family and work and just you know, motivation, which I thought was really interesting. So take us all the way back. What were you doing prior to you know, doing TikTok and Instagram?

Speaker 4

So I waitressed for many years, and then of course when the pandemic hit, I had just got into working for the post office.

Speaker 2

So it was one of those things that again I come from a Sasa family.

Speaker 4

My family's like performers, so I've always had that inmates to be like, you know, some kind of stage presence. But I didn't want to dance, so I would make videos and I knew that I wanted to pursue that route, like acting or some kind of entertainment. Yeah, but again I was working at the post office post office sixteen hours shifts, six days a week, mama was tired.

Speaker 2

But you're in this job where it's like grueling. It's like you have to put in your hours.

Speaker 4

Yeah, And I was delivering packages and things like that.

Speaker 2

And what I noticed online is that I had.

Speaker 4

Friends during that time kind of like entering answered during the pandemic, and they were doing.

Speaker 3

Really well for themselves.

Speaker 4

But I always felt like I saw influencers kind of want to make you be them, but never want you to be kind of you. It's like have this kind of lifestyle like me, or like this is what I do, and you get all these people that just want to be them, and I'm like, I don't feel like anybody's like okay with themselves, Like at least that message is it's okay to be you. So when I started doing videos, like I was getting my little two views one was for my mother and I'm.

Speaker 2

Like, okay, five, Like I got it.

Speaker 4

But eventually they just started to kind of like take off. And I want to say I wasn't prepared for it in a sense because I just didn't think that the message would resonate with as many people as it did.

Speaker 3

So then here we are now.

Speaker 1

Like of course it would, because I feel like the problem with influencers. Everybody wants you to envy them. Yeah, I know people that won't even post where they live because other influencers have these beautiful homes that they don't even feel appropriate to record in their own space anymore.

Speaker 2

Honey, I want you to rewind. I want you to say that again because that was such a honestly a profound statement that you feel like Instagram influencers want you to envy them. I never looked at it that well.

Speaker 1

Of course, look at my look at my kitchen, look at my bathroom, look at my versace.

Speaker 2

I always record everything. I always this is just me. I want people to recognize and know that I am humble that I.

Speaker 4

Because you're looking for people to relate to you, not people to envy your wanting that there's a mentalities out there for a lot of influence to be like you got to kind of be like me or want what I have, And I'm looking for the connection record in certain spaces because they feel like it's not Instagram worths.

Speaker 3

The aesthetics is not good enough because.

Speaker 1

People now people have mansioned. They're over there in Texas. You know, my floors are heated, and it's I feel like it's a disservice to so to see someone that you know that you can relate to and be like, yo, like I shop at Rainbow's two, or I love my ten dollar dresses, like I welcome it because so many other people make you feel inferior and like just that your life is not valid because it's not like their.

Speaker 4

Life a certain lifestyle in order to be like or something that's it's like it's it's saying it without saying it, of course, And so that's why.

Speaker 3

It was just one of those things. When I do my videos, I shoot it in my living room with my parrot in the background.

Speaker 2

My favorite is the bathroom with the bathroom with the with the sheet with the bathroom curtains. She's like, y'all don't get this BS.

Speaker 4

Honest, y'all gona know the message is for real for me, and it's not like I'm not trying to like be anything that I'm not.

Speaker 2

When you're in your bathroom, I know it smells like I'm telling you so. So. Then so you're still working at the post office, like we said, you're you're grinding sixteen hour days. You are delivering those packages and now you're delivering package that. So when did you think to yourself, because I think this is a critical or a pivotal moment in people's career, when did you say to yourself, I am going to take the leap.

Speaker 4

Honestly, it wasn't even like I had made that decision. I had gotten very sick from working in the post office and working such long hours. And again it was during the pandemic, so everybody was spending the stimulus checks, you know, ordering from Amazon. So it was just it was very intense. And at one point I had dropped forty pounds in a month.

Speaker 2

Oh wow.

Speaker 4

Yeah, I ended up hospitalized and the doctor told me. They were like, your body is breaking down way too much for somebody who is just thirty years old. If you continue on this route, you are going to die.

Speaker 2

Wow.

Speaker 3

And so I remember it because of work, Because of the work stress. It was beyond stress.

Speaker 4

It was just like, like I said, since you're running up and down steps all day delivering packages, it's just like it's physically demanding.

Speaker 1

Oh, because you're in the city, Yeah, I'm thinking of houses.

Speaker 4

No, I'm doing this in the Bronx oh Fordham Road, all the businesses, so it's just like it's physically demanding, of course mentally like demanding everything.

Speaker 2

I wasn't getting enough sleep.

Speaker 4

So when the doctor gave me that real conversation of being like, if you continue on, you will lose your life and you are only thirty, it was like, I kind of have to make a choice about something and I can't continue to do this.

Speaker 2

Yeah, I want you to continue this. We're going to take a short break, but I am dying to hear the rest of this. So we're gonna we're gonna break for a second and then we'll be back with Little Sasson Packet. MANA, all right, guys, now we are back with Sassoon. You know her as Little Sassoon Packet on

all social media channels. And you were just filling us in on that moment when you said, well, actually it was decided for you that you were going to stop working and you were going to devote yourself to you know, this new direction. And so I want you to take you through those first couple of weeks where were you just kind of like recording videos and then stopping and being like, nah, I'm not going to post that. Were you like doubting yourself or were you just all in. No,

I don't think. I don't think for a second.

Speaker 4

I was on like I was myself because at the point, because I had loved when I left the post office.

Speaker 3

Again, it was in the pandemic, so it's not like I could.

Speaker 4

Just find another job. So I was like, at this point, I have to make whatever I'm doing work for me. And let me tell you, I would just make video after video after things that I thought, and what was crazy is that nothing was taking off. And finally when a video took off, it only took off because somebody else.

Speaker 3

You know how TikTok, they.

Speaker 2

Can use your voice. Yeah, so somebody else used my.

Speaker 4

Voice and the video blew up on their page. Wait, which one wasn't it was?

Speaker 2

It was an old.

Speaker 4

Rant where I said something along the lines of if you like, if you cheat on me, your trash and the woman who has you like a raccoon, if you want to take my man, something like that. Yeah, yeah, and the person did my voice over didn't accredit me, and it went like megaviral.

Speaker 1

ND there I think I remember the raccoons. I think I remember that people would I think remember this.

Speaker 4

Fourteen point six million on this person's page, and I was like to the point people were coming back to my voice and being like you need to accredit her, and I was like, it's my voice.

Speaker 2

Like I was losing it because I was like, I was like, hold up.

Speaker 4

So eventually that's when I started saying meta in my videos because I was like, I gotta do something that.

Speaker 3

If people hear it, they can attribute it back to me.

Speaker 2

Like you're gonna.

Speaker 3

Knows I've heard that before.

Speaker 2

Yeah.

Speaker 4

Yeah, So then I was like mita And then that was it. That just became the thing with all my rants. Since I knew I had the capability to go viral, I.

Speaker 3

Was like, we're gonna just keep going and see what happens.

Speaker 2

Yeah, unbelievable. Now, we all come from hard working Latino parents. What was the response that you got home and said mommy daddy because you didn't follow in their footsteps literally, like you know, because you said that you come from a salsa dancing family and you decided not to be a performer, so you went the safe ruit, which I believe it is safe when you work for the government or yeah, you have a job like you did. What was that conversation, like.

Speaker 4

So, honestly, my father My mother was all for it. My mother was just like, whatever you're gonna do, you know, she's very supportive. My father was like, don't talk about it, do it. I want to see it. Because there's also dancers, so they couldn't they couldn't really say much about pursuing our entertainment field because that's what they've done themselves. So my dad was just like, listen, I'm gonna be real with you. He was like, if you're gonna do it,

you better do it. He was like, I don't want to hear like you quit on this. He was like, go for it, and I want to see the results.

Speaker 2

And I was like, all right, dad, you got it. So that was it. And it took a while.

Speaker 4

Like I said, those videos were getting those two three. When I got my first one hundred views, I was like, I'm a star.

Speaker 1

Are your parents more Americanized? Like do they understand the concept of what an influencer is?

Speaker 3

To be honest with you, my father he's like he still calls it book face.

Speaker 2

Oh yeah, yeah, yeah yeah.

Speaker 4

He's like I don't do the book face and the gram stuff. But like he's he's learning about social media, but he doesn't know about like the world of like do you understand.

Speaker 1

Like the concept of like this is your occupation. But I feel like a lot of Latino parents when you're writer, when your painter, when you're a poet.

Speaker 2

They don't understand.

Speaker 4

He just saw the first check come in and he was like, Okay, it's working.

Speaker 2

So that was what it was.

Speaker 1

Once he saw the money coming, and then he was like, Okay, I.

Speaker 2

Guess I guess he's making it work.

Speaker 4

Yeah, then they can make it support asking me for the money exactly. He was like, oh you're not you could pay for this grub Hub. Okay, yes, I can add because of Rita, no problem.

Speaker 2

I love it.

Speaker 4

So yeah, No, they were just they were always supportive. The one thing I love about my parents is because, again in the sauce of war, they're legendary names.

Speaker 3

So people always assumed.

Speaker 4

Like, oh, you're gonna continue on your father's legacy because he's worked with.

Speaker 1

Them.

Speaker 2

Out who are you give us?

Speaker 3

Her parents Eddie and Maria tours they're known as the Mambo King and Queen.

Speaker 4

So yeah, no, I like, I grew up with this whole mentality of if you're going to make entertainment work, you have to if there's no door.

Speaker 2

Make a door.

Speaker 3

Because my parents have been like that, and so I'm really.

Speaker 4

Grateful for growing up in that kind of environment. But my dad was just like, don't talk about it, Rita. He was like, I want to see you do it.

Speaker 2

And I'm like, this is giving me goosebumps because when I spoke to my parents, my dad's a doctor. My mom raised six kids, so she never had time for a job. And when I went to my mom and dad and I said I want to I want to work in radio and TV and and they both looked at me. And my dad actually was the one who said to me, which is interesting, it was your your dad. In the conversation, my dad said to me, I don't know how to help you, but I'll always support you.

That's beautiful, and he said because it was like with my brothers and sisters. They went to med school. They were, you know, so smart, and they were like applying to medical school and he could guide them and he could tell them what to do. But with me, and that's where I felt like they were very nervous because they didn't know how to direct me or guide me, you know. But he said, I'll always support you, and then to

that effect. When I was, you know, grinding at the beginning of my career and you know, I was doing My mom was the one who reminded me. She's like, e huh, She's like, when you pray and you get it, you have to yourself you prayed for it. You prayed for this, so you can't complain, you know. And so I think that that's something that a lot of people

don't understand about this industry. You know, when you get the blessings or when you get that little foot in the door, you know, you got to totally go for it.

Speaker 4

Yeah, and not only like even with going for it. And I'm sure because you know, you do radio and things like that, the struggle to even be seen as something serious as lad. You know, I started off wanting to be an actor and those doors weren't opening for me. And then I did reality TV and that kind of just didn't work out. I've had several Instagrams because I've had them taken down. People like reporting videos to make sure that nothing grows.

Speaker 2

Honey knows all about that.

Speaker 4

Be super real for me, I've seen what I don't understand. I'm like, I believe that everybody could eat.

Speaker 2

There's enough money.

Speaker 4

If Jeff Bezils has enough money for everybody in this room have houses and stuff, there's enough money out there. So unfortunately, there's people who don't have that mentality that everybody can eat, and they look at it like competition. And so when I tell you that I'm on my seventh this is my seventh instance grand page.

Speaker 3

Oh wow, I was on.

Speaker 4

I was determined. I remember at one point I had eighty thousand followers on TikTok and then my whole page got taken down, and I was like, I'm not doing this anymore.

Speaker 5

Was its like no, no, honestly, what was crazy was my video My TikTok was taken down because during the BLM movement, I said, Latinos, we need to we need to gather together and support this because especially as Caribbean latinas Puerto Ricans, like, that's in my blood, that's a Harris.

Speaker 4

Was back and Brown absolutely and Brown and so whoever whoever it was, I didn't like that message, reported it as hate speech.

Speaker 3

And my whole TikTok was taken down. And I remember because I had at eighty thousand followers at the time, and I was like I'm not doing this again.

Speaker 2

I was like, this is crazy because you build it.

Speaker 3

I had built it, and I was like.

Speaker 2

You know, you don't know if you're going to get that kind of trash it again. Yeah, you know.

Speaker 4

So I remember I had a conversation with a friend who was like, reader, you have to do it again, and I was like, I don't want to. He was like, it's not about what you want. He was like you have to. He was like, you are a face for latinos and he was like, on there's not a lot of us out there, and you were doing something with it, so you need to do it again. And I was like, okay, So now I'm at six hundred thousand.

Speaker 2

Hey hey hey, oh wait, I only said three hundred thousand. Well that's on TikTok though that I got it right.

Speaker 4

Okay, okay, okay, because.

Speaker 2

I was gonna say, I don't want to. I don't want to like, you know, diminish your accomplishments. We have to rewind for a second. You're on reality take reading my mind. Oh no no, no, no, no, we need it. We need to go out because I need to see what was this project. So when I was twenty years old.

Speaker 4

Actually I was on MTV Made I don't know if you guys remember the Shop, and.

Speaker 2

It's that where you would follow someone or you would do something like training.

Speaker 3

They would turn you into whatever you decided to be made about. So yeah, I was on MTV.

Speaker 2

What did you want to be made?

Speaker 3

I want to be made into an actress.

Speaker 2

Oh this is beautiful. We got to do up the archives YouTube. Oh my god.

Speaker 4

Oh yeah, I wanted to be made into an actress. And I told them specifically. I said, listen, you know I live in New York, New York. It's very Broadway.

Speaker 3

I want to do TV.

Speaker 4

And they were like, congratulates, we're gonna turn you into a Broadway star.

Speaker 3

And I said, like you when you're like you shot.

Speaker 2

Me on Broadway.

Speaker 3

They had me auditioned for rent.

Speaker 2

It was.

Speaker 3

It was a whole It was a whole mess.

Speaker 1

Though apparently I got that episode right here.

Speaker 2

Okay, I'm gonna watch it. Send me the links because we're gonna do our research.

Speaker 4

We're already my dad already fought episode.

Speaker 2

I love it.

Speaker 3

That's a lot of thing that she's like, listen all the information.

Speaker 2

Talking.

Speaker 3

So yeah, I was on My Maid.

Speaker 4

Coach was Amanda Seals. Amanda Seal, she went by Amanda Diva at the time. Yeah, yeah, and so she was a really dope individual and yeah, it was.

Speaker 2

A reality t for TV for a little bit. So, well, this is just something you know, I know that there are people who listen to us, and I always say, like, if you're if you're dissatisfied, like with your job, like maybe you're working a desk job, maybe you're doing something just because you know, we all have to get by, right, you know. And and there are people who have that driver, they like, they have that thing inside where they want to be. They want to be doing what you you do,

you know. And so I think that this is such an important story for people to see that this didn't just happen overnight. This has been decades in the making.

Speaker 3

It's a ten years to little like an overnight success.

Speaker 2

Yeah it is. It's so wild. And you know, I do want to get into the psychology of social media with you, because I think that is super important. A lot of people think that once you hit, once you go viral, once you have those like videos, that is all smooth sailing. But when we come back from this break, I want to talk about how you receive messages and you know, how you deal with the criticism, and we'll

touch on that right after this. All right, guys, we are back with Sasong my girl little Sassom packet, and you know you'll hear us color Sasan and Rita and all these other names. But you know what, I am just so thrilled that you're here because you really are truly a success story. And I love building up our fellow Latinas I said, I'm like, oh my gosh, I admire what you're doing. You know, I am an honey knows this about me. I am not the best at Instagram, Facebook,

TikTok for everybody. It isn't I'm not good at editing. I'm not good like I'll be making arrest I'll be making food for my kids, and people like you should record yourself. I'm like, I'm just trying to get me. I just want to feed my kids so that they stop complaining.

Speaker 1

You know.

Speaker 2

So it's like, there are a number of things that go into choosing this as a profession. The one thing that you know, I had mentioned that I wanted to talk to you about was the whole psychology of social media, so with the clicks and with the people sharing, and you know, all of that comes feedback. And you have done some videos which I think I know your stance on this, but I want you to help us and tell us how you deal with like the criticism or the haters, because they're all out there.

Speaker 4

So my big thing is I always tell people whoever want to get involved with this, if you don't love it, don't do it, because the feedback that you get, and I'm sure you got brutal.

Speaker 3

It is absolutely brutal. And I'm a big believer of when people.

Speaker 4

Say, oh, but you posted it on the internet, It's like, but you also posted your comment on the internet, which means if you have a right to respond, so do I. That's how I feel, and I believe in being a sweetheart and not a doormat where most people I think the internet has just become a safe space for bullies.

Speaker 3

A lot of people attack you when you defend yourself.

Speaker 2

And they be like, well, you just have to ignore it.

Speaker 4

It's like no, at some point you have to take hold of your mental health because it can't affect you and be like, this is not a page that you can just speak freely in not necessarily disagreement.

Speaker 2

That's fine.

Speaker 3

You can disagree with me.

Speaker 4

You don't have to disrespect me in order to disagree with me. And I'm a big fan of that, Like tell me your stance if you don't agree, but you don't have to come at my character or just go out of your way.

Speaker 3

To be nasty in order to get your point across.

Speaker 2

It's so simple because it's a human thing, right, Like, you know, we're all human, and people think that just because you're putting something out there. It's just like reality TV starts, they say, well, you signed up for it, well you knew what reality TV was. Well you don't also know how people are going to receive a message,

see you know what I mean. So there are people who have innocently been on reality TV or who are influencers who don't necessarily think that people are going to digest the things that they given.

Speaker 4

And they don't know how it's going to be edited either, where it's just like that sentence may have not gone down the way it was portrayed, and now now you're seeing as like, you know, this awful person is like, but that's not.

Speaker 2

What happened, right, you know, so again, when.

Speaker 4

When you post on social media, a lot of times, like I've said, I go in with the mentality of like, this is how I feel at the time, whether I'm wrong or right, I'm always going to be real about it and respectful, and that's how I deliver my message. Right and I've gotten ridiculous. Then I have people tell me like they want my family killed, like I've gotten like really harsh messages. And that's why I'm a big believer. Of course, blocking is my number one thing.

Speaker 2

Babe.

Speaker 4

You got to go because you're not going to get your first life on my page. Not today, no bye, but there's time.

Speaker 2

That's what we're not doing. Yeah, we're not any kind of like you know fodder.

Speaker 4

User five sixty nine three who want to act crazy, not today, not here. But I'm also again a big believer of you should be able to take a stand for yourself on your page and be like enough, like you don't have to attack me in order to have a conversation with me if you don't agree.

Speaker 2

Which which videos do you think have received that type of feedback? All of them? All of that. See, that's what I don't understand because when I did my deep dive like back, and gosh, I've been following you out. I don't even know how long have we been talking, like a year or so or so, like yeah, because I reached out to her and I was like, I love your content, like and I feel like it's so important again, you know, I'm not just saying this I am. I don't know if I'm part of the minority. I

only put goodness out on social media. I only big people up. I only tell them you're amazing, like I love you, even if people look at me like a fangirl, like I said, I'm like a puppy dog, you know. But I think it's so important, so I've never When I do get feedback like that, it's it's so hurtful to me because it's like that's not even in my own character or my nature, you know. So it's like with your videos.

Speaker 1

Is there like a pattern, like is it a you know, it's said all is it a certain type of person?

Speaker 2

Is it other women?

Speaker 1

Is it men?

Speaker 3

Like I said Latinos, It's it's all of the above.

Speaker 4

And it's even more hurtful when it comes from like Latinos too, because I'm.

Speaker 3

Like, I'm trying to try us out there, us out there.

Speaker 4

So basically I know I do so Basically a lot of people I believe they speak from their triggers, and so their problem isn't with you, It's just that they are triggered from whatever they feel like.

Speaker 3

You're the messages and insecure about and so they have to find a reason to attack you.

Speaker 4

So for example, even the cheap videos where I'm like, oh you can look good but cheap, I've had people come in and be like, oh, you say that now, but somebody else is probably buying those outfits for you, or you only say that because you look like that. So don't try to encourage people when your body is like this. So when i have a huge message about having a football where I'm like, listen, I love my little back rolls and my jelly rolls.

Speaker 2

And if it's here today, it's here today.

Speaker 4

If it's not body positive, people like you don't have a big enough stomach to talk like I'm like.

Speaker 1

Oh yeah, They're like, they say hold on, really they want Liz, it'll pull up.

Speaker 2

They say, oh sorry.

Speaker 3

It's like like I tell what I tell people.

Speaker 4

I gained I was one hundred and twenty five pounds. I'm now one seventy.

Speaker 2

That's a big like, that's a big weight game jump from me.

Speaker 1

I don't have a badass body.

Speaker 2

I'm telling you. By the way, Fred the Mailman, okay, he is one of our male listeners, so always comments he is about to follow you just be prepared. Package is beautiful. You you hear the whole package. But even just that statement right there, yeah we're not big enough.

Speaker 3

To Yeah, yeah you're not big enough or like I had.

Speaker 4

I'll get a lot of backhanded compliments, but I think are even worse where they're just like, girl, you're so gorgeous, But honestly, I think you're kind of fraudulent because you say this, but it's only because your stomach looks like this.

Speaker 2

And I'm like, I'm like, respectfully, like I've never had kids.

Speaker 4

My body has never changed from that, so I can only talk about the changes that I've dealt with, which is, you know, the weight game.

Speaker 2

So I'm see you're coming in with honesty and just the fact that you told people you were one twenty five and now you're this or you know, a lot of people would never you know what I mean. And it's like I think that people need to put things in perspective. But you can't teach everybody.

Speaker 4

You can't teach that, like I said, a lot of people. That's why one of my slogans is argue with your therapists, because.

Speaker 3

I don't have time.

Speaker 4

If you and whatever is triggering you to be especially if my message is positive, whatever triggering you to be nasty, you're gonna have to tell your therapist because you're not gonna argue with me over it. Like I believe in the message that I say. Everything that I say on social media, I really stand behind.

Speaker 2

So I'm fragile. I'd be crying in my closet. Girls, She's like, I got this girl with my bad leant. Oh no, it's the computer.

Speaker 4

You know. It got to the point I'm not just like you said. It got to the point that I used to spend hours going back and forth with people pressure like that, you know, because you go for there when you go to Latino family Like growing up in the Bronx, my mom was like, if I ever hear that somebody's bullying you and you're not doing nothing back, we're gonna have a problem at home.

Speaker 2

So I was like, nobody, nobody.

Speaker 3

Gonna talk to me crazy.

Speaker 4

So social media, I still come in with that same kind of mensaudi. So I had to in a way grow out of that.

Speaker 3

Because I would spend my whole day back and forth with people.

Speaker 2

Right, But then you also overlook the people who are giving you that love and the positivity and building you up, and I.

Speaker 3

Get so focused on the negative.

Speaker 4

Yeah, and that's like, it's like, I think it's human conditions totally to zone in on the negative. And so a friend of mine, I have such a great support group, same thing. They told me that the energy that you're using to spend on the people who dislike you, spend it on the people.

Speaker 3

Who are moved by you.

Speaker 4

And I'm like, you're absolutely right, because they're the ones who deserve to have a conversation with me.

Speaker 2

So wow, wow, Now I want to go back and touch on this too, because your body positivity it has to come from somewhere, you know. And I think that you've spoken about this on your videos, but I want you to share it with our listeners because I think there are so many women and men who could use this. So talk about how you got to the place where you are now.

Speaker 4

It took a long time of course, you know, as women, there's such standards that they have, like you have to be this so that you have to look a certain way all the time. And so my I was not the pretty girl growing up. I was known as butterface in high school.

Speaker 2

But you weren't the pretty girl I was, And I had I had cistic acne bracest.

Speaker 4

My unibrow connected better than some people and their mother's like it was really bad.

Speaker 2

She had a less situations too, but you think you so she had brace.

Speaker 4

So I was the posts was coming in like yo, submity stam like it was a real thing.

Speaker 2

Oh yah you thank you. The swan came in.

Speaker 4

And so it's funny because I since I thank God for those years honestly, because it developed the personality to be like, listen, if this is what I have to work with, I'm gonna have to work with it. And for a long time I wanted to look like everybody else. I kind of lived in that mentality too, and so I was real. At one point, I was like one

hundred and sixteen pounds in my twenties. Then I jumped to one twenty and I had relationships where they were like they wanted me to be thick or they wanted me to be thin.

Speaker 3

I was just never right. So at one point I was like enough enough, Like.

Speaker 4

I'm never going to be everything perfect for one person, Like I just if I'm gonna spend this one life here, I'm gonna love me, like.

Speaker 3

That's what needs to happen.

Speaker 4

And so slowly but surely it's And when you first start loving yourself, it's not a great process, like everyone assumes, like.

Speaker 2

Yeah, you just say those affirmations in the mirror.

Speaker 4

No, it feels like you're lying, yeah, because your mind is like you don't believe that you got cankles?

Speaker 3

Do you really believe that? It's like, so it was just a slow journey.

Speaker 4

And then honestly, I found out recently that I have PCOS, which means it explains a lot of my waking homone and waking and explained my acnet and both my.

Speaker 2

Facial cos is. They don't know PCOS.

Speaker 4

Is polycystic ovarian syndrome, and so it just it makes your your homeones are fluctuating. It can cause infertility. It is just something that a lot of women don't even know that they struggle with. And so when I found out it was devastating because I've always wanted, you know,

to be a mom. I've never been blessed with having kids, and at one point when they told me it could cause in fertility, it was just like another thing that the woman's body goes through that's probably not even spoken of. So even with my own messages, sometimes I have to go back and remind myself, like you still believe this, right, like you still stand by this, and it's like, okay, I do.

Speaker 3

I have to remind myself that.

Speaker 2

Oh my gosh, Okay, now I'm like, first of all, I'm gonna cry. Second of all, I do want to give you credit for something, and will you please stay with us? We please stay, okay, because I have so much more I want to talk to you about. So we're gonna actually wrap up this show, and I want you to stay for a second episode of Life in Spanguish with us because I want to tell you how you helped me come out of a dark place with

your messaging. And you know, I want people to follow you, So before we go today, tell everybody where they can follow you on all social media.

Speaker 4

You guys can find me on Little sas Sound Packet with three t's on ig and on Facebook and on TikTok Litli sas son pack l I L s A z O n p A c k E t t t okay beautiful and then you can answer, and then you can follow us at l I Spanglish.

Speaker 2

I'm at the Real Carolina. Who is my Instagram again? I am honey, Johnny. There you go on my mind today. Well, you know what, We're gonna have you stick around because, like I said, we're gonna do something that we do here on the on our podcast. It's called the Salon, and we're gonna have you help answer one of our listeners questions too, so we're gonna have your input as well. So, guys, thank you so so much. I hope you have enjoyed listening to Rita as much as we have enjoyed having

her here. But she's not going anywhere because she's gonna be back next week and we're going to continue this conversation. So we love you. Thank you so much.

Speaker 3

Thank you for having me.

Speaker 1

Make sure you like and subscribe so you can get those episodes every time they drop Friday mornings.

Speaker 2

Lit It's lit

Speaker 1

Life and is Bangulash is a production of Life Tens banguished productions in partnership with Iheart's My kunturda podcast network,

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