Andrea
Meet Andrea - business owner of Native Crown and co-creator of The Dunes Studio, a collective of vintage classics and new products. Andrea shares with us the special connection with the womxn in her life and the resiliency and strength they carry.
I am grateful for all the ways I get to honor my ancestors and women in my life...
1. How do you honor your ancestors or the womxn in your life?
From diving into the curanderismo I grew up with, but never knew to name as such. It was always just a remedio that my Mom knew or that she called my Grandma for. The women in my family are healers. From teas to sobadas or great advice, they all hold so much knowledge and power. To get to carry their stories and teachings is an honor. In taking workshops learning where some of these traditions I've learned stem from, I feel like I deepen my ancestral roots. I get to fill in pieces, I can connect links that we didn't even know were missing in our family history. It is beautiful to name parts of our past that have been lost, and to get to hold them in the light and not hide them because they are things that are so often shamed.
That is another way I work in honoring these womxn. I hold myself to the light. I don't hide the parts of me that are not societally or culturally accepted. The parts of me that still need work. The parts of me that I do often want to hide. I know as women we are often expected to hide, adjust, fix, or deny parts of us. I watched as my Mami had to bend into a box that did hold her. The depth and breadth of the woman she is had to be hidden under the woman she had to be. I watched on in my childhood as she struggled to dim herself and hide the parts that were the most brilliant, so as to not cause discomfort from her shine. But even with all that she was and is radiant.
2. Who are they and why is this relationship special?
The relationships with the womxn in my life are special because they are living, growing things that are changing, expanding, contracting to our needs and effort. These relationships have taught me about life, about myself, they reflect our journeys and carry our history. .
3. How have they shaped who you are today?
I have learned through all these womxn: Ancestors, Tias, Cousins, Friends, how to get closer to myself. They have been the safe space, unwavering love, and harsh truth while I shaped myself.
4. What is their legacy?
Their legacy is...Tortillas a mano y limpias. Cumbias and rosarios. Tacones and agua fresca. Bordado y te de canela. Resilience y Amor. Aries (my Daughter) y Yo.