Amiga, Handle Your Shit

Hosted by Jacqueline Tapia

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281

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Jun 2026

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About the show

A Podcast that inspires, motivates, empowers, helps breakdown cultural limitations, while shamelessly and fiercely helping YOU stand in YOUR true power, as an unapologetic Latina! You will learn from authentic spiritual luminaries and elite performance experts who teach success strategies that impact the world, one Latina at a time. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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June 16, 202638 min

Multiple Companies, One Festival, and a Second Chance: Inside Rose Garcia's Empire

Some people get a wake-up call and make small adjustments. Rose Garcia got hers and decided to go all in on everything. This episode is proof of what happens when someone takes a second chance and refuses to let any part of it go to waste.In this episode of Amiga Handle Your Shit, Jackie Tapia sits down with Rose Garcia, a Latina entrepreneur, real estate veteran, ovarian cancer survivor, and the new co-owner of The Dinah, the legendary queer women's festival now heading into its 35th year. Rose talks about growing up Boricua and Salvadoran in Los Angeles, building a career in real estate after starting out as a teenage intern, and how that hustle eventually opened the door to owning a Hollywood nightclub and co-owning one of the biggest festivals in the LGBTQ community.What makes this conversation land differently is the part Rose almost did not get to tell. A swollen stomach sent her to the emergency room, and within days she was diagnosed with stage 3C ovarian cancer. Doctors gave her a timeline if treatment did not work. She walks through what it actually felt like to sit with that news, how she shifted into fight mode, and the lesson she still carries two years later, now cancer-free.Rose also opens up about her connection to “The L Word,” where her real life became the basis for a character, and what it meant to show a Latina Catholic family choosing love over judgment on national television. From East LA bars to red carpets to hospital waiting rooms, this is a conversation about showing up for your life, on your own terms.Tune in to episode 285 of Amiga Handle Your Shit for a Pride Month conversation about resilience, representation, and what it means to get a second chance and actually use it.Episode TakeawaysHow a teenage internship turned into a full career in real estate, and the network that made it possible (05:44)The story behind the Dinah, the 35-year-old queer women's festival now run by Rose and her business partner (08:26)How Rose's real life became the inspiration for a character on The L Word, and the road trip through East LA bars that started it all (12:10)What it meant to show a Catholic Latino family choosing acceptance, and the messages that came after (15:51)The swollen stomach, the ER visit, and the diagnosis that came faster than anyone expected (24:04)What stage 3C ovarian cancer treatment actually looked like, and the mindset shift that got her through it (27:08)Why Rose says cancer is not the death sentence it used to be, and what she changed in her life afterward (32:02)Connect with Rose Garcia:InstagramLinkedInThe DinahLet’s Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedInJackie Tapia Arbonne websiteBook: The AMIGA Way: Release Cultural Limiting Beliefs to Transform Your Life Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

June 2, 202621 min

From Passing the Bar...to Passing the Baton: Reigniting Your 2.0 Life in the Age of AI

Have you ever felt like the most exciting chapter of your life was behind you?Many women spend years building careers, raising families, achieving goals, and checking all the boxes, only to wake up one day feeling disconnected from the spark that once drove them. This episode is a reminder that reinvention doesn't belong to the young. It belongs to the curious. Whether you're feeling stuck, uninspired, or simply ready for something new, this conversation will encourage you to embrace growth, reclaim your curiosity, and trust that your best years may still be ahead.Tune in to this new episode of Amiga, Handle Your Shit, as Jackie provides a heartfelt reflection on rediscovering purpose, curiosity, and excitement in her 2.0 season of life. Looking back on her journey as a first-generation college student, attorney, entrepreneur, and woman navigating major life transitions, Jackie shares how the emergence of artificial intelligence unexpectedly reignited a level of enthusiasm she hadn't felt in decades. Through personal stories, spiritual insight, and practical encouragement, she invites listeners to become beginners again, embrace lifelong learning, and trust that God may be calling them into a new season of expansion. This episode is a powerful reminder that you are not starting over, you're starting aligned.Key Takeaways: ✨ Curiosity can reignite your passion for life ✨ Your best years may still be ahead ✨ Growth begins when you become a beginner again ✨ AI can be a tool for expansion, not fear ✨ You are not starting over, you're starting aligned ✨ God may be calling you into a new seasonLet's Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedInJackie Tapia Arbonne websiteBuy The Amiga Way's Book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 26, 202642 min

What the Scale Will Never Fix: A Real Talk on Body Image with Marisela Arechiga

This one is personal. Not in the guest-on-a-stage kind of way. In the two-friends-sitting-down-telling-the-truth kind of way.In this episode of Amiga Handle Your Shit, Jackie Tapia turns the mic on herself and sits down with her friend Marisela Arechiga for a raw, unfiltered conversation about body image, the voices in our heads, and what it actually costs to grow up Latina in a culture that had opinions about your body before you did. Jackie opens up about a lifetime of body dysmorphia, from the nicknames she was given as a kid to the drastic diets she has cycled through as an adult, to the moment her own sister, a doctor, put a name to something Jackie already knew but had never said out loud.What makes this episode different is that Marisela is not just asking the questions. She is in it too. A lifelong athlete who spent years feeling underdeveloped on one end of the spectrum, and now, approaching 49, navigating perimenopause, muscle loss, and the particular frustration of doing everything right and still not seeing the number she wants. Two women, two completely different body stories, the same relentless inner critic.They talk about where these voices come from: the magazines, the celebrity postpartum bodies, the offhand comments from coaches and family that lodged somewhere deep and never fully left. They talk about how they are raising the next generation differently. And they get into the practical stuff too, GLP treatments, microdosing, and why attacking the physical without doing the mental work will keep you running a race with no finish line.Tune in to episode 283 of Amiga Handle Your Shit for the body image conversation most women are having in their heads but never out loud.Episode TakeawaysHow growing up Latina meant your body was everybody's business before it was yours (2:20)Why the comments from coaches and family land differently than anything a stranger could say (4:00)What celebrity postpartum culture did to an entire generation of new moms and how they saw their own recovery (5:10)The moment a doctor sister put a name to something Jackie already knew but had never said out loud (9:50)Why reaching your goal weight does not silence the voice, it just gives it new material (22:30)What body dysmorphia actually looks like from the inside at 52, hormones and all (24:10)How perimenopause changes the equation and what both women are doing about it (26:20)Why treating the body without the mental work keeps moving the finish line (33:40)How to stop the cycle before it reaches your daughter (17:40)The shift from wanting to be skinny to wanting to be strong, and why that reframe takes longer than anyone tells you (39:30)Connect with Marisela Arechiga:InstagramNew Generation Home Improvements WebsiteNew Generation Home Improvements InstagramLet’s Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedInJackie Tapia Arbonne websiteBook: The AMIGA Way: Release Cultural Limiting Beliefs to Transform Your Life Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 19, 202641 min

Beyond Party Lines with Jackie Tapia and Marisela Arechiga

Have you ever felt torn between staying loyal to a political party and voting for what actually aligns with your values?This episode dives into the growing frustration many people feel with today’s political climate and the importance of becoming a critical thinker instead of blindly following party lines. Through an honest and unfiltered conversation, this discussion explores polarization, leadership, civic responsibility, and what it means to vote with discernment during a time when so many people feel disconnected from the systems meant to serve them.Tune in to this new episode of Amiga, Handle Your Shit, as Jackie and Marisela sit down for a passionate live conversation about politics, voting, and the future of Los Angeles and California. Together, they unpack the emotional exhaustion surrounding modern politics, discuss how identity politics and social media have changed public discourse, and share their thoughts on current leadership, the California governor race, and the LA mayoral race. This episode is ultimately a call for listeners to think critically, stay informed, and participate in the democratic process instead of voting out of habit or fear.Key Takeaways:✨ Critical thinking matters more than party loyalty✨ Difficult conversations are necessary for growth✨ Voting impacts everyday life and local communities✨ Leadership requires accountability and innovation✨ Identity politics can limit honest dialogue✨ Your voice and vote both matterConnect with Marisela Arechiga:InstagramNew Generation Home Improvements WebsiteNew Generation Home Improvements InstagramLet's Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedInJackie Tapia Arbonne websiteBuy The Amiga Way's Book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

May 12, 202645 min

No Funding, No Problem: How Shades by Shan Landed in 610 JCPenney Stores

Latinos are the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs in the United States, and yet the system is not exactly set up to help them scale. This episode is proof of what happens when you build anyway.In this episode of Amiga Handle Your Shit, Jackie Tapia sits down with Shan Berries and her sister Erika K. Clark, the CEO and CFO behind Shades by Shan, an inclusive beauty brand built from the ground up and now available in every JCPenney store nationwide. Their story starts in their mom's garage in San Francisco, mixing formulas and testing products, determined to create what every beauty aisle had failed to give them: something made for women who looked like them. What makes their story worth paying attention to is not just the destination. It is every wall they hit getting there. When JCPenney came knocking with an offer to launch in all 610 stores, the sisters had no outside funding, no bank support, and no investor willing to take the risk. They turned every stone, heard every no, and almost walked away from the deal entirely. Then JCPenney did something they had never done before: they funded the order themselves. That partnership turned a near-defeat into a seven-figure brand with 80 percent year-over-year growth.But what keeps Shades by Shan growing is not a viral moment or a celebrity co-sign. It is the community they built one store visit at a time, showing up to all 610 locations, training associates themselves, and bringing Hot Cheetos along the way. And behind the brand, there is a foundation, Mama Berry's, dedicated to supporting single parents in need, built in honor of the woman who raised them.Tune in to episode 281 of Amiga Handle Your Shit for a real conversation about building a business without a safety net, and what it actually takes to get your product on the shelf.Episode Takeaways:Why Shan and Erika started a makeup brand and a nonprofit at the same time, and why one could not exist without the other (07:30)What happened when a stranger on a FaceTime call turned out to be connected to JCPenney's beauty buyer (15:43)How they almost turned down a 610-store deal because they could not afford to fulfill it, and what JCPenney did next (18:14)Why visiting every single store in person, Hot Cheetos in hand, became one of their biggest competitive advantages (22:19)The one financial tip every Latina entrepreneur needs to hear before she goes looking for funding (29:29)What "if you're not embarrassed by your first launch, you launched too late" actually looks like in practice (38:58)Connect with Shan and Erika:Shades by Shan websiteShades by Shan InstagramShan Berries InstagramErika K. Clark InstagramLet’s Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedInJackie Tapia Arbonne websiteBook: The AMIGA Way: Release Cultural Limiting Beliefs to Transform Your Life Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

April 28, 202645 min

When Your Body Keeps the Truth: Evelyn Gutierrez on Surviving, Breathing, and Coming Home to Yourself

Content advisory: This episode explores deeply personal experiences of sexual trauma and assault. Please listen with care and give yourself grace.In this episode of Amiga Handle Your Shit, Jackie Tapia sits down with Evelyn Gutierrez, transformational breathwork and integration coach, and founder of Beyond A Breath. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month, and Evelyn is not just talking about it; she has lived it, healed through it, and come out the other side with something unexpected: admiration for the younger version of herself who survived it.But before we get to who Evelyn is today, we have to go back to where it all began; to a young girl who experienced something she did not have the words for, who told the truth when she finally could, and was told it never happened. That denial did not just hurt her. It dismantled her relationship with her own reality. After years of carrying the weight of sexual trauma, anxiety, and depression largely in silence, her body eventually began to break down. A toxic work environment and burnout became the unexpected turning point that led her to a retreat and to transformational breathwork, where everything began to shift.In that breathwork room, everything shifted. For the first time, she looked at her younger self not with shame, but with awe, and what had long felt like guilt began to transform into something unexpected: a fierce, tender admiration for the girl who had endured so much. Driven by that transformation, she made a bold decision and walked away from a career in Human Resources to go all in on her calling.Today, Evelyn guides women through their own healing using the very tool that freed her. She works with clients locally in the Whittier and La Habra area and virtually across the US and internationally.Tune in to episode 279 of Amiga Handle Your Shit for a conversation about surviving in silence, reclaiming your truth, and the unexpected power of learning to breathe again.Episode TakeawaysWhat happens to a child's sense of reality when her truth is denied by the adults she trusted (11:10)How being groomed by someone admired and respected made it impossible to speak up, and easy to blame herself (16:30)Why she carried her story in silence for 15 years, and what it cost her in relationships, in her body, and in her sense of self (25:00)The breathwork moment that shifted everything — from seeing herself as a victim to seeing herself as a survivor who did what she had to do (28:40)How she turned her own healing tools into a calling, and now holds space for others to do the same (36:20)Resources for support and to report sexual assault:RAINN - National Sexual Assault Hotline: 800-656-HOPE. Text HOPE to 64673 -  Confidential support 24/7Victim Connect Resource Center: 855-4-VICTIM. Phone or text for Confidential emotional support and referralsConnect with Evelyn Gutierrez:InstagramFacebookPhone: (909) 616-1217Email: evelyn@beyondabreath.comLet’s Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedInJackie Tapia Arbonne websiteBook: The AMIGA Way: Release Cultural Limiting Beliefs to Transform Your Life Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

April 21, 202624 min

Faith, Ambition and Learning to Trust the Next Season with Jackie Tapia

Have you ever felt like you were being called into a new season… but everything in your life still looks “successful” on paper?This episode is an invitation to sit with the tension between ambition and faith. It explores what happens when the life you built no longer fully aligns with the person you’re becoming, and how trusting God in those moments can feel both sacred and terrifying. This is a conversation about letting go, listening deeply, and having the courage to take the next step even when it doesn’t make sense yet.Tune in to this new episode of Amiga, Handle Your Shit, as Jackie provides a heartfelt reflection on what it means to trust the next season. She shares how high-achieving women, even at the peak of their success, can feel a quiet nudge toward something different and unfamiliar. Through her own journey of leaving law and stepping into her purpose, Jackie breaks down the difference between ambition and obedience, the fear of releasing a successful identity, and the importance of honoring the whispers that keep returning. This episode is a powerful reminder that you don’t need the full plan, just the willingness to take the next faithful step.Key Takeaways: ✨ Faith requires movement, not just understanding ✨ You don’t need the full plan, just the next step ✨ Fear doesn’t mean you’re making the wrong decision ✨ It’s okay to outgrow old versions of yourself ✨ Obedience matters more than being understood ✨ Transition is holy when God is in itLet's Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedInJackie Tapia Arbonne websiteBuy The Amiga Way's Book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

April 7, 202650 min

Forgiveness Is Not the Same as Healing with Angela Joseph | Part Two

What happens when forgiveness and healing are not the same thing?In this powerful and deeply emotional conversation, this episode explores the difference between being forgiven and actually healing, and how unresolved grief, shame, and trauma can live quietly inside us for years. This conversation sheds light on the importance of facing our past, allowing ourselves to grieve, and finding healing through faith, community, and honest conversations.Tune in to this new episode of Amiga, Handle Your Shit, as Jackie sits down with Angela Joseph to talk about her journey through abortion, shame, forgiveness, and ultimately healing. Angela shares how, for years, she believed that asking for forgiveness was enough, but she later realized that forgiveness and healing are not the same thing. Through a healing program at her church, she was forced to confront her past, grieve her losses, and finally begin the process of true healing. Today, Angela leads the same healing groups that once helped her, supporting other women as they face shame, grief, and forgiveness, and helping them find peace and freedom.About Angela JosephAngela Joseph is a wife, mother, and leader of a post-abortion healing ministry where she helps guide women through healing, forgiveness, and faith-based recovery programs. After going through her own healing journey, Angela now leads healing groups for women, helping them process grief, release shame, and find peace through faith and community.Key Takeaways:✨ Forgiveness and healing are not the same✨ Unresolved grief can live inside for years✨ Shame keeps people silent and isolated✨ Healing requires facing the past✨ You have the right to grieve✨ Sharing your story helps others healConnect with Angela Joseph:Throne of GraceLet's Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedInJackie Tapia Arbonne websiteBuy The Amiga Way's Book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

March 31, 202639 min

When Choice Has a Cost: A Story of Womanhood and Survival | Part One

Some conversations ask more of us than others. This is one of them.In this episode of Amiga Handle Your Shit, Jackie Tapia and co-host Marisela Arechiga sit down with Angela, a Valley girl, a proud Latina of Cuban and Colombian roots, and a woman who has carried a story for decades that most women carry in silence. This is Part One of a two-part conversation, and it is entirely about choice; not the political version, not the cultural performance of it, but the real, lived, human weight of the choices women make when they feel they have no other options. What Angela shares is raw, personal, and deeply necessary.What makes this conversation so important is not just what Angela chose; it is what no one ever told her the choosing would cost. That it would settle into her body and stay there. That it would quietly reshape the way she experienced love, motherhood, and her own femininity. She had no guidance, no counseling, and almost no one to turn to. And yet life kept moving, and she kept showing up for it.Marisela, who has known Angela for years, brings a rare depth to this conversation; not as an interviewer, but as a witness. She names the shame that fills the rooms where these decisions are made. She names the cultural pressure that tells women there is only one acceptable way to feel about any of this. And she challenges the idea that silence equals healing.Tune in to episode 276 of Amiga Handle Your Shit for a conversation about womanhood, survival, and the stories we carry when no one gives us permission to put them down.Episode Takeaways:What it means to grow up parentified as the oldest Latina daughter — and how that shapes your understanding of family (07:00)Why the "birds and bees" talk many Latina girls receive sets them up for silence instead of safety (08:31)How Angela chose to keep her first baby at 16 — against both parents — because she already knew she wanted to be a mother (09:05)What happens when a relationship built on cheating leaves a young woman pregnant, alone, and looking for the fastest way out (11:33)How abortion became, over time, a pattern of problem-solving rooted in survival rather than choice (16:34)What the inside of an abortion clinic actually looks, sounds, and feels like — and the emotional silence no one prepares you for (21:09)Why the pill option felt even harder than the procedure — and what Angela calls "ingesting death" (26:38)How unresolved grief from reproductive loss quietly rewires a woman's relationship to pregnancy, joy, and motherhood (29:10)Why Angela became an overprotective mom — and the fear that her living children would somehow pay for her choices (29:41)What Angela wishes every woman in that waiting room had been told before she ever got there (31:18)The one thing Angela did not know going in that she now says never goes away (32:33)Connect with Marisela Arechiga:InstagramNew Generation Home Improvements WebsiteNew Generation Home Improvements InstagramConnect with Angela Joseph:Ajoseph@shepherdchurch.comThrone of GraceLet's Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedInJackie Tapia Arbonne's websiteBook: The AMIGA Way: Release Cultural Limiting Beliefs to Transform Your Life Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

March 24, 202639 min

Don’t Give Up Right Before the Breakthrough with Marilyn Sanabria

Have you ever felt like your life path chose you before you even understood it yourself?This episode is a powerful conversation about resilience, grief, migration, and the courage it takes to keep following your calling even when life feels uncertain. It’s a reminder that sometimes the path is not linear, but the passion in your heart can still guide you exactly where you are meant to be.Tune in to this new episode of Amiga, Handle Your Shit, as Jackie sits down with award-winning actress Marilyn Sanabria to talk about her journey from Puerto Rico to the Bronx and eventually to Hollywood. Marilyn shares how losing her immediate family at a young age shaped her perspective on life, gratitude, and resilience, and how the arts became both her refuge and her purpose. She talks about taking risks, moving to Los Angeles to pursue film, and how persistence, faith, and staying aligned with her purpose eventually led her to land a role in the psychological thriller Film Monster. This episode is a beautiful reminder that success is not linear, and sometimes the biggest opportunities come right when you are about to give up.About Marilyn SanabriaMarilyn Sanabria is an award-winning Puerto Rican actress whose journey began in Puerto Rico and continued in the Bronx, New York, before moving to Los Angeles to pursue a career in film and television. With a background in theater and voice work, Marilyn has dedicated her life to the craft of acting, driven by a deep passion for storytelling, expression, and human connection. She is currently part of the cast of the psychological thriller Film Monster, a socially impactful film that explores fear and the human experience.Key Takeaways:✨ Resilience is built through life’s hardest moments✨ Success is rarely a linear path✨ Taking risks is part of growth✨ Alignment requires daily inner work✨ Your calling will keep finding you✨ Don’t give up right before the breakthroughConnect with Marilyn Sanabria:InstagramIMDbLet's Connect!WebsiteFacebookInstagramLinkedInJackie Tapia Arbonne websiteBuy The Amiga Way's Book Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.