Culturs Winter 2018 - SHADES OF LATIN

CELEBRATING CROSS-CULTURAL EXCELLENCE

WWW.CULTURSMAG.COM

SHADES OF LATIN

CHANGING PERCEPTIONS OF THE WORLD’S MOST FAMOUS ETHNICITY

DESTINATION:

COLORADO ONE OF NORTH AMERICA’S MOST GLORIOUS LOCALES

THE SEASON’S

TOP MOVIES 1

HEY! DIP YOUR TOES IN

THE IMPACT OF

A SUCCESSFUL INFLUENCER’S DELIGHT

BREXIT

Summer 2018 | www.CultursMag.com

CONTINUES

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Winter 2018

$12.95 CAN

Be a part of the movement.

Culturs — the global multicultural magazine, celebrates cross-cultral excellence.

We bring you the people, places and products that unleash the power of being in-between.

Be unapologetically you.

#jointhemovement #beyou www.Culturs.org

CSU STANDS FOR INCLUSION At Colorado State University, inclusion is our heritage, our present, and our future. We’re working toward a world in which any person, regardless of background, has access to lifechanging higher education and the research and knowledge it creates.

An equal-access and equal-opportunity University

WHAT’S INSIDE?

Locked In: Crisis in Mid-Life

60

Technology & Romance

20 116

94

Fashion: Spring Forward 4

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Behind the Scenes

Destination: Denver

Anita Henestrosa Visits Nepal www.CultursMag.com

80

50

Young Artist Kendall Edwards

Food: Infinite Monkey Theorem

Destined for Love

UK Influencer: Hey! Dip Your Toes In

112

72

46

Rapper Jay Triiiple

92

Shades of Latin

An American in Russia

75

MUST Taste Tumeric

14

Magical Maasai

36

54

Shades of Latin: Born to Greatness

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WINTER 2018

01 FEATURES: • Shades of Latin • Destination: Colorado – One of North America’s Most Glorious Locales • Hey! Dip Your Toes In: A Successful Influencer’s Delight • The Impact of Brexit Continues • The Season’s Top Movies

02 AUTO REVIEW 110

Rocky Mountain Drive Experience

03 CAREERS 54

Hey Dip Your Toes In!

60

Locked In: Crisis in Mid-Life

78

Shedrique Olsen

82

La Negra

84

Emil Pinnock

04 ENTERTAINMENT 68

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Denver International Film Festival

05 FASHION

10 TRAVEL

28

The Black Wardrobe Challenge

14

Magical Maasai: The Soul of East Africa

30

Spring Forward

54

Hey Dip Your Toes In!

94

Destination Denver

112

An American in Russia

06 HEALTH 26

Don’t Call Me a Vegan

07 MUSIC 46

Rapper Jay Triiiple

08 RELATIONSHIPS 20

From Slow Boats to Swipe Right

11

Global Storytelling for Global Development: Magical Maasai: the Soul of East Africa

20

Technology: From Slow Boats to Swipe Right

26

Health: Don’t Call Me a Vegan

28

Fashion: The Black Wardrobe Challenge

108

Executive Strategist: R-E-S-P-E-C-T

110

Auto: Rocky Mountain Drive Experience

46

Rapper Jay Triiiple

50

Artist Kendall Edwards

78

Shedrique Olsen

80

Anita Hentirosa

82

La Negra

IN EVERY ISSUE

84

Emil Pennok

8

Contributors

86

Pamela Blatner

10

From our Readers

92

John Theison

11

Publisher’s Letter

12

Let’s Get Social

42

Culturally Fluid Definitions

45

The Must List

116

Behind the Scenes

12 PHILANTHROPY

Destined for Love – The New Global Family 80

09

14

PEOPLE

14 36

COLUMNISTS

Magical Maasai: The Soul of East Africa

ON THE COVER 36

Destined for Love – The New Global Family

60

Locked-In: Crisis in Mid-Life

76

Shades of Latin: Defining the World’s Most Famous Ethnicity

94

Destination: Denver – One of North America’s Most Glorious Locales

112

An American in Russia – The Foundation of TCK-NESS

Anita Hentirosa

LIFESTYLE 60

Locked In: Crisis in Mid Life

72

Infinite Monkey Thoerem

75

Sip Your Way to Health

116

Behind the Scenes: Culturs’ Launch Party www.CultursMag.com www.CultursMag.com

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CONTRIBUTORS

ANDREA BAZOIN (say “Bah-Zwah”) is a higher education professional turned entrepreneur. She is the founder of everHuman, LLC (www.everhuman.io), a company that provides tech support that is actually supportive through coaching, project assistance and workshops delivered with both expertise and empathy. Her family ties span across the United States and beyond — including Chile, Argentina, Australia, and France. She currently lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, USA, with her French husband and culturally fluid son.

••• A Colorado native, MADISON BICKLER, is passionate about Journalism and Media Communications. Although she does not identify as culturally fluid, Bickler is eager to gain a better understanding of cultural mobility and hidden diversity through the Culturs community. She seeks to inspire individuals who are not culturally mobile to explore new aspects of diversity. As someone who appreciates different perspectives, she is prepared to offer insight on issues through a global lens. Each person brings unique gifts to the table and Bickler hopes to illuminate those hidden qualities around the globe.

••• DR. RHONDA M. COLEMAN, DAOM is a multilingual, code-switching, culturally Honduran woman of Black African descent.

She is the founder and director of The Healing Garden, a center for holistic health education grounded in African ancestral healing practice. Coleman is a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist and a teacher of the Afro-Brazilian martial-art of Capoeira.

She lives in Aurora, Colo., USA with her husband and three children.

••• MICHELE DAVENPORT is an executive strategist who designs and facilitates programs in coaching, communication and leadership effectiveness for individuals and organizations committed to optimizing potential and growth. As Principal and Founder of Mosaic Coaching Solutions, Davenport employs the Co-Active model to inspire clients to engage more deeply and intentionally in every aspect life. Her approach includes a proven three-phased process of heightening self-awareness, developing a strategy and implementing accountability systems to achieve transformative and sustainable change.

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CLAUDIA KÖRBLER is an international development specialist and host of a YouTube Channel and Facebook Page called Global Storytelling for Global Development. Its goal is to use storytelling as a tool to create and foster social impact globally. The TEDx speaker and Forbes expert contributor talks about measures to eradicate extreme poverty, driving social impact forward and discusses her experience working in international development for the United Nations, Embassy of Austria and becoming an Intrapeneur in organizations like the World Bank Group. Her passion for finding global solutions to emerging problems and creating social impact speaks through her engagements. She is an Austrian-born global citizen and trained Simultaneous Interpreter who speaks five languages including German, English, and Spanish.

••• ZOE JENNINGS is a writer who is interested in telling human-interest stories. She grew up in the U.S. and Latvia and has visited 22 countries. She studied history and journalism at the university level, loves journalism and hopes to write fiction someday. Jennings enjoys the outdoors, music and connecting with people.

••• A Yogi since 2002, TERRI MAIRLEY uses certifications in Hot Yoga, Power Yoga and Classical Hatha Yoga to create physical and emotional experiences that help people reconnect. She works with Culturs to meld this with essential oils and writing that help others release stored emotion. Mairley’s classes are creative, playful, heartfelt and non-judgmental and she brings the same to Culturs Global Yoga events and articles that help readers unleash their highest potential.

••• Military Brat, TCK SONJA MOTLEY brings decades of fashion industry experience to CULTURS — from fashion illustrator, to major department store layout artist, booker and runway trainer for a modeling agency and agent of illustrators and fashion photographers.

She’s overseen sales for 14 clothing lines, fine jewelry and diamonds, served as visual merchandiser, fashion show organizer and personal shopper for high-end boutiques and select individual clients. Motley lends her knowledge of the body, clothing, adornments and image to clients spanning

the globe. Currently the owner of Clutter Free Closets, Motley shared her expertise with Home and Garden Television (HGTV) and NBC 9News in Denver. To work with Motley, visit www.clutterfreeclosets.net

••• ANGELIA D. MCGOWAN is a writer who had her first culture shock moving from her native Texas to Colo., USA, at age 10 and experienced snow, then again when visiting a college friend’s Puerto Rican family in Brooklyn, NYC, USA, and eventually traveling to her first trip out of the U.S. to Haiti for a mission and lastly, on a business trip to South Africa. No matter where the travel, she recalls similarities far outweighed differences among people. Through her consulting service, Canady’s Corner, she is often tucked comfortably behind-the-scenes guiding clients through communications needs, including serving as a ghost writer and editor for memoirs. When not working with clients, you may find her (racing from here to there in the latest model of this or that auto manufacturer) spinning tales for Creative Auto Reviews (CARs).

••• ANTOINETTE LEE TOSCANO is a Cross-Culture Kid and Third Culture Adult with family having ancestry from both India and Jamaica. An eleven-year U.S. Army veteran and former IT corporate executive, she now works as a full-time ghostwriter, journalist, author, transformational speaker and blogger at New Normal Big Life Blog.

For Culturs, she focuses on stories surrounding evolved relationships and creating your biggest life possible. She can usually be found volunteering for veterans or somewhere in the Colorado mountains hiking or biking a trail, bow hunting and whitewater kayaking.

••• ALEXA VUJAKLIJA is a 24-year-old Third Culture Kid and freelance writer. She was born in America to American parents, but her father was in the military and eventually became a diplomat so they moved often.

She lived in Germany, The Republic of Georgia, Russia and Bulgaria. She also spent every summer of childhood in France.

At 18 she moved to Rome, Italy to complete her Bachelor’s Degree in Communications.

There she met her Serbian husband and they now live in Belgrade, Serbia. Vujaklija is passionate about writing and sharing with the world what it means to have grown up around the globe and what it means to be a TCK.

Winter 2018 www.CultursMag.com

GURU

Volume I, Issue III

PUBLISHER & FOUNDER

Doni (Dawn-ee) Fort Collins, Colo.

EDITORIAL SENIOR EDITOR

EDITOR

FASHION EDITOR

MUSIC EDITOR

Tammy Matthews

Lia Nelson-James

Sonja Motley

Tommy McMillion

Boulder, Colo.

Denver

Denver

Aurora, Colo.

AUTHENTICITY GODDESS, RADIO HOST

Robin Alexis Mount Shasta, Calif.

CONTRIBUTORS

COLUMNISTS

INTERNATIONAL LIAISONS

Antonia Naje Allsopp

Andrea Bazoin

Fort Collins, Colo.

Fort Collins, Colo.

Chumba Limo Aisha Jama

Madison Bickler

Dr. Rhonda Coleman

Fort Collins, Colo.

Denver

EUROPEAN LIASION

Zoe Jennings

Michele Davenport

Crystal McDonald

Fort Collins, Colo.

New York City

United Kingdom

Antoinette Toscano

Claudia Koerbler

Fort Collins, Colo.

Washington D.C.

YOGA DIRECTOR

Alexa Vujaklija

Angelia McGowan

Terry Mairley

Denver

Littleton, Colo.

Miami

Sonja Motley Denver

ART ART DIRECTOR

COLLATERAL DESIGN

PHOTOGRAPHY

MAKEUP

Liz Bilotta

Tineal Puaoi

Kim McFadden

Denver

South Pacific

Gerald Ambrosine Marika Garcia Brien Hallowell Trey Hutch Jenn & Pawel Photography Angelia D. McGowan Tommy McMillion Eulanda Shead Osagiede Omo Osagiede Shreenal Patel

GRAPHIC DESIGN INTERN

WEB DESIGN

Shreenal Patel

Max Ratkai

Fort Collins, Colo.

Denver

SALES

MODELS

Jaquikeyah Fields Mohammad York STYLIST

La Vera SET ASSISTANTS

Shreenal Patel Antoinette Williams

SUPPORTERS

VICE PRESIDENT OF SALES

MARKETPLACE DIRECTOR

ADVISORY BOARD

SPECIAL THANKS TO:

Jill Goldberg

Bob Bordernero

East Coast, United States

Gregory Moore Donna Musil Ruth VanReken

• Department of Journalism and Media Communications Colorado State University • RamProductions • VISIT DENVER

West Coast, United States

Connect with Culturs on social: @CultursMag

SUBSCRIPTIONS: www.subscribe.Cultursmag.com CULTURSTM magazine, Volume 1, Issue 3. Copyright Culturs Global Philanthropic Lifestyle Network. All rights reserved. Published quarterly; Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall, by Simply Alive, LLC, 1800 Wazee Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO, 80525. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Culturs magazine, 1800 Wazee Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO, 80525. Reproduction in whole or part without express written consent is strictly prohibited.

Simply Alive LLC does not assume responsibility for the advertisements, nor any representation made therein, nor the quality or deliverability of the products themselves. No responsibility is assumed for unsolicited submissions, manuscripts, photographs, and other material submitted. Culturs makes every effort to provide accurate information in advertising and editorial content, however, does not make any claim as to the accuracy of information provided by advertisers or editorial contributors and accepts no responsibility or liability for inaccurate information.

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FROM OUR READERS COMMENTS ON OUR PRINT PRODUCT & LAUNCH EVENT: What a wonderful event! Thank you Donnyale Ambrosine for the opportunity to share our family’s story on being multicultural. The article came out fabulous! Your unveiling event for Culturs was a joy to attend, and I learned so much about multiculturalism and how the world is changing. Julz S. The event was amazing, blessed to be a part of it! Wonderful energy in the room and great people to talk to. Thanks for a wonderful evening. Jon T. Your launch party was amazing, congrats on your success! Anita H. Fantastic event! So proud to be part of this community. Tom M. Thank you so much for having me. The party (with purpose) turned out to be a great event.

Shreenal P. Great energy and community at the launch party!

Terie M. So happy to hear the mag sold out at the one place. That cover for the magazine was bomb!

I’m sure the next issue will be stellar as well.

Mistine V. This magazine is a star! So glad I get to feel the warmth of the glow. Deidre H. Congrats on the party, there were lots of interested and interesting people there! Tanya O. Great event! We’re looking forward to stocking the magazine at TeaLee’s. Rise H. Wonderful gathering — bang-up job! Sonja M. Nice to see so many in the Culturs Community bonding and sharing their stories. Congratulations on a successful evening. Sharon T. The party was fab — what a sight to behold!

Michele D. I’m even more attracted to this cover than the last one! Sheile E. This cover speaks to me. Nik O. The party was awesome! Nicole F. We feel blessed to be present to witness this and celebrate with you Congratulations! Rhonda C. Congratulations on a successful party, my date thought it was awesome! Antoinette T. The soul of this magazine is beautiful.

Thank you. Pat R. I feel so blessed to be a part of this! Mary M. The party was amazing, this magazine is going to blow up! Michelle T. You all are doing some amazing things!

George F. Wow! We’re making a splash! Taylor R. Such a wonderful celebration of culture and community. I’m thrilled to have been a part of this launch — well done! Jay B.

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PUBLISHER’S LETTER

I

It’s been a whirlwind year for Culturs — full of ups and downs, changes and pleasant surprises — along with a few unexpected triumphs. We’ve sponsored university-level conferences, curated cross-cultural art in galleries, sent keynote speakers to varied events around the globe and worked with organizations like Colorado State University, The United Nations, Coke, Odell’s Brewing, New Belgium Brewing and Warner Brothers.

I had the honor of consulting on a Turner Network Television limited series featuring the story of my dear friend Fauna Hodel’s remarkable life as directed by Patty Jenkins — the director of Wonder Woman (Apropos, as Hodel truly was a Wonder Woman). This spring, we’ll feature the series, called I am the Night, starring Chris Pine and India Eisley, along with screenwriter Sam Sheridan and Jenkins, who is a Third Culture Kid. We opened Culturs’ global headquarters in Denver’s lower downtown; explored the roots of my family in Limon, Costa Rica and went on location with Fauna’s daughters and the I am the Night crew in Maui, Hawaii. Of course, we also launched the print edition of Culturs and grew distribution to chain, independent and University bookstores throughout North America.

As we close out this remarkable year I’m proud to bring you this Winter issue — one that examines the lives of Latin people of all mixtures (Cover story, pg. 76), and to show you Culturs’ home base with all the city has to offer (Destination: Denver, pg. 94). We even provide a glimpse into Culturs’ launch celebration, so you can share in the fun (From our readers, pg. 10; Behind the scenes, pg. 116).

We walk hand-in-hand with Sue Stevenson as she provides us with visuals of what it’s like to be in-between (Locked-In, pg. 60). And celebrate with UK travel influencers Eulanda Shead Osagiede and Omo Osagiede (Hey, Dip Your Toes In!, pg. 54). Of course, we have our must-read Must List (pg. 44) and a tribute to the new global family (Destined for Love, pg. 36).

Enjoy this issue — the culmination of a remarkable year with outstanding columnists, awe-inspiring photography, and most of all — the goodness of being in-between.

Don’t forget to connect with Culturs on social @cultursmag — I’d love to hear your story, and feature what you have going on in 2019.

Be Unapologetically You,

Doni (Dawn-ee) Publisher Culturs – The Global Multicultural Magazine for Cross-Cultural Excellence Founder Culturs Global Multicultural Philanthropic Lifestyle Network #beyou #cultursmag #jointhemovement

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Connect with Us on Social Follow us on social to connect with people like you! In between culture, race, ethnicity and place — Culturs in-betweeners are some of the brightest and most beutiful people on the planet.

Here are a few of our favorites:

Stunning! @travelanddestinations

Anyone for curry? @greige.co

Follow us:

@cultursmag

@cultursguruTCK

Ice, ice, baby @traveltopbest Say Cheese #familyovereverything

ver looked so good Having the blues neplycyn @sim @essence — Like mother, like daughter

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REAL pizza @best_italiansites Bring on the parkas @living_destinations Room with a view @hello_worldpics

#BlackGirlMagic

Listen to the doctor @withdrterri

#affirmblackwomen — ‘nuff said

#multicultural — Beauty knows no language You say the sweetest things @bakerp_

@livingdestinations — Room for one, please

GLOBAL STORYTELLING FOR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT

By Claudia KĂśrbler

Magical Maasai: The Soul of East Africa

V

isiting an African Tribe

Have you ever dreamt of embarking on a journey to the most remote and mysterious corners of the world? About visiting a place where you can enjoy unspoiled wilderness and meet a real warrior?

When I decided to travel to Kenya, I centered the documentary for Global Storytelling for Global Development, the documentary around understanding the beauty of the Maasai Culture and adding a human face to the eradication of extreme poverty. I was so fascinated by a Maasai named John I met at the World Bank Group in 2014 that I couldn’t have been more excited about spending time with the Maasai and learning about their tradi-tions, rituals and daily life.

The Maasai are the most well-known indigenous ethnic group in East Africa and live in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania along the Great Rift Valley.

Originating from ancient lands and simpler times, the Maasai can trace themselves back hundreds of years. But the 14

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The Maasai are among a handful of peoples across the world that are our last living link to our distant past.

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way they live today still reflects both when and where they came from. Maasai culture is unique and the customs are sometimes thought of as controversial.

Their story is a very human. Their soul is a unique one. I will share the magic recipe this tribe has created for itself with you in this column.

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Magical Maasai The Maasai people are a magical tribe. Sometimes in the Western Hemisphere we romanticize about their very interesting existence, unique dress, jewelry made of beads, long earlobes and more. Standing proud in the savannah with their red blankets and painted shields, the Maasai people have become one of the more widely known symbols

of East Africa; the Maasai shield is even featured on Kenya’s national flag. It’s not uncommon in Kenya to see the Maasai in their traditional dress, not only in their villages but also in the streets of the cities. They are divided into clans and hence communities in the South of Kenya in the Maasai Mara. The tribe is all about unity which is one of the qualities of a Nomadic Mindset. The magic recipe of the Maasai is that the richness of their culture and an understanding of the nomadic lifestyle. Here is where this tribe has similar trades to the mindset of a global citizen moving from one country to another. It boils down to understanding that this planet earth we live in is united by all cultures and you have to embrace each culture you live in without the need to lose your own.

The Smiling Faces The children were what made filming this documentary so really special to me as they are so loving, pure, full of smiles, happy and just full of playful energy that is often missed by city children.

It was pure delight to watch them run barefoot around the land dodging cow, sheep, goat dung, herding sheep and goats and simply being purely one with nature. As most nomadic cultures they are one with nature in all aspects of what that can be.

Today’s Changes — From Magical Maasai to Inspiration Today though, they are losing some of their traditional ways for the better and sometimes for the bad as well. The two most important changes for them are education which is almost mandatory for the future and female circumcision is now illegal in Kenya. The biggest challenge to their nomadic lifestyle is drought, the reduction of their lands and ability to roam from pasture to pasture for grazing their animals, their livelihood.

I would like to share with you as the globally diverse Culturs community essentials I have learned while staying with the Maasai tribe. These insights changed my perception forever and they will help you as well on the quest for your cultural belonging.

1. You Can’t Hide From Globalization No matter how hard you try. No matter how much you believe in your lifestyle. No matter how much you cherish your traditions. You can’t hide from globalization. Or maybe we should call it “westernization.” The Maasai tribe experiences this westernization as well but they manage beautifully to never give up their own traditions. As global citizens and nomads we are doing the same. We embark on this journey and dive our whole self in to the new culture we chose to live in, but we cannot forget the customs and cultures we come from. For me, being Austrian and living in the U.S. — United States culture is sometimes a stretch; but this is just what globalization is. We globalize this planet with an array of cultures and create a new tribe called “global citizen.” The Maasai have taught me that it is ok to blend all these cultures but you need to make an effort to remind yourself not to forget the culture you have originated from.

2. Maasai Family & Clan System The Maasai prayer always starts with words: “may God give me children and cattle.” Those are two things that Maasai see essential. If we look at a Maasai world animals are the synonym for wealth in the western world. You might think that Maasai live a simple life, but if you think more about it, it’s not necessarily true. Maasai men understand that to get married they need cattle and after they need even more livestock to provide for the family. Maasai know that the decisions they make will affect a number of cattle they accumulated, and the cattle they accumulate will influence the success of their clan and boma. Global Citizen may not trade with cattle but we build a community around our cause and our friends in this new culture we live in become our clan. Living a culturally fluid life and gaining friends in this new culture creates the cultural wealth.

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It boils down to understanding that this planet earth we live in is united by all cultures and you have to embrace each culture you live in without the need to lose your own.

move themselves and their livestock to the tune of a communal land management system based on seasonal rotation.

The reason being that it’s seen as much more sustainable than the ‘take, take, take’ attitude of many developed countries. The nomadic way of life goes back to the roots of all human history which makes the Maasai extra special.

They, and a handful other peoples across the world, are our last living link to our distant past.

4. Never Give Up Through repression and years of struggle Maasai always find a way to be true to their beliefs and customs and in my opinion that’s something we all can learn from. You live from the outside in, not the inside out: People are taught from a very young age to look to others for guidance. Social norming is an important part of childhood — you figure out how to act in relation to everyone else-but the problem begins when you 18

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extend that process to include something as personal as your life purpose. Listen to your gut, it is right most of the time.

I am grateful for this enriching experience which will continue as I see how I can support spreading the word about this special nomadic tribe. Because that is where you will find the richness of the qualities of a nomadic mindset as a global citizen as well.

THE PERFECT GIFT!

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TECHNOLOGY

By Andrea Bazoin, M.Ed.

From Slow Boats to Swipe Right Two old friends discuss technology’s impact on cross-cultural romance

I Carolina Korth, childhood friend of the author and daughter of Maria (Nena) Villarino.

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t was the spring of 1966. Cecilia was traveling with her parents and sisters, Carmen and Paulina, from their home in Santiago, Chile to Mendoza, Argentina for a local wine festival. While standing in line at the customs checkpoint in the middle of the Andes mountains, Cecilia met Willard. He was a handsome farmer from Nebraska who was traveling with a caravan of adventures taking an inaugural drive from the top of the Pan-American highway, in Canada, to the bottom, in the Patagonia. After being instantly lovestruck with this woman, Willard left his group in order to be with Cecilia in Santiago.

Soon after, he had to return home to begin planting crops. But, the intense longing between them only grew. After three months, Willard flew to Santiago to marry Cecilia and bring her back to his small farm in Nebraska to start a new life together.

Six years later, in April of 1972, Cecilia received the tragic news that her mother had been struck by a bus as she walked home from the beauty shop.

She was killed instantly. Cecilia returned immediately to Chile to attend the funeral and to bring her sister, Carmen, back with her to Nebraska on a student visa, where she could care for her and figure out what would be next.

Next, as it turned out, was another Chilean woman marrying another Nebraska farmer. After living in Nebraska and attending school for two years, Carmen met Dennis through mutual friends while she was in college. However, her student visa was ending and she had to return to Chile. She and Dennis started writing letters and making calls to one another and, within six months, Dennis proposed in one such letter. This 19-year-old Nebraska farm kid took his first international flight to Santiago to marry Carmen and bring her back to corn country where, like her older sister, she would start a new life as a farmer’s wife.

A few years later, Dennis and Carmen welcomed their second child — a daughter named Andrea (that’s me). Carmen contacted her old friend and neighbor, Maria (Nena), to ask if she would be the godmother. Nena agreed and flew to the U.S. that summer for the baptism. At the ceremony, Nena met Dennis’s old classmate, friend and fellow

farmer Mike. Over the next several weeks of her visit, Nena and Mike developed a mutual interest in one another. After she returned to Chile, the two began writing letters and talking on the phone as often as they could. By December, Mike, yet another Nebraska farmer, got on a plane and traveled to the same middle-class neighborhood in urban Santiago to reunite with, and marry, Nena.

Three Chilean woman from the same street married three Nebraska farmers from the same region, each within six months of meeting. It was the 1980s, and the internet wouldn’t reach their homes for another 15 years.

Three half-Chilean childhood friends meet again in rural Nebraska, summer of 2018.

Andrea Bazoin (author), Carolina Korth (friend) and Christopher Bloomquist (author’s brother).

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Growing up biculturally in rural Nebraska.

Top: Carolina Korth and Nena Villarino Above: Sisters Claudia and Carolina Korth

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Fast forward. It’s 2018 — the age of social media and online dating. The world feels smaller and smaller as the web connections grow deeper and deeper.

It’s been years since I’d spoken to my childhood friend, but I reached out to Carolina — the oldest daughter of Nena and Mike — to talk about our shared childhood memories growing up biculturally in Nebraska, reflections on our parents’ cross-cultural relationships and how living in the digital age has impacted our own love lives. Carolina Korth is an actress, writer and voice-over artist living in Queens, New York.

I asked Carolina what it was like for her growing up as a product of this cross-cultural love story.

“On one hand, I thought [my parent’s relationship] was really cool and really romantic and on the other hand I also thought it was really impractical.

Sometimes I thought it just brought a lot of heartache and arguing. But, I also didn’t grow up in a place where there was much acceptance of outside cultures.” Carolina confessed to being bullied in school at a very young age because of the ways her bicultural upbringing showed up in her speech and dress.

“My mom used to send me to school dressed like a schoolgirl in Chile, wearing little white embroidered dresses or clothes knit by relatives. I [later] identified a lot with Ugly Betty. I would wear barrettes with, like, five Incan people on them.” Growing up in rural Nebraska, Carolina never felt like she fit in. “I really felt like I had to hide [my Chilean side]. [And yet] I would see Latinos on TV and thought, ‘I can relate to you, but no one can know.’ I was obsessed with Maria and Luis on Sesame Street.”

Carolina, in fact, ended up moving to the very street in Astoria, Queens where Sesame Street was filmed. After over 12 years living in one of the most international cities in the world, Carolina has had plenty of opportunities to experience cross-cultural love connections of her own. “Years ago, I met a man from Israel while he was on a business trip in New York and we quickly fell in love. Four days in, we really thought we were meant to be married to each other. In another time, we could have easily made a hasty decision to get married. But then we had a chance to get to know each other [online] and eventually realized it wasn’t going to work.”

Cecilia and Carmen — two Chilean sisters with their husbands and families in Nebraska. (l to r): Carmen, Cecilia, Dennis, Andrea (author), Willard, Michelle, Willard, Jr. and Christopher.

Carolina and I reflected together on how quickly each of our parents made the decision to get married.

But, in context, it made a lot of sense. Without the benefit of free email, video chatting and worldwide texting, they had to rely on slow letters and expensive long-distance phone calls to connect. Add longing and hormones to the mix and you’ve got a recipe for a potentially big decision made in short order — get married right away in order to be together in one place, legally.

Today, free video chatting and texting have made it so much easier to turn a chance meeting with an international traveler into a deeper relationship through more intimate and sustained communication.

Ten years ago when I met my now-husband, Greg, at a museum in Australia, we had a similar spark of

sudden attraction. He had been traveling there for nine months, but would be going back to his home in France the day after we met. For us, however, the question of being together was one we were able to comfortably answer with time — over two years, in fact, of daily Skype calls and regular visits to one another’s home countries. And, in the eight years since we’ve been married, Greg has been able to carry on the same level of frequent contact with his family as I did when I used to live in a different state from mine. This has meant a lot less resentment and isolation for him than perhaps my and Carolina’s moms experienced when they left their homes and families in a city of six-million people to move across the world and live on a farm in the middle of nowhere. www.CultursMag.com

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Cecilia, Claudia, Carolina and Colleen — Korth Sisters (daughters of Maria (Nena) Villarino).

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“My mom felt completely isolated and removed from her home and family,” Carolina explained. Although Nena was able to visit Chile, with her daughters, the trips were considered an incredible luxury. And, communication in between visits was slow and expensive. Both Carolina and I have memories of our moms yelling into corded phones — trying to physically bridge the distance with their

raised and often tearful voices. “[My parent’s relationship] was a lot of headache,” remembers Carolina, “what they expected of each other, what they valued, what they thought was appropriate.

I’m joking when I say this, but my parents almost got divorced every Sunday before mass — always a fight about being late.”

Carolina remembers the ways her dad’s German heritage values often clashed with her mom’s

Carolina and I reflected together on how quickly each of our parents made the decision to get married. But, in context, it made a lot of sense. Without the benefit of free email, video chatting and worldwide texting, they had to rely on slow letters and expensive long-distance phone calls to connect.

Chilean ones. “I think her isolation only added to the problem.”

Despite the difficulties she witnessed, watching her parents struggle to bridge cultural barriers, Carolina remains open to the idea of a long-term partnership with someone from a different country. Her younger sister, Claudia, did in fact marry a man from Peru. Her husband uses WhatsApp to talk to his family daily and Claudia is extra sup-

portive of regular visits home.

One thing both of us know from experience is that one cross-cultural romance can turn into a multi-generational story.

When Greg and I got married, I realized we really made a very significant choice, both for ourselves and our families. To others, it seems very exotic that I have family all over the world.

The other side of the coin, though, is that I never get to see them.

In some ways, I worry that I’ve inflicted the same heartache on my son that I experienced — being estranged from family.

But, as I watch him Skype with family in other states and other countries with equal ease, I’m less worried about his ability to feel rooted in familial ties.

Technology has completely changed so many things in our world, including the formation of international relationships.

The smaller the world gets through increased communication and media exposure, the more natural opportunities we all have to partner with people from different countries. Despite our modern communication tools, however, cross-cultural relationships will always involve a complex interaction of values, beliefs and expectations.

So, whatever happened to each of the people featured in this story? Unfortunately, both Nena and Mike and Carmen and Dennis eventually divorced — each after many years of trying hard to make it work. Cecilia lost her husband, Willard, to cancer after a long and devoted partnership. I’m currently married to my French husband — eight years and counting. Carolina, at the moment, is enjoying being single and free to travel the world.

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HEALTH

By Dr. Rhonda M. Coleman, DAOM

Don’t Call Me a Vegan

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f you’d told me 20 years ago that I’d be living life without consuming any meat or other animal products, I’d probably have laughed! It’s been a long road to my current health perspective and lifestyle. Like many U.S. raised individuals, I was nourished by a meat and sides approach to diet. For meat to be missing from the plate, there must have been some financial shortage or a kitchen mishap — a meal was incomplete without some sort of fleshy component. Some form of seafood, egg or farm raised stock was a staple.

When I was 19, I completely stopped eating pork and have not had it since. Over the years, I attempted many levels of vegetarianism — Pescatarian, Ovopescatarian, Ovo-vegetarian and just plain vegetarian (now often termed “vegan”). I had difficulty maintaining any of those diets, or rather labels, because I had no real motivation to maintain such a lifestyle (I didn’t even recognize that it was a lifestyle change) at the time. I’ve never been a person to appreciate being labeled. I like to have the freedom of options.

I don’t like to feel confined or restricted in any way.

When I would make the decision to eat a certain way, I felt that I’d trapped myself to a certain behavior.

As I’m a person of high integrity, if I slipped at all in my diet, then I felt that I’d failed in my attempt at the diet and I would then abandon the label and return to previous eating habits.

In 2012, I began studying Traditional Chinese Medicine. The degree program included learning signs and symptoms of various diseases and conditions, diagnosis and treatment of those and classes on both western and eastern approaches to dietary nutrition. In my first few weeks of class, my education confirmed for me that I had an intolerance to dairy products (meaning those foods derived from cow’s

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milk — including milk, cream, butter, cheese, sour cream, cream cheese, ice cream) and to wheat gluten.

I had suspected the same intolerance was present in my then 10 month old son who had suffered from digestive disturbances since his first week of life (even though he was exclusively breast fed for his first four months of life — for anyone wondering, I nursed him for one year and only stopped because we learned my diet was affecting his health) and who also had developed eczema around this age. I made some huge changes to my diet and to my son’s. I had been eating all organic and certified non-GMO foods for years. We moved to dairy free (I hadn’t had milk for years either, but was still using butter, cheese, and sour cream quite a bit) and gluten free products. In the first week, my son’s eczema completely cleared.

Within one week, both my son and I had flat stomachs after eating, when usually we would both be very noticeably bloated! When we brought meat or fish into our kitchen, my husband and I only purchased grass raised, free range, free roaming, and any other “sure-to-be” raised “clean” and guaranteedto-be-expensive-options.

For a long time, I’ve heard a whisper, an insistence, to avoid eating meat so that my mind could be more clear. On a physical level, I am very aware of how much more energy I have and how much clearer my skin is, how much more regular I am when I don’t consume meat or animal products. There was no sudden feeling that I needed to protect the lives of animals. I still wear leather and purchase skincare products that might not be labeled “vegan,” I don’t turn my nose up at people who eat meat. I don’t live the lifestyle of the commercial “vegan,” and frankly I don’t want to be associated with the modern image of a Vegan, especially when the pop version of that image is a person surviving off of processed junk

In 2012, I began studying Traditional Chinese Medicine. The degree program included learning signs and symptoms of various diseases and conditions, diagnosis and treatment of those, and classes on both western and eastern approaches to dietary nutrition.

foods like fries and soda. I follow a whole food, plant based diet with lots of legumes, greens, fresh vegetables and fruit, grains (rice, quinoa, oats, buckwheat, gluten free pastas, corn), yams and nuts.

This is the lifestyle I’ve chosen for myself based on how my body responds to different foods I’ve eliminated and/or introduced. My advice to others considering changing their diet is to pay attention to your rate of digestion (ingestion to elimination), your skin health (especially facial), sleep pattern, and your energy levels. Some notes to consider: 1. Food should energize you. If you feel tired whenever you eat, your body may be using all your energy reserves to process something incompatible with your system.

2. You should be comfortable after you eat. If you sense any discomfort — especially gas and bloating, consider an evaluation of your diet.

3. Even as a teen, your skin should be clear and free of blemishes. If you tend to break out a lot, especially on your face, but also back and chest, this may be an indication of a food sensitivity— if not some other health concern.

If you see me around, or you mention my writing, please don’t call me vegan. My name is Dr. Rhonda M. Coleman, DAOM and I’m just avoiding meat! www.CultursMag.com

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FASHION

By Sonja Motley

The Black Wardrobe Challenge

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am throwing down the gauntlet.

It’s time to get rid of all that black in your closet.

Not only can it be downright depressing as we enter the most colorful season of the year, but black isn’t necessarily slimming.

Did I just say that? Yes I did.

I’ve spent many years as a stylist, and I’m challenging outmoded ideas and notions.

Color rocks. It can change your world.

Here’s what to know about black, that perpetual standby: • It’s not a color. It’s a shade.

• Unlike black, color evokes emotion and enhances your beauty.

• Black/white/grey are shade families, not colors.

• I’ll say it again: Black will not give you a slimmer figure.

Tobias Van Schneider

I

Black is NOT the new black.

Expand your wardrobe world with color.

• Remove all but three pieces of black clothing from your wardrobe and store the rest.

• Keep your best fitting pants, skirt, and jacket.

• Spark up your wardrobe with colorful tops, scarves and dresses in your best colors.

But What Are My Best Colors?

What enhances your skin, eyes and body type is as unique as an individual spring flower.

Here are some options: • Periwinkle (a combination of purple and blue) is universally flattering. Not your preference? Explore along the entire range of blues to see what works.

• Purple is the big hue for 2018. Varying shades of ultraviolet can work for all skin. Long considered the color of royalty because of the cost and rarity of purple dyes, this pigment

Warm Violet

Having Black Withdrawal Symptoms?

You’re not alone. If giving up your long-time wardrobe staple is causing you stress, here are some suggestions: • Soft grey tones for spring and summer can make superb basics and are flattering alongside bright colors.

• Using brilliantly-colored scarves against a black jacket can uplift both your face and your mood. Learn how to tie them into intriguing shapes. A stylist can help here, too.

Free yourself for spring, the season of color, by clearing out your mourning blacks. Let the joy of color brighten your day and give your clothing new expression.

Online Exclusive Royal Purple

Here’s Your Fashion Challenge:

PANTONE® C Ultra Violet olor of the Year, 2018

I’m on a personal quest to revamp and revise your notions about the potential for color. Want to look and feel better?

Here’s my Fashion Rx: the right colors — your best colors — will add cheer, enhance your surroundings and uplift your mood. They are also universally flattering.

Mother Nature celebrates spring by sending a cascade of new colors from purple crocus to yellow daffodils to pink azaleas. No wonder we feel so good during that time of year! Nurture yourself with the colors that bring our your best feature.

Periwin kle

So What’s the Big Deal?

was forbidden for anyone not of the royal family by Queen Elizabeth I. Wear it and you’re guaranteed to feel like a Queen for the Day. • Get professional guidance.

Sometimes the best way to break the black habit is to get intervention from a stylist who can guide you gently towards exciting new choices. This is the part of my work I love the best: opening up new worlds and seeing how they can transform your self-image.

Find out how to look your best in color at Cultursmag.com/Sonja

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forward Emerge from the darkness of winter and into the brightness of spring. A place where fabrics flow, sparkle and shimmer, and florals look justpicked fresh.

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Skin in the Game

The mash-up of 60s and 70s style comes alive with tie-dye and rugged, but soft skins. Eclectic and funky!

The players are the same — the mix is fresh and new for Spring.

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Shining Star

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Grab the attention of the crowd with soft, feminine colors and metallic sparkle. Put a fun twist in your day. Be the Star in the night. Shine on!

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lace — the new white shirt

Fleur Allure

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Florals never fail to freshen your collection.

Overlap a mix of floral patterns and prints with floral textures for interest.

Fall in love with flowers over and over again.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Gerald Ambrosine; Sonja Motley, Liz Bilotta PHOTO STYLING

Sonja Motley, Liz Bilotta MAKEUP

Kim McFadden CLOTHING

Canary in a Clothesmine, Denver, Colo.

MODELS

Jaquikeyah Fields, Mohammad York www.CultursMag.com

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By Antonia Naje Allsopp Photography by Tommy McMillion

DESTINED FOR LOVE the new global family There’s an old adage that advises love comes when one least expects it.

Cara and Brandon Kelley and now their son Sidney, are living proof that there’s truth to that proverb. Growing up a world apart, who knew that a chance encounter on social media would end in the creation of a happy family? For anyone who hears the story, it seemed like destiny.

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Cara’s World Cara grew up in a small town in New South Wales, Australia,called Aubrey, left at age 25 to teach and then moved to Scotland because her mum was born there. She enjoyed globetrotting and soon traveled to the U.S. to train teachers in San Diego, Calif.

But something in her gut told her not just to visit, she needed to live to the United States. There was “no logical reason to move, but it felt right,” she insisted. Following her hunch, in 2012 she blindly moved to Denver, Colo., USA. Within two days, she was hired as a teacher. “That moment for me defined that’s where the magic happens — trusting your gut,” she advised.

A right swipe on a dating app almost got her to the next step. After two years in the state, she was deciding what to do next in life when she met Brandon on Tinder.

The date never materialized.

In 2014, Cara decided to return to Australia and started a charity page on Instagram.

Meeting Brandon Brandon, back in Denver, was intrigued by this insta profile. He’d been looking for a woman to join the board of his company and the essence of this page struck hm. “God

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told me to do whatever I could to help these people,” he said of the charitable organization.

He in-boxed the profile and they began speaking. He insisted, “I heard God telling me — as clear as I hear you right now, ‘do whatever you can to help these people.’” This prompted him to expedite a passport in three days. Three weeks later, he flew to Australia.

Brandon shared that the charitable group took high school students to other countries to create one hundred percent recycling communities. “I loved it and I said, ‘ABSOLUTELY.’ This is the vision and the connection I want to build in this world — I love you already,” he exclaimed.

Little did he know the force behind the organization was Cara — his Denver Tinder date that had never come to fruition. But that all changed quickly once he landed down under.

Palpable Energy As soon as they met, the proverbial sparks flew, and apparently everyone in vision distance could see it. “I was thinking business at this point and [out of nowhere] my mum said ‘I think you found your one,” Cara said.

The day after Brandon’s arrival, a stranger turned around and — unprompted — relayed,

m ve Lo akes the world g o ‘r

“You two, you need to fly to Fiji and elope. I have a friend who has a jet.

“We thought she was joking,” said Brandon. But then the stranger’s friend walked up and said, “It’s not a jet — it’s a sea plane.” Brandon continued, “It was crazy, it was just insane.”

They couldn’t ignore the feelings any longer, everyone around them could feel it, it was time they acknowledged it. To be fair, Brandon had barely been in the country one day.

Even so, “From the moment we connected, my life has accelerated,” recounted Cara. “I thought it was things you hear in the movies or things people say, but everything shifted.”

Brandon interjected, “That whole story about her even coming to America is why I love this woman so much.” www.CultursMag.com

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n ou

d

Brandon extended his Australian weekend business trip to almost a week.

Upon flying back to Colorado, he packed up his house, and his life, and flew back down under.

On Cara’s side, the feeling was mutual.

“As soon as he left, I told everyone, ‘I’ve met my future husband.’” Friends and family believed her, as it wasn’t like her to jump in so quickly. “They knew it for sure because I never had said anything like that before. My older sister always told me, “you’re too fussy, you’re too picky.” This go ‘round, her tune changed, “It’s about time,” Cara’s sister lamented.

Meanwhile, when Brandon returned to Australia, he asked Cara’s grandma, mother and dad for her hand in marriage. Said Cara, “Everyone I’m really close to, as soon 40

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as I met Brandon could see it [our connection] straight away.”

Upon returning from Australia after their whirlwind week together, Brandon acquired the first ring his dad had purchased for his mom. This would seal their engagement. He proposed on a tucked-away pier in Sydney Harbor. “There are no animals in this harbor because there are so many boats and ferries,” he suspensfully emoted. “I have this ring in my pocket, thinking ‘what am I going to do,’ and this random, lone seal pops up like, ‘Yah — do it already.” So he proposed.

The New Family It’s like the world was conspiring to push them together. Cara shared, “Obviously it was a huge honor for me, but it was such a surprise it [the ring] fit me perfectly.”

Before meeting Brandon, Cara had always known she’d eventually move back to Denver — she thought it would be to get her master’s degree — not by falling in love. By November that year, less than six months after their meeting, the couple was together in the U.S. Everything was seamless: Cara’s visa came easily. Upon arrival in the U.S., she was offered a job immediately. They found the perfect apartment. Everything was falling into place.

They’d been living parallel lives, and possessed all the traits, values, skills and attributes the other wanted. And now, they were complete.

Within a year of meeting, they married.

Within a year of moving to the States, they had a son: Sidney Ike Kelley.

“Sidney is her grandad’s name, and we met in Sydney,” relayed Brandon. “Brandon’s gradad’s name is Isaiah, but he went by Ike,” shared Cara.

And like his parents, Sidney’s stumbled into the greatest love one never expected. To look into his parents’ eyes, their adoration for each other clearly has spilled over to one lucky little boy. May their luck and zest for life do the same.

Online Exclusive Find out more about Brandon and Cara at Cultursmag.com/Cara

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Culturally Fluid Definitions

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n the 21st century, assessing someone’s background from outward appearance isn’t enough as hidden, rather than visual, diversity means people increasingly bring more to the table than meets the eye. Whether through

travel, nationality, race or ethnicity, many straddle culture in myriad ways.

From Cultural Fluidity, to Third Culture Kid, Expat, Third Culture Adult, Cross-Cultural Kid and more, the language to describe our in-between community

Cross-Cultural Kid (CCK)

Third Culture Kids (TCKs)

A term coined by author Ruth Van Reken in 2002, is a person who is living, has lived, or meaningfully interacted with two or more cultural environments for a significant period of time during the first eighteen years of life. This includes minoritized individuals living within majority culture.

Coined by Sociologist Ruth Useem in the 1950s as a person who has spent a significant part of his or her developmental years outside the parents’ culture.

The first culture is considered an individual’s passport culture, while the second culture consists of the culture(s) in which the individual has lived.

The third culture is a result of the person’s life experience — this is the culture to which they most belong. The third culture often is where individuals feel community with others of similar experience.

Adult Cross-Cultural Kid (ACCK) An adult who grew up as a Cross-Cultural Kid.

Cultural Fluidity/Cultural Mobility

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is of utmost importance. Knowing the vocabulary creates understanding and deepens our sense of belonging and connections to others with similar experiences.

Here’s a quick overview so you can follow along any of our articles with ease:

Adult Third Culture Kid (ATCK) An adult who grew up as a TCK.

A term coined by Culturs founder Donnyale Ambrosine as hidden diversity created by people who don’t or didn’t grow up in a homogenous cultural environment. Culturally Fluid individuals may straddle nationalities, ethnicities, race or culture. The fluidity created allows understanding between or among their foundational areas of meaningful experience. It also may hinder sense of belonging to any one area.

Children who moved to various regions within the same country while growing up, often having to re-learn ways of being, especially as regional differences in dress, speech and action are heightened in formative years when it is important to be accepted.

Missionary Kids

Third Culture Adult (TCA)

Children of missionaries who travel to missions domestically or abroad.

Coined in 2002 by Psychotherapist Paulette Bethel to signify individuals who travel extensively and are immersed in, or live in global locations after the age of 18 (after identity has been solidified).

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Domestic TCK

Refugees

Traveler

Internationally nomadic group not characterized by a parent’s occupation. Displaced from their homeland forcibly or by choice, often having fled for varied reasons — violence, politics, religion, environment, etc. Refugees typically do not return to their origin country.

Those who travel expecting differences among intra-international or international culture, however, not immersed in these cultures for extended periods of time, or long enough to integrate local cultural norms as their own.

Immigrants People who, for varied reasons, immigrate to a country different than their homeland to stay permanently. Many return to their home countries to visit, though some do not.

International Business Kids Children whose parents work with multi-national corporations takes them to far-away lands. Often in professional fields surrounding oil, construction and pharmaceuticals.

Borderlanders Expatriate (Expat) As defined by Merriam Webster — to leave one’s native country to live elsewhere; which also sometimes means to renounce allegiance to one’s native country.

Military B.R.A.T. Children of military who move with parents to different places within or outside of their home country. They often experience other cultures within the confines of a military installation or compound that possesses traits of the home country.

Non-Military Foreign Service Children traveling with their parents to various countries in non-military government roles, diplomatic corps, civil service, foreign service, etc.

Described by author Ruth Van Reken in the book “Third Culture Kids,” a borderlander is a citizen of one country that lives close to another. Often the norms, customs and traits of each country’s culture seeps into the other — creating a cultural experience separate from either original culture, while allowing inhabitants keen knowledge and insight to their own culture, as well as the other.

Multiracial People whose family consists of two or more races to which the individual identifies. With race often come cultural norms, slang language and attitudes that can greatly differ. Many multiracial children, though not all, have the unique opportunity to learn norms of all the cultures they comprise.

Multiethnic; Multicultural Diplomat Kids Children whose parents are members of the home country’s political framework while living on foreign soil.

People whose family consists of two or more cultures to which the individual identifies. Even when belonging to the same race, differences in culture may exist between ethnicities, tribes and other cultural contexts.

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OFFICIAL PARTNER OF

©2018 The Coca-Cola Company.

From shows to watch and songs to hear, to artistry, shopping and things to explore, know and do, here’s a specially curated list of things we recommend as MUST experience items for the culturally fluid.

THE MUST LIST

MUST l LISTEN

By Antonia Naje Allsopp

A

rtist and healer are words you expect to hear in a meditation room, wellness center or yoga pod— not necessarily in the rap game. But Jay Triiiple is a rapper whose aim is not just to change the game but to change the world by using her vulnerability to inspire others to be themselves.

“Being in the present, trusting myself and loving myself is the root of everything,” she shared during our interview on a sunny fall afternoon.

Triiiple emphasizes that she feels blessed to be mindful and have self-awareness. She uses those qualities to take her past experiences, future goals and present feelings to create messages that help others move through life. “My perspective is based around everything I’ve been through in life — the light and the dark. I bring that together and tell the stories. I write from the dark times I’ve been through and the struggles that I had. I also write from what I’m feeling in the present and I also write from where I want to be in the future: who I’m aiming to be. There’s a lot of me and my past in my music but there’s also a lot of manifestation in my music — what I want for the world how I want to change the world.”

A champion of self-growth, Triiiple wants her music to help people get through bad times, even just provide motivation to crush a workout, “I just want to change as many lives as I can,” she said. One of the few women in a male-dominated field, this LGBTQ rapper and self-professed introvert uses her in-between-ness and introspection to evoke emotion. “I don’t just make music for people who look like me, but for everybody,” she mused. “I’m also gay and very open about it. I think that’s why everyone can relate to me because I’m giving it all.”

Between radiant smiles that light up the room, a shy head-nod as she looks at the floor and stroked her chin provide hints to her naturally introverted personality. Writing music since age eight and rapping since 13; Triiiple moved to Denver, Colo., USA, at age 15 from Decatur, Ill., USA. MySpace, which was huge at the time, provided her first collaborations with other artists and began the journey to what would become her current brand — Loser’s Table.

Don’t let the mindfulness fool you — some of her lyrics

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Meet Jay Triiiple: Cross-Cultural Rapper, Artist, Healer

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MUST l LISTEN

are as raw as they come, riddled with profanities and videos portraying images of toughness, but to take a line from her song, “Rollin’”, “letting your soul go is the best promo.”

Who says you can’t be tough and real while bringing the light? Music helps Triiiple face her own demons and she hopes to do the same for her audience.

“I want to inspire people to embrace their growth and inspire them to be more motivated and inspire them to love themselves. I do that through being vulnerable with my own story and my life and what I’m going through.”

Find Triiiple’s latest album, Who’s Triiiple, on SoundCloud, Spotifiy and iTunes.

Management: Justin Johnson Dream Is Grind Productions Date: August 30, 2018 Venue: Ophelia’s 1215 20th St, Denver, Co 80202 48

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Event: KS 107.5 Mile High Live

Online Exclusive Get more of Triiiple’s interview and check out the video “Rollin’” at cultursmag.com/meet-jay

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MUST l BUY

Artist Kendall Edwards

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Middle-schooler Kendall Edwards makes art like a professional.

With surprisingly interesting visuals that jump off a page like a narrative, her moody, colorful, diverse works show the complexity and maturity expected of someone twice her age.

Check out more of her art at Culturs Marketplace (www.culturs.org), where it is featured on notecards, posters and the Symphony of Life Day planner system. Just looking at her art will make a difference in your day — we dare you not to be inspired.

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MUST l BUY

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MUST l KNOW

Hey! Dip Your Toes In

By Zoe Jennings

Eulanda Shead Osagiede, a former professional dancer, grooves with husband Omo Osagiede in Madeira, Spain.

Right: Shead Osagiede adding her stunning beauty to barren desert.

Photography courtesy of Eulanda Shead Osagiede and Omo Osagiede

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W

hen Eulanda Shead Osagiede was 9, she started her first business.

She sold perfume — made from flower petals from her front yard — at her daycare.

Now, Shead Osagiede is the cofounder of the popular travel blog “Hey! Dip Your Toes In.” She was born in an Air Force base in Illinois and lived in the United States during her childhood.

She always had a strong interest in being creative and running her own business, so she did small projects such as sewing ski hats and selling them in local ski shops.

Shead Osagiede called herself a “serial entrepreneur,” she bemused. “I was passionate about the idea of being successful, about creating something.”

Her parents fostered her love for creativity and for travel. They did not have a lot of money to enroll her in performing arts classes, but they took her to community programs and bought educational books from thrift stores so that she could learn about other cultures.

Before blogging, she worked in education with high school students for eight years and also taught at universities. She loved her career in education, but always felt like she couldn’t use her all of her creative skills in the classroom.

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skills. Now, she is working her “accidental career,” and she could not be happier, she said.

“When you find that area that really makes your heart sing, that taps into things that you could just do in your sleep, that you don’t have a problem doing morning and morning consistently. When you find that thing you need to hold on to it.”

Since she created the blog three

Shead Osagiede in Morocco.

Opposite, top to bottom: In thought.

Omo Osagiede with HDYTI co-founder and his wife, Shead Osagiede.

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years ago, she has found life to be exciting and fresh.

“I’m in my stride now,” she said.

Shead Osagiede moved to England to earn her master’s degree.

She has always been educated in world cultures and has a “wanderlust gene,” she said.

“I felt like I needed to be brave and shake myself up a little bit.

“I just wanted to experience living abroad again.”

While there, she met her now husband, Omo Osagiede, on an

online dating website. When creating the profile, Shead Osagiede had one major stipulation: her partner must love traveling. This was lacking in previous relationships resulting in “travel guilt,” she said.

It was quite crippling for me.

I always felt a sense like I was caged.” Now, she enjoys traveling internationally and building her business that she shares with her husband.

OMO’S JOURNEY Omo Osagiede is the co-founder “Hey! Dip Your Toes In.” Osagiede was born in Nigeria and his parents came from two different tribes in Nigeria.

Africa is made up of over 200 ethnic groups and it can be confusing to navigate culture.

Instead of raising him using one parents’ culture, they chose to raise him speaking English with an English influence.

“In a way, it de-culturalized our home growing up because they had to find a middle ground,” Osagiede said. “Basically, they raised us as children who were culturally neutral.”

Osagiede spent hours looking at books and learning about other cultures.

“I got curious about other cultures,” Osagiede said. “I got curious about, not too much Nigerian culture, but global culture.

I wanted to know more about the rest of the world.”

After finishing university in Nigeria, Osagiede got a job opportunity in England. The move to London “hit the reset button on his life,” he said. Although he had been raised with English influence, the culture was much different from Nigeria.

“I got thrown into the deep end of this culture here,” Osagiede said.

“It was both exciting and scary at the same time. I could finally explore my interest in other cultures.”

Even though he was thrown into the deep end, he said this move changed his life. He met his wife

who now runs their travel blog.

The two met because of their shared love of travel. They took their first international trip to Costa Rica. By the trip’s end, his aunts were hoping they would get married.

“It was also scary in the sense that I was leaving familiar ground and going to another country and not knowing what to expect,” Osagiede said. “That’s one of the beautiful things about travel is that before you get thrown into the deep end it exposes you to that other culture.”

Among some of his favorite places he has traveled to for the blog are Morocco, Portugal and Mexico, although all destinations and experiences — both good and bad — have had a positive impact on his life.

Before moving to England and traveling for the blog, he had not been to other parts of Africa.

When he visited Morocco, he saw a different side to his African identity, he said.

“We had a shared sense of brotherhood with the African identity, so it was a learning opportunity to really see my earth continent from a different perspective,” Osagiede bemused.

For Osagiede, one of the most important lessons he has learned from traveling is that humanity is everywhere, he said.

LOVE, TRAVEL AND KISMET

Online Exclusive Find out more about Omo and Eulanda, their multicultural wedding and their lives at: Cultursmag.com/Hey

The travel blog started out as a passion project for the couple.

Shead Osagiede’s father had www.CultursMag.com

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suggested they write a book about their travels. They decided on the blog instead.

Life changed when HDYTI won a food category at the UK Blog Awards competing against some of the top blogs in the United Kingdom. The award made them take their blog seriously and consider it a possible career.

“The award, in a sense, validated the idea we had and kinda made our vision a lot bigger than it was at the time,” Shead Osagiede said.

The opportunity felt unreal for the couple, but they soon got busy

Above: The colors of her photography are magnificent as Shead Osagiede lounges abroad.

Left: The couple shopping.

Maxeen Kim Photography Right: Shead Osagiede glows against the backdrop of blue that is Chefchaouen, Morocco.

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setting price lists, accepting proposals and appearing on TV shows.

Although the couple maintained content that was unfiltered and organic, they accepted sponsored trips in which they would collaborate with brands to create content, they said. Even if the trip is sponsored, speaking truthfully about locations on their blog remains a priority.

“We don’t believe in pulling the wool over our audience’s eyes because it’s not fair,” Shead Osagiede said. “They’re taking the time to engage with our content.

That puts a lot of responsibility on our shoulders. We need to be transparent.”

The couple has learned that the best content comes from being quiet and following the thread of humanity in the locations they visit.

They think immersing themselves in the culture helps them understand it. This can be done through, for example, interacting with the locals and taking public transportation.

“We have learned to let stories speak for themselves,” Shead Osagiede said. “Not be the narrator, not try to orchestrate everything so perfectly but be a platform to share these stories and to take ourselves out of showing off as a narrator. It’s not about us.”

The couple cherishes the good as well as the bad memories they have experienced through travel.

“Every destination adds something to our travel story,” Osagiede said. “Even though there are some destinations that we favor more than others, ultimately, every single

place we’ve been to has given us something.”

Some places they traveled surprised them. Visiting Poland for example they were a bit apprehensive about political uprising in Eastern Europe and anti-immigrant, anti-nonwhite sentiments.

“We’ve had some apprehensions about traveling to certain places because of that, being travelers of color, being black travelers,” Shead Osagiede said.

Yes, people in Poland wanted

to take pictures with the couple, which felt odd. However, they enjoyed their adventure learning how to pick wild mushrooms, kayaking on a lake and meeting the mayor of the village.

Ultimately, traveling has helped them see the good in the world.

“It helps you see differently,” Osagiede said. “It helps you see the context in which you see common

things happen. It just makes you feel hopeful for humanity. There are pockets of hope across the world.”

The biggest lesson they learned traveling is that shared humanity is everywhere.

“Regardless of religion, social class, skin color, gender: ultimately, we are all human and we all want the same thing,” Osagiede said.

“We want safety. We want to be able to care for our families. We want to live comfortable lives. We want to live in peace.” www.CultursMag.com

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MUST l SEE Photography by Susan Borowitz

Locked In: Crisis in Mid-life usan Borowitz uses photography to navigate life transitions.

Her photo exhibit, ”Locked-In,” a reference to “Locked In Syndrome” explores the experience of being stuck in life, especially in mid-life, and the accompanying sensation of not being able to control forces that seem to dictate one’s existence.

Using metaphor and imagery that suggest the inability to move on, the series evokes the absence of agency and the apparent senselessness of each waking day.

The choice to use self-portraiture reflects not only a personal journey, but also a common experience of women who feel consciously aware of what they should pursue or speak up about, but feel inert in the face of a dominant power: unequal relationships, demons residing in the subconscious, societal expectations, and especially the disappearance of relevancy with encroaching age.

Learn more about Borowitz’s work at susanborowitzphoto.com.

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CURTAIN Holyoke, Massachusetts

Online Exclusive For an exclusive video interview with the artist, visit cultursmag.com/susan

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STRAPHANGER Chicago, Illinois 62

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Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry and narrow-mindedness, and many of our people need it sorely on these accounts.

Broad, wholesome, charitable views of men and things cannot be acquired by vegetating in one little corner of the earth all one’s lifetime. ~ Mark Twain

STALLED Kazakhstan

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STRANDED Kaindy Lake, Kazakhstan

TERMINUS Johnstown, Pennsylvania

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TRIP Cape May, New Jersey

Borowitz’s series “Locked-In” recently was awarded Honorable mention in the Fifth Biennial of Fine Art & Documentary Photography in Barcelona, Spain CYCLING Cape May Point, New Jersey

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By Antonia Naje Allsopp and Antoinette Toscano

Denver International Film Festival

P

resented films tackled current issues like Brexit as told in “Postcards from the 48%,” the family impact of addiction in Julia Roberts’ “Ben is Back,” religion and coming out in “Boy Erased;” or current issues presented in historic context like Brian Cranston and Kevin Hart’s “The Upside,” Hugh Jackman’s “The Frontrunner,” and Viggo Mortensen and Mahershala Ali’s “Green Book” and more.

A packed Denver landmark, the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, for The Frontrunner.

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Relevance from current to nostalgic abound at 41st Denver International Film Festival.

THE FRONT RUNNER Adapted from journalist Matt Bai’s book “All the Truth Is Out,” the biopic stars Hugh Jackman as Colorado Senator Gary Hart, who — by many accounts — was the frontrunner for Democratic presidential nomination in 1988. Roots of today’s political coverage began from this world-altering time in American politics, whereby a seemingly untouchable candidate dared media to find proof of marital indiscretions to which they constantly hinted. In a taped introduction for the DIFF premiere, Hugh Jackman highlighted, “It examines the very complex tensions and human emotions when presidential candidate Gary Hart’s private life intersects with the campaign trail and the media. I would say that the movie has no real heroes, it has no real villians — it has a bunch of human beings — all in the middle of this very tense cauldron that is a political campaign. You literally see what it is like from 12 different points of view.” The resulting actions changed the course of lives, history and politics as we knew it. Though not inherently multicultural, it provides food for thought in the current political climate around the globe and most certainly tactics employed by current day politicians and media.

In theatres Nov. 16.

Gerald Ambrosine

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POSTCARDS FROM THE 48%

GREEN BOOK

“Postcards from the 48%” is a new documentary directed by David Wilkerson that vividly portrayed the ‘Remainers’ side of the Brexit issue regarding the European Union (EU) referendum vote which has come to be known as “Brexit.” The United Kingdom (UK) is still divided more than two years after a non-binding, referendum vote in favor of exiting the EU. According to Wilkerson, the amount of controversy surrounding this film was so intense that no British citizen would fund the project. On November 13, 2018, UK and the EU negotiators reached an agreement on a Brexit withdrawal deal.

At the time of printing, British Prime Minister Theresa May was to present the deal to her cabinet on November 14. The film underscores uncertainty Wilkerson says is brought to the UK, “Every day presents new, incredible headlines, from ‘how to guarantee adequate food supplies’ to illegal overspending to the real possibility of running out of essential lifesaving medicines. Far from the brave new world the UK was promised when they voted to ‘take back control.’”

Visit cultursmag.com/postcards for more details on this controversial film and find where to watch.

DIFF People’s Choice Winner “Green Book” also has biopic roots. Based on the true story of a 1962 road trip in which bouncer Tony Lip, played by Viggo Mortenson, was employed as a driver to the wealthy, educated and accomplished Jamaican born pianist Dr. Don Shirley (played by Mahershala Ali). Lip drove Shirley to concert engagements across the dreaded Mason-Dixon Line of the American deep south. Using the “Green Book,” a traveler’s guide for African-Americans, Lip was able to find restrooms, lodging, food, gas and shops available to Shirley as they traversed the country in the segregated era of Jim Crow. In reality “The Negro Motorist GreenBook,” was published by Victor H. Green in 1936. For more than three decades, it served as a beacon of safety and necessity for black motorists in the United States during turbulent times. In the film, together Lip and Shirley confront racism and develop a lifelong friendship along the way. As much a story of romance and friendship as it is about acceptance and bigotry.

A true crowd-pleaser. In theatres Nov. 20.

BOY ERASED

Focus Features

In theatres Nov. 2.

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“The Frontrunner” director Jason Reitman.

THE UPSIDE

Gerald Ambrosine

Gerald Ambrosine

Another factually-based film chronicles a surprising friendship between a widowed quadrapalegic Park Avenue billionaire and an ex-convict working to change the course of his life and support his family. The unexpected changes affect all involved, all-the-while leaving audiences in stiches. Brian Cranston and Kevin Hart each take stellar turns creating three-dimensional crosscultural characters that make a case for friendship that explodes off the screen.

In theatres Jan. 2019.

BEN IS BACK A 19-year-old son — Ben — shows up unannounced and unexpectedly for Christmas to the surprise of his mother (Julia Roberts) and step-father (Courtney B. Vance). Many layers of family dynamic emerge as a blended family’s many facets show the complexity of dimensionality that add to already difficult issues in today’s world. In theatres Dec. 7.

Andrew Rodgers, Executive Director, Denver International Film Festival.

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O

xymoronic as it sounds, Infinite Monkey Theorem (IMT) is an urban winery founded on the principle of making order out of chaos. Third Culture Adult Ben Parsons grew up in London, studied winemaking in Australia and began his career on Colorado’s Western Slope.

He founded IMT in 2008 with the chaotic notion of growing grapes at 4,500 feet in Colorado (which brings challenges like a short growing season and potential snow or frost) and using those grapes to make wine out of a back alley in the middle of the city.

From there, IMT has up-ended the industry by creating exquisite canned (yes, canned) wines and has established three tasting rooms in hip, bustling, artsy urban districts in Denver, Colo., and Austin, Texas. Yet another is planned for Fort Collins, Colo., this holiday season.

New food finds that are sure to make your holiday season bright

By Antonia Naje Allsopp

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Drink Up: Infinite Monkey Theorem

Above: A hip downtown winery for an equally intriguing Denver locale.

Left: The IMT Tasting Room in Denver Metro’s brand new Stanley Marketplace is all-atonce fun, comfortable, vintage and chic.

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The first in this millennia-old industry to can wine, IMT offers eight delectable varieties from red to white to bubbly. They also offer traditional bottles and wine kegs.

We recommend these selections:

Aromas of Meyer lemon, lime, peach and green apple burst onto the palate.

With racy acidity and great structure, carbonation keeps it lively and fresh through the finish. $15 per pack of 4

Riesling blended with heralded Colorado Western Slope Palisade Peach juice. Some just might call this life-changing. Aromas of white peach and citrus fruits rouse the palate while acid and sugar are balanced perfectly with carbonation to make it delightfully refreshing. $15 per pack of 4

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Gold-medal winning taste with a crisp, dry cider and clear pear flavor. Citra and Nelson Sauvin hops add a light grapefruit note. IMT suggests to pair with sunshine and friends, and anything from BBQ to spicy curry. $15 per pack of 6

T Stir, Sip Savor.

Feel Your Best.

hat's the idea behind Golden Root Tumeric Latte mix. As a hot chocolate aficionado who no longer uses added sugar, cold winter days felt a bit more empty. Black coffee doesn't always fill that snowymorning-by-the-fire vibe, but this creamy, somewhat spicy, frothy blend of liquid goodness hit the spot. With just the right amount of creamy texture, spice and temperature warmth to keep one cozy, it finally feels like the yearn for cocoa will fade away.

The Denver-based company's founder lovingly hand-created a Turmeric Latte inspired by the centuries-old East Indian remedy called haldi doodh — Hindi for turmeric milk. The homemade remedy often was used to combat inflammation and common colds or as a digestive aid. The Golden Root brand has made convenient, powdered versions that are perfectly suited to our busy lifestyles on-the-go.

The drink itself blends sweet and savory spices that, according to the founder, create a soothing and rejuvenating caffeine-free beverage.

Definitely worth a try.

Available in slightly sweetened and unsweetened. $9.99 for six sachets or $29.99 for a 30-serving stand-up pouch. www.goldenroot.co

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78 80 84 In an adorably straight-forward cartoon to explain his Mexican-American bicultural mixed-race heritage, cartoonist Terry Blas at least tried to clarify the confusing terminology: Hispanic defines language while Latino defines geography. (Latinx is becoming popular as it eliminates the male-female binary inherent in the original term.) Latin America comprises the area south of the United States, including the Caribbean; while Hispanic is an indicator of predominantly Spanish speaking countries. So, in essence; Brazilians are Latin, but not Hispanic as they speak Portuguese; Spanish are Hispanic, yet not Latin because they are not geographically south of the United States.

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None of these distinctions are defined by race.

Let’s explore the many shades of Latin that grace us each day.

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Hispanic, Latino, Latin, Latinx — in the modern world, it’s all a matter of identity.

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LATIN

Sedrique Olison Born to Greatness

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ll the boys in his family have unique names — including titles. “Master Sedrique Lynn Von Olison,” he laughed — an effortless full-bodied diaphragmatic roar perfect for his towering six-footfive frame, caramel skin and dazzling pearly whites.

With a laugh as contagious as his personality, I found myself sunk, engulfed, all-in. And that’s Olison’s advice to you as well.

Embrace it. All of it. All of you; including your greatness.

A name like Olison’s spawns greatness from the get-go, we chuckle. “I guess so,” he retorted, with a raise of the eyebrow and shrug of the shoulders that suggested he’d never considered such a notion. But it was real: The physical stature, the personality, the look — he fit the name that preceded it all.

For Olison, this no-holds-barred, jump-in-withboth-feet, feel-it-in-your-bones approach to life has worked. He does what he wants, when he wants and how you feel about it is not his concern. “This is me,” he explained, “You’re gonna love it or you’re not. If you don’t love it, I’ll pray for you. If you do — then let’s go.

“I’ve always surrounded myself with people who love me for my heart, not the exterior cover,” he added.

Curious minds ask, “what are you,” in an effort to place his look. “Latino, Dominican and AfricanAmerican. Tiano Indian, African and Spaniard — I’m black,” he asserts. But his final answer? “I’m human. I’m Sedrique.”

He most recently found out about his Dominican Republic origins and immediately dove all in to learn about his family. “I booked a flight, went by myself and have been back many times.

This fall, Olison celebrated his 26th year as principal makeup artist for the Denver Broncos

cheerleaders. “They call me the face, boobs and abs guy,” he shared.

“You paint those on?” I exclaimed.

“We ENHANCE,” he stated, calmly. “We HIGHLIGHT.” Then — again, with the laughter. All-in.

As of his 26th anniversary with the football club, he’d logged 237 games in both Bronco Stadiums, four Super Bowls, Three America Bowls, 22 calendars and 492 cheerleaders’ makeup. “I love my job,” he beamed.

Since then, he’s done the faces of the world’s best and brightest, famous and infamous including models Iman, Nikki Taylor, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Banks; actors Cloris Leachman and Whoopi Goldberg; and entertainers and politicians like Al Sharpton, Tatiana Ali, John Legend and Hill Harper.

He’s worked for designers Dolce and Gabbana and Versace and brands like Tide, Pantene and L’Oréal just to name a few. He shared, “If I can help someone conquer a goal, give them that confidence, live out that fantasy or just feel better about themselves through the artistry of makeup, then my job is done.

“I’ve been very blessed. I’ve been to places that I can say I wouldn’t have been if it wasn’t for the makeup,” he reminisced. Iceland, Italy, Prague — even the smallest, most remote places of the U.S. “It’s been a definite journey.”

In a final note to wrap up advice to the inbetween, he thought back to all the cultures that make up his heritage — that make him who he is.

“Don’t limit yourself,” he cajoled. “Embrace it all because that is you and that is the beauty of it.”

Whether it’s your heritage, culture, life, career, he sums it up neatly — “Embrace it all.”

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Brien Hollowell

Online Exclusive Experience the laughter yourself at cultursmag.com/Sedrique

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Anita Henestrosa The Art of Failure

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nita Henestrosa is on a mission to inspire students to create their own maps of success.

With first-hand understanding of how fear almost stopped her, Henestrosa shares powerful lessons to help youth own their futures. Her goal is for students to believe in themselves so they can achieve their dreams.

Henestrosa is a bicultural, biracial Adult Third Culture Kid. Though she grew up in Switzerland, during that time, having a Mexican father allowed her to travel to Mexico. In third-grade she set a goal to pursue a full tennis scholarship at a top University in the U.S. “So that became my dream very early on,” she said. But the path wasn’t easy, “I made it into high school,” she shared with a chuckle. This was important because in Switzerland, only the top 20 percent of students make it to secondary school.

“I’m so bad at school,” she explained. “My GPA from Switzerland translated to a 1.8.

I want kids to understand it’s not what defines you, because I failed so many times.” Henestrosa emphasized that failure can actually foster success and achievement.

Constant bullying for her lack of physical stature (she stands a whopping four feet ten inches tall), and learning how to handle her poor grades, taught Henestrosa how to persevere. By believing in herself, she eventually made it to a small university in Kentucky, USA, eventually continuing to Perdue University where she earned a full tennis scholarship, as well as Most Valuable Player and Player of the Year honors.

Volunteering in Rio de Janeiro after graduation sparked a strong desire to help others; but her sister reminded her of another dream: to live and work in San Francisco — one of the most expensive cities in the world. Nothing a one-way plane ticket, couch-

surfing, eating only rice and sleeping on a park bench couldn’t solve.

So determined, she thought to herself, “This is my dream. I have a few months to make this work.”

Landing 40 interviews in 30 days, she began an entry-level sales job cold-calling — the company sponsored a temporary work visa — and just in time as Henestrosa had mere $4.36 left in her pocket.

“I remember the fear in the beginning to make the calls in English,” she recalled (surprising as Henestrosa speaks seven languages). With TCK-level resilience, she dug in and within in a year was the company’s most prolific salesperson, besting her self-imposed two-year deadline to accomplish that goal in half the time.

Then passion called.

“So many people are like, ‘I’m not happy, I don’t know what to do, I hate my job,’ and it breaks my heart,” she offered. “I want to set up kids to do something in life and support them. They can really dream big — it’s really our thoughts and beliefs that hold us back.” Determination to share the gifts of growth mindset presented her next big goal. “Growth mindset is always believing you can achieve something. Growth mindset says I’m not good at this but I can learn,” she elucidated.

There was born MapIt30k, an audacious project to present to 30,000 students in 30 countries over 300 days. “My first talk was to seven students in Iceland.” From there, she amped up her offerings, learned how to network cross culturally and booked larger gigs across the Americas, Asia and Europe.

Having recently ended her 323-day marathon to 31,321 students in 30 nations, Henestrosa now is writing a book with 11 essentials for teenagers to learn essential life skills and achieve personal goals — a topic where we can safely say she is an expert.

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Nepal

Guatemala

Online Exclusive

Oman

Learn more about Henestrosa and MapIt30K at cultursmag.com/Anita

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Keka Araujo

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LATIN

Negra with Tumbao Unapologetically Authentic

“I

remember when you told black Latinas that they were black and they would want to fight you,” asserted Keka Araujo as we discussed the recently fashionable topic of being Afro-Latina.

“Some people want to make me biracial. I am not biracial, I am bicultural,” she continued. “I am unapologetically black.”

Araujo spoke about how she grew up in a Pan-African household with an African-American father who is Muslim and a black Cuban mother who practiced African religion. “A lot of times there’s a struggle people had fitting into boxes — I didn’t really have that issue because my parents exposed me to blackness from everywhere. There was never a time where I questioned what blackness was. Growing up like that really gave me a different perspective.”

Araujo is a Journalist and also is Editor-in-Chief of the blog “Negra with Tumbao,” which focuses on life, beauty and culture. Negra, or black, and tumbao — a rhythm on the bass in Afro-Cuban music. So why Negra with Tumbao instead of Negra con Tumbao? “Celia Cruz is the black patron saint of Cuba,” exclaimed Araujo, referring to the Afro-Cuban music legend well known for her song “La Negra Tiene Tumbao,” among many others. Cruz ruled the Latin

airwaves for five decades, was called the Queen of Salsa and was key to the music genre’s popularity.

Cruz also embraced African parts of her identity at a time when it wasn’t chic to do so.

“She just embodies everything about blackness,” Araujo said. The Miami-based maven’s mix of English and Spanish in the title was purposeful.

“I’m bicultural and I’m bilingual — I didn’t want it to be all Spanish, because I didn’t want to forget my dad’s identity — because I embrace both.”

It’s important to Araujo that she represent all of her identity. For her, being in-between and traversing the two distinct cultures of her heritage came easily.

She opined that outsiders of that world often are the ones who make it difficult when simple codeswitching comes inherently to those who live it.

“We always had a connection to who we were in terms of being Latin,” she relayed. “When we went to my grandmother’s house, I knew I would get liver and onions; when we would go to my TiTi’s house, I knew I would hear salsa, I would dance Rumba, that we would dance and sing.

I think it’s very important instead of separating ourselves by culture or separating ourselves by language we should realize we’re all connected.”

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Afro-latin Pinnock shared, “My mom looks more African-American, so people would always assume ‘here’s a young black girl,’ so she just identified with being African-American because of the assumptions people make.”

Photography by Trey Hutch

Key Stylist: La Vera Wardrobe: SeriesFest

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LATIN

Emil Pinnock Entrepreneurial Roots

E

mil Pinnock is an American film director, producer, writer and actor from Harlem, New York, USA. In his thirties, Pinnock has been active in the film industry more than two decades. Onscreen credits include PBS’s “Reading Rainbow” with actor LeVar Burton and roles in major motion pictures like “Sixth Man,” “Beloved” with Oprah Winfrey, “Gridiron Gang” starring Dwayne, the Rock, Johnson and the NBC series “E-Ring.”

Since youth, however, Pinnock yearned to be behind-the-camera, to be in a position of ownership.

It’s a yearning that’s part of an entrepreneurial spirit inherited from, and espoused by, his greatgrandfather. “My great-grandfather, Rocky, was Panamanian and spoke nine languages fluently,” Pinnock conveyed proudly. “His mother was born in Spain.” Even though Pinnock grew up in Spanish Harlem and considered that “a really good reminder” of his background, he never really examined their family’s heritage. Flash forward to today and Pinnock is crystal clear that his lineage is where his career ambition, drive and passion for ownership is rooted.

“My mother was an artist and entrepreneur and My great-grandfather was an entrepreneur. He grew up in poverty and instilled in us the idea of ownership. Just because we’re black and Latino, let’s not let that hold us back. Let’s be proud. We need to use that pride in who we are to drive the things we are pursuing,” he relayed. Pinnock shared that as a child actor, he knew he would work behindthe-camera because that meant leading the charge and essentially, leading change. He emphasized that those notions were tied directly to family history, culture and the pride that his great-grandfather set for them to be entrepreneurial and to own the fruit of their work.

Already successful, Pinnock’s path to ownership was sparked when he and five friends were out celebrating his 19th birthday and falsely arrested for possession of two firearms. From that experience, and the journey to all six being acquitted, came “Up North,” an award-winning series pilot loosely based on Pinnock’s personal story. He raised 400 thousand dollars to produce the drama and has since seen his star rise even more. “There’s so much conversation we’ve had about prison reform, fair rights, the different racial lines and the discrimination that’s going on, so to make a piece that caused that type of conversation, I’m just so proud to be a part of that,” he emoted.

His company, Unleashing Giants, has since closed six more production deals, allowing Pinnock to pass the torch, mentor youth with theater-based after-school programs and create jobs for others like himself. “We define unleashing as to set free or run at will, and a giant as someone of unusual size or strength. Most of the time I don’t believe AfricanAmerican and Latino kids are being told that they are giants. We tell them ‘you are a giant and you can do whatever you want to do.’ Now you have to plan for that, you need some goals or a road map of where you want to go.”

Pinnock is passionate about providing opportunity for undiscovered talent and creating the next generation of storytellers. “We will mentor them so they can go and unleash somebody else,” he reassured.

“The cool thing about it is hiring somebody for a job in film and not only seeing them on television and seeing their success but knowing that these African-American and Latino families’ lives are going to change forever. It changes their zip code, it changes their education, it changes their kids’ upbringing.

It’s the coolest thing to know that.”

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A Swiss-Peruvian CCK shares how she lives

Jenn & Pawel Photography

LIFE WITHOUT LIMITS

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Walking along the Venice canals.

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LATIN

Pamela Blattner

W

ith a soul described as nomadic, blended Latina Pamela Blattner is a citizen of the world who strives to live life outside of the box. Born in Aarau, Switzerland to a Swiss mother and Peruvian father, Blattner leads a mobile life as she lives in-between Swiss, South American and North American culture. As a certified life coach with professional experience in international communications, Blattner attributes part of her success to an understanding of global culture. “I feel a lot of gratitude for my diverse heritage,” she expressed.

An Early Start At the age of three, Blattner’s parents got a divorce.

Her father left Switzerland to live in Honduras and their relationship eventually faded. Six years later, Blattner’s mother — Adult Cross-Cultural Kid herself — married a Swiss man who soon adopted her daughter.

Brazil, Paraguay, Cuba, Botswana, Maldives and Cape Verde Islands are just a few of the places Blattner visited growing up. While most Swiss children would go skiing during their vacations, Blattner has fond memories of traveling to “remote places like Madagascar.”

She shared, “What initiated my love for the world was my first long flight.” She got the travel bug as a young girl during a family trip to Madagascar.

Blattner explained that she can still smell the sweet scents of flowering trees, the excitement of sailing along the ocean and feelings of being immersed in

a new culture. “The warmth of the people and the culture made a big impression on me.”

Avoiding Reality While growing up in a small Swiss town, Blattner was comfortable assuming the roles of a traditional Swiss child. “I almost forgot being biracial until someone would sometimes painfully bring it to my attention that I was different looking than the average Swiss person.” Blattner continued, “now, my husband and I joke about how I was like the lioness who thought she was a sheep and messed up every statistic at the airport because I would always check the Caucasian box without even hesitating.”

“When I experienced racial bias, I thought it had to do with me not being okay. I never attributed it to my skin color,” Blattner explained. She recalled that people assumed she was adopted from

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somewhere else since she did not mirror anyone else from her Swiss family. Since the city she grew up in was “pretty culturally homogeneous,” Blatter initially tried to blend in with the community and ignore her South American heritage.

Her cultural fluidity developed with time as she realized, “I looked different and quite often also felt different. I slowly became more interested in my roots and in my identity.”

The Missing Link Blattner lived abroad in Iowa as a foreign exchange student at the age of 17. She remembered “a truly magical experience” that

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caused her to fall in love with the United States and broaden her horizons.

Blattner searched for her biological father as an 20-year-old “with the urge to understand myself more fully.” During those years of self-discovery, Blattner felt unsettled in Switzerland and quenched that thirst by

becoming a flight attendant before attending university. “I was happiest when I was out in the world,” Blattner shared.

Around this time, she reconnected with her biological father and his family that reside in Seattle, Wash., USA. As she

spent more time with her father, Blattner felt a stronger connection to her Peruvian roots and identity.

Getting in touch with her Latina origins allowed Blattner to establish her identity as she moved to Los Angeles in 2012 — a long-time dream of hers. “I felt so at home and at ease in this whirling melting pot. That’s when I started integrating my Latina side. I’m more aware and more proud of my bicultural heritage in a sense.”

Now, when people ask Blattner where she is from, no one wonders why she does not look Swiss or has a different accent.

“It moved me when a Latina, or even an American Indian, would pass by me and nod as if I were a part of a tribe or I belong somewhere,” she exclaimed.

I almost forgot being biracial until someone would sometimes painfully bring it to my attention that I was different looking than the average Swiss person.

Bridging Two Cultures

Jenn & Pawel Photography

Blattner expressed the important role her father figures had in each stage of her life.

“They popped up in the perfect moments of my life to support the process of finding my identity.

My Swiss father showed up when I just wanted to blend in and not be different as a child. Then, my biological father welcomed me when I was interested in my identity, roots and wanted to feel whole.”

The pieces of Blattner’s world came together when both of her fathers walked her down the aisle

at her wedding. For Blattner, it was a beautiful moment that represented the “somehow completed process of finding myself, my identity and the gratitude for everything it has given me.”

Being confident as a blended Latina is empowering to Blattner.

“I get to live all my facets to the fullest now.” She continued, “only with getting to know myself better and embracing all of me, I got to know and appreciate the Latina parts in me as well.”

The process of self-discovery is ongoing as Blattner uncovers more about her Peruvian culture.

“I’m kind of in this in-between place where I feel more Swiss and I look more like a Latina.

I’ve been accused of not being Swiss or Latina enough.”

Blattner has learned to not apologize for “being a bit too alive for a Swiss or speaking too little Spanish for a Latina.” Like many cross-cultural individuals, she does not fit perfectly within the molds of Swiss or Latin culture, but somewhere along the margins of each.

“I’m learning more about the Peruvian culture and it feels important to finally make time to travel to Peru next year. The beauty of it is that I don’t feel like I’m yearning for a place that finally feels like home anymore, but to discover another aspect of myself that I get to deepen. I’m excited to see what it brings up and what wants to be healed even more,” she revealed.

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The Third Culture Way of Life Blattner noted, “I often draw upon my knowledge of different cultures.” A global understanding has helped in past experiences, and now she uses her perspectives in her coaching practice. “I wanted to create a business that matches my global lifestyle and nomadic soul,” she declared.

“My diverse, multicultural background has helped me support my clients with that perspective. Coaching my clients through their challenges towards a life they love has shown me again and again that no matter our cultural heritage, we are all connected by the same desires and dreams. When I listen to my clients, I observe much more that connects than separates us.”

Blattner’s coaching practice fosters personal self-growth.

“My clients inspire me to live my best life. Even through this whole cross-cultural journey, I think I was able to support myself in these phases and stages because I’ve always been interested in the human condition. Because

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of the way I grew up, I was always intrigued by what makes us tick and what makes us live a happy, fulfilled life. I’m grateful I get to live that now.”

A cross-cultural life gives Blattner a “sense of freedom to be home inside of me no matter where I happen to be in the world.” Blattner combines the best of all her worlds to create a content life where she sets priorities on what matters most — friends, family and love.

She loves the pristine environment, social justice and considerate nature of Switzerland. Blattner credits her wildness and joy of life to her Peruvian DNA and upbringing.

Currently based in San Francisco, Calif.,USA. Blattner values the easy-going lifestyle, warmhearted people and possibility that fills the air. Living in California “gives me breathing space to just be who I am,” Blattner contended.

Blattner’s assurance in her identity allows her to “authentically show up with all of me.” She concluded, “my cross-cultural roots are just one aspect of the mosaic of my being in my life. Now, I get to just receive the rewards of my journey and enjoy the richness and depth of my world.”

BORN IN COLORADO Fat Tire®, New Belgium® and the bicycle logo are trademarks of New Belgium Brewing Co. ENJOY NEW BELGIUM RESPONSIBLY ©2018 New Belgium Brewing, Fort Collins, CO & Asheville, NC

LATIN

Jon Theisen Stability Out of Mobility

J

on Theisen grew up in Denver, Colo., USA, but he moved ten times within its metro area during his formative years. As a biracial Domestic Third Culture Kid, he discusses how geographic mobility and cultural fluidity may have shaped his expectations.

“My upbringing is in line with what Culturs represents — the idea of it resonated with me in the aspect that different people from different worlds who live in different areas or have lived in different areas in their lifetime,” he shared. Theisen’s father is of German heritage; while his mother’s parents were from Mexico. Though he’s lived in the Denver area all his life, Theisen is no stranger to the gifts and challenges that come with both geographic and cultural mobility.

“Living in those two worlds: Where the Hispanic heritage is close knit — you have to be at every single dinner event, you have

to show up at every invitation or you’re shunned. Where the German side is completely opposite: A little more cold, a little more straight forward and to-the-fact — no hugs,” he chuckled. “Two completely different worlds between German and Hispanic heritage, Latino heritage, but they both have their strong points.”

Theisen explained that from his father’s side of the family, how love was shown differently than from his mother’s. His maternal family was close-knit and affectionate.

From the paternal side, love came in the form of dinner on the table or an outing to do something fun.

“It wasn’t more of a hug and I love you, it was more of a ‘here’s this for you, here’s what I’ve done for you — this right here in my hand is a gift for you,’ versus the other side of the coin where I’m going to give you hugs all day but I’m not going to buy you a pair of new shoes,” he laughed.

Theisen thinks the disparate cultural values were a big reason his parents divorced. He explained that both sides of the family are passionate about their way of life, and as such were reticent to make a change or meet in the middle.

“I was young enough to really not have known anything different,” he recalled. “The way I was brought up — It was normal for me.”

Living with his mom in the north

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side of Denver until 11th grade, meant he was in a predominantly Latino neighborhood and went to a high school within demographics that mirrored his home life. The school was 90 percent Latino and Theisen, “looked like the white kid in class,” he said. At grade 11, however, his mother moved out-ofstate and he begin living with his dad. “It was kinda funny, because being half and half, I didn’t feel like I landed in one place or the other.

I was a little bit confused and went with the flow,” he relayed, referring to his new school, which was the opposite of his former high school.

In Jefferson County, “It was 90 percent Caucasian, so I was the minority — all the kids there referred to me as the Mexican,” he shared.

“It’s completely a matter of where you’re placed in society, so I got to learn a lot about the way people think about different cultures, different upbringing.”

The one thing he cherishes, however, is that gift of family and of culture. As author Ruth VanReken often shows in Third Culture Kids, Growing Up Among Worlds, there are gifts and challenges associated with this mobile way of life.

Theisen embraces it all.

“With my cultural upbringing, the gift of family is unexplainable.

It’s something that’s always there, that you take for granted when you don’t need it — but you appreciate it when you do need it. Your family is your safety net.”

Marika Garcia

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Destination: Denver is near the mountains, not in them.

The Mile High City is located on high rolling plains, 12 miles east of the foothills — a series of gentle mountains that climb to 11,000 feet. Just beyond is the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, picturesque snowcapped peaks that rise to 14,000 feet (fourteeners as described by locals). Denver might not be in the mountains, but the mountains still dominate the city. The ever-present panoramic mountainscape from Denver is 140 miles long with 200 visible named peaks including 32 that soar to 13,000 feet and above.

According to VISIT DENVER, the Convention and Visitors Bureau, Denver has a population of 682,545 and about three million people in the metro area. The region’s population grew 13.8 percent between 2010 and 2015. According to the 2015 census, 31 percent of the city is made up of Hispanics, while African-Americans comprise another 10 percent.

The 16th Street Mall, right, is a mile-long pedestrian promenade that cuts through the center of downtown lined with 200 trees. In the evening, the mall comes alive with horse-drawn carriages and pedicabs.

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300 Days of Annual Sunshine Located east of a major mountain range, Denver is one of the sunniest cities in the country with a mild, dry and bright climate and more annual hours of sun than San Diego or Miami Beach. In winter, Denver is dryer than Phoenix with an average daily high of 45 degrees in February.

Golf courses remain open all year and have been played as many as 30 days in January. The city receives about the same amount of precipitation as Los Angeles (only 14 inches each year).

Shown here: The famous Big Blue Bear peering into the Denver Convention Center in Downtown Denver.

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By an amazing stroke of good luck, the 13th step on the west side of the Colorado State Capitol Building is exactly 5,280 feet above sea level — one mile high.

In Denver’s rarified air, golf balls go 10 percent farther.

So do cocktails. Alcoholic drinks pack more of a punch than at sea level. The Mile High City is also extremely dry, so it is a good idea to drink more water than usual.

With less water vapor in the air at this altitude, the sky really is bluer in Colorado.

Shown here: (l to r) The State Capitol Building, Denver Art Museum and The Denver Botanic Gardens.

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The city has a definitive, exciting and walkable downtown — 10th largest in the United States.

Within a one mile radius, find three major league sports stadiums, the country’s second largest performing arts complex, an assortment of art and history museums, a mint producing 10 billion coins a year, a river offering whitewater rafting, the country’s only downtown amusement park, a world-class aquarium, more than 9,500 hotel rooms and 300+ restaurants, brewpubs, rooftop cafes and music venues.

Shown here: Left — Elitch Gardens Amusement Park; Above — Historic Larimer Square; Right — Denver Center for the Performing Arts

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With more than 200 parks within city limits and 14,000 acres of parks in the nearby mountains, including the spectacular Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre (shown here). Red Rocks is a 9,000 seat ampitheatre that hosts world-class concerts including the Beatles and top symphony orchestras, as well as special events including Yoga on the Rocks; a summer family movie series called Film on the Rocks, and special events like blockbuster movie premiers, speakers and international festival events. “Rolling Stone� has called Red Rocks the best outdoor concert venue in the world.

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A History of Brewing The first building in Denver was a saloon, so it makes sense that Denver brews more beer than any other city. Coors Brewery in nearby Golden is the world’s largest. The Great American Beer Festival is the largest in the nation, offering more than 6,700 different beers for tasting. The Wynkoop Brewing Company, founded by Colorado Governor and former city Mayor John Hickenlooper, is one of the largest brewpubs in the country. On an average day in the Denver Metro area, more than 200 different beers are brewed and can be enjoyed in more than 150 breweries, pubs and tap rooms.

Shown here: Left — Strahan’s Brewery offers historic Colorado pub style, Above — The Bluebird is a Denver landmark, and part of the city’s lively music scene, Above Right — Iconic Union Station is part of a historic downtown to which urban-dwellers flock.

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A mix of art, culture and outdoors, the city’s cultural renaissance is found in places like the Denver Performing Arts Complex, shown on page 101, which covers four square blocks and is the second largest in the country. It includes ten theaters that seat more than 10,000 people for opera, symphony, ballet, Tony Award-winning theatre and touring Broadway shows. The $92-million Ellie Caulkins Opera House is recognized as one of the finest acoustical venues in the world. Transpose this high society culture with the nearby mountains — which span an area six times the size of Switzerland and contain 9,600 miles of fishing streams;

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2,850 lakes and more than 1,000 peaks two miles high — and the art, kayak and stock parade in the middle of the city start to make more sense. Need more reason to check out our hometown? Get your guide at www.Denver.org Shown here: Upper Left — The Chalk Art festival held in June in Larimer Square, Far Left — The South Platte Riverfest held in June at Confluence Park, Top — Rocky Mountain National Park near Estes Park, Colo., Left — National Western Stock Show parade held in January in downtown Denver. www.CultursMag.com

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LIFE COACH

By Michele Davenport

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

A Enoc Valenzuela

t the end of the summer, media reports suggested Aretha Franklin was gravely ill. Just a few days later, fans from across the globe learned the Queen of Soul had transitioned after a battle with pancreatic cancer: at 76, she was gone. We would no longer hear her live, but her legacy and the anthem that defined her career continue to live forever in our hearts.

Aretha’s mom — a prodigious singer in her own right — passed away when Aretha was only ten years old. The girl who would become the icon was extremely close with her dad, the late Reverend C. L. Franklin, a Baptist minister and civil rights activist who encouraged and nurtured his daughter’s incredible musical gift. Initially, Aretha sang only in the church, so when she approached her dad to ask him to bless a move from singing in the sanctuary to pursuing secular stardom, she was prayerful he would agree. He did, and much like all of us, Aretha Franklin began to cross cultures, straddling two ways of being as she not only found her voice, but shared it in a way that changed the world.

While she had many ups and downs early in her career,

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including changing labels several times, it’s undeniable that throughout nearly 50 years in the business, she experienced success at the highest level and on her terms. She brought us an anthem that knows no boundaries, prompting us all to pause and get with the beat.

No matter your age, homeland, pronoun or anything else, “Respect” ignites something inside and is a reminder that we all want and need this consideration in abundance.

“Find out what it means to me, R-E-S-P-E-C-T – hey now P-E-C-T”… and then that sound — exalted, sanctified, demanding the acknowledgment in feeling that the lyrics articulate in words. In a 1982 interview, she described it as a mantra for the American civil rights movement saying, “Everyone needs and wants to be respected,” while others have thought of it as an anthem for the women’s movement. Universally applied, no matter the language, we all get it. It’s Aretha’s song, and it’s ours; it’s a fight song, a healing salve, a longing to be seen and met whole.

What’s interesting is that the woman who recorded this song commanded respect in the most subtle and humble ways. She was very proud of being a mother, and always felt it was her best work. After an especially turbulent flight in the early 1980s, Franklin rebuked airplane travel and proceeded to traverse the world in less conventional ways before always returning home to Detroit. Unconventional is part of what made her unique — her estate is reportedly worth over $80M in part due to her commitment to tuning in and to respecting herself and her work enough to say yes and no as it struck her and honored her values as the daughter of a preacher. This discernment led to performances at three U.S. presidential inaugurations (George W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Barack Obama), receiving the Medal of Honor from the White House, singing at the funeral of her dad’s friend and colleague, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and being the first black woman inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

She also received 18 Grammy Awards, two for the song that titles this article.

What does the word respect elicit in you? Is this something you command humbly, brashly, or somewhere in between? Does it evade you altogether? As we approach year end, I invite you to check in with yourself…

On a scale of 1-10, how much respect do you command? What would be a satisfactory number, and why? If you need to move the needle or ground yourself to continue to garner the respect you seek and deserve, consider this new reading of the Queen of Soul Aretha Franklin’s iconic tune:

No matter your age, homeland, pronoun or anything else, “Respect” ignites something inside and is a reminder that we all want and need this consideration in abundance.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T • RECOGNIZE your value — any situation, any time.

• EVALUATE where you are and what you need, then ask for it.

• STANCE — given the circumstance or setting, where do you stand?

• PERFORM at your best, always!

• ENGAGE your senses from your core — what’s the message from that which stirs deep inside?

• CALM down — when things get intense, consider 4-7-8 breathing.

• TAKE your life to the next level, as you define the levels!

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AUTO Story & Photography by Angelia D. McGowan

Easter Eggs in August: Surprises at the 2019 Rocky Mountain Driving Experience

2018 Nissan Rogue AWD

E

aster eggs in August? Of all the cool car features I learned about during the 2019 Rocky Mountain Driving Experience in Denver, Colo., USA, the most memorable came in the form of “Easter eggs.”

Yeah, I know. I had the same dumbfounded look on my face when the manufacturer reps mentioned it during my test drives. So what does this mean when it’s obviously not that season? Year-round a lot of industries use the term to refer to a meaningful surprise hidden in the design of their products, and the automotive industry is no different.

During this annual two-day event featuring more than two-dozen new vehicles and journalists to match, we drove on Denver highways and even took a jaunt on the Peak to Peak Highway to Estes Park. Good times to go hunting for automotive Easter eggs.

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2019 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid

I saw my first in the 2019 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid in the form of a pictorial history of the minivan. It is located on the lower part of the center console area which can also serve as a storage space for purses or small backpacks.

Technology Treat: Dragging and grouping my most used buttons in one location on the screen. This sporty, blacked out version of the minivan is not your granddaddy’s minivan. But he would love it!

2019 Ram 2500 Longhorn Crew Cab

The pictorial history of previous generations of the 2019 Ram 2500 Longhorn Crew Cab was tucked inside the super organized storage area of the armrest.

If you need a mobile office, you got it.

Technology Treat: Power running boards automatically extend for passengers to step on when entering or exiting the truck. That’s a “thank you very much” moment.

Honestly, I started to blur the lines between Easter egg, technology and just cool stuff, but the distinguishable features of each vehicle were next level, nonetheless.

For example, the 2019 Volvo XC40 has a place in the front dash area where you can store credit cards, cash or a toll road ticket. There’s also a hook attached to the glove box to hang small items.

Likewise, the ProPilot Assist with the 2018 Nissan Rogue AWD is a trooper. It’s got your back in stop and go traffic. It has no problem staying in the lane on straightaways and curvy highways.

Though your foot is not on the gas pedal, your hand must stay on the steering wheel — cruise control loyalists have something new to try.

I appreciated the informative role of the active driving display and traffic recognition system in the 2018 Mazda 6. It projects three pieces of information on the window in front of the driver: current speed, speed limit and detailed directions. The 2018 Mercedes Benz E400 4Matic Cabriolet includes fun features like the turbine vents and the seat adjusters, which are located on the door panel.

I was most impressed with how lowering the triple-layer acoustic soft top made me smile.

Technology Treat: The lane-changing technology that engages when the blinker engages. When it senses a safe opening, the system will merge you in the indicated direction. www.CultursMag.com

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By Alexa Vujaklija

The Foundation of TCK-ness:

A North

American in

Russia

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y earliest childhood memory is a jumbled concoction of airport images: rough landings on rocky tarmac, the irritatingly redundant voices over

the loudspeaker announcing gate changes and delayed departure times. Layovers, turbulence and sleeping on leather benches — the arm-rest sharply stabbing me in the ribs. Duty-free perfume samples.

Metal detectors. Overweight luggage.

Airsick bags. Passport control — my eyes heavy, and legs shaky as I slowly waddle forward in the crowd, waiting for my turn.

A deep grumbling in my stomach lets me know I’m either hungry or nauseated.

Departure. Sheremetyevo Airport, Moscow, Russia. www.CultursMag.com

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A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is someone who spent a large portion of their childhood and/or adolescence living outside of their passport country. This charmed existence is both a gift and a punishment, unknowingly awarded to us by our parents.

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The well-anticipated sound of a large stamp hitting the pages echoes in the booth, and I am free to go. I have no clue where home is, yet that ominous word seems to be automatically classified by a little navy-blue booklet with the powerful words “United States of America” smoothly printed in gold lettering at the bottom. No more waiting in lines: the day, or two, of mindless travel is over. And yet this “freedom” does not quite satisfy. Deliriously exiting the confines of the airport, though happy I have arrived at my destination — a city in which I am very much a local — I cannot help but long for where I came from or where I once lived.

It is this combination of childhood recollection that defines what being a Third Culture Kid is to me. A Third Culture Kid (TCK) is someone who spent a large portion of their childhood and/or adolescence living outside of their passport country. This charmed existence is both a gift and a punishment, unknowingly awarded to us by our parents. Growing up in seven different countries, and moving 12 times in my 24 years has given me an everchanging life, yet, it is also a life of many constants. What remains unaltered is the exhaustive chase for one’s soul, comfort and stability. At times, it is habitual traveling that seems to be the only remedy for the restless spirit of a TCK. Sometimes these constants come to us in the rarest forms.

For me, it was Russia that became my security. My often overused “TCK” label had somehow developed into one much more serious: “A North American in Russia.” This title seems to be more exotic especially for the

Opposite — Somewhere over the Atlantic.

Below — An evening drive in Tampa, Florida.

political climate of the time.

I carry it like a badge of honor; it opened my eyes to a world beyond the passports, the identities, the slogans or clichés used by my community of fellow wanderers.

Most importantly, it shed light on the true insides of a mentality that the Western media has rarely, if ever, covered. By mastering the language, and becoming one with the culture, I found myself delving so deep

into my North American antithesis. This is how I realized this life was no curse. A TCK’s worldview is one that sees from all perspectives; our multifaceted insight exposes shocking parallels between nations known to be hideously different from one another. This is something I can’t stop talking about.

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BEHIND THE SCENES

CULTURS HELD ITS GLOBAL PRINT LAUNCH PARTY and winter-cover unveiling on Oct. 15 at its world headquarters in Denver, Colo., USA. The nearly 300 attendees included guests who flew in from all over the United States and the globe to attend the event, which introduced Culturs Global Healing Yoga Retreats, 2109 philanthropic partners and Culturs marketplace products. We thanked contributors, columnists, volunteers, staff and event sponsors: Coca-Cola, Odell’s Brewing Company and New Belgium Brewing. Videos showcasing the stories of our culturally fluid audience helped tell the story of our mission, our passion and our purpose.

nd Aubrey iebetrau a started.

L y n To J D rty get the pa enderson

H

Party-goers enjoying the magazine.

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Trinidad and Tobago represent with Doni’s mum, Dahlia Ambrosine, and cousin Rosaline Licorish, who flew in for the event as a surprise.

Posing for the camera, (l to r): Melissa Shalz, Mistine Varela and Sydney Shalz.

In from New York City with Executive Strategist Michele Davenport are (l to r): Danielle Davenport, Paula McClain and Anicesha Wilson.

Guests enjoy the spread.

Party Sponsors Coke, Odell’s Brewing and New Belgium Brewing.

(l to r): Terie Miyamoto and Dr. Shelly Miyamoto.

(l to r): Teresa Wright, Antionette Williams and Lance Wright from Swire Coke.

China Busines s Concierge Todd Cornell with Doni.

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Mexico-born TCK Jaime Varela and his son Erik strike a pose.

Bicultural TCK co ver model Anita Henestrosa and her fiancĂŠ Domin ic Derosa check ou t the Fall issue.

Culturs intern Antoinette Toscano and guest Octavius Jones.

Attendees enjoyed personal stories from Culturs patrons.

(l to r): Colorado State University’s Tenara Landor with Doni and Nicole Franklin.

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Party prep with (l to r): guest Rosaline Licorish and Chilean-American columnist Andrea Bazoin.

A good time was had by all.

gh, ina, Lydia Keou . ile oty, Dorita Caj (l to r): Bob D ayne Redovian share a sm W d an i on D

(l to r): Philadelphia-based Culturs Marketplace Director Jill Goldberg chats with media representative Madison Bickler.

Fashion Editor Sonja Motley with CEO Charles Hutton.

(l to r): Culturally fluid Allyvanessa Valera, Sarah Busnaq and Shreenal Patel.

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Editor Lia Nel son James an Charleze Nel son enjoy a C d oke

Culturally fluid cousins Julie Sanchez and Patricia Johnson enjoy the evening

Culturally fluid art welcomes guests.

Ghana-born TCK Mawule and and his younger brother Mawukle Yebuah.

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Veteran journalist Rob Reuteman enjoys a brew.

Kara McMillion Cronk with her youngest daughter.

The house was packed.

Cultural fluidity was on display throughout the night!

Teen columnist Kameron McMillion.

The event was flanked by booths showcasing Culturs’ charitable organization partners, sponsors and upcoming event offerings.

TCK Military B RA Deidre Hardin T and Launch issue cove r story showed off he booths. Here, r Madison Bickl art at one of the event er interviews her. www.CultursMag.com

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