Mom Blogger Monday: Nadia Hernandez

Capturing Cultura

Nadia Hernandez captures her culture everyday in Los Angeles with small details, like taking photos of her 2-year-old daughter Isabelle Penelope wearing embroidered Mexican dresses and brightly colored flower crowns.

She works full-time as an event coordinator and dedicates her free time to documenting moments and experiences that highlight her cultural pride on her blog, Capturing Cultura.

Among her posts, you can find unique product reviews like the one she completed for Mi Legasí subscription box and stories about Hispanic leaders like Sylvia Mendez whose family fought– and won– bilingual support in the public school system in Orange County.

So how does a working mom have the time to juggle a career, a household (Nadia is married to a U.S. Marine) motherhood and a blog?

For one, Nadia loves her job.

“I love event planning! It is a job that has turned into a passion of mine. I love every process of it, from start to finish. I loved planning my wedding, and now planning my daughter’s birthdays and holidays,” she says.

Further, Nadia was born in Mexico City and migrated with her parents to the US as a six-year old girl with her twin sister and older sibling. Incorporating her culture in every aspect of her motherhood journey makes it a beautiful and worthwhile experience, she says.

Wow, Mom! Awesome job, Nadia! By inviting your readers to understand and enjoy your rich Mexican culture, you’re not only leaving a legacy for your daughter, you’re allowing other moms to embrace cultural diversity! We wish you continued success and can’t wait to see your blog continue to grow!

What inspired you to become a blogger?

I’ve been wanting to do a blog for years and I am finally pursuing it. A goal of this blog is to embrace my roots and capture as much of mi cultura. My goal is to embrace the beauty of my culture and pass this heritage onto my children. My Isabelle Penelope is the legacy of this heritage. It is attached to her name. I will teach her the beauty of the Spanish and Mixtec languages, the magic in our music, the heavenly taste of our comida, and the importance of familia. My hope is that the embers of her culture blazes in her heart for a lifetime.

What is your proudest Mommy Blogger Moment?

My proudest Mommy Blogger Moment was writing a blog contribution for Project Mother. I started my blog as a way to share my experiences and journey as a new mama. Being able to write and share about my personal story was empowering to me and it allows me to share my voice with other mamas. I hope that many mamas can relate to my experiences, get inspired, and celebrate motherhood in all it’s blessing. Motherhood is a beautiful journey that makes a women stronger. Read it here.

What’s your favorite place in LA to take your daughter?

I love museums. Anytime I can take my daughter to the museum, I’m the happiest. One of our favorite museums is the Natural History Museum. My daughter loves animals so anytime that we can take her where there are animals, she is the happiest. A favorite place is the Long Beach Aquarium of the Pacific.

What’s your favorite LA hang out without your daughter?

One of my favorite hangout places in LA is La Guelaguetza Restaurant. I’ve been there with friends and it’s always a great time spent over delicious food from Oaxaca.

What’s your best motherhood advice?

My best motherhood advice is to be adventurous and create fun family memories. I like to do family bucketlists so that we can go on little adventures with our daughter. This is our family time to enjoy each other, create happy childhood memories with our daughter, and strengthen our bond as a family. I try to do as many cultural activities with my daughter so that she learns the beauty of her heritage. Embrace motherhood and enjoy all the moments including the bad ones. Our children are small for a few years and my goal is to teach my children the beauty of the world so that they grow up to be compassionate, humble, and justful individuals.