Let’s start at the beginning! Who are you, what are you building, and how did it all begin?

I'm Yoreim, a proud Puerto Rican, lifelong rockera, music and culture commentator, and workforce strategist based in the Washington, DC area. I've spent over 14 years working in human resources, but music, history, art, and storytelling have always been part of who I am. I've never been particularly good at fitting into one box, and I've finally stopped trying!

My entrepreneurial journey began during one of the most challenging chapters of my life. In October 2021, I developed a rare neurological disorder that dramatically affected my ability to walk and see properly. As I navigated recovery, I began rediscovering my creativity through hobbies and interests that had taken a backseat to my demanding career. Creativity became a way to reconnect with myself and heal during a very dark and confusing time in my life.

That journey led me to found Proyecto Tributo a Mi Tierra (TAMT), a business celebrating Puerto Rican music, art, and culture, which launched in November 2022. Our first collection, Parranda, was inspired by Puerto Rico's traditional musical instruments and the sounds that bring our communities together. Looking back, music was already finding its way into everything I created!

In February 2023, I launched @yorlatinawellness to share my experiences navigating chronic health challenges, including wellness practices that helped me along the way. Travel was another passion, so I began sharing destinations and local discoveries, even working with the Nudge app to recommend things to do in the DC area.

As my platform evolved into social and cultural commentary, I launched Workforce Watch in 2025 to analyze changes in the labor market, particularly the transformation of the federal workforce and its ripple effects on employment, businesses, and communities. But constantly analyzing disruption and consuming difficult news left me creatively exhausted. I realized I didn't want to spend my life talking exclusively about everything going wrong in the world. I needed a BREAK.

And guess what brought me back? MUSIC and Mr. Bad Bunny!

When Bad Bunny was announced as the 2026 Super Bowl halftime performer, I was OVER THE MOON! As a proud Boricua and longtime fan, it felt like an extraordinary moment for Puerto Rican music and Latin culture. But something else happened: after months of feeling overwhelmed by everything going on in the world, I suddenly felt excited, inspired, and eager to create again. It was like someone had flipped a switch!

I wanted to share that joy because I knew I couldn't be the only person craving something hopeful. I also saw an opportunity to introduce English-speaking audiences unfamiliar with his work to the deeper stories behind his music. So I committed to a 16-week storytelling project and created 25 episodes exploring Puerto Rican migration, displacement, cultural preservation, and the social commentary woven into his most impactful songs. It became an incredible opportunity to sharpen my research, storytelling, and video-editing skills while doing something I genuinely loved.

Several episodes went viral, and some even found their way into classrooms as educational resources but one of the most unexpected opportunities came through José Eduardo Santana, Bad Bunny's cuatro player. We first connected in February 2026 when I created a video about Pitorro de Coco. He loved and appreciated the video so much that he asked me to add him as a collaborator.

In May 2026, when the European leg of the "Debí Tirar Más Fotos World Tour" began, I started independently covering the musical tributes José Eduardo was performing in each country they visited. Watching him use the cuatro, an instrument so deeply rooted in Puerto Rican musical heritage, to honor the cultures of different countries on one of the world's biggest stages felt incredibly meaningful to me. Yet these beautiful moments were receiving very little attention online. I wanted more people to recognize their cultural significance and appreciate how music was creating connections between Puerto Rico and the rest of the world.

As I continued sharing that coverage, José Eduardo invited me to collaborate with him again, turning what began as my own curiosity and passion for Puerto Rican music into an unexpected creative partnership. What started as cultural commentary evolved into an opportunity to help cover parts of the tour digitally, bringing audiences closer to the performances while highlighting the cuatro and its significance in Puerto Rican musical heritage. Together, we developed storytelling and social media content celebrating our culture beyond the stage. Just three pieces generated over 1.2 million organic views, and the work reached media outlets across Europe France, London, Spain, Poland, and Puerto Rico. I was incredibly proud!

That creative momentum eventually expanded into my rock en español series, Latin music discoveries, album reviews, and broader cultural analysis. I love uncovering the history behind songs, examining the cultural and political movements that shaped artists, and introducing new generations to music that deserves to be remembered. Today, my commentary reaches a community of over 90,000 followers across social platforms.

I'm now building two independent media platforms: @yorlatinawellness, focused on Latin music and cultural storytelling, and Workforce Watch, exploring how AI, economic shifts, and culture are reshaping work, opportunity, and power.

My mission is to create media rooted in curiosity, connection, and radical hope. I believe serious ideas don't always have to be delivered through outrage. Sometimes music, nostalgia, and storytelling can help us understand a changing world without losing our sense of joy or possibility.

And here I am in my 40s, bringing all these different sides of myself together. I'm not reinventing myself into someone new. I'm finally giving every part of myself room to exist.

Was there a moment when you realized something in your life, career or identity that once worked for you no longer fit? What happened next?

Absolutely. For years, I built my identity around being a dedicated public servant. My career in human resources and emergency and humanitarian response gave me PURPOSE, stability, and the feeling that I was contributing to something bigger than myself.

But in 2025, watching programs that had taken YEARS to build get dismantled in just a few months was devastating. I felt there was little consideration for the communities that depended on them, and I believe we're only beginning to understand the long-term consequences. Meanwhile, colleagues were navigating layoffs and uncertainty, and I began questioning how much of my identity I had tied to an institution whose direction I couldn't control.

I realized that while I still valued my career, it couldn't be the only thing defining me. So I leaned into music, storytelling, and the creative interests I'd loved my entire life. And the more I created, the more I understood that I wasn't starting over. I was bringing together decades of experience, skills, and passions.

Today, I define success differently. It's less about a job title or institutional prestige and more about building something meaningful that reflects who I am, independently of where I work.

What have you become more ambitious about as you've gotten older?

I've become much more ambitious about how I spend my time, where I invest my energy, and what I want to build. In my younger years, ambition meant working hard, earning credentials, advancing professionally, and proving myself within established institutions and like I always say, I'm still extremely proud of everything I accomplished!

But as I've gotten older, my ambition has become much more intentional. I'm less interested in a big job title or chasing someone else's definition of success and more focused on building something I OWN, creating meaningful work, and having the freedom to explore all my interests.

I want to turn my knowledge, creativity, and experiences into something sustainable that creates opportunities beyond a traditional career. And perhaps most importantly, I've become more ambitious about living a life that actually feels fulfilling, not just one that looks impressive on paper.

At this stage of my life, I don't want to spend another decade waiting for permission to pursue what excites me and limiting my potential. I want to build something of my own for myself.

What do you know now that you wish you had understood ten years ago?

To trust my intuition, lean into my curiosity, and stop being so afraid of being SEEN!

I've always been a very private person, and I still am. For years, I was much more comfortable working behind the scenes, often alongside very powerful people. I was offered incredible opportunities because of my competence, but I turned many of them down because I didn't want the pressure or visibility that came with them. I convinced myself I was perfectly happy staying in the background.

The interesting thing is that people often had no idea what I was working on or accomplishing because I rarely talked about it. And looking back, I realize I wasn't even giving myself enough acknowledgment for the things I'd achieved! I was so focused on supporting others and giving them my time and energy that I wasn't investing nearly as much in my own ambitions.

Reconnecting with my creative side completely changed that. It brought me closer to the curious, adventurous person I was when I was younger. I started giving myself permission to explore new interests, become a student again, develop new skills, and take more chances without knowing exactly where they would lead.

What I wish I'd understood ten years ago is that being private doesn't mean you have to make yourself INVISIBLE. You can celebrate your accomplishments without sharing every detail of your life. You can support others without neglecting yourself. And you can be proud of what you've built without waiting for someone else to recognize its value.

Tell us about a decision that looked risky from the outside but felt completely right to you.

One of the biggest risks I took was deciding to build a creative career alongside my work in a highly hierarchical and traditional professional environment.

I had spent years following a conventional path, earning my credentials, developing expertise, and building a career where professionalism was often associated with staying VERY boxed in. Becoming a content creator, especially one who talks about music, culture, and sometimes challenging social issues, didn't exactly fit that mold!

But I was curious about what I could create outside those structures. I wanted to develop new skills, experiment with storytelling, and see what opportunities might emerge from building something entirely my own.

What felt risky to others (and still do to some!) felt like an opportunity to expand my identity without abandoning everything I'd worked for. That decision I made back in 2023 has opened doors to creative collaborations, new communities, and experiences I never would have imagined.

It taught me that you don't always have to choose between being a serious professional and being a creative person. You can be both, and sometimes that's exactly what makes your perspective valuable.

Where do you refuse to compromise anymore?

My peace, my time, and my authenticity!

We live in a society that often values connections for the sake of connections, but I've learned that a large network doesn't necessarily mean meaningful relationships. I'd rather invest in people who genuinely inspire me, challenge me, and believe in mutual support.

And then there's the “good girl syndrome.” Women are expected to be endlessly accommodating, even toward toxic people. The moment we establish boundaries, suddenly we're labeled difficult!

I've spent enough time overgiving and prioritizing other people's comfort over my own. I still believe in kindness, generosity, and community, but not at the expense of my well-being. Being a "good woman" shouldn't require abandoning yourself to keep everyone else comfortable.

What are you still figuring out?

I'm still learning how to prioritize my own wants and needs, and how to simply BE without feeling like I always have to be useful to someone else.

For much of my life, I was the problem-solver, the therapist friend, the person everyone turned to for emotional support. But I rarely received that same care in return because I was always seen as “the strong one,” the person who had everything figured out and didn't need anyone to worry about her. I know so many people can relate to that experience. Somewhere along the way, I internalized the idea that my worth was tied to how much I could give, fix, or carry for others.

I think this is especially familiar in many Latino and Black communities, where there's often enormous pressure to serve, educate, advocate, and carry the weight of our communities. Those can be beautiful expressions of solidarity, but when they become expectations rather than choices, they can also lead to burnout.

I've had conversations with other activists about this because I genuinely believe joy can also be a form of activism. Sharing what you love, celebrating your culture, making people laugh, or simply existing without constantly having to educate or solve something is valuable, too. Joy creates connection, and connection can spark curiosity, empathy, and even social change.

So that's what I'm still figuring out: how to fully embrace the idea that I'm worthy even when I'm not being productive, helpful, or profound. Sometimes I just want to share a song I love, dance, laugh, and enjoy being alive. And that should be ENOUGH!

What does success look like in this particular season of your life?

FREEDOM! The freedom to do my own thing, spend quality time with the people I love and who make me feel equally loved, travel, explore new places, listen to LOTS of good music, go to as many concerts as possible to see my fave artists, and build things I'm genuinely passionate about!

At this stage of my life, success is less about titles, recognition, or meeting someone else's expectations and more about having the freedom to live on my own terms.

I still have BIG ambitions, and I absolutely want to build a successful business! but for me, real success is having the time, independence, and resources to pursue what excites me while enjoying the life I'm creating along the way. I don't want to spend my entire life building a future I never give myself permission to enjoy!

What do you want the next generation of women to know sooner than you did?

That you don't have to earn your worth by being everything to everyone!

I want younger women to understand that they can be ambitious, curious, creative, outspoken, and still be kind. You don't have to make yourself smaller to be accepted, sacrifice your boundaries to be considered a good woman, or follow a socially approved traditional path just because it's what everyone expects of you.

Invest in yourself as generously as you invest in others. Learn new things, get educated, take chances, trust your intuition, and don't be afraid to be SEEN trying. And please, don't wait until you feel completely ready to pursue something that excites you! Just go for it.

Most importantly, build a life that feels meaningful to YOU. Not one that simply looks impressive to others or fits the version of success your family expects you to pursue. Your joy, your curiosity, and your dreams deserve just as much attention as everything you do for everyone else.

You only get ONE life, ¡y la vida es bien cortita! So make it worthwhile, live it on your own terms, and por favor, ENJOY yourself and have some FUN along the way!

AND PLEASE, go see your favorite artists live while you still can, listen to LOTS of good music, and dance your heart out! Trust me, that's life advice you'll never regret taking!