Is Thanksgiving Evolving?

Group of people eating

Thanksgiving is such a weird holiday.

As far as my knowledge goes, not a lot of people in Latin America celebrate it but many are aware of this U.S. holiday. As a native Salvadoran, growing up I remember that I thought it was weird to have a holiday that’s a day to just be thankful. We perceived it differently. Later I realized what Thanksgiving actually commemorated: a day to celebrate, but to celebrate how European colonizers had taken advantage of Native Americans.


However, the concept of Thanksgiving continues to evolve and it’s leaning less on the false narrative of shared mutual support between Native Americans and Pilgrims, and more as a chance to have time off and spend it with your loved ones.

This means that critical questions about the day continue. Should Thanksgiving be celebrated? How do we celebrate it respectfully? Should it even be called Thanksgiving anymore? And what does this mean for the U.S. Latinx community that has so many indigenous roots?

Being thankful for our blessings

The Latinx community is diverse. For some people, Thanksgiving is a perfect day to be thankful for all the blessings they have in their lives. Being a community that has often endured many hardships, being mindful of all the good things in their lives feels very necessary.

This year especially, being thankful and gathering with loved ones feels even more important and meaningful due to COVID-19 and its harsh impact on our lives.

Friendsgiving and Lots of Food 

A long weekend? Tons of food? Sounds like an opportunity to gather around with your loved ones and friends to eat delicious traditional foods like tamales, panes con pavo, pozole, tres leches, or not traditional food - the point is the gathering and the eating.

Food is significant in our culture, so having a day to make a big deal out of it, is most definitely a good reason to gather ‘round. Any time people join and cook dishes together it adds warmth and love to a cold season.

A part of assimilating 

For many newly arrived Latinos in the U.S., Thanksgiving is a holiday that provides an opportunity to take part in a new culture. They might not know the true origins of the holiday, but it will definitely be celebrated because that’s what’s traditionally done.

When first arriving in a new country, it’s expected for you to fit in as quickly as possible. So it makes sense to adapt to their celebrations without hesitation. Thanksgiving is another rule to follow, and it’s easier to do so when it often comes in the form of a long weekend to spend time with your loved ones or with yourself.

Facing the real truth

The myth of Thanksgiving covers up the bloody American past that’s filled with atrocious acts against Indigenous people, the Wampanoags, specifically, so the shock settles in as soon as the myth begins to be dismantled. How can we celebrate such an atrocious moment in history?

Pretending nothing happened doesn’t cut it. Many indigenous people take this day to mourn those lost and reflect on what was suffered. Part of being grateful for a bounty of food and loving company should also include being grateful to those who involuntarily sacrificed everything in order for this holiday to even exist.

So where’s the talk now?

Indigenous people point out how necessary it is to start conversations about what happened to them on these dates. Organizations like the United American Indians of New England use this day to make a mourning day to acknowledge the hard truth. Some schools are recently beginning to address the falsehoods of Thanksgiving and working with young people on how to retell the correct history.

Understanding the nuances of the day can help heal this very broken nation and being mindful of how you can help tell accurate history can start moving justice forward. Telling the truth will ultimately reverberate across the globe, not just in the U.S.

a woman giving the side eye to a man

Have you ever met someone who seems overly confident, self-centered, or even downright rude? Maybe they constantly talk about themselves, disregard your feelings, or even manipulate situations to their advantage. And, if you're anything like us and countless other Latinas, you might've thought, is this person just a purebred a**hole, or are they a narcissist?

Keep ReadingShow less
woman surrounded by colorful illustrations
Image by Sayuri Jimenez.

Nathalie Molina Niño has never been one to shy away from breaking barriers, and now, she’s focusing her attention on a new mission: demystifying corporate boardrooms for women, especially Latinas. Molina Niño is the President of Known, an asset management and financial services firm, a veteran tech entrepreneur and builder capitalist, and a board member at the iconic lingerie Brand, Hanky Panky, and others.

Like many corporate boards, Hanky Panky hadn’t publicly disclosed its board composition until recently. After the brand survived the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, Molina Niño decided it was time for more women, specifically more Latinas, to know what it means to be on corporate boards.

Coincidentally, the decision to finally be more vocal about this topic aligned with the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, which served as the perfect kick-off to the work.

"Something that rarely gets talked about and I think almost gets kept opaque by design is boards,” she explains in a recent Instagram announcement. “[This Latinx Heritage Month], that’s what I’ll be talking about.” Her goal? To equip more Latinas with the knowledge they need to navigate onto for-profit boards, where they can thrive and build multi-generational wealth.

For-profit corporate boards often feel like an exclusive club. And in many ways, they are, especially for Latinas, who hold the smallest percentage of board seats in Fortune 500 companies compared to other racial groups. According to the latest report from Latino Board Monitor, while Latinos hold 4.1% of these board seats (compared to 82.5% held by white people), only 1% go to Latinas. Molina Niño, a first-generation American of Ecuadorian and Colombian descent, is part of this boardroom minority.

When asked about her experience as a Latina board member during a recent Zoom interview, she said, “It’s been lonely. There’s not a lot of Latinas on boards.” She went on to explain that even serving on boards of Latina-founded businesses gets lonely because, “A lot of the times, people who serve on their boards represent their investors and, as a result, [...] you still don’t see a lot of Latinas on those boards.”

This lack of representation drives Molina Niño’s determination to increase Latina presence in corporate boardrooms. By sharing her insights, she hopes to give Latinas a roadmap to claim their seats at the table. “If you don’t know where to go, it’s impossible to figure out how to get there,” she says.

The Road to the Boardroom

Getting onto a for-profit corporate board isn’t an overnight achievement, but it’s not an unattainable dream either. People often think you need to be a CEO or have a certain type of background, but that’s one of the biggest myths about boards in Molina Niño’s experience. What they’re really looking for is expertise — whether that’s in finance, marketing, sustainability, or even technology. If you have that expertise, you’re already an asset. It’s simply a matter of which road you should take.

Understanding what boards are and how they operate is key to unlocking opportunities. For-profit boards serve as the governing body for companies, overseeing direction and financial stability, and guiding CEOs and executives in decision-making. But Molina Niño emphasizes that not all for-profit boards are created equal.

“There are two kinds [of for-profit boards] [...]. There’s the publicly traded business board and then, on the privately held side, there are, I would argue, two types of boards [...] the traditional business board and the venture-backed business board,” explains Molina Niño. Traditional businesses are often family-owned or long-established and may only form boards to meet requirements, like securing financing or transitioning through an ESOP. Venture-backed boards, on the other hand, are typically filled by investors who hold major stakes in the company.

According to Molina Niño, understanding the difference between them is how you can create a successful strategy. With publicly traded business boards, the whole world is privy to them, so, “The way that you get in there is a little bit more transparent. Sometimes those publicly traded companies will hire a recruiter to help them find new board members,” explains Molina Niño. For private companies, on the other hand, there’s no legal requirement to make announcements. As a result, most people don’t know anything about them or their inner workings.

“Usually what happens in traditional businesses that don’t have venture-capital investments is that the Founders, Executives, or the board members, if one existed already, they usually go to their friends,” and people they deem experienced to fill board seats. In other words, it’s the founder’s decision, and that’s an entirely different approach than hiring recruiters. When it comes to venture-backed business boards, the seats on the board are filled by whichever investor writes the biggest check.

This is why an understanding of the different types of boards and acknowledgment of their own strengths is what will help Latinas define a sound strategy. Whether that’s working with a recruiter, networking and connecting with founders to build trust, or making the biggest investment.

The Path for Latinas

For Molina Niño, the key to getting more Latinas into corporate boardrooms is education. Knowing what a board looks like and how it functions is how you can position yourself to get on it. In openly talking about this, without the mystique it’s usually shrouded in, Molina Niño is providing women, especially Latinas, with invaluable insights. “If we had Latinas understanding what are the three types of for-profit boards I think that, on their own, they would be able to figure out what their best chance is and adjust their careers to make themselves more competitive,” states Molina Niño.

When asked about the impact of increased Latina representation in boardrooms, Molina Niño flips the narrative. “Boards don’t help Latinas by offering them seats; Latinas help businesses thrive by being on their boards,” she says. “The whole point of sitting on a board is that you have experience and expertise, and as Latinas, you also have some cultural experience that everyone wants. [...] At the end of the day, we [Latinas] have to realize that we have a ton to offer and we have to be selective about where we put that expertise,” she explains.

As demand for access to the Latina consumer rises, Molina Niño predicts that more Latinas will find themselves recruited into boardrooms. But she’s not content to sit back and wait for that moment. By openly sharing her journey and insights, she’s making sure other Latinas know their worth and have the tools to claim their place at the table. “I realized that quietly being on boards that helped me personally is not helping other Latinas. [...] I was lucky enough to have friends who could advise me and share their experiences, so that’s why I’m doing this,” she stated.

With Hispanic Heritage Month as the backdrop, Nathalie Molina Niño’s mission is clear: “My goal is just to give Latinas enough information so they can make a plan for how to eventually get on a board that they’re paid to be on and that will eventually help them build generational wealth.”

flags of latin american countries fly behind performers wearing culturally traditional clothing

Ever noticed how September in Latin America is just one big celebration? As we wave goodbye to summer and avoid winter as long as we can, the streets come alive with parades, music, and festivities. Many Latin American countries celebrate their freedom this month, commemorating their hard-fought battles for independence from colonial domination. Let’s dive into these significant days and understand what makes each unique.

Keep ReadingShow less