Voices in Our Heads
Nicolassa Galvez: Life Road Warrior and Badass Woman
Nicolassa Galvez has a description of herself on her website Road to the American Woman.
“I am a 38-year old, mestiza, single (that recently changed), passionate, sensitive, childless, beautiful American woman. I wear these labels with confidence and with self-doubt. The term Chingona, which translates to badass woman, has been the label that really sums up how I moved through the last year.”
If you were looking for other labels to describe Nicolassa Galvez, you could use community arts activist and activator. But, after one understands her life, as she tells it, you begin to really like the term Chingona.
Nicolassa Galvez
And Their World Shook
The election of Donald Trump reverberated throughout her world. So, when the opportunity presented itself to go to Washington, D.C. for the Women’s March on Washington on January 21, 2017, Nicolassa Galvez and a friend, Alyssandra Nighswonger, decided to travel cross-country by car on, what they called, the Road to the American Women.
“It was about unpacking and redefining what it means to be a woman in America today.”
It was important for both women to be able to do the same before they left. As a result, Nicolassa came up with the latter description of herself. While most people might be hesitant to describe themselves in very personal language, she knew this was needed.
“I’m bi-racial (Her mother was white, her father Mexican) and so, yes, I’ve always felt uncomfortable labeling myself because I never felt like I was totally embraced by either community.”
She never felt comfortable in all white spaces. While she felt more comfortable in Mexican spaces, she still had self-doubt about belonging.
“In a way, it served me well because I kinda of involved myself in a lot of circles. You know, I don’t necessarily really identify myself with one community, I feel more comfortable being on the periphery of many communities.”
That sense of identity helps Nicolassa Galvez tread the muddy waters in today’s social climate. While it gives her a little more understanding and empathy, Galvez can still admit that she doesn’t know it all.
“I’m always in a space of learning and not knowing and wanting to know more and not be judgmental.”
Ms. Galvez quickly adds that yes, she can be judgmental. But it’s more a recognition that when she knows she has a totally wrong misconception, she knows it’s totally wrong. That’s always a good first step.
Nicolassa Galvez Has Earned those Stripes
Last May, Nicolassa Galvez received a master’s degree in social justice and education. The accomplishment alone is worthy of congratulations. However, it came with a price. This was a tumultuous time in her professional and personal career. She was director of a struggling arts center while embroiled with its internal politics, busy activating community arts events, and trying to find ways to support herself and pay for school.
“I think as women we adapt and accommodate and operate in strength whether it’s good for our personal health and our personal sanity.”
The sixty to eighty hour work weeks was compounded by the challenge of not having a place to live. Couch-surfing, house sitting, or staying at the arts center she managed on those nights she didn’t have a place to sleep were parts of her survival strategy.
“I’m paying for it now because I’m tired. My health is a little strained is the best word. But, when I was in the middle of it, I think, I was just running on adrenaline. I was just really excited about my master’s program. I loved being there. I loved what I was learning.”
Nicolassa Galvez says she was excited about the work she was doing in the community and at the arts organization she was leading. There are lessons to learn from even the worst of times.
“I don’t know if I could use the label homeless but not having a place to live gave me a lot of freedom where I would say that wherever I was the best place I could be. Because I didn’t have a home to go to. I didn’t have my dog with me. I didn’t have my own bed. You know, I didn’t have a comfort space so my office was my comfort space or someone would ask me to go somewhere, well, I didn’t have somewhere to be, so okay I’ll go. I appreciate that time for what it was.”
Now, that’s wisdom.
Storycatching on the Road to the American Woman
Road to the American Woman was a twenty-two-day journey from Long Beach, California to the Women’s March on Washington, D.C. and back this past January. Nicolassa Galvez and songwriter Alyssandra Nighswonger visited fifteen cities along the way. They wanted to meet and speak with self-identified woman who wanted to share their story about the election, the state of woman in America today, and what they saw as their role in the new administration.
“And what were they scared, what fears did they have about the elected president?”
The two women documented their journey with video and photographs. They wanted to connect with women to storycatch their feelings and visions. Health was one of the stories.
“Another concern was women who identified as lesbian. They were really scared. All of the things that they had accomplished as far as the right to marry or the right to express their love for their partner was something they were scared they would lose in this new administration. And they were scared, as in tears.”
The Women’s March on Washington has been described as one of the largest citizen marches in the nation’s capital. You would think that all the energy and excitement of the march plus the end of the first part of their journey would be special for Galvez and Nighswonger.
“Unexpectedly, the march was not the best part or the culmination of the trip in my mind. The stories that we heard. The women who were so grateful to share those stories. Those were the most intense moments of the trip by far.”
There were the intense moments at the march like waiting for the subway and the train coming down and women screaming and cheering. That brought Nicolassa to tears.
“It was just welling up, feeling all that emotion and excitement and anticipation heading to the march.”
Galvez felt there were times during the journey that their questions to women were formulaic. The women they interviewed, however, revealed their deepest parts in response. The storycatching continued on the journey home.
“On the return trip, it felt like we were actually doing the work we were meant to do the whole time.”
If you want to find out more about the Road to the American Women, visit their website HERE. You can also find them on Facebook and Instagram.
