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| | “When you’re faced with a crisis in your life, you have two options. You stand up and speak up, or you give up,” says Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto. She would know. She’s no stranger to moments of crisis.
In 2017, when Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, Cruz Soto trudged through flood waters to reach as many people as she could. Entire neighborhoods in Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan, lay flattened, and the island’s power grid was destroyed — a bleak landscape in which residents perished and many others were heartbroken. But Cruz Soto would not be deterred. She handed out food and other necessities to help hundreds of families survive. | Very seldom do we get the news of the people that are out there grinding every day to make the world a better place.
- Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto  |
Cruz Soto, who was mayor of San Juan at that time, did not stop there. She became a lifeline between the island’s people and the outside world as she raised awareness of the dire situation through social media and countless interviews. Her actions saved lives and brought much-needed aid to Puerto Rico’s population.
In person, Cruz Soto’s sense of purpose is unmistakable. She moves with passion and empathy, driven by a single directive: to build a fairer world. In 2011, she published the book El Poder está en la Calle (The Power is on the Street) about how individuals can find their personal power to change society. She was elected mayor of San Juan in 2012 and again in 2016. She’s won more than two dozen awards, including a place on Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2018.
Now, she’s channeling her power into a new mission: She is the host of Sheroics, OZY’s latest podcast and a platform for the stories of ordinary women doing extraordinary things, launching soon.
“We get our news from all over the place,” says Cruz Soto, “but very seldom do we get the news of the people that are out there grinding every day to make the world a better place.” |
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| | |  | | Once a week, Sheroics serves up an episode about the toughness of women around the world, with the first season featuring stories told by Latin American guests. These are women who have responded to injustices that life has thrown at them by drawing on deep wells of resilience. | We believe that these voices are the examples for people to begin their own transformation.
- Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto |
“If you want to hear the voices of the people who don’t just talk about change but, without even recognizing the fierce determination of what they’re doing, just go about doing it, then you listen to Sheroics,” says Cruz Soto.
The podcast explores what female public servants, activists and citizens are doing to improve their corners of the world — with a dose of encouragement for listeners to find the strength to pursue their own paths toward change. Or, as Cruz Soto puts it, “We believe that these voices are the examples for people to begin their own transformation.”
There’s the woman who was held in a men’s prison for thirteen years in Uruguay in the 1970s and 80s, yet emerged as a powerful advocate for women’s rights. Then there are the women who lost children at the Pulse nightclub shooting in 2016 and channeled their unimaginable tragedy into a campaign against gun violence and hate crimes. |
| | “It’s the sheer power of taking something utterly painful and turning it into something utterly full of love,” Cruz Soto explains. “The common thread among these women is an immense heart, an immense capacity for loving.”
Another common thread is their grit. “They don’t let anything stand in their way,” says Cruz Soto.
It’s a quality she certainly shares. After she lambasted Washington’s fatally slow response to the 2017 hurricane, former President Donald Trump publicly belittled her leadership. She stood firm in the face of such blowback and remained focused on distributing lifesaving supplies to San Juan residents. | They know that if they don’t do what they’re doing, things will not change.
- Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto |
Today, despite spending long hours in a sound booth recording what are sometimes heart-rending stories, Cruz Soto maintains an infectious sense of positivity. She is a leader nourished and energized not only by rolling up her sleeves and working hard, but also by listening to others’ stories — especially the stories of those who would not typically feature in news headlines or on a podcast.
“These women are not seeing rosy sunsets everywhere they go,” says Cruz Soto frankly. “But they know that if they don’t do what they’re doing, things will not change.” |
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| | |  | | OZY Studio's latest podcast COMING SOON!
Inspirational stories of everyday “sheroes” fighting injustice with acts of love. | | |
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| | |  | | Behind the concept of Sheroics is the belief that "sheroes" are all around us, all the time. The podcast encourages listeners to identify the people in their own families and communities who are sources of inspiration.
“It is that woman around you that has made you think twice about giving up, that has given you the tools to go forward,” says Cruz Soto. We feel a greater sense of courage, she says, when we see the people around us put “a little extra in the ordinary” to accomplish something extraordinary. | If you are about to give up on the world and you think that it’s not worth it, then you listen to Sheroics.
- Carmen Yulín Cruz Soto |
Listeners are encouraged to acknowledge and extend appreciation to the sheroes around them. In this way, the podcast is intended not only to uplift the work of a few sheroes, but to express gratitude to many more who are working under the radar.
The podcast also invites listeners to consider what sheroics might be hiding within them.
“If you are about to give up on the world and you think that it’s not worth it, then you listen to Sheroics to understand that it’s worth it every day,” says Cruz Soto. The work of these sheroes, she says, is “a beautiful reminder of the power that we have innately.” |
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| |  | | Tell us about a shero in your family or community. | | |
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| | | EPISODE 2 NOW STREAMING!
Featuring style influencer Marika B (better known as Br00klynBetty)
& WOODstack IVY buyer Tianna Weatherspoon | | |
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