10 Disabled Latine Creators You Should Know & Support
Art by Stephany Torres for Remezcla
What does it mean to be proud of a disability? This is a question disabled people are often asked, especially during July which is Disability Pride Month. For me, pride comes from embracing every part of who I am. I’m a disabled Latina woman. I’m deafblind due to Usher syndrome.
My disability is not something I try to hide. It’s not something I want to erase. Just like I wouldn’t erase my cultura or my womanhood. My disability is an important part of me. It shapes how I move through the world, how I view the systems around us, and how I build community.
Too often, the challenges disabled people face aren’t because of our disabilities. The challenges arise because we live in a world that wasn’t built with us in mind. An inaccessible world that doesn’t include us or validate us. That’s why representation and visibility matter.
We’re spotlighting 10 disabled Latine creators who are showing up, sharing their stories, building community, and representing Latinidad. Follow them and support their work all year long. And if you’re looking for more disabled Latine creators to follow, we’ve got you covered here.
Marcela Marañon
Marcela Marañon is a wheelchair user, accessible travel creator, first disabled Latina woman to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro.
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Catarina Rivera
Catarina Rivera is a Cuban and Puerto Rican deafblind Latina public speaker/consultant on disability, TEDx speaker, accessible travel creator, and the Founder of Blindish Latina LLC.
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Sarah Yvonne
Sarah Yvonne is a Mexican American Endometriosis advocate, creator of Chism-Endo a social circle to talk about all things endometriosis.
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Stacey Marlene Valle
Stacey Marlene Valle is a Latina Deaf traveler showcasing travel tips & stories and accessible travel.
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Jennifer White-Johnson
Jennifer White-Johnson is a disabled, AuDHD, Afro-Puerto Rican artist and design educator.
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Tamara Mena
Tamara Mena is a bilingual motivational speaker, actress, presenter, model, spokesperson, survivor, and perennial optimist.
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Melissa Elmira Yingst
Melissa Elmira Yingst is a media personality and advocate within the deaf community, Host of MELMIRA, a community-based talk show, social justice advocate.
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Elsie Tellier Caballero
Elsie Tellier Caballero is a chronically ill (cystic fibrosis) and neurodivergent Mexican & French Canadian human rights lawyer, hobbyist fashion stylist, Harvard and University of Toronto Law alum.
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Syanne Centeno-Bloom
Syanne Centeno-Bloom is a chronically ill activist, Afro-Indigenous Latina, political analyst, and model/actress. Syanne is also a wheelchair user.
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Samantha Jade Durán
Samantha Jade Durán is an adaptive fashion designer and self-proclaimed “make-up stan.” She’s also an ambulatory wheelchair user who was diagnosed with rare disease Maffucci Syndrome as a child.
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