The Latinx Auto-Ethnography Podcast Project
A project that explored how Latinx undergraduate students adapt to life at UC Berkeley
About
In this podcast, our aim was to demonstrate that health is not an isolated fact of the daily economic, geographic, socio-environmental, and academic challenges. To make clear that these aspects of daily life influence the health of the Latinx population in general, and especially, in the community of first-generation Latinx undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley.
Anais Roatta
My name is Anaïs Roatta and I am a former Undergraduate Research Assistant at the Critical Study of the Health of Latinx Communities. When I started my role as a researcher in September of 2023, I was a sophomore at UC Berkeley, majoring in Public Health, and minoring in Public Policy and Human Rights. I was (and still am) extremely interested in understanding how and why health disparities exist, in specifically Latinx communities. The Critical Study HLC explored these questions, and taught me about the crucial role that community can play in improving health outcomes. My role as a researcher was to improve online engagement through social media posts and to participate in the interviewing process. I transcribed past interviews with free-clinic physicians, public health advocates, and community leaders, and was even able to conduct some interviews myself. My team also had the incredible opportunity to organize a panelist event with prominent labor activists, such as Dolores Huerta. Currently, I am a first-year law student at Emory University School of Law and a dual-degree candidate at Emory University Rollins School of Public Health. In the future, I hope to work in public interest law so that I can promote the health and well-being of my community through the legal system.
I feel an immense sense of fulfillment working on this particular project because not only do I have the opportunity to study the incredible story of the Chicano/Latinx healthcare movement in the United States, but I am also able to meet with the leaders of the movement as well as medical professionals who have dedicated their careers to providing and improving care for the Latinx community. Each story leaves me feeling inspired to carry on the torch of these remarkable individuals, ready to continue the efforts towards preserving and progressing the quality and accessibility of healthcare for all members of the Latinx community. Being part of Critical Study HLC and working alongside Dr. Cara Mantini-Briggs, Professor Charles Briggs, Carolina Talavera PhD, and the entire cohort of research assistants has been one of the most exceptional experiences I have had during my time at UC Berkeley and has significantly impacted and reshaped my view of what it means to be a healthcare provider and activist for my community.
Sammy Villasenor
Hello, I am Sammy Villaseñor. I study integrative biology with a focus on human biology and plan to attend medical school after graduating from UC Berkeley in the Spring of 2026. I have been a research assistant for The Center for the Critical Study of the Health of Latinx Communities since the Spring of 2024. Working on this project has given me the opportunity to explore a new avenue of research, medical anthropological research, that I was completely unfamiliar with before reading about and joining Critical Study HLC. I have gained new skills, understanding, and perspective that I will carry with me far beyond my undergraduate studies.
Hanny Lemus
Hi, my name is Hanny Lemus. I recently graduated from UC Berkeley with a degree in Integrative Biology and a strong interest in community health and health equity. I am a Research Assistant in the Critical Study of the Health of Latinx Communities project, where I engage in work centered on understanding the lived experiences and health challenges of Latinx communities.
This project has been a truly meaningful and transformative experience for me as a future medical professional. Through transcribing, editing, and translating interview transcripts, I had the opportunity to listen deeply to people’s stories, their struggles, strengths, and interactions with the healthcare system. This process taught me the importance of empathy, cultural humility, and clear communication in medicine. It helped me understand how trust is built through listening, and how language and cultural barriers can directly affect patient care and outcomes.
This experience has strongly influenced my dream of becoming a physician. It reinforced my desire to one day practice medicine in a way that centers the patient as a whole person, not just a diagnosis. In the future, I plan to attend medical school and serve diverse and underserved communities with compassion, cultural awareness, and a commitment to health equity.
Arely Olmedo Robles
I am Arely Olmedo Robles. I am studying Nutritional Science and Metabolic Biology and plan to attend Physician Assistant School after graduating from UC Berkeley in the Spring of 2027. I have been a research assistant for The Center for the Critical Study of the Health of Latinx Communities (Critical Study HLC) since Spring of 2024. My contribution to this project has allowed me to further understand the intertwining of social determinants of health and social justice in the fight to improve access to culturally and linguistically relevant healthcare.
Con un abrazo cordial
Ethnography Grupo de estudiantes 1
Neyda Pacheco, Arely Olmedo Robles, Sofía Pérez, Ana Christina Kyle
Ethnography Grupo de estudiantes 2
Ivan López, Anais Roatta, Sammy Villaseñor, Hanny Lemus
Created and Produced by Dr. Clara Mantini-Briggs and Professor Charles L. Briggs
Director and Co-Director of the Center for the Critical Study of the Health of Latinx Communities
A podcast project produced by the Center for the Critical Study of the Health of Latinx Communities under the auspices of Latinx Research Center and the Institute for the Study of Societal Issues.
Why this podcast is important
The higher infection and death rates in the COVID-19 pandemic within Latinx communities was widely reported in the media. Lost in waves of statistics and generalizations about essential workers were two things: One is how the pandemic greatly increased other inequities among lower-income Latinx families. Another is the voices of Latinx youth themselves regarding their own pandemic experiences.
Left to Right: Brandon Rubio, Dr. Clara Mantini Briggs, Daniel Márquez
Left to Right: Giselle Rosales and Brandon Rubio
In dialogue with Daniel Márquez, two current and former UC Berkeley undergraduates, Giselle Rosales and Brandon Rubio describe the impact of COVID-19 on their daily lives. Each student describes how while trying to fulfill their dreams they faced daily inequities that negatively influenced their success, their physical and mental health, as well as the wellbeing of their families and communities. Between their life at UC Campus, returning to their home during lockdown, and coming back to campus, these undergraduate students describe a tremendous and challenging experience balancing the workload of a University of California Berkeley student while living at home. They made a humongous effort to balance the pandemic situation that put their dream, the love for their families, their solidarity to their friends and their surrounded community on the line. With these stories, they demonstrated their strength and will to achieve their dreams. They embody our dream of a more equitable and just future.
Their auto-ethnographic testimonies are of paramount importance for the community of Latinx students at UC Berkeley because it mirrors the devastating impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the lives of Latinx families, households, students, as well as society more broadly.
Left to Right: Professor Charles Briggs, Dr. Abraham Ramírez, Professor Raymond Telles
Technical Team
Technical Lead: Daniel Márquez (B.A. Political Science and First-Gen College Student)
Credits
Así somos! Trabajamos para ustedes!
Producers: Dr. Clara Mantini-Briggs, MD, MPD and Professor Charles L. Briggs, Distinguished Professor of Anthropology (UC Berkeley), Co-Directors of the Center for the Critical Study of the Health of Latinx Communities
Production Consultant: Dr. Raymond Telles, Associate Adjunct Professor of Ethnic Studies (UC Berkeley) and an award-winning documentary filmmaker. Kiyoshi Taylor - multimedia consultant and producer
Student Participants: Brandon Rubio (B.A. in Ethnic Studies and Political Science) and Gisselle Rosales (UCB Public Health, graduating in 2023)
Technical Lead: Dr. Abraham Ramírez, Postdoctoral Fellow for the UC Berkeley Latinx Research Center
Audio Editor and Engineer: Ernesto García Rosas