CHARLAS
History & Identity
CHARLAS (Conversaciones Honestas Acerca del Respeto, Liberación, y Aceptación en cuanto a Salud reproductiva) is an intergenerational project that gives voice and visibility to intimate experiences related to the sexual and reproductive health of Spanish-speaking people and their families. The acronym CHARLAS stands for: Honest Conversations About Respect, Liberation and Acceptance regarding Reproductive Health. The group addresses themes like youth sexuality, access to contraception, abortion, pregnancy and birth, and menopause.
The group first came together in the Fall of 2021 with the intent of strategizing how to best promote productive conversations regarding abortion and other reproductive justice issues among Spanish-speaking communities and families. The ensuing facilitated conversations were profound and emotive, covering a lot of ground ranging from visceral reactions regarding growing abortion restrictions around the U.S., and stemming from personal and family experiences with abortion access and care, to the cultural and religious contexts that frame these conversations. To document and share the learning that took place during these meetings, the group collectively planned and recorded an episode of the Heart of New Mexico podcast, a continuing series produced by Bold Futures. This is currently the first and only episode in Spanish.
The resulting episode is a warm, open, thoughtful conversation where participants reflect on their respective cultural and religious backgrounds, and relate those to their commitment to combat religious refusals, whether in the case of abortion access or in other cases. Bold Futures is proud that this episode represents one of the few media spaces that has been carved out for these kinds of sensitive and complex conversations, by and for Latine Spanish-speakers who identify as people of faith.
IMpact
During the past two years, CHARLAS’ main project has been developing and releasing the Spanish translation of Bold Futures' Accessing Abortion in New Mexico guide. Last year, the group also participated in the art exhibit In My Shoes: Our Reproductive Healthcare Journey with an installation titled “De eso no se habla / We Don’t Talk About That” based on intimate stories of reproductive health. CHARLAS has also engaged in internal leadership development, team-building and healing activities.
