Raquel Reichard

Raquel Reichard

Raquel is an award-winning journalist and editor. Currently, she is the Deputy Director of Somos, Refinery29's channel by and for Latines.

Refinery29 •

Black Latine History Is Missing from Schools. These Creators Are Teaching It Online

"Every summer, I’d get history lessons from my uncle — how we traced our roots back to Africa, how we are Black in Colombia and Black everywhere else, how our Blackness connects us to people all over the world." "Every summer, I’d get history lessons from my uncle — how we traced our roots back to Africa, how we are Black in Colombia and Black everywhere else, how our Blackness connects us to people all over the world."
Refinery29 •

Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl Halftime Show Was A Reclamation & Reimagination Of America

Latines learning, remembering, healing, and finding joy in our diverse stories.Beautycon is a global platform that brings together beauty enthusiasts, brands, and industry leaders to explore the latest trends, innovations, and conversations shaping the future of beauty. Latines learning, remembering, healing, and finding joy in our diverse stories. Beautycon is a global platform that brings together beauty enthusiasts, brands, and industry leaders to explore the latest trends, innovations, and...
Refinery29 •

The Beef Between Dominicans & Puerto Ricans Isn’t Real. Bad Bunny's DtMF Concerts in DR Are Proof

"We are two cultures, two nations, and two islands that have fought conquest, injustice, and generations of marginalization in the Caribbean and in the States — y todavía estamos aquí, juntos, teasing each other, y bien cabrón." "We are two cultures, two nations, and two islands that have fought conquest, injustice, and generations of marginalization in the Caribbean and in the States — y todavía estamos aquí, juntos, teasing each other, y bien cabrón."
Refinery29 •

I Traveled to Thailand & Learned That Time Isn’t Real

"For most of my life, I’ve treated time like something to be managed, maximized, and spent. But moments like that reminded me that I’m always exactly where I need to be, even when things don’t go as planned, maybe especially then." "For most of my life, I’ve treated time like something to be managed, maximized, and spent. But moments like that reminded me that I’m always exactly where I need to be, even when things don’t go as planned, maybe especially then."
Refinery29 •

I Turned 35, Took a Solo Trip to the Jungle, & Cried the Whole Time — In a Good Way

"I gave myself permission to feel every emotion that had been bubbling up inside of me: gratitude for the career and home I’ve built for myself, and regret for not making more time for dating and relationships. I would let myself feel the fear around the uncertainty of my future — my career, finances, relationships, and motherhood — and revel in the gorgeous reality of the present moment." "I gave myself permission to feel every emotion that had been bubbling up inside of me: gratitude for the...
Refinery29 •

Why Did So Many Latines Vote for Donald Trump?

"Latine voters overall sided with Trump on the economy, inflation, and securing the border, but tended to support Harris on all other issues, including abortion access and crime reduction as well as believing she has the temperament and ability to move the country in the right direction." "Latine voters overall sided with Trump on the economy, inflation, and securing the border, but tended to support Harris on all other issues, including abortion access and crime reduction as well as believing...
Refinery29 •

Is Puerto Rico Ready for a Pro-Independence Governor? It Looks Like It

"If what we create and bring to the world is this rich in these conditions, I can’t begin to imagine how incredibly beautiful and magical it is for ourselves and the rest of our global community for us to thrive, and for people like us across the world to thrive. " "If what we create and bring to the world is this rich in these conditions, I can’t begin to imagine how incredibly beautiful and magical it is for ourselves and the rest of our global community for us to thrive, and for people like...
Refinery29 •

Video Vixens Were Shamed in the 2000s, but They Helped Me Feel Desirable

"These women looked authentic to me. They looked like me, and they looked like my friends. They were beautiful but also ordinary, which was particularly appealing at the time. They were one of us, so to speak, and we were one of them." "These women looked authentic to me. They looked like me, and they looked like my friends. They were beautiful but also ordinary, which was particularly appealing at the time. They were one of us, so to speak, and we were one of them."
USA Today •

Why Some Latines are Returning to Their Motherland

'The US is very individualistic, and I wanted community': What is rematriating? In 2013, when Joselyn Gerarda Whitaker Rae was 22 years old, she took a trip from New York to Huánuco, Peru, the city where she was born but hadn’t been to since she was adopted by a white American family as a 1-year-old. Whitaker Rae, whose adoptive parents had recently died, was in search of family and home, but she only had the village where she was born and the name of her birth mother. After four hours of sear
Refinery29 •

How Slow Living Helps Me Ditch a Culture of Self-Sacrifice

Leaving New York — where the culture is hustle, hustle, work, work — and moving to LA, which obviously still comes with a lot of expenses, in 2015 gave me opportunities to look at things differently. The days were just slower. I enjoyed that. It allowed me to notice things about myself that I had previously missed because I was always on the go. This made me want to intentionally live slower. Now, I walk for leisure. My grandmother told me she used to do this in Panama, but I don’t see my family
Refinery29 •

Loving and Losing My Soulmate Taught Me the Power of Sisterhood

F: There have been so many times, but the most recent time was when I got married last year. Janel was my maid of honor. I knew I wanted her to be my maid of honor, but I didn’t know if she'd say yes or no. She isn’t much of a planner; that’s usually my role. One day, we were running the New York Marathon — it was the same group from college; we’re all still close — and we had lost each other. With my legs burning, I found Janel through a tracker and ran as fast as I could to get to her. She was
Refinery29 •

What Will The Roe v. Wade Decision Mean For Puerto Rico?

“They copy-paste the projects and laws from the States,” Mayra I Díaz Torres, a member of the abortion rights collective Aborto Libre and former program director of Clínica IELLA, a Profamilias clinic that provides abortion care, tells Somos. “But we as a colony need to be clear that the laws that have worked in the U.S., or the laws that take place there, never have been for us. The States never have taken our wellbeing as a priority, so we need to see this as a colonial impact to our wellbeing
Refinery29 •

The “Great Replacement” Theory Is the American Way

In Gendron’s alleged manifesto, the man, whose attack is being investigated as a hate crime, shares details about the planned massacre, like choosing Buffalo as the scene for his attack because it was the city closest to him with the highest number of Black people. Racist mass shootings targeting Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous populations in this country aren’t new — and neither is the premise, or motive, of the “great replacement” theory. In fact, it’s the American way. After the invasio
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