Constanza Eliana Chinea: Media & Decolonization | Sumud Podcast

🎙 This week on the Sumud Podcast, we’re joined by Constanza Eliana Chinea—a Boricua journalist, producer, and activist reshaping the narrative from within.

Born in New York, raised in Borinquen (Puerto Rico), and coming of age in the U.S. Midwest, Constanza grew up confronting erasure, assimilation, and White comfort. Now based in Los Angeles, her more recent work includes reporting on pro-Palestine protests and student encampments at UCLA and USC through a historical, contextual, and factual lens. Her bylines include The L.A. Times, Spotify, The Young Turks, Latino Rebels, and LA Public Press.

In 2024, she founded Malcriá Media, an independent platform that centers on social justice, politics, and decolonial praxis, amplifying the voices of marginalized communities. She also hosts the podcast Political Pendejadas, where she unpacks power and politics alongside movement builders and cultural critics. Constanza has completed a disinformation fellowship through DDIA’s (the Digital Democracy Institute of the Americas) Capacity-Building Program and is currently a politics reporter through UC Berkeley Journalism’s California Local News Fellowship.

🔑 In this episode, we explore:

➡ What it means to be a colonial refugee

➡ The illusion of inclusion in DEI and wellness spaces

➡ Why is not all activism decolonial

➡ Media bias, Palestine, and challenging White discomfort

➡ Her pivot from yoga to journalism—and the price of truth-telling

🎬 This video is for educational purposes only. It offers historical, cultural, and political analysis to deepen understanding and inspire justice.

⏱ Chapters:

00:00 – Introduction: Meet Constanza Eliana

05:25 – From Puerto Rico to Illinois: A colonial refugee’s identity crisis

08:46 –Assimilation, Colonial Erasure, and Reclaim Our Name

16:32 – Yoga, Wellness, and Blogging

23:35 – “Not all activism is decolonial.”

28:56 – Palestine, media bias, and rejecting White savior “experts”

33:32 – Anti-Oppression Social Club & Embody Inclusivity

37:34 – Pivoting to independent journalism & media truth-telling

42:06 – Decolonizing Media & Solidarity with Palestine

48:33 – Her podcast: Political Pendejadas

53:44 – The price of integrity in journalism

59:00 – Final message: “Only we can save ourselves.”

📲 Follow Constanza Eliana Chinea: @ElianaChinea

🎙 Follow our host: @dredhasan

Watch Dr. Butch Ware episode: https://sumudpod.com/episodes/dr-butch-ware-black-liberation-zionism-and-the-spiritual-fight-for-justice-sumud-podcast/

🌐 More from the podcast: https://sumudpod.com

🌐Check out: https://www.embodyinclusivity.com/

#Palestine #SumudPod #Decolonize #MalcriaMedia #Latine #Colonial #IndependentMedia #FreePalestine

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