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What inspires you? How can I be inspired? What should I look for, for inspiration? How can women influence me? How can I be more creative? What inspires your creativity? What is your passion? How do little things help spark your interest? Who can help me be more of me? How do you find yourself?
I really enjoyed this interview with small business owner, artist, photographer, and mom, Celia D. Luna. It completely reminded me of the time that I spent in Peru. She was born in Ayacucho, Peru. While I didn’t spend time in Ayacucho, you can’t really go to Peru and experience it’s culture without knowing about the amazing place. The women from Ayacucho have a significant presence in the major Peruvian festivities such as Inti Rami, which celebrates the sun god. I remember seeing the women with their top hats, wide colorful skirts, white blouses and boots.
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In this interview Celia tells us about how her mother from Ayacucho inspires her. Celia is an entrepreneur and photographer whose mother owned a travel and tourism company. Through this Celia got to experience and see many different cultures. She also talks about life as a small business owner and the women and brands she photographs with from around the world that are telling their stories. Sustainability is very important to Celia and she loves working with brands that are proactive about protecting the environment. She tells us about her connection with her daughter who is now exploring photography as well. We wrap up the conversation with Celia’s favorite travel experiences and her favorite places in Miami. With her mother’s influence on her to be powerful, her love of travel, and her ability to stay grounded through meditation, Celia inspires us.
Here are a few of my favorite parts of the interview. Make sure to listen to the full interview on your favorite podcast platform:
Collective Drift (CD) / Celia D. Luna (CL)
CD: Who is Celia D. Luna?
CL: I guess I'll describe myself as this creative person that wants to communicate her message visually. And my message right now is about sustainability. I'm very into saving our planet and I want my photos to say that. Also girl empowerment, that also comes through very naturally. I was raised by a single mom; so, I've always had this big connection with women that kick ass. So that's what I do.
CD: What did your mom teach you about being a strong woman?
CL: I was born in Ayacucho, which was a little town in Peru. And she was in charge of a travel and tourism company. So she was a Boss Lady. So that's the first impact that I have from her, or the first connection that I relate to her. So she would go and travel to different cities and connect with artisans. And I would see all the color, all the beauty. So I was exposed to a lot of culture from the get go. Having her be part of my life, just being that role model that could do really anything, and doing all of those things with a baby as a single mom, it was amazing. I didn't realize her effect until I started creating photos and saw that in my photos, but yeah, she is definitely a great example to follow.
CD: What type of women inspire you?
CL: Go getters and entrepreneurs are the women that I capture most. They're usually going through a transition of maybe leaving their nine to five, and they're working on their brand at that moment. Or it could be an entrepreneur that has been doing it for years, but they want a different vibe. Usually they are on this spiritual journey, because they want something that speaks to their soul. And that's when I come in. It is just not a pretty photo. It is something that they want to convey in a photo. And I love that, because that's exactly what I want to do.
CD: How do you tap into their essence when you are taking their photos?
CL: So, I have my methods. I have a meditation, this visualization that I do to connect with my clients before the actual shoot. It gives me a lot of clarity of what the person is about. And we can go from there, it could be anything. It's funny, because everyone is so different. Right? Everyone has different answers that make up who they are. It's beautiful to see. It's on my favorite parts of a photoshoot.
CD: What’s one of the best experiences you’ve had abroad?
CL: I went to Colombia to shoot for an accessories company, the owner is a friend of mine who lives there. We went there. She's also from a small town in Colombia so we went to her town. I was able to see where she was from. The beautiful thing about connecting with other women that are entrepreneurs is being able to see their background. Because that's what they want to show and I want to be part of it. That's why I went to Colombia. And there was this lady, super cute and adorable. We asked for permission to take her photos. It was just so nice to be part of that, having the beautiful backdrop of Columbia and having her be our model. It was great, because she was all about it, she was posing and she was having fun. And just creating an image with her was amazing.
CD: So, what is a question Celia would ask other women?
CL: What is it that you want to contribute to the world? What is it that you want to leave behind once they're not here anymore?
CD: How do you define a woman?
CL: I think a woman is power, is sweetness, is courageousness, is worth seeing, is multitasking and doing it with grace. I think she's perfection. Perfection doesn't really exist, but women are perfect in my eyes.
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Where to find Erica and Collective Drift
Where to find Celia
Cities / Neighborhoods mentioned in the interview
Ayacucho, Peru peru.travel/pe/destinos/ayacucho
Lima, Peru
Bogota, Colombia colombia.travel/en/bogota
Antigua, Guatemala aroundantigua.com/
Little Havana, Miami, FL miamiandbeaches.com/neighborhoods/little-havana
Miami, FL miamiandbeaches.com/
Places in Miami she loves for live music and dancing
The Bandshell northbeachbandshell.com/
Ball and Chain ballandchainmiami.com/
The Ground thegroundmiami.com/
Revolution Live jointherevolution.net
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The Collective Drift platform was created by Erica Knowles to celebrate all women, the beauty of their cultures, and international travel experiences. I believe that women possess magic, that gives them strength and grace to change the world. We learn how to tap into our power in various ways based on our cultural backgrounds and our journeys. Join me and an amazing collective of multicultural, multiethnic, and multigenerational women that are artists, cultural leaders and travel enthusiasts as they tell their stories about their culture, their tribe of women, their passions, their art, and their favorite international experiences. Welcome to Collective Drift.