Soulful Travel – Mexico Pt 2: Meet the Nuvo Chicas

Amid winding, dusty roads, awe-inspiring architecture, and movie-like adventures, one thing has consistently stood out to me across the globe: Nuvo Chicas.

If you missed our series kickoff (catch up here: link), we sampled a soufflé of colorful experiences that transformed my travel taste buds, giving me a craving for more nuanced adventures.

Now, let’s turn our heads to the right and focus on something I keep seeing across the globe—the striking sight of youthful, hip, forward-thinking women who embody a new wave of border-crossing feminism, with a grin that says they’ve discovered the best secret ever—freedom is freakin' awesome!

These ladies grab freedom by the tail and revel in it. They burn through their passports, challenging the many lines we draw across countries, cultures, religions, ideas, and even ourselves. Two such friends have wild stories of border agents puzzled by their rarity, questioning their right to so freely cross so many lines. Yet, unfazed, they trek onward.

After many encounters with Nuvo Chicas, I found myself once again on an adventure—this time in Mexico. My friend Ania’s search for land along the steamy Oaxaca coast pulled me into my own Mexican journey. We discovered an untamed, Wild West-like paradise of bamboo palapas and untouched coves, where life moves at half tempo.

Flashing back for a moment, I first met Ania after a spontaneous decision to celebrate my birthday in Guatemala. Just a few days later, I found myself sitting in a café, meeting her—this fascinating Croatian war refugee. We bonded instantly, reflecting on the ironic polarity of spiritual retreat-goers disconnected from the richness of local culture. We found ourselves outliers even among outliers, questioning the group mentalities that even modern-day hippies—and any one of us—easily fall into.

As a sample of Ania’s Fruity Ceremonies—helping people ditch toxic self-care products and routines 🌿🤍—we squished bananas to create ultra-organic, straight-from-the-tree beauty masks. The soft gooiness between my fingers made my heart flutter, like a little girl breaking some unspoken rule and discovering something new. (Try it!)

Together, we gasped at the stars dancing on the surface of deep blue Lake Atitlan, howled from the back of a pick-up truck as it bumped along rocky jungle roads, swam in emerald green river pools, and even cradled a tour guide floating in our arms in a candlelit cave in Semuc Champey.

Months later, we spontaneously met in Italy and danced at the Venice Film Festival. Afterward, I returned to Miami nursing health ailments, while she trekked the globe. Over the past year, she studied Ayurveda in India, worked in Thailand, made a pit stop in Bali, and volunteered at a school in Tanzania, where she helped raise money for a solar water pump and shaved her head in solidarity with the girls! (If you'd like to contribute, now they're raising for a water tank).

Now, she was on a mission to find land in Mexico to create a sustainable home near other Nuvo Chicas, and she invited me to join her along with her sweet dog, Negra, her loyal companion on this new adventure.

Upon arriving in Mexico City late at night, a kind Uber driver named Diego shared his love for the country as we zipped past the city lights and bustling streets. Ania greeted me with open arms, her bold new haircut symbolizing the fearless energy radiating from her.

The following day, her Mexican friend Yalo, Yalo's partner Celso, his son Mateo, and their French bulldog warmly welcomed me into their home with homemade enchiladas. The warm, savory scents filled the air, settling the dust of travel and making me feel right at home.

A night later, the ladies ventured out to where another free-spirited Nuvo Chica Fernanda invited us to a Lion’s Gate Soiree. We arrived in the La Condesa neighborhood and could not find the entrance. With a list of odd instructions provided by a doorman, we went through one building, up to a narrow catwalk, across to another, and got lost circling a dark stairwell—nearly stumbling into an alley—until a musician beckoned us to follow him through a nondescript door. We entered what felt like an underground theater club.

As we sat down, I was soon taken aback by the primal sounds emanating from the singer’s voice. "What is this? What is happening?: My mind raced, wondering if this was some cheesy, faux-spiritual performance—cue all the prejudices we carry when resisting the unknown.

But as the singer and improvising musicians pressed on, we were quickly drawn into a visceral experience that transported us beyond sound. It was so out-of-the-box, I later suggested the singer name her album Ayahuasca Jazz. The singer called T-Bird, a professionally trained by American maestros, veered into uncharted corners of her voice, conjuring sounds that seemed to echo the wild heart of the earth itself.

As we sipped mezcal in the dimly lit, tucked-away theater, meshed in between songs she mimicked the sounds of rustling leaves, used her brass flute to modulate her voice like melodic communication from another galaxy, and created animal-like sounds pulling us into something primal. From perplexed to entranced, we danced with reckless abandon, completely swept away. With every strum and beat, the unknown didn’t just become familiar—it felt like returning home.

T-bird is a far out Nuvo Chica and Artist, demonstrating the frontiers within us yet to be explored. We’re so used to defining ourselves by checking boxes that anything outside of them feels strange at first. But if we suspend our thoughts for just a moment, we might find a boundless truth—a connection to something greater—that feels like there is so much more to we have yet to explore and sky seems to open up to us.

[Note: This video is but a small sample of the awesome talent and interactive experience T-Bird creates. She's recording an album and we'll make sure to promote it on IG: @freequencyliving]

The next day, to overcome a major roadblock—T-minus one car to get to Mazunte—a spontaneous decision was made: one girl would sell her car to the other. For better or worse, we now had a license to jam, and Yalo jumped behind the wheel.

Yalo is the definition of tenacity—when she’s not running corporate logistics, she’s selling land, managing her own properties, and whipping her little car through the Mexican countryside like a batmobile.

She insisted on driving the 11-hour journey to the Oaxaca Coast to ensure we, along with the true stars of the show, arrived safely. The stars being two large dogs bouncing around in an open mega crate. Negra, the sweet and gentle recent arrival from Croatia, and Pancho, who quickly lived up to the larger-than-life moniker I gave him, Pancho Villa!

Along the way, we discussed our weaving life paths, hopes, and aspirations. Here's a clip taken from the road, as we considered concepts of what it means to be a modern lady.... (Hit to subscribe for free and again access).

The goodness in this post was overflowing, so I am saving the coolest Nuvo Chica for posts 4/5. She is the baddie on the cover image of this post and you'd surely want to meet her!

Up next, is our pit stop to spend the night with a Mexican family devoted to preserving ancestral knowledge, rescuing native seeds, and planting the future with their entire, large family devoted to sustainable living.

I'll also be soon sharing a Nuvo Sir - aka my awesome brother Chris. He's helped many men and women explore these very "borders" touched upon here. He'll share with us his recent Aha moment!

Calling the Team: So, embracing the process of learning, this week was hmmmm... a lot of work (insert tongue out). The expanded work included video editing, motion graphics, and programming code with the help of Chat GPT—I swear you could fly a plane with its help!

In short, this mad scientist needs your feedback! What do you like best? Too much, too little, or is the chemistry just right?!