Sacred Lessons with Mike de la Rocha

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with poet, cultural worker, and organizer aja monet for a deeply personal conversation about art, healing, and what it will take to create a world free from violence. Drawing from her poetry, activism, and the lessons passed down by the women who raised her, aja reflects on how creative expression can become medicine and why ending violence requires us to examine not only the systems around us, but the ways they live within us. Together, Mike and aja explore the power of love and tenderness, what men can learn from the women in our lives, and why building a more just and peaceful world requires the courage to listen, change, and become more fully human.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with author, spiritual teacher, and creator of The Mayan Oracle Deck Christine Olivia Hernandez for a deeply personal conversation about ancestry, grief, and remembering who we are. From losing her Guatemalan father and feeling disconnected from her roots to finding her way back through ancestral practices, Christine reflects on how grief can transform our relationship with those who came before us. Together, Mike and Christine explore the wisdom our ancestors leave behind, our relationship with nature and sacred time, and how remembering where we come from can help us reconnect with who we truly are.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Carmen Perez-Jordan, Chicana feminist and longtime movement leader, for a deeply personal conversation about friendship, grief, and liberation. From their shared roots in Oxnard to decades of organizing together, Carmen reflects on transforming the loss of her sister into purpose and the responsibility of carrying forward the lessons of our elders. Together, Mike and Carmen explore what feminism asks of men, the personal sacrifices of living on the frontlines of history, and why liberation must be practiced not only in our movements, but in how we love, heal, and show up for one another.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Mónica Ramírez, founder of Justice for Migrant Women, for an important conversation about gender justice, patriarchy, and redefining power. Recorded live at the five-year anniversary of the Raizado Festival in Aspen, Mónica reflects on decades of fighting alongside migrant women, immigrant families, and survivors of gender-based violence, and what that work has taught her about how patriarchy harms all of us. Together, Mike and Mónica explore how men can help end sexual and gender-based violence, what it means to move from power over others to power with others, and why building a more loving future requires all of us to examine what we've inherited.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with comedian, author, and actress Aida Rodriguez for a deeply personal conversation about identity, fatherhood, and finding our way home to ourselves. From growing up without her father to searching for him decades later, Aida reflects on the complicated journey toward forgiveness and what it took to realize that her worth was never dependent on someone else choosing her. This heartfelt episode is a reminder that healing begins when we stop searching for validation and realize that we have always been enough.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Leslie Priscilla, educator, founder of Latinx Parenting, and author of Chancla, for a deeply personal conversation about parenting, generational healing, and becoming the safe adult we once needed. Together, they explore how our own childhood experiences shape the way we parent, why healing begins with reparenting ourselves, and how repair, not perfection, is the foundation for raising emotionally healthy children. From healing cycles of fear and shame to honoring culture while telling difficult truths, Leslie shares a compassionate vision for raising the next generation with connection, dignity, and love. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Rocio Navarro for a deeply personal conversation about water, healing, and the ancient wisdom of letting go. Recorded beside the ocean, Rocio shares how water has been used across cultures as a source of ceremony, renewal, and connection, and how it can help us reconnect with our bodies and release what we’ve been carrying. Drawing from Mike’s own experience participating in a water ceremony led by Rocio, together they explore what water can teach us about grief, surrender, trust, and transformation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Carlos Avendaño Mendoza, founder of Pécora 1909 and the coffee grower behind every cup of Tepito Coffee, for a deeply personal conversation about the land, legacy, and living with purpose. From humble beginnings in Veracruz to becoming one of México's most respected coffee growers, Carlos shares how his father, his family, and the land taught him that patience, humility, and care are the true ingredients of a meaningful life. Together, Mike and Carlos explore how coffee connects generations, cultures, and communities, why the land is one of our greatest teachers, and how the love between fathers and sons can help heal generational cycles.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Bryan Ramirez, founder of Reservoir Tattoo Studio, for a deeply personal conversation recorded while Bryan tattoos a Mesoamerican serpent, a symbol of transformation, healing, and rebirth, onto Mike's arm. Together, they explore why the tattoo chair has become one of the few places where many men feel safe enough to tell the truth about their lives, and how tattoo artists often become unexpected therapists, witnessing grief, heartbreak, and healing one story at a time. From Chicano identity and entrepreneurship to ritual and the power of being seen, Bryan reflects on why tattoos are about far more than ink, they're about marking the moments that change us. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Marisa Renee Lee, author of Grief Is Love and Waiting for Dawn, for a deeply personal conversation about loss, uncertainty, and what it means to keep loving after someone is gone. Drawing from the loss of her mother, the heartbreak of losing a child, and her own journey through illness and uncertainty, Marisa shares why grief is not something we get over, but something we learn to carry with grace and compassion. Together, they explore the myths we've been taught about mourning, how men experience grief, and how to find hope when the future feels uncertain.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Baratunde Thurston at the BOOST Conference for a thought-provoking conversation about masculinity, America, and the future of humanity in the age of artificial intelligence. Together, they explore how the stories we inherit about power, work, and manhood continue to shape our culture, institutions, and emerging technologies, and what it means to rewrite those stories before they are coded into the future. From Indigenous frameworks of interdependence to the emotional impact of AI on identity and purpose, Baratunde challenges us to imagine a version of masculinity rooted not in control or production, but in care, connection, and community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Tonatiuh for a powerful conversation about gender, identity, and the cost of living inside expectations that were never ours to begin with. From his acclaimed performances in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Vida, and Promised Land, Tonatiuh reflects on how masculinity is often shaped by perception, performance, and power, and how the world responded to him based on how closely he aligned with traditional ideas of masculinity. Together, Mike and Tonatiuh explore gender as a social construct, the pressure to conform, and the freedom that comes from embracing a more expansive understanding of identity and self-expression. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this live episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha continues a powerful series on gender violence with Damariz Vasquez and Ozzy Cruz, two practitioners working on the frontlines of healing at the East L.A. Women’s Center. Moving from awareness to action, this conversation centers the day-to-day realities of supporting survivors, working with men, and creating pathways for true accountability and transformation. Together, they explore how shame, silence, and harmful beliefs about power and gender prevent healing and what it truly takes to break those cycles.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.