Key Soto & Vicky Mu�oz-Lepore

Shows

Surviving The CityEpisode 29: Ideology & Integrity: A Conversation with Comedian Gabe PachecoHave you ever chatted with someone who pushed you to consider what it means to go after your creative projects day in and day while staying true to yourself and your values? Is that even possible? And, what does it really look like to grow and evolve your craft with integrity especially in the comedy scene? In this episode, we hear from Gabe Pacheco, a thought-provoking storyteller, performer, podcaster and comic with over a decade of experience performing comedy all over the city and country. As you’ll come to understand through this conversation, Gabe has a...2022-12-231h 10

Surviving The CityEpisode 28: Accessing Transformation with Cynthia Santiago-BorbónHave you ever sat with someone who made you feel like going after your creative dreams wasn’t “crazy”? Like a bigger life for you was more possible? How does a licensed psychotherapist and transformational life coach really get you to change your life and follow your big creative dreams? And what would someone like this say to the critical thinker in all of us that gawks at the idea of following our dreams when considering all of the real pain and oppression that exists in our world? In this episode, we hear from therapist, life coach and healer Cynthi...2022-12-081h 23

Surviving The CityMagic is Fucking Real with Chiquita BrujitaMany of us clock in and clock out when it comes to working on our creative projects. However, in episode 27 Vicky and Key chat with Chiquita Brujita, a third generation Nuyorican bruja and magic maker, who embodies her art day in and day out as a performance artist. Chiquita’s life has led her down a path of performance and nurturing the souls of those around her. She uses dance and the energy of community to bring people together in a celebration of the once taboo culture of brujería. In this e...2022-11-0345 min

Surviving The CityEpisode 26: Creative Projects & Non-AttachmentCreative Projects & Non-Attachment Episode 26 What happens when your passion for a creative project turns into an obsession over the outcome? How can we practice non-attachment to our creative goals while still maintaining our drive and focus? Luckily, this doesn’t mean giving up all your worldly possessions and moving to a cave off the grid. Despite the image it conjures, practicing non-attachment is a whole lot less New Age-y than you might think! Today, on Surviving the City, we explore the practical side of non-attachment as it...2022-10-1854 min

Surviving The CityCommunity with a Side of Plant Medicine with Lynsey AyalaIn this episode of Surviving the City, we ask: how did a New Yorker and fifth-generation Curandera go on a mission to share the power of plant medicine, then go on to open up a modern-day apothecary, botánica, and community space? Our guest is Lynsey Ayala, a spiritual herbalist, artist, and the owner of BreadxButta, a Brooklyn-based brand fusing wellness, art, and Sacred Earth Medicine education. As you’ll come to understand from today’s conversation, Lynsey’s work is deeply rooted in her Puerto Rican heritage and her upbringing in the Bro...2022-09-221h 09

Surviving The CityThe Hustle to Manifestation with Sakinah ImanHow did a successful, born-and-bred Brooklyn artist use manifestation to get her film featured on Showtime? For those of you who tend to be turned off by woo-woo topics like manifestation and visualizing your dream life, this episode is definitely for you! Tuning in today, you’ll hear from Sakinah Iman, an award-winning Caribbean-American filmmaker, singer-songwriter, actress, spoken word artist, and educator. For over a decade, Sakinah has devoted her artistic abilities to creating art that engages audiences in sociopolitical change. As an independent singer-songwriter, Sakinah has showcased her original music at nu...2022-09-101h 00

Surviving The CityArt & Solidarity Economies with Christina FreemanThe legacy we leave through art and interaction is just as important as the footprint we leave on this planet through our consumption. In our highly capitalist society with consumerism skyrocketing higher than ever, with no end in sight, especially living in the city, it feels impossible to stray away from the comforts of efficiency. Living outside of this paradigm is of course considered alternative, so in order to create a new paradigm, it is up to smaller groups of like-minded people creating solidarity economies all over the world, using trading as a...2022-08-1858 min

Surviving The CityArtivism in Action with Y?We are joined today by an incredibly wise and humble guest who is an artivist (art + activist). He shares with us the stories of his passion for music and his artivist journey. His name is Y? Y?’s journey was anything but conventional, being born in a family fleeing their home country of Guyana to the US due to unrest, and having humble beginnings, his passion for art and music was always apparent, but could not be nurtured until he was in his 20s. Although Y? had dreams to go to school...2022-08-0555 min

Surviving The CityRaw Movement with Justina Kamiel GraymanTo build authentic connections requires being authentically connected to your body first. Disassociating where connection is required can cause detrimental consequences to your mental and physical health. Especially for creatives living in or just moving to the city to work on their craft. The transition isn’t always easy and the individualistic nature of living in a big city is a breeding ground for disconnection. So how do we come back to ourselves and enjoy living in our own bodies to create space for connection? Today's guest went through major dissociation and depression when she moved to New...2022-07-2041 min

Surviving The CityThat Sober Curious Life with Candace Holmes Alcohol is such a prevalent part of our culture, especially in city life. Events, celebrations, social gatherings, even clocking out of work is commemorated with a drink. When it feels almost impossible to do any of these things without a drink, that’s when we need to re-evaluate our motivation for drinking. If you do drink alcohol, even on occasion, have you ever asked yourself why you do it? Our hosts, Vicky and Key, asked themselves this same question and the answer they found was profound enough to start their sober curious journey. In today’s podcast, Vicky...2022-06-301h 18

Surviving The CityEpisode 19: Gossip vs VentingIn this episode, we delve into what constitutes gossip and the ways we tend to get pulled in despite our best intentions. We also talk through venting and how we can move beyond what can feel like gossiping and venting loops into either deeper ways of connecting or problem solving. 2022-06-161h 07

Surviving The CityEpisode 18: Anger & Its DiscontentsWith all the things to be angry about, in episode 18 we discuss anger. What it is, what it can do for us and what it can do to us. We explore cultural and gendered expressions of anger and we ultimately get into how identifying and connecting with our personal anger can have a collective positive impact. 2022-06-011h 20

Surviving The CityEpisode 17: The Art of Juggling Multiple Passions with Azrael EncarnacionJoin us for conversation with storyteller, artist, and multi passionate creative from the South Bronx, Azrael Encarnacion. We talk what it means to identify as an artist and to pursue play and presence and how that connects to creativity. We also delve into the varying ways he and we juggle multiple passions sometimes because we are compelled to contribute our work to a greater collective and other times to satisfy our internal worlds. 2022-03-111h 59

Surviving The CityEpisode 16: Peeling Back A DecadeJoin us for this relationship retrospective! We review different stages of our relationship from the moment we sent our first okcupid messages to each other in 2012 until now. Who were we right before we met and who are we now? We of course share how we found each other and later outline various stages of long term relationship exploration and growing pain development. Bonus Vicky rant in the intro to hear about Neptune entering Pisces in 2011 and how it aligns with our personal spiritual evolution and perhaps that of the collective. 2022-02-241h 35

Surviving The CityEpisode 15: Gimee That Joy JoyJoin us as we explore joy and share our attempts to cultivate it even amidst times of grief and despair. First we examine the distinctions between joy, happiness and pleasure and later discuss Jung’s infamous shadow work theory and how getting in touch with and integrating the painful and “ugly”parts of ourselves may unlock access to a brighter and deeper joy. 2022-02-111h 38

Surviving The CitySurviving The FamilyJoin us as we talk through surviving the family and how we aim to cultivate more awareness and presence while navigating family dynamics. We reflect on our personal journeys and specifically how we have drawn, pushed and loosened boundaries throughout the years with respect to time, shared activities and rituals, and conversation with our families. We also talk about the following in connection to family: communication styles, being bored, alcohol, and digging for family gold. 2021-12-171h 35

Surviving The CityTime ScarcityIn this episode, we talk time scarcity. We explain what time scarcity means to us and how the concept of “never enough time” can sometimes foster structure and groundedness that can make way for creativity and presence, while other times the real feeling of “time slipping away” can overtake our day to day life with an unrelenting appointment-like rigidity. 2021-11-181h 51

Surviving The CityOn Grieving & LossIn this episode, we talk through how grief and loss have shown up for us in their many, sometimes highly felt, sometimes highly disconnected, iterations: the collective kind, the end of relationship kind, the close but distant kind, the abstract forever in denial kind, the bearing witness kind, the intergenerational kind, the heart and soul breaking kind. Join us. 2021-11-042h 21

Surviving The CityOpen Streets with Bridget BartoliniJoin us as we sit down with oral historian, socially-engaged artist, and native New Yorker Bridget Bartolini to learn more about the intersection of storytelling and community building. Bridget talks us through how stories can foster conscious community connection and even pride for where we come from and live. We also get to hear about what these ideas look like on the ground through her community projects. Learn more about Bridget's projects here: http://www.fiveborostoryproject.org/ https://34aveoralhistory.org/ 2021-10-211h 58

Surviving The CityEpisode 10: WTF Is Body Work? with Chloé CofresíTune into this densely packed episode to get some clarity on WTF body work is. Body worker & artist Chloé Cofresí shares with us what embodiment practices are and how life-changing they can be. We learn how the body functions as a living memory system and how we can create holding patterns from even the smallest moments of stress. She also talks us through how bodily traumas don’t fully emerge until we are ready and safe to heal them. Learn more about Chloé's practice: https://www.beamandflow.com/2021-10-051h 57

Surviving The CityOn Not Having ChildrenIn this episode, we talk through our shared decision not to have children. We share the evolution of our process from adolescence to now (late 30s), how we investigated our own thoughts and feelings that emerged, and how we moved through our own impasse individually and as a couple with regard to this topic. We ultimately offer our story to bring more nuance to a conversation that is rarely shared publicly.2021-08-101h 41

Surviving The CityInto the CloudIn this episode we talk through: *our recent move and the process of purchasing an apartment *the shift of the vibe of our new building *power dynamics of giving and receiving *community connections *Vicky's recent diagnosis and the overwhelm and empowerment that can come with a label *Key moving through lack of purpose and focus in his creative pursuits and recent inspiration from specific media content 2021-07-281h 49

Surviving The CityEpisode 7: Making Space for Minimalism with Roberto EnamoradoIn this episode, we talk minimalism with native New Yorker, multimedia artist, and self-identified minimalist Roberto Enamorado aka Roberto in Love. Roberto’s minimalist philosophy grounds the way he lives and moves through the world not only to reduce his personal carbon footprint but also to live a more joyful, imaginative, and liberated life. He shares multiple examples of how the minimalist approach extends beyond the physical space and how we can all start to embrace minimalism right now as a tool to maximize our capacity to live with greater clarity and presence. 2021-03-111h 42

Surviving The CityBeyond Being A Good Listener & Saying I'm SorryIn this episode, we delve into relationships and the impasses that many couples inevitably find themselves confronted with. We ground our conversation in theory outlined in a book, authored by a marriage and sex therapist, that we consider to be a relationship bible. We also share how multiple concepts discussed in the book (e.g. emotional fusion, differentiation, intimacy versus unconditional validation) have shown up in our own relationship and how we continue to move through them. Listen to find out the title we are actually referencing!2021-02-082h 01

Surviving The CityEpisode 5: Processing The Capitol Siege with Josh CarreraIn this episode, we are joined by Josh Carrera, native New Yorker, activist, and project coordinator and member of The Mayday Space Collective in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Together we talk about The Capitol Siege and share our ongoing processing of January 6th along with the lead up to the moment. We also pose difficult questions connected to current and future possibilities for the US. 2021-01-221h 27

Surviving The CityEpisode 4: Ritual as Transformation with Nova GeorgeIn this episode, we are joined by our first guest, Nova, a seminary student, new thought practitioner, and aspiring spiritual leader who pushes us to think about ritual as a transformational practice and way of being. They talk us through the ways that ritual can be conscious or unconscious and can cause harm or be liberatory. Together we also delve into the body’s connection to ritual and how powerful conscious embodiment can be with respect to healing bodily trauma and humanizing our existence and connection to each other.2020-12-3158 min

Surviving The CityHolidays & RitualsIn this episode, we talk holidays and rituals (those that we've personally experienced.) We'll get into why we never fully got down with Christmas (until recently) and our personal favorite love to hate ritual, weddings! Funerals took our most glowing review-- who doesn't need to grieve the dead?2020-12-131h 56

Surviving The CityHow the hell was 45 not taken down by a landslide?In this episode, we explore two main topics from the 2020 elections. First, how did Trump make gains with various demographic groups particularly among Black and Latinx voters? Second, what are the two narratives taking place around why Democrats did not garner more votes and which ones are valid?2020-11-171h 11

Surviving The CityPilot episode | Welcome & OverviewIn this pilot episode, we discuss the main overarching theme of the podcast which is to question and explore what it means and looks like to find and cultivate beauty, integrity and purpose in our current times. We briefly delve into the following topics that we hope to discuss in greater detail in future episodes: community, politics, justice, mental health, spiritual growth and expansion. Please join us!2020-10-2459 min