We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Danielle Marivette a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Danielle Marivette, thanks for joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

The most meaningful project I’ve worked on (thus far) is my One Woman Show – Danielle XX! It’s a piece I wrote in 2018 about womanhood and unseen factors when it comes to love and the choices we make to get there. Now in 2025 I see writers, podcasters and TikTokers really zeroing in on the core themes of Danielle XX – things like the invisible labor of women, the demands on Traditional Homemakers, and of course the different rules that are fed to men and women from youth when it comes to love and relationships. Danielle XX is my own narrative, a coming of age tale where I explore the stories I consumed as a child and identified with so deeply that I began to make choices from those characters perspective… and wondered why things weren’t working out for me! By doing so with an audience, I’m actually giving us breathing room to self reflect on which stories they may have internalized and done similar things. And of course, the most secret hidden part that people don’t talk about candidly enough – relationships to sex. This project is so powerful to me because by the end of it, we are all in possession of the choices we’ve made and recognize the power is ours to change it (Or keep going if it works for us!) Hopefully, it will have a ripple effect and enhance lives!

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hello World! Danielle Hernandez Here! Ten seconds to introduce myself – I’m a teaching artist and storyteller! What does that mean?

I often tell people I popped out of the womb performing, and that’s because on my mother’s side we have an influx of musicians, artists and singers! Performance is my inheritance. I myself am an actor/singer/storyteller who reads tarot cards and teaches acting and jewelry making to kids and senior citizens ! That’s a mouthful. Let me share a secret with you….

…it means that from childhood to adulthood I see and hear what matters to people. Our sense of self are tied to stories, which I discuss through symbolism and relationships. Everything we do and everyone we interact with is a relationship we are having – they’re the bonds we build with other people. Even you, Dear Reader, is engaging in a relationship with my written words. It may be brief, but it’s ours!

There’s power in exploring every relationship we have. It’s a reminder that we are making choices – just as my young students must choose to use their voice and be heard on stage or choose to stay in sanctuary of shyness and hide in plain sight. I have the power to choose what I write here. How you respond to it, or what it means to you is entirely your own! I talk about relationships and assist my clients or audience with tapping in to their inner worlds. Do you remember your sense of wonder and imagination? Is it easy for you to laugh and enjoy silliness, or is there a layer of ridicule causing you to bristle? Are there core values that are hurting you instead of helping you? I find that by sharing my examples and life stories, other people feel inclined and safe enough to share theirs!

As a performer I do this through the stage sharing my written words – for example, my show Danielle XX! As a reader I do this on a more intimate level. If you’ve never had your cards read, I highly recommend! Reading tarot is NOT predicting the future, because nothing is set in stone! Instead, it shows us what we are currently lining up with based on our thoughts and actions, how we’re feeling and what that reflects in our outer world. This combined with jewelry making means we can make a talisman for protection, build a favorite piece to inspire confidence, and even repair older jewelery that holds sentimental value. Some people tell me they feel silly to be so attached to a necklace or bracelet, and I remind them it’s not silly – these items lay upon our bodies, they share our energy, they’re with us during significant events, and they link us through time to each other. That’s right folks, we have a relationship to our jewelry as well.

Whenever people work with me – I remind them this: We are simply two (or more) human beings, sharing space, and how can we do that in a way that’s safe and enjoyable for all? My goal in this life is to enjoy my earthly experience and leave a legacy behind for other’s to enjoy theirs as well. And if it means decorating each other in gems, reading into our past for clarity and making stronger choices towards contentment, so be it!

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

ABSOLUTELY! I live in a time where I have access to the all the information on the internet. Which means there’s really no reason to continue patterns that harm each other simply because it’s tradition. I much prefer to be a disruptor and change course! We, as humans, squabble a lot over minor details. Details such as which mythologies are most important, ways to treat people with money even when they display terrible behavior, and very distinct ways to hide or display our bodies.

Let’s agree on these simple things: We need clean water. We need nutrition. We need each other.

What comes after that? After those bare minimum survival needs are met, we need more! We need music and expression. We need to share our experiences to learn and grow from them! Despite all of our technology, humans have been keeping each other in the dark ages. Yet now with the internet at our children’s fingertips, they are being hand delivered experiences that aren’t expected until much later in life. They are learning bad relationship advice and seeing carnal relationships without having access to safe information. It’s overdue that we create safe information otherwise we become guilty bystanders.

We need practice. We need permission to tap into our inner worlds. We need space to be ourselves.

My mission is to candidly share experiences that are worthwhile, to teach reverence of the human body and to celebrate the relationships we can have with each other!

The place for me to start is the internet as well, so they can find at least one voice with another perspective. One that reminds them to observe until they’re of an age and place to experience. A voice that encourages reading up on each other before taking action against each other. A voice that reminds them there’s consequences to our actions, and when we take the time to learn from them first we can make measured decisions. All of this in our relationships, our lives and ourselves.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can provide some insight – you never know who might benefit from the enlightenment.

I do think my perspective will be a struggle for non-creatives, especially those attached to tradition. There’s an important aspect overlooked by non-creatives – the Why? Why do these things? If things are working “just fine” (They’re not) then WHY disrupt social norms and rules? To me, the answer is another Why? Why did these things become embraced as social norms and rules? Are they any good? Let’s remember that for some places in the world, through time, marriage to underage girls is the norm. Is that good? Why keep that? Especially in a world that chooses to fail each other and not teach about the merits and dangers of sexual relationships. Why are we condemning young people to potential violence upon the body and calling it the norm?

Let’s remove the vile age discrepancy. Why are we continuing to operate from a place of “you’ll find out when you get there,” when it comes to physical relationships. Could you imagine if we did that with other things? Imagine if we demanded surgeons have zero experience before cutting into another person? That’s actively insane. Yet it troubles people to think of teaching about we come together, how there can be pleasure or pain in the act, and of course the way pregnancy changes everything.

Why is there so much secrecy with how the human body changes during pregnancy – something that truly turns a woman into a soldier! Why do we keep perpetuating a narrative of women being the weaker sex when they literally get their organs rearranged during the process and deliver into too many nations that fail to serve her aftercare?

I think the biggest misunderstanding is that to teach about these things is not a corruption of innocence – it’s a rite of passage. Innocence is not protected by withholding information; it’s instead used as leverage from adults who’ve allowed themselves to become corrupted. After all, how can we expect people to choose for themselves and to know better if we disallow information?

I think non-creatives will struggle with how much artists are willing to share, and I think that’s their struggle to take on! The world won’t stop turning, and as long as I’m alive in it I will sow the seeds of the obvious and tell these stories, share the experiences, and teach new insights. Time to do more than simply respect our bodies and relationships, it’s time to celebrate how wonderful they can be when we choose to learn more about each other and actively care.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://substack.com/@dezmarivette
• Instagram: @DezMarivette
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DMarivette
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielle-marivette-hernandez-0a6a5047
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@DezMarivette
• Other: TikTok @DezMarivette

Image Credits

Tarot Photo by @yellowbellyphoto
Danielle XX poster and DMH Faces by David Mayas Jr. @dzcs4u
Jewelry Photo by @BeadsofParadiseNYC