Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Maria Soledad Bautista Mariscal. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Alright, Sol thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?
Absolutely! I was born and raised in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. I moved to Texas after being invited to work as an educator. The honor of that special invitation made it impossible for me to say no, although I knew it was putting a pause on my professional path as a Psychologist.
Once in Texas I became aware of several aspects about my life and my profession I had never experienced before. I knew the challenges of being an outspoken and independent queer woman, I had no idea that being brown and being Mexican were even “worse” than being a woman. I was learning about an entirely different culture and speaking a new language, it didn’t take long to experience some of the injustices, discrimination and racial ‘distinctions’ I’ve heard of. Needless to say, as an adult with a degree in Psychology I would tell myself “I can take it,” however it was unbearable to see it happen to others who didn’t speak the language or didn’t have the confidence to advocate for themselves.
In the election of 2016, everything became significantly worse. This was, in many ways, the defining moment for me. My path as an immigrant with all of the minority labels I embody, was exhausting. I couldn’t just be another witness to the injustices and live in fear anymore. Shortly after the Presidential election, I applied for citizenship, joined a couple of powerful women’s groups, left teaching, started my own wellness and therapy business “Magnolia Global Wellness”, started my EMDR certification and went back to acting.
The acting, along with all of the other incredibly hard decisions, got me an opportunity in a short film that is now in HBO Max, allowed me to meet the founder of Creative Waco, Fiona Bond, who later offered me a position as the Director of Professional Development and Community Outreach.
Although it might seem like I took another pause in my business, I actually see it as an opportunity to develop depth. I can see clearly how essential art, culture, mental health and overall wellness is to having a high quality of life. I realized my purpose in life is to be an advocate for exactly these things, so that other people have an enriched life, too.
Sol, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
My high school, Instituto de Ciencias, has a strong emphasis on educating through real life experience so social and community service is a mandatory piece of their curriculum. I happened to get very good feedback from all the places where I served.
This granted me the opportunity to serve as a volunteer for 1 whole year. At that moment I was certain I was going to med school. I had no idea my whole life was going to change that year!
I was sent to the indigenous Zapotec community, in the Tehuantepec Itsmo, located in SouthEast Mexico. I had no idea that this community existed in my country. A fully robust, functional and strong matriarchal community. This is a whole story in itself, I just wanted to mention it because this was the year I decided med school ‘cures’ the body, but 90% of the diseases start in the mind, so I withdrew from med school and enrolled in Psychology.
The culture of the country where I was born, my education, my volunteering services, my mother tongue and my core values are definitely what sets me apart from many other therapists. In my own journey as an immigrant, different needs arose and I discovered EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), a type of therapy that became the best asset and tool I could add to my professional skill set.
Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?
When I was 17 years old I volunteered in Oaxaca, Mexico. First, the group of volunteers was about 120, 60 of us went to the training retreat and only 24 finished.
In my specific project there were three of us. We arrived in July and the first volunteer left in October, the second one in December. I wanted to quit in November right after the first one left, but when I called home, my dad said “you told me you were going to be there for 1 year, so, I’ll see you next July” and hung up the phone.
That was one of the hardest and painful experiences as a 17 year old! Oaxaca and that phone call changed my life. I decided to move to the US with the same type of curiosity, to understand a different culture, speak a different language and most of all, find the tools I needed to truly become and discover myself.
Little did I know about the challenges of immingration to the United States and especially coming from Mexico. One of my favorite ‘trova’ singers has a line on one of my favorite songs “Desahuciado está el que tiene que marchar A vivir una cultura diferente” meaning “Hopeless is the one who has to go away To live a different culture.”
I wanted to “prove” her wrong. I have been called many names, told I should go back to my country, asked not to speak Spanish because this is America, although Mexico is North America, too, car keyed, spit on, spit at and my favorite lie “in mexico education is so bad, so not sure how to take anything you say seriously” until they learn it was a private Jesuit school and then sometimes that makes a difference..
At the same time, enduring several scenarios where being “brown” was definitely not welcomed. And with all of that, I just keep getting corroboration of why am I exactly where I need to be, and how much the work of uncomfortable and brave conversations is necessary.
I am the only one in my family that lives in the US and in general none of my family members are very fond of the country.I truly believe this is for the same reason people here are so quick to judge, because change is uncomfortable – morphing, adapting, adjusting and learning are not easy tasks so we chose the path more traveled because that way we have a lot more people that “understand us” can “help us” and can give us “comfort”.
My journey on resilience is about loving myself exactly how I am while at the same time being able to change when I learn about something better. Living in different cultures, speaking different languages and seeing where I end up is the greatest joy of this adventure!
Training and knowledge matter of course, but beyond that what do you think matters most in terms of succeeding in your field?
Acting gave me the ability to meet people where they are without settling for a comfort zone. I have been able to deepen my knowledge with a variety of resources about wellness.
I’ve become a more intentional practitioner of what healing, wellness and therapy is. The most successful people have extensive toolkits and have mastered a way to integrate those helpful tools into their daily lives. When you are able to “lead by example” is when the impact is sustainable and transformative.
I believe every human needs a therapist, and I do not believe everyone should always have a therapist by their side. We are here to help people develop their very own crafted, curated system of wellness, where they can live healthier, fuller, joyful and daring lives while they inspire others to do the same.
I believe right now we are in desperate need of more critical thinking, brave spaces and self love. The multidisciplinary approach I embrace involves all different areas of our lives: body, mind, spirit, micro and macro social interactions and sustainability. In order for us to properly care for ourselves we need full awareness of who we are and how we exist in spaces. Learning through experience becomes the best path to challenge all of the learnings we have absorbed and picked up from books. Creating meaningful relationships with ourselves and others is how I will achieve success.
Contact Info:
- Website: solbautista.com
- Instagram: psicologasolbautista
- Facebook: Psicologa Sol Bautista
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soledad-bautista-285b56132/
Image Credits
~Megan Reddick
~Skylar Evans Photography
~HBO team