Every week, we’ll be featuring an inspiring Latina from our comunidad because we all bloom when we see each other.
Meet Kenia Cabrera Herrera, a 31-year old Educator, Life Coach and Poet based in Austin, Texas.
What's a challenge you've overcome that shaped who you are today?
A challenge that I have overcome and that has shaped who I am today is navigating the process of growing up as an undocumented, first-generation college student, Latina immigrant in the United States. Journaling my thoughts through my experiences allowed me to build resilience and manifest my dreams. My passion for teaching and uplifting my community grew stronger during college when I understood firsthand the disadvantages immigrant, first-generation Latinas have to face in this country.
In 2018, I moved to Austin, Texas to continue advancing my career as a bilingual educator. In 2020, I published my poetry book Versos Del Viento to showcase my experience as an undocumented immigrant and first-generation Latina. After 5 years in education, I decided to focus on my mental health and take a break from teaching to reconnect with myself and my passion. Investing in healing and transformation allowed me to create awareness of my power and gifts and own my worth. Now I am on a mission to empower other Mujeres to do the same through the power of coaching, journaling, and poetry.
What does living “sin límites” mean to you?
For me, living “sin límites” means to stand in my power by embracing my worthiness, sharing my voice, living authentically, and creating intentional safe spaces that inspire, teach, and empower my community.
What’s one lesson you wish every Latina knew sooner?
One lesson I wish I knew sooner is that I am worthy exactly as I am, and I am capable and deserve to go after my goals. I would say to every Latina to take the time to invest in themselves and their dreams. I’ve learned that self-discovery and going after my dreams heal and transform not only myself but my family and community.
How are you building your own version of riqueza (wealth, joy, freedom)?
I am building my version of riqueza by embodying a version of myself that lives and teaches from a place of love. I get to hold and create joy, peace, transformation, and healing.
What’s a moment where you chose to bloom instead of shrink?
In 2021, I hit a breaking point. I was deep in depression and burnout, feeling hopeless and isolated. One night, my body broke out in rashes; my skin literally reacting to the stress and anxiety I had been ignoring for too long. That moment felt like a wake-up call. As a first-generation immigrant chasing the American dream, I had spent years ignoring my well-being, thinking that sacrifice was the only way.
But in that moment, instead of shrinking further into pain, I chose to bloom. I decided to prioritize me. At 28, I began therapy for the first time and started healing traumas that had silenced my voice and lowered my self-worth. I realized I had been living to meet expectations, not my own aspirations. I started uncovering generational patterns that had kept me small and afraid, and I committed to breaking them, for myself and for future generations.
Life coaching helped me challenge the false beliefs I had internalized about who I had to be, and instead, I began to align my journey with who I truly am.
Choosing to bloom meant saying yes to myself. It meant taking daily steps—through therapy, reflection, self-care, and community—to step into my worth. And today, every act of self-love and courage I take reminds me: I am worthy of my dreams, and I am allowed to grow beyond survival into joy, power, and purpose.
Who or what inspired you to start your sin límites journey?
What has inspired me to start and continues to inspire me to be in a sin límites journey is my comunidad. My family’s resiliency, love, and ganas continue to give me the inspiration to continue to rise into my purpose and power.
What’s one piece of advice you'd give a younger you (or another Latina starting out)?
One piece of advice I’d give a younger Latina is to look for the opportunities that lie in between the adversities. There is always an opportunity, and you can hold on to that, especially during moments where everything feels heavy, scary, or broken.
What are you most proud of in your journey so far?
I am most proud of listening to my intuition and not giving up on my aspirations of going to college despite being undocumented, sharing my voice through poetry, and starting a business to support others on their healing and transformation. I didn’t let “el qué dirán” or the beliefs others had about who I was determine my path.
Finish this sentence: I am a Latina Sin Límites because…
I choose myself and my dreams!