KXEP-LP Empower House Radio

The Empower Hour w/ Garrett T. Capps

Garrett T. Capps stops by the studio to talk about Music, Events and his Favorite Texas River with Empower Houses very own Becca Najera!

The Resilience Within Ep. 7 w/ Shell Martinez - Recovery from Burnout

In this episode we speak with Shell Martinez, who was an uber-successful real estate agent who fell into debilitating burnout. Now a caregiver to her parents and an aspiring voiceover narrator, Shell shares her navigation through her own healing process and recovery from codependency, people pleasing, and unnecessary striving. She's learning how to let go even as she shows up, and how to connect to a place where she is working with the Universe so that she moves with ease instead of stress.. 

Platica Y Poetics Ep.6 w/ Natalia Treviño

This spiritual and esoteric platica carried us into the feminine divine universe, where we wove together cuentos of our abuelas and the universal sacred. We explored the dual presence of La Virgen in both our cultural and spiritual realms. Her poetry delves into the complexities of cultural and political identities, revealing how the divine transcends and unifies borders. We discussed the various archetypes she explores in her book “VirgenX” and how La Virgen is intricately woven into both the physical and political worlds. Our conversation touched on the life force, the power of love as an act of creation, and the cycle of generosity and life. She reminds us that the present moment and the afterlife are interconnected, bound by the threads of divine connection.

Platica Y Poetics Ep.5 w/ Johnny Guerra

A platica with my Chicano hermano in poetics was a nostalgic return to my childhood street. Our tableside conversation explored San Antonio’s poetic renaissance, the borderlands, and our shared role as disciples of Anzaldúa. We dove into the “plurality of self,” discussing how our mestizaje and border consciousness foster intercultural unity. As the founder of the Zona San Anto Collective and podcast, he emphasized the significance of Chicano pride and San Antonio’s role as a cultural hub for the Latine community. Our conversation delved into the quest for true self and identity, revealing that there is no fixed identity—our Chicano/Latine heritage is made up of layers, constantly evolving.

Interview w/ The Sacred Underground and Patricia Castillo

The Resilience Within Ep. 5 w/ Jacque Salame - Palestine and Politics

In this episode we speak with Jacque Salame, a teaching artist, dancer, choreographer, nutritionist and owner of Rev Well Studio. Jacque shared about the effects of adrenaline and stress chemicals in her daily life, and her current wrestlings with mitigating that stress. We spoke about some of the societal issues that spark that stress - which is also a source of passion - including the issues around police brutality and genocide. 

The Resilience Within Ep. 4 w/ Excy Guardado (Ceiba Ili) - Caretaking

In this episode we speak with Excy Guardado, also known as Ceiba Ili, a cultural educator and musician from Honduras who skillfully incorporates indigenous instruments and languages into her music. Her work bridges the worlds of migrant communities, and indigenous rights, and promotes environmental justice. She shared about her current wrestlings with caregiving and making sure that she is able to find a place of balance in the midst of the needs of her loved ones. As someone who had grown up in a culture of mutual aid due to extreme need, she honors the value of showing up for our communities but also recognizes how it can swallow our lives up unless we learn how to set healthy boundaries.
 

Platica Y Poetics Ep.4 w/ Ire'ne Silva Lara

Our conversation with the 2024 Texas Poet Laureate was nothing short of a cosmic comadre platica. Ire'ne welcomed us into her creative sanctuary, where the blank page held limitless potential. In this sacred exchange of poetic wisdom, we delved into the significance of indigeneity in literature and the reclamation of identity after transcending historical traumas. The author of “Furia”, “Blood Sugar Canto”, “Cuicacalli”, and “The Eaters of Flowers” spoke of the “necessity” to write, describing poetry as a lifeline, a way to navigate grief and carve out space for understanding ancestral wounds. Through Ire'ne, we were reminded of the path of love or pain, leaving with her savant poetic brilliance as lyrical ancestral medicina.

Platica Y Poetics Ep.1 w/ Carmen Calatayud

Our first Platica is a cuento about how poetics has been a lifeline for Carmen, nourishing her innate ability to bring the healing art of storytelling to life through poetry. As both a psychotherapist and poet, Carmen explores the transformative power of healing through words.In this conversation, we dive into her surreal poetic memoir, “This Tangled Body,” as she navigates themes of family history, war, migration, and the raw complexities of relationships.Through lyrical language, Carmen searches for ways to rescue a body that has known pain, addiction, and generational trauma.

The Resilience Within Ep. 3 w/ Celinda De La Fuente - Redefining Rest and Medicine

In this episode we get a glimpse into healing practitioner Celinda De La Fuente’s journey from debilitating sickness to health and wellness. She touches on some of the modalities that have helped her and she uses to help others on their journey, including curanderismo, Reiki, and QiGong. Her current question is: "How can I be of service today?" Spoiler: Sometimes the answer is to rest. We spoke about redefining words like ”rest,” from seeing rest as something that is a waste of time to seeing rest as something that is productive and necessary.