Chica Boss: Meet Alicia Romero an encouraging beauty executive who believes in the power of rising together
How wonderful to be able to celebrate our Hispanic Heritage Month with leaders who deserve recognition for their inspiring example. We had the pleasure of interviewing Alicia Romero, Vice President of Brand Integrated Communications and Cultural Relevancy at Estée Lauder Companies during our visit to the company's offices to spend a wonderful day with some of its talented executives, makeup, hair and fragrance experts who shared with us a little about their lives, careers and passion for Latin beauty.
Our round of interviews, followed by beauty tips and career mentoring, began with Alicia who proudly honors her beautiful roots in the video you will see above and in these brief but meaningful questions:
Karina Muñoz
Let's talk about your story, your beautiful Mexican and indígena origin. Tell us about your career because the more you live and work, the more you treasure your roots.
That's how it is. When I see why I work in the beauty industry, I celebrate my roots and I know that they determine my life. I start by honoring my mother, a single parent who did everything for us, studied, cleaned houses and raised us with decency and pride in being who we were.
But despite always being busy, at the core of those memories is always taking care of herself. I remember her getting ready, putting on her fragance, her red lipstick. Her presence as a feminine and powerful woman was very strong for me. I was blessed to see a femine strong latina who worked so hard for everything we had.
Alicia Romero
We grew up in a humble home where we learned that as Latinas we deserve to invest in ourselves, we deserve beauty in our lives. That is why my mother is my point of reference and her lineage of educated women from my family and culture. I am grate1`ful for my ancestors, for my grandmothers. Beauty is part of who we are without a doubt.
You are also a mother of two girls. It must be wonderful to convey all this to them. How do you do it?
With my daughters, who are half Mexican and half Puerto Rican, a beautiful mix, what we teach them at home is: "More than beautiful is kind". Beyond beauty the pointe is to be kind and respectful, empathetic and tolerant. Their beauty emanates from there and for Latin women the secret is also in recognizing and honoring our culture. Let that be our message to lean on our community as a strength. For minorities and women of color this is not so easy. We are as good and successful as those who come before us, so we should celebrate that. For my daughters beauty is a core staple of who we are, that is the basis of their upbringing. It's not just about their appearance but how they take care of themselves and their surroundings.
Alicia Romero
They are still little, one and four years old, but I already have them picking up their toys. We are raised to be clean it is part of being latinas, part of our mission.
How do you bring all this same passion to your work, because your mission at Estée Lauder Companies is very important. We have to inspire all the women who are watching us!
One of my mentors said, "Send the elevator down," which means that success lies in surrounding yourself with talent, opening opportunities to your community, and creating a team that tells many stories that strengthen your own. That's what it's about today, it's not just my story, it's our stories together, our culture and beauty that make the difference. That is why the elevator is sent to the floors below to bring up more people who can accompany us on this trip.
Alicia Romero
It is beautiful to see how generous and open you are, because you know that it is not about competing but about understanding that it is not a competition. Is there room for everyone's dreams and passions?
Exactly. In my case, I have fabulous women on the team like Patricia Reynoso who complements me and is everything that I am not, graceful, smart, kind, eloquent, while I am a firework, intense and move quickly. It is an ideal balance that is also seen in our community of latinidad because we are better when we are together and can celebrate our differences.
Karina Muñoz
Because to your pointe there is room for everyone, I am going to lead with my strengths but leanon you for my weaknesses, so we can all push forward. This is the best community strategy, to support our culture.
For those who are reading us and being inspired, what would be your advice?
Be proud of who you are, where your come from there is no shame, there is no need to hide it. I struggled a lot with that and today I say it with such pride. I am a dark-skinned Latina and I feel comfortable and happy in it. I celebrate being indígena which many relate to poverty and dirtiness in our society but for me it means showing what I am capable of and understanding who I am, for showing up and taking up space. Having pride and telling your story where there is no shame. Remove that shame and you will go far.
Karina Muñoz
There is no shame only pride and beautiful stories to celebrate. Thank you for this wonderful day at Estée Lauder Companies and all the tricks we learned today Alicia. Keep shining and making us all shine!
