Unveiling the Culinary and Cultural Journey with Molé Mamá: A Conversation with Diana
In a world where food serves as both sustenance and a bridge between cultures, Diana, also known as Molé Mamá, stands at the intersection of culinary excellence and cultural connection. From her humble beginnings on a dairy farm to her multifaceted career as an author, tech executive, blogger, and culinary influencer, Diana's journey is a testament to the transformative power of homemade meals. Join us as we dive into her inspiring story, exploring the roots of her passion for cooking, the impact of her cultural heritage on her career, and the lessons she's learned about resilience, self-care, and combating impostor syndrome along the way.
What is the most rewarding part of your work?:
When someone makes our recipes, and it's blissful if they love it! A 13-year-old from Croatia recently sent me a video of herself making my mama's crunchy tacos for her family! I was bawling as I watched the video and witnessed her joy when her family loved her meal!
And it's also been so rewarding to get feedback on my books. I've received so many private messages from readers expressing how much my books have meant to them. One woman wrote me a 7-page letter, sent me their family recipes, and more.
How would you say your upbringing and cultural background contributed to your career aspirations?:
My upbringing taught me the value of hard work and resilience. I grew up on a dairy farm where moving sprinkler pipes, cleaning barns, feeding animals, and helping my mama with family meals were daily chores. And while farm life is backbreaking work, it also builds resilience at a young age. No matter what happened on the farm, we were taught to deal with the problem of the tractor breaking, a calf's mama dying, etc.,and just keep going! My work ethic and ability to be resilient (creative problem solver) significantly contributed to my success as a manager and executive in Silicon Valley and as a business owner!
What is the phrase, sentence, or conversation that stopped you in your tracks and changed your outlook in life?:
"Take care of your own backyard, and make sure that whoever visits it leaves feeling better about themselves. And if everyone did the same thing, we would transform the world" - Father B.
I attended a Catholic High School led by a very progressive order of priests from Belgium. I cooked their weekend meals, one of my many part-time jobs, to help my parents cover my tuition costs. And while I tried to recreate my mama's delicious Mexican recipes, I often had deep conversations with the priests. One Sunday afternoon after a particularly tough week, one of my classmates killed himself, I was heartbroken and felt overwhelmed about all the suffering in the world. How could I ever do enough to help? After several minutes of spilling my angst about this impossible task, Father B told me about "taking care of my garden".
After our conversation, I realized that Father B's advice was about kindness, and to be kind to everyone. It's not always easy to be kind, but I have succeeded more than I have failed. And while it seems like a simple solution to the complexities of human suffering, I've had so many people write me notes, and call me to tell me that the timing of my support and help had meant so much to them that they were forever changed, has helped me to realize that KINDNESS can create ripples with infinite power.
Hustle culture and burnout is so prominent in our community. How do you prioritize self care?:
It took a major health crisis for me to finally understand that I must invest in myself every day! Just a few years ago, I was a stressed-out, anxiety-filled, non-sleeping over-achieving mess! So when I was diagnosed with a heart condition, it was a wake-up call that things had to change and fast.
And after two heart surgeries last year that corrected my heart condition, I'm committed to staying healthy and balanced. Daily morning meditation, evening yoga nidra, cardio exercise, strength training, and gentle yoga are all part of my weekly routine now. I'm peaceful, content, and feel terrific. I wish I would have figured this out sooner!
Same goes for impostor syndrome. How do you combat those feelings?:
This is a biggie for me. The nasty impostor syndrome gremlin inside of my head spent years transcending me into a terror-stricken, paralyzed mess while it reminded me that I wasn't talented enough, smart enough, educated enough, etc. I'm finally able to get to quiet it by using a five-deep breath technique that a meditation instructor taught me. It drops me into the present moment, and I tell myself, I deserve to be here, it's exactly where I'm meant to be. This practice was so helpful during my recent competition on Food Network's Guys Grocery Games. Being on National TV was an entirely new level of imposter syndrome, but thankfully, my breathing practice worked! I've realized that I'll never be free of this pesty gremlin, but I'm committed to working on disempowering it every time it shows up!
What would 18-year-old you say about where you are at in life now? : She'd be excited about my wonderful marriage, family, friends, adorable dogs, home, and career and then want to know why I hadn't ended racism, ageism, and sexism! And she'd sort out a plan for me to do so immediately!
Drink 🫖
What is Molé Mamá’s go-to drink?
I start every morning by making organic coffee in my ceramic French press. I pour the hot goodness into my favorite handmade blue and pink pottery mug and add organic agave, cinnamon, and organic cream! It's my daily morning reminder that it's terrific to have woken up to the gift of another day! And I savor every sip!
Listening To 🎧
What is Molé Mamá listening to at the moment?
I'm always listening to something! I love music, audiobooks, and podcasts!
Current music trend - Native American Flute Music, Marc Anthony, Louis Armstrong and Italian Cafe and Jill Scott
Audiobooks - Abuelita's Magical Molcajete, Someone Else's Shoes, Killers of the Flower Moon, Change Your Mind, The Big Leap, The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
Favorite Podcasts - Diary of a CEO, Next Level Soul, Cafe Con Pam, The Storied Recipe and Postcards to the Universe
Your Truth 🗣️
What is a Molé Mamá’s truth?
My wise, beautiful mama, Rose is my inspiration. Her mantra was "hate ends with me." And she loved, accepted and forgave everyone! She encouraged me to dream big and use my talents to help humanity heal.
I'm also a daughter of immigrants, married to a remarkable black man, and I find our collective divisiveness heartbreaking.
So for this final chapter of my life, I am committed to being a messenger of connection and hope. I inspire people around the world to cook delicious Mexican and Portuguese food, connect with family and friends and break down barriers between cultures and generations. And I write heartwarming blogs and stories celebrating my heritage, food, culture, and love, filled with messages of hope.
Your Plug 🔌
What is Diana plugging today?
My new novel, Abuelita's Magical Molcajete, is a fun, heartwarming, magical story filled with delicious food, hope, and nine meddling, ill-tempered, sassy, cigar-smoking, tequila-drinking, tech-savvy, unstoppable ghosts! Its readers will long to connect with family and friends, launch new cooking clubs, spend countless hours making family recipes with multi-generational, cross-cultural friends and family, create a run on pink conchas and fluffy flour tortillas, and drive molcajete sales.
In November 2020, during the height of our pandemic, I found myself in our local San Diego emergency room needing IV medication for an existing condition. I knew I'd be ok and stable in a few hours, and I felt guilty for occupying a bed when the hospital staff was overwhelmed with Covid patients. I listened to doctors and nurses race from room to room, making urgent phone calls, and heard a patient screaming about their high temperature and begging for help.
Death was all around me, and I was terrified. I started thinking about my life. There was so much more I wanted to do, but how much time did I have left? And I asked myself, "What would I do if this was the last year of my life?" And my answer surprised me. Without pausing to contemplate my response, I said out loud, "I'd be writing every day."
And then I went deeper. Why write? I wrote a book about my mother's death a few years ago, and I have a food blog. But I'm by no means a professional writer. And again, the answer came so quickly. I had a daily writing practice when I wrote my first book. And that practice made me feel so incredibly alive and connected to some dormant part of my being.
So the following morning, home from the hospital, I woke up at 5:45 am and wrote the following:
"I am answering my divine appointment calling me to be an author and share my voice. What am I to write about today? Please guide me. The storyteller, the creative voice, must be used. The real magic of your life will unfold here, in words, in your ability to use the written word to connect with others, to bring them joy, and to inspire. Your last chapters are about connecting and writing…
Let's begin…
"BANG, BANG, BANG!" There was a loud noise coming from the kitchen.
I woke up every morning and started each writing practice with a sentence or two to reconnect me to the power and voice of creativity. And for months, my story had no title, just the date 11/30/20. There was no outline or concern about this becoming a best-selling novel; I was letting the story pass through me and loving every minute because I genuinely wasn't worried about the outcome. My commitment was to write.
Each morning, I sat in my comfy writing space with my little Shih Tzu, Sophia snuggled next to me; I saw the scenes with my characters unfolding as I wrote as quickly as possible. During one of the most isolating periods of my life, my fictional characters kept me laughing, brought a few tears, and were like an injection of dopamine every morning.
On numerous mornings, my husband would come in and find me typing away on my laptop and ask me, "why are you smiling?" And I'd look up and tell him about my characters’ latest antics.
The meddling ghosts in this story are based on women I love, and my heart is filled with beautiful memories of cooking with them. They are responsible for my addiction to flour tortillas, tacos, tamales, enchiladas, salsas, poloze, well, all Mexican food! I took a lot of creative liberties with their personalities in my book, but they were all phenomenal home cooks, and some smoked cigars, played poker and drank tequila. And it was a gift to spend more time with them in our favorite place, a kitchen with magical shopping, clean-up services, laughter, gossip, and love!
By February, I had a title; by April, when I had 50000 words, I decided to chat with my writing consultant and the first draft of my manuscript was finished in June.
That one question has changed my life because after decades of dreaming and wanting, I've finally accepted that I am a writer, and it's not a definition earned by the number of books I sell or followers I have on social media. It's a part of my DNA, soul, and essence, and writing and creating makes me HAPPY and fulfilled.
And now, this story is ready to be shared with others! If you decide to read it, I hope it fills you with joy and inspires you to connect with family and friends and cook delicious food!
More about Molé Mamá
From her humble dairy farm childhood to Author, Silicon Valley Tech Executive, Blogger, Vlogger, Podcaster, and Food Network's Guy's Grocery Games competitor, Diana's guilty of using delicious homecooked food to connect with friends, family, employees, and strangers! Cooking for others is her love language, and if you've been in her inner circle or worked with her, you've most likely tasted her salsa, guacamole, tacos, queso fundido, mole, enchiladas, Spanish rice, and chocolate cupcakes, fondly referred to as crack cakes because you can't have just one!
She believes home-cooked food can break down cultural and generational barriers, create a sense of belonging amongst co-workers, and create real, meaningful connections and magic!
During her Silicon Valley Executive tenure, Diana cooked countless meals for her employees during all-night complex tech launches, hosted numerous potlucks, had less than 5% employee attrition, repeatedly exceeded sales and growth targets by double-digits, and had many employees follow her from company to company.
She attributes her success as a manager and business owner to her rich Mexican heritage, her mother's delicious recipes, her listening skills, and her ability to inspire others to soar at the office or in their kitchens!