Latinx TED Talks To Laugh, Learn And Be Inspired By

TED Talks mission is to spread ideas and knowledge. It’s through the TED various series of platforms that speakers from all walks of life have the opportunity to inform, inspire and entertain.

The popularity of TED has spanned the globe, with speakers delivering their talks in various languages addressing different cultures. There are dozens of Latin American talks and U.S. Latinx TED talks.

Here are a just a few TED talks hand selected by BoldLatina that are guaranteed to bring a nod of appreciation, help you gain more wisdom and will make you laugh out loud.

Being Present

Elizabeth Acevedo, Afro-Dominican, New Yorker performer and author of THE POET X reminds us of the power of being present “to get off autopilot” and breaks out into a powerful performative spoken word/poem.

Latina Intellectuals

Dr. Michelle Maldonado, a Cuban-American scholar talks about the Latinas who go ‘unrecognized’. She goes on to talk about ‘imposter syndrome’ and being mistaken as ‘the help’. Dr. Maldonado shares the stories of brilliant self-taught Latinas who made significant academic contributions yet marginalized, that everyone should know about. That our Latina role models are closer than we think.

Intersectionality & Latinx as Digital Disrupters

Nathien Rodriguez, Professor at the School of Journalism and Media Studies at San Diego State University professor, made an exciting announcement in April that the first ever ‘Selena and Latinx Media Representation‘ university course will launch in the Fall 2019. In his TED Talk, Dr. Rodriguez talks about intersectionality and the term ‘Latinx’ – he names the top media platforms, shows, podcasts that provide the Latinx nuances often missed by big media outlets and the power Latinx have to disrupt the negative narratives. A must-watch!

Why Open A School? To Close A Prison

While this TED talk was made in 2015 – it still resonates as the whole ‘school to prisons’ pipeline and prison reform are mainstream social topics today and on today’s political lawmaker agendas.

Nadia Lopez, Founder and Principal of Mott Hall Bridges Academy, a STEAM focused middle school located in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn. Lopez is also CEO of The Lopez Effect and author of “The Bridge to Brilliance: How One Principal in a Tough Neighborhood is Inspiring the World,” calls her students “scholars” and says that we all need to believe in the brilliance of young students of color. A powerful, thoughtful and paradigm changing talk.

Laughter is Medicine

Anjelah Johnson, the comedian who put nail salon humor on the map with her ‘Nail Salon’ joke (at 17:20). Anjelah has us rolling as usual with her life accounts and talks about being able to be provide the medicine…of laughter.

Why our Children Need Role Models that Look Like Them

Mother, radio producer, entrepreneur and best-selling author, Patty Rodriguez of Los Angeles points to the importance of Black and Brown children seeing themselves represented in all forms of media including the books they read. Founder and co-author of Lil’ Libros, a bilingual children’s publishing company opens our eyes to listening to that voice in our head, building our own table in book publishing and for everyone to not only seek our stories, but demand them as well. A true #BoldLatina

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