Meet Estefanía

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Estefanía a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Estefanía , appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I get my resilience from my three-year-old self; the little dreamer who believed that art could heal and that love could move mountains. I owe this reality to her, to the courage she had before the world tried to define what was possible.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I’m an actress, writer, and singer from Quetzaltenango, Guatemala, now based in Chicago. My artistic journey has taken me across three countries: Guatemala, Mexico, and the United States, where I’ve built a multidisciplinary career that merges theatre, film, and music.

Throughout my path, I’ve been part of award-winning projects celebrated for their artistic excellence and cultural impact. My work explores identity, migration, and sisterhood, turning personal and collective experiences into reflections that move audiences emotionally and intellectually.

What inspires me most is transformation: the way art can bridge cultures, awaken empathy, and give voice to what often remains unspoken. I see my craft as both a calling and a responsibility: to tell stories that heal, challenge, and connect.

Alongside my performances, I teach at Green Shirt Studio in Chicago, where I value authenticity on stage and have helped launch initiatives such as Meisner en Español, expanding access to actor training for Spanish-speaking artists.

Right now, I’m developing a music EP born from my own resilience and inner journey; inspired by the belief that strength can be soft, powerful, and revolutionary. My goal is to keep creating work that travels across borders, hearts, and generations.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

If I had to name three qualities that have truly shaped my journey, they would be resilience, love, and passion.

Resilience has been the foundation of everything. The path of an artist is full of uncertainty, and there were many moments when I could have given up, but I’ve learned that resilience isn’t just about surviving; it’s about transforming challenges into art.

Love and purity for what I do keep me grounded. I create from honesty, from a place that isn’t driven by ego or validation but by a genuine desire to connect and tell the truth. and…

Passion, that fire that makes you wake up every day wanting to do it all over again no matter how hard it gets, has carried me across countries, languages, and countless auditions.

For anyone starting their journey, I would say be loyal to yourself. Protect your dreams from people, from the world, and even from yourself. Feed your passion with discipline, honor your craft with love, and let resilience be the bridge between your dreams and your reality.

Alright, so before we go we want to ask you to take a moment to reflect and share what you think you would do if you somehow knew you only had a decade of life left?

This question is a tricky one, because we often move through life believing time is on our side. Yet the truth is, we are all ephemeral; brief visitors in this world, with stories that begin and end faster than we ever expect. So while I’ll do my best to answer, I do it with the awareness that I’m assuming I’ll have this decade, which I deeply hope I do.

If I knew I only had ten years left, I would love with all my heart and without fear. As we grow older, we learn to guard our hearts, to approach love carefully (and that’s okay!) The world can be rough, and self-protection is necessary. But if I only had a decade, I would love boldly, tenderly, and without hesitation.

I’d create cultural and artistic exchanges around the world, release my music, and finally write the book I’ve been too afraid to begin. I’d jump from a plane, marry the person I love (hopefully he’d still say yes knowing our time was limited), and turn my life into a living work of art.

I’d travel endlessly, learn from every culture, take every art class I can, and watch each sunset as if it were my first and last.

Thank you for this question… it’s a quiet reminder to start doing all of that now, because none of us can ever truly know how long our decade will be.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.estefaniamena.com
• Instagram: @estefania.mena33
• Facebook: Estefania Mena
• Youtube: @estefania.mena33

Image Credits

Enji Batug
Jeffrey Gabriel Silva
Purple Photo Group