Meet Itzayana and Alejandra Montoya

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

Hi Itzayana and Alejandra, 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?

We recently took a trip to our hometown in Mexico and it reminded us of the resilient lineage of women that we come from. We have been blessed with resilience as our inheritance, but it goes beyond that, too. Being immigrants ourselves, like many others who migrate out of necessity, we have been in situations where we just have to be resilient. Times are a little different now, though, and we can choose to use resiliency to thrive, not only survive. Building resilience as a tool for thriving involves developing a sense of community, becoming self-aware of your physical, mental, and spiritual needs, and knowing how to best tend to them, and having faith. Whether it’s faith in yourself, the outcome, the universe, the sun, or whatever you choose to believe in.

Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?

Bold Journey is the perfect platform to share what Paloma Negra Bath and Body Care represents. We’re so grateful for the opportunity! We’re Alejandra and Itzayana, two hermanas mexicanas who, back in 2021, decided to sign a business operating agreement and become business partners in co-founding Paloma Negra, a luxury-minimalist bath and body care brand that connects you to tierras mexicanas. All of our products bring a little piece of Mexico to your body care rituals through our focal ingredients, which include prickly pear seed oil, tepezcohuite, and agave fiber! We believe in providing the highest quality in each of our products and prioritize using only essential, nutrient dense and luxe ingredients that respect Madre Tierras cycles and natural pace.
The Paloma Negra name and essence was inspired by the Mexican ranchera (song), Paloma Negra, composed by Tomás Méndez and interpreted by powerful mujeres such as Lola Beltrán, Chavela Vargas, and Lila Downs. The song speaks about a heartbroken man as a result of the non-conformity and defiance of a woman who is referred to as “Paloma Negra.” Paloma Negra Bath and Body Care represents the woman from the song that lives life on her own terms, not conforming to the expectations society tends to put on her. We hope to connect with other Palomas Negras who resonate with our brand identity and products. To learn more about Paloma Negra, visit our online store at palomanegra.co

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

Vision. Action. Tenacity. These dynamic three were the conduit to helping Paloma Negra reach a brand launching point on June, 22nd, 2024.

The vision didn’t come right away, but with consistent action and determination, we were able to develop it through the years. It took many shapes and forms and it can certainly continue to metamorphosize in the future, it’s part of the journey, to change and grow in different ways and directions.

Action supported the development of the vision in its different stages. We did research, took courses and workshops, joined informative Instagram lives and allowed ourselves to daydream as a creative strategy. It was also incredibly helpful to be sister business partners because we had the confianza to hold each other accountable in a constructive way.
Tenacity is what holds everything together. The ability to persist and uphold determination even when there have been lulls in progress, or when we aren’t sure of next steps. Tenacity was invaluable to sustaining the vision and fueling the action. These three qualities continue to strengthen as you put them into practice, so don’t think that, if you don’t currently feel like you possess these, that you can’t acquire them.

Try putting these into practice in smaller areas of your life to develop them. For example, you can start with creating a vision of your morning routine. What does it look like, feel like and represent to you? Now, tomorrow morning, carry it out. As you wake up, get out of bed, open the blinds, feel the warmth of the gentle early morning sun on your skin, stay off your phone for the first hour of the day, etc. etc. Now, practice it every day and, when you skip your routine one day (you will), try again the next day. Have a plan to try again even if it means modifying your morning routine so that it’s easier for you to achieve it and then work towards where you want to be. That’s tenacity.

One of our goals is to help like-minded folks with similar goals connect and so before we go we want to ask if you are looking to partner or collab with others – and if so, what would make the ideal collaborator or partner?

Paloma Negra is built on collaborations, so we are always interested in collaborating with the community on this journey! We are looking to collaborate with brands or individuals who complement our brand identity through luxury-minimalism, eco-consciousness, Mexican or Latine culture, and travel and adventure. If you’re a brand or individual who resonates with the Paloma Negra brand identity, represents luxury minimalism, roots and living life on your own terms despite societal expectations, please reach out at [email protected]

Contact Info:

• Website: https://palomanegra.co/
• Instagram: @PalomaNegra.Co
• Facebook: PalomaNegra.co
• Other: Spotify: Paloma Negra Podcast

Image Credits

Karen Villanueva