Mariana Vílchez is an actress from Peru who spent 12 years living in Los Angeles and working in Hollywood before she had to move back to Peru when her talent visa didn’t get renewed. Mariana shares how the lessons in resilience and adaptability that she learned working as an actress eventually prepared her for the unexpected life changing event of having to move ‘back home’ to a place that hadn’t been her home in over a decade.

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ABOUT THE HOSTS:

Luciana and Claudia Valdiviezo know what it’s like to move to the U.S. – twice. They were born in Peru and lived there for only a few years until their parents moved the family to the U.S. The sisters kept in touch with their roots, speaking Spanish at home and every Christmas when they visited Peru for the holidays. Then, when they were 12 and 11 respectively, the family moved back to Peru. Growing up both Peruvian and American during those formative years gave Luciana and Claudia a deep understanding of what it means to belong, and not belong, at the same time.

The sisters eventually moved back to the U.S. Luciana is a marketing professional living in Washington D.C. with her husband and two young children. Claudia is a writer living in New York City.