words and photos by Marcus Waldron

Nuestra Cultura al Mundo is an initiative by adidas that unites the Hispanic community by connecting athletes, artists, musicians, and creatives to showcase their work and contributions to the culture. I got the chance to join adidas in Puerto Rico to capture some moments and talk with Jenn and Diego about their heritage.

Right now we’re out in Puerto Rico. What are we doing out here?
Diego: We’re celebrating the drop of the video we did with adidas for Nuestra Cultras al Mundo and Hispanic Heritage Month. We’re skating, we’re eating good, swimming every day. Living our best lives.

Jenn, how often do you come here and what are some of your favorite things about it here?
Jenn: I used to come here a lot growing up as a kid, but eventually, with life and school, I wasn’t able to make it back for a while. I started coming back after Covid. My grandma lives here, so just to visit her. It’s been sick, just skating and meeting the community of people out here that love skating. It’s a lifestyle. I love the island time skate. Everything’s a lot slower paced. You go to the beach, you really get to just chill and vibe.

And Diego, you were in Mexico recently, right? How often do you go, and what do you like about it?
Diego: Back when I was a lot younger, I would go to where my mom’s from, like Baja, California side of Mexico. So when I was a lot younger, it was very consistent. But then, as I got older, family started to move, et cetera, so it’s been a while. I don’t go back as often, but now with all the skate stuff that we’re doing with adidas and other projects, I try to go as often as I can. I’m going back to do a community project soon. When I go, I’m not going just to skate. I’m going to do something for the people, give back, check in with them, and support that side of the community. They live for skating just as I do. 

What role would you say family plays in your life, or how important is family to you?
Jenn: I know everyone’s situation is different, so I don’t want to speak generally, but when you have a dope family with support and that unconditional love, it builds you up to be who you are and become who you want to be. I’m grateful to have such a supportive family, who always backed skating. They always back the choices that I make. I think it’s important to have that unconditional love. It’s hard to find that everywhere in the world. You have some good homies, too. Some of my homies are family. It’s the same vibe. I think it’s important to have your rocks.

When you’re out skating and you’re battling a trick, is there anything you do or think to push through and just keep going?
Jenn: Sometimes it depends on the day, but those battles… I feel like sometimes it’s just random. You’re like, all right, let’s try again. You’re feeling low, you’re going through your process. Everyone got a different thing. Everyone has their demons with that. I love when it just comes out of nowhere, and you’re like, okay, I don’t know what I did. I blanked out. But it worked. I find myself making jokes. When I’m skating with David we’ll be like “alright, first try,” and we’re like three hours in. It’s funny. I’ll try to lock in and forget everything that just happened “first try”. Sometimes it can boost your morale. 

When you are out trying to film tricks, really working on something, do you have any approach, anything you do to get ready?
Diego: I definitely would like to have some of my homies come with to hype up the energy. Even having some of ’em skate the spot with me. I may be kicking it out or not even really trying, and then you see the homie just stick it and you’re like, alright dude, go. handle it. That motivation helps. I don’t worry about small sesh, big sesh, I just skate with everybody that I’m around. But some spots, it’s like, let’s try not to have too many people. You get kicked out faster, so let’s go small. Sometimes you got to lock into that like yo, it’s just you right now, and you’re going to have to really lock in because you got probably five, six tries, whatever, and they’re going to come kick you out. It varies. But I do personally like to be around my people and motivate one another.

Does your family have a lot of traditions that you follow, or do you have any traditions in your family or your culture that you’re especially fond of?
Jenn:  For me, my family is a little spread out. We’re all over the place now, but we do get together. I remember when we were younger, coming here for Christmas or something, all my family, cousins, uncles, would have an instrument, one person’s on the guitar jamming, I usually had the cowbell or tambourines, and everyone’s just vibing and being together to celebrate. It wasn’t really about the holiday, it was more about just being together and having that moment to do something like that. That was always special.

Do you have any ways that you try to embrace your culture?
Diego: I’m always embracing the culture, I try to go visit back home as often as I possibly can, and stay connected. Keeping your Spanish on lock as much as you can. Even when you go out to eat or something. I like to go to a nice mom and pop Mexican restaurant and support. It gives you that homecooked meal vibe, and they just give you their open arms, you’re not even their son or anything but they’ll be so inviting. It’s just a different feeling, and that’s something that I embrace, how much love is given, even if you guys don’t know each other. It’s just a mutual support.

Can you think of any ways that the New York and LA Hispanic communities have shaped skateboarding culture in America, or the role that the Hispanic communities play in those cities?
Jenn: For me, I think it’s the passion. There’s a lot of passion in Latin cultures and especially in cities like New York and LA, just high energy ready to go. Think about salsa music. When you see Latinos dance, they’re going for it. And I feel like it’s the same with skating. It’s just a hundred percent in, a lot of passion, a lot of style, and it’s cool to be a part of.