Army Brat, Dolly Parton and Puerto Rico | Leyla Santiago

Leyla Santiago answers Robyn's questionnaire that she sends to all her guests before the show.

Three words to describe America?
AT A CROSSROADS

Where did you grow up?
I'm an Army brat, so I moved around quite a bit. Born in Puerto Rico, moved to Panama during the Noriega conflict, then moved to South Carolina when my dad was stationed at Ft. Jackson

If you could time travel, which era in American history would you like to visit? Why?
If I'm being honest, the idea of traveling back in time as a minority is not thrilling. But if I had to pick an era, I would travel back to either the roaring 20s to watch women (though not all) obtain the right to vote or to the '60s to see the civil rights movement in action, albeit tough to watch.

Iconic American landscape that means something to you? Or epitomizes your America?
Stateside, Shenandoah National Park inspires me. Of course nothing soothes my soul and inspires me quite like the mountains of Puerto Rico. They have a way of reminding me of the resilience of my own people.

Dream dinner party guests? Which Americans would you invite to you Thanksgiving table (dead or alive?)
Felisa Rincon de Gautier
Dolly Parton
Harriet Tubman
Selena

Chapters

00:00 Three words to describe America?
01:14 Dream dinner party guests
04:55 From somewhere else
08:40 Nature and Landscape in America
09:48 Echo Chambers and Political Discourse
12:48 Lessons from Family and Personal Reflections
14:44 The Current State of Being American

http://www.searchingforamericapod.com