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Author: Christian La Mont

With the Wind as My Best Friend

por Susana Renaud

The love of outdoors began for me when my mamí would say to us eight kids, “vayanse para fuera ah jugar” and off we would all go on our own way and, wouldn’t be seen again until it was time to eat. I would spend hours outside under mesquite trees with the wind as my best friend. I was always happiest outside. I grew up in a large Tejano/Mexicano familia in Tejas. I was the fourth of eight children growing up on a farm with animales that I would befriend, and later regret that I had, when they showed up on the dinner table. All of my early childhood and adolescence was spent either in the country or in small Pueblitos.

When I became a young adult at the age of nineteen I escaped to Austin, Tejas and that’s where more of my outdoor exploration began. I met friends who had grown up traveling, sailing, windsurfing, hiking, backpacking, skiing, and cycling around the world. The most I had ever done is ride my banana bike around my Pueblito. So, I was in awe and ready to go! I bought my first adult bicycle and it became my mode of transportation. After my shift of waitressing, I would ride my bike to Barton Springs, sunbathe and swim, then run around Austin Lake. I lived in Austin for eight years and I hiked so many of the surrounding trails and hung out in beautiful places like the Pedernales River and Lake Travis where I learned how to windsurf (well, tried anyway).

I moved to Berkeley, Ca. in 1989. I was twenty-eight years old and all of that outdoor exploration and play prepared me to do what I love to do the most, Backpack. My first trip up to the mountains was to Mt. Shasta for a week. The experience was breathtaking. Clear mountain air, cool water, brilliant skies that provided an opening to another world. I got to know my limitations. I always packed with other women, older and not Latinas. In fact, I never went outdoors with other mujeres or Latinos. I never ever saw any. I was the only India amongst a group of güeritos. I studied Yoga at the Iyengar Yoga Institute (I was again the ‘only’ Latina) and led a group of yogi friends up to Sequoia & Kings Canyon National Park, we did yoga there in the buff. I kept riding my bike for transportation and going up to the mountains. I would go with different groups of women, again, never did I meet any mujeres who I could go up with. But I kept going, I was and am still in love and in awe with the outdoors. I became a Yoga teacher, finished my undergraduate degree in Integrative Health, met some wonderful older Xicanas who became my mentors, interned at the National Latina Health Organization where I became involved in program development for youth and connected with some amazing mujeres who I also took up to the mountains

I then returned to Graduate school receiving my Masters in Feminist Psychology, worked in the Latinx/Chicanx community in Oakland and San Francisco for sixteen years before being recruited by a large health and maintenance organization in Oakland. Fell in love a bazillion times, trekking outdoors with my loves and alone. And now, I always begin my outdoor experience with a blessing. With the wind as my best friend.

Susana Renaud is a 62 y.o. two spirit, Xicanx. She is a teacher and an instructor of Yoga and Mindfulness Meditation and wholistic wellness. Susana loves the outdoors and is always exploring and trekking to new places and enjoys meeting new people during travel. Susana’s newest adventure is birdwatching and looks forward to partnering with Latino Outdoors to invite other Queer folx outdoors! Follow Susana on IG at @qtbipocwomenoutdoorover60.

Yo Cuento: Rim of the Valley

por Christian La Mont

In 2021, when it was safe to spend time outdoors with others, I was honored to join Representative Adam Schiff (CA-28) and outdoor equity leaders for a hike in the Rim of the Valley Corridor in Southern California’s Santa Monica Mountains. We gathered at the trailhead, wearing masks and maintaining a safe distance, catching up with friends and colleagues we hadn’t seen outside of Zoom or Google Hangout calls in a year. 

I heard some familiar voices and saw Dennis Arguelles with the National Parks Conservation Association, Araceli Hernández of Nature For All, and other outdoor advocates. Representative Schiff, a public lands champion and avid hiker, led us up the trail. It had been a long time since I had heard the crunch of dirt underneath my shoes and the winded but determined chatter of hikers. As we walked and talked, I couldn’t help but think of how calming and motivating it was to be back in nature, reconnecting with others.

Our main topic of conversation was the Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act, which would add more than 191,000 acres of the Rim of the Valley Corridor to the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area and increase access to nature for urban LA communities. The bill has been championed by Representative Schiff and has already passed the House of Representatives. A few weeks ago, the Senate Energy & Natural Resources Committee passed the Rim of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act which puts us one step closer to making it a reality. I hope the full Senate follows suit and passes the bill this year. 

Over the past few years, I’ve advocated for the Rim of the Valley expansion. I’ve traveled to Washington D.C. to speak to policymakers about the benefits of protecting and expanding public lands around the country, and in particular in my hometown of Los Angeles.

The bill isn’t only about preserving natural treasures like the Los Angeles River and Griffith Park, home of our beloved mountain lion, P-22. It’s also about protecting cultural treasures like El Pueblo de Los Ángeles near Chinatown which is near the area where the Tongva village of Yangna was located and near where the famed Aliso Tree once stood. Despite the often painful and violent history of this area, the Tongva, whose name means “people of the earth” are today a community full of advocates, artists, change-makers, and policy shapers. We should, as we move to expand the Rim of the Valley and continue to protect public lands and push for equitable access to the outdoors, always seek input, advice, and collaboration from the original caretakers of the land.

As we neared the top of the trail, I paused to take a photo of Araceli, Dennis, and Representative Schiff. In conservation and policy work we cannot forget the invaluable role Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) advocates and organizations play in protecting the lands we love and also the communities and cultures these lands represent. 

On the way back to the trailhead we talked about our favorite local hiking spots with Representative Schiff. I recounted a uniquely magical L.A. moment on another hike in the Rim of the Valley. I hiked on Cinco de Mayo and was greeted by a calm breeze, a magnificent view of downtown Los Angeles, and the distant sounds of mariachi bands echoing throughout the valley below. It was, to me, a representation of what the Rim of the Valley is all about: nature, culture, opportunity, Los Angeles, home. 

This summer, hundreds of outdoor advocates across the country celebrated Latino Conservation Week, dedicated to uplifting the power of Latinx community engagement and advocacy. I couldn’t help but think of all the public lands around L.A. and beyond that need community support, that need the advocates and storytellers, the legislators who listen, care, and act. Increasing access to nature helps make the world a better place, one park and one trail at a time. We have to make it easier for our communities to enjoy the outdoors. The Rim of the Valley bill is one such opportunity. It gives me hope that passionate leaders like Representative Schiff, Senator Alex Padilla, Dennis, and Araceli are willing to dream big and to be bold in re-envisioning our parks and open spaces. We need that kind of thinking, now more than ever.


If you live in Los Angeles and would like to learn how you can support public lands, you can learn how to take action HERE.

Sana Sana

por Maritza Oropeza Kritz

I walk amongst the trees 
Brisk breeze flowing through my hair 
I look up at my ancestors 
Protectors of the land 
Whispers of cries 
What have we done to the land?

I follow their cries to the mountains
Gazing at our beloved earth
I see her yearning of thirst 
Empty forest and black clouds 
On the brink of collapse 
Lands bare and seas empty 
Senseless wars against nature 
Man’s envy has overcome his humanity 
Days are numbered 
As we drift closer to extinction 
What have we done to the land? 

Nourish our earth for she will always forgive
Our shelter of wonders
Do not destroy her innocence 
Our strength in numbers can heal
The earth is our teacher
The earth is our mother
The earth is our home
Without our home, we are nothing

Poem by: Maritza Oropeza Kritz