An Inspired Chat with Christa Zúñiga of Guatemala

We recently had the chance to connect with Christa Zúñiga and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Christa, thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to share your story, experiences and insights with our readers. Let’s jump right in with an interesting one: What are you being called to do now, that you may have been afraid of before?
In the past few months, I’ve been called to present my project publicly and to give talks—a version of myself from twenty years ago would have never done that voluntarily. Speaking in public used to feel overwhelming for me, especially when it involved sharing personal stories or letting people see my emotional side.

Six years into this journey, I’ve gained practice, and it has become more natural, but the nerves and the emotional weight of the moment are still there. What has changed is my relationship with those emotions. Instead of fighting them, I’ve learned to embrace them and let them guide me, without allowing them to take over.

When I speak publicly now, I remind myself that emotions are not a weakness—they are a bridge. They help me connect with the audience in a genuine way. Over time, I’ve learned a few things that have helped me speak with more confidence while staying grounded:

1. Acknowledge your emotions instead of hiding them.
Nerves lose their power when you name them. I always take a moment before going on stage to say, “Yes, I’m nervous—and it’s okay.”

2. Breathe slowly and intentionally.
A deep breath signals safety to your body. It helps your voice steady itself and brings your presence back into the room.

3. Use your story as your anchor.
When you speak from truth, you don’t need to perform. Authenticity takes over.

4. Allow vulnerability, but stay rooted.
It’s okay to feel emotional—I actually see it as part of the connection with the audience. But I try not to drown in the moment. When I feel an emotion is rising, I pause for two or three seconds, take a slow breath, and let my body settle. That small grounding ritual brings me back to myself so I can continue with clarity and intention.

Learning to speak publicly has been one of the most surprising parts of my growth. It still scares me sometimes, but it also reminds me that I am becoming someone my younger self would be proud of.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I’m a writer and the creator of La chica de las estaciones, a project born from my own cycles of grief, transformation, and rebirth. Through my poetry, symbolic experiences, and emotional writing workshops, I accompany people as they move through their own “inner seasons” and reconnect with the light within them.

My book Equinoccio de primavera (available on Amazon: https://shorturl.at/nMOtP) has become a source of support for those navigating moments of change, loss, or personal rediscovery. What makes this project special is the way it blends art, vulnerability, and emotional healing in a gentle, poetic way—reminding us that no matter which season we’re living in, there is always something within us that wants to bloom.

My mission is simple: to turn emotions into words, and words into a bridge toward healing.

Okay, so here’s a deep one: Who taught you the most about work?
My mother is the person who taught me the most about work—and about life.
She taught me to lead with honesty, to value my craft, and to set prices that honor both the person who receives the work and the one who pours their heart into creating it.

But her greatest lessons were quieter ones:
to love what I do,
to walk away when something no longer feels true,
to protect my peace,
and to choose the people I work with as carefully as I choose the people I love.

Her voice is still with me in most of the decisions I make.
In many ways, everything I create carries a little bit of her.

If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
“Trust your intuition. It speaks to protect you, not to limit you.”

A couple of months ago, I had an experience that reminded me of this truth. I bought an outfit for an event where I was celebrating life and its challenges. When I tried it on, something inside me whispered that it might rip. I ignored that voice—I wanted to wear something new. And of course… it ripped. The blouse, the pants, everything.

I ran to the bathroom feeling like I was seconds away from being half-undressed in the middle of a presentation. And still, in that moment of chaos, something beautiful happened: my cousin showed up with an extra brand-new blouse she happened to have with her. In the end, it matched perfectly with the other panelists, almost as if it had been planned.

That experience reminded me that my intuition always knows best, and that even when things “fall apart,” life finds a way to hold us.

So that’s what I’d tell my younger self: “Listen to yourself. You’re right more often than you realize. And even when everything feels out of control… life will catch you.”

So a lot of these questions go deep, but if you are open to it, we’ve got a few more questions that we’d love to get your take on. Is the public version of you the real you?
Absolutely yes. There aren’t two versions of Christa Zúñiga. La chica de las estaciones isn’t a persona I put on—it’s simply an extension of me. It comes from my own processes, my wounds, my healing, and the many times I’ve had to begin again.

What I share publicly is rooted in what I live privately: my emotions, my cycles, my questions, my light and my shadows. I don’t believe in having a “public voice” that’s different from the inner one. Everything I write, everything I share in workshops or on stage, comes from the same place: my truth.

Of course, there are things I keep for myself because I’m human and because intimacy is something I value. But the essence is the same. I don’t perform strength, and I don’t fabricate vulnerability.

The woman who writes in silence and the one who stands in front of an audience are the same—someone who is constantly transforming and learning to embrace every season of her life.

Before we go, we’d love to hear your thoughts on some longer-run, legacy type questions. If you knew you had 10 years left, what would you stop doing immediately?
This question feels incredibly timely because just a few days ago, I dreamed that someone told me I only had two years left to live. I told my sister about it, and she said, “You’re lucky they warned you.” We laughed, but she was right in a way—none of us truly know how much time we have left.

If I knew I had ten years left, I would stop overthinking and start acting. I would begin writing my own biography, draw closer to the people who truly matter to me, visit the cities I’ve always dreamed of, move to a house surrounded by flowers with a river nearby, do more birdwatching, publish all my writings… and breathe more. A lot more.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lachicadelasestaciones/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/search/top?q=la%20chica%20de%20las%20estaciones
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lachicadelasestaciones

  https://www.amazon.com/Equinoccio-primavera-reconectar-emociones-Spanish-ebook/dp/B0FMPSSSM5/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3ENTTKO128162&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.MSp0luZY18KTmH9ej0XJQg.JzTTeXxiYS1TqzCioP9rMoowEKl-Qzrz8Ec9Jlr5yMs&dib_tag=se&keywords=equinoccio+de+primavera+christa+zu%C3%B1iga&qid=1764718861&sprefix=equinoccio+de+primavera+christa+zu%C3%B1iga%2Caps%2C145&sr=8-1