Today we’d like to introduce you to Kiara González Durán.
Hi Kiara, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
After I graduated college in 2020, I knew that I wanted to work in the entertainment industry. I had done a few internships in productions, management, and talent agencies and was ready to take on my first job. Everything during that time was extremely uncertain. As for myself, I was also facing many unknowns about my future, but I was sure of one thing: I wanted to become the first Mexican Oprah. I dreamed of one day having my very own talk show where I could interview folks from around the world and have the most engaging and valuable conversations. However, having my own show was not a viable possibility during this time, I needed to first find a job to simply make a living! Therefore, I started working at a studio as an assistant (hey, that’s how many great talents start off their careers!). It was during this time that I craved to pursue my personal artistic passions. Given that we were all on lockdown during this time, I had to get creative. I connected with hosts on LinkedIn to learn about their careers (shoutout to Reyna Figueroa and her Latino Wave team!). Television host Reyna Figueroa taught me how to reach out to talent and allowed me to be on a Zoom press interview she did for me to learn her ways. It was then when she encouraged me to start interviewing artists, and I created Quick Talks with Kiara. I first interviewed a friend from college who is a model about her trajectory, how she defied current beauty standards, and about her personal drive and motivations. Although I felt as though I did not have enough experience, I knew I just needed to start and post that interview on my new YouTube channel. After this interview, I started reaching out to more and more creatives from different parts of the world, from places like Colombia to Spain and Mexico, and talked about a diverse range of topics and issues that affected their creative industries and impacted them. It was around 2021 that podcasts started becoming more popular. People were at home trying to find diverse ways to connect to different forms of content. Therefore, I did my research and took Quick Talks with Kiara to the audio space.
Although the podcast is my creative passion, I needed to make sure I was also growing financially, for which I switched jobs during this time. This meant more time invested in my paying job, which distracted me from continuing to grow the podcast. By the end of 2022, my friends would reach out to me and ask me when I was bringing the podcast back (I was shocked that people were even listening to it!). A friend, who is an amazing photographer, offered to do a photoshoot for my podcast to encourage me to bring it back. Of course, I accepted to do the photoshoot (why wouldn’t I!?) and took some time to create specific goals to make sure I was delivering new episodes at the start of 2023. With time, I also developed new goals, and as I was reanalyzing what I wanted to do creatively, I also thought I wanted to pursue modeling on 2023. I realized I always felt too old to start that, but came to the realization that in that moment, I was the youngest I would EVER BE, so I needed to start ASAP. So there they were, my two main priorities: make more podcast episodes and start modeling.
2023 arrived and so did my plan. I began to reach out to new talent and continued recording my new episodes on Zoom. For my modeling goals, I started traveling to Tijuana once a month to do photoshoots to start building my portfolio and start posting pics on social media (that’s how you get opportunities nowadays!).
Consistency for sure started opening doors. For my podcast, I started meeting new people who were interested in working with me to develop the idea AND start filming LIVE (shoutout to Freddy and Erin)!!! We are currently on the developing stages of that, but I cannot wait to start the production stages of the new upcoming season! As for the modeling, I was blessed to connect with a cute online clothing brand called La Dolce Vintage, who trusted my creative vision and modeled their clothes for social media. My mentor also connected me with another boutique in Beverly Hills called Self Contrast and have modeled a few times for them as well. These new opportunities have panned out within the first eight months of the year, I cannot wait to see how my career keeps growing in the near future.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Generally, it has been a smooth road. I think the biggest struggle is finding motivation and meaning in my work. Not depending financially on my creative passions has allowed me to not get too frustrated in my own metrics of success. However, I can sometimes get frustrated with how slow it seems to get my work noticed. In these times, I remind myself that what matters is enjoying the process and focusing on the progress I have made as well. I started with Zoom interviews that felt as though there was not much purpose to them, and now I am developing a whole strategy for the new season of my show! That is a cool metric of success that I should focus on and work towards finding ways to monetize eventually, but in the meantime, I will focus on creating the best I can with the time and passion I have.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am a host and model. I host my own podcast, Quick Talks with Kiara where I interview creatives who are shaping the culture from around the world in both English and Spanish (and hopefully in Portuguese soon as well!). I am incredibly passionate about talking and exploring social and political topics in relation to creative industries. I am always looking for ways to challenge our own ways of thinking and have conversations that allow folks to understand different perspectives and be inspired. I think this is what sets my work apart from others. I am constantly looking for ways to build with others; build bridges that connect different ways of thinking to be more understanding of each other; inspire others through the interconnected world that we live in. I believe that we can all identify with each other on different levels and that our stories can inspire others to make an impact wherever they are. My work is a reflection of the world I aspire to live in.
Is there something surprising that you feel even people who know you might not know about?
Most people who know me know I am a very extroverted woman. However, when we started being exposed to society again after the pandemic lockdown, I developed a little anxiety when being in social settings. When I attend networking events or speak in front of large crowds, my body sometimes shakes uncontrollably. It is strange because I genuinely love interacting with a lot of people, but it has taken me some time to go back to pre-pandemic me in terms of the way I interact with others in these conditions. But I always give myself a lot of grace and respect that I am allowed to relearn different things or exist differently in this world. I also do not let this stop me from attending these sorts of events or speaking in public. Someone once told me that nerves kept her humble because it meant she still cared about doing trying to do things right and it is a life motto that I chose to also live by.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://linktr.ee/kiaragd
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kiaragd/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kiara-gonz%C3%A1lez-dur%C3%A1n-a69200162/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@QuickTalkswithKiara
Image Credits
Photographer of studio picture with white background: Nathalia Rodriguez. Photographer of all other pictures (except the one with two people): Ashly Mouett. Additional person in the picture with two people: writer Roma Murphy
