Story & Lesson Highlights with Yefri Munoz of Arcadia

We recently had the chance to connect with Yefri Munoz and have shared our conversation below.

Yefri, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What do the first 90 minutes of your day look like?
The first 90 minutes of my day usually start with being woken up by my almost three-year-old — either meowing like a cat or whispering ‘mama, get up,’ which is equal parts creepy and hilarious. The first hour is mostly me trying to fully wake up while playing with toy cars on the floor. Somewhere between his giggles and my matcha, I’m thinking about what to make for breakfast and checking the calendar to see what’s ahead for toddler life and content creator life.

Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hello! I’m Yefri Muñoz, a mom to an almost three-year-old toddler, beauty and lifestyle content creator, and Social Media Manager for Roots & Wings, a community org that advocates for Latino and immigrant folks. My life is this mix of toddler chaos, creative projects, and learning to show up for myself every day. Sometimes with a full face of makeup, sometimes with cereal stuck to my shirt!

I create content around beauty, motherhood, and local events. I love capturing little moments that remind us there’s still joy and color in the mess of life. What makes me different is that I don’t try to hide the mess. I share it, because that’s where the beauty really is. Right now, I’m working on growing my platform, building brand collaborations, and showing other moms (and women in general) that it’s never too late to start over and make something beautiful out of your story.

Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What did you believe about yourself as a child that you no longer believe?
As a child, I believed my feelings didn’t matter. That crying wasn’t an option and I had to be the strong one in my family. But I was just a kid. I should’ve been allowed to worry about kid things, not survival. Looking back, I see that adults failed me, I didn’t fail. I survived.

Now, as a mom, I make it a point to validate both my younger self and my adult self. That’s also why I share my experiences openly online. So many creators only show the polished side, the hauls, the smiles, the highlights but I think it’s just as important to show the parts that are hard, the healing, the real feelings. Because that’s what connects us. No one is perfect, and that’s okay.

What have been the defining wounds of your life—and how have you healed them?
I think most wounds take a lifetime to heal. You learn to live with them, but not cling to them. One of the defining wounds of my life was the trauma I endured from my abusive father for 18 years. I grew up in an environment that was meant to break me, not build me. When it finally ended and he was gone, I thought I’d instantly feel free and happy. But real freedom only came through therapy, healing, and learning to let myself feel.

Even in more recent heartbreaks, like becoming a co-parent, I remind myself that if the child version of me could survive all that she did, then the adult me can survive anything. Especially now that I have my own child to protect and love.

Healing, for me, means allowing myself to feel everything, joy and grief, calm and chaos. To let my emotions pass through all their seasons. That’s how I know I’m still healing, and that healing itself is a lifelong act of love.

Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
I actually asked my bestie Mafer this question because I wanted to know what she really thought. She said: ‘Your tight-knit community is what matters the most to you. Your kiddo, yourself, and your family (blood and chosen). You work really hard to be there for others and to show up with support and love in the way you wish you had grown up with, despite that you survived in hardship and want to set a good example for your baby and for healing your inner child.’

CRYING. Are you?

Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. If immortality were real, what would you build?
If immortality were real, I’d spend forever building homes. Real, safe homes for single moms, for survivors of domestic violence, for the unhoused, for anyone who just needs a place to finally breathe and rest. I’d want to build wealth, not for myself, but for others. Because everyone deserves stability and peace.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yefriareli/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yefri-munoz-430468160/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@yefriareli

Image Credits
@lavidaphotographica (Yaquelin Hernandez)