
Meet Paola Mendoza—Mama To Mateo & Artistic Director Of The Women’s March
Written by Katie Hintz-Zambrano
Photography by Photographed by Victoria Gloria of Motherhood Storybook
What does a woke household look like? In the case of film director-turned-activist Paola Mendoza, it’s draped in color, well-traveled, and full of activist touches. As Artistic Director of the Women’s March, Paola is on the front lines of several fights at once, including Defend DACA (she is an impassioned immigrant hailing from Colombia). She’s also co-author of the new book Together We Rise: Behind the Scenes at the Protest Heard Around the World and a dedicated mother to 4-year-old Mateo Ali (named after activist and athlete Muhammad Ali). Below, Mendoza shows us around her New York City pad, and discusses raising a child of privilege in the resistance and having zero time for bullshit.
- "We moved to our current neighborhood 15 years ago. We love our neighborhood so much that when we decided it was time to buy we packed up and moved two blocks away! We have lived in our apartment for 3 years now and love it! It's our own little funky corner in the big city."
- "Comfort, beauty, and color! It always has to fulfill all three of these things or it doesn't work in my house!"
- Paola wears a Rachel Comey top, vintage jeans, and Gala shoes.
- "Our family travels a lot. Before Mateo was born, my partner, Michael Skolnik, and I traveled the world separately and together. Our motto was to always bring one thing home from our trips abroad. This has resulted in our home being full of art, plates, and knickknacks from around the world. Our home is intentionally colorful. I am from Latin America, so I embrace bright. vivid colors. It makes me feel closer to Colombia. Since Mateo was born we kept up our travels, but now we take him with us. He helps us choose what to bring home from our 'adventures,' as he likes to call them. Overall, I guess I would say our house is a colorful adventure full of memories from around the world."
- One of Paola's projects as Artistic Director of the Women's March is the Resistance Revival Chorus, a collective of 60 women who come together to sing songs of protest.
- Shine on!
- "Mateo loves Legos, so I am always trying to find ways to keep his room from being over run with them! Mateo's room is his space so he can put stickers on his furniture, he can move his bed, build forts, he really has the freedom to do what he wants."
- "Mateo is king of the house! Everyday there are toys everywhere and at the end of the night we take his stuff to his room. Inevitably there is a stray Lego that I step on...those can never fully get cleaned up."
- Some books in Mateo's collection include: Sebi and the Land of Cha Cha Cha, Malala's Magic Pencil, Los Tres Pequenos Jabalies, Lucia the Luchadora, Curious George Says Thank You, Every Little Thing, Nina: Jazz Legend and Civil-Rights Activist Nina Simone, and Viva Frida.
- "For now he isn't so interested on what is on his walls, which has allowed me to have his walls be my canvas. Over his bed is a picture of Muhammad Ali, one of my heroes, and who we named Mateo Ali after. I put the picture over his bed as a reminder to have the courage to fight for freedom, justice, and equality, but to also know that you can have fun doing it! In the corner is a special painting of Stephen Biko, who was a South African freedom fighter against apartheid. He is not as well known as Nelson Mandela, but he was just as critical to ending apartheid. That painting is there to remind Mateo that fighting for freedom is not about fame but rather about taking care of others. And the most recent additions are the two posters from the Women's March. The posters are of a little boy and a little girl. A reminder to us all that the younger kids are why we fight, but they are also the ones that hold the answers."
- Animal life.
- "I love the idea of raising a feminist son. I enjoy figuring out ways to talk with my son about complicated issues. I am fascinated by his understanding of the world. And it never ceases to amaze me how much love my son and I have for one another."
- "I’m nervous about his privilege. I grew up homeless and on welfare and my son has luxuries that I didn’t know existed as a child. I want to make sure that he uses his privilege to make the world a better place for people like I was as a child. I hope to raise a boy that is compassionate, as I believe that is one of the most important things that is lacking in this country."
- A mini coat rack, and the aforementioned painting of South African anti-apartheid activist Stephen Biko.
- "I don’t have mom icons. I simply try to be the best I can be. I follow my heart and do what I think is best for my son. I think a mom icon would put too much pressure on me."
- All the tile.
- "I come from an immigrant home, which means a home with a lot of rules. Mateo’s father's childhood was one of complete freedom. So, Mateo has a mixture of both. Freedom within some immigrant discipline. I feel like anyone that comes from an immigrant household knows what I’m talking about."
- "I don’t read any of those things."
- "I only speak to Mateo in Spanish. It was really important to me for Mateo to be fluent and I took on the responsibility to only speak Spanish to him. I also make sure that he travels to Colombia at least once a year so he can be connect to his roots. It’s my gift to him."
- "Mateo Ali is named after the incredible activist athlete Muhammad Ali. His father and I look to the legacy of Muhammad Ali when we are in need of guidance and we wanted Mateo to feel that he should always strive to be the freedom fighter that Muhammad was."
- Resistance and life to-do's.
- "Look around you. Women have been doing this for centuries. You got this."
- "I am a film director and now an activist. I like to think that the work I am doing is the creative resistance. I want to open the heart of America by sharing the stories that aren’t being told. As an activist I want to make sure that our movement work incorporates stories because that is the only way we begin to shift people's ideas."
- Paola wears an Ulla Johnson dress.
- Mateo wear a Little Giants shirt and Cabbages & Kings pants.
- "The great thing about being a mom is I don’t have time for bullshit. I am juggling a kid, a business, and trying to not let this country self implode. My ability to have any bullshit in my life is 0."
- "Together We Rise is an oral and visual history about the Women’s March. We interviewed over 30 national organizers to tell the story of how the march came to be. The book is not only a commemorative look back at history, but it is also a blueprint on how to organize an intersectional feminist movement in today’s America. This book belongs to every person who marched in January 21, 2017. We, the organizers, were simply the midwives. The people birthed this movement."
- "The Women’s March was started by a woman who had never organized in her life. She had an idea and she didn’t let her fear distract her. If you feel like you can make this world better you have an obligation to try and do it!"
- "No. I refuse to feel guilty. Guilt is a pointless emotion and I will not let myself indulge in it."
- "I love the parks. I love the beauty. I love that we walk to school. I love that our neighborhood is diverse in class and race. We have a homeless shelter a few blocks from our house. This means that we have homeless people on our street quite often. Mateo and I talk a lot about being homeless, and what that means and why it happens. His concern for homeless people makes me believe that we are raising him to be a compassionate man and for me compassion is paramount."
- "I would like to live abroad one day. We had plans to move to another country for a year, but then Trump was elected president and we knew we couldn't leave. We had to stay and make sure our country didn't go up in flames. One day I would love to live somewhere in Asia."
- The sweetest.
- Paola wears a Mercato jacket and Notorious RGB t-shirt.
- Jumping for joy.
- "Funky, free, with a streak of feminine."
- "A leather jack. A dress for winter and a dress for summer. I try for as much color as possible!"
- "To laugh more!"
- For more on Paola, her work, and her family, check out her Instagram feed.
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