For Alexis Mendias and Jaqueline Padilla, it’s always women’s month — a time of señoras. The self-care social club they created, City Señoras, empowers Latinas and women of color to embrace a mindset that resists always being “on.”
Being in your señora era may include heading to bed earlier, gardening and being a ‘plant mama’ surrounded by flowers in your home. It can mean making the home remedies your mom used to shove down your throat, choosing wine night with the girls instead of clubbing and generally slowing down enough to taste the cafecito. It’s a wellness take that embraces roots, life changes and balancing self with community.
For the two Californians of Mexican descent, City Señoras was as much about meeting other Latinas as it was about self-care. “In a place like New York, you can just be so go, go, go that we wanted the things that we did to gather together to be a little slower and intentional for people to connect,” Mendias said.
Not just a lottery game
In March 2022, Mendias and Padilla were recent transplants and roommates in Brooklyn. They bonded over shared homesickness and a desire to speak Spanglish with their tribe.
“‘I miss my walks with my primas,’” Padilla recalls telling Mendias one day in the kitchen. “‘We both see other Latinas. I see them every day as I’m on the subway. How do we create a space where we get together? How do I find my people?’”
Their first trial: a game of Lotería (Mexican lottery) in McCarren Park. Only the two of them showed up, but they made the most of that Lotería session, including an impromptu photo shoot. They posted the pictures online as a vision of what their community could look like: intimate, with women open to activities rooted in their culture and ideally in nature.
When brainstorming early on, the founders wanted something that captured the feeling of slowing down without withdrawing from the world. Being a “señora” meant embracing calm while staying active in the city. They had already seen such natural forms of self-care modeled by women in their families. “I definitely saw even making coffee super slow in the morning, that being sacred time to connect with yourself before giving to others,” Mendias said. “I see even dancing on the weekend while you’re cleaning as a form of expression and self-care.”
How to grow a community
Two weeks later, the roommates organized a second event: trivia night at a nearby woman-owned brewery. This time, a few more people showed up. The following month, they kept their expectations low as they planned their first community cafecito and walk in the park. Even as the RSVP list grew and messages poured in, they thought maybe five (or at most 15) women would come.
Instead, nearly 80 women arrived at the coffee shop asking the same question: “Is this for City Señoras?”
The turnout “blew us away,” Padilla said. Caffeinated walks became their “bread and butter,” simple events that felt natural. “It’s already part of our culture: you start the day with coffee and then go for a walk,” she said. “What made it successful is other people also realizing, ‘There’s other people like me and this is where we can find them.’ ”
The concept of “City Señoras” also resonated with many young professionals, especially first-generation women navigating big cities while balancing ambition and personal wellbeing. Leveraging social media and representation helped spread the word. “Just showing people what it looked like to be at our events — that visual of ‘That person looks like me, that person does what I want to do or what I already do or want to do more of,’” Mendias said.
Some therapists even started recommending City Señoras events to clients who were struggling with loneliness. The lack of Latina representation in mainstream wellness spaces compounds the need for something more, Mendias said: “How many studios do you go to and you don’t see yourself?”
How to co-build
As attendance grew, twice-monthly events expanded to yoga, sound baths and creative workshops that included pairings such as rum tasting and journaling. Even simple gatherings included playful activities to help attendees meet new people, informed in part by Priya Parker’s “The Art of Gathering.” They were all shaped by community feedback via Instagram, newsletter surveys and website inquiries.
Some members even helped connect the founders to spaces and facilitators. A coffee shop employee partnered on a fundraiser, and the Dominican owner of a yoga studio hosted hot yoga for what was many participants’ first class.
Scaling down and balance
Mendias eventually moved back to Los Angeles to close the distance in a long-distance relationship, which became an opportunity to start a second branch of City Señoras there. Operating in two cities required constant texting and adapting events to local realities. Outdoor yoga and sound baths in parks worked better there.
The co-founders have begun embracing City Señoras’ ethos of slowing down. Hosting two events a month became overwhelming, so the founders scaled back to one. They also took December off to focus on family and rest. Organizing fewer events allowed them to create intimate experiences and still participate fully.Today, City Señoras operates as an LLC, with most events costing about $25 and more involved workshops (such as an upcoming floral design and photo session in Los Angeles) priced up to $85. Fees largely cover facilitators, venues and materials. The mission remains helping people step out of isolation and into shared experiences. And while it all started with homesickness in New York, the founders are exploring ways to expand to other cities.
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