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Ep. 135 Resilience and Artistry: Alisa Curiel's Journey of Healing and Heritage
Have you ever clung to a small glimmer of hope when the world seemed to crumble around you? Alisa Curiel of Curiel Creations embodies that spirit of endurance, taking us on a poignant journey from her humble beginnings in Brawley to her creative oasis in Canyon Lake. This episode unfolds Alisa's multifaceted career, from her healing touch as a licensed massage therapist to her knack for orchestrating harmony in the most cluttered spaces as a home organizer. But it's her therapeutic bracelet-making that threads her story of resilience, a craft refined in the wake of personal loss and her triumphant battle with a brain aneurysm. We celebrate her entrepreneurial zeal, a legacy of her beloved father, and explore how her work is interwoven with love, memory, and the drive to create.
Hey everybody and welcome back to the Todo Latino show from Pro Audio LA studio, sponsored by Global Processing Systems, the official merchant for Revolucion 2024, and Todo Wafi. I am your host, rafael. The team is always here. We got Daisy, we got Yobi and today we are interviewing a very special guest, the owner of Curiel Creations, alisa Curiel. What's up?
Speaker 2:Hi, how are you?
Speaker 1:Welcome. I'm really inspired. I love the bracelets, but I want to know about your origin story. So tell us a little bit about you, and you know where you're from, and have you always been like a California native, and so forth.
Speaker 2:Yes, sir, I have been. I grew up in Brawley, california. I moved out of Brawley when I was 17 to Moreno Valley, then to Riverside and lived there, and I'm currently still in California, but in Canyon Lake.
Speaker 1:Canyon Lake. Where is that? Is that proportionately to where we are?
Speaker 2:That is about 20 minutes from Temecula. Okay, so, yes, very cool so yeah, it took me a while to get here, but it's worth it, most definitely worth it.
Speaker 1:I feel like it takes anywhere everybody to get to California. We had guests on here and they take an hour or two hours. Especially if they're coming from south or east, the only people who are like well, even Daisy she's coming from, I think, close to Disney, right.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:But everybody comes from a long time. You're kind of a jack-of-all-trades. You go on your instagram account. You're a licensed massage therapist. You do organizational, I guess, for the homes is that's like? That's like the people who like. Do you like the closets and stuff, or is it just the entire?
Speaker 2:house. I just do closets. Well, I do whatever they need, like because I can't stand. I I have ocd, I want everything. It's funny because I redid a home and the lady says is this how adults live? And I'm thinking, yeah, homegirl, you're 65. You should have been doing this a long time ago.
Speaker 1:Do you ever work with like hoarders and stuff like that? Like, do you ever get put in that position? I had an opportunity.
Speaker 2:I have an opportunity right now for someone who bought a home and the house. You can't even walk in there. There's so much stuff.
Speaker 1:I want to do it really bad, but you need a team, I need a team, you need a whole team.
Speaker 2:Definitely. So what exactly do you? Do you organize closets? Well, yes, because I like to have it long.
Speaker 1:Do you buy the?
Speaker 2:bins for them.
Speaker 1:Well, no.
Speaker 2:Whatever they have, then I'll work with it.
Speaker 1:Oh, so you work with whatever they have.
Speaker 2:Yes, whatever they have.
Speaker 1:And then I told her no wire hangers, compartmentalizing.
Speaker 2:I said no wire hangers. I watch Mommy Dearest too much.
Speaker 1:Yeah, she's like, what do you mean? She's like why are you throwing?
Speaker 2:the wire hangers away. I said, babe, you have to have organization. But I feel, like I did, I'll pay you. And I said, yeah, I understand that, but it's just easier to be organized because, everything has a place, but with my bracelets, that's just something that I never thought of doing. I was, I am, I'm still currently a raver, but I stopped making candy, you know, in my 20s.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:But after I lost my dad is when I started making bracelets again. I made this bracelet with his initials.
Speaker 1:Oh, very cool.
Speaker 2:For some therapy for me. I put some onyx and some dalmatian stone and then it just became something that really helped me, because prior to losing my father, I had my brain rupture. Yeah, so I had a full-blown brain aneurysm March 11, 2019.
Speaker 1:Wow, Nana, you said this was Aneurysm, awareness Month.
Speaker 2:Yes, it's Aneurysm Awareness.
Speaker 1:Month, the month of March.
Speaker 2:The month of March.
Speaker 1:yes, and so you're on your fifth anniversary.
Speaker 2:I had my fifth anniversary on March 11th and I was very. It was an emotional day but it was also a good day, you know, because I processed a lot and I listened to some oldies, thought of my dad, had a good conversation with my mom and called my son and said why didn't you call me and say happy anniversary. Well, I'm at dad's house. Well, when you're at dad's house, it doesn't shift, he's just still checking on me.
Speaker 1:The anniversary doesn't stop just because you're over there.
Speaker 2:I said, don't you remember your bald mom at the hospital, with tubes everywhere.
Speaker 1:Did you guilt her? Did you really? Yeah, I told my mom she's like dang girl. You better check on me.
Speaker 2:But yes, losing my dad, I feel has honestly the biggest heartbreak of my life. That was. He just took my heart. I feel like he took a lot of my family's heart, but it's also this is my incentive because he was always doing stuff. You know his heart, but it's also this is my incentive because he was always doing stuff. You know, like we didn't have money. There's five girls what are you doing? He'd buy a car, fix it up, sell it. Buy an old air conditioner, fix it up, sell it we always had swap meets.
Speaker 2:I mean we had our backyard, was the yard place to be yard sale central. He took down my mom's closet door and spray painted yard sale and had in the front yard. We're like no Seems like you guys took after his entrepreneurship.
Speaker 1:Yeah, hustler, my niece is the same way.
Speaker 2:My niece does flea markets in San Diego and she makes like $1,000 a flea market. I'm like mija. What about tia? I can use some money.
Speaker 1:Yeah right.
Speaker 2:But yeah, he just always was doing something. I mean he played football, he body built. I mean all the boys would say don't talk to the girls because they were dad's Arnold. So he was always scared them to. You know, five girls, five rifles is what he would say.
Speaker 1:Oh my goodness.
Speaker 2:Yes, my dad had a stroke and I also had a stroke at 40 with my aneurysm. So it is hereditary and that's something because his brother passed away from my aneurysm when I was 30. And I always thought he had a heart attack. I never asked. So it is something that my son has to check, gets checked for as well. How would you get checked for that you get?
Speaker 1:a CT scan.
Speaker 2:Okay, and what it was is mine started was that in 2015, I went to a festival and when we got home we were all messing around and my friend picked me up and he was spinning me. He dropped me and. I hit a marble table and I never thought about anything. But when I woke up from my coma, that's the first thing. The neurologist asked did you ever get a hit to your head? And I said no, because when I woke up I was like a six year old-old again.
Speaker 2:I was not my brain was still, it was processing a lot and it took me a couple days to remember. Oh shoot, I did get hit in the head. So then I told him I was hit in the head and he said well, basically the aneurysm grew and it's like a grenade it'll go off when it feels like it and mine went off at a restaurant. I went in front of my son wow, wow, I was throwing up extensively.
Speaker 2:I mean, my son was bringing bread baskets. He was so scared he was vomiting and it was a really so it's able to get an aneurysm and recover from that fully. A lot of people, a lot of people don't make it so. My dad called me miracle before he died. He said mija, your new name is miracle coriel, and I said why? And he said because you're not supposed to be here. And I said yeah, I'm not. And my neurologist said elisa, I told your mom that you were going to be brain dead or maybe special needs, and seeing you walk around and talk to me is so fulfilling and I just cried when I met him. I'm like are you the man who saved?
Speaker 1:me.
Speaker 2:And he said yes, and I just told him I was like I love you, even though you charged me $500 an appointment. I still love you I told him I was like dang 15 minutes with you is $4553?. Thank God I have insurance, but my hospital bill was $920,000. I can't believe you that yes and I only had to pay $500,. Thank the Lord Wow.
Speaker 2:But, yeah, I mean he was just a really amazing man. I mean I'm very fortunate to say that he was my father because he's raised a lot of the grandkids. He's left a little sparkle on all of us, like my son sings, like him. And I told his teacher I said you put my son in the right-hand corner where my dad used to stand, and that just means the world to me because I see so much of my son in my father now.
Speaker 1:So I know that the Courier Creations especially spelled with a K, but it's in direct connection with your dad, right? Can you tell us a little more about that?
Speaker 2:Well, my last name is really with a C but I couldn't do it because there's another family in Milano. They're fashion designers and they're Curiel. So I didn't want to take that. So I did Curiel Creations because ever since I was a kid they would see me and say are you Mike's daughter? And I would say yeah. And then one man told me one day are you El Gato's daughter?
Speaker 1:And I said yeah.
Speaker 2:And he's like, yeah, you're dad. And I was like what? He's like you're dad's arms. And I said yeah. And he says you know, you wear that last name proudly. And I said, sure, what's your name? And he told me his name and I came inside and I said Dad, some man was out there asking for you and I forget his name now that I'm on the spot. But I told my dad. I said he said I better wear this last name proud and we all do, like my sisters have our last names tattooed, but I don't. Because he asked me once like you better quit getting these tattoos, do you have a friend?
Speaker 1:in the pinta. That hooks you up and I'm like no, and that was our last conversation.
Speaker 2:I went like this to him on September 28th. I said hey, and he says what is this? And I said well, that's my brain. And then I got that for you. And then he said you need to stop, it's pissing me off.
Speaker 2:I didn't raise you like that and I said okay, and I said I'll only get one if you die. So then, after I lost him, a year later, I got this from my dad. So what inspired the bracelets? Then bracelets, well, I just obviously, like my dad, started them and then I just started to make more because I massage and I want to do healing stones, because I know that I'm a healer, I know that's what it is. I'm an empath, I have a lot of empathy for people.
Speaker 2:So then I thought why not make these bracelets? And then I thought why not represent my culture more? Because I wasn't raised to speak Spanish, you know, like I told my son, they didn't teach us and it was up until I got older that I wanted to learn more about my heritage and my culture, more about my heritage and my culture. But I always say Curiel, my dad always say Michael Curiel, you know. And so I thought why not dig deeper into my culture and figure out, like my roots, like where are we from? Because my grandpa had um, light hair and blue eyes, but he was French, but they migrated to Spain, and my niece, she's the only one with blue eyes, but my dad, she was his, everything his, because of her blue eyes. And I said, well, because you look like my tia pastora, because she had blue eyes.
Speaker 2:But yeah, just doing that and just being able to, I mean I sell them. But if I see somebody and they're sweet to me, I'll give them a bracelet because I want to make someone's day, because I've been knocked down so many times just because I'm not the typical Latina, I'm not thick, you know, it's like who cares? Why do you have to be mean to me Because I'm skinny? Like I'm still, like I know how it is. I've got a sister that's thick, you know it's. It's it's how you carry yourself, you know, and it's an insight that matters. Like, why do I have to be judged Because you know I'm sick?
Speaker 1:That's why I'm so skinny. I take a lot of medication, but people don't.
Speaker 2:they don't know that Because I look fine on the outside right, but inside, like I, had so much trauma?
Speaker 1:Do you go out and speak about the endurism awareness?
Speaker 2:I've done one at the hospital I did a stroke thing, and then my girlfriend. I have a very close girlfriend and her Instagram is liveintentionally2018, and she's a survivor as well. So we just did our first live.
Speaker 1:Oh, that's very cool. Yeah, we're going to continue that. Yeah, I mean that would be amazing, because there's probably a lot of people who are dealing with that that aren't?
Speaker 2:Yes because somebody else came in and was like, oh my gosh, thank you guys so much for doing this. Like how did you guys heal? And I said nothing, I just laid in bed and I had to have a routine. You know, get up, stretch like, do little things slowly, because it was hard to walk after.
Speaker 1:How did you come up with the ideas for each of the brands? I see like you have quite a variety. Some of them even have conchas and the colors on them, so how did you come up with the idea for some of these?
Speaker 2:I actually designed one of these and I have a girlfriend named Charmel and she loved it and she's like girl, I love this. So she asked me to make about five more for Christmas for her girls. So I did. But then I just started seeing more and more of these little styles and I thought these remind me of going to my abuela's house and seeing all her bright colors.
Speaker 1:Actually, this one is cute. I like this one yeah.
Speaker 2:And then I was thinking of this I have this that my best friend's mom gave me and I thought, oh, why not do it? This inspires me because my best friend's mom, she loves to go to Mexico.
Speaker 1:And she has a lot of bright colors in her house, a lot of bright.
Speaker 2:But then I found these conchas on Amazon and I'm like what can I do with this? Those are actually cool and I'm like what can I do with these conchas? That's the one I want, I think those are super. And then I started googling like how to make keychains, and then um and the heart represents your father. And then the colors, the colors like I just thought I would do more bright colors just because they go with all my different stuff.
Speaker 1:I think it's the colors that really drew me into it when I saw it online. Yeah, they're like so pretty, they're so cute.
Speaker 2:And then I make them like I say Viva. You know, this one says Buen Mija. And see my niece's boyfriend, he sings as well. And his boyfriend, he sings as well. And, um, he had a, he was at bay fest and I made a bunch of bracelets to sell there and they didn't sell. So I told him hey, you know what, put these in your vip packages yeah pass them out.
Speaker 2:So he did so. He got coachella this year, so he's gonna be. He sings spanish and english and raps sunday. So I called him a little bit ago and I said can ezekiel wear your shirt for your that says your name on it? And he says sure. And I said I'm doing. Bit ago and I said can Ezekiel wear your shirt for your that says your name on it? And he said sure. And I said I'm doing a podcast and he said cool, and I'm proud of you Cause he did um emo Brown.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:And then the the taste. Salute guys, you know. Uh, josh Leva he has the salute. He did them too. So he's like do it, you got this. Yeah, I mean, I have my sister, my little sister. She pushes me and she's very. She's a businesswoman so she's constantly like she actually tells me one application changed her life. She's like I went from making something to making, you know, a lot of money now. So she knows and she's barely learning Spanish, but I'm proud of her. She put her son in bilingual preschool.
Speaker 2:And he's three, and he knows more than her he's catching on, he's, but you guys are rescuing your culture. That's cool.
Speaker 1:I love it how long does it take, um, because I'm assuming you make these. These are handmade, yes, so how long does it take to make you, you know, for you to make one of these bracelets, because where do you get the stone, like, where do you get the actual material? Um?
Speaker 2:I buy a lot at michael's and joanne's but I also buy off of amazon. But I just saw recently timu had a lot of the different stones, like the little flowered ones, and I thought why not invest in those? It doesn't take me too long, it just depends. If it's a simple bracelet, it'll take me like 10 minutes, but when it's something that I have to start designing for somebody, I try to fill their personality so you do a lot of custom like, do you do custom work?
Speaker 2:yes, I did a bridal set for a girl yeah, okay that's cute, that's original. I did a bridal set for her and then, like, I try to do some for guys, you know like. So I do like a lot of yin yang for the guys and then I use a lot of um, this is an african bone bead, simple.
Speaker 1:Oh, that one looks cool, cute, gift.
Speaker 2:See, like I did this one with the seashells and I had a lady who passed away and she left me a lot of stones, oh wow.
Speaker 2:So this is hers from a necklace. But I mean, it just depends. If someone says, just make me a bracelet, I want it black and white, it's easy. But if someone says, hey, you know what, my niece is graduating, she loves black and she loves purple, then I'll mix them. You know, I'll do whatever I can Besides selling at pop-ups. Do you ship out too? I do ship out, you know. But I also go to a lot of coffee shops and make them. And then one day a girl came up to me. She's an esthetician and she said what are you doing? And I said what are you doing? And I said I'm trying to hustle. And she says can I see? And she bought $200 off me there. Wow, yeah. And she actually messaged me yesterday and said hey, girl, I would love to have more bracelets in the office. People were asking and I told her of course I would love to. Yeah, the bridal idea of gifting, that's really cool.
Speaker 1:I think that's really cool. Yeah, that's a really good concept.
Speaker 2:I did a. So there's this girl in a. I met her online when I when I was ordering cheese at this place I used to work at, and I saw that she she's like the queen of charcuterie. So she, she has all her bracelets. So I thought you know what I'm going to make her. I messaged her and I said, hey, would you like a bracelet for your wedding? And she said sure, but like I made this for my mom when my dad passed, it says Mike Gotcha.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:So I just try to make if it's someone's birthday. I had a girlfriend, unfortunately her son.
Speaker 1:He decided to commit suicide.
Speaker 2:Oh sad and I didn't know what to do for her.
Speaker 1:I'm thinking like what am I?
Speaker 2:going to do for this girl? What can I do for her? So when I went to his velorio, I looked at her, gave her a hug and I gave her a bracelet with his name on it. And she looked at me and she said oh, lisa, she didn't even know I made bracelets. And I said I just I have no words, cause if it was Ezekiel I don't even know if I would be standing. And she wears it every day, like she tells me I can't take this off. This means more to me than anything. This is so special. And then I thought why not make them for people, like if their kid's birthday or you have a brighter baby.
Speaker 2:I can do that. I can gift that Locations Like my cousin's.
Speaker 1:Let me see that box. You got a whole box you're playing with over there.
Speaker 2:Look at that I have two more. I like personal gifts, like when somebody gets married. I always do a picture that I love of theirs. I blow it up, I black and white it and frame it. Oh yes.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you would look so good. You ever think of making them into hoopie earrings?
Speaker 2:I know Well gosh making keychains was a big thing for me.
Speaker 1:I stepped out of my comfort zone.
Speaker 2:I'm making keychains, like what's next? I mean mean necklaces. I did, I have a necklace. You got the necklace too. Yeah, there's a necklace in here somewhere. Yes, it is, I'm gonna go. There's a lot of talent here.
Speaker 1:It's already crafting, and it seems, and it looks like you know you take your time I do these pieces I do.
Speaker 2:I do because I want them. I want people to wear them proud, like I gave one to a lady at the coffee shop and I went to get a coffee that day and the first thing I looked at was her wrist.
Speaker 1:I'm like dang you're not wearing my creation, so how much do these? How much do they go like? I know the wristbands are like. How much are the wristbands?
Speaker 2:Well, they're different prices because some are wood beads they're cheaper. You know, like this I would charge $10 for because it's wood beads with a lanai stone and it just depends. Like this is jade, like the ones that are like pesados, they weigh more, you know. But I did make this necklace here for my dad. It has my address growing up. It says 1124.
Speaker 1:Yeah, because I'm like a huge fan of that, like I love the necklace with like the African bone that you wear, so I have this.
Speaker 2:I have this necklace I made. I made a necklace in there.
Speaker 1:It says K times 5 on it, because we're like the swab me just going through the box it says K times 5 on it, because I know, though it's okay.
Speaker 2:but I did make that necklace for Cascade. He's my favorite DJ, so it says K times 5 because he did a. He did an album with. Deadmau5 so I thought I would make a nice necklace. So I made a necklace because I'm trying to do more. I want to do necklaces, I want to do keychains.
Speaker 1:I think the necklace will grow. I want to definitely. I'll definitely talk to you about, about having a necklace made for, but obviously with the colors of the show. I think it would be kind of cool to be able to do that you already have it technically there. Yeah, we'd like to make a necklace, probably in a way that that see, there's a way to get the logo. Right, yes, that would be really cool Now if people wanted to, because you're going to be at Revolución.
Speaker 2:Yes, I am.
Speaker 1:For those of you who don't know, revolución 2024, there's going to be an exhibition area and Alessa's going to be there with these. Oh see, that's amazing. That's the one she's going to be there for this event. It's a three-day event and she'll be there for two of those three days, because the first day is actually a nighttime thing. But if people wanted to buy them beforehand, like where would they go?
Speaker 2:Curiel Creations on Instagram and just DM me and then that way I will ship out too. It's $5 to ship a bracelet or a necklace. Very cool, and then I'll just give you a price range and then we'll go from there, but other than that, like if I do have another box which is all stones, so those ones are expensive Because I use a lot of Amazonite.
Speaker 2:And that's the Stone of Hope. So that set is called Esperanza and I put two together, so two bracelets, so they're two for 25. But if you go to Etsy they're 30 bucks for one. So that's how you know. So I try to be because you know what it's times are tough right now. So you gotta be fair. You know you wanna sell stuff. You gotta you can't be like this is $500.
Speaker 1:Hey, don't be, don't be surprised. They got some pop-up shops here where people are rebuying people's stuff and then reselling it and calling it vintage.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, la is a funny place. Oh, I bet you have a beautiful collection, alisa, for real, yeah, and look, I really appreciate you stopping by. We are going to actually be doing a giveaway with the bracelets. So if you're watching this interview, comment below and share it with your friend and that will automatically get you entered on there and then in the next five days, we will choose one of the people to actually get this prize. So again, but thank you for stopping by. This was amazing and I love the bracelets.
Speaker 1:I appreciate the opportunity very much so alright, guys, thank you for watching this edition of the total Latino show. You can make sure you follow us on all networks Todo Latino, at Todo Latino and at Todo Latino Show. Go on YouTube at Todo Wafi. And again, thank you for stopping by. I'm Rafael, that is Alyssa, that is Joby, that is Daisy and we are out.
