Who is Virago 24/7?

When trying to come up with a name for my podcast, I wanted a name with meaning, and a name that represents who I am as a woman. My dad would tell me stories of our ancestors, the Tainos. They were a Native American tribe that lived in the Caribbean before the Spanish came over and conquered millions of them. Since I am of Dominican and Puerto Rican descent, these stories spoke to my soul. The women were strong, powerful, and independent. They are who I want to embody, and I feel their energy within me.

I brainstormed and brainstormed and every name I came up with was already taken. The few that were still up for grabs, just didn’t light a fire in my soul. I was about to settle on a very generic and meaningless name, when I decided to find words that mean “female warrior”.

"I have a strong personality".

"I do CrossFit and can throw some weights around".

"I sometimes feel like a badass warrior".

So why not have a title that signifies “warrior”? The word that popped up was “Virago.” I started to read the two definitions associated with this word and got very excited. “Virago?” “Virago?” “Virago?” I kept saying it to myself. I set it off to the side for a few weeks and just kept coming back to this word…Virago.

A virago is a woman who demonstrates heroic qualities. The original meaning is Latin for “female warrior.” In ancient Rome and Greece, this title was given to a woman who surpassed expectations for what was believed possible for a woman, like a badge of honor. In later centuries, Virago was turned into a negative word. A woman was labeled this if she was thought to be loud and overbearing, violent, or ill-tempered. It was used to demean women if she violated the cultural norms.

The reason I wanted to start a podcast and then blog about similar content, is not only because I love to talk and write, but also because I know so many amazing women with interesting stories. Each woman I know brings such different perspective to my life. Girls’ trips and dinners have all ended up with us sitting around in deep conversation about things going on in our lives and experiences from our past. Some that made us cry sad tears and others that made us cry happy tears. With each story, I found that we are all badass warriors. All the time! Every day of the week! 24/7! Virago 24/7 was finally born!

I want to bring back the original meaning of Virago, which is a woman of strength in spirit. I want this podcast to be conversations with women about things going on in our world. How are we growing? What are we feeling and thinking? What has happened to us in our past that has shaped us? We go through similar struggles and celebrate similar triumphs, and it’s always therapeutic to connect with other women. We can be there to lift each other up when we’re down and cheer each other on when we are winning.

So, I invite you to join me on this journey of discovery with all of the beautiful female warriors I call friends. I will leave you with this quote:

”The best kind of friendships are fierce lady friendships where you aggressively believe in each other, defend each other, and think the other deserves the world.”

#femalewarrior #virago247 #womenfriendships #womenstories #womenvoices #womencomingtogether #wearenotalone