In this episode of It Makes Scents, I sit with what a Puerto Rican Christmas means to me now, as someone living in the Midwest, far from the island that shaped me. I talk about food, scent, memory, and the quiet work of keeping culture alive when it no longer lives around you, but inside you.

I reflect on my grandparents, especially my grandmother, who were the pillars of our family, and how honoring traditions feels like a way of honoring them. I talk about raising my daughter in the diaspora, about the fear of forgetting, and the tenderness of trying, imperfectly, to pass something meaningful forward.

This episode is about the ache of not being able to fully recreate home, and the realization that maybe we’re not meant to. Instead, we build something new: a blending of climates, cultures, and seasons. I explore how scent becomes a bridge between what’s gone and what’s still here... how perfume, food, and atmosphere can hold memory when details fade.

This is a quiet, reflective episode about identity, grief, love, and continuity. And it’s dedicated to my parents, my grandparents, my husband, and to everyone in the diaspora doing their best to keep traditions alive, one memory, one ritual, one scent at a time.

00:00 Introduction: A Fading Puerto Rican Christmas

01:10 Host Introduction and Personal Background

02:15 Cultural Disconnect and Family Traditions

04:26 The Essence of Puerto Rican Christmas

07:07 Adapting Traditions in a New Land

09:46 The Role of Scent in Preserving Culture

12:11 Honoring the Past and Creating New Rituals

15:35 Conclusion: A Dedication to Family and Culture

In this episode, I unpack my complicated relationship with Bad Bunny, the music, the image, and what it means to see Puerto Rico reflected back at us through pop culture. It’s not love or hate. It’s nuance.

I also introduce two Puerto Rican artists I deeply admire, Manolo Ramos and Cristian Alicea, singers who bring romance, soul, and real vocal presence into the conversation, each in their own way.

From there, the episode turns inward. I talk about winter and how it changes our relationship with scent — why perfumes suddenly feel too sweet, too heavy, or unfamiliar. How stress, hormones, dry air, and cold weather can shift how fragrance behaves on our skin. And why I’ve taken a break from perfume... not out of boredom, but out of listening.

I share a bit about Quiet Emerald, an indie perfume house I love, and connect fragrance to folklore, to the way people once read nature, weather, and instinct to understand the seasons.

This is an episode about slowing down, paying attention, and letting scent meet you where you are.

00:00 Introduction and Podcast Overview

00:53 Love-Hate Relationship with Bad Bunny

03:28 Puerto Rican Music Recommendations

05:49 Perfume Sensitivity and Seasonal Changes

09:14 Perfume Break and Gala Experience

17:53 Indie Perfume Picks for Puerto Rican Singers

20:47 Winter Lore and Perfume Folklore

26:16 Conclusion and Final Thoughts