Natalie Romero-Marx is an artist, filmmaker, educator, and producer from Colombia who turned to self-healing during the pandemic by connecting to her indigenous roots.
“Many things about the lockdown brought back memories of the war and violence during my days in Colombia,” Romero-Marx mentions in our interview. “Having to suddenly cancel our lives as we knew them reminded me of the curfews, the fear and the uncertainty one faces in areas of military conflict. But unlike a war zone, the thread was invisible, a virus that anybody could carry, which you could not see, hear, or smell. We started to fear people, to fear holding and getting close to our loved ones and friends.”
“[After the murder of George Floyd], the social movement events increased the triggering memories of violence and unrest that I grew up experiencing.” When taking time to focus on her mental and physical health, Romero-Marx began practicing mindfulness, ancient Indigenous mechanisms, and individual healing.
The pandemic changed Romero-Marx’s life drastically from the start. As an adjunct professor at Montclair State University, she had to teach classes online and spend large amounts of time on Zoom like other educators. As an artist, she didn’t have time to dance, make films, or travel, which were essential parts of her artistic lifestyle.
To proclaim a positive influence in her life, Romero-Marx wanted to relearn enjoying her time in her routines in her personal and professional life. “I joined my Shanga and the Native American Church of New Jersey. I started to pray to the White Tara, meditating and connecting with sacred accent knowledge of the Andean cosmovision with my ancestors [and] with my garden. My life really changed.”
Romero-Marx stated to have stopped drinking alcohol and began to start eating healthier to live a happier lifestyle. It made her resilient to have boundaries, rest, and appreciate everything and everyone in her life.
She has found a group of people who have taught her how to be involved in a support group and create communities based on mindfulness in healing, growing, and releasing an individual’s past selves.
Practicing Indigenous mechanisms and healing places, she says, “gratitude at the forefront at removing negativity, exhaustion, and burnout that advocating for human rights brings and the systematic violence that we, BIPOC folks, face every day in this country. I am decolonizing myself and, in the process of becoming a better artist and professional, a better daughter, sister, co-worker, professor, and person.”
