Horticultural Spotlight: Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month
New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill celebrates the diverse backgrounds and experiences of people who have made an impact on the worldwide study and practice of horticulture. During Hispanic Heritage Month, September 15 through October 15, New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill spotlights present-day and historic changemakers in the plant world who identify as Hispanic.
Perla Sofia Curbelo-Santiago
Today we spotlight our recent conversation with Perla Sofía Curbelo-Santiago, founder of Agrochic.
“I promote people to integrate more plants into their lives,” Perla Sofia Curbelo-Santiago, founder of the Spanish language platform, Agrochic, explains. “It’s not only that it makes you feel better, but there is scientific evidence about the benefits of surrounding yourself with plants.”
Perla’s love of plants began during her childhood, growing up near an agricultural community in northern Puerto Rico. She was fascinated when her grandmother would go into the backyard to pick fresh plantains and yams for dinner. Her interest in plants led to her exploring her neighbor’s yards and gardens – sometimes sneaking around early in the morning – to see what surprises were growing in her neighborhood.
“I was obsessed with roses,” Perla recollects. “Every time I would see a rose, I said to my best friend then ‘we have to stop there.’ Sometimes people would let me take one or two; other times they would be yelling ‘Don’t touch my flowers.’”
Perla would return home with bouquets of flowers for her family, which brought joy to the home and would also calm her parents down if she had been caught sneaking out of the house without permission.
As Perla grew up, she was inspired by her creative father who used his painting, poetry, and writing talents to start a newspaper, but did not want to follow directly in his footsteps. Therefore, she enrolled at the University of Puerto Rico to study Psychology with the intention of pursuing a career in Organizational Psychology to work in Human Resources.
“Your passions have a way of coming back to you,” Perla says, as she explains how she began a college newspaper at her university. As a natural communicator, Perla delved into the world of writing and radio with a focus on agriculture and gardening.
In 2009, as social media grew, Perla was discovering a network of people sharing their garden design and horticultural advice over the internet. This phenomenon quickly led to the Spanish-language blog Agrochic. Focused on wellness, urban agriculture, and gardening, Perla provides community of positivity, creativity, and inclusivity for like-minded women through the Agrochic platform.
“You have to keep reinventing yourself,” Perla shares as a key to her success. “That is something that people do not expect from you. It’s incredible to always see agriculture and gardening in new perspectives.”
Perla’s work has been recognized by the American Horticultural Society with the B.Y. Morrison Communications Award (2021). She is active members of Garden Communicators International, she serves as one of the Regional Directors, and collaborates with organizations like BIPOC Hort, and the Spanish Association of Social and Therapeutic Horticulture.