The classic perception of a jungle explorer and adventurer, the likes of Indiana Jones, has been typecast in books, films and television as a khaki-clad man in his mid-to-late 30’s often sporting a British accent. Needless to say, when, I, a Cuban American NFL cheerleader decided at the tender age of 22, to head off to one of the most remote and unexplored jungles of South America where natives had never set eyes on a foreigner and a machete was necessary to make way into a seemingly impenetrable forest, there were more than a fair share of skeptics. I was born and raised in Miami where the majority of the more than 2 million current Cuban exiles living in the United States reside in or around. I never met my father, and instead was raised by three very strong women I refer to as my “3 mothers�: my mom, my grandmother and my aunt. Seeking political asylum, my mom was forced to leave Cuba at the age of 20 with literally nothing more than the clothes on her back. She was a refugee fleeing the only country she’d ever known, venturing to a strange land that spoke a different language with no idea of what she’d do once she got there. I often ask my mom to tell me the story, despite having heard it a thousand times. Each time, she vividly describes stepping on the boat, holding her gaze towards the water, swearing never to look back at the island she called home and loved so dearly. She was, in my eyes, an explorer in her own right, and an explorer to be admired. Not all explorers set out by choice. At that time, she was young and inexperienced, having been sheltered by her parents herself, and would now need to provide for herself, her younger sister and her parents. But she had conviction; the kind that I like to think made its way to me. But as the sheltered daughter of Cuban immigrants, it was simply assumed I would one day grow up to become a nurse or a school teacher, something respectable that would be conducive to marriage and children, in the likeness of my ‘normal cousins’. As a little girl I had strong passion for animals and the outdoors, but there were no Latina role models in this field, and I didn’t know a career like Dian Fossey or Jane Goodall even existed, let alone that it was an option. It was while attending the University of Miami that I took an anthropology class and discovered a deep interest in primates and conservation. I will never forget the day I watched Gorillas in the Mist and saw Dian Fossey surrounded by those majestic animals in the forests of Africa. I was hooked. I knew there and then that I wanted to do the same thing. As I grabbed my pom-poms and headed to cheerleading practice I knew my life would never be the same. And it wasn’t. My journey from NFL Cheerleader to National Geographic Explorer is the basis for my new book, Pink Boots and a Machete. With more than 15 years since that first jaunt into the jungle, I have been exploring remote corners of the world where some of the most critically endangered animals on the planet are found. I also became the first female wildlife correspondent for National Geographic, which has earned me the nickname “female Indiana Jones� and two Emmy award nominations. As a frequent lecturer at colleges and universities around the country, I was prompted to write this book after being approached by so many young Hispanic women who said they shared a similar interest for animals and adventure but didn’t know that they could do this. In the last chapter of my book, I also talk about my recent journey into motherhood and how with love and determination it is possible to achieve your dreams and find the balance between career and family. In spite of the initial cynics, my resume reads like an action-adventure movie, being charged by gorillas, elephants, rappelling off 14,000 foot cliffs and surviving a plane crash. I am living proof that with dedication and perseverance you can do anything you dream of when you follow your true passion.