Iconoculture
June, 2004

TREND

CO-MOTHER NETWORK

Las Comadres is an Internet-based network active
in nearly 20 U.S. cities.


KEY INSIGHTS
* Las Comadres Para Las Americas, a catalyst for
professional Latinas, is an Internet-based network
active in nearly 20 U.S. cities.
* The networks helps women do everything from
foster community to support each other's
businesses.
* Las Comadres now reaches more than 2,000 women
from New Mexico to New York.

Mujeres meeting other mujeres - that's the purpose
of Las Comadres Para Las Americas, an
Internet-based Latina network active in nearly 20
U.S. cities. The network's mission: to build
connections and community with other Latinas,
without organizational trappings like dues,
officers, or committees. It's serving as a
catalyst for professional Latinas, enabling them
to do everything from foster community to support
each other's businesses.

Founded in 2000 by Nora de Hoyos Comstock of
Austin, Texas, the group began as an alternative
way for working Latinas to create a conexión
cultural outside of home and the office. Using the
Internet to keep up with membership and
communications, Las Comadres now reaches more than
2,000 women from New Mexico to New York. (Las
Comadres is plural for comadre, traditionally used
by a woman to address her child's godmother - or
"co-mother" - but it's also a term of endearment
for a close friend.)

Comadres meet on an irregular basis in their
respective communities for events called
comadrazos - usually potlucks with a simple,
straightforward structure held at a member's home.
Each member introduces herself, gives a
description of her interests and pasiones, and es
todo ... that's it. Each comadre can then connect
with others, during the comadrazo or afterward.

¿Los resultados? Comadres ranging in age from
their 20s to their 50s have gone into business
together, referred each other for board
memberships, and at the very least become amigas.
In essence, Las Comadres is an interactive way for
women to gather, make friends, and unwind. Says
founder Comstock (Dallas Morning News 5.18.04),
"When we meet at a comadrazo, it's just for us.
It's my time with you and your time with me. Let's
get to know each other."