Carolina Rubio MacWright is an immigration lawyer and an ultra runner. Since moving to the United States from Colombia, she has spent her life pursuing freedom for herself and others. Our latest Humans of HOKA tells her story.  

HOKA: Introduce yourself! Where are you from?

Carolina Rubio MacWright: HOLA! HELLO! My name is Carolina Rubio MacWright, I am originally from Bogotá, Colombia but have landed home now in South Orange, NJ via Miami, Texas, Oklahoma and NYC!

HOKA: Tell us about your background growing up in Colombia and moving to the United States. What was that like? Have you gone back to visit since?

Carolina: Growing up in Colombia was beautiful when I was able to immerse myself in nature at my farm in Tabio, Colombia. Colombian people are very happy energetic beings, but growing up in the middle of the civil war was very challenging. Especially because of the inability to bring positive change. Moving to the U.S. felt like the world was my oyster and I could build anything I wanted. I was limited by my visa, but slowly and surely, I was able to build the world I imagined and wanted for myself. I don’t go back frequently enough, but when I do, it is magical.

HOKA: What inspired you to pursue both law and art degrees at the same time? What do you find to be the intersection between the two?

Carolina: I love problem solving and being able to imagine the world that we deserve and hope for in our hearts. I knew that understanding legal laws and challenging my creativity would enable me to have the tools to problem solve and bring change. Law and art are actually very similar, in one, you use materials that are physical, in the other your tools are words and concepts. I have always said I don’t fit in the law world or the art world. I live in the Estuary of law and art, which is the most fertile place in the land.

HOKA: You’ve spoken about noticing the equity gap from a very early age. How did that inspire you to become an advocate for those whose voices go unheard?

Carolina: As an empath, it’s hard to navigate inequities anywhere in the world.

Coming to the U.S. as an immigrant student vs. walking the southern border is a contrast that shocked me as a young law student working in the TX/MX border. That experience changed me forever. I promised myself to help as many immigrants as I could, either representing them legally or finding a way for them to have the same opportunities I had as an immigrant in starting a new life in this country.

HOKA: Tell us how you created your non-profit? What kind of art workshops do you lead?

Carolina: In 2016 the environment around immigration became really hostile, so I started doing Know Your Rights workshops, but I realized immigrants were not retaining any information because they were so fearful. Knowing ceramics is a relaxing, gorgeous material. I knew that I could create an environment where people could open up and feel vulnerable enough to ask questions, connect with others and retain the legal information they need in order to stand up for their rights. Since then, we have focused on somatic practices like cooking and rights, mindfulness and rights and now running and rights. A few years back we even did an Ice Cream Truck of Rights right after the pandemic, which was a wonderful way for people to come together to share an ice cream and learn their rights through flavors like “stop rum raising the rent” while listening to a know your rights jingle!

All of these workshops and projects are a medium for right’s education while building community, trust and especially power and joy which are the ingredients you need in order to build a better life for yourself and your community!

HOKA: Tell us a little bit about the role of movement in your advocacy work. How did you find that passion, and how has it continued to evolve for you?

Carolina: I think as a society we spend so much time in our heads and not enough in our bodies. It feels like we are disconnected. When people are in trauma, like many of the populations I work with, they separate the two, so for me it has been important to find grounding in land and our bodies. Connecting with la pacha mama or mother earth is pivotal as a species, so there is an element of TIERRA in all my work. Whether it is ceramics, food or running, we will be talking about why moving our bodies and our minds is important not only for our health but also to make ourselves come out of the shadows into visibility, into power, into joy. My passion builds from the energy of my students who through our workshops manage to remember their rights, believe in their power and change their lives. Different iterations of work come, but the results are always the same, joy and power.

HOKA: You speak passionately about humanizing those who have been invisible. What role does running play in humanizing those who are underrepresented? (Skip is answer is repeat from previous question)

Carolina: When we don’t see ourselves in the sport or even out in the woods or on the streets, it might feel like we don’t belong, so for me to be a tool for immigrants, indigenous women or black men to remember they also belong in the woods running or in ceramic studios or in leadership positions, that is some of the most important work I can do. When we run, we are not only inspiring others who look like us to run, but we are also reminding the rest of the world that we are here, and we belong every bit as much!

In order to run you need shoes and so many of the people I work with at the border and NYC don’t have running shoes. So, for the last few years, I have been collecting running shoes from my local running club SOMA FOX running club and have been either shipping the shoes to the border or fitting immigrants with running shoes in shelters in NYC. I am excited to share that we are starting a new initiative called “Pass the Shoes” which launches at Western States this year! We will be collecting running shoes at the race and will be shipping them to farm workers and a shelter at the border. Each pair of shoes donated is tagged with a QR code providing access to our resources – rights information, access to parks and trailheads, trial essentials, outdoors scholarships and running groups information.

HOKA: Can you please share a little more about how Touching Land and how the running groups are used to impact change?

Carolina: Our Running Rights and Land workshops have a three-prong goal, first we want to remind our participants of their power, joy and legal rights while running. The second goal is to bring participants into a welcoming established running community (clubs). Running is equalizing, meaning your age, job, background or ability is irrelevant, you are simply in movement together. Bringing different people from diverse backgrounds together to run enables commonalities, vulnerabilities, and a shared enjoyment of movement to happen. This connection destroys walls of fear of them/us dichotomy. The third goal is where we come together to speak about the land and land stewardship. We talk about running in our parks, trails or streets, so we come together as a “community of runners” ready to protect the land.

HOKA: How did you find the sport of trail running specifically, and how does it apply to the work that you are doing in advocacy?

Carolina: Trail running has become a huge part of my life. My friend Anna Davis introduced me to Trail running at Rob Krar’s ultrarunning camp. I had never run on trails, I was a road runner and running in the woods was the ingredient I was missing, I haven’t looked back, and I want to bring as many moms, immigrants, indigenous abuelas and tias to run in the woods while learning about their legal rights and our duty to take care of our trails.

HOKA: As you prepare for WSER, how has that intersected with your own experiences with finding freedom?

Carolina: Training up to Western States has been an incredible experience, I feel like a student in my own workshop trying to find the courage and the power to believe that I can do this really hard race where an immigrant mom belongs!! The course is so gorgeous and hard, and I cannot wait to be out there in the community sharing stories and freedom to run for many hours! I am so grateful for HOKA and this opportunity!

HOKA: If you had to summarize all the work you’re doing in a few sentences, what do you hope the impact you have will be?

Carolina: I hope that more people feel FREEDOM in their bodies and minds and by feeling that freedom they remember their power and their joy and know that they can build the world they imagine for themselves. I hope people recognize they belong anywhere they want to belong because we are all just an extension of la pachamama, we are not separate from her.

HOKA: Finally, what message do you hope your story conveys to others?

Carolina: It has been such an honor and joy of my life to be able to serve immigrants and other communities by building projects that center rights, joy, visibility and humanity. I hope that this story inspires people to try new things and build small changes in their lives and their communities, because anything is possible when we imagine something, and we do it centering joy and belonging.

Follow Carolina Rubio MacWright’s work at Carolina Rubio MacWright (carolinamacwright.me) and @carustol.