Pork and Cheese and Jalapeño with Noelle Blanco

This week on Militantly Mixed, I’m joined by Noelle Blanco, whom I met at Mixed Asian Day 2025 in San Francisco. Noelle ended up joining our We Are Not a Monolith panel at literally the last possible minute, when she had just stepped off stage from another panel, and we invited her to jump in with us because we loved her whole vibe on the previous panel. With no prep whatsoever and me moderating the panel, she did her thing and just killed it!

One of my favorite Noelle stories from the panels at Mixed Asian Day, and this episode comes from her childhood. When she would explain her ethnicity, she thought the answer was “Pork and Cheese and Jalapeño,” because that is what Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, and Filipino sounded like. I love finding the different ways we, as Mixed kids, try to make sense of our ethnic identities. 

This episode was recorded back in November, but the last few months have been a little rough on my end. I’m happy to report that now that the ADHD medication that was making me feel completely dead inside is finally out of my system, I’m feeling like myself again and excited to be back working on the show.

In this conversation, Noelle and I talk about Mixed Asian identity, belonging, and community, and how events like Mixed Asian Day create space for multiracial people to share their stories and experiences. We also dig into the idea that Mixed people are often expected to fit into neat categories when the reality is far more complicated.

Meeting people like Noelle at events like Mixed Asian Day is one of the things I love most about doing this podcast. It’s a reminder of how powerful it can be when Mixed folks gather together, share our stories, and remind each other that we are not a monolith.

I’m really glad I get to share this conversation with you all.

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