About Me

Hi! I’m Natali Martinez the Founder and CEO of The Gutsy Latina and a world traveler, writer, and travel educator helping BIPOC women cultivate personal growth through solo travel.

I’m Puerto Rican and an East Coast US native based in South America. I have over 20 years of travel experience, 8 years solo, and 3 years solo and full-time consisting of 20 countries thus far with multiple cities, towns, and islands in between.

Regurgitating the numbers is fun, but what I learned during my solo travels is that it is more than visiting beautiful and interesting destinations. It is about the enriching journey of authenticity, healing, empowerment, and connection and I’m here to help women utilize solo travel for a deeper purpose and get ‘under the hood’ on what really matters.

My Story

The first flight I took was to Puerto Rico at 1 year old. Flying there every summer became customary when my father moved back to his homeland from the US. It was during that time I realized my love for travel and the art of discovery. It later became something I did as much as I could and my two-week vacation time as an accountant allowed.

After dedicating more than 15 years of my life to my career in accounting and finance—I was indeed ready for a change. Becoming a makeup artist and earning my esthetics license in the latter half, which I did during the evenings and weekends alongside my full-time position, allowed me to reunite with my creativity and introduced me to the flexibility and entrepreneurship that I craved.

What once had its purpose, started to wear on me and prove that I wasn’t fully living in mine. There had been a shift and a desire for something more, something different. Years of climbing corporate ladders, spending long hours in an office, and a handful of toxic work environments became the catalyst for quitting my job and an overall lifestyle pivot.

So I prepped for a few months, sold many of my things, donated others, stored the rest, and took a leap of faith. I began traveling full-time while teaching English to international students and business professionals and doing some consulting. It was a journey that I was on for 3 years, and although I didn’t set out with the intention of becoming a travel educator, it was at the beginning of that experience that I started sharing my travels and educating other women.

What started as me providing tips and offering destination information, has evolved into not only a business but something much deeper, aligning, and purposeful. I know the personal impact solo travel has and I want to mentor other gutsy women who are seeking and ready for more.