All Relative: Defining Diego is a podcast series exploring a personal story of international adoption, family and identity.
It tells an extraordinary story of one Guatemalan adoptee and his mother, a reporter who documented their journey from his earliest steps.
Using over 20 years of the family’s archive recordings, the podcast follows Laurie and Diego’s relationship for decades, with the sounds of Diego’s childhood and the emergence of his own journey towards self-discovery.
As one of more than 50,000 Guatemalan adoptees, Diego is still trying to work out what it means to be Guatemalan, American, Indigenous and an adoptee raised by white parents.
Defining Diego invites listeners into Laurie and Diego’s world as they continue to navigate these complex issues together as a family.
It’s a deeply personal story of a mother and son that raises questions about identity, race, family, community, and home, while also exploring the larger questions about how international adoption boomed and busted, and what it all means for families like theirs.
“When I started recording Diego as a baby in Guatemala, I had no idea how many places the story would go,” said host Laurie Stern. “And we kept the tape rolling as international adoption got shut down and as our own family wellbeing was threatened, but now I’m so proud that Diego and I are bringing this story to listeners around the world.”
Diego Xicay added: “We realised while making this series that even though Laurie has been reporting and recording all these years, this story is my story too. I’m the one who has to figure out what it really means to be from two very different places.
“Defining Diego is 23 years of me growing up Minnesotan, while also deepening my connection to the Guatemalan village where I was born. And it’s a story I’m ready to tell.”
All Relative: Defining Diego is available on The Binge, as well as all major podcast platforms including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.
