Tomorrow (Friday, July 24), our team will release its latest podcast: a show about beauty (don’t forget to subscribe, by the way). A few days back, Maria Hinojosa went on Twitter to ask our listeners the following:

What is beauty? We ask that question on @LatinoUSA this week. https://t.co/NVACDN3xNw

— Maria Hinojosa (@Maria_Hinojosa) July 22, 2015

@Maria_Hinojosa @LatinoUSA pic.twitter.com/Pwmt2FVpke

— Patty (@PattyTeachesEm) July 22, 2015

@Maria_Hinojosa @LatinoUSA @bad_dominicana confidence and the constant pursuit of self improvement is beautiful.

— Kevin (@pluginkevin) July 22, 2015

That led to a quick convo with the team. If Maria is asking, “What is beauty?,” then let’s expand the conversation via Twitter and Facebook. So that’s what we did.

This week, we are doing a show about #Beauty. So let us know: What does beauty mean to you? Tweet us your thoughts! pic.twitter.com/PxqKJMozWf — Latino USA on NPR (@LatinoUSA) July 22, 2015

Not surprisingly (because you are all the most FABULOUS listeners and fans ever), we received very amazing responses. Here are just a few of the tweets:

@LatinoUSA @julito77 Beauty is having grace and class and inner peace that shines through
— Melissa Cardenas (@CardenasOrg) July 23, 2015

@LatinoUSA beauty is how we see our self and our inner pride. Brown is beautiful! Stay tall. — edgar quintero (@quinteroclan) July 23, 2015

@LatinoUSA The smile in someone’s eyes
— BJ (@Plantflowes) July 22, 2015

@LatinoUSA Como la felicidad, la belleza es sentirse bien con uno mismo y quien te rodea — isabel gonzález (@isabelglez11) July 22, 2015

Just like happiness, beauty is feeling good about oneself and the people who surround you.

***

Many of you also gave us your thoughts via Facebook. Here are some of those comments:

Martha Black Zapata
“Wow!!.. what a powerful and universal question… BEAUTY to me means, somebody that has the capacity to have compassion towards others people or person situation, that is not as favorable as your current situation. BEAUTY to me is being comfortable in your own skin at 20, 30 , 40 etc live without expecting approval from any social standard or unrealistic beauty expectations from society It could be so many things, there is spiritual beauty, intellectual beauty, compassionate beauty and I can go on and on and on, great question by the way, saludos!! Beauty could be found in a sunset, a kid smiling back at you, your grandma holding your hands with her perfectly wrinkle and soft hands, a conversation with someone you admire…”

Beauty could be found in a sunset, a kid smiling back at you, your grandma holding your hands with her perfectly wrinkle and soft hands, a conversation with someone you admire…

Jean Williams
“To me, #beauty is only a measure of quality of character. A beautiful person is one who has love in their hearts, who looks for good in the world, and who expects good from themselves.”

Shirley Limongi
“That’s an interesting question. I think the meaning of beauty has evolved for me throughout the years. When I was young, I always equated beauty to people treating you better, getting special treatment, or even just getting more attention. I used to see how differently I was treated amongst other girls. It affected me deeply growing up and I think as an adult, part of it is still somewhat inculcated in me and social media somewhat reinforces that. True beauty, however, is something that is intangible and perhaps not so obvious and not so valued nowadays. Someone who exemplifies true beauty, to me, is Mother Teresa. She is a person that by today’s beauty standards is not beautiful at all but to me, her compassion, her selflessness, her sacrifice is immeasurable. Also, I think there’s a certain sense of allowing oneself to be vulnerable that in my eyes makes someone truly beautiful.”

Peggy Garcia Marquez
“Beauty is baby toes. Gray hair on a wise Latina. Smiling eyes. A compassionate heart. Gnarled fingers rolling tortillas. Acceptance.”

So… what does beauty mean to you? Tell us in the comments section below, and don’t forget: our newest show is out tomorrow afternoon!