La Gringa Aplatanada

Evian White De Leon. Founder. In years of representing Spanish-speaking clients and appearing on Spanish radio and television, folks never failed to skeptically ask, “Eres una gringa… ¿pero hablas español?” And one day, on live radio, Bernadette Pardo dubbed Evian “la gringa aplatanada.” The bananafied white girl. And it stuck. To add to everyone’s confusion and dismay, she dabbled in learning Haitian Creole, Portuguese, and French (thanks to her Québécois grandfather and Madame Forsyth).Her deep love for languages reflects her deep love for Miami. Is Miami complicated? Yes. Is Miami laden with layers of privilege depending on the languages we speak, color of our skin, or how folks perceive us? Yes. What to do about it? Evian leverages the privilege we’ve got for the greater good.Since graduating law school, Evian always worked with or for nonprofits that she respected and admired. But the need for quality, affordable legal services is much greater than any one nonprofit can handle. And there are major gaps. Especially for nonprofits and folks earning just enough to disqualify them from free legal services programs.So what did Evian do? In recent times, she got married, had a baby (maybe, or maybe not, in that order), and made career changes. Those of you who know Evian also know that she can’t leave well enough alone. Her baby is now a toddler, some of her professional obligations wrapped up, and she had a little more free time on her hands. And Evian is always asking the question, “how do I leave Miami a better place for my kid?”In 2019, Evian founded La Gringa Aplatanada, Inc., “your neighborhood nonprofit law firm.” As a tax exempt 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, and in just one year, she provided sliding scale legal advice and representation to 32 nonprofits and individuals who would not otherwise have the privilege of access to an attorney. In 2021, as a new opportunity presented itself to Evian, we transferred leadership of La Gringa Aplatanada to Theresa Pinto, where the firm will live on as The P.E.E.R. Group.