Raw and Personal Business Memoir Redefines How Latina Stories are Told

"Becoming La Jefa" is a real-life manual for reclaiming your power, defying the systems, and circumventing the traditional publishing playbook.

August 25, 2025, Orlando, FL — Samí Haiman-Marrero has spent her life opening doors that were never meant for her to enter. With Becoming La Jefa: The Angst and Joys of a Latina Carving Her Path in America, her debut business memoir, she’s not just walking through those doors; she’s tearing them off the hinges so the next generation of Jefas don’t have to knock. Published by LexxiKhan Presents Publishing, distributed exclusively by H.O.L.A. Books, and marketed by URBANDER, three Latina-owned businesses, Becoming La Jefa is circumventing traditional book publishing playbooks that rely on large publishing houses deciding which stories get told, and the predatory practices of print-on-demand online services.

This bold new release takes readers on an unfiltered journey through corporate dysfunction, entrepreneurship, advocacy, and personal growth with humor, heartbreak, and hard truths along the way. Becoming La Jefa is not just a story—it’s a manifesto. It reclaims Latina voices, defies systemic and cultural expectations, and encourages the next generation to carve their own paths.

Instead of letting a traditional publishing house polish and package her truth, Haiman-Marrero partnered with LexxiKhan Presents Publishing, an Afro Latina-owned, female-led press. And when it came time to distribute the book, she pushed beyond the industry’s comfort zone again, sparking a collaboration with H.O.L.A. Books, an online bookshop and distributor dedicated to uplifting Latino and Caribbean voices, also led by a fellow Latina. 

“This book was born out of years of bulldozing our way into spaces that weren’t built for us,” said author Samí Haiman-Marrero. “For almost three decades, I’ve navigated corporate America, launched businesses, and advocated for equity, all while holding on to my Puerto Rican roots. This memoir is both deeply personal and profoundly collective—it’s a showcase of resilience, identity, and the power of owning our stories.”

“Becoming La Jefa is more than a memoir—it’s a life-changing read,” said Keaidy Bennet, Publisher at Lexxikhan Presents. “At LexxiKhan, our mission has always been to amplify the voices of creators who have been overlooked or underrepresented. Partnering with H.O.L.A. Books and URBANDER on Becoming La Jefa is about taking back control of our narratives and ensuring that the stories shaping our culture are told by us, for us.”

Heidi Monika Romer, Founder of H.O.L.A. Books, adds: “We built H.O.L.A. Books to serve as a home for Latino and Caribbean stories—a place where our community has ownership over how our voices reach the world. This partnership is about liberation, not assimilation. With Becoming La Jefa, we’re proving that we don’t need to compromise our identities or hand over our power to systems that simply don’t work for us.”

As the CEO of URBANDER—a multilingual multimedia marketing firm specializing in culturally competent storytelling—Haiman-Marrero is thrilled to exercise radical collaboration with Bennett and Romer in putting their resources and expertise behind the launch of Becoming La Jefa. Together, they’re showing what happens when women with credentials, credibility, and cultural fire refuse to play by the old rules. They are determined to shift the narrative around Latino stories and dismantle traditional publishing norms. 

Adding a deeply personal layer, the book features original illustrations by Catalina Mía, Samí’s daughter, whose artwork captures the rebellious, vulnerable, and triumphant essence of the journey. The foreword is written by Sandra Guzmán editor of the award-winning anthology, Daughters of Latin America: An International Anthology of Writing by Latine Women (Harper Collins, 2023), and a producer and interviewer in the award-winning documentary film, Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am (2019).

Breaking away from traditional book launches, the release of Becoming La Jefa will be celebrated with a first-of-its-kind immersive event inside the URBANDER Metaverse 3D Campus. Readers will step inside the story itself, exploring key themes and meeting special guests during a virtual walking book tour experience.

Becoming La Jefa is available for pre-order now at H.O.L.A. Books. Speaking inquiries, media opportunities, or bulk order requests, will be handled by LexxiKhan Presents. To pre-order and for more information, visit BecomingLaJefa.com

This memoir is more than a book—it’s a movement. It’s for every woman who has been underestimated, every entrepreneur who has been told no, and every storyteller who refuses to stay silent.

“Gatekeeping is the devil’s work,” says Samí. “When people in power decide who gets access and who doesn’t, all they’re really doing is protecting the same tired systems and stories that dismiss our brilliance. And we’re about to change that.”