#8 Diana Robleto: Vienna’s Empowered Women

Originally from Los Angeles, Diana Robleto moved to lovely Vienna almost two decades ago this year and never left. Her connection to the city stems from her recognition of Vienna’s beauty, openness, and sense of security shortly after her arrival, evident during a memorable encounter in the Burggarten where she witnessed a woman confidently sunbathing topless. This experience, along with her humorous sauna escapade, illuminated cultural contrasts in attitudes towards bodies and aging, which Diana found remarkably invigorating among the women of Vienna. Through that, she embodies what one of her literary heroes, Susan Sontag, writes in “The Double Standard of Aging” (1972): ‘Women should allow their faces to show the lives they have lived. Women should tell the truth.’

Diana has a large appetite for all that is good in this world, from engaging with interesting individuals from all walks of life to hosting friends for dinner, traveling, cultural exchanges, reading captivating books, or listening to thought-provoking podcasts, swimming in the Mediterranean, enjoying the perfect espresso, vintage shopping, and her mother’s Nicaraguan Gallo Pinto. When not reporting on UN conferences, Diana enjoys spending time with her two smart and sassy teens and her sweet kitties. As a side hustle, she renovates derelict apartments from the ground up. She’s a pacifist and dreams of ridding the world of autocracies, oppression, and injustice.