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Todo Latino Show
Ep.143 Mireya Villarreal (ABC News National News Correspondent): Career, Journalism, Food and More
Join us as we talk with ABC News National News Correspondent/Journalist Mireya Villarreal about her Career in Journalism, Uvalde, Vanessa Guillen, representation, food, and more.
I'm Mireya Villarreal and you are watching the Todo Latino Show.
Speaker 2:Hey everyone and welcome to the Todo Latino Show presented by Todo Guafi. I am your host, rafael Fernandez. I am with my co-host, yobi Daisy Tornel. Our guest today has reported across all of the ABC programs and platforms, including World News Tonight, good Morning America, abc News Live Prime and Nightline Welcome, mireya Villarreal.
Speaker 1:Yay, thank you, you caught me like writing notes. I wanted to make sure not to miss anybody's name up, so I was like feverishly writing everybody's name up I was like I'm not getting this wrong. We Googled yours just to make sure we weren't saying it wrong. Oh, I Googled y'all too. I mean, it's just, it's a mutual Google here.
Speaker 2:I mean, if you Googled me, you didn't find anything. So, aside from just you know, that's not true. No, there's a lot out there. There's a lot Nothing bad, I hope no, all criminal.
Speaker 1:It was pretty, it was pretty simple, it was yes.
Speaker 2:I mean, either way it would have worked. My kids are cool, so they would have been cool to look up. So tell us your origin story, like where did you grow up? How well you know what was it like in your Latino household.
Speaker 1:Yeah, you know it's funny is I'd never get asked that kind of a question just because of, like, the world of journalism that I'm in. But I love that. That's where you start, cause that's kind of where I start whenever I'm like out in the field. I am a border kid and so I grew up down in South Texas, like the real Valley, like the real grand. Valley, not the Valley up over here.
Speaker 1:Um and so I grew up in a kind of one parent household, single mom. My dad was around, he was great kind of, he was a wonderful friend, he was an attorney in town, but single mom household with my brother and I was always kind of that overachiever growing up. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life and I was always kind of that overachiever growing up. I had no idea what I was going to do with my life, tried a few things and ended up in law school and absolutely hated it.
Speaker 2:Really, what did you like about it? I was so bad at it.
Speaker 1:I think what it was is in my brain. Well, first of all, I was 20 years old when I went to law school. I was very young.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I had no idea what life was about, and I couldn't even buy beer when I was in law school. And you had like all these like really much older students that were there to be very serious about their life, and I was, just like you know, it was my first time away from home because I went to undergrad, where I live and grew up.
Speaker 2:Wait, just wait, hold on. We got to backtrack a little bit. I just realized that. 20 years old in law school, yes. So when did you go into college?
Speaker 1:I went into college at like 18 years old. I graduated early.
Speaker 3:Wow, she's an overachiever.
Speaker 2:That's like super achiever, I mean that's like you.
Speaker 4:She's the Elle Woods of the.
Speaker 3:Latina side. Thank you.
Speaker 4:I was just I wanted to, I mean yeah, thank you, I'll take that?
Speaker 1:No, I was just. I wanted to leave the Valley. Yeah, I wanted to get out and I just didn't know how or why or anything. My mom later said that she swore that one day I was just going to end up in Los Angeles in Hollywood. She thought I was just going to bolt. It took me a while, but I did end up here.
Speaker 4:Some mamas do know right.
Speaker 1:But I went to law school and then, when I decided to take a break, I just kind of bounced around at a couple jobs. I worked for a judge, I worked for an attorney, I worked for the San Antonio Rampage, which is their hockey team, and then I have a friend of a friend that was like hey, have you ever thought about doing news? And I was like I don't know, maybe. And he's like why don't you just give it a shot, like just fill out some applications, see if anybody picks you up? And I ended up going in for one interview, like one news director called me down in South Texas, even though I, like had been dying to leave the Valley, and she was like listen, I don't have anything right now, but I really like you, like you, really like I can feel it. She's like let me see what I can do. And maybe like a week or two later she called me back and she's like hey, listen, I have this associate producer job.
Speaker 1:She said I have this associate producer job. I'd love for you to come and just learn Like it's up to you. So I moved back in with mom for a few months and I started by getting people coffee, by printing scripts and I remember I intentionally sat next to back in the day it was the scanner, like the police scanner, yeah, because my hope was that, like like one day, nobody would be around and they'd have to call me to be like the next reporter out the door.
Speaker 2:I mean that's a good plan, yeah, I was like that.
Speaker 1:I was like that ready, you know, and then I ended up going from associate producer to producer pretty quickly. I ended up producing a weekend show and then, at the same time that I was working that full time position position, I was also putting my resume tape together so I would work. So you didn't go to school for journalism, I did not, no, and so when people make fun of me on on online, like on Twitter or Facebook or wherever it is you know social media, they're like haha, I go back to journalism school. I'm like haha, I never went so.
Speaker 1:I'll show you, guys, I just I learned on back. That's awesome I learned on the streets.
Speaker 3:You know the hard streets of.
Speaker 1:I started in Laredo as a sports reporter anchor lugging my own stuff. I mean, we had these huge cameras, huge batteries. I mean I was carrying like 30 pounds of gear on me. And then I was there in my tacones, like you know, trying to like look really cute while I was also reporting sports, and then that's kind of how it started. You know, I just kind of started learning. I had some really good bosses, I had some not so good bosses, but I learned from the good ones.
Speaker 3:As a matter of fact, that's what I was going to ask you even early on. I'm like what is the most rewarding aspect at the time, till now?
Speaker 1:You know, what do you feel you know accomplished to this point? I think in the beginning it was like I was telling someone the other day like it was like having politicians resign, you know, because I had a great investigative report. You know it was. There was teachers, for example, that were doing things that they shouldn't be and making sure that they weren't in the classroom anymore. Like that's what it was about in the beginning for me. And then it kind of morphed as I got older into like telling people stories, like really telling people stories and like getting to know them and and being an advocate and a voice for them, um, pushing for transparency. And then now it's funny, cause I was watching some of my old stuff and maybe a little sad that I'm not like out there on the streets Like you know the hard news.
Speaker 1:But. But I think now it's morphed into and I really take it to heart is like like teaching and helping and mentoring young journalists and being a voice. In fact I was here in LA working for CBS at the time. I work for ABC now. But I remember being at a Dodgers game and it was the last game Vince Scully was doing before he retired and I remember there was this little girl and a dad taking pictures and they were taking pictures of me and I thought they were taking pictures of the field and at one point the dad comes up to me and says, like do you mind if we take pictures with you? And I was like, why do you want to take a picture?
Speaker 3:with me what?
Speaker 1:and I had only been at CBS for maybe like a year, two years at the time, not that long and he's like my daughter has never seen a brown girl, like a, like a Latina woman, on the network, like on on a national news stage. He's like we know who you are, like we're, we're big fans and he's like I want her to take pictures as she knows that, like you can dream this big which for me, I just had I hadn't had that kind of a moment yet. I think I was maybe like around 37, 38 at the time. So I've been doing this career for a while and I think that was a moment. It's hard because I missed the good old days of like track, you know running people down, but.
Speaker 2:But I think you'd have more than enough people to do that too.
Speaker 1:Now the dynamic we are, I definitely think I need to start running after you went up through the ropes.
Speaker 4:Yes, yes, I did well, my next question kind of ties back to that. So I went to school for journalism as well. I originally wanted to do hard news, so one of of my finals, I believe, was it was my final yeah, I did a research paper on how there's not enough Latino representation in the newsroom. So do you think that's changed in the last few years, or do you still feel like we haven't seen a change?
Speaker 1:You know, I think there's been progress. I don't know if the change that we deserve is in our newsrooms yet, and I think a lot of that probably stems from we have this conversation a lot between the Latino text message groups that I'm in and the young journalists that I mentor. I think a lot of it is that you don't have not just Latino journalists but Latino managers and bosses that are making the big decisions.
Speaker 1:You know, I can count probably on my hand, the number of women that are of diverse backgrounds, that have been my bosses and that's not to say that all the white women or the white men that have been my bosses and managers, that I haven't had great bosses, you know. But I think a lot can be said for knowing what we grow up with as Latinos and being able to, like, really push forward the stories that you're even pitching, because managers that that know what those backgrounds are are going to be more inclined to say, all right, let's give this a chance today, you know, um, so for me, I do think that there has been progress. I definitely don't think that there's equity yet. I think that's going to take a while. Yeah, it's disappointing sometimes.
Speaker 4:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Because, also, I think that we've also seen a decline in journalism, right, and you've seen a lot of young people say I'd much rather be a host. And I'm like a host, like what? Like I mean, what does that mean? I'm'm like don't you want to be out there telling people stories? And they're like no, no, no, like more like an influencer, and it's hard because you can't fault them for that either. I mean, you got to be able to dream what you want to dream and I have to respect it. Um, it just makes me a little bit sad.
Speaker 4:I know because we're in a generation of influencers and, for me, I've always seen myself as a storyteller, but I grew more of a passion for celebrity news.
Speaker 4:Yeah, because I love the cheese, may you know so I was like I want to be involved with the celebrities but I don't like to refer myself as, like, an influencer, because I feel like I have a lot of experience that I've learned through schooling and you know like, and wanting to be a hard news reporter, but I switched it into entertainment news, so I think a lot of people want to be influencers now and I think that it's kind of not that it loses, you know like it's it's cool to be an influencer, but I think it's nice to say you're a journalist and I think also, like there's a responsibility, like I still take very seriously, as do a lot of my colleagues, like I take very seriously not just the art of interviewing and storytelling but pushing for that transparency and that advocacy like people, like in small communities, in rural communities, in communities of color, like you know, they don't have a lot of people advocating for them and I may not get anywhere 100% of the time, but I feel like it's still our job to help those people.
Speaker 1:You know, I I don't know I take that very seriously. That's tough. I mean, as influencers, I would hope that you would use your platform to do that as well, and I think some of them do it and do it well, and then I think that there are some that don't.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, I, I find, I find that there's a lot of people who are just spreading out with emotion as opposed to like the actual part of it. I do agree with you on some of the things. I'm even noticing talking about influencers, like even dealing with them. They have managers, and it's the same thing that you were talking about. A lot of their managers aren't Latino, and so when I'm presenting different projects, like even here at Todo Wafi, or like a Revolucion or festival, I'm running into the issue where our vision isn't reaching that particular person, to the issue where our vision isn't reaching that particular person because the person who is guiding them or who is managing them is not going with the story or what the cultural aspect of it is, but just the monetary aspect of it, and so I feel like that's another area where, yeah, that's something that definitely needs to change. I think rafael, rafael agustin was the one that says like we need more people who are actually in those positions so that we can actually get those.
Speaker 1:It's interesting that you say that, because I just sat down with Grupo Frontera oh.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 3:I know they're from the.
Speaker 2:Valley. They're from South Texas.
Speaker 1:So rep a 956.
Speaker 2:Yay, yay, I know.
Speaker 1:They're very humble, huh, I'm not, and only one of them. Just recently their main singer has decided to leave the Valley, but for the most part they're all still there. Their families are there. You know they're extended families, but they have a rep that is Latina and she reps a lot of musicians that are Latinos and you can just tell that not only does she connect with you, know journalists who are Latinos, but also, like she knows what her clients need and she can speak to it and she also knows what their backgrounds are and the importance of that, and so to have that kind of representation I think is so important because those agents get it, they understand you know those bosses.
Speaker 2:I've had people look at the program and be like, oh, we're going to respectfully decline this time. I'm like, has it even reached the individual? Like I think if I, if it reached the individual, they would actually see the value and what they would be doing for the community and sort of speak. But we yeah, there's a lot of that, especially here in LA.
Speaker 1:I was just going to say you guys have a really, and it's funny I had to introduce my agent to you guys, um, cause I follow you at all of the, the girlfriends and the. You know the Latina text message chains that I have. They all follow you and you, so it's to me you're clearly reaching that's strong you know so, but I think it's also incumbent on us right to then educate those people that don't?
Speaker 3:yeah, you know and I think that's the question that I kind of have, because I'm like, I'm sure with your experience, the whole landscape how drastically it has changed with social media.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 3:And if you can share some of your insights, maria, and how you know how the field of investigative journalism has evolved from the last decade, like I think you were mentioning something earlier, so how you could break it down and what it looks like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's interesting because back in the day, what did I say back in the day?
Speaker 3:Back in the days Throwback.
Speaker 2:Back in the day when the radio stations used to play the old music. Back in the day, back in the 80s.
Speaker 1:That's so awful to say that. So when it's funny doing more investigative, that's kind of how I really wanted to go that, um, we used to chase people around with the fuzzy mic. It used to be the fuzzy mic the fuzzy mic, you know.
Speaker 1:And then, and then it got to the point where people were like, oh no, we don't do that anymore, we got to be more respectful. Um, and I have to say I do think that that what people want, what consumers want, what viewers want, helps dictate right where we go in this industry should, at least in a utopian world. I think now with social media, it has become very difficult for a lot of reasons. On a professional level, you are under a huge microscope. I think that it is so crazy how fact-checking doesn't happen the way it used to back then anymore and people rip our video and interviews off all the time and I just it's so overwhelming?
Speaker 4:Do you still go by the Code of Ethics book? What was that? Oh, 100%.
Speaker 1:Okay, because I remember having to learn that in school and I was worried.
Speaker 4:I was like I don't think I need to make sure everything's correct.
Speaker 1:I mean listen to me I. There are some journalists that will pride themselves like I've been sued this many times, like no, no I have been sued.
Speaker 1:I have been sued zero times, because I triple, quadruple check my facts, because I it's not just important to me, it's important to my bosses and it's important to the people that we're talking about or talking to, um, but social media has really thrown us all for a loop in this industry. Um, and then more on a personal level too. I think it makes it really difficult to live a sane life, if that makes any sense. I mean, I feel like my brain. Um, I mean I'm a grown woman and I get on Instagram and I'm like I'm a grown woman and I get on Instagram and I'm like dang, I need to lose some weight, I need to, I need to. She's looking at the pics like damn Instagram ads like 10 pounds, Like what's going on.
Speaker 1:I won't even say her name, but I will just say there there is a certain woman who got married recently to a very, very good I know who you're talking about, a 49ers football player, and that you know. So then all of this starts to come into your algorithm right Of, like all these pictures of her and like I'm looking at them and I'm like, first of all, she's beautiful and talented and all the things. I'm like, whoa, I need to work on myself.
Speaker 4:But even then, people are still tearing her apart because they're like her wedding dress was so plain, Her makeup was like they were still tearing.
Speaker 1:No, I know the tea and I'm like you could never, ever just be perfect, because everybody's going to have something the same and it's hard and it's so interesting because I've had that feeling of like being gaslit and people saying things on social and it's hard not to read the comments, no matter what people tell you Like don't read the comments.
Speaker 3:No matter what people tell you like, don't read the comments it's hard not to, because.
Speaker 1:I also think that there is value in reading the comments to some extent, because if it's constructive, yeah, yeah and also people have questions and that engaging, that engagement is what social media is supposed to be all about.
Speaker 1:Yes, it doesn't always turn out that way, so, um, I do try. I will say, on a more personal note like I do try to keep my personal life, like I'm very my, my social is very curated. Yeah, there are pictures of my son on there and, you know, my partner, my boyfriend, but yeah, they're very curated. Like I, I definitely pick and choose what I put out there because it's you have to and you get to press the comments too.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, and I have on quite a few of them. I've actually turned comments off because I know it's coming, like I know it's coming.
Speaker 2:I've gotten to the point where I don't care, I just post whatever. I think I actually posted on a story one night. I was like, look, instagram is just not pushing my stuff anyways, so I'm pushing my stuff anyways. So I'm just gonna push what I like and that's. You know, sharing my, my time with people. Yeah, and those special moments, like if I feel like, um, especially like for today, like we'll do the interview pic and so forth, and I'll share that because for me, like those are moments I want people to understand that I've had and for me to share with them. But, aside from that, like, yeah, I used to, I used to like read the comment and we post some stuff on our accounts. People are mean that, um, even on our show account, which is fairly new, we're almost at like 1k on that and like I think the very first one that we posted that was like show show related was the, the one about the food, the, the churros?
Speaker 4:no, it was actually the one about um, when kelly osborne said was it kelly? Oh, but kelly deserved that. Yeah, we did one saying how like I the churros?
Speaker 2:no, it was actually the one about when Kelly Osbourne said was it Kelly Osbourne?
Speaker 4:oh, but Kelly deserved that yeah we did one saying how, like I think I referred back to my mom being a housekeeper and how there was nothing wrong with it and people in the comments got kind of yeah, they went they went in.
Speaker 2:And then there was people who like even with the one with and the children was ida rodriguez, I specifically chose that one because I knew, um, it was going to bring up conversation and people were just terrible what was they still responding? She was speaking on being afro-latina she was speaking on being uh uh afro-indigenous and she doesn't consider herself afro-latina. Because it offended people and it's because she wasn't.
Speaker 2:I guess you say afro passing, afro-latina passing, which means you have to look a certain way or be a certain way, and so the people in the comments and I had messaged her and I told her I was like, hey, you know what this reel is doing and it's still doing really well, but she says it comes at a price. It does and it does, and you know the price. A lot of that is the comments that you're seeing, like the ones that you're talking about, were you. Now after a while, I just I was just like I'll remove the ones that I know are, are, are just really really bad, but the rest of them were creating really valuable conversation as to what is afro latinidad. You know, how do we, you know, relate to ourselves in that manner and who can and who can, and so the point is that you evolve and educate yourself, of course, course.
Speaker 3:That's how you go about it too.
Speaker 1:And shout out to Aida, because I met her, I had to say. When I first moved to LA before my son was even born, so that's been eight plus years ago and I recently went. When I moved from CBS to ABC, I had this dream of sitting down with a bunch of Latina comedians and I thought there's no way that they're ever going to say yes.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I was able to get Angela Johnson, Crisela Alonso and Aida all sitting in a room and it was an incredible conversation and we did it for Nightline it was so amazing it was a lot of fun. Yeah, I will send it to you guys for sure, because it was gracious of them to sit down and just talk about things the industry that they are in as well, and the difficulties and the challenges, and then supporting each other as well. But she's always been so good about.
Speaker 2:Oh, she's extremely humbled and she's real.
Speaker 4:Like that's just she's, so she's hilarious. We just went to her comedy show. Yeah, oh it was just well, she's coming.
Speaker 2:She's coming to our event in in september.
Speaker 2:She's headlining the, the comedy show I love it for that and she's she's a real one. Yeah, um, I wanted to touch base because we were talking about, you know, the people doing their fact checking and stuff like that. Um, it's become such a hot topic, especially with like immigration and like social issues and even the election coming up. Um, how how does your, how do you and your network get through that process where you guys decide, you know what it's not gonna, because there's a lot of opinion-based shows out there. There's a lot and a lot of those shows are creating so much information and they're being consumed.
Speaker 2:It's like watching the view on every news channel for some reason. Yeah, and it frustrates me because, like, I know how to decipher. But what are? What are the ways like for a consumer? What are some of the recommendations I guess you can give, especially going into what we're going into in november, that you can give for them as to what to go look for when they're looking at news, if that makes sense, and I don't know if that's a question you can answer, but it's really difficult.
Speaker 1:I will say because, um the way, first of all, I have to say, like you know, props to abc, for we have a strong, a lean but mighty team. Is what I say of people that that, for example, deal specifically with immigration? It's not just the one person right, there's a team of us, um, and, and we do, we fact check as much as we can like in real time. So so, if that debate is happening, it's important for us to go back. I mean, immigration was mentioned on that one debate recently, 32 times at least, right, and 32 times, I'm sure, probably wasn't all based on fact right.
Speaker 1:So we are going out there and constantly putting that out, so it goes out on our digital landscapes, on our social media landscapes. We also are, you know, voices for that as well, for that sort of information. The problem is, or the hard part of that is, is like I can put it out, we can put it out as a network, but people are not people who watch Fox, people who watch CNN, and let's just take the two MSNBC.
Speaker 2:you can keep going.
Speaker 1:Yeah, let's just take the two complete polar opposites. If people who watch Fox and CNN. They watch them because that is what speaks to them.
Speaker 2:They're in that tunnel vision like they're in their own compartment, so to speak.
Speaker 1:And the idea that little old journalists from ABC News, no matter how ingrained in the journalism world we are, is going to convince either one of these people that this is the middle and we should really look at the facts that are just down the middle.
Speaker 2:Well, it's not trickling into like TikTok and all these other things now Like it's insane.
Speaker 1:Because it is more popular, it is more trendy to be on the extreme sides of it. Just the way it is, though, for politicians, if you think about it. Look at all the down-the-middle, quiet vanilla politicians that we have. I mean, there are some hardworking politicians out there just doing their jobs, but because they're not on the extreme sides.
Speaker 2:They're not polarizing from that aspect of it, and that's what makes it difficult.
Speaker 1:So for people that are looking, I say you have to look at more than just one site and more than just the one that's on your favorites channel at home. You got to just make an effort. It's hard because our algorithms are already telling us what exactly we should be looking at.
Speaker 2:So it takes work honestly, it takes work to educate yourself, even at this level or at this age, you know, because I know that for a while I think it was a couple of years ago I got to the point where I was siphoning through all of them just to kind of see, okay, well, like something would just happen. I'm like, okay, well, let's see what this person is saying, let's see what this person is saying. And then I got to the point where I'm like, okay, well, they're all, just except for what people want to hear from their particular channels.
Speaker 1:They're going to speak to their clientele. They're going to speak to the viewers.
Speaker 2:That does such a disservice to journalism though. A hundred percent.
Speaker 4:And that's where journalists get blamed, because you guys are blamed of your biased opinions, you know.
Speaker 1:I will say first, I will say I make it a point. You will never know, hopefully, how I feel about a particular issue or opinion. I don't give you my opinion.
Speaker 2:that way, I feel like. I feel like that's proper, though, like like you're reporting on the facts and if you give your own opinion, you're already giving a tainted side of it If you're, if you, if you're not reporting strictly on the facts.
Speaker 1:I mean for me, though, like though we as people in the communities, though voters in general, general though we need to be louder about, because I can try a million times over to to speak to, let's just say, in texas, governor abbott about immigration. Right, all right, um, he will not interview with us, he. I mean he will not interview with us regularly and on hot big topics um.
Speaker 2:He has a couple of times sat down he doesn't want to be put on fire under the fire. Yes so.
Speaker 1:So it makes it really difficult for us to give people the true both sides of the story, and so that then is on voters to come back in and say listen, you need to be talking about these issues If it's in your backyard, in your state, wherever it is. I'm just not sure that that's resonating with politicians. So I think there's definitely ways to get information. It just takes a bit more work than I think people have been used to.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I think it's really hard for people not to just kind of like be able to kind of have a filter from what all the garbage is being put out there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the one time that you click on that weird thing on your Instagram or your social, then your algorithm changes completely and you're like, wow, what did I?
Speaker 4:just do. Once you watch a video on sharks, that's all you're going to be. I'm noticing that on YouTube I turn around.
Speaker 2:I think I watched one YouTube episode of like who was it? It was for the Breakfast Club.
Speaker 3:Okay, and since then?
Speaker 2:that's all they want to show. Me is like all these different types of interviews on these, and I'm like I just watched it once.
Speaker 1:I was looking for a remix for this. We were speaking at an NAHT conference, National Association of Hispanic Journalists. They are celebrating their 40th year. It's here in LA because this is where it all started. I was looking, I'm making a playlist and I was looking for the remix of Borderline by Madonna.
Speaker 3:Man, now I get all on.
Speaker 1:Spotify, YouTube, Instagram. Everything is Madonna now. I like Madonna, but come on, this is getting too, you know, come on yes.
Speaker 3:That's crazy.
Speaker 4:So you cover pretty difficult stories at times. How do you separate your emotions from your job as a correspondent?
Speaker 1:That's a good one. Um, I one of the rules I try really hard to live by is I don't look at any of my content while it's happening. I mean, a really good example is what happened in Uvalde. We happened to be there covering politics in the San Antonio area. There was an election, a statewide election, and we were doing a Latino vote story. And so we were in San Antonio that morning and we were packing up, getting ready to leave. We were, honestly, the story goes, I had just told my crew guys, I love San Antonio, Let me give you a bike tour.
Speaker 1:Like, let's get on some bikes, the weather is beautiful, let's get on some bikes and let's just bike around for a few hours, get some exercise, Like let's just really kind of treat ourselves to it A cool afternoon. And the guys were like, yeah, yeah, whatever, Fine, we'll do it. And everybody's packing up their stuff. And we got a call for Uvalde to go down there, and I'm like who goes to Uvalde? What is even going on there? We had been there a couple of times to do some immigration stories, but it's a small, tiny town and so we are on our way, rushing down there, not knowing what is happening. And then I started to get calls from a bunch of contacts like Border Patrol agents, the mayor of the town, and we start to realize, like how bad it is.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:And I remember being on a call with the crew there's four of us, myself included and three guys and I said like whatever it is like, just don't breathe, like don't breathe. And I said, like whatever it is like, just don't breathe, like don't, don't breathe. And I meant what I meant by that is like if you stop and try and take in the reality of what you are doing, then you're gonna lose it. You're really gonna lose it. I was like you just we've got to just go, like, just go. And we did like we that when we left for San Antonio, when we left San Antonio, it was about 12 o'clock and we probably went to almost midnight on that day. And I just remember, like I don't even honestly, like I don't remember a lot of it, only because there's pictures of it, right, but you're just going, you're hitting, you're, you're doing phone call interviews, you're, you're, um, trying to talk to parents while we're there, you're going like, and it's chaotic, um, and you're just going. And so I remember, when we were done, I was like, are you sure we're done? It was about 11 o'clock at night, almost midnight, and I was like no, I think there's probably more we need to do. Right, there's got to be more.
Speaker 1:And at the time I mean people were going to sleep, you're, you had everybody had to take a break, even like law enforcement. I mean the worst of it was over as far as, like, at least the shooting part. I mean the aftermath was there was still so much. But um, everybody said like let's, let's go and try and get some rest. And I just remember going and sleeping in my clothes like on a bed at this awful, awful motel and just crying, like I just cried, that's the moment that you decompressed Because I stopped Like I stopped and once I stopped and realized the magnitude- Humanity kicked in.
Speaker 1:It's almost like the realization of everything, and I just remember my mom calling me before I went to bed and I think that's probably what set me off, I think the most. My mom called to make sure I was okay and then she said, just so you know, like you have this duty that nobody else does, and I was like I don't and she's like you have to get their names right, because they were calling Javier with an X Xavier.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, and they were saying what was the other one? There were a couple of other last names that were. They were trying to Casares instead of Casares.
Speaker 2:Casares.
Speaker 1:You know and it's. It is of no fault for someone who grew up in you know, whether it's you know Montana or North Carolina, that they don't know how to say Casares.
Speaker 1:you know, I mean like it's a simple change, but like my mom was like, when they call you and you have that opportunity, you have to tell everybody how to say their names right, we have to for our community, and so I think that's probably when it hit me, and then I was in bed and I finally took a rest, and I think for me it's just like not breathing in the moment, like really trying to get through it. It is hard, though, because a lot of those families for, for example, like I, have an eight-year-old son, you know, and I think about him all the time, and I tell them that I really do tell them that in the beginning of our conversation, but when we start to talk on an interview, they need me to be strong, right, the person I'm sitting across, yeah, to be strong, so I can tell if they see the emotion in you, they're going to be. They're going to be strong, right, the person I'm sitting across needs me to be strong so I can tell their story.
Speaker 2:If they see the emotion in you, they're going to be caught up in the yeah.
Speaker 1:And there are times where I tear up a little bit, or there are times where I have to take a breath. I mean, I can see your face.
Speaker 2:now there's a change from what we were talking about before than when you're sitting there talking about the story.
Speaker 1:Because it's it's human and I think that they need to know like I'm here for you, but I also need to be strong for who I'm talking to and what we're talking about. And, for that matter, the people who are watching us deserve that. They don't deserve for me to be all in my emotions. They deserve a strong voice that is going to help them understand what we're going through. And then, yeah, when I go home, I cry, or when I go home, or on the car ride, and the car ride I like with the producer that I'm with all the time, I mean I remember us turning on some music and just like singing Miley Cyrus at the top of our lungs, so we could just get it all out.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean it.
Speaker 2:Just you got to do those things because that was actually going to be my, my question was going to be on your body, because I know you were one of the first correspondents that was on there and you know, one of the things that you're talking about is, like, even the aftermath.
Speaker 2:So now, like my daughter, at one point in her time she was doing like these shows to kind of entertain kids and one of the shows we got called to do was a year later, um, we were actually entertaining the kids that survived the sandy hook elementary in connecticut and I was going to ask you that because, like, we were there and I was seeing the expression of these kids and you know, I still have memories of this one young girl who her brother was one of the ones that was unfortunately lost his life and she was just so withdrawn Like they were trying to get her to be a part of it. And do you, like, even now, do you still have a relationship with the parents? You still speak with the parents and you know how do you? How do you? Because I feel like journalists are sometimes considered these like mindless drones who just report on the stuff, but there's a humanity behind all that. So how do you deal with that, like all after the fact um, I I definitely pride myself on that.
Speaker 1:I think that to me like the way you're going to get true emotion and true honesty in an interview and the real story and for people to open up to you is that they have to trust you and part of that trust means also like I'm not just here for today, I'm here for tomorrow, and that doesn't necessarily mean that tomorrow you're going to be on TV as well, but that means I.
Speaker 1:That means like I'm going to connect with you and we're going to try and keep in touch with each other as much as possible as we possibly can. But yeah, I still. It's funny I just talked to a few days ago, I just talked to one of the families that I'm very close to. I mean, their son was shot, survived after being in the classroom for 70 plus minutes waiting for help and and yeah, we've kept in touch a lot. I keep in touch with him for a while. There we also share we would share photos of our kids on our first school days back. I just think that the one thing I do love best about where journalism is going today the evolution, like we talked a little bit about the evolving of it is that we I think people now realize more than before that like we're, we're human you know, and I think it's okay for us to share a little bit more about what's happening behind the scenes.
Speaker 1:In fact, I think that's really what people want. Right Is to know, like, what's happening.
Speaker 2:Transparency, Like yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and so part of that also, though, means, like you know, I don't want you to think that we we don't to talk to us. That's not the way we work. We don't bribe them with anything. This is of their own fruition, and if somebody tells me they don't want to talk, that they're not ready, then I walk away and I make sure that they know I'll be back. If you want me to, I'll be back.
Speaker 1:I'm not that far away, just give me a call or textwithal um, but it's what when you talk about legacy and what you want to leave behind? Like I want to be a good person, like I want to be a great journalist, but I want to be a? Phenomenal human, you know, like that's what is going to make me feel that way.
Speaker 4:So very cool yeah, awesome, such an honor that you're like representing communities, to be honest, and what advice would you give to aspiring journalists especially?
Speaker 1:in the underrepresented communities. I would remind them, right, that it's not easy, that it's work, it's hard work. You guys have seen it. You do the work every day. I mean, I know, you know, and the thing is, the grass is not always greener on the other side. The grass is brown everywhere, like let's just be honest, especially here in LA.
Speaker 4:Yeah, 95 degree weather.
Speaker 2:There's no grass here 127 degrees in some places.
Speaker 1:But that's when you take your manguera out and you just go to town like your mom, does you know?
Speaker 1:No, I mean, listen, it is hard work. What I've told myself is like um, I I'm not going to. Necessarily when you're talking about some of the big, legendary journalism, you know places like ABC, cbs, nbc, you know. When you throw in even Fox and see that, like listen, these people have had cultures in place for decades, long before I even thought about being a journalist and the idea that I'm just going to walk in the door and all of a sudden like it's going to be hail to the Latina queen, like it's just it doesn't happen like that, right.
Speaker 1:But. But for me, what I can do is I can continue to push in my own worlds and my own universe Right To, to make change and to push for change. And so if you go into it with these expectations of what, what you're going to get from your bosses and what you can do every day, to feel good when you go home, I think that's where I think people kind of forget and get it wrong a little bit, because you come in thinking, oh, I'm going to come in and I'm going to be so badass, I'm going to change the world, and all of a sudden it's just going to be all brown people doing the news and the reality is that doesn't happen and it's not going to. And if you keep thinking like that right, that you, you deserve it, like we deserve it, no, we do deserve it, we do deserve it you got to earn it, but you got to earn it and you got to work.
Speaker 2:I think. I think a lot of people lose that. Yes.
Speaker 1:I'm here.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I see it on social media. Look, I'm Latino Like I never in my lifetime thought I would ever be behind a microphone. I'm a computer geek, like that's what I did my entire life, aside from being a parent. All I did was program websites and so forth. It takes effort to get behind this mic and put yourself out there and I'm always worried did I do this, did I do that? Did I?
Speaker 2:You know, and especially for somebody like me who's never done it, like you know, you have to constantly brand and constantly put out there, and so I know that everything that we've gotten here, especially at Todo Wafi and the Todo Latino show, that was earned. We pushed really hard. Nothing's been handed to us. We always had to show what we could do and always had to try to gain that respect from access, and I never wanted, wanted, anything, even in my own personal life, that I myself didn't put the effort to get. Yeah, I never wanted to look back and have somebody say well, the reason I have this is because that person gave it to me, and that's that's tough for, especially in this day and age. I know that's going to be a very controversial thing to say on camera, but it's tough because there's a lot of people who feel like they deserve to have a platform. No, you got to earn that shit.
Speaker 1:I also say my biggest piece of advice is, just like a reporter, journalist, like, not just like life, is that, like when you're building these relationships we just talked about, like building relationships is so important and that takes you being real, honestly, not telling people what they want to hear, just being your true kind is so important and that takes you being real, honestly.
Speaker 1:Not telling people what they want to hear, just being your true, kind, gracious self, right, but I have contacts that I remember being introduced to in my first job ever. So that's what 20 years ago.
Speaker 3:Maybe we're not saying anything.
Speaker 2:She's like she's not trying to At one point you're just going to have to give us your name.
Speaker 1:No, I mean, but like when you build these relationships and they know that you are honest, that you are true to your word, that you hustle. You know, like all of that, whether it's a boss or whether it's a contact. Like when you build those relationships and you are true to them, they follow you and people are willing to do move mountains for you If you treat them right and vice versa, they, they treat you right. Right, it's almost like what you learned when you were like a kid like treat people the way you want to be treated. I mean that is absolutely true in this business. Like you know, when I'm calling up a couple of like DPS troopers that are now high up in the they in the ranks like I grew in the ranks and they trust me. I mean some of the biggest interviews that I've done for DHS have been because I knew the Border Patrol agent way back in the day when he was just like just starting out in his career.
Speaker 1:And now he's like now he's doing big things right, and so he's opened the door for me, and I just think that those kinds of relationship building moments is really important, and I don't think a lot of young journalists do that enough with that in mind, because all they want is like I gotta get in, I gotta do the story.
Speaker 4:I gotta get it.
Speaker 1:I got five different live shots and then social media and then like, no man like, just take a minute yeah, it's been.
Speaker 2:Look, it's been four years for us. Like it's. This started as a the the Latin Babble show, like way long time ago, and we were privileged enough to start with, like just families and friends listening in, and then we had publicists listening in and small businesses and CEOs and things like that. And you know, every single step that we've had is because of what you're talking about. Like we, we spoke to somebody, we created a relationship with that person. That person then entrusted us to you know, be able to interview their client and so forth, and yeah, we had to earn that place.
Speaker 2:It's just, it's one of those things where and I love doing it, like I love being in a room and just meeting people and like being able to talk to them, and I always offer, like, what can we do for you? Like what, what can we at todo wafi do to help, um, you know, elevate whatever voice or whatever project you're trying to do, and everybody's like, why are you doing that? Like, because you know that's what it's all about. If we're talking about community and we're talking about partnerships, that's where it starts, absolutely, and you know, without any intention to get anything back, but if somebody, somebody turns around and sees that you know, someday we never know Like that's. That's what's happened to us, is we've had a lot of opportunities because of that, and so yeah very cool you guys were, so I was expecting some hardcore.
Speaker 4:Like welcome to the Latino. Yeah, I was expecting.
Speaker 1:Like like some like we're going to dig into it, we're going to cut. You know it's going to be intense, I mean.
Speaker 2:I have some black belt topic questions. No, I'm just not. You might as well do it.
Speaker 3:On my end, coming back to the Ubalde story, most of the media was saying that at one point the parents media journalism were not allowed to talk, point. The parents media journalism were not allowed to talk to the parents or they were even banning people from the city going through. And if you, you know, can you tell me what exactly?
Speaker 3:Because that's the feedback that I was what is happening, because, as a consumer, at my end I was like, well, why nobody can talk to the parents? Why, you know they were trying to figure it out. They didn't want that testimony at that moment when everything was happening.
Speaker 1:So I think a lot of what happened in Uvalde was this was a really unique situation, especially for Latinos. I think that this was one of the first times that I'd really seen people in my generation as I'm growing up as an adult right where I had seen a group of Latinos parents be so vocal and angry. Yeah, I mean, as Latinos, we grow up being taught to be very respectful of people in places of power, right, whether that is the mayor of the city or whether that is your teacher in school, like you are taught to be quiet and respectful and not to raise your voice. And to hear and to see these families really get angry and continue to have that sort of emotion I think was admirable and, to tell you the truth, it has pushed this along, so that you don't lose the story. So, two years later because it's been more than two years- oh, we're still talking.
Speaker 3:Yes, they got us one of the settlements with the.
Speaker 1:So there was a settlement. There was also criminal charges were just filed a few weeks ago against against two of the officers involved the chief, Because they had to go in.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so, so I think there were times when they were not allowing the parents to talk as often or as much as they wanted to.
Speaker 1:I think was what it was, and I think a lot of it was like there were people in the community that were saying, like it's time for us to move forward. It's time for us to move on, like we can't keep blaming everybody, like how do you know? And for the parents, like how can you tell parents that you know? How can you tell families that have lost so much? I do think in the end, they talk a lot and the world listens. Honestly, they have continued to listen. So I think they've taken to different platforms. I also think that there has been a bit of a split, to some extent, in what each of the families have wanted to come out of all of this, but for the most part, the core group of them continue to push forward with wanting to change the laws in our country and trying to get some sort of activism. For them, though, it wasn't about the money in the end, for them it was about to change?
Speaker 3:I don't think so, but obviously we can see some kind of polarization or difference. I'm sorry to say that in comparison to the people that happened with Sandy Hook.
Speaker 1:You're saying because they're brown kids versus non-brown kids. Yeah, I think that I don't think we saw change after Sandy Hook and I don't think we saw change after Yuvalde. And that's not incumbent on the victims or the families that have pushed very hard, because we saw in both of those situations affected families push so hard.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:You know, I think that that is, and this might get us in trouble.
Speaker 2:That's okay, we do that. I'll use this clip. No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 1:I will say from this point of view. Actually, I will say I have spoken to about a dozen different contacts that work in and around the state capital of Texas, right, so they are highly involved in the legislation that gets passed in Texas and there was at least one possibility of a gun law being changed in Texas.
Speaker 1:That made it pretty far down the road and in the end, when it didn't get passed, I said why, Like we were so close, what happened here, and it was all about testing the waters to see if those people would get elected the following year, right To see if they would lose.
Speaker 2:They would lose.
Speaker 1:So it's politics, it's all about politics, yes, and I think the families know that and that it's heartbreaking.
Speaker 2:I mean, I think people at this point can understand that gun rights, even in the state and in the House, will never pass just because there's so much money invested on both sides.
Speaker 1:Yes, for that, so much lobbying.
Speaker 2:They try to make it seem like it's a one-sided. It's not. There's a lot of Democrats and Republicans in each side of the spectrum.
Speaker 1:It was both and, I have to say, the people that I were talking to. It wasn't just about Republicans saying no, no, no, yeah, no. There's a lot of Democrats.
Speaker 2:Look, people forget that there are Democrats in red states and there are Republicans in blue states, and every single one of those people have a say in that. And there are a lot of Democrats who walk around and say, hey, I got to hold my own and you're not going to take this stuff away from me, and there's a lot of Republicans that say the same thing, and that's something that people will never understand. It's not a red or blue or left or right issue. It's a human issue, and until we change the way humanity thinks, we're not going to change that part, unfortunately.
Speaker 4:And you've covered the same stuff with even Vanessa Guillen.
Speaker 1:That was a very tough story too.
Speaker 3:It's funny. I saw the documentary too. Yeah, I tell people.
Speaker 1:The story I remember, the Vanessa Guillen story, started in my facebook groups of moms. Moms were spreading the information, the word about vanessa, and I remember going to and it's funny because he's come back and talked to me about this but I remember going to one of my bosses at the time I was at cbs. I remember going to one of my managers and saying this is a guy that I worked very closely with. We trusted each other on a journalistic standpoint and I said listen, I'm getting a lot of DMs about this girl, vanessa Guillen, that she's been missing. Something's going on, we need to move, we should do something on this. I really think that there's something here and I will never forget him saying you know, it's just one girl. I go. You mean, no, it's just one brown girl.
Speaker 1:And I said if we were talking about, and I Is that girl smart?
Speaker 2:I forgot her name. That stuff was on the news like two minutes after it happened.
Speaker 1:I said if we were talking about somebody who looked different than Vanessa.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Then would we be doing this story then.
Speaker 2:Now, mind you, this was in the military, yes, so maybe yes or no, depending on the, but you got more in ground, so I'm going to but the military. You know I'm a former military guy and I know they can keep things underwater.
Speaker 1:They can and they did, and I will say it was difficult to get information. We went, I went. I tried to sell my bosses on that story for weeks.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and they were probably meeting the resistance from hell.
Speaker 1:I would imagine Like you know I'm not a boss, I'm not a manager and I'm not in those conversations, but I knew what people were saying and I knew that it was important to the community. I knew it was important to the family, clearly, and so I just remember the morning show saying all right, fine, we'll do one story, we'll see how this goes. Fine, we'll give you one story.
Speaker 2:That's all it took.
Speaker 4:That's all it took was one story.
Speaker 1:And then three days later they found her body and then the floodgates opened and I just remember thinking. I remember calling friends and being like I don't know if I can do this job anymore Because, like, it's my job right.
Speaker 2:You have the people, the protection boundaries that are kind of like the gatekeepers of putting out information out there.
Speaker 1:I do remember that that manager came back to me and said it was one of the biggest mistakes that he'd ever made not advocating harder when, I brought the story to him.
Speaker 4:He was very clear in saying I made a mistake, and that's why sometimes they need to trust women's intuition.
Speaker 2:I mean, did they give a reason for that, like why they?
Speaker 4:they didn't run they saw it on stories.
Speaker 1:Oh, with her. Is it because she wasn't?
Speaker 4:necessarily like they hadn't found her body. Is that why they didn't like?
Speaker 1:I think for them at the time. I mean, the military was coming out at the time and saying that it was still a missing persons situation, that she had had issues in the past and they were.
Speaker 2:They always say that shit. I know, I used to work in personnel.
Speaker 1:Yeah, they were, I think, and. I'm going to get creamed for that it's hard because if you think about it like you know, our asses are on the line as far as then the military coming back and saying, well, where did you get that information?
Speaker 2:And we're going to go after you.
Speaker 1:We're going to sue you, so nobody wants to get the person you got the information.
Speaker 2:Yeah, they definitely want to know who your source is and all that stuff.
Speaker 1:So it is difficult and I, like I said, I don't, I get it.
Speaker 4:A lot of times, the managers that I have get it.
Speaker 1:However, in that one it was clearly like she's one person. It doesn't matter, I agree, I agree, that's tough, it was a tough one.
Speaker 2:It pisses me off because I'm looking at it like even now you can, you know there's a chance for it?
Speaker 4:Did she ever get her justice, do you feel like Not?
Speaker 1:quite you know. I think the family feels like there's still a lot more that Kami doesn't should be there Politically they did Technically, if you want to sit there and look at all that charade.
Speaker 3:I don't need that. The fact that actually there's another incidence in that same court.
Speaker 2:Yeah, that facility just needs to has a rap sheet. But they I mean it went all the way up to the White House and legislation and all kinds of stuff. They did a lot to try to rectify that.
Speaker 1:But they took a while too.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I mean it took them years after the fight. I mean, the documentary came out when, like two years ago, yeah Longer.
Speaker 4:Or something like that, yeah it was insane.
Speaker 2:That's good, that's crazy. All right. I'm going to change the mood, I know.
Speaker 4:Oh, please do, We've been deep. We, oh, please do, we've been going deep. You knew we would.
Speaker 2:She's all like. I thought you guys were going to ask hard-hitting questions.
Speaker 1:And then you're always like, well, I thought you were going to ask about my first boyfriend and stuff and I was like, all right, britt, let's bring it.
Speaker 2:No, no, no, no, no no.
Speaker 4:I think I was like laughing and then I was like so how does it like I literally changed the mood? It's like do tell All right.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Brian. Well, let's do cheese right now.
Speaker 3:The only thing we need now is the manager's name.
Speaker 2:No, I'm just kidding.
Speaker 4:We need the phone numbers. What the hell was wrong with you?
Speaker 2:Go on social media start DMing. All right, so we're going to play a game that I literally brought back from the dead. It's from the old show, from the Latin Babble show, and it's called Babble or, and you're going to say whether you want this or whether you'd rather have that. So you ready, okay, here we go. All right, so would you rather have hot or iced coffee?
Speaker 1:Hot coffee.
Speaker 2:Hot coffee.
Speaker 4:Iced coffee all the way.
Speaker 2:How do you like your hot coffee, though? Is there a specific way that it needs to?
Speaker 1:Well, lately my body has been betraying me so I'm actually doing a non-dairy at this point, so I do either a coconut or an almond milk. I definitely like some flavor. Actually, all of my coffee has flavor, it's creamer or lavender.
Speaker 4:I'm a lavender person. I've never met a lavender. What?
Speaker 1:I recently had lavender and rose in it. I was like bring it.
Speaker 2:You're bringing all kinds of flavor. I'm just like normal, I just get the sugar.
Speaker 4:At least you're not like fluffy. He said oh no, he's got some weird 12. Splenda is a 12.
Speaker 1:I had a photographer that did that. He had 12 sugars, 12. Splendas I'd go get coffee for the cruise and stuff like that, and he'd be like don't forget my 12 sugars. I'd be like Are you okay? You mean basically by diabetes? Yeah right, yes, all right ready, let's see.
Speaker 2:Would you rather have pozole or tamales?
Speaker 1:Tamales Straight up.
Speaker 2:Hold on.
Speaker 1:Tamales from Texas, not tamales from California. Y'all do them like burritos right here, like huge tamales.
Speaker 4:No, we don't. I feel like the ones I have are pretty small In the Valley like in Texas.
Speaker 1:They're like little, tiny tamales that are like this big. You need to go to.
Speaker 4:Tamale Fest. It's an event I host yearly in Santa Ana. Here in Orange County. They have all types of tamales. They have torta tamales.
Speaker 2:They have everything. They're in California. Do things differently? Yeah, they do everything.
Speaker 1:I have a funny story, really quick, to tell you about. I was pregnant and I came here and I moved here by myself initially, um, before my, my ex at the time, eventually came to california, so I had this mad craving for barbacoa. Well, I, I went to like the east.
Speaker 1:I went and looked for barbacoa here. I mean, I went everywhere and I went to the first place and I'm like this doesn't taste right and it was dripping, weird, and I'm like no, no, and so I went to the second, mine, I'm like, mind, I'm pregnant and I'm thinking I tried the third place. Finally, the third place. I asked the lady. I said oye, ¿es barrocoa? She said ¿sí es barrocoa, ¿es barrocoa de qué? And she said ¿es barrocoa de chiva? I go ¿de chiva? And I go no, no, no, no. Where from the head of the cow?
Speaker 2:and here it's Baja Baracoa, which is the Chiba, which is goat. So, man, I'm gonna ask a question that I know I'm gonna get whacked for who's got better food California Mexicans or Texas Mexicans?
Speaker 4:We already know. Just kidding Texas.
Speaker 1:Because we have queso. I mean what?
Speaker 2:do you mean, we don't?
Speaker 1:have queso here, not real queso. I'm like I buy queso. What do you mean?
Speaker 4:we don't have queso here, not real queso. I'm like I buy queso fresco, that's not queso.
Speaker 2:I was dying to have a Texan in here, so I could ask that question. I was waiting, because everybody who eats tacos and Mexican food here is California. You know what?
Speaker 1:So people will say that Mexican food from Texas is not real Mexican because it's Tex-Mex. Yeah, because there's a lot of different flavor profiles. Here it's more Baja. I mean, it's just different. It's very different. That being said, I freaking have a couple of like favorite restaurants and I'm about ready to hit up this week while I'm here Okay. Interesting.
Speaker 2:Share them with us. It's good for you that this won't come out until after that, so that way you know people are messing up on your food.
Speaker 1:I'm looking forward to the hate mail that I would get over the text next comment.
Speaker 4:She's like I'm going to try a Taco Bell this week.
Speaker 2:She's like we just saw the interview that you posted with Toda Latina Show. Here's your dish and they throw it. It's all kinds of stuff. All right, would you rather go to the beach or the pool?
Speaker 1:Oh that's. That's a tough one, the beach, I think.
Speaker 2:The beach yeah.
Speaker 4:I think the beach you don't have any beaches out there, right Girl, she's Texas man.
Speaker 1:She doesn't live in Afghanistan we do, but they're all brown. It's Gulf Coast water. It's like a river. It's like what no?
Speaker 2:I've never been to Texas.
Speaker 4:See, I can't use this as a reel.
Speaker 2:You would get destroyed. Please don't post it. This will be just like the churro reel man I've never been to Texas.
Speaker 4:Okay, so we do have some great beaches.
Speaker 1:So let me just say Texas, I love you and I like our beaches. You know, it's just different. Like you know, it's more of like a salty water. It's the Gulf of Mexico and so, yes, we have a lot of beaches. Why do I picture?
Speaker 4:Texas as being desert. I don't know. I don't know. I went to Costa.
Speaker 3:Christie, which is like a marina, and they have water.
Speaker 1:So Corpus is one of those places where, again, it's not the beach that you have here in California.
Speaker 4:We have beautiful beaches.
Speaker 1:I would agree with that, and so does Florida.
Speaker 2:You guys can say whatever you want. East Coast beaches are the best.
Speaker 4:There's beaches in Florida. There's beaches in Florida girl, I know that one, I did know she's like, she's like it's Florida.
Speaker 2:Somebody sent me to Texas too. Dominican Republic has them too. You should go, I want to see the Selena Museum.
Speaker 3:Is that in Corpus? It was not open the day statue.
Speaker 4:It's a big statue.
Speaker 2:I want it All right Go to a Carol G concert or a Becky G concert.
Speaker 1:Ooh, I'm going to get so much hate on this one. I'm actually going to say a Jesse Reyes concert.
Speaker 2:That wasn't the option. No, no, no. People try this all the time with the babbler. Would you rather? You have to choose between the two options.
Speaker 1:I'm actually more of a Becky G Okay.
Speaker 2:That's cool.
Speaker 1:Because I'm almost positive. Doesn't Becky G also have roots in Texas, if I'm not mistaken?
Speaker 4:I'm pretty sure she does. Actually, I'm pretty sure she does.
Speaker 2:I know she's over there in Inglewood.
Speaker 4:I'm almost positive. She grew up in that area, her family right. She has family out there, okay there.
Speaker 2:Okay, I mean it's a good choice. I don't think you can go wrong with either one.
Speaker 1:They're both great. I know they are. I really love both of them All right, Do you like?
Speaker 2:do you drink more horchata or tamarindo?
Speaker 1:Neither you don't like either. Mm-mm. Wow, horchata, you guys don't have horchata out there.
Speaker 4:I'm joking. I'm joking, this is going to be so good In.
Speaker 1:Texas it's more aguas frescas, so we do more like oh, okay, agua. Jamaica yeah, like the Jamaica Fresa. Yeah, a lot of the fresas Chia con limon In the piña. And then they put the tamarind on the edge.
Speaker 2:So that's more of what I grew up with. That's actually pretty good Eat flan or tres leche.
Speaker 1:Y kidding, here's the thing. I went, what I? I went gluten-free about a year and a half two years ago. So I I have to almost go with the the flan at this point, but if it's if you weren't gluten-free if I wasn't gluten-free it'd be three leches.
Speaker 4:No flan is better than three leches, I think I know so we got two flans. Well, she's by default, having to choco flan when it's like chocolate.
Speaker 2:So we got two flans, she's, by default, having to use the flan.
Speaker 3:But she wouldn't if she didn't have to.
Speaker 1:I mean I'll take a bite and I'll be like oh no, I also don't like menudo.
Speaker 4:Oh, I hate menudo.
Speaker 1:That's very controversial I know it's not good, gross Not my, thing, I don't care how hungover I am.
Speaker 4:One time I went to visit my family in Mexico and I didn't know how to tell my aunt that I didn't like menudo, but I kept just stirring the menudo and then she's like are you okay? And I was like how do I tell her I don't like menudo? And I'm just like yeah, I'm just si sipping on it.
Speaker 1:I said the sopa, but that's about it. I can't.
Speaker 4:But like the hueso, not the hueso, the no like the just the caldo. What's the stuff inside, though? The cuerito Like the.
Speaker 1:No, it's, it's the tribe, it's the intestine.
Speaker 4:The intestine. Ooh yeah, Do you like? You like?
Speaker 2:that Like I'm, she's like that's funny. You guys went into like the whole description of the dish.
Speaker 1:Yes, there's a connection there.
Speaker 2:All right, last one. Would you accidentally like to be hit with a pinata stick or intentionally have your face shoved into a cake?
Speaker 1:The pinata stick. You want to get hit with a pinata stick. I think that is so funny. I don't know why. What?
Speaker 2:That was the answer I was hoping for but didn't expect. That's really good. I'm just like how I can picture it now.
Speaker 1:I think it's because when my son was about two or three years old, we got him this inflatable burro. It was one of them that the kids can ride on it, and it was one of them that the kids can ride on it.
Speaker 1:And then we thought it was real funny to give him a palo like a stick, and so he'd just go around hitting it and I thought it was the funniest thing, until he started to hit the dog. Well then he started to hit my ex at the time and I thought that was hilarious.
Speaker 2:So I don't know what it is.
Speaker 1:I think, I think about that.
Speaker 2:Take your kid to my ex stick.
Speaker 4:I guess Maybe that's probably a better way. Mike Tyson is swinging at it, mike Tyson's holding it or something like that. What do you want.
Speaker 2:Mike.
Speaker 4:Tyson to be holding it, or who else no? I mean, she's already glad to get hit accidentally by the stick.
Speaker 3:So I'm okay with that, but you guys have the Mexican tradition on la mordida.
Speaker 4:Sometimes you know people, you know win your birthday and then they push you. Well, yeah, they take advantage, people take advantage. So now that we have that, question.
Speaker 2:We're definitely going to. Now we have a piñata outside. No, I'm just kidding, let's do it. Our producer is going to be holding the stick and she's going to whack the hell out of you, bring in the piñata. So this was really great. What projects are you currently working on that you can talk about?
Speaker 1:Let's see. So we, as you guys know, for this thing called the election yeah, that should be big ABC is actually hosting a debate in September and there's just so much chatter right now about what's going to happen, especially after the last one.
Speaker 1:Yes, yes, 100%. So we're tracking a lot of that and in Texas, I mean, even though technically we know which way that state's going to go, there's still a lot happening because there's a lot of border coverage. So I have several stories coming around that are immigration related, that are border related. So I'm working on that. I you know, for once in quite a while, I have a oh, I did do an incredible story.
Speaker 2:I interviewed Jesus Interesting.
Speaker 1:Mic drop.
Speaker 3:Jesus, the Jesus, the Jesus I was like who?
Speaker 4:I was like okay, we're over here like we need to stop the show Cameras.
Speaker 1:We can't say too much about it, but I will tell you that there is a streaming show that has done. I cannot tell you the name of the show. You can guess and Google and figure it out. It's not that hard. But we are with them. We are on their set. Their set is actually in Texas, right outside of the Dallas-Fort Worth.
Speaker 2:Oh, I know what you're talking about, yep.
Speaker 1:And so we are with Jesus. It was a very glorious moment.
Speaker 2:It was very Now that I know what she's talking about.
Speaker 1:I'm like, okay, I have a mouth like a sailor and I was so nervous.
Speaker 4:I still don't know what you guys are talking about, but I'll Google it, it's a show.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's a streaming show it has. Supposedly they are close to reaching a billion streams around the world.
Speaker 2:It's insane.
Speaker 1:They started off as a crowdsourced, crowdfunded series that was based on just the life of Jesus, and they wanted to do this series like what you would see on Netflix, and so they ended up putting it out. It got extremely popular. It was right around COVID and then now they are shooting. Their fourth season just came out right now it is so big that they actually premiered it in theaters. Oh wow, they are shooting. Their fifth season just came out right now. It is so big that they actually premiered it in theaters.
Speaker 1:Oh wow, they are shooting their fifth season already and they have plans for their sixth and their seventh. Wow.
Speaker 2:Yeah, so you can't say it. Why? Oh, because your interviews hasn't been out yet.
Speaker 1:Yes, because we haven't completely yeah, so we've shot it. Now we're in the middle of editing and scripting.
Speaker 2:But I can say the show if I want to, or guess the show.
Speaker 1:If you wanted to, you could tell her what the show was. So are we?
Speaker 2:talking about the Chosen. Yes, yes, okay.
Speaker 4:Well, dang it. I'm all looking up Jesus TV series. I am. There's one in 20.
Speaker 2:Well, I almost 100% guarantee you that if you look up Jesus online streaming, it'll yeah, it is one of the most popular shows. It is world-renowned popularity.
Speaker 1:And what I think was really interesting to me is, like this is one of the first times that I've interviewed someone who I feel like not just the people in front of the camera, but the people behind the camera, a lot of them. They are very vocal about their faith, yes, which I've always been taught.
Speaker 1:It's what gives the authenticity to the show 100% and you can feel it on the set, you can feel it when you're in the interview. It was probably one of the coolest interviews I've ever done, but also I really like I was.
Speaker 2:The fact that you said that you have the mouth of a sailor and you were doing that interview.
Speaker 1:I was just worried I was going to drop some bad words. And because you're like, you are literally like on their set. And and because you're like, you are literally like on their set and it's like you're back in that time.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and.
Speaker 1:I was thinking, man, if my mom knew?
Speaker 2:I didn't know that that was in Texas, though that's insane, yeah it is.
Speaker 1:It is like literally a huge complex and they have rebuilt places in like Israel. Like it is amazing Also.
Speaker 2:I hope I didn't ruin anything by saying no. No, I didn't say you did it. Okay, there you go, but we're very excited about that. I haven't gotten to four, but I'm on season two.
Speaker 1:Yeah, wait, you watch. Yeah, look at you. If you watch two or three shows. It sounds kind of weird. I watch a few shows. I almost felt dirty watching them, not because they're dirty, but more because I grew up in the Catholic faith and you grew up with what the bible is. This is the bible this is what you follow yeah but the show is so complex and the characters are so interesting and at one point I'm like laughing at some of the the humor in it, and I'm like I shouldn't be laughing because church isn't funny.
Speaker 1:Like church is serious, right, but that's what they.
Speaker 2:They humanize the hell out of it is what it is. They took it out of the theologian way and put it into a humanistic.
Speaker 1:And they're very clear in saying like read the bible, read the bible right these aren't actual depicted.
Speaker 2:I mean these, they're ad-libbing some of the moments.
Speaker 1:He said we're 90% entertainment, 10%, you know, bible but it's very well.
Speaker 2:It's a very well-made show.
Speaker 1:And now, some big streaming people are fighting over the show.
Speaker 3:I've heard about the show, but I didn't know that it was being streamed.
Speaker 2:No, no, it's huge. It is huge, you can see it on. Amazon, hulu, and it's because it's literally from a faith perspective, it's one of the most relatable shows you can possibly think of, because it kind of puts you into a world that you really can't see.
Speaker 1:Do you think? I love the way you say my name? By the way, I know I know Vigarial. Do you think that?
Speaker 3:for what is it? Gen Z and the upcoming Gen Alpha? They're seeking for a thirst in spirituality.
Speaker 1:So the statistics actually show that people's faith, or people being faithful, is declining and, in fact, more than that, the statistics show that people going to a physical church has been dramatically declining.
Speaker 1:Right by a lot, but I do think that, but, but what's on the flip side? What's really kind of interesting is the amount of money that's being made off of Christianity. So whether we're talking about, you know, up and coming singers, merchandise influencers that talk about their faith, I mean, like so clearly there is an interest and a desire. So I do think people want to be connected to a higher being, whatever that may be, whatever faith that you've been introduced to. I just don't think it's the traditional way anymore and it's interesting to see. I mean, just like the media industry, right, we've had to evolve, like so has faith, you know, and faithful places, and so churches are changing dramatically, very quickly. They're having to evolve. It feels a little bit different and weird, like this show even too, in a good way though right, but you realize that's what people are hoping for.
Speaker 2:Well, even the message on Sunday, like from pastors and so forth, has been changed dramatically to kind of make it more relatable for the person to receive. Just because the attention span and so forth of having a long-winded message just doesn't go, and so they've had to include a lot of life lessons, so to speak, to be incorporated into, as opposed to the traditional stuff on there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean, I watched church on YouTube. Well, that's the thing. I mean.
Speaker 4:even worship music has changed dramatically, and I'm just like whoa, this is weird I grew up Catholic, but I feel like Christian churches are more relatable sometimes because they teach you life lessons instead of just going off the bible like I mean catholicism has.
Speaker 2:I mean they're all different as far as like how they deliver that method, that where that, but I'm used to the traditional.
Speaker 4:My mom goes every sunday where you know it's like she doesn't even know what the the priest is.
Speaker 2:There's a huge difference between, let's say, our lady sacrament, blessed church and, you know, shepherd church. On our freedom house, yeah, you know there's just like we were talking about, just the worship music and so forth, just completely different. I mean, there are some churches now that look like concert venues. Especially the one I go to the one I go to. Looks like a concert venue and they perform like a concert.
Speaker 1:Mine too. That's what mine is, I love it.
Speaker 2:I absolutely love it. It just really like helps me resonate, especially like if Absolutely love it. It just really helps me resonate, especially if I'm having a moment and I just need to find kind of an escape.
Speaker 1:My pastor wears really tight jeans.
Speaker 2:Oh I've noticed that they wear very casual clothes Mine comes out of jogger pants.
Speaker 4:See, he wears some skinny jeans yeah the one I.
Speaker 1:He's a biker, the guy there he wears very tight jeans.
Speaker 4:I don't mind it.
Speaker 2:It used to be youth pastors used to dress like that. Now they're senior pastors. Do I get to?
Speaker 1:ask you guys any questions.
Speaker 2:Sure, if you want to go for it, really Go for it. Oh, this, is good.
Speaker 1:What should I ask as the producer? You should have these things ready.
Speaker 2:You're the only one who's being allowed to do this. Nobody has been given this privilege. Oh, I have a good one curse word it can be Spanish coño oh.
Speaker 2:I feel bad saying it. I was literally a baby saying it and my mom had to stop me because I used to walk around coño, coño, coño, and then she was like and then people would tell her all the time like, hey, why is your kid saying coño all the time and blah, blah. And then she didn't realize she was the one saying it all the time and I learned it from her. But that's the word.
Speaker 4:How about you Chinga tu madre? That's a good one.
Speaker 1:She said Spanish yeah yeah yeah.
Speaker 4:I mean it's passionate.
Speaker 3:Panama is really bad. I'm like I don't know, Maybe he has to be this one, but it's just like chucha tu madre.
Speaker 1:See, no, no, I have two. One in English is shit, and then the other one is puta.
Speaker 3:I don't know why.
Speaker 1:I just think that that word is so funny.
Speaker 4:Are we going to bloop these out? You can bleep them out, right?
Speaker 2:No, we should keep this shit it's authentic.
Speaker 1:I say shit a lot. I mean it's probably like 5, 6 am, and I'm already saying it.
Speaker 2:Yeah, she woke up saying it. I say shit a lot, I mean it's probably like 5, 6 am and I'm already saying it. Yeah, she woke up saying it. Yeah, pretty much yeah, I say shit, I woke up.
Speaker 4:Yeah, I feel like I say, can I say fuck a lot Like I'm like fuck, and then I'm like oh, don't say that. And then I say it again this is going to be a very interesting reel.
Speaker 1:I will say this when I was younger, speaking to moms when I was younger, I used to say caca a lot. I used to think that was so funny and one time my mom just was like I hate that word. It sounds so disgusting and I go. What am I supposed to say? She goes shit. So by the age of four, I was already allowed to say the word shit and I've told my son I'm like, listen, that's just mommy's favorite word, so you just got to deal with it.
Speaker 4:You should do that challenge with your son, where you leave him in the room and you're recording and you say you can say any cuss words while I'm not here.
Speaker 2:And then, you see what they say.
Speaker 4:I don't think it would have went well for me doing that. The kids- on TikTok.
Speaker 2:They're all saying their favorite cuss words as their moms outside. That's a new age thing. You do that in my house.
Speaker 1:My grandmother taught my son some weird words and I don't know about that.
Speaker 4:Yeah, you're like no, no, no, no. Don't encourage this. Don't encourage this.
Speaker 2:Look, when I was growing up, the biggest line that was out there was mothers going around saying hijo de puta.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Which to me was hilarious. I mean, at the time you were scared.
Speaker 4:That's son of a whore. That's son of a whore. Son of a whore.
Speaker 2:Oh yeah, son of a whore, so it didn't work out well that it was your mom saying it, because you would just be like, do we really want to go there, mom? I mean, your choices haven't been that great, so yeah, I mean tough time.
Speaker 4:They say it's not ladylike to curse. Exactly, I try to refrain from it.
Speaker 2:Really.
Speaker 4:You won't catch me, just kidding you catch me cursing the most while I'm driving because people piss me off on the road I'm like, and then somebody does something. Does everybody speak Spanish here?
Speaker 3:Oh, yeah, do you, I do.
Speaker 1:Okay, but like the Mexican food, I speak Tex-Mex I. But like the Mexican food.
Speaker 2:I speak Tex-Mex, I speak Puerto Rican, it's Caribbean Spanish, so it's all messed up.
Speaker 1:What's.
Speaker 4:Tex-Mex. Like we say, troca Like that's not a real word.
Speaker 1:It's like camioneta.
Speaker 2:We say closet, which is like the English words for closet. It makes no sense.
Speaker 4:Yeah, like that.
Speaker 3:What's closet.
Speaker 4:In Spanish though, el basement, el basement Armado.
Speaker 2:I know what you're talking about.
Speaker 4:I say troca too, Camioneta I started saying it now El armario. Interesting Popote. Do you say that Mote or mota? You mean straw Popote for straws.
Speaker 1:She said mota. I said mota. I said what are we talking about? Now God, you Californians are crazy why we went there. Yeah, no, no, yeah. She said mota, yeah, I said mota. I said what are we talking about now, god?
Speaker 4:you.
Speaker 2:Californians are crazy. Why we?
Speaker 1:went there. Yeah, no, no, no, yep, yep.
Speaker 2:I don't even know what the hell we use for straw anymore. I forgot.
Speaker 1:Well, they don't give you straws here in California.
Speaker 2:No, you've got to save the turtles.
Speaker 1:Puerto Ricans have a name they those things are Sorbete, sorbete, sorbete.
Speaker 4:That's the word.
Speaker 3:Sorbete For Puerto Ricans and Dominicans Panameña Carrizo.
Speaker 2:But it's a brand.
Speaker 3:That's why it ends up being Carrizo.
Speaker 1:We're just weird that way I used to get a lot of hate mail over the way I said Tijuana oh.
Speaker 4:Why are you laughing Tijuana? Because I get Tijuana, it's.
Speaker 1:Tijuana. Why isn't it Tijuana? I didn't say it right. The producer got you. I'm still not saying it right.
Speaker 2:She's like come on, we got to cut that one out.
Speaker 1:Say it again, I say Tijuana, but because I had a, she says it with a text-based accent. I had a tia and her name was Juana. It was like after that song, oh so you say tia Juana, so I laugh.
Speaker 2:The reason I was laughing is because I say it the same way you say tia Juana too, I say tia Juana.
Speaker 4:Oh, I have, it's tijuana okay but I'm not Mexican.
Speaker 2:I'm allowed to say it the way I.
Speaker 4:Damn well please how do you guys say Guadalajara, then Guadalajara, guadalajara.
Speaker 2:That seems interesting.
Speaker 3:How do?
Speaker 4:you say Mexico.
Speaker 2:Mexico, just kidding.
Speaker 4:I'm just kidding.
Speaker 2:I mean, how do you say beaches in Texas?
Speaker 1:Oh no, that's not fair, hey I just thought that one.
Speaker 4:I was like wait what she's like, what we're cutting that clip off?
Speaker 2:You say Tijuana is what they say Just.
Speaker 4:Tijuana.
Speaker 2:Tijuana.
Speaker 4:She takes it very seriously.
Speaker 1:Are you from Tijuana. I haven't been out there in a while, tijuana.
Speaker 2:Okay, but to be fair, I'm going to work on that.
Speaker 1:I'm going to work on that.
Speaker 4:She said I had a Tijuana Baila como Juana la Cubana.
Speaker 1:That's what she said Juana la Marrana, they used to that you should call.
Speaker 3:Tijuana La Marana.
Speaker 2:So I guess you and me are wrong, because I think we are, but it's hard. We added an A there that we just didn't have Because of our tias.
Speaker 1:You know what? I'm saying Like you can't blame us. Tijuana.
Speaker 2:So we apologize to all of the Mexican community out there for not understanding that we just added an A in front of yourself, but it's okay, wait, I got it. Hold on Fact-checking. Look at us now.
Speaker 4:You're right, fact-checking.
Speaker 2:Perfect journalism Hold on, hold on. Tijuana Ha. Oh, oh, you see she went, maybe we're the ones that are right. Why is she saying it? It's almost a judo challenge all over again.
Speaker 4:Okay, guys, we need a vote on this. How do you say Tijuana, tijuana or Tijuana Ready?
Speaker 2:Tijuana. Why does it have that, though there's no A? There, Then again I'm not going to go with the whole Google thing because I was looking up different ways to say people's names and it had it incorrect. However, if that is correct, that means that we on this side. I was going to play another one, let's see Hold on Hold on one second, I think this is like I had to go through a whole commercial just to get to the name. Like damn.
Speaker 3:I have a question for you too.
Speaker 4:Tijuana. There you go. Tijuana. He said it right Tijuana. Where is that man from? I don't know. He doesn't even sound like he's Latino.
Speaker 3:I don't know if I trust him. I think I sounded Russian.
Speaker 4:I'm just kidding.
Speaker 3:Let's play it one more time. I don't know how to pronounce the Spanish J. The H sound, just replace it. I don't.
Speaker 2:Why does he sound like he's about to go nightlife?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I don't believe this dude.
Speaker 2:Like you know that this guy he's going to get people on dates or something like that.
Speaker 4:Somewhere in London.
Speaker 2:It's like the way we turn around and pronounce it is Tijuana.
Speaker 4:So is it Tijuana or Tijuana?
Speaker 2:Tijuana, that's a question, I mean we're going to get reamed for this shit because there's no A there. So I know that I'm saying it wrong. Then you'd understand where.
Speaker 1:I was coming from.
Speaker 2:It's all right, I was standing around the entire time too.
Speaker 1:I get almost all the other Spanish, or Mexico City is correct Almost, I mean.
Speaker 2:So I'm so people wanted to follow you.
Speaker 1:Where would they go? So you can try me on TikTok, but I'm awful at that. I literally have like three things on there. So don't, don't look for me on TikTok becauseok, because it's a sad, sad place for me there. Um, I love instagram. Um, I will do twitter if I remember but since you asked, are we keeping tiktok?
Speaker 3:do you know anything further about that? I?
Speaker 1:think, I think it. I think it's all going to depend on what issues gain the most popularity before the debate, before the election, if you want me to be I mean, I don't think tiktok will be in the I don't think it is.
Speaker 1:Um, if they they had one question about child care on this last debate and we ended up talking about golf games. Yeah, right then. So I I think the conversation over tiktok is quieted, so I think people can feel a little bit safe for now, for now, but it'll come up again, it'll come back it made for good politics yes, that's what it was.
Speaker 1:That was a lot of what it was and so, yeah, so there you go. I am on Instagram a lot and I like to engage on Instagram and so which is not a good thing sometimes but, yes, I'm at the real Mireya Villarreal, if you can believe it. There's another Mireya Villarreal out there and she's a hairstylist. Oh, wow, yeah, yeah, and she's cute, and now I think she's a motivational speaker, which is why I had to put the real.
Speaker 3:So you had to go for the real. So you had to put the real. And now I have to change everything Like on TikTok.
Speaker 1:I'm the real, so you put the real, the real.
Speaker 3:That just shows the climate that we live in.
Speaker 1:I know she don't know who is giving who more public? If I'm getting more publicity because of her, she's like also tracking, More tracking. Or vice versa. So yes, the real. T-h-e-r-e-a-l the real media Very cool. It was great having you here. I had a good time. I had a good time. I will come back.
Speaker 2:I'm going to look you guys up. I think it might be time for us to go to Texas.
Speaker 1:You need to come for a Texas meet there are lots of Latinos in Texas.
Speaker 2:I was here at Fort Worth. We went to Dallas, that's where I live, all my exes live in Texas I don't have any exes that live anywhere at this point. I only have one ex she does she's allowed to sing Girl?
Speaker 1:I don't have that many exes, but you know? Yeah, I know, but yeah, most of them live in.
Speaker 4:Texas. She put you on blast.
Speaker 1:No, she's from there, so I'm like she's allowed to sing. Yes, there's quite a few people that I think you guys would get along with there. We have a lot of fun people doing some great things.
Speaker 2:Now I've got to go to Texas.
Speaker 1:I'm telling you it's a fun project. Yeah, it'll be a fun project.
Speaker 2:But we're actually working on a project with a young lady from Texas, maia Garibel. She's doing a program called Cultura Reconnect. Oh, and so we're going to actually be going to Mexico with her as she connects back to her Mexican roots, and so, yeah, that's amazing, that sounds amazing.
Speaker 2:So she's going there in August. I'm hoping to join that crew, but if not, they are going to do an amazing job and it's a story that we plan on putting out sometime in 2025. That's amazing. So hopefully make it a series and have young people be able to reconnect with their roots from something that you know, because sometimes you come here, your parents come here and you know you lose out on that culture because they're trying to.
Speaker 3:Is that the part of the kids that are like no sabo kids, kind of like rescuing, going back to their roots?
Speaker 2:I don't know if it's not no sabo kids. I think the definition for that is just completely different. Here in California I think it's just, for the most part, a lot of parents assimilated when they came over here. I know I did that for a while and so because of that, because you're trying to fit into society, you don't really get a chance to kind of show that culture to your kids, especially if you're away from your core family, like I did, and so sometimes it just gets lost from that process and then they have to go back. If their parents can't do it, they can go back. If their parents can't do it, yeah, they can go back. And that that program is going to be set to where we can kind of showcase that so that people can kind of feel that, um, yeah, feel seen, and to be able to kind of explain, you know what their version of latinidad is exactly instead of what society is telling them.
Speaker 2:Latinidad is, because you know there's a lot of people like oh, you don't speak sp, you can't be Latino, like stupid, so like it just makes no sense. But that's what we're planning on doing with that show and it's her show. We're just kind of putting it together and Michael, who did the film, is the director.
Speaker 4:Yeah, so very cool Cool.
Speaker 2:All right, well, that, yeah, so very cool, cool. All right, well, that's our show. Okay, thank you everybody for tuning in with us. You can see this interview on all of our streaming platforms, um, all of our podcast platforms. Check it out on uh, todo wafi, todo latino. Make sure you follow us on all of our accounts. Be sure to join us on september 20th through the 22nd for Revolución 2024, taking place in Downey. I am Rafael, that is Daisy, that is Yobi, that is Mireya and we're out.
