00:00
I feel like Spirit Airlines should have partnered with Worldstar and they
00:04
probably would still be around.
00:10
Well, thank you so much for joining us.
00:12
Welcome to M Gente Latino.
00:16
Today we're joined by the brilliant Aida Rodriguez,
00:19
comedian, storyteller, and literally one of the most realists there
00:23
is out there right now.
00:25
Thank you. I really appreciate that.
00:26
That's Those things, those things matter to me because I really
00:31
care about us, you know,
00:33
We see you and you represent us so proudly out there and
00:36
it's so inspiring for,
00:38
for many of us in our audience.
00:39
Thank you. I really appreciate that.
00:42
Ida. So I know you're an East Coaster and so am
00:44
I. I'm actually about to here 5 years out here and
00:49
I know you've been out here for how long?
00:53
What's the secret because I'm about to,
00:55
I don't know, I feel like a lot of my friends
00:57
that Came out here have left back home,
01:01
or you know they're on some like,
01:03
you know, maybe we've come back bouncing back and forth,
01:05
but most of them have left.
01:07
Well, I think the number one,
01:11
the number one component to being successful wherever you are is your
01:15
community, you know,
01:16
finding your people, and sometimes your people,
01:18
your people is spiritual.
01:20
It's more than other Dominicans or other Puerto Ricans is your,
01:23
your people, the people who are going in the same direction
01:26
as you. Also people who are committed to the journey because
01:30
I didn't come here to lose and I'm not leaving here without
01:33
the bag that's just that and I don't mean the bag like
01:36
economically I mean impact,
01:39
persuasion. So I think it's just being connected to the right
01:42
people for you that feel like home that go to we'll say
01:46
hey, let's go to Bodega delights tonight today and let's
01:48
go get you know my go to here that's some mangu every
01:52
other day or the pica pollo with the fries.
01:56
I actually was spoiled.
01:57
Like I met Victor when Capicua started,
02:00
all right, you're saving me a flight every month because it
02:02
recharges me, you know,
02:04
like. Even though I still need to go back home,
02:06
but you know, I feel fulfilled.
02:08
At least I ordered bodega literally yesterday.
02:12
Yeah, it's a weekly thing,
02:15
The empanadas are so good.
02:17
they're, right? I'm like you importing this shit from somewhere
02:21
Yeah, they're so good.
02:22
They're so good. And you were talking about building community.
02:26
It's a difficult time in the industry right now.
02:28
We feel the shift happening.
02:31
Not everything is being.
02:32
Centered to LA. We're looking at places like Atlanta,
02:38
having more of the industry than LA once did.
02:42
From your perspective, have you felt that change?
02:45
but I've seen it before because I've been here a long time
02:47
So I've, I've been here through multiple strikes,
02:51
you know, like I've been here when the industry wasn't doing
02:55
shows about people of color and then they did shows about people
02:58
of color and then it doesn't happen again.
03:00
So I'm not ever deluded by performative,
03:04
the performative actions of the machine.
03:08
I've never been committed to wanting to be seen by the machine
03:12
because if you give them the power to feed you,
03:14
you give them the power to starve you.
03:16
So I've always been like,
03:18
but I've seen this before.
03:20
And I think that's so powerful.
03:21
We're at a point where more Latinos than maybe there were in
03:24
the past or in the space,
03:25
right? But there's this feeling of discouragement or how long do
03:30
we have? What is something that has kept you motivated through
03:33
these periods and ebbs and flows in the industry?
03:36
Staying away from the wrong Latinos,
03:39
because sometimes you're all kin,
03:44
the skin folk and your kinfolk.
03:47
the problem with our community is that,
03:49
which people don't understand is that we are,
03:52
we have been socialized to assimilate.
03:55
Because it is survival for us.
03:57
It's not that Latinos are innately evil and they hate black people
04:01
or they hate their skin.
04:03
Sure, that's the manifestation of it because they've been taught to
04:06
do that because the machine tells you that white is always right
04:09
So we have such an assimilating culture.
04:12
They almost made us feel ashamed about not being us.
04:15
Well, we're just people.
04:16
We don't We don't have to be Latinos.
04:18
We can just be like everybody else,
04:21
but that's the trick,
04:22
right, because the magic,
04:24
when the woman who did my Nia Vardalis did My Big Fat
04:27
Greek Wedding, if she would have leaned into that,
04:30
then we would not have had that magical success of a movie
04:34
that many of us could relate to,
04:35
even if we weren't Greek because we have that grandmother.
04:41
I think they tricked us into believing that.
04:44
We need to be like them so that they could like us
04:48
they will never ever forget to point out that we're not like
04:52
them because they don't want us to come get what's what's theirs
04:56
and we have to know our power from within and stop
04:58
seeking it from outside.
05:01
That's very, very motivating to hear.
05:05
We're in the midst of Netflix is a joke fest right now
05:08
It's fun. There's a lot of shows happening,
05:11
and it feels like this year in particular,
05:13
there are so many Latinos.
05:14
Taking up space and all of these stages.
05:17
What does it feel like seeing comedy,
05:19
especially Latino voices, get that type of spotlight in LA,
05:23
especially for Netflix as a joke?
05:26
I want more. I want more.
05:28
I think we are a big enough,
05:30
market that we should have more that represents the numbers
05:33
that we, we bring to this country in terms of the
05:37
workforce and finance and economy.
05:40
I'm very happy to see,
05:43
the men in comedy always.
05:44
Gonna are gonna get support,
05:45
you know, I love Ralph Barbosa.
05:47
I, I directed his Entrenos fifteen-minute special.
05:51
Burt Kreischer was like,
05:52
he's amazing, and then boop blew up,
05:55
he's on SNL, who I adore,
05:58
but Kevin Hart is like,
06:00
I, I'm very concerned about the women and the support of
06:03
the women in comedy because we have to deal with el machismo
06:07
and we have to deal with racism and we have to deal
06:10
with the systems that continues to hold us,
06:12
that continue to hold us back.
06:14
You know, you talk about,
06:17
who really kind of broke the door down for a lot of
06:19
us because she was the first one that was visible on en
06:22
masse, and then Cristela,
06:24
who created her own TV show,
06:27
there's Gina Brillon,
06:28
and they all started before me,
06:31
and Melissa Villasenor, who also is younger but started before me
06:36
and this, this is the same group of women since
06:39
I started who have been headlining,
06:41
you know, it's been.
06:43
There are some people who are,
06:45
you know, they headline shows,
06:47
but they're not headliners in the,
06:50
that, that they're seen by the,
06:53
you know, they don't get the weekends,
06:55
and I wanna see more.
06:57
Like I don't wanna be La Unica.
06:58
That's not my, that doesn't feed my soul.
07:00
It's like some people really get off.
07:02
I'm the only, I'm the,
07:04
I don't wanna be the only.
07:05
I wanna knock the door down to create a,
07:09
a force of people who are going to continue the legacy.
07:12
I was gonna say I'm a product of somebody that passed it
07:16
It's great hearing. Who's that,
07:19
you know, the director.
07:20
He, yeah, I know who Ben is.
07:21
I started off as a PA and I'm here now,
07:23
you know, like just put me onto the whole industry living
07:26
in New York. Like I didn't,
07:27
I didn't have access to all this.
07:29
I didn't know about all this until he put me on.
07:31
So yeah, he's a good,
07:32
he's a good. On to that point,
07:35
it feels like it is on us to bring more people into
07:39
these rooms, but then,
07:41
like, there's so much Latin talent,
07:43
and then the people that control the opening and closing of the
07:46
doors, it feels like we're not as represented in those spaces
07:49
and it literally takes the one Latino in the room to be
07:52
no, there's, there's more,
07:54
or they're not just from this part of the world,
07:56
they're also from this continent and.
07:58
There's a Caribbean and there's an Atlantic and there's a Pacific.
08:01
What would you say to someone who maybe doesn't want to be
08:04
in front of the camera or talent but does want to be
08:07
in the entertainment industry?
08:09
Is there room for us?
08:11
Of course there's room for us.
08:12
If we can, if we can make,
08:14
movies the number one at the box office and we
08:18
can make Apple $1 trillion we're a $1 trillion dollar market,
08:21
so of course there's room for us.
08:23
What I would say is,
08:24
first of all, you don't have to be afraid to say
08:27
you don't just need to make Mexican movies,
08:29
there are other Latinos,
08:30
right? We have to start speaking it.
08:32
We have to start giving a name to it.
08:34
That doesn't mean that we don't wanna make,
08:36
we don't wanna see Mexican movies,
08:38
and it doesn't mean that we don't want Mexican products to get
08:41
made or or the Mexican community to succeed because those are our
08:46
siblings. What we want is to create space for.
08:48
Other stories to be told because Hollywood only wants to tell one
08:53
story and they only want to tell it one way.
08:56
There are Mexican doctors and Mexican lawyers,
08:59
and there are more people that are not just in gangs,
09:02
which I think people from the lower income community stories should be
09:06
told as well because we deserve our spectrum because there's Breaking Bad
09:10
and then there's succession,
09:11
so we should have our spectrum,
09:14
but I, I think it's important that the executives.
09:19
I'm, I don't care anymore.
09:20
I've, I've reached a point where I'm like,
09:22
I'm like Dave Chappelle when he takes the tablecloth and I'm like
09:27
I think it's important for people who get in those positions not
09:29
to act like the oppressor,
09:31
and I think that's what we deal with sometimes is that when
09:33
they get in positions of Power,
09:35
they start doing to us because now they got to survive,
09:38
but the reason why we don't break through is because nobody takes
09:41
a chance on us and says,
09:44
we're gonna do this and,
09:46
and watch what happens,
09:47
and that's, that's what Tiffany Haddish did with me when she
09:50
did they Ready. She could have just did a special with
09:53
six black women. She didn't have to put me on there
09:56
She was like, I'm gonna show y'all how dope this person
10:01
and then the industry was like,
10:04
but it was her because she,
10:05
they. She, they told her not to put me on
10:08
it, you know what I mean,
10:09
and she did it anyway.
10:10
So I think it takes that.
10:12
It takes people who are not just some people wanna be bosses
10:17
but they don't know how to be leaders.
10:19
And so when they get in these positions of power,
10:22
they just start assuming the role of what they see around them
10:24
and forget the magic that got them there in the first place
10:27
because they're outnumbered, you know,
10:29
like you're there for a reason.
10:31
Do something spectacular. Stop.
10:35
mediocrity, we stand out.
10:37
You gotta, you gotta work 3 times as hard to get
10:39
there. I, I'm so enlightened to hear that cause as
10:43
someone young in this industry,
10:44
it really does feel like The people on top are so scared
10:49
we gotta keep control and keep,
10:51
there's only enough for this amount of people,
10:53
and we don't want to pass this on to the next generation
10:55
and they have to learn it the tough way and they
10:57
have to go through it and like I,
10:59
you know how badly I want a mentor,
11:01
someone to look up to and be like,
11:03
hey, I'm going through this at work like so badly,
11:07
it sucks sometimes to not have that.
11:12
Yeah, that's like that makes that's corny.
11:16
I've had some amazing mentors,
11:17
and you know, I mean,
11:19
when I went to do my day ready the,
11:21
the last few days before I taped it,
11:23
Wanda Sykes went to my shows with me and she sat down
11:26
and gave me notes and she was like,
11:27
yeah, I want you to do this.
11:29
I think that's important.
11:30
We have to provide community for each other.
11:33
Yeah, I, I don't feel threatened by young attractive women
11:35
It doesn't make me feel like,
11:38
I think that there's a lot of insecurity when you're dealing with
11:41
people in this business,
11:43
especially because,,
11:45
white supremacy and oppression is,
11:47
they'll tell you you're not like the other ones,
11:49
you're this, you're special,
11:50
you got to stay away from everybody because everybody's jealous of you
11:53
and that creates this thing in your head where you start
11:57
to believe it, and it's just not real.
11:59
It's not true. I want to see young.
12:01
Young, beautiful, talented Latinas thrive.
12:07
oh, they're taking my spot.
12:08
Like I don't feel that way because my spot is my spot
12:11
I don't, I just think people are threatened,
12:13
especially with the young,
12:14
because they've been, they've been driven by these people that are
12:17
telling them, it's you.
12:18
You're the only one,
12:20
It's a bunch of talented people that are from our community.
12:24
If you're starting today,
12:25
is there anything you would do different?
12:27
Yeah, there's a lot of people I wouldn't be friends with
12:29
I would just walk away,
12:31
a few people I wouldn't date,
12:34
if I keep it a stack,
12:37
I would just give myself some more grace and rest because coming
12:41
from our communities, we are,
12:44
we are trained to work.
12:47
work, work, and our value comes from that.
12:50
I would take more breaks.
12:52
When I started doing stand-up,
12:53
I, I didn't take breaks.
12:54
I would go up almost every day,
12:56
holidays,, for years,
12:58
and because I was like,
13:01
you know, it was really,
13:05
I don't regret the fact because I,
13:07
I really became proficient in understanding the craft of comedy,
13:11
but I would give myself some more grace.
13:13
All right. So we have a new,
13:15
segment called Headline reactions.
13:18
So we pulled a couple of headlines making noise right now.
13:20
I'm gonna read them to you and you just give me your
13:22
gut reaction. All right,
13:24
so the first one we have is Robert Downey Junior calls influencer
13:28
culture absolute horseshit. You know what's funny is,
13:35
people don't understand the function of influencer culture,
13:39
and the funny thing is that they blame the influencer,
13:42
but what they really should be blaming is corporations because it's a
13:45
cheaper way to get advertising and they get the,
13:48
they get the bang for their buck,
13:50
and corporations have always found a way to do that.
13:52
But a lot of people don't.
13:54
When you got millions and millions of dollars,
13:56
you're not realizing that somebody doing a video about,
13:59
you know, Pepsi for $800 1200 dollars could be their rent
14:05
you know what I mean?
14:06
So it doesn't bother me that influencer culture exists because I understand
14:11
economics. So if you're a company,
14:13
a commercial costs like a million dollars,
14:15
but now it's probably more.
14:17
But if you can pay somebody on the internet $10,000 that's a
14:22
very, very smart return on investment.
14:25
I feel like they roll the dice with the influencers.
14:27
Like, I'm going to get 10 of them.
14:28
Somebody's going to go viral and be the equivalent of having a
14:32
Super Bowl commercial or whatever,
14:33
you know. And then we have moments of like even audiences
14:36
being like, Why is this influencer here?
14:38
And it's because of you.
14:40
You turn your attention to them and Again,
14:43
these corporations are like,
14:44
OK, where can we get the most attention for the most
14:46
cost efficient price influencer it is.
14:49
We're a hate watch culture,
14:50
so we, we make them,
14:52
and you know, and I think for me it was like
14:56
understanding what content creators were and not,
14:59
learning to understand that some of it is just the
15:02
gospel and some of it is just content and people get really
15:08
That somebody's saying something and that they just figured out the way
15:11
their algorithm works and it's just content and you just have to
15:14
be more conscious and more intelligent and understand that everything on the
15:19
internet should not be gospel to you.
15:22
why is she saying this?
15:23
What, what is behind this?
15:25
And for me, I'm like,
15:26
oh, it's a bunch of goofy motherfuckers,
15:28
so I just, I'll just keep it pushing.
15:30
Also, the block button is free.
15:31
You can block, you can mute.
15:33
You can silence. I don't know.
15:35
I've blocked so many people that don't even know I exist because
15:38
I was like, I just don't want this in my world
15:43
next headline. You are paying 50% more in gas than when
15:47
Trump started the war and he done.
15:52
you know, of course we are.
15:54
And then he told people to keep their tires full.
15:57
That was his response to it.
15:58
You know, I am exhausted.
16:02
I've already, I was,
16:03
I was on all of their Fox News and all of that
16:08
he won the first time.
16:09
They were like, liberal progressive has a meltdown when he wins
16:12
the election. I was with me too doing a party on
16:17
election night in 2016,
16:19
me and Bla Amano on a rooftop doing a show because we
16:24
thought he was gonna lose.
16:25
And then we had to go on stage and tell jokes knowing
16:28
that he won and we knew what that was gonna mean for
16:31
our community in particular after he had assassinated the character of Mexican
16:36
people in America. So I,
16:39
it doesn't shock me anymore.
16:41
My, my, what I've been focusing on is how do
16:44
I create the world that I want to live in outside of
16:47
that and the people who enabled that.
16:50
and it's gonna get worse and what is really hard
16:53
is that we live in a different world with the people who
16:56
have to go work at factories who are losing their jobs,
17:00
a lot of them who voted for this and enabled this are
17:03
gonna suffer the greater price,
17:05
and I'm never gonna dance on anybody's grave.
17:07
It's just not how I'm made because I know that a lot
17:09
of it is, is misinformation if you watch Spanish language news
17:14
you know, it's just been,
17:15
it's been intentional. So I just feel bad for the people
17:19
and I, I gotta suffer with them because that's what happens
17:22
when, when people don't think about the collective and only think
17:26
about themselves. There are elections this year,
17:29
so, and the last headline we have is Spirit Airlines apologizes
17:34
after shock shutdown. Thank you and sorry to the American public
17:38
Yo, the fact that you shut down mid-flights is just
17:44
so Spirit Airlines. Like,
17:46
I don't understand why anyone was shocked that the airlines where the
17:51
most lit fights happened.
17:54
I feel like Spirit Airlines should have partnered with Worldstar,
17:59
and they probably would still be around.
18:01
They should have just had an exclusive deal with WorldStar and have
18:04
cameras on the airplane and say we're gonna deliver all the footage
18:07
and y'all give us X amount of dollars and they would still
18:10
be here. I was not surprised when I sat on this
18:13
I. Flew on Spirit Airlines,
18:15
I think twice when I sat down and the tray was a
18:17
metal tray like in prison.
18:19
I was like, I knew that I was,
18:21
I mean, can I tell you something I like to do
18:22
at the airport if I get there early?
18:24
Like I used to go and see like delayed flights from Spirit
18:27
The gates were near me.
18:29
Just go hang out by them.
18:32
shit is brewing because nobody's at the counter and they're all,
18:36
your carry-on is a Foot Locker bag.
18:38
Oh no, it's about to get spicy here.
18:42
I don't know. I don't know where everybody's gonna fly now
18:44
Like, I feel like it's part of the,
18:46
the plan because people that don't have a lot of money fly
18:48
Spirit, and I've used them.
18:51
Me too, but I think it's because when you go to
18:54
there's a casino in,
18:57
and the, the only airline is was Spirit,
19:01
but after that Spirit,
19:03
I flew into New York and I drove to Atlantic City.
19:06
I was like, I'm not doing that again.
19:07
I might have, I'm gonna get there before the plane anyway
19:12
I feel like that was so Spirit Airlines that I wasn't surprised
19:17
but I thought it was pretty funny.
19:19
It was, it was they sent a text at like 3
19:23
He probably still stuck at whatever location trying to find.
19:26
I think I saw a pilot that retired and they didn't even
19:30
get,, another airline celebrated him when he landed because
19:33
it had just gone out.
19:34
So he landed, I think United stepped in with a cake
19:36
like 30 years at whatever spirit,
19:38
but yeah, I guess they left their pilots high and dry
19:41
too. Well, I will say this because it makes me
19:43
really angry because American people,
19:47
corporations, we worship,
19:49
billionaires, we worship,
19:53
That's what they think about you.
19:54
Like you put your dollars into these corporations.
19:57
We have so much power we don't understand it.
19:59
The power of the boycott is not in the march.
20:01
It's in the most violent,
20:04
protest you could ever do is the one with your
20:06
dollars, because when you shut a company down and people's children
20:09
and grandchildren and great-grandchildren ain't gonna collect the,
20:12
the bucks that are built off of the backs of your people
20:15
and your, your tios and your abuelas,
20:18
that's, that's what.
20:21
like it's like, stop investing in your own oppression.
20:25
Stop it. I guess if someone wants to know more about
20:30
how to lean into advocacy as a Latino,
20:32
because you seem very like passionate about informing our people,
20:36
not just through comedy,
20:38
but through advocacy, what is your recommendation to how they can
20:43
Lean into this. First of all,
20:45
read stuff you touch,
20:46
not the internet. Go read a book.
20:49
You know, like the thing is,
20:51
everybody, it's, you want to jump to the,
20:53
to the, it's so scary that when you get to an
20:55
article now, it sums it up for you,
20:57
and it tells you how to jump right to where you want
20:59
to go. Like you don't want to use your,
21:01
your brain cells, and the more you don't use them,
21:04
the more you lose them.
21:06
So you have to read,
21:07
you got to read history,
21:08
because history repeats itself,
21:10
and we need to really be,
21:12
we know, we need to understand history and geography and government
21:17
we get so focused on national elections and then
21:19
we don't realize that the sheriff that we have to vote for
21:23
is, is gonna be policing our communities that the school board
21:27
so we gotta become informed.
21:28
We gotta understand, and I think it's just a basic informa
21:31
basic information. It's called fundamentals.
21:34
If you play basketball,
21:35
you gotta get your fundamentals.
21:37
You gotta learn the handles.
21:39
You don't just go to dunking and you don't just win games
21:42
You gotta learn how to dribble the ball.
21:44
You should learn how to use it.
21:46
this is what we need to learn is fundamentals,
21:48
and they're not doing it at school,
21:49
so we got to do it at home.
21:50
We have to do it at home.
21:52
Literally last night my mom came up to me and she's like
21:54
Was it true that Trump came for Shakira yesterday?
21:58
I'm like, What did you see?
22:00
that's AI. So also just keeping resita,
22:05
my mommy artificial, you know,
22:09
it's going to come for you.
22:10
She's like, I feel like it's attacking me everywhere.
22:15
but tell her to stop liking the videos.
22:17
I'm also, it is on her because she keeps liking the
22:21
Colombia AI videos, and I feel bad because it's,
22:24
it's for her and it's her algorithm.
22:26
But tell her it's the amount of time she spends on the
22:28
video. Tell her to go swipe,
22:32
All right, so you spent a decent amount of time between
22:36
and since you're a comedian,
22:37
we've had to make this quick game real quick.
22:41
So I'll start it off.
22:42
All right, LA or New York for a first date.
22:45
New York. Better crowds,
22:48
New York. Which city has better hecklers?
22:51
New York, LA tacos or New York pizza?
22:55
LA tacos. I love tacos.
22:57
What's your favorite spot?
22:58
I love Ernie's. I love real,
23:00
just the old school tacos in Culver City.
23:02
Just stand in line and get a regular old school taco with
23:07
no frills. When they,
23:08
when they hit me with the,
23:09
we created a. Champagne sauce with mango habanero.
23:13
That's about to be some trash.
23:15
I need, I don't need all of that.
23:17
When you got a good taco,
23:18
you don't gotta add 13 other things to it.
23:20
All right, which city is more delusional?
23:24
I live in Atlanta here.
23:25
New York will not allow you the delusion.
23:27
It'll snap you out of it with urine on your right next
23:30
to you. Somebody will be peeing right next to you while
23:32
you're thinking you're on the high glide riding on a cloud,
23:35
LA traffic or the subway in New York City.
23:39
I'd rather be in LA traffic.
23:40
Traffic's pretty, right?
23:41
Yeah, because that's what I tell people like I'm staring at
23:44
a mountain. I've been here 3 hours,
23:46
but I haven't voluntarily seen enough penises against my will on the
23:51
subway, so I'm good.
23:52
Oh yeah, they put all right.
23:54
which city makes you?
23:56
Funnier New York 100%,
23:58
yeah, without a doubt.
23:59
When I go to New York,
24:00
I always get sharper.
24:01
Everybody around me always says that.
24:03
I, I work more in New York.
24:04
There are more spots to hit,
24:06
but yeah, I've done 28 mics from a Thursday to a
24:10
That would never happen here.
24:16
Oh yes, it's time for our favorite segment.
24:23
So essentially fans of the show,
24:25
they call in and they have specific advice that they want to
24:28
hear from you. Let's listen in.
24:30
Hey, migente Latino,
24:32
so I need some advice here.
24:33
My mom and I were talking the other night after my boyfriend
24:36
left and he'd been over all day.
24:38
Like we were eating,
24:39
we were having a good time,
24:40
and my parents really like him,
24:42
including my dad. However,
24:44
I've noticed that my mom is a little too affectionate with him
24:47
always giving extra hugs,
24:48
always touching him, and even joking to her friends like,
24:51
better watch out. I might still be able to get him
24:54
it's just a little bit much,
24:56
and but the thing is like nothing has actually happened,
24:59
but it's just starting to feel a little off and I can't
25:01
tell if I'm overthinking it or picking up on something real.
25:04
How would you handle this whole thing without making it awkward or
25:07
turning it into a whole thing?
25:08
Let me know. You know,
25:09
it's funny because,,
25:10
I think Latina moms kind of do stuff like that,
25:16
but,, I think you should have a conversation with
25:18
your mom about boundaries.
25:20
I think we don't learn them.
25:21
We're not taught boundaries,
25:24
we really aren't taught,
25:25
which is why we sit on people's laps.
25:27
They force us to hug people.
25:29
We have to learn boundaries,
25:30
and I think. This would be a good time to just
25:32
have the basic conversation about boundaries with your mother,
25:36
and then you can address the boyfriend situation later,
25:40
because if you, you go in on the boyfriend,
25:42
she's gonna think you're jealous.
25:44
That was my first thought.
25:45
It'll go somewhere else.
25:46
My whole thing is like,
25:47
what's the dad doing like checking on dad.
25:49
Like relieved what's going on with Mom?
25:51
Like, yo, he's $100.
25:54
He's relieved that she's got her attention.
25:56
He's probably like, Oh good,
26:02
right, like check in on that what's going on,
26:04
but I think you should have a conversation because it's a deeper
26:07
issue. It's this is happening,
26:11
well, boundaries were never I have my,
26:14
So you think it's OK if a mom wants to be carinosa
26:19
I got curls, you know,
26:21
you do. You know what's funny is that my mom always
26:24
flirts with whoever I've been with,
26:26
but I don't ever feel worried about it.
26:28
But I think that that's where the,
26:30
the, that's the real issue.
26:31
Something within her is making her uncomfortable,
26:35
the line has been crossed of inappropriate,
26:38
and the fact that she says,
26:39
I don't want my mother to hate me is very telling,
26:42
you know. Because I don't think you should ever be worried
26:45
about your mother hating you ever for any reason,
26:48
there's a conditional factor there that with love,
26:51
like, I know I could,
26:53
I could go off on my mom,
26:54
and I know my mom is not.
26:55
Oh, she'll go off back,
26:56
but she's not gonna be like,
26:57
I hate you. Next hour it's like,
27:00
you want for dinner?
27:01
And we're at the table and then suddenly we're talking he again
27:04
Yeah, just leave it there.
27:06
Yeah, she got some issues with her mom.
27:09
So now it's time for a deep scroll.
27:10
So deep scroll, I did some digging on your Instagram,
27:13
you know, I went a couple back a couple weeks and
27:15
I pulled some pictures and I just need you to break them
27:18
down for me. So we pulled some hilarious of these.
27:22
We went stalking. It's my uncle Pedro.
27:26
He was the hottest dude on the block.
27:28
Everybody, he had women like,
27:32
I, I, I would sit outside of his apartment.
27:35
I sat outside of his apartment and watched two girls fight over
27:37
him, and he was in the apartment and he won't open
27:39
the door, but he's my,
27:43
everybody thought he was my father because I looked like
27:45
him the most, but my uncles have always been my world
27:48
They've always, they're like,
27:50
I call them my transformer.
27:51
They together they are all have made my father,
27:55
and it's, it's so funny to see him because that was
27:58
my, that was a graduation,
28:00
that was like a I don't know,
28:02
5th grade graduation or something like that,
28:04
and he was, they would all just show up.
28:07
They would, they would come from the club and be like
28:10
we gotta go see Aidita.
28:12
I don't know who that is photo bombing me in the back
28:14
but this was back in New York or no,
28:18
It looks like a birthday or first communion,
28:21
girl. That was a graduation with a Latina grandmother.
28:25
That's unavata that was made by the best of them,
28:28
and that tiara was not my choice.
28:31
Neither was the haircut.
28:33
I like the bangs though.
28:35
you know, they would cut my hair because I have very
28:37
thin hair, so they would cut my hair paraque cresta ma
28:39
fuerte. Like they would just cut my hair off at any
28:42
time. And I mean this is when I started having
28:45
the thoughts of running away from home because I was like they're
28:48
never going to let me be myself but yeah so that was
28:53
in Vegas. I I opened for Charlie and we
28:58
had a fight. It was so funny because he,
29:04
and so he would give his openers a certain amount of money
29:08
and they would, they would have to split it,
29:09
and I was in Vegas doing something else,
29:11
working, and he would,
29:13
his manager, he was like,
29:14
hi, and ask her if she wants to come get down
29:18
I'll pay her and I'll change her flight or whatever.
29:21
So I call him and he calls me and he goes,
29:23
hey,, you're gonna do the show?
29:26
yeah, how much money he got over there?
29:28
And he goes, I got $160 for all three of y'all
29:32
Hell no, and I hung up.
29:34
So he called me back and he,
29:40
I said, what did he really say?
29:42
And He was laughing.
29:43
I said, You gotta tell me what he really said.
29:45
And then he was like,
29:46
he said, How much does the bitch want?
29:48
And I said, Tell him I want 1500,
29:50
and, and he gotta pay for my travel,
29:52
you know. And he did it because,
29:54
but we would banter back and forth.
29:57
But I, I have a text message from Charlie before he
29:59
passed away, and he told me he believed in me and
30:02
never changed and to keep going and that he believed I was
30:05
gonna achieve great heights.
30:08
And I, I shot a pilot with him and somebody
30:11
was very nasty to me,
30:12
and he, he defended me like after I had just clowned
30:17
him and he turned around and defended me.
30:19
He was a man of honor,
30:21
one of the best human beings I ever met in
30:23
comedy, and I always felt I always felt safe when I
30:27
was in his presence.
30:29
I love Charlie Murphy forever,
30:31
the best storyteller in the game,
30:33
I know. And then we have one last one,
30:36
you know what that happened,
30:38
that ruined it for all the celebrities because once I met Muhammad
30:40
Ali, everybody else was like,
30:46
never, he was my hero,
30:47
always been my hero.
30:49
And the fact that I got a chance to meet with him
30:52
sit with him and spend time with him,
30:54
that was in his hotel room in Beverly Hills.
30:57
He shared his baklava with me,
30:58
that was his favorite dessert.
31:00
It changed so many things for me.
31:03
symbolic because I've been feeling so discouraged in this business and the
31:07
pictures that you, all three of them that you picked.
31:10
have reignited this reminder of why I'm here.
31:14
He told me also that I was special and that what my
31:18
name meant. He was like,
31:19
Your name is an Egyptian name.
31:20
It means queen. And he was like,
31:23
Don't forget who you are.
31:24
You have a greater purpose.
31:26
You're not just going to be,
31:28
He's like, You're not just going to be an actress at
31:30
the time. He was like,
31:31
You're going to be bigger than that.
31:32
You're going to. Use your voice for big things and it's
31:35
one of the best days of my life.
31:37
Straight from the champ.
31:40
That was, of course,
31:41
no, and also hearing that,
31:42
you know what you've been feeling and what these memories,
31:44
I'm sure in your career you've had a lot of amazing,
31:47
fruitful, just legendary things happen to you and it.
31:51
It's not that you forget,
31:53
but sometimes you need the reminder.
31:54
Absolutely. No, the business goes like this,
31:57
right, like what we were talking,
31:59
and Fighting Words is streaming on HBO Max.
32:01
You were a standout on Netflix's They Ready,
32:04
and you've been such a key part to Enrenos specials,
32:07
and now. You're stepping into hurricane season.
32:10
What was it about this project that made you say,
32:14
It was familial. It's the story of the New York Latino
32:18
that has to go back to the Caribbean and the,
32:25
the first time I got called a gringa,
32:31
right. You go back and they're like,
32:35
I felt like I would go back to DR and it was
32:37
like they would make fun of me and I had to get
32:38
my accent on point for that fendel me and I was,
32:42
I'm going to my grandma's house.
32:43
y'all wearing all my clothes that my mom sends all year long
32:48
so, so you guys to be making fun of me like
32:52
And like making fun of me and you are like lacentto that
32:55
I carry today. Like it's not that crazy,
32:57
but people knowoepan. Oh,
33:00
he's from you pick two PR or DR,
33:06
and so that's what it was,
33:07
and I got to work with some amazing talented people that I
33:10
learned a lot from who surrounded me and supported me because I'm
33:16
I'm the comedian stepping into there and with all the respect
33:20
And I will say this because,
33:22
because I, I'm such a like keeper of the craft.
33:25
I was coached for a year before I did this movie with
33:28
an acting coach. Like I didn't just say I'm gonna go
33:30
do this because I'm dynamic.
33:32
I had respect, you know.
33:33
I was working with Justina Machado,
33:38
Alicia Pascual Pena,,
33:40
Carlos Ponce, Priscilla Lopez,
33:44
Laen in Puerto Rico.
33:46
Like I was working with like legends,
33:47
people who are like really.
33:49
And I was, it was just,
33:51
it was interesting. My favorite part,
33:52
my, I think the most,
33:53
the thing I love about the movie the most is that the
33:56
family looks like a real Caribbean family,
34:01
the racial component of the family is that,
34:05
the mother's white, the father's black,
34:06
and the kids are everything in between,
34:08
and I think that that's how my family really looks,
34:11
so it felt good to be in this space.
34:14
Where we felt like a real family instead of this Hollywood manufactured
34:18
Latino family that you're like,
34:20
that's Italian, we can,
34:23
but the family doesn't all,
34:24
we're not monochromatic. We're not a monochromatic people,
34:28
which is what we were sort of,
34:29
I really love what you had to say of not being afraid
34:32
and it's that we're not all Mexican and that's not with disrespect
34:36
It's that we all look differently,
34:38
we sound differently. You said the Colombia to Dominicanos moss Latinos
34:44
That doesn't make us not Latino,
34:46
but for some reason Hollywood has been so selective.
34:49
I'm curious, you know,
34:50
coming up years and years ago how frustrating it was in the
34:54
beginning to, to have to mold into someone that really didn't
34:58
represent you. Maybe,
34:59
yeah, and you know what's funny,
35:00
even Mexican people are are tired of the way they're represented because
35:04
They're not allowed to be represented in their full,
35:06
full glory. Like a people of,
35:11
they love the trauma porn.
35:13
It's really frustrating, but it just made me sharper at the
35:16
pen, right? Like I don't,
35:17
I'm not gonna sit around and complain because I'm joyful.
35:20
I'm happy, I'm privileged.
35:21
I come from people that were roofers and had to do manual
35:25
labor so that I could come do tell jokes and act and
35:30
instead of complaining, I lean into creating,
35:32
and that's my advocacy.
35:34
And so I wrote my book,
35:35
you know, it was a HarperCollins book.
35:37
I got, I made sure they wrote it in Spanish.
35:39
The lady who read it for Audible in Spanish is Dominican.
35:43
I was like, you're not gonna give it the accent that
35:44
doesn't resonate with the words,
35:47
and just continue creating.
35:49
Like I, I feel like that we have so much power
35:51
that we don't, it's like Dorothy,
35:53
the, the whole time we're gonna figure it out one day
35:54
You had the shoes on all along.
35:56
All you had to do was tap them two times.
35:59
We just need solidarity and we need to stop being so ridiculous
36:03
with each other. I'm not watching that show.
36:05
That's not a real Colombian.
36:06
That's not a Dominican.
36:07
I'm not. We have to stop.
36:08
We got to watch everything and get power so that we can
36:12
get the power to make the things the way they need to
36:14
be and stop hating on each other because we have,
36:16
we, we have such a hating problem in our community.
36:18
It's heartbreaking. I wrote a comment on a maluma thirst trap
36:22
yesterday, and he's wearing,
36:24
and I accidentally said Juana,
36:26
which is another Colombian outfit.
36:29
Oh my goodness, this comment has blown up because people are
36:32
like, it's a poncho.
36:34
Oh my gosh, of course this girl would say it.
36:36
She has Colombiana Americana in her bio.
36:38
Who does she think she is?
36:39
I'm like, Oh my God,
36:41
uno, I said unoreror logosan says tan because it's like it
36:48
hurts certain people to see Latinos shine shine.
36:53
Yeah, Maluma's comment section is volatile because he retweeted me one
36:57
time. And I got so much anti-black hate on there.
37:01
Like this dude was like,
37:02
ta negrita porque, and I was like that was before I
37:08
was like, I'm gonna get off Twitter because it was before
37:11
it was like Twitter was so toxic at the time,
37:13
but I was like I did not expect that.
37:16
And I didn't know until somebody I knew was like,
37:18
Yo, did you see these comments?
37:21
I, I don't know what's going on with Colombian.
37:24
Little did we know that a few years later,
37:27
Colombians would be cosplaying Puerto Ricans and reggaeton.
37:31
Come for me. I'm ready.
37:34
there were videos, and,
37:35
and that's the thing that I'm talking about.
37:37
Like I remember a video of Colombian,
37:39
this Colombian man making fun of the way Puerto Ricans talked and
37:43
saying that all reggaeton was,
37:45
was just music about sex.
37:47
And then I'll fast forward with this newer generation that's like,
37:51
Like we wanna have sex.
37:53
and then Carol G's calling herself a bichota.
37:56
And you're like, Rosalia is like going to,
37:59
well, she's not Colombian,
38:00
so I'm not saying that,
38:01
but she's going to the DR creating the songs,
38:04
yeah, I don't want to do that anymore.
38:06
now I'm classical, but I think it's beautiful that people could
38:10
put us on and then take us off,
38:12
but we have to live in it.
38:15
I just, I just think we need to stop that.
38:17
I think it's, it's foolishness.
38:19
We hate on each other.
38:21
It, it's, there's beauty in every country in Latin America
38:24
every single one of them.
38:25
There is a spectrum of people that look like everybody else from
38:28
white to black in every Latin America.
38:30
I don't care what people tell you.
38:32
Argentina has black people.
38:34
Paraguay has black people.
38:35
Everybody, because black people.
38:36
are global, they're everywhere and it's foolishness and the,
38:41
the quicker we get to this place where we stop hating,
38:44
it, it's self-hate cause it's not,
38:46
it's really a projection of how we feel about ourselves,
38:50
my, one of my best friends is Colombian.
38:52
Right. Like, and we're,
38:53
we are, we laugh because we,
38:57
We don't have that foolishness,
38:59
but once you start loving yourself,
39:00
then other people will come along for the ride.
39:02
Beautiful. Any words for your followers where they can catch you
39:05
next? So I'll be in Denver this weekend.
39:08
I'm doing comedy with Rojo Perez,
39:10
who's a Puerto Rican comedian from New York who I adore.
39:14
be,, doing a show with me.
39:16
I'll be at the Denver Improv Friday and Saturday,
39:19
and I don't know if you heard,
39:21
but we did a show last,
39:22
for the Netflix as a joke.
39:23
It was packed. It sold out at the Laugh Factory,
39:27
and it was, it was Latino excellence,
39:30
magic. Everybody from everywhere was there and that's what my shows
39:33
have been. We've been having a good time.
39:37
I have another show,
39:39
another show coming out.
39:40
Please stay on my socials.
39:41
I have a big show that's gonna be announced in for July
39:47
we'll see you there then.
39:48
Yes, but funny I F A IDA.com,
39:51
and that's where everything is.
39:52
Also, I have a podcast called Say What You Mean that
39:55
you guys need to come do.
39:56
And and I'm very excited about it because it's a podcast
40:00
where people come stop by and say things they wish they would
40:03
have said that they didn't that both see how y'all did that
40:07
everybody does that. It gets emotional.
40:10
I can imagine some people get emotional,
40:11
some people get angry.
40:12
Some people are really funny.
40:14
How's your mom and dad.
40:16
Unleash. It's really interesting.
40:20
You got to come do it.
40:22
Well, it means the world to us that you came and
40:25
spent time with us to be here.
40:27
We do have to end the episode by hitting a mi gente
40:30
Latino. So if you can on 3123,
Series