Hey guys, so I am wearing the, I think exact same bathrobe, my hair up in my Invisy Bobby like in my previous video, at least I think it's my previous video, so I'm actually shooting this right after another video. I'm kind of cheating, but I kind of, I got my hubby in here to ask this quite these questions. So this is kind of a fun tag that Coffee with Nadia came up with and it's called the sparkly summer tag. Yeah. And so I've got to be kind of cool to do, so Jay's going to ask me the questions and I'm going to do my best to answer them. Okay, the first one is, what are your go-to sunglasses? That's pretty easy for me because I wear prescription sunglasses, so I think everyone has pretty well seen my aviator, is that what you call them? Naviators? So we've seen these and then I also have a second pair of prescription sunglasses. They kind of, I think these kind of remind me of like Jackie O. They're really big. You can see the ring light. But I kind of like these. Which ones do you like the best? I like those. I like them both. But which one do you like the best? He never answers the question. Which one do you like the best? I can't, I'm just, you know, whatever one you're wearing. Okay. Next question, what should go-to sunscreen? I have been, this will be the second summer that I've been using the basically Australian gold mineral ocean non-greasy, bi-tanical, bi-tanical. I can't read it. But this is the one for the face, 50 SPF. So this is a tinted sunscreen. The drawback to this is that it is non-greasy. So for those of you that have oily skin, you're gonna love this. But if your skin is sort of dry like mine, this can be very mattifying, I guess is the best way I can describe it. So I usually add and make sure that I add some face oil before I put this on. Because it does, it really can dry me out, give me that kind of old lady look. And the other one that I really like is Neutrogena, a chilled face lotion. I have it in all different strengths and you know, this is clear, goes on clear. I like this as well. So really all depends on what I'm doing. But these are the two ones that I've really been enjoying, the Australian gold and the Neutrogena. What about you, baby? I'm gonna give you the next question. Okay. In other words, you don't wear sunscreen. No, sometimes. And you had some spots removed, too. All right. Pool or beach? Beach. Oh, beach all the way. Beach all the way. If there's no beach available, I'll take a pool without a doubt. But beach. Next one. Bikini, tan, kini or one piece? You love that. I don't have a bikini body. I really don't. So there's no way you're gonna see me in a bikini because you'll see stretch marks, saggy skin. There's just absolutely no way. So I'm a one piece person or an oversized t-shirt person more than anything. Would you agree? You agree that I look awful in a bikini? Yeah. Baseball hat or a sun hat? I just agree with you. You're supposed to say no, honey. You look gorgeous in a bikini. Yeah, but you he's in trouble. You are in trouble. What was that question? You got me totally distracted now. Baseball cap or sombrero or something? Baseball hat or a sun hat? It's kind of funny because we went to Kohl's today and I had bought, I had tried on a baseball style hat that had this really kind of cool rose on the thingy and other little things around it and I really liked it and I wanted to buy it and Jay was like he was like just kind of like looking at me like oh boy and so then he went away he was trying on some pants and all that and then I kept like looking at myself. I changed my mind. So you know I'm more of a visor chick. You know I have a lot of visors but for some reason you know baseball hats just never really looked good on me but I did buy this. That's cute. You like this? Yeah, I like that. So I did buy this. So do you think of this guys? So I bought this to Canada. Yeah. So you're not going to be embarrassed to walk around town with me like this? No. Okay. Does your skin burn or tag? What's tag? I think burn or tag? I think it's supposed to say tan. Oh, typo? Could be a typo or could be you can't read. That's tag. Tag, teachy. So I don't let my skin burn. When I was younger, absolutely my skin would burn once in the season and then it would tan and I would just tan and tan and tan. So after an initial burn, after the initial sun exposure, my skin tans now because I do use a lot of sunblock but I do go out in the sun. I'm always outside anyways. I slowly get a tan. I cannot tell you when the last time I really burned was. It was quite a while ago. Couple years at least. At least. Okay. Most used a summer lip product. Oh. Lipstick. Lipstick. I do use like chapstick with a little bit of an SPF factor in it. You know a lip balm that has a little bit of a sunblock in it. But in general, I just use lipgloss. Summer, winter, fall and whatever lipstick I might have on underneath it. So my favorite has been the white Russian. I really, really like the Buxom white Russian. No clue. What's your summer scent? My summer scent? Your favorite summer scent. This is going to probably sound gross but my favorite summer scent. That's kind of like I killed out here the other day. No. I was going to say, I was going to say almost like the low tide smell. You know that salt smell of the ocean. I just love that. It just kind of, it kind of makes me feel happy when I can smell that. I don't even know how to describe it. If you've never smelled that smell, you don't know. You don't know what I'm talking about. But it's just like really cool smell. Now maybe they were talking perfume. So I don't know. But I'm going to go with my favorite scent, the scent of the ocean, the smell of the sea. What's your favorite summer drink? It's always been, I think for the longest time, it's been margaritas. One version of another margarita. I happen to, I've always liked margaritas. I have also lately been drinking in the summertime, dark and stormy. So I kind of like them too. Yeah, you've been on that kick. Yeah, I've been on the dark and stormy kick for a while but I do like a nice good margarita. Favorite summer snack or fruit? Strawberries and blueberries. Can I name two? Yeah, your vlog. Strawberries or blueberries. I'm a berry person. Favorite memory from last summer? Favorite memory. Can you remember last summer? That's a long time ago.  For me, I would have to say going to Bar Harbor camping, camping up in Bar Harbor and walking along the shore in Acadia. I just love that whole Bar Harbor area. That's just an amazing Acadia National Park. So it would have to be that trip, I think. Can you think of something else? No. What are you looking forward to this summer? Going anywhere? Well, I think we're leaving very soon for Canada. Yeah. So I'm really looking forward to that. We're doing sort of a road trip without our RV so we're going to be in our car and we're going from here to New Brunswick, up through Nova Scotia Cape, Bretton Island, Cabot Trail and just the whole Nova Scotia trek. So we're going to do that for about nine days, I think we'll be gone. And we're going to meet up, at least that I know of, with one fellow YouTuber. We're going to meet up with Fred down in the Yamathe area. No, in the Halifax area. So and we may meet up with some other YouTubers I really don't know yet. I'm still hoping that I get to meet Natalie the beauty div if she's there and if she is there that would be so awesome and if not I certainly understand because she's not living there so it's a jaunt for anyone. And that concludes your 12 questions. Really? So let me ask you a question. What? What's your favorite thing to do at the beach? Get naked? Really? Really? Whoa. You're going to get me demonetized. Oh darn. So when you're at the beach, do you watch the bikini girls?  And you happen to notice. But I don't go like this, you know. When we first got together, he used to do that. Right? Do you remember? I mean, he used to break his neck when he was driving to turn around and look at people, girls. Yeah, I learned my lesson quick. Chop, chop. So this is kind of a weird tag. I think we kind of butchered her a tag. Natalie or I'm sorry. I thought you were pretty good. You do? Yeah, that was good. Yeah. What's your favorite memory of last year? My harbor. Oh, is it my harbor? I was just going to say that maybe you would think go topless day at Hampton Beach or something. Yeah, but I didn't go to that. Remember, you did. And I still don't know if you went topless or not. Good thing you went there. I know. Bye guys. Hey, and anyone that wants to do this tag, Natalie says it's open for everyone. It's kind of fun. So let's hear all about your summer sparkling, whatever. Bye guys. Thanks for being such a good sport, honey. You're welcome, honey. Even though you're bikini. Yeah, I mean, what is up with that? What is up with that? You you don't think I look good in a bikini, do you? Then like, Oh, sweetheart. I like anything you put on. You always say stuff like that to me. Oh, sweetheart.  I should leave the I still I'm still recording.  Are you ignoring me?


collected? Yes, thank you. Common collected. Yes, absolutely. But I mean, but if people are going to interact with me, it's like, dude, please have something going on upstairs, or this friendship is not going to go anywhere. I think that's important, but really to get followers, to get support, I have to be that example. The biggest thing of my integrity is, if I'm going to tell anyone here to do something, if I'm going to encourage anyone to do something, I have to consistently be that example. You wouldn't really trust me if I was 300 pounds telling you to work out. I have to say, I'm going to be the entrepreneur, I'm going to be the guy who's going to consistently show up, do what I say, say what I do, and then people will list kind of, because most people from what I've seen are looking for something to be involved. They're like looking around, and I had a friend in high school who said, a lot of people are looking around for something to do or someone to work with or someone to follow, and when they see someone go off and doing their own thing, they get excited.  He's doing, he's playing an instrument in a band. Doesn't, it could be anything. He voted for Donald Trump. I don't know if I, well, that's not really, but yeah, sure. I'm not talking about you. Oh, killing me. That was a good joke. That was a good joke. I like that, that was good. Anything other than voting.  Like a real, and then people are like, whoa, Kareem, I never thought of that. We could have a Deguro as president. You know what the cool thing is? At least the dead girl was honest, because he's dead. Yeah, see, there you go. And that's kind of being a trendsetter, voting for Harambe, making your own YouTube show, coming up with your own ideas, writing your own book. And then people go, whoa, I saw Kareem and Chris do that. I wonder if I could do that. I want to be, they were a pretty good example. And that's how you get followers.  And then, wow, people see that creative idea. And they say, I wish I could do that. I wish I could get up there and say those things or make that kind of art. We can. We just have to want to do it. Right, Ferdinand? And Sharon? Exactly. Exactly. I think this is one of the most important points in our opinion. It's more important than the rest. Yeah, even though Mike is not here, which, I guess he's here in spirit. And he usually is. But the interesting thing is, he just had the idea of that exactly. And why that kind of worked with me is I'm like, well, there's someone who's actually going to teach me what to do with this online currency thing. And they're willing to sit down and they have, he has his own vision too. That's why it's so nice to hang out with people like Micah and Jay and Bruce, because they themselves are getting enlisting support because they have all of these qualities we mentioned before, persistence, having a dream. And that's why not only do I want people to support this, I want to also be part of what they're doing. It's exciting when people have a hundred different projects. And I'll even quote my friend, Ash Whitener. He made a good point actually about libertarians and volunteers and people in the freedom movement.  But he wrote something interesting about getting followers and about fixing the conditions we live in. I'll share my screen. What he said today was, if only 10% of the libertarian community would actually build their own freedom, instead of bickering, whining and complaining about the state, we would have thousands of examples of successful independent and free society rather than being laughed at and marginalized. I thought, well, that's actually the problem. There's a lot of people who are like, man, I don't like the pot, it's not legal. I don't like taxes. Yeah, or just I'll, you know, I'll get mad and I'll yell about it on the radio. Here's the interesting thing. There's tons of people who are yelling at a radio or a video or podcast or whatever about things they don't like. But there's very few people I'd say less than one to 5% I've seen of those guys who are complaining that will actually get up and say, I don't like taxes. What am I going to do about it? Am I going to make my own cryptocurrency? I don't like the fact that this issue exists with social media. Am I going to try? And I know that's crazy to say make my own, but it's possible if you sit down with WordPress and buddy press for a while. And that's building your own freedom.  And then that's why they don't, they don't get much supporters because even though they have a good message at heart, they want to give people more freedom. They want people to be more free. They're not building their own freedom. That's my life. Yeah, exactly. That's because they are afraid, you know. Yes. You can go ahead. Sorry. You see it out there. I'm not smoking pot. No, it's like there's a group of people. Okay. And everybody is, I never do something. And then the first starts with, Oh, yeah, I'm smoking pot them.   Yeah, I smoke too. And then the next time. Yes, sometimes, sometimes, you know what I mean? That they are afraid. But when, when people see that they aren't the only ones thinking that way, and that there are more here, they aren't afraid of telling their opinion. And actually, yeah, yeah, I like that. And actually, I'm going to throw this in kind of an interesting direction. Is anybody familiar with Ross Albright and the Silk Road? Now, I'm in no way condoning any type of substance used, but I will say it's dangerous to acquire one like it's scary. It's like, I don't know how we got to this point. But it's probably because I mentioned the whole libertarian thing. But his idea was to make a website called the Silk Road to make it safer for people.  He actually created a website. Now we got arrested for it. But here's the interesting thing, the people who want to get them out. And the Silk Road was just an anonymous thing. He went under the username of Dread Pirate Roberts to help the world find a safer alternative, even though it's to unsafe substances. He didn't just sit there and complain on a podcast. It's not working. And that's really what I see when it's like, build your own freedom. If you want to get supporters, and he has millions of supporters, people who want them. If you want to actually create ostensible change, get a following. You need to pick it up. You can't complain. You have to see where you want to be and start creating that vision, even if you just have a webcam, even if you just have a paintbrush, and no Canva figure out a way. There's always a way. Yeah, right. But you can only get supporters, you know, when when you stand for your own thing here. If you stand up and say, Hey, this is my opinion. Okay, then you can get supporters. But you can't get supporters. If people ask you, Hey, are you really believing you can get rich? Okay, there are a lot of people that that are ashamed people are ashamed of telling people that they want to get successful. And then they say, Yeah, I know it won't work. But yeah, I want to get successful.  But if you stand there and say, Yeah, exactly, I want to be successful 100%. And look, this is how I'm doing it. Then they get interested in you. Not yet. And I can even attest to this. I haven't talked to the guy. But I'm sure okay, Toshi went to some point said, This is my idea. I'm going to create this type of currency. I'm going to create something called okay cash. And it's going to do so well because of the name okay. And there are people like, I don't know. And then funny enough, when he did it, he probably has a whole room of followers. I've seen it on Discord. Okay, Toshi. Okay, Toshi is the best example for this point here. He started alone, you know, and then a few guys joined and escalated. I think now in their Discord channel, they are like 350 guys or something.


I didn't feel to win the offensive player of the week award there. That was pretty cool. I definitely think it's a recognition of our offense. It takes all 11 guys to be able to get recognized that way, and credit goes to our team. What's your breakdown of Joe Burrow's style? Walk-in style, the Burrcoats, the change, that's just like. No, he got it. He got it. That's like an anti-U. No, I mean, he got it all. You lost the coach? I'd like to say I could. He's got it all figured out, you know what I mean? Great player, guy that's played at a high level now for a few years, going back to college. Yeah, he can do whatever he wants, really, to be honest with you. You talk a lot about being who you are, being genuine. And that's sort of, he's kind of the other end of that. That's just him, right? Yeah, no doubt, no doubt. And I think at the end of the day, you just got to be who you are. And I got to give credit to him. He's played at a high level, and he continues to be himself. On the field, what do you see from him that impresses you? Well, I think looking back, even to his rookie year, I thought they threw it a bunch. And for a young player to take kind of the onus of the offense that way, it's not easy. So I think from a guy that's played at this level, that's looking at him, I think he's done a great job of just continuing to grow every single year. But he does a great job getting the ball out. They do, they got a lot of good playmakers. Once they get the ball in their hands, they do a lot of good things with it. I think he understands that. So the more he gets the ball out, the better he plays. And I think he's done it at a high level. Marcus, after they went 4-11 and then flipped it to the Super Bowl, and players around the league now think, well, hey, maybe it doesn't take that long to rebuild. Maybe there are possibilities now that didn't used to be, or teams like the crowd. Right, I think you just got to take it one week at a time, right? And you got to get hot at the right time. I thought Cincinnati, towards the end of last year, going into playoffs, they were part of the hottest team in the league. And I think, at the end of the day, you just got to get in the tournament. And that's what we talk about all the time. The fact of the matter is, if you can play well and get yourself into the tournament, anything kind of goes, and they're a great example of that. I know you credit the offense to getting the award, but does it feel kind of good, I mean, after not starting for a while and getting this again first time since 2018, to kind of be recognized by the league again? I don't even, honestly, I don't put a lot of into it. You know, I'm just having won the game. And that's what I'm here is to help these guys reach their potential, and hopefully we can win some more games and get where we want to go to. So there's no, there's near symmetry at all in your head in the league six to league six? No, I think. You talked about it a little bit.  But I mean, to say that makes me feel great. I mean, we won the game. That's what makes me feel good. At the end of the day, it's a long season. And it's going to take a lot more of team performances like that to get where we want to go. Marcus, one of the things that you've talked about and Coach Smith's talked about is you being comfortable in this offense to this point through six games. Where do you feel like your level of comfort is? I feel great. And like you said, I think week to week, it's kind of gotten better. For not playing for a couple of years, it's kind of getting back into the rhythm of things. And I appreciate Art and those guys kind of helping me get through that. But now I feel, I feel great. I think this offense, we do a lot of different things. So depending on who we're playing this week, you know, maybe we might throw it, maybe we might run it. I just think that we got a lot of versatility that allows us to create advantages. And we can hear in there right now, everyone's always having fun around here. You can tell the culture is kind of changing. What is it like from your vantage point exactly what the culture is around here right now? You said it's a lot of fun. It's fun coming to work. I've been in teams where it's not so fun, right?  But we got a lot of great relationships in here. And guys at the end of the day are playing for each other. And I think that means a lot more once you get on the field. What makes it so fun? Again, for me, I'm an older guy. So to be around some of these guys that, you know, they're always playing ping pong or always shooting hoops, it's always competitive. I think that's what makes it fun is we can, or day in and day out, it's competitive. And guys are always trying to get the better one of them. For your vantage point, when you're saving Kyle as a primary in your league, what do you see when you look toward Kyle in terms of throwing to him and making a decision to throw to him or check away from him? I think, for one, it's understanding, like Kyle is going to be open, even if he is kind of somewhat covered. He's got to get in the ball. So I think he does a great job, no matter what, of winning some of these 50-50 contested catches. It's on me to give him more opportunities. But I think as we get going, as the season continues to progress, we'll find ways to get in the football. Is that something that you noticed the first few weeks of the season where maybe as you were getting comfortable in the offense, you weren't maybe going to him, even if it was like a situation like you said, where he's open, even if he's not, where you're still learning that, was that part of it? I think that's part of the process, right? You know, it's never going to be perfect. And that's what Art and Coach Rags talked about all the time. I think if I'm out there trying to be perfect, I play a little too robotic. So just continuing just to grow in that aspect. And you know, as we continue to go forward, Kyle's going to win his one-on-one match-ups. We know that, we understand that. And it's just finding ways to get him into those opportunities so that he can get the ball. I think we weren't asked to pass a whole lot in the win over the four-ing enders. It was just 14 times. Obviously, you were efficient, or we wouldn't be talking about you being NFC offensive player of the week.  I just think that, just taking what they gave it. I think that was kind of the theme throughout the week. The four-ing enders on defense, they do a great job of just kind of making you take some underneath routes, maybe not getting some of those big explosive plays and trying to stay patient. So for the most part, being able to be efficient, kind of staying ahead of the change, allowing us to convert a lot of third downs. I think that was what was most important. And at the end of the day, we got the job done. That theme of taking what the defense gives you guys, that was something that Charles Blenden we were talking to him about today. He kind of said that's a way that this offense can become and be sustainable. Is that something that you think not only was just a theme of this last week, but could be a theme overall, the offense as a whole? It could be for sure.  But you also gotta understand, there's a happy medium. We have to be able to take shots down the field. Otherwise, teams start to load the box. It gets heavy. It's hard to run the football. It's hard to do a lot of different things. So it's kind of finding that balance, making sure that we are taking smart shots but also being efficient in the ball up.  Like I was talking with Seth and Bennett in Georgia. And it was just grandfather back in the day in high school. So was there anyone at some point that was like, use your legs too. This is gonna take you somewhere. I, it's actually kind of funny. My dad and my brother constantly have been reminding me to use my legs since, really since college. I think when I first got into the league, I was so adamant about being a player from the pocket. A guy that can kind of do everything from the pocket. And I really kind of lost my legs a little bit. And with my brother and my dad always kind of reminded me to use my legs. I think it's been great for me to be able to to get back out there and play a little more like myself. What's your assessment of the bingo safeties, the bomb bill and the aggressive things and what they do and operate on that defense? Yeah, I think they, they're playing at a high level. You know, seen on tape, they do a great job disguising coverages. They also do a great job of running the football and getting an added hat into the run game. So for our young receivers, you know, it's gonna be a tough assignment, especially in the run game. But yeah, I mean, you know, those guys have been playing at a high level now for a couple of years. I think we talked weekly about you playing confidently and it keeps getting easier obviously as the weeks go on. But aside, you getting another opportunity of being a starter in this league, what's changed for you here at the church in which to play more confidently and just really take advantage of the opportunity that you have? Yeah, it starts with the constant communication between myself, our Braggs and really the offensive staff. And then from there, being able to kind of relay it to the guys. So I always thought that if you can teach it, you know, you understand it a whole lot better. So being able to work through those lines of communication so that everybody feels confident when they get into. Talking about lines of communication with this offensive line, how have you seen kind of your understanding of the way they play and their understanding of the way you play kind of morph and change over the course of the first six games? That's a great question. Because I think it is tough, right? Like especially a guy that runs around a little bit in the back, you know, to sustain some of their blocks, maybe sometimes longer or they sometimes don't really understand where you're at. So I think these guys have done a great job of, you know, playing with high effort and understanding that, you know what, I might be somewhere where you're not expecting me to be and they've done an unbelievable job. So as we continue to go through the season, I think we'll find ways to be more comfortable so that maybe I'm scramming out. They understand where I'm going, that way they can protect it and we can create some more explosives. We talk about your dad and your brother reminding you did they play or like what was, and what is that? Like are they? No, my brother, he's always been kind of my biggest supporter. My dad has always been not only my biggest supporter, but also my biggest critic.  So their first instinct to me is always like, well, you couldn't run for it on third and four.  So like, you know, it's kind of cool because my brother now is, he's playing overseas, he's playing in England and playing in the East. He's actually playing quarterback now. So to be able to have conversations with him about it has been fun.  So to be able to talk through things with him, scenarios has always been good for me. And it's almost like a comfort thing when I'm able to talk to him. Chanel, he's playing quarterback. Do you call him? It's on the road. Well, he's running the veer. So he's running the veer. Okay.


Next Thursday, Columbia Art Center will have a world of creativity together with DREAM and it's all about African-American art and culture. You can come here and enjoy performances, visual arts, try some hands-on projects as well. This is for everyone, the event is free. And it is on Thursday, February 6th from 6 to 8 p.m. We try to make every event different and with every event we're trying to have some projects for children and adults to put their hands on. So the projects are very much related to the culture that we're talking about. So I actually don't know exactly what projects will be happening on Thursday. That's usually surprised to me as well. But it's always innovative and something simple so people can take it home with them as well. Well, if you want to learn about different cultures, which everybody should and should want to, this is the event for you. It is free, it is accessible to everyone and we really hope you come and join us. Thanks again and remember, we are Columbia.


This is Startup Storefront. According to the 2020 UCLA Hollywood Diversity Report, Latinos made up 18% of the population, yet received only 4.6% of movie roles in 2019. To put it simply, even though Latinos make up almost a fifth of the population, there's a massive gap in representation on the silver screen. There is, however, a growing movement within the industry to change that. Today we have the pleasure of talking to a leader of this movement, actress Justina Machado. You might recognize her from her roles in Jane the Virgin, Six Feet Under, or even Dancing with the Stars. In this episode, we discuss why she didn't call herself an actress until she moved to LA, why she didn't feel financially stable until she was 40, and the outrage the Latino community felt when James Franco was cast as Fidel Castro. And thank you to Cat Footwear for sponsoring this episode. They're a premier shoe company that empowers builders and doers to reframe the world to create something more meaningful. Right on set. We are rolling in three, two, one. Welcome to the podcast on Today Show. We're talking to Justina Machado. Thank you for joining. You're welcome. Thank you for having me. For the small amount of people who don't know who you are. Yeah. How do you introduce yourself? What do you do? I'm an actress. That's all I ever say. Yeah. That's a good way. Yeah. What made you want to first get into it? What made you want to get into the world of acting? I don't know. I just kind of fell into it, to be honest. I mean, I was in Chicago and I was, I'm born and raised in Chicago. And I was working at a bank. I had just graduated from high school.  My best friend's mother, who unfortunately just passed away a couple weeks ago, was an agent and called me. She was the first Latina agent in Chicago. It was called Salazar in Navas. And her name was Mirna Salazar. And she called me up one day and she said there's a play at Latino Chicago Theater. They're looking for a young Puerto Rican girl that's 16 years old. I know that you're not an actress, but I think you have great stage presence.  I went and I never stopped. What do you think she saw in you? Well, I was personality. I mean, for a lot of two minutes together. I see it. I was also a dancer. So she would see me dance back in the day. Yeah. So it was that. But then you do it. Then you did it. You did the role. I did it. I did the role. 16, you're having an existential, I was 18.  Come on. Don't we all, when you graduate from high school, you get, and then when your parents don't have money, like I didn't grow up with any money. So it's like there was no money to go to school. You know, they didn't know anything about loans, you know, like, like me growing up was literally working class and, you know, I'm first generation. My parents are from Puerto Rico.  They were obsessed with buying property. That's a good tip. That's a good tip, but they didn't care about school. You should care about school a little bit. It should go hand in hand. It should go hand in hand. It worked out for you. So I'm just saying, maybe not so much. Exactly, it worked out. Prior to that. So yeah, I was having a crisis. Absolutely. So then you do the role, you love it. You fall in love and then does she say, okay, cool, let's start casting you into all these things? Or maybe you don't love it. Well, the theater, the theater does that. So the theater, the artistic director, his name is Juan Ramirez, and he was like my mentor. How big is this community of Latinos in Chicago at this time? Oh my God, it was huge. In the acting theater. Oh, I don't know, because I kind of stayed in a bubble at the Latino Chicago Theater. And then I started to go out of the bubble, but he just kept inviting me to be in other plays. And I remember he would say, do you think you're an actress now? Because I thought it was so weird. I was like, you don't say you're an actor. I thought that was so out of corny, you know what I mean? Because in my world, nobody was an actor. And everybody would be like, oh yeah, right, you're an actor. I mean, I grew up in the inner city of Chicago. So it was like a joke. So I didn't start calling myself an actor until I left Chicago and I moved to New York. And did you do like trainings or workshops, acting sessions? I just did play after play after play at the Latino Chicago Theater. And you had it? You didn't have any fear? You were just like on it? I've never really had a lot of fear. Rehearsing lines, all that stuff, memorizing lines. I'm sweating just thinking about it. But I couldn't do what you do. See, that's the thing. What do I? Talk to people?  A real estate developer? Exactly. I mean, I couldn't do that. I'm pleased. I've been trying to buy a house forever.  Don't buy your home, buy your office, buy your studio. That's the move. See, look at that. See how you think like that? The best in property. You know? Exactly. Like this, this is our studio. So there you go. See, I don't think like that. All right, so then at some point, this becomes real to you and your friends and your family. And then you get, what's the first show? What's the thing? Do you move to LA? Are you still in Chicago? I moved to New York. I never came. I didn't come to LA. I went to New York first. And then I got a job from New York. And then I came to LA. So I was a pilot. You guys know what a pilot is, right? Of course, yeah. No, no, I don't know. I thought you said I was a pilot. And I was like, what? I lost something. It was a pilot. That's the first time I came to LA. So you didn't go to, so you went to New York then because of your theater background in New York? Because I wanted to be a Broadway star. That's what I wanted to do. I want, because I sing and I dance and I wanted to do that. Yeah. So I mean, of course I wanted to do film, but I never thought about television. I just thought New York. I'm from Chicago. The next thing is New York. Los Angeles I didn't like.  Nobody walked. It was crazy. I didn't know what was going on. People were crossing in the middle of the street. Like, you know, there's no public transportation. So I was, I was intimidated by Los Angeles. When you moved to New York, did you move with family? No, by myself. By yourself? Yeah. On the Lower East Side. Second, in 1994, on second between B and C. Oh my goodness. And it was bad back then. It was real bad. Yeah. So then what happened? You're in New York. So then I got- You do a pilot. It worked out? Yeah, I did a play in New York and then I did a bunch of jobs and commercials and then I got the pilot in LA and then I came out to LA and I never left. What was the move to LA like? Well, thank God, two of my best friends were already here from Chicago. So I lived with them on Lanewood, right by the Chinese theater. So you all lived together. Yeah. The three of us, we slept in one bed. Three girls. That's hilarious. Yeah, we had a one bedroom. I still do that, by the way. That's hilarious. Yes, yes. This is like every startup. So the first company I started was three guys in one bedroom. Really? Yeah. We had a big mattress in the living room. That was like our office. All the computers were there. And then I had the luxury, I had my own room. But it was just the mattress on the floor. I mean, it was bad. We shared the same car, too. And it smelled like dudes. It was like, nah, these guys weren't too clean. Right. Well, my girls were clean. Did you have to coordinate your auditions, then, if you're sharing the same car? It was my friend Laura's car. So we had to do whatever Laura wanted to do. So, you know, we had to wait an hour. We waited an hour for Laura to pick us up. But yeah, it was a stick shift. And it was a pain in LA. And it was like a pickup truck. And that was embarrassing when you're young. Are you still friends with them? Yeah, Laura and Margie, absolutely. Are they in where are they now? Well, Laura got, we were literally here five months and Laura got ER and was on ER for 15 years. Oh, wow. And Margie moved back to Chicago. Yeah. This game is hard, though, right? Yes, it is. OK. Let's talk about the hard parts of like auditioning or just the things that, right? Because it's a success story today. But in the moment, you're taking, you're going to New York. That must have been crazy. I loved it. Latino communities are tight.  Then you go to LA, right? Same thing, right? You're dealing with all these fears, anxieties. Or maybe not. Maybe you're just like, so you just had it. But they never go away, fear and anxiety, right? True. It doesn't go away. And also, you just, more than talent in this business, you just have to have perseverance and you have to really believe in yourself. And you have to. I always said, Hollywood can't do anything that wasn't happened, that didn't happen to me in the streets of Chicago. You know what I mean? I was pretty tough growing up in Chicago. So it's just, yeah, kind of. And I also went to six different schools by the time I was 10. So I was used to being the, you know, I'm sure I have a lot of PTSD about it. That perpetual change. I heard I have a lot of PTSD. Yeah, I kind of had school of the hard knocks, yeah. So what's your first role in LA? What was the thing that hit? My first was a show called, the pilot called Second Noah. And it was with James Marsden, actually. We played brother and sister. We were both adopted. But then the pilot got picked up and I got fired from the pilot. So I had never experienced anything like that. Does that happen? Yeah, oh yeah. Recast. You get, you get recast. That happened. So I got fired from when it went to series. I got fired and I remember I got recast. I guess I should say that. And that was super devastating, but I just kept going. I just kept going. That's a roller coaster.  I'm riding this wave. And then the next thing you know, you're not in, you're not on the cart. And you have to see it, you know what I mean? Because it stayed on the air for two years. And then after that, I was really stressed out, thinking the next thing after that was, I did a movie with Sean Penn called, She's So Lovely. What is that like? Well, that was, I was terrified I was going to get fired. Because after that, you're like, oh god, I'm going to get fired from everything. I was terrified. And it was like late at night. I don't mean to laugh. I just think it's funny. No, it's funny. I'd be crying otherwise. I do remember that. It was 19, like in the 95, I think. And it was shooting downtown. And I remember when I went there, this happened to me a lot when I first got here. Like they always thought I was a background artist. Back then they called them extras. So they never, they were always shocked that I actually had a speaking role. Why is that? Because I was Latina. So they were like, and even that day, when I went, there were all this, all these background artists. And I kept trying to talk to the AD and say, hi, where do I go? Where do, and she's like, sit there, sit there. And I'm like, wait, but I'm not. Shouldn't I have a trailer? And that happened to me a lot. Is it better now? I mean, because they know who I am. I mean, is it better? It's better. It's not as good as it should be. I mean, what Latino shows do you see on the air? You don't, what Latino families do you see on the air? Why do you think that is? Like when you, from your perspective, as someone in sort of in the game, why do you, I'm sure it's complicated, but just like... It's complicated. And I think that one of the things that people have to start, and not on this podcast, of course, because I'm here, but when people call me from certain news outlets and want to talk about it, they need to start asking the studios that question, not the actors that question. They just don't think we're viable. They just don't, they're not, they're not scared of us either because we don't make enough noise. And also... You mean like by viewership, by... Well, we buy the most tickets, Latinos, movie tickets. You know, we consume so much media. And yet we're not out there. Another thing that happens is that, and, you know, this can go deep about how, you know, as a Latino people were... I just did a special about this on MSNBC. I just did a special called The Culture of Latina. I've never heard of that. I just did the special with, and it was an amazing roundtable of all these women. And one of the things I said is that Latinos are not a monolith, you know? Yet there's something inherently Latino about every single one of us. And I think there's a lot of infighting, you know?  Like when I did One Day to Time, there were people, there were Cubans mad that I was playing, you know, some Cubans, not all. I got a lot of love, you know? But there were some that were upset.  It's like we're cutting each other off. And so I think that happens. And also, yeah, that's their excuse, the studios and the networks and all the good stuff. It's totally true. There's a perspective that I like about... So when I watch like Drink Champs or Puff Daddy or all these people, whenever they talk about what they own, they say we own it. And they're talking about we as a collective community. And you don't see this in the Latin community in any capacity. And it makes me sad. It makes me real sad, too. When I bring people to our breweries or the things we own, I'm like, this is ours. Like we own this. But even like I still see people's faces, like they don't really under... Like, what's he doing? Is he trying to trick me? Is he trying to make me feel some kind of way? And I'm like, no, like I just want people to just say like, by virtue of me looking like you, or by virtue of, like in your case, people can watch and see you. And so by virtue of the person watching and looking like you, it's an us thing, though. I agree. That's the thing I'll put out there. We don't, we gotta break that. We don't have it. No, we don't. But you know, I think a lot of us are trying to break it and talk about it and put it out there. It's just gonna take a minute, I guess. What's your thing with like... So James Franco gets all this heat for getting that lead role. Is that a huge issue? John Leguizamo goes out.  Why is James Franco playing Castro?  You know what I mean? Right, right. Like, not for me.   Look at what he did to his country. Look at that island. Look at these people. I mean, that man was a monster, you know? So it's not like, yeah, I want to play Castro. But at the same time, it's like, why James Franco? If there were even playing ground for all of us that we could do those things, then I'd be okay with it. But we can't. So not that we can't. They don't allow it to happen. So it's ridiculous that James Franco is playing Castro. It's ridiculous. He even said yes to that, you know? So I thought he was done after the whole, like, oh, that thing. I thought he was canceled. Yeah, yeah. Well, apparently not, because he's playing Castro. Yeah, right. I mean, he and Seth Rogen are splitting. I mean, they're. Yeah, I love that Seth Rogen. I'm going to work with him. But I just follow him. I think he's a great guy all around. Yeah, he does actually. Super smart, too. He is. He knows what he's doing.  But then I'm like, wow, he could bang her, bang her, bang her. His energy is on a different thing. Yeah, so I'm totally against that James Franco casting. I think it's sad. I think it's really sad. Who would you have wanted to see in that role? Oh, I don't even know. But I know that there's wonderful Latino actors. You know what I mean? I don't know who the right person is.  Yeah, he does look like him. But we don't know how to make somebody look like somebody. I didn't even know Jared Leto wasn't Batman. I was like, that was him? He played the penguin for like a second. I actually did not know that was called this moment. Yes, he did the new one. He was like the penguin. That was Colin Farrell. Oh, that's what I meant. Oh, shoot, sorry. Jared Leto was in House of Gucci. And I didn't recognize him. So, oh, that's right. He was so good in House of Gucci. I did not recognize him for half a minute. That was a great character. So don't tell me you can't do it, you know? It's just, so they're going to give you all these excuses because, you know, they're going to, they probably needed him to green light the movie. That's probably what happened. But that has to change already.  You're probably right. When you were on, just go back to Sean Penn. Sure. So I was watching the actor's guild, Tom Cruise is on there, and Tom has this thing where he learned it from some of the, somebody he played with early on, where it's like everyone on set just calls each other by their character name. Yeah. Is that a thing? Is that a real thing? That's so very fun. That's so funny that that's hilarious because Nick, Nick Cassavetes was the director of that. And I was, we were rehearsing, and Sean Penn didn't talk to me, but he came up to the, to the whatever, the ticket thing that where I was supposed to be selling him tickets. And he's like, what's your name? And I was like, Justina Machado. And then the director goes, no, Justina, not your real name, your characters. And I was like, well, I didn't know that. I didn't know he was improving. He didn't so, yes, so he started to improv. But it stayed in the movie. You know, so I just jumped on it and named myself because I always wanted to be named Carmen Rodriguez. I think that's such a beautiful name. It's a very Puerto Rican name. You know it. I grew up in Springfield. Most of the Latinos in Springfield, Massachusetts, were all Puerto Ricans. Oh my God, really? So I just grew up like, like my best friend is named Alan Rodriguez. Right, Rodriguez is such a Puerto Rican name. Yeah. And so I was immersed in that culture. People thought I was Puerto Rican. Because there's no, there's no other Latino in Massachusetts that I moved to L.A. Everyone's calling me Mexican. And I'm like, I'll be all of it. I don't know. I'll be all of it. I'm here for it. Yeah. If I'm in Portugal, people go, oh, he's Portuguese. I'm in Spain. I'm Spanish. I'm like, whatever. Right. Call me whatever you want. We'll go with it. After that movie, what was the next thing? Oh God, that was such a long time ago. I think it might have been NYPD Blue, like for two seconds, like a two second role. And are you comfortable in terms of like, from a money-making perspective? Or is it always like, you make it, then you're terrified and then like, with money? Just in terms of acting, like, do you ever feel stable? Or is it a constant game of? It's a constant. I feel a lot more stable now. Yeah. But I mean, I think I've been stable, but it took a long time to feel that way. How long? Also, oh my God, probably I didn't feel stable till I was like 40. That was a long time. And I started doing it when I was 18.  And I'm just, and I've just learned how to deal with money, you know, because when you don't grow up with it, you don't know what to do with it.  How did you go about navigating like? Well, I had a business manager that I actually got a lien put on me when I was with him. So I was like, that's not the right business manager. Right, right. I was gonna say, that's a lot of trust right there. And then I, you know, and then I have a great guy now that made me do a lot of stuff that I didn't know about, you know. So, and now I ask questions because I think I was just embarrassed. So I didn't ask the questions. And now I ask the questions. Yeah. So now you feel stable and now you're good. I do feel stable. Now I'm, I'm good.  Those phone calls, like, it's my money. And I get nervous about talking about it, you know, or with the guy that, that invests. I get nervous about it. And I still have that. So what do you invest in?  That's all I know. What's safe? What's safe in today's world? Oh my gosh, I don't want to talk about this. You're making me nervous. I'm busy. Cause like, what's safe in today's world? Index funds, COVID, COVID vaccines. Well, by the way, hello. Not dogecoin. What's that? You're not in crypto. Well, it's so funny because my girlfriend was trying to get us all to do that. NFT. Is that still happening? Is that still popular? It's crypto winter. I would avoid that. It's okay. That's what I thought.  Sorry. It was like, I was like, what? That's a lot of money. What? For like a thing like, oh, I know. That was, you look, see, that was as much as I was willing to. And I wasn't even going to do that. The problem with that, it became part of culture. And once it became part of culture, it became highly sought after. Yeah. There's not many.  Look at my Lego and everything. And then once it was in that space. I don't even understand that. I don't even know what that crypto thing is. Or I mean, it's taken me this long to not all stare at money. There's no utility to it, but like the artwork, as, yeah. I'll explain it to you briefly, if you want. So basically, if you think about like U.S. currency or just like dollars or any government, at some point like the government can take your money. So if you're, so people in China experience this, people in Cuba experience this. And so you could have wealth and the government could take it from you. And so because of that, and because that's like a fact, then people said, there's got to be another form of currency that isn't reliant upon government intervention or upon a president or a dictator, all of a sudden wanting to go to war, then my assets are seized. And also like the transfer of money. So if I wanted to give you a million dollars, I could wire to you via Chase, and that might take a little while. I might have to go to Chase and like sign these paperwork. And so within like a week, you might get it. So the transfer of wealth is slow. And so cryptocurrency just said, we need to build a currency that isn't dependent, is like free of government. And then at the same time, I can transfer it to you electronically, just like an email. That's the premise of it. But it's not, it's not tangible, right? No, it's tangible. Yeah. Not yet. It became tangible once all these people came into the market and said, I'm a believer of this. I'm a believer. And so once you have enough believers, it's almost like a real estate development project, right? At the beginning, it's an idea. And then once you have enough believers, it's a thing. Yeah. Now you're in it, like a movie, a script. Same thing. And so once there's enough people, it's a thing. The problem is the people running that thing is what you're betting on. And so there's just too much movement. But at a high level, that's what cryptocurrency is solving for. Yeah. It's solving for if the government's going to seize my assets. So like in Russia, right? So they go to war, becomes an issue. US stops giving money, right? And so cryptocurrency becomes a de facto. As an American, I can go to Cuba and I can't use an ATM, right? But if I crypto, I could use that crypto to put it in like a Swiss bank account and then take money out. And so it becomes a way to- But if it's not tangible, I don't understand what you're putting into the Swiss bank account. It has value. The problem is it has value. So like one coin could be worth $1.50, something like that. Yeah, that's the problem. Because there's enough people in it now. But did they say they were going to regulate it? They're going to regulate it. They're talking about it, yeah. That'll definitely happen. Yeah. Not, yeah. Anyway, point being, we're in crypto winter. Yeah, and so no one's doing it at the moment. It's not a good time to be in the market, but also America's about to be in a recession. So that's another whole nother. Yeah, yeah. That's what they say, huh? I was more curious. As an actor, we're always in recession. The reason I asked about the investments was because I was curious, if you had put your money into investing into Latino businesses or something of that nature. But it's- No, no. It's just like, you know, that's what I mean. It's not been anything like that. The Latinos that I invest are my family. I invest a lot in those people. Did anybody see what you were doing and go, okay, I want to go. I want to try acting. Did you, like are there seeds within your family that they're maybe, or maybe they just like- My brother's not an actor, but he's a fashion designer. He's actually designing, he and his partners. They've designed my dress for the Critics Choice Award for my MSNBC special, three Latinos. And I think they're going to make something for me because Norman Lear's 100th birthday celebration is September 8th. And- How long did you work with Norman? For five years. So maybe you can answer a question for me that I've always had. When you wear a dress on like a red carpet and like, you know, people ask- I think you've always had this question. That should be enough for you to worry. I'm curious about- He wants to wear a dress. The bump. Because like you get the question, like who are you wearing?  And so like- Your brother can tell you like, oh, we got X amount of business from this or like. So I was curious if you had delved into, when I say it at this red carpet, it gets more recognition or publicity than when I say it at that red carpet. Oh, like, I mean, no, not really. I don't even like really care about social media. I just have to have it because of what I do. You know what I mean? I'm not very good at it because you should really post a lot to have people always. I think my last post was like a month ago, you know? And so no, I don't really follow that. I don't know how to do that.  No, because I'm from a different era, you know, like where it wasn't, it didn't matter how many followers you had. That's never affected me. Like, I know it affects the younger actors. That's what I've heard, like the really, really young actors. But that's not my world, you know? So I don't even let it creep into my mind because it's like, that'll drive you crazy. Like I heard my daughter on one day at a time, she'd be like, oh my God, this, you know, this girl has a million followers. And it's like, have you ever seen Black Mirror? Did you see that episode of The Followers?  It's so great. It's a great show. It's a great show. I just, I don't care, man. There's too much to care about. I'll drive myself crazy. And the studios, from your perspective, they don't care either based on you, because you have the talent, I already know you. But they would, I think. For the younger generation, yeah. I think it's important for the younger generation. I mean, look at all the people that do the movies, but then I don't think the movies do that well. I got to be honest, you know?  But I don't know if they can, you know. How was your time on that show? It was, it was a lot of work. Heather and I were talking about that. It was a lot of work. It seems like a boot camp. Like, it seems like these people are working out a lot. I mean, they're getting injured. Oh my God. I'm like, what is happening with these injuries? Like, how bad is this thing? Like, how am I? Because you're dancing every day. Every, every. That's too much. Yes, I know. I figured that out. I was like, this is crazy. But is it like the show making you, or is it like your partner, the person you're paired with, just wants to get this so dialed in? It's the dancers. It's the dancers, yeah. Because the show always says to you, this is what the show says. And by the way, I love Deena Katz. I love everybody over there. They were really wonderful during a time where the pandemic had just started. And, you know, I was super depressed.  Why, why, why? Because Hollywood stopped or what? Everything. I mean, it wasn't even so much work. It was like, what was going on? The one day I was on the talk, doing the talk, the next day I was like buying a Peloton. Like the rest of the world. That's funny, yeah. That's funny. And so literally, I was like, what's happening? So when they asked me to do it, I said, yes. I'd rather be doing that every day than lying in my bed. And I was really depressed. And so, but the show says, you can dance as much as you want to dance, rehearse as you. But you know, you get in there. Yeah, you want to win. You get ready to do it. You want to win. You know, so you say, yeah, yeah, yeah. And the dancers really want to win. So yeah, there was a lot of dancing.  How many hours a day do they put you guys through? Well, the good thing is that because it was the beginning of COVID, we couldn't just do anything. They had to like, we could only do three hours or four hours a day. Only three? Yeah. Oh my God, these dancers would do before COVID, did like seven, eight. They could do however long they wanted. How old are these people? I know that. By the way, Nellie and I were like the oldest ones. Yeah. Yeah, yeah. Oh my God. That we made it to the finale, myself and Nellie. He won, right? No, no. Bachelorette, Caitlyn Bristow. Yeah, she won. And then the catfish guy was second. I forget his name. No, no, no. Yeah, yeah, yeah. He was great. He was a good guy. And then Nellie was third and then I was fourth. What did you notice career-wise after the show? That a lot of people watch it. A lot of people watch it. Yeah. It's a juggernaut. I had this one person tell me something which I thought, I don't know how to respond to this.  I'm like, okay, I don't know what to say. So is her racism cured? Did I change her? Yeah, right. Did I change the lady? I think you changed her. I think you solved racism by dancing with the stars. That's the answer, everyone. It actually, it does a lot for you, to be honest. It really does a lot for you. You wouldn't think it does, but you know. Especially if you make it deep. Yeah, especially if you make it as far as I did. I mean, Mario Lopez, it seemed like he was resurrected. Oh, yeah. Now, complete. Right? Complete. I love that guy. He's a great guy. He's a great guy. I loved him then. I love him more now, but it's like that show really took him to a place that he was everywhere all of a sudden. Everywhere. And that's what happened. And I think it's nice if you dance well. Yeah. And he was a great dancer, Mario. I think it's basically a show for Latinos to be on. If you put a Latino on that show, they're going to do well. Yeah, but there's not that many Latinos. They need more Latinos. And you know what else they need? And I say this. They love doing the rumba, the salsa, cha-cha-cha. Where's the Latino dancer? Exactly. Where is your, like, you need to bring that in, you know? And I've said that before, because they love the Latin dances. It looks good on TV. Yeah, exactly. It's sexy. So what happened after dancing with the stars? I don't know what happened after dancing with the stars. I can't remember. It doesn't it feel like it's been 10 years from 2020 to 2022? It does. It does, yeah. I don't know what happened. I just started working and I did a couple movies. And then I did the pilot for The Horror of Dolores Roach last year for Amazon and Blumhouse.  And then that's what I've just finished shooting it on Saturday. Give people a sneak peek. What is it? Oh, God. It's just I'm really bad at explaining it right now. But it's like. A crime thriller. Well, it's it's funny. It's like a new genre.  Yeah, great show. So that's such a great show. So she's in jail for 16 years after selling weed. She gets set up by her boyfriend and she comes out. Washington Heights is completely gentrified. She doesn't know anybody. She walks into this Impanada shop and the same kid that had a crush on her when he was like 13 is running it.  And he starts making Impanadas out of it. I'm making it. But wait, wait, wait, that's what I'm getting the Sweeney Todd reference. That's what I that's what it is. So it's so funny. And it's dark. And it's great. Yeah.   Because, you know, I did. I read it right away. And I thought because I could kill people. No. I just thought that, you know, when have you seen a woman of color have that kind of role?    And I just thought how exciting to be that person to do it, you know. Do you ever have a dream project maybe as a writer, producer yourself or a dream role maybe? It's funny because people ask me that. And I don't know. I don't think I have a dream role. I think that I've been really lucky, you know, 20, well, I shouldn't say lucky because I worked hard, but like 20 years or more than 20 years ago, I got six feet under. And that was that revolutionized television. And then, you know, I got to play this fabulous character Penelope Alvarez on One Day to Time with Rita Moreno. And that was, and then this I think is going to be something. So I think that I think I've, you know, I've always been really picky about what I do, even when I didn't have any money. I didn't want to do stuff that was a stereotype.  I don't want to just be Lupe, you know. Right. Yeah. Lupe the housekeeper. You know it. Lupe the housekeeper, you know. She cleans the house pretty well though. She said you ought to go like, I'll do Lupe, you know. I didn't want to just do that. That's what I loved about I Love Lucy. Oh God, I loved I Love Lucy. Because it was like a woman and a Cuban guy. Yeah. And like that, that to me at the time was like, imagine. Right? Like people are like, I don't know. I think they miss it. I think they don't understand when they're watching it. You know, I think now today it's like, holy crap, how progressive was that? But that show was bananas. Have you seen the documentary? They have so many great documentaries on it, on Amazon. They really do. And it talks, you know that Desi Arnaz is the one that invented four cameras for the sitcom. That was Desi Arnaz. He also had the, what was it? The residuals. He more or less invented like residuals. And residuals. Yeah. Yeah. So Desi Arnaz. What does that mean? What does four cameras mean? Okay. So when you do a sitcom, they used to be film. It's not film anymore. They have four cameras because you're on, it's flat.  So in order for them to get every angle, they have four cameras. And Desi Arnaz is the one that. So before that, nobody did that? So before that, nobody did that. It was his idea. See, we need eight cameras in the podcast, you know. We need to be the first one to have eight cameras. It was his idea. That's amazing. We're going to have every angle imaginable. Well, so and with the residuals, Desi did it as a result of Lucy being pregnant. And so they couldn't go on the air anymore. And so he was like reruns. That's what it was. Yeah. Thank you reruns. And so because she was pregnant and couldn't go on the air anymore, he was like, well, I have been sitting on this footage. I own it, not the studio. They owned it. So what they did was like, they were like, well, let's replay it. And at the time, no one knew. That sounds like a bad idea. At the time, no one had done that before. Will people tune in for this? And it was such a hit. And so he kind of rewrote how the industry operated after that with the ability of rerunning IP that they had already invented. I love that show. I'll still watch that show. You used to watch that before I went to bed every night. Oh, I love that. Such a good show.  Because I think like she plays all the stereotypes, but then it's the ultimate success story. Yeah. It's the ultimate like moving to America, single parent. Like I was watching Care Bears while she was cleaning a motel. Right. Right. And then how she got like a job.  And then it's like us graduating college and like where we are today. But really like her fighting through all these hurdles. Yeah. I want to make that movie. That's a great story, man. I want to make that movie. Those stories are always great. And they never. And there's plenty of that for sure. The human condition, but it's awesome. Everybody loves to see that, you know? You want to play my mom? Sure. Done. We inked it. We inked it. That was too easy. I got to get the marijuana accent. You'll have that one. Yeah, yeah.  We just hire a dialect coach. That's all. Is that all you do? Yeah. That's what you do. Okay. We'll do that. And you work really, really hard. I don't even know what the Peruvian accent is to be. I don't know. I'm afraid of it. So if you said it, I would start being like, oh no, please put that away. I don't need to be with my mom. God, I know, right? I know. Yeah. She'll be here in a couple, in like a couple months. And she's still in Massachusetts. Yeah. But she's going to move into, we got an apartment for her in the back right here. How awesome is that? And so we're going to get an apartment. Love it.  Yeah. And so like, I did it. Yeah. That's a great story. By the way, it's like you made it. You made it. I took her into the apartment. Yeah. She's like, oh, she gets a moment. Right. Does that? And then she goes, you're changing that fixture.  And I'm like, what? Yes, exactly. Oh, come on, man. Give me the moment. Give me the moment. But it was like, I had the moment for a two seconds. You know how it is. I had the tear drop, and then it was boom, over. And I was like, that's what's up. Yeah. That's how it goes. It's onto business, moving forward. That's how it goes. From your view in the world of Hollywood, what do you think Latinos need to either be successful, maybe get to get? Like how do we change the thing, like the thing that's a problem today? We just keep talking about it. We just keep getting people in positions that are more powerful. You know, we have, I mean, my old boss, she's one of the best, Gloria Calderonquelet.  Eva Longoria, America Ferreira, I can go on.  So we just keep doing that. And that's all I could really say. I don't, it's a constant fight. It's a constant fight. And I think what I like about the younger generation that's here now is that they're not scared, you know?  And now because of social media, because of so many movements, that doesn't really happen. So I do like that everybody is really talking about it. And that's the way it changes, you know? But we also have to support. Like I have so many friends that say, I feel like this is where it drops off.  And I said, let me ask you something. How come Latinos, I don't know what to say because all my friends have been, I mean, all my friends are on all the shows, you know, the Latino shows.  Why does ours have to be so incredible? Let's, you know, let's, let's, but let's support it. Let's support it. And then there'll be another. And then there'll be another. And then, you know, like one day to time, that was brilliant. I mean, it was not just because I was on it. It was like a brilliant show. You know, look at Goldita Chronicles. That got rave reviews and it got canceled. HBO decided that they weren't going to do family programming anymore. So Goldita Chronicles just got canceled. Baker and the Beauty was one season got canceled. You know, it's just, I mean, I'm glad that Rosalind's show is doing great. Fantasy Island. Fantasy Island, I've loved that one. Yeah, it's, I always loved Fantasy Island. You never saw the reruns of Fantasy Island with Ricardo Montalban? Right, Montalban. He's like taboo. He's like, they're playing, they're playing. Yes. Olds, old show. So it's from the, it's from the 70s and 80s. Yeah. I used to watch that and The Love Boat and all like, it was like a lineup. Fantasy Island and The Love Boat. I think from my perspective, we had Avenida's productions in here and the thing they're doing, they're creating like this, almost like an incubator where they're, they're providing funds for script writers. Yes, a lot of people are doing that. Yeah, and they also built out their own studio and so it's like they have a bodega and they have all the things in like a studio. I don't know who they are. Avenida productions, they're pretty close. We had them on the podcast for this. We can connect you after this. I would love to know who they are. They're also streaming service aimed at Latino shows and programming. I would love to know who they are. That's awesome. Yeah. And so we, you know, but it's like, okay, you have that part. And but when we talked to them, the whole thing was like, we need people to tune in though. Like we need the Latinos to vote with their eyeballs. Yeah. And you know, that's the thing. That's not the only thing. That's not the only thing. That's how they viewed it. But it is a big thing. They're right. But it's not the only thing, you know, because they also have to give shows an opportunity. Another thing that happens is that the studios don't put any money into marketing. They put no money into it. Right. They'll do all the rest of it. Yeah.   Or if it was an ABC show, then you'd be on whatever late night show was that show. They're not even doing that. Right. So then does it become prescient to use your social media platform? Yes. No, but that's true. But let's see. But me, that's not going to happen because I'm not going to do it. You know what I mean? So even though you know, like, is it because like you just don't want to touch it? It's because I'm not good at it, man. Because I'm not good at it. Hire somebody. Just hire someone to do it. That's true. But then I'm a control freak, you know? Right. And I'll be like, I'll be a micro, you know, micromanaging stuff. So no, I think that, of course, yes, it comes down to us. But also, I'm working for Blum House in Amazon. And you know, they're two powerhouses. So I'm sure that, you know, that they're going to do it. And I'll do my part, of course. Are there a lot of Latino executives like in those leadership positions? No. No, that's probably problem one. Exactly. Yeah. It's all of those. Those are all the problems. Yeah. Yeah. Well, listen, we heard it's your birthday coming up. Yes, it is. Yeah. September 6th. Yeah, you know it. We got you a little bit. We got you coming here. We had to do it to you. So happy birthday to you from the podcast, from our listeners, from Cat Footwear. Thank you. You're very welcome. Oh my goodness. Thank you for coming on the podcast. I'm going to make a wish, guys. Hold on. Please do. Please do. It's for the movie. We'll check in with you later to see if it came true. Yeah, I know, right? I hope it does. Thank you, Justina. Yeah, thank you so much for coming on the show. Thank you. Happy birthday. Thank you. Hey, you. Yeah, you listening. Thank you so much for making it to the end of the episode. Make sure to follow us on Instagram, subscribe on YouTube, and we cannot wait to see you next week for another great episode. Cheers.