02.22.2019 | By Jack Rico |
Not sure if you noticed, but a Latina is the star of the #1 movie in America. Rosa Salazar, the star of “Alita: Battle Angel,” spoke to us about white-knuckling her way to this grand moment, why there was no pressure once the call came, why Latino representation matters, and why she’s proud of being Peruvian. Read More
08.18.2017 | By Jack Rico |
We’re sending our love and prayers to the people of Barcelona who suffered a senseless terrorist attack. But on a lighter note, this is probably one of the best podcast shows we’ve done. We chat with Mesfin Fekadu, music editor of the Associated Press, who broke the story about Despacito not being nominated at this year’s VMAs. Did this happen because of cultural bias? We dissect all the variables, along with some of our thoughts on whether MTV should start playing Spanish-language music videos. Then I talk to Colombia’s hottest band of the moment, Bomba Estéreo, about their new album AYO, music and race, coca leaves, payola in the music business, and their love for the street language of Spanglish. Read More
06.30.2017 | By Jack Rico |
Thank you for listening to episode 38 of the Highly Relevant podcast. This week we’re focusing on Spider-Man: Homecoming and how everyone has been raving about how diverse it is. We’ll talk to our intern Andrea Huswan, who attended the press conference in NYC on our behalf and set off a chain of diversity questions that ultimately got us covered by NewYorkMagazine.com! Read More
02.28.2017 | By Jack Rico |
In this episode of the Highly Relevant podcast, we interview the female director of the hit bilingual film ‘Everybody Loves Somebody,’ Catalina Aguilar Mastretta, about creating bilingual and bicultural cinema for a new generation of US Hispanics. Also, the Oscars are this Sunday and who better to talk to about the state of multiculturalism at the Academy Awards than April Reign, the creator of the #OscarsSoWhite movement, plus, my review of Jordan Peele’s black horror film “Get Out”. Read More
02.20.2017 | By Jack Rico |
Welcome to episode 19 of the “Highly Relevant” podcast! Our friend Carrie Keagan (26:00), host of Bravo After Hours, stops by the podcast to promote her new book “Everybody Curses I Swear,” Ice Cube (1:20) joins me to discuss his new high school movie “Fist Fight”. We also talk a bit about the American educational system, why raunch comedies aren’t offensive to people anymore and his secret to making hit movies. And if you like Latin pop music, you probably have heard of the Mexican brother/sister duo – Jesse y Joy (8:14). They have a new self-titled bilingual album and we chatted at length about bilingualism in music and in this country. It’s a great show, so put your headphones on or if you’re listening in your car, crank it up. Read More
01.31.2017 | By Jack Rico |
This week, I break down the Oscar nominations with NY1’s film critic Neil Rosen (:55). We’ll talk snubs and surprises and go over the top categories. Also, I’ll tackle the lack of visibility of Latinos in Hollywood films with my good friend and film contributor on The Insider and Entertainment Tonight, Tara McNamara (29:30). Why are we so invisible when we should also be at the forefront of film and pop culture? And finally, I discuss Trump, the wall, our new Mexico feud and sanctuary cities with The Wall Street Journal’s Laura Meckler (20:41). Will cities abide by the new immigrant proposals? Miami already has and that is bad news for Latinos. Read More
10.31.2016 | By Jack Rico |
On the tenth episode of my Highly Relevant podcast, I had a chance to chat with Brian Tyree Henry, a.k.a. Paper Boi on FX’s Atlanta. We spoke mainly about diversity in the arts, but we did get to the nitty gritty on the prolific usage as of late of the word ‘nigga” in television and film (music has been like that from the beginning). Aren’t we trying to eliminate the word from our vocabulary? We also conversed on his pal Donald Glover’s casting in the new Star Wars movie, his first encounter with him, his character Paper Boi, the show’s appeal, his view on Latino culture, Broadway’s lack of minority storytelling, and why Gina Rodriguez is so hot to him. Read on or listen to the interview! Read More
10.21.2016 | By Jack Rico |
On this ninth episode, I talk about Tom Cruise’s new movie ‘Jack Reacher: Never Go Back’ with my good friend Mike Sargeant as we tackle Tom’s career, his longevity and our opinions on why he doesn’t seem to want to collaborate with another A-List actor (3:20). We also review Broadway’s new family feel-good musical Holiday Inn (24:46) as well as take a look at Ava DuVernay’s Queen Sugar (21:34), and I ask a New Yorker what he’s seeing, listening and downloading (27:43), plus, we recap the most important pop culture news you might have missed this week. Read More
10.16.2016 | By Jack Rico |
On this eighth episode, I welcome one of the quintessential NY Latino character actors in Hollywood, David Zayas (1:17). We converse about his new movie “The Lennon Report”, his lack of desire to be the star in movies and which stories he thinks Latinos should be writing about for Hollywood. Also, the NYFF begins this weekend and I spoke to Kent Jones (14:30), the director of the festival himself, to share his must-see movies, what we can expect from Pedro Almodovar’s new film Julieta and why there’s such an absence of US born Hispanic directors in cinema today. And ADVERTISING WEEK has hit NYC and I decided to speak with one of the great minds in multicultural marketing, Linda Ong (23:20), the CEO and Founder of TruthCo. about the future of Hispanic television. What language will it be in? What kind of programming will be on it? That and a recap of all the best pop culture stories that you might’ve missed this week. Read More
