Stay Tranquilo - Cuban Cowboy in the 305: Orlando Mendez on Motherland, Miami Roots & the “Always Summer” Six-Pack

Episode Date: December 3, 2025

Good morning! In today’s episode of Cafecito y Croquetas, we sit down with returning friend of the fam, Orlando Mendez – aka the Cuban Cowboy ☕🥐🤠We get deep into what it means to be second-generation Cuban-American, carrying the stories of our abuelos while living a very modern Miami life. Orlando shares how losing his grandparents and being part of the legendary Amparo Experience woke something up in him and ultimately inspired his breakout song “Motherland.”From there, we dive into his unique journey from:🎭 Acting in Miami & New York to having everything shut down during COVID🎸 Picking up a dusty guitar in his room and teaching himself country music on YouTube🎶 Falling in love with Darius Rucker, Tim McGraw & classic country in reverse (modern → Johnny Cash era)🌊 Realizing his heart will always be in Miami, the Keys, and on the waterOrlando then breaks down his new project, the “Always Summer Six-Pack” EP, including:How the idea hit him on a flight home from Nashville at one of his lowest pointsA writing camp in the Florida Keys where they knocked out 4–5 songs in 48 hoursThe story behind songs like:“Modern Day Pirates”“Beers Back Home”“Saltwater Salvation”“Hurt to Hit”Why he wants his songs to become anthems in people’s lives, tied to real memories and momentsWe also talk about:🇨🇺 Owning the label Cuban-American instead of running from it🌴 Why it’s “Always Summer” in Miami, in the Keys, and in your mindset🍺 How brands like Johnny Cuba, Cow Bakery, Larona, John Bell Construction & more helped make this independent project possible🎵 Jimmy Buffett, Margaritaville, and building a lifestyle around musicIf you love Miami culture, Cuban roots, country music, storytelling, and Keys-on-a-boat vibes, this episode is for you.👉 Always Summer Six-Pack EP drops December 5 – go run it up and show the Cuban Cowboy some love!Don’t forget to like, comment & subscribe, sip your cafecito, eat your croqueticas, and we’ll see you on the next one.#CafecitoYCroquetas #OrlandoMendez #CubanCowboy #AlwaysSummer #Motherland #Miami #305 #CubanAmerican #CountryMusic #FloridaKeys Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Good morning and Buenos Aires. Welcome back to another episode of Cafecito and croquettas brought to you by Stay Tranquilo. Today, we're joined by a repeating friend of the family, friend of the friend of Stay Tranquilo. Yes, sir. Mr. Orlando Mandis, a.k.a. the Cuban Cowboy. How's up, brother? How we doing? How we doing? How we doing? Yeah, bro. First time here on Cafesito and Croquitas. Yes, sir.

Listen, I've been watching this segment for a while now. You guys crush it on this. And of course, my favorite sponsor ever. Johnny Cuba, stay tranquil. We got all the whole fam here on set represented, bro. Oh, fam, baby. It's as Miami as it gets. 100%, bro.

You got the Cafesito and Croquettas right there with your friends from. Cal bakery. Cow bakery. We got a little Johnny Cuba, hot sauce and beer. We got our business partners at A Chinco. And of course, us at Stay Tanko. So just like, Owen, let's not forget about our friends over at Yeti. Great, great people.

So here we are. It's a beautiful day. I want to, obviously, we've had you on, on the state of Trenquilopod, but obviously a lot has changed since then. And we really want to kind of highlight, obviously, your story. That's kind of the basis of a lot of these conversations highlighting the stories of Miami, all the influential, amazing people that walk through Miami, right? So I want to, let's bring it back, right? Let's bring it back from the beginning.

You know, tell us about being born, raised in Miami, family, Cuban, all that fun stuff. Tell us a little bit about that. Yeah, so born and raised right here in the 305, second generation Cuban American. My abuelos had, you know, a very honest and very, you know, genuine Cuban story and leaving the island of that's where their heart was. That's where they had worked, you know, not only them, but generations before to make their lives over in Cuba. and then to have everything taken away from them. Right. From the Castro regime when they took over.

And then, you know, I say it all the time, they were left like a lot of families with a choice. You know, they could stay there, but everything they ever worked for would not belong to the state. The government, you know, was no longer theirs. Or they could leave, but they weren't going to leave them much. And they left with hardly anything and made their way, you know, and then found their way to this great city and this great country. It took them in. And so, you know, my story is very much like the Cuban-American story and now just trying to continue carrying that with me. Absolutely.

As the second generation, as it gets further from, you know, as my world is now passed and as we get further along the line, just carrying that mantle. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's funny, right? Because we, like you mentioned, are the next generation of Cubans, right? Like, keeping the traditions alive, keeping the cultural identity alive. And not to say that, like, we feel like we have to, but I think we're just so passionate about, you know, where we've come from. Of course. And you don't really appreciate it until you start getting older and older, right?

Our grandfather, all my grandparents are gone, you know? So now it's really, like, the pass of the baton. And obviously, my parents are around and all that. But, like, for me, it's like we are that next generation, right? Because they were directly associated with that direction, considering they're their parent. But, like, if it's not us, then it dies. That's gone. then it's over.

So I think for us, it is really about keeping those traditions alive, but like in a more modernized way. Of course. At the end of the day, we are, you know, we are second generation.

We are almost more American than we are Cuban. 100%. 100% being born here, being raised here, and, you know, this is what we know. But like you said, that culture that runs through our veins,

that Cuban blood that's still there, it's our job to carry it on because if not us, then who, exactly. Our world is passing away. Our parents now getting older. after that really like you said our parents have that direct lineage they have that those are my

parents exactly but now we're two generations it's like now we need to you know dig deep and find it and carry it carried it on 100% and obviously I think you've done a great job of doing that and you're now your nickname's the Cuban cowboy yeah so I mean and we talk about like that modernization of like how do we keep it around and because it is your identity right and it's not it's not necessary straying away from it but it's it's actually like owning it as part of your identity because I have friends that they're like, they ask like, are you cute, you know, like, where are you from? Right. And they're like, I'm American. Right. And I'm like, okay, yes, you are American. We were all born in American. I'm not,

I'm not saying we're not American. But like, why not label yourself as Cuban American? Right. Like, because that's really who you are, right? Because you wouldn't be here in America, but wasn't for the fact that your grandparents left Cuba to find a better life and owning that that is part of you. your identity. And it's like there's there was like almost like a stigma around like coming from Cuba or not like being proud of like being from another country or being connected to another country. Right. And reality is where you came from Colombia, Venezuela, Cuba, Puerto Rico, DR, and wherever place, we have that cultural connection to it because it's where our ancestors came from. And they are the ones like you said that made the choice to come into America's for the opportunity

and for that better life. So for me, like, we are Cuban American. And then, you know, you being the Cuban galboy is, like, the perfect way to kind of just express that. Yeah. No, you know what? And you know what, Andre, you said something there. It's like, I also ran from it for a while.

Yeah. I'm not going to lie. It did spend a lot of people who did. I spent a portion of my life, especially for some reason, man, it was around that, like, high school age that I just kind of neglected anything, like being Cuban. I was like, I'm a, what I love, you know, I'm American. I love football.

I love country music and I love truck, you know. And although I still truly love all of those things, and they are part of me, I started digging deep when I started losing my oldos, I started digging deep as, okay, but there's this whole other side of things that I absolutely love to. And it was all because I love my o'elos, and because I loved them, I felt an adopted love for the land that they came from, for my heritage, for my culture. You know, everybody who's surrounding my family, my parents, my brothers, you know, my Tias and Tios, they are all go back to this common thing of like, we are a Cuban.

100%. 100%. And I think for us, like this is, we lived it, right? So we experience it. And now it's part of our identity. So tell me a little bit, obviously we mentioned Cuban Cowboys. So when was it that you chose to get into that, right? We'll get into kind of your, I guess, path into music, right?

But part of that path, I'm sure, is where kind of the inspiration of the Cuban Cowboys, came into life. Yeah, where I found country music. Yeah. Yeah, I mean, I think I was like, I always try to remember, but the best way I can pin it, I was like in high school around high school age, and I remember I found the music of Darius Rucker, who I remember being a very familiar voice from my childhood, of course. Like I, like we all have, you know, we had that, that common theme of every Sunday when the

Dolphins lost, you know, that song would bring us right back. Every single time. You know, hooting the blowfish. So that voice just kind of connected. It helped I had a girlfriend at the time who loved country music as well. So she kind of got me into the genre, found Darius, found his catalog, and then that led me to, you know, like Shelton and Dirk's Bentley and Billy Curring, telling people, all these guys and female artists that were popping off at the time,

fell in love with the genre. I mean, just like took the deep dive and loved it, bro. I mean, the stories, the lyrics, the story, you know, like I said, the lyrics and the melodies. and mostly just the stories are told, like every song was, had some sort of meaning. And I've lived my life to storytime. 100%. That's what I'm most passionate about. So, dude, just fell in love with the genre, deep dive.

And then I found country music kind of in reverse. You know, a lot of people grow up with it, right? And they grow up with like their parents' country, which is, you know, the 70s, 80s, 90s country. And then they get, you know, then their own taste comes into it with the modern stuff. I found the modern stuff first, those early, you know, 20, late 2000's 2010's country and then had to do my work and my research to go

backwards and start listening to the Johnny Cash's and the George Jones and the you know all these incredible the Merrill Haggards and all these incredible artists that had come before. Right. Yeah. It's funny. You bring up Johnny Cash. I remember my grandfather used to listen to Johnny Cash a ton. Yeah. Like he loved

Johnny Cash. But for me, it never really gravitated. Right. You know, now I love the hell out of and appreciate Johnny Cash like crazy. But for me, it was was not like, I kind of just heard it like in the background, right? But it's almost like that subconscious mind is like, you hear it, right? And you're kind of like vibing, but you're not really like, damn, I love this because you're so young, right? Like, so like if it's not popping or it's not like mainstream, then for you, it's just like it's whatever.

But you're actually kind of drawn to it without even realizing, right? And for me, it was very similar, like country music. My mom was the one that would always just have it on in the car. It wasn't like in high school, like late middle school, early high school. And that's where I really started to listen to it. And it was, who was it? It was Tim McGraw. Yeah, the man.

Yeah. Tim McGraw is really what got me into country music. And that was the evolution of my country fanhood. Because, I mean, it wasn't like generation to generation. It was really around. It was just now like, hey, this is here. I'm listening to it. And you kind of like go through that self-discovery.

Of course. Yeah. Yeah, I learn country in reverse. I always like to say that. And then, so around COVID, right, was when, like, your music-making journey began, right? Yeah. Before that, I was acting, actually. Okay. I've, like, entertained my whole life.

Okay. So entertaining's always been in the DNA. I know for a fact I was born to do this because I've never wanted to do anything else. I've always, my entire life, wanted to just be either be on a stage or in front of a microphone or on a camera, just entertaining. And that's where I feel alive. Right. And I've known that since I was probably six, seven years old.

Yeah, six, seven, eight years. years old. That's crazy. Yeah. So. And then, you know, really, like you said, when it kicked off was COVID. I was acting. I was going back and forth between Miami, New York, auditioning after I got out of college

for everything, bro. I mean, I did a lot of theater stuff, but also on camera stuff, small commercials and roles and indie films and stuff like that. COVID shut that whole thing down. I was actually in New York when COVID, like, was like, first started popping. Damn. And I remember I was over there audition. for something. I was in the middle of like what I thought was going to be my biggest role ever.

It was for an off-Broadway production. And I was in rehearsals one day and things just started getting weird. The news started coming out. And it was hitting. And people just, it was like pandemonium. I remember one of those days looking around and there were, the streets were empty. And people were like just staying home and stockpilot stuff. Yeah, it was like apocalyptic. Yeah. Stockpiling stuff. And I remember calling my mom and be like, mom, I think I got to get out of here. Yeah. I don't think I need to be here. I was on the next flight out and literally like the week after New York shut down. I was going to say because New York was one of like the first places to shut down.

So you imagine you would have been, you would have been stuck there. I've been stuck, but I would have been bad. I mean, maybe getting a car or something like that. Maybe. Yeah, maybe rent a car. But even then, I don't even know if you would have been able to rent a car. I don't know. My mom would have found a way to get me out.

Let me tell you, if there's anything that a Cuban mom would have found a way to get my ass out for sure, bro. I don't know. I don't care. It would have been a plane, a train, a boat. She would have got my ass out of New York. She would have just drove herself up there to break you up. I'd be like driving 20 hours north and I'm driving 20 hours back. She wouldn't care, bro.

It's so crazy. That's so true. Yeah, but I got out and then like I said, I was at home like a lot of us with all the time in the world and nothing to do. And, you know, I looked over to the corner of my room and there was this guitar that I had two times in my life tried to pick up. When I was a really young kid and I quit, quick. Yeah. I couldn't understand my teacher and I didn't like it until I quit. And then the second time I was probably like in high school.

same time I kind of started liking country music, but I liked girls too much too, so I didn't spend enough time. It wasn't a priority. Yeah, didn't spend enough time playing. And so I had all this time. I picked up the guitar and taught myself how to play, you know, YouTube, you know,

taught myself how to play my favorite country songs. And songwriting has always been something I'm passionate about. Even when I couldn't put chords to it, I would get in a notebook and start writing lyrics, start writing songs. But now I finally had chords and music to put behind it. And that's where, really honestly, bro, that's where it all sprung. It's crazy because COVID was like that for a lot of people.

Yeah. Kind of like new identities, I guess, that were built through the process of COVID. Because it's like you said, you had so much time. No one really knew what to do with that time because you've been so occupied and just doing whatever you were doing on a daily basis at that time. And that's what consumed it, right? There was not like the flexibility to just say, hey, I'm going to pick up a guitar and try to learn how to play, right?

Or I'm going to pick up a paintbrush and try to start drawing something, right? Like, that was not really an option because we get so consumed in the every day that we don't really have the time to actually think about other things that maybe we might want to try or even attempt to just like immerse ourselves in. And here you are during this time. And it like changed the trajectory of your life, really. 100%. You were saying you were going into acting.

You know, you're about to land, you know, kind of like this. Broadway role. And for you, obviously, you've been in the entertainment space, but reality was like, universe was like, hey, now we're going, going a different direction. Yeah. Yeah. I've never, I never looked at. And it involves a guitar in your hand. Yeah, bro. And that's just so special. I've never looked back and I've never been happier. Yeah. I know for a fact like this is, this is what I want to do in my life, you know. So it's been a game changing, game changing. Yeah. So talk to us a little bit about kind of like the process of writing those songs, right? And obviously the evolution, right? Because like, let's say somebody

wants to get into music, right? And does it know the first thing? Like, how does that songwriting process look like? Like, how do you go through that and how do you evolve over the course of time and becoming a better songwriter? Yeah. No, it's changed a lot for me. You know, it's like anything you get better at it, the more you do it. But, you know, in the beginning, I think there was still something special because it was so raw. You know, it was genuine. It was coming right. It was flowing right out of me. And like one of the first things I wrote was that Motherland song. Yeah.

And just because I didn't know any better than to just write straight from the heart and straight off the dome. And before you kind of get into the rest of this, right, you bring up Motherland, right? And I think it's important to mention, right? Like you said, like it was just coming out of you. What was it actually that like you were like, I got to write this song? Yeah.

I think there was two things, two major kind of. moments in my life. The first was right before the pandemic, I was a part of a really influential show here in Miami called Amparo. The Amparro experience. I was part of the last part of it. I took over for one of the roles, yeah, I took over for one of the roles the last month or two of the show, which was super special, but really connected me to my roots because that show was just so powerful. It told the Cuban-American story in such an incredible way and made you feel like nothing else, made you feel more connected to Cuba. and the story than anything I've ever experienced.

So Amparo was definitely big for me. The second thing was I started losing my Ouelos around the time. Started losing my grandparents and, you know, just started to understand how big of an impact they had had in my life and how much they meant to me. And because of that, I started digging deep into, okay, who were they and who am I because of them? And that's really why I think Motherland came out,

like it did. It was just that stuff was so fresh on my heart, you know. Yeah, because, I mean, could have wrote about anything, right? Usually it's a breakup or, you know, a celebration maybe. But you went true to like to the core, which I think is very unique. And honestly, has paved such a direction for you from like,

you know, a branding standpoint, obviously, but like you as a whole and as a person, right? And it is impressive to say that, like, that was the song that kind of like drove you into this direction right you know being a cuban artist in miami when there's you know very few to none um that that make music of of this genre but being able to still bring it back home right which is which is which is which is crazy right because it was literally something that was here it was fresh in the moment it was connected to your roots and then being able to turn that into a song fresh out of you know a new experience essentially

that you were getting into. 100%. And like, this goes back to the songwriting thing is I didn't know any better. Yeah. Like, I didn't know to write about

exactly. All these other things or like to make it to like try to make it perfect. I literally was just coming straight off, straight from the heart, straight from the hip.

And like those lyrics I wrote never went back and edited them. You know, a lot of times. It's fresh. Raw. Yeah, raw. Now I go back and I write and I freaking overanalyze

and they come back to it. like that's trash and I you know and I I overcomplicated now because now with with time and experience now I know and now I'm like aiming for something else I'm aiming for the next you know for for a great hit song right then it was just really just telling my story and what I was feeling yeah and a lot of times I try to get back to that now it's harder because I'm much harder critic now on myself but back then it was just like this is what I'm feeling this is this is what I feel like saying and I'm putting it on the page I was about to ask you that like do you ever feel like you'll you'll try to like lean into that more maybe i don't know if it's like free flowing or

you know obviously we're always going to be our biggest critic right um and sometimes that's it's for the good but it's also for the bad right because you're kind of putting a cap on what you think but reality is it's like it could be anything and that's really what motherland was at the end of the day yeah no i get like i like you know like i said i get overly overly critical now where i try to aim for yeah let me write something fun. Let me write a hit. Let me try to write a hit, which you never know what's going to be a hit until it's a freaking hit. You know, like, true. And I'm trying now, nowadays to really get back to my roots with that, with that free flow, free flowing, genuine, just like what's on my heart, what's on my mind, what comes out from my mouth and playing

these strings. Yeah. That's awesome. I mean, listen, Motherland, I know has been a hit for a lot of people here, obviously, especially in Miami. It's a great song. And I think it's been a catalyst. obviously for you and to where you are today, right? You know, now you're here working on a new project, which is a phenomenal project. I've seen it from like inception to what it is today. And I think it's perfect timing, but I know you had some obstacles along the way to get it out.

But it's out. So tell us a little bit about this new project and kind of like the dynamic and the thought process of this new project that you're working on. Yeah, so this project now called the always summer six bag. And you have seen it from inception from the very beginning. I probably came up with this concept.

I don't know, probably February, March earlier this year. To be honest, I had a tough end the last year, beginning of this year in Nashville. And just really a lot of setbacks and like, one of my, you know, kind of, one of those moments in life where you just kind of,

you know, look around, like, what am I doing? You know, where am I going? What am I doing? You know, one of those crisis, not not crisis moments, but just that really, you know, I look in the mirror moment. Exactly. That's a very way to put it.

And so I was on a plane back to Miami from Nashville and just low, man, just in a low, low point. And I was sitting on that plane, and all of a sudden I started thinking about, okay, well, what are the things that make me happy? Like, what are the things that I'm escaping Nashville to go do? And it was to be in the sun, it was to be on a boat, was to be on a beach,

to be back to the places that make me feel good, man, that make me feel whole, that make me feel present with life. And so as I started going through and just visualizing all the things that I love, the palm trees, the ocean, all these things, I was like, and summertime. And man, it would be cool to write a bunch of summer sounding songs. Oh, yeah. And so I came up, it just sprung in my mind, like the summer six bag.

Six songs, all about summer, all coastal vibe, you know, all just like about the things I love the most, man, and just free, free sound and stuff. And so the second I touched down, I called my friend Chris Daniel. and from the, from the, yeah, Mr. 305 camp and told them about the, told them about the concept, told you about the concept. I don't know how early it wasn't the process, but I know it was early as hell.

I mean, I don't even think a song had even been, like, recording it. No, no, I hadn't even gotten to ridden them yet. It was just like concept. Right. I told you, I told Chris Daniel, like I said, I told also Juan, you know, our boy. It fits so perfect with like the beer. Right, with the brand.

And then I remember we had a conversation at some point about the concept and about like what the songs were going to be, even before they were written, what the songs were going to be sound like and what the look for the project was going to be. And so that's how it kind of started. Yeah. And so Chris Daniel got on board. I was lucky enough to get Phil Moore, who's also part of Mr. 305 records to jump on. We went to the Keys, stayed in a beautiful house in Key Largo, and wrote for two days straight. Just wrote and had fun. and we drank and we had a good time.

And we wrote and did. But you immersed yourself in that experience to be able to get those like creative, you know, that creative flow going. Yeah, this is like May at this point. Once this started coming about, we spent two days just writing in the, like I said, in the environment. And we banged out like four or five songs of the project. Just in those two days?

$48. Wow. Yeah, completely. This is a special place. Super special. And we were inspired, man. And, you know, it doesn't always happen like that. There's a lot of writing camps.

And especially Chris Locke, who's the producer of this EP, he said it best. He's like, man, I've been on a lot of these writing camps. And they don't always go like this. Like, you know, sometimes it's not two days, sometimes four or five days and you don't get a quarter of what we did here. And nothing of value. We got like four or five solid songs.

We used every single one of them on the EP. Wow. And on top of that, we recorded most of the vocals at that house. on a portable mic like this, just straight into a laptop. Holy cow. So not only did we write, but we also cut almost all of the vocals,

and he produced that big chunk of the songs right there in those two days. That's impressive. And 48 hours, like, I'm just, like, going through the process of, like, a 48-hour period, maybe with, like, some sleep component in there. Yeah, barely little.

Yeah, very little. And just thinking of, like, damn, you know, maybe a song, you'll be like, hey, you know what, this is a great song, maybe two, but four, what was it, five, you said? Five. Five is crazy. Yeah, five's crazy. So what, what are these? Like, tell us the last. Yeah, so they're all five months. Summer, summer, summer themed, right? So what, what are they? We wrote five there, but they're six in total because one of them I did right in Nashville.

So we got modern day pirates, which is the first one that came out. And dude, the way, I just want to get in for a second, the way this process kind of worked. Right. I'm coming up with titles all the time. There's like little, that's probably the one thing that I'm best at is just putting titles together in my head. So I had all these, I have a notes, you know, a note on my phone with probably three, four, 500 titles, just a scrolling note. And I came with all these concepts. So modern day pirates, hurt to hit, day drinking tonight, note to last. We have, uh, beers back home and the last

and the last I'm forgetting a goodie too Saltwater Salvation Yeah so I came with all these titles and then we just started I would launch them titles and titles to like that one and we would go with it

So when you obviously said you had a list of those song titles out but when you were producing those songs right or writing those songs in the Keys house was it already with the intent of lining up with those names or were those songs written and then you were kind of like, okay, let me look through my list and see what song name matches these songs that I've

written. No, no, we started off with the titles. Oh, okay. So the song names played some sort of inspiration into the, okay, that makes sense because I'm like, okay, I'm assuming like there's got to be a tie into the name, obviously, to be able, or did you just have so many song names that they just happened? No, no, no, no, no. We started the reverse order. Yeah, so we would, we sat down and then, okay, well, what do you got? We, you know, we all started throwing titles out there. I think the first one wrote was modern day pirates. And I wrote modern day, I said, I got this title called Modern Day Pirates about just, you know,

mostly inspired by people down here like in the Keys. Yeah. Living like Modern Day Pirates, you know. Yep. Get up in the morning and get after it, bro. You know, like this is my favorite kind of people. Yeah, especially in the Keys. I was going to say, that's Keys living right there.

Dude, that song we wrote in like 30 minutes. What? Yeah, like in 30 minutes. That's insane. It was, you know. That's impressive. And I think what really hooked it, I think Fillmore was the one like,

what about, were Bonnie and Clyden on an island. I was like, like modern day pirates. That is a golden night. You know. Yeah. It's crazy.

And then you got beers back home, right? Talk to me about that one. That one I feel like is like, fits that summer vibe, but it's also like a testament to like the story that you were just telling, right? Like what are the things that make me happy? Like I'm coming back from Nashville. I'm kind of down.

And I need to kind of like just feel like, you know, I'm doing all this, right? which is aligned with my purpose and my passion and all these things. But yeah, here I am and I'm not feeling fulfilled, right? And it's like I needed to get back home, right? I needed to find that sunshine. I needed to find the ocean. And beers back home to me is like that moment where you kind of are like experiencing this,

like in your career, but realizing like beers back home is like, what makes you happy? Of course. Yeah, of course. And I can't believe I didn't say this. But that, so beers back home kind of prove the concept to me. or it was the initial proof of concept. I wrote that song with Fillmore and Chris

months before we even did this writing camp. Actually, I think almost a year before we did the writing camp. That was when we got together. So Beers Back Home wasn't written on the writing camp. It was written almost a year before. Remember Chris Daniel called me up. He's like, hey, I want you to come to the studio.

I have our country artist on the label. His name is Fillmore. He's going to come through and he's in town. Like, we're just going to write. And we got there. and, you know, I thought I was going to be writing for Fillmore. And for some reason, it turned out everybody started writing, you know, they was like, no, man, I'd write for me enough, bro.

Let's write for you. And super, super selfless of him, man. I was like, that's awesome. And so we started talking about stuff and I brought up a conversation very much like that. We're like, I'm in Nashville, but my heart's in Miami, my heart's back home with my people. And he started thinking, he was like, you know, no one's, no one's ever wrote a song, I don't think, called Beers Back Home. And he started looking, we started looking through Spotify, sure enough, no one to,

come out with something like that yet. Wow. And then we wrote it, and it was just like, it just made so much sense to me. I mean, you think of like the concept of the song, that resonates with anybody. Yeah, man. Like, how many times are we kind of pulled out of like our home, right? Or pulled

out of our life, you know, whether that's for jobs, relationships, whatever opportunities, right? Like those things. But there's something, or even if like you're a college kid, right? And you're going out of, you know, going out of town for college because you're going to, God knows, and you got to return home for the holidays

or whatever it is, there's something about returning back home and just having, like, that drink, you know, with your boys and your family and just, like, that moment just hits different. Of course, and the way I intro it now, like, on live shows, it's like, this song is all about how when you're around people you love,

when you're around your people, how the laughs are just a little harder. You know, the time just goes by a little faster and the beers just tastes a little sweeter, you know? Absolutely. That's the, that is, the theme of beers back home and it really I think brings

the, you know, it brings the EP to a close. It's the last song on the EP, but it's nice. Really just saying this is my, you know, this is my feel good, what I'm about. Yeah, yeah. So have all six been released? No, no, right? So the other three,

there's been three release. Yeah, three release. Modern Day pirates hurt to hit. And saltwater salvation. No, actually, beers back home. And then. Oh, because oh, I remember, because the whole thing happened with the Saltwater Salvation. Saltwater Salvation. There's been a lot of ups and downs

on this EP, bro. I'm not going to lie. This thing was supposed to come out. It was a summer six-pack, and then it was, what, always summer six-pack? This thing was supposed to come out during the summer. Like, this is supposed to be a August release,

you know, while it's still hot and while we're still in the water. But there's been a lot of ups and downs on this. First of all, from funding. And I got to just say thank you so much to the people who have believed in this project and who decided to jump on board. Johnny Cuba,

my friend Juan and Johnny Cuba being the first. Yeah. And then from there, John Bell construction, cow bakery, La La La Troenera. You know. Big time for them. Yeah, La Trunera.

The holidays coming around. They're incredible. And just jumping on board and believing on it. So funding was a big setback at first. Just it takes money to record. It takes money to get music out. People don't realize that. And more than you think, you know.

So that was a thing that pushed it back. Then we also had, you know, when you're dealing with other. There are just timelines and record labels and stuff like that. That pushed the, Sawwater Salvation got pushed back a lot and then ultimately pushed the project back a lot. So just things we had to deal with, man. It's just the nature of the business, yeah.

Of course. And I'm learning every day. You know, I do this all by myself, independent. I wear all the hats, which hopefully would change here in the near future. For sure. But with that comes like things slipped through the cracks. Or I'm not able to go to bat sometimes as well as I show. should and push for things.

And so instead of August, we have a early December release, but, you know, we're still getting it out there, man. But it's always summer. Always summer. Always summer. That's all that matters. Especially down here. Always summer down here. And you know something I love about Stay Tranquilo?

Always summer up here. Oh, yeah. It's always summer up here. Always summer up here and always summer, you know, in your heart. I mean, you know, like, Stay Tranquilo was born off the keys. It's just like, you know, like when you, and that's why I love beers back home so much because like those moments do hit that right and those moments provide you know this here like we need that right like you got to be around your people got to be around you know the just the right places in the sunshine right there's a reason why people from the up north come down here when it's freezing cold and the sun setting at three four o'clock right like and i think it almost kind of fits the narrative like it's always summer because it is always summer down here like this is the place to be and guess what yeah it gets hot guess what we're going to the beach and we're going in the water and we're going in the pool. Yeah.

Like, it's how we live. It's how we live down here. And to me, this is like that vibe. Like, I can't leave Miami. It's impossible. It's impossible. And I know you left to Nashville for a little bit. And I can do those type of things where maybe I'd leave for a little bit.

But come back. You're just going to somehow always just get pulled right back over here because it's really special. No, it's places where my heart is. And I'll, I pray that I can live and die here, bro. And, you know, do my work and make it to a point. place where I can be down here full time. Yeah. And that's the ultimate goal.

Yeah. You know, that's the ultimate goal. And, you know, this EP more than anything, it captures that idea of Always Summer. And it doesn't matter where you are, you know, Jimmy, Jimmy Buffett did an incredible job at this. And why he was such a legend is because he captured the vibe of Always Summer. Yeah. And took it to the world.

Margaritaville. Yeah. Like, it's always five o'clock somewhere, you know. Right here. Right here. like that's like when you talk about a guy like inspiration that right like you said like the parrot head like you know kind of like a lifestyle and that margaritaville was a song but it really became a lifestyle right everybody wanted to live in margaritaville or be a part of margaretta or you know be in margaritaville right

and you then started associating it you know with the water and all that it's like creating that level of association through a song or through a tagline, whatever that may be. And like you said, he did that, right? When you think Margaritaville, like, you're just like, I want to just be chilling. Yeah, like, that's it. It's an escape, man.

Yeah. It's an escape. So that's next Jimmy Buffet right here. Next. Oh, man. You know, big, right here. Big, like I said, big inspiration of mine. And just, dude, if I can, if I can bring even half the peace and happiness

that he did to people. then that's... It is crazy how much music is like that kind of outlet, right? I love music so much. All genres. Country, reggae, hip hop, maybe a little creed. Yeah, man. You can go anywhere.

I love a little creed. I love a little creed. It's so crazy, bro. So at my boys' wedding in Columbia, you know, they have their playlist set for the wedding and all that. And all the group, well, not all the groom. It's like me, the groom and one of the other groomsmen. are all there just kind of talking before like the actual wedding.

And I don't know why, but Creed came up in a conversation. And we're all like, yeah, bro, like Creed's fire. Like, I don't think we give like Creed enough of his flowers. And we're like, we're like kind of listening to a couple like lyrics on the phone there on Spotify and Low. And then we're like higher by Creed and we're like, yeah, that song's great. And we're like, wait a minute. We got to play Creed at the wedding at one point and play higher. And wedding's going on, you know, after party, all that stuff.

and then we got the DJ and the guy kind of looks at it as he was in Columbia I don't even know if he knows who Creed is he goes and he plays it bro everybody comes off the dance four and just like eight guys in the middle of the dance floor

fucking screaming at the top of it. It was one of the craziest moments it was so awesome and I'm like that's why music is great because it's moments like that you know like memories you'll forever have and if you're going to attach a song to a specific moment, like, that's it.

That's literally why I do this. And I always say my biggest inspiration of doing music is I want to be my, I want my songs to be anthems in people's lives just like I have anthems through my life. I have anthem songs in my life. So if I get to the point where some of my songs can be anthems, you know, for people to deal with life, the joyful moments and the moments that are tough. Yeah. The heartbreak moments.

If my song can be anthems at any point in someone's life. That's what I want my legacy to be. I think about it. I mean, that's awesome. But listen, appreciate you, as always. If you guys having, go check out the EP. Let them know where to find you. Let them know where to see it.

And obviously, there's going to be more music to come, as always. So it's always a pleasure. And we love your music. Yeah, brother. Love you, bro. Absolutely. Orlando J. Mendez's music on Instagram and TikTok.

We've got the always summer six pack coming out December 5th. It's going to be a movie, bro. We're going to try to promote the headlight of it. We're going to try to keep this ball rolling and keep the good times coming. Absolutely. Hell yeah.

Always summer, right? Always summer. Always summer up here. All right, guys. Well, thank you so much for tuning in this week. Make sure to always sip your cafito, eat your croquettas, and we'll see you guys on the next one.