Stay Tranquilo - Exploring Media and Hispanic Culture as a Latina w/ Laura Martinez (mitu) & Victoria Aprano (Dating on the Spectrum)

Episode Date: May 3, 2023

Welcome to the Stay Tranquilo podcast, w/ Stella Rosa, where we explore topics that are important to the Hispanic community. In today's episode, we'll be discussing the impact of social media on our culture and identity as Latinas with Laura Martinez, from We Are Mitu & Victoria Aprano, founder of Dating on the Spectrum. We start off by discussing how social media has changed the way we connect and communicate with others. Laura shares her experiences of working in Latino media and what it means working with some of the largest brands in the world. She mentions the growth of the LatinX community and what it means to represent this community. We then dive into the Victoria, a latina entrepreneur and founder of the platform for neurodivergent individuals who want to join the dating scene. Victoria talks about what she has learned through this journey and how we can learn so much from being part of a community. As we delve deeper into the topic, we touch on the nuances of Hispanic culture and how it differs from country to country. We talk about our favorite foods, the best part of being Latina, and how we represent our cultures daily. Thanks for tuning in to this episode of the Stay Tranquilo podcast. We hope this conversation has shed some light on the power of social media in promoting cultural diversity and empowering Latinas everywhere. Don't forget to follow us on social media for more insights and discussions. Stay Tranquilo! Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

What's up everybody? Welcome back to the Stay Tranquilo podcast. We've got an awesome one here today. We're here with Lauda and Victoria. So I'll give them their time for their intro soon. But before we get started, we're doing a segment today with Stella Rosa. As you could see, we got a couple of their different products here. We got some of their non-alcoholic beverages. We got some of their canned drinks. And we got their prosceco and one of their wines over there on the right side. The canned drinks are awesome. They're easy to drink. Take them on the go. Take them. to the beach, playing golf, whatever that may be. It's a great product. They got a grapefruit flavor and a blueberry flavor. I think you got the grapefruit right there. So definitely check them out. You can find them pretty much anywhere. We'll attach a link so you guys can see where you could find them.

But if you're in the mood to drink and you don't want to drink alcohol, they got options for you. So whatever you guys are in the mood for they got. So, yeah. So, Lauda, I'll give it to you first. Oh, geez. Okay. Tell them a little bit about yourself, you know, what you do, fun facts about you, whatever you want, whatever you want to let them know.

Okay, so hi everyone and my, stay tranquil, Pete. My name is Laura and I'm a proud Colombiana. I don't, you're obviously Latina. Are you, you're not Colombian, right? No, okay. Venezuela. Okay, cool. I love Venezuela.

We'll get into that. But yeah, my name is Laura. I am a Floridian through and through, and I work for a really cool media company called me too. And it's awesome because we get to do stuff with our community. And I also have a little blog, my little baby blog, called Hustle con Sason. And I mean, that's, I'm sure you guys will get to know me a little bit throughout the podcast, but that's me in a nutshell. Cool. So Victoria, tell them a little bit about yourself and some of the things that you got going on. My name is Victoria. I'm actually like multiple things. So I'm, I'm

I'm Venezuelan, but my mom is Cuban, and I have Italian in me as well. So I got a little bit of everything in there. I am a behavior analyst. I work with children with autism, adults, teens, adolescents. And at the moment, I have a little passion project called Speed Dating on the Spectrum. So I host speed dating events for adults on the spectrum. But yeah, we'll probably get into that a little later too. So I won't say too much.

A little bit about everything. And you know when you guys were talking out and you guys were saying like, you know, where you guys are from? I don't think I've ever actually said where I'm from on the podcast now that I think. Where are you from? Mr. Stay Tranquilo. It's not that fancy. But I'm Cuban. My grandparents are from Cuba.

Typical Miami story. You know, nothing fancy. But both sides of my family are Cuban. And then for whatever it's worth, my 23M says I'm Spanish as well, which is pretty much everybody. I think it's worth a little bit, right? Yeah. That's cool. But cool.

So, uh, Lauda, you said that you worked for Mitu. Tell people a little bit about what Mitu is. Obviously, we're all Latinos and Latinos. So obviously that takes a role into Mitu and a lot of the things that they do. Yeah, so Mitu by itself is we are a media publisher. So kind of think of like a BuzzFeed, but for the U.S. Hispanics. Nice.

And we create content and basically fostered community for what we call 200 percenters. So it's those like us who are 100 percent Latinos and 100 percent American. Because we exist and we matter. And I work for the brand partnerships team, which has really been just such a cool experience because our clients, which are different brands, come to us and want to create content or create like social media campaigns for our audience. And I'm the one that kind of helps that come to life. That's amazing. Yeah.

Super fun. What's been your favorite, like, brand to work with? Oh. Sorry. No. Ask us any questions you want. No, honestly, there, I can't say that I have a favorite one. Top three.

But we did. I'll tell you a little bit about one of the most recent things we did. We did this campaign with Walmart. And what we did was we found eight young Latinos, 200 percenters that want to be in the filmmaking industry. And in partnership with Walmart, we created this kind of like a, like a program where they got to go to L.A. for two weeks and learn with everybody in the studios. We got John Legazano as like a celebrity mentor to kind of give them this once in a lifetime experience on how to break into the industry. And then we did a bunch of things on social media

with that content. We had like a premiere night in L.A. and it was super fun. Very cool. It was just a really cool way to give back and have that be work, you know? Were the people from like all over the U.S.? Yeah. So there were some people that came in from Texas. Others were in California already. We had someone from Virginia. So it was really just we sourced them through.

That's the beauty of social, right? It's like we have access to all these people. From all over. It was really cool. You guys did it at the studio? Yeah. Yeah. We're a studio in L.A., which you've been to.

Yes. The studio is awesome. It's in L.A. big warehouse space. Like you walk in there, it's like, if you've ever been to, like, Disney, it feels like you're in Disney world, like, in Hollywood Studios. Or like a Gepcott where it's like every... It's like, to me, it reminded me of, like, Hollywood Studios, like,

super rustic, right? So it's like super L.A., deserty style. It's like that area with the railroad in the back. Yeah. Which is cool. It's cool. You would never think that you're walking into, like, a media publishing content space. Yeah.

But it's cool. A lot of character. So where is the Me Too space here? We are remote. Oh, okay, very cool. Nice. Yeah, it's nice. It's been really great.

I've been telling them they've got to bring something to Miami though. I feel like a cool space in Miami would be like perfect. Yeah. It just makes so much sense. I mean, you have the blends. Because like to me, I mean, correct me if I'm wrong, but to me like Miami is the Latino hub. Like obviously L.A. is big.

You know, New York is big. But I mean, Miami just from like the Caribbean alone, you got an influx of Venezuelans. an influx of Colombians, an influx of Puerto Ricans, Cubans. I mean, you name it, everything. We do really live in, like, a bubble. Yeah. Like, I've been surrounded by Latinos my whole life.

And I think it's because, like, growing up here is a huge part. And it's, I mean, at this point, it's a lot of second, third generation, maybe even fourth generation at this point, right? So it's like, it's the perfect, like, 100%, 100% that you were talking about. Like, I was at the World Baseball Classic Games the other day. Oh, my God. Those ones were out of control.

Like, I didn't go, but just, like, seeing them on social media. Like, I don't think I've ever seen. No one has seen that stadium packed to that, like, capacity. And the energy. The energy, yeah. I've, you know, I've gone to a lot of sporting events. Maybe nothing, like, major. Like, I've never been to a Super Bowl.

I've never been to a World Cup game or anything like that. But I've been to some, like, big sport venues and, like, big games. That was, like, something I've never witnessed in my life. Yeah. And even then. And energy is crazy. And they're so passionate. Yeah. Like even then like those, all those big things that you were talking about, like, it's, there's like, the culture's not there. A lot of those guys that played in the biggest stages, World Series, and, you know,

I mean, that's probably the biggest stage they've played on, but they're like, it's nothing like I've ever been in before. Yeah. And it just shows because, like, when people like, like us, like, we're passionate as hell about where we're from. Yeah, where we come from. You know? And it shows on the biggest stages. Yeah.

It's not about a World Series. It's like literally about your country. I was seeing on social media, like, everybody with their, like, uh, jerseys from their countries. And I'm like, where did all this stuff come from? I don't even know this stuff existed. People are, like, decked out, like, head to toe. And, like, their Dominican jerseys, their Puerto Rican jerseys. And I'm just like, where did you guys get this stuff?

And you know, it's existed. I know. I don't know that either. And the crazy part is, like, in the stores, they would just have a shit ton of swag to pick from. So it's like they got merch, they got everything. ready to go. They were ready. Yeah, they were ready to go. It's cool. So tell us a little bit about speed dating on the spectrum. How did that come to life? First off, like, what was kind of like the thoughts of getting that started and tell them a little bit more about what it actually

entails? Okay. So I don't know if you guys know love on the spectrum on Netflix. I've never seen it by-pern-per-per-hmm. So I watched it. I watched season one and I was like, this is so beautiful. I also have a younger sister on the spectrum. So as I was watching it, you know, on the show is just a bunch of adults and they're looking for love. And it kind of like dawned on me. Like there's no reason why they shouldn't be allowed to have the same opportunities that we have. And my sister, she's going to be 23 next month. And for like the last three years, it's I want a boyfriend. I want a boyfriend. I want a boyfriend. You have a boyfriend. My other sister has a boyfriend. So like naturally she wants boyfriend. So after watching the show, like I spoke to my parents and I'm like, I think we should

help her look for a boyfriend. Like there's no reason why she shouldn't be allowed to have a boyfriend. She's, she has natural wants and desires like everybody else. Everybody wants a significant other and everybody wants to feel loved by someone who are not your parents and your sisters. So I told my parents that I was going to set her up or I was going to find her boyfriend. And I was like, okay, So I found this app that's for, it's like Bumble, but it's four people on the spectrum. And I thought it was super sketchy. There just wasn't a lot of people on it either. People that I was matching with were like in Australia.

And I was like, okay, let me decrease the distance. Still, there was like three options. Yeah, right. I'm like, why am I going to Australia? There was like three different options of people and like they didn't have face. So like when I told them, I was honest too because I want people to know. I'm like, I'm doing this for my sister. this is her obviously but I'm gonna set you up.

The one person that I matched with obviously didn't answer me because like red flag, which I understood that part. So I was like, all right, let me just set her up in a blind date. And then it kind of was like, what if I just set her up on like 10 blind dates, speed dating. And then I kind of reached out to a couple of people. I put an event together and like people were like, this is amazing. How can I sign up? My son, my daughter, like all of this stuff.

So it ended up being like a double win. Like I'm also hoping my sister, but I'm hoping out like a bunch of other people that are kind of going through the same thing. And it also hit me that like this population has such limited resources and what they can and can't do or mostly what they can't do or what they don't have access to and what they're kind of shielded from because of family,

because of, you know, we want to protect them. Obviously there are some limitations to, what people on the spectrum can and can't do. And limitations in the sense that, you know, they might not always know other people that have good intentions. Right. And that's kind of like where my family, where their kind of securities come from.

It's like, we don't know who she's going to meet on the internet. We don't know if that person has good intentions. We don't know, you know, what could happen to her because she might not know better. So kind of creating a safe space where everyone is vetted, that comes. I have interviews with everybody before they're allowed.

They can't just sign up and show up. They have to sign up. We do like a five-minute meeting greet. I make sure that they're able to hold conversations and kind of do this on their own because we have people at the event that will help them, but like I don't want to help them. And it's been really awesome

because for the most part, the last couple of events, like nobody has wanted our help. We're like kind of just like sitting ducks. They're kind of just like, they're thriving without us. We're just like standing around and like someone will like put up a help

and I'm like, oh my God, what do you need? And they're like, a new pencil. I'm like, oh, okay, no advice. So it's, yeah, it's been really great and it's been nice. She still doesn't have a boyfriend, but we're going to keep looking. That's fine. Yeah, it shouldn't be rushed, but you're giving her the opportunity to find someone. And it kind of helps all of them practice, you know, practice dating skills, practice how to have conversations with people, practice like the next step as well. Like, you know, after your first date, what do you do? Because that's not really their first date and we tell them, you know, after you match with someone,

and it's on you to set up the first date and continue and go out with them. So they're practicing all these skills that they don't have access to practice in other areas in their life. Yeah, in other settings. And it's like a real life setting too. Like I didn't like make this up. It's not something that I put together. So they get to this event. Do they go and they connect with everyone that's there at the event?

Like at least for a certain amount of time? So they get seven minutes, seven to ten minutes, depending on how many people we were able to like rally for the event. seven to ten minutes with each participant. Got it. And then what happens if you hit it off with someone? Do you go back to that person after the seven to ten minutes? So we only do it once. We only go around once.

They have a little notebook where they can write notes on everybody. And then on the back they put their top three. And then I match them depending on like their top threes. So you're the matchmaker? Yeah, I guess. I mean, I'm not actually matchmaking. I'm just putting them together with who they put on their list. And then I'll send them information like through an email.

I'm like, hey, you got a match. I know. And then on the email, it has like their name, their email, their social media, phone number so that they can go out and like reach them. And then we do offer like if you need help with anything, let us know. We'll help you if it's like calling a restaurant to make a reservation or like what should you do or how to open up a conversation. Only one person has ever asked for help on.

And it was just to like make the reservation. And then it was kind of like, all right, we're not going to do it for you. We're going to help you so that you don't need us again. Okay. But yeah, it's been, it's been really fun. It's been really interesting. And they're all super excited. And why should they not be?

You know, like they have needs and wants and desires just like everybody else. That's so cool. That's so cool. It's crazy because you would think, like, we go about our everyday life, like, just the dating scene, you know, and just like don't really think about it. But there's so many of those people that ultimately, you know, need that chance, you know, the connection. They're not really maybe as social as like, you know, we are. because we're going out all the time. Right.

But you're providing basically like a space where they can connect, which is, which is cool. And you would think that that would have been something by now. So, right. I would think that too. I actually got the idea from a group in Canada. Okay. They were doing it. I don't know if they're still doing it.

But they were doing it virtually. Obviously, they started it during COVID, so I understood the whole virtual thing. But I didn't want to do that. I thought that, you know, they... It takes away from what it's supposed to be, yeah. From personal experience, my sister has enough virtual time. You know, I want to get her out of the house. I want her to meet people in person.

And at these events, like, they exchange numbers at the end, too. Like, if they have someone that they hit it off with, they're like, even if they become friends, like, that's already a win as it is, like someone to hang out with. And that's what we tell them, you know, don't expect to find love on the first event. You know, you might have to come back once or twice or three times. You know, not even I found love on the first time. I don't think you did. And if you, I mean, I don't know if you did either, but if you did, like, kudos to you, you're one in a million. Or one in a couple thousand. There's not a lot of stories

like that. And it's also good to practice like rejection, like dealing with rejection. And asking people for numbers. They ask me, like, can I get her number? I'm like, yeah, go do whatever you want. Like, you're allowed to exchange numbers. You're allowed to make friendships out of this. I know some of them have like stayed friends after, which is, which has been nice. It's like one extra friend to have to do something with it's like a community builder too yeah i feel like even like i feel like even i would do that like to go and find more friends because i feel like with covid and everything that happened with a pandemic you i feel like before we took for granted the amount of opportunities we had to be in person meeting different people and then when covid happened i like it was hard to have that

community still because i was taking care of myself and want to make sure my family was safe and so getting back into that. Yeah, it's hard. Into meeting people and, and building that community and has been, has been, like, kind of scary. You like, lose your social skills. You lose it. Yeah, for sure.

You're like, wait, am I allowed to get this close to them? Yeah, yeah. Like, how do I open up this conversation? Yeah. And it just allows, you know, you never know who you're going to meet. You might, like, now that I met you, like, now we have some type of connection and maybe I'll see you out in the future. And I'm like, oh, well, I know Laura from me too.

And, like, she has, like, all of these connections or, you know, she has this, you know, has this community that she's exposed to something different, you know? It's always good. I mean, I think it's important to like expand your network. Yeah. Because you never know like who's going to bring something positive into your life. What's that that saying network is your net worth or something like that? I think so. It's a little cliche, I guess, but it, but it's true though. Like, I mean, the more people you surround yourself with that ultimately have like a very similar visions and their values are going to open a lot of doors for you. It may not be right now, but you're going to be like, oh, shoot, you remember that person

that I met that did this, this and this, and then boom, you never know where that takes you. I actually have a really good friend that I made through my sorority in college and like we're still close to this day and she's a lawyer. And like recently she was like, hey, I want to introduce you to someone that's like doing something for people on the spectrum. Oh wow. And I want you guys to like connect. Like, one never

never does. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. It's so true. It's so, and it's so important to just keep those connections. Oh my God. Like, you don't know who that person is, you know, and not to look at like everyone.

I was like, okay, what can you provide for me? But, but it's true. Like the same, that person is probably thinking the same thing about you. Like, I don't know anything about you, but who knows, maybe we can help each other out. And that's honestly, ultimately what it comes down to you. And it doesn't have to be today, like you said. It could be tomorrow.

It could be next year. a year and be like hey you know what I have a super cool idea like let me call out and see what she thinks about it like you know I met her once and she has like all of these like cool things that she works with like maybe she would be interested not okay cool like no no hard feelings no burn bridges like it it's just an opportunity to to make something work with another person 100% you can't go through life on your own is what I I agree as much as people want to sometimes people want to be on their own I'm like you need people in your life and I don't know about about like what you guys think but like to me

like being Hispanic also makes me feel like more in union with like other Hispanics. Like I don't know if that like if you guys get that same feeling. Like I feel like we just like gravitate towards each other and we gravitate towards like helping each other out more than like I don't know. To me that's all I just feels like a fun, I guess like for lack of better term, but it's like familia aspect of it. Yeah. And we get that like at such a young age that we like carry that with us everywhere we go. Everybody is my family. Exactly.

And it's like you meet a friend. I'm like now your mom is my mom. Like we're all family. And like, like, obviously like a guy, but like, you know, like I'll hug them or something like that. I'm like, why am I hugging this guy? I just met the guy. Yeah, yeah. But like, like, we just hit it off and like all of a sudden, like I just feel like we're friends, you know?

Yeah. I feel like not everyone gravitates that way. Like we're not always like that. It's interesting. You sent me a couple questions before we came on the pot and I was just kind of like using it as just to kind of like reflect and see. Because I don't know. I don't, I don't, the questions that you sent me, one of them specific. was like, what do you like most about being Latina?

I was like, I don't know. Oh my God, that was a hard one for me too. Yeah. I was like, I don't know. And funny enough, one of my favorite things is just the, we literally travel in packs. Yeah. Like, and even since I was a little girl, like, if all of my cousins and all my, my aunts and uncles weren't at the function, I'm like, what's the point?

Like, I want to be with 20 people in one car that only fits six. And I feel like that. I need the van. That reminds us of the trip that we did with the van. We stuff like 15 people and like an 11-seater with luggage, a bike, and I'm like... Everyone's got to go. You know, that's how it is. And the door opens and like six people are all.

And it's like, oh my God, how many people were in that car? That's kind of what I want my life to be like is like all of us together. That's cool. And I think that's instilled in us since we're... There's another cliche saying, and it's like, if you want to go fast, go alone. and if you want to go far, go together. I might have totally butchered that. No, if that's not it, it's very close.

I like the way you said it better. But yeah, just to that, I don't know. I definitely gravitate towards Latinos. And it's just where I feel comfortable and I feel at home for sure. Yeah. How about you? Do you have an answer to that question? I think what your favorite?

My answer was very similar. My answer was the culture. And I think that kind of blended together with what you. you said about like we travel and packs like my family does everything together and I thought that was normal until I went to Georgia and I met all of these people that see their parents like twice a year and that's like Thanksgiving and then they would like oh I have to go see my parents like Thanksgiving but I'll be back like New Year's Christmas I'm like no I won't be here either I'm back home with the family like parents I'm like I'm not allowed to do Christmas without them I got to see them on New Year's

Thanksgiving is non-negotiable and and that's kind of kind of, that was like my answer, kind of very similar. Like, we do everything together and we are just like so bonded by, I don't know if it's the culture. I don't know if it's just like that's what's instilled within them and they instilled it in us and not like we're going to instill it until our next generation. And I never even really noticed it until like I left. And I'm like, damn, my family really does everything together. That's the other thing too.

Like, yeah, I've lived in Miami my whole life. So like this is all I, you know, all I know. It's like, it's normal. You know, you go out and it's a lot of families that go. out to dinners, like they do everything together, right? And it's friends, and then it piggies back into like friends, families and their families, right? And everything is just like, everything's in, in union. And for me, like I, if I go out of Florida, it's literally like a culture shock. It's, it's, it's so different. It's crazy. It's so different. And then like, you, like,

I would go out to dinner and I would see people eating dinner. And it was just like one or two people. And I'm like, oh my God, we need like a table for eight. And it was like always a thing. And it's like, we got to tell abuela, and we got to tell your Tio and your Tia, and like, everyone's going to be there.

Oh, but if you want, tell your friend, and your friend, tell her mom, she can come too. It's like, everyone's invited.

Yeah. And it wasn't like that over there. You know, it was very much like everyone to their, to themselves. Yeah,

we had our friend group and like we did our, again, in our pack. Like, we're going out. We're all going out together. It's just so, so different.

Yeah. The culture is really, I think what my answer was. I also think Hispanics have no chill. Like, I love to observe people. Just like walking around, I'm just like intrigued by like how people just like go about their day. And they just clearly do not care about anything.

Like I feel like that's another thing that Hispanics just like they'll say whatever's on their mind. And they don't really care about the repercussions until after the fact that they happen. Or like you got to be like, puppy, stop. Exactly. Like my grandma sometimes, I'm like, dude, you cannot say that. It said boundaries. What is that? Yeah. Who created those?

Yeah, no. So, and I'm going to get in trouble for this, but on, was it New Year's? I would think it was New Year's. My boyfriend walked into my house, and immediately within like two minutes, my aunt's like, when are you going to propose? Oh, yeah. And I was like, okay? And then he went to go and said, I had my dad, and what are you waiting for?

Wow. Like, it's time, let's go clock ticking. He called him, um, um, um, a polloo ke mao. He's like, you're roasting in the oven too. long. And then my grandma, literally the next greeting, are you going to propose anytime soon? And I'm like, oh, Lord, you've been here for five minutes. And you're going to get married. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm like, no chill, guys. Like, no chill. Sometimes she just didn't walk out. Right, right. He also got there. Like, everybody was already like two

drinks in. I'm like, yeah, we're feeling extra loose tonight. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. I'm like, pardon. I'm so sorry. I have a cousin that every family party he would come. He was like, honestly, I just come here and I sit, I just drink and I just observe and I just wait to see what's going to go down and he's just like it's like a movie every time I come here something crazy would go down it's so entertaining whether it was like a fight an argument or just like you know drunk mad like whatever it was like he was just there waiting for it and he like he would know exactly he's like okay like by hour two this is where it starts getting interesting or like play by play he on like the fourth drink something's gonna happen

yeah and it never failed it was automatic right it's so crazy we're definitely unique in our own ways. But something I also wanted to ask you Lauda is, and kind of like picking back off of this, how have brands kind of gravitated over the last, I guess, like, year or two to like really cater to the Hispanic audience? Because obviously more Hispanics are moving

into the U.S. every day, right? So it's becoming a big priority for a lot of people. So what have you seen that a lot of brands are doing? That's a good question. I mean, I feel like specifically with us, it's like we, okay, they know the audience is there.

They know we're here. They know there's many of us. And I think the coolest thing about getting to work with someone like us is like we are Latinos. Like it's literally content created by Latinos for Latinos. So the coolest things that I see. And the best products or campaigns we put out there is when like brands trust us. Right.

So it's like. So you guys are able to create it? Yeah. Like, here's the thing, do what you want with it. Right, and it's such a beautiful thing because we are speaking and creating things from our experience. Everything we just talked about is something pretty universal among Latinos. And so I think the more brands trust who they're working with, the better, because we won't lead you astray. Like, we know we are our audience.

So I'm not sure if that answers your question. But that's been the coolest for me because it's like, A lot of times brands that we're working with aren't on the other side aren't necessarily Latino. So it's like, let me educate you while we work and let me show you what our community is like. So that's one of the cool things, I guess. Yeah, I mean, and it's cool that you say that because to your point, like that means there must not be too much of a Latino presence within those brands, right? At least on maybe there is, but not on the creative side, you know, but they're obviously coming to you guys because there's a level of expertise and knowing. of just like what you care about, what are, what are behaviors?

Yeah. You know, how do we act, all that stuff? Yeah, I feel like I've been shielded from, and I know it's real. I know a lot of people that work in the same industry that I do that maybe don't see themselves represented amongst their teams, but I think I've been in a interesting position where I've always been working at places that cater towards, like, our community. Yeah. So it's been really nice to learn from people with it.

I don't know, and see myself represented. I feel like it lets me bring my authentic self to work. But I know it's out there. Like I know that that's not the case everywhere. Like what you say, like culture shock is a very real thing. I just think growing up in Miami and even when I was in L.A. for a little bit and then just my work environments, I've always been around Latino. So I've been lucky enough to learn from people that are like me.

Okay. Yeah. And like do you think that like, do you like when you're making like a, like a, I don't know, like a choice of like a product you want to buy or like something like that, do you ever feel like you gravitate more if the brand is like a Latino own brand? Or does that not really like? I'm going to be honest. I don't. Because I don't think that necessarily that's, that is the case always. Yeah.

I'm going to be honest. I feel like we're kind of living in a time where like the Latinos are on the come up. Yeah. As opposed to maybe like 10 or 20 years ago. And like, correct me if I'm wrong. Like maybe I'm just noticing it now. There's like an influence almost that's becoming a thing that like people are a little bit more of like, oh, Latinos are cool as fuck. And I'm like, we've always been cool.

To me, what was a big thing like kind of piggybacking off that? Like when that kid Marcello, I don't know if you know, Marcelo, Hernandez. I don't know him, but he's funny. Yeah, he's hilarious. But SNL said like, hey, we need to go get Latin, like, what do you call it? Representation. Representation and talent, right? To be on there.

And he's been a home run. He's been a home run. And they're looking for more of that now. And it's like, for example, we all saw like the karaoke thing with my bunny. Like, he's been the first. I don't want to say the first and only because I think Jaylo's done it too but like Bad Buddy is the first

non-USA Latino representation on that show whereas like you could even tell the conversation was really hard because there was a huge language barrier like yes he's speaking a little bit of English now

but like you could tell it was hard like there was only certain things that were being able to ask or like he would only answer in like one word or like he didn't really know what to say and it was crazy to me because I used to watch those all the time I think they're hilarious like the Migos one is my favorite one but the Bad Wani one is super it's super great too and it's so nice to see that because it's like damn I didn't even realize that like this has never been a thing you know it just comes to show like even though he I mean he speaks English very well but the U.S. I mean we're obsessed with him right

I think he was the number one artist across every genre we don't speak or some people don't speak a word in Spanish and everybody's still listening to that. And like it's crazy because I don't really listen to music that's neither in Spanish nor English, but it's like the fact that people are doing that and they don't even know what he's saying, it's because he has some kind of influence. I have a good friend still from Atlanta and she's like, I love this bad bunny song. What is he saying? Yeah.

And like I'm like, whoa, do you really want me to translate it? I think there's like a level of like I want to say like sexiness to like Hispanic like just Hispanic vibe that like American traditionalists. It's very appealing. They just gravitate to it. Like they come to Miami and they're like, oh my God, it's amazing. We have as a cheese spa.

Like that warmth that people want to be a part of. It's a cheese spa. It is. It's exactly what it is. Like people like, what the hell is that? It's like a flavor to it and they're like, hmm, like I'm intrigued by that. That's where people go to go and then they never want to come back. It's like they go and then they fall in love with the culture and the people and the food. Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, in Georgia, people would hear me speak Spanish and they're like, so exotic. I'm like, really? Really? Really, question mark? I mean, it's just Spanish. But like to them, it's like this whole other thing. And I'm like, oh, I guess I'm exotic now. That's crazy.

What was I going to say? You said you were from Columbia. What part of Columbia are you from again? Okay, so I'm not from Colombia, but I am. Right, right. No, you're Colombian, yes. But my mom's from Medellín and my dad's from Cali. And then they grew up in Bogota, which is the capital.

Yes. But I am very, very connected to my culture and I go there as often as I can. So I am Colombian. Yes, you are. I was born there. So yeah. Nice. And then your parents are from?

So I was born in Caracas, Venezuela. Oh, you were born? Yeah. I didn't know. She's the real deal. I'm not. It's funny because I don't have an accent, but a lot of that comes from like, we don't speak Spanish in my house because of my sister. She doesn't speak Spanish.

So it was kind of like we stopped that when I was like five or six. But I still speak pretty fluent Spanish. But no one can ever tell where I'm from because I don't have an accent when I talk. So my dad was born in Venezuela as well, but his parents are Italian immigrants. So they fled after World War II, I'm going to say, to Venezuela when they were 16 and like 14, 13. I'm pretty young. So they basically lived their whole life there. but I would say that maybe they raised us a little bit more Italian than Venezuelan.

Like, I eat the Arapas and like, we know all of that stuff, but there are things that Venezuelans do that, like, we might not do or, like, eat that. I'm like, no, I don't really eat that in the house. Like, we eat pasta. And then my mom was born in Miami, but her parents are from Cuba. Okay. Yeah. So I'm not entirely sure where my grandfather is from, but my grandmother is from Matanzas. That's where my grandma's from is what Dan says, yeah, which is actually where Fidel Castro is from as well. Really?

Oh, wow. Yeah, and the only reason I know that is because my grandma would say that she, like, grew up playing with Fidel. Oh, my God. Yeah. Wow. Which is crazy. Yeah, it is crazy. Yeah.

Because at that point, Cuba was democratic. It was a free country. Right. And it was rich, you know, like import, import, export was huge there. So it was a thriving country. And then obviously, we don't know what happened after that. But similar with Venezuela, you know? Yeah.

Yeah. I'm not, I mean. Colombia. I don't want to talk about it. Yeah. I know. Yeah. Yeah.

I can't, I haven't been back in. So sad to see that. Like 10 plus years because I physically cannot be back there. Yeah. I mean, but that's a big reason why so many, there's such an influx here in the U.S. Yeah. Because unfortunately in those countries, like politics have taken over and it's just created, it's created a mess.

I know. I am dying to go to Colombia, though. I haven't been. Please. You've never been? I never been. I never been. I might go this year at the end of the year.

Do it. It's. Three hour flight away, not too bad. Yeah. Are you going to the wedding? I might, maybe. In November? Like, God was wedding?

Yeah. Oh, okay. Nice. That would be a good excuse to go. Yeah, that would be a good excuse to go, right? I would go to the wedding too. Yeah, everybody comes. Lot of my plus one.

Sorry, Badrick. Too bad I'm his plus one. So before we kind of like wrap up, I think, yeah, we're getting close to time. Oh, that flew by. I did. I feel like we haven't been here that long. So much I want to know about you. Right?

We're just always talking. That was like I was never mind I'm not gonna say it I'm gonna take up more time go with your question Both of you what's your favorite like Hispanic dish to eat? Arroca um polloo-co polloo Bandeha pausa oh I love it so you have to tell you got some people may not know what it is Oh it's literally rice and chicken But like with sassong yeah there you go and the rice is not white right the rice is not white it's a yellow I actually

Maybe this is wrong. You're gonna sell it. You're like, oh, it's chicken and rice. I know, I know, but it's like, I go to chicken kitchen kitchen kitchen. It's chicken rice and love. The part is the love. Because I can't just eat it anywhere

and be like, this is my favorite dish. Like my favorite dish is my grandma's arrohompojo. You heard that, Awela? Like, I need you to make it soon. It's funny. Every time I always, everyone says their Owela makes the best. It's so funny. Neither of my grandmas really cook.

God bless them. But I'm sure it would taste better if they made whatever it is. Right, right. It's made with love. It was made specifically for you. I love my mom's too, but like my grass. Right, abuela is another level. But yeah, it's like chicken, rice, sason, there's peas. You get some like maduro's on the side with it.

Do you put ketchup on it or is that like illegal? Okay, just wondering. Do you put ketchup on it? I'm not a ketchup person. She's like, I beat the fifth. Hot sauce. I put a lot of hot sauce on it. I eat it. This is the Italian meat. Sometimes I'll put cheese on it.

Interesting. I have heard that, though. My Italian father taught me that. He's like, you're going to have a little bit of cheese on it. I'm like, okay. I'm sure that's really yummy. Yeah, gives it a little bit of extra. So what is, what is it in Andeha Paisa?

That's true. It's literally, and I don't even know if I didn't know how to say in English, but it's rice, carne malina. Okay. How do you say that in English? No idea. But I know what it is. Yeah, I know what it is.

Look it up. And there's chicharon. There's sometimes there's a egg on it. There's beans. There's... People like potatoes sometimes in it, no? I don't know. I think the rice usually takes over.

Okay. But they do have plantains. Okay. It's just mixing. Everything together. That's my favorite part of it is the whole mixing of all the flavors. It's same. Same.

It's ridiculous. Everything gets mixed. Everything gets mixed. And then the way you put hot sauce and you put cheese, I put lime. So like, I put lime on anything. Lime's so good. Yeah. It gives it a little bit of extra taint.

Just a little bit. It's so good. We're just like all hungry at this point. Yeah, honestly, we're going to lunch after. I'm like, I need to eat something. I actually haven't eaten anything today. Oh my gosh. Yeah, I know.

Lunch after. Yeah, whatever. Let's see what else. What else would I want to ask? What's your favorite dish? That's us. Yeah, that's fair. I'm a big ice ro with a pollo person too.

Honestly, that's, yeah. Yeah, yeah, my grandma's. I love my noodles. I love, love, love Cuban pastries. Like, like, like that. Like basseolitos, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, just basilitos and like croquettas. Like, if I could eat that every day, I would eat that every day. Oh my gosh.

But, yeah, it's just not the healthiest, so I can't do that. But yeah, I love that. I love a good pan colichon. It's just like I could name so many. Yeah, we have good food. But pan col lechon with like the grilled onions. It's so good. The papita Juliana.

Oh my god. What's that? Like the little tiny, crunchy, crunchy. Okay, yeah. They're basically like chips. The little papitas. Yeah, yeah. I don't know that's what they wear called.

Me either. Yeah. I don't know. Is that what they're called? Literally, I mean, maybe that's a brand. Maybe that's why they're called that. But yeah, that's what I call. I always get them like in that little like yellow container with the red top.

Is that what it's called? Oh, I didn't even read the people. I'm just like, these are papitas. And they're like 50 cents. So you just fucking drown. Yeah. Oh my God. Yeah, we're definitely going to lunch after this.

Yes. 100%. Well, thanks guys for being on. I appreciate it. It was a good time. Thanks for having us. But if there's anything you would like to let the people know before you go, how's your time?

Where to find you? A little word of wisdom, whatever it is that you guys want to do. Fun facts. I think the thing that I've learned the most from these speed dating events is just to be like unapologetically yourself. That community has showed me that like, no filter. Like just be who you are and like,

the people that love you will love you for the person that you are and you'll find your group based off what you know you actually like and your interests and all of those things like don't don't make things up no bullshit i like that that's awesome it's so chill i don't know do you got anything um i guess to go off of that um they're like if we want since we've been so clicheed today with all the quote with something. I really like the what is for you, nobody te loquita, and I think it goes hand in hand with being

unapologetically yourself. Because when you are, I think what's meant for you will come. That's so true, and like I live by that, I think. I'm like, it wasn't for me. Let it go. Hindsight is always 20-20. Right. The moment. I was like, I thought that was for me, but maybe it isn't.

But then the next door opens and you're like, you know what? It wasn't for me. Yes. So, so yeah, I don't know. Those lokees for you, neither de loki-ta. I like it. And we didn't get to touch on it too much, but she's got an awesome little channel with Hustle Conceison. So make sure to check that out. It's very cool.

It's at Hustle Concession. Yes. On Instagram. On Instagram. I'm going to give you a follow. Where can they find speed dating? Same thing, Instagram, at Speed Dating on the Spectrum. Awesome.

Cool. Well, thanks, guys. I hope you guys enjoyed today's episode. Make sure to check them out and tune into the next one. Later. Stay tranquil.