1 00:00:00,640 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: I personally never feel worried about being inaccessible, because I 2 00:00:07,400 --> 00:00:10,800 Speaker 1: think as soon as you start worrying too much about 3 00:00:10,880 --> 00:00:14,040 Speaker 1: something being accessible, then you start making something that is 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:18,440 Speaker 1: like everything else, and that might be the easiest path 5 00:00:18,600 --> 00:00:23,439 Speaker 1: to commercial success. But that's just not something that we're 6 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:24,000 Speaker 1: interested in. 7 00:00:28,640 --> 00:00:31,240 Speaker 2: From Futura Media, it's let you know us say I'm 8 00:00:31,280 --> 00:00:35,519 Speaker 2: Maria no Josa. Today comedian Julio Torres invites us to 9 00:00:35,600 --> 00:00:50,440 Speaker 2: look at the world through new perspectives. You might recognize 10 00:00:50,520 --> 00:00:54,920 Speaker 2: him as the user space prints Julio on Instagram, but 11 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:58,880 Speaker 2: writer and comedian Julio Torres has made us splash across 12 00:00:58,920 --> 00:01:03,279 Speaker 2: platforms and venues, both on and offline. The thirty five 13 00:01:03,320 --> 00:01:05,559 Speaker 2: year old comedian first moved to the US from etsal 14 00:01:05,600 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 2: Bador for college with the goal of pursuing a career 15 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 2: in comedy and entertainment. After cutting his teeth in the 16 00:01:12,600 --> 00:01:16,440 Speaker 2: New York City stand up circuit, the space Prints eventually 17 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:21,680 Speaker 2: made it to the epicenter of mainstream comedy Saturday Night Live. 18 00:01:24,200 --> 00:01:27,679 Speaker 2: Julio was a staff writer at SNL from twenty sixteen 19 00:01:27,760 --> 00:01:33,000 Speaker 2: to twenty nineteen, writing hit sketches like Papyrus Avatar, The 20 00:01:33,120 --> 00:01:37,480 Speaker 2: Giant International Blockbuster used the Papyrus font as its logo, 21 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,800 Speaker 2: and Wells for Boys introducing Wells for Sensitive to Boys 22 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:47,920 Speaker 2: from Fisher Price. After his breakthrough at SNL, Julio left 23 00:01:48,080 --> 00:01:53,760 Speaker 2: thirty Rockefeller Plaza to pursue new projects. He collaborated with 24 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:57,680 Speaker 2: fellow comedians Fred Armison and Anna Fabrega to create the 25 00:01:57,720 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 2: twenty nineteen HBO series Los Es Spooky's, a dark comedy 26 00:02:02,920 --> 00:02:06,120 Speaker 2: set in Latin America about a group of friends who 27 00:02:06,200 --> 00:02:10,919 Speaker 2: stage horror scenes for a living. Julio also released his 28 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:15,480 Speaker 2: own HBO comedy special later that year, called My Favorite Shapes. 29 00:02:15,560 --> 00:02:15,800 Speaker 3: All Right. 30 00:02:15,840 --> 00:02:17,960 Speaker 4: I have a lot of shapes, but not a lot 31 00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:20,440 Speaker 4: of time, so we have to start immediately. 32 00:02:21,440 --> 00:02:26,680 Speaker 2: In the special, Julio showcases different toys and objects, each 33 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:29,640 Speaker 2: with a backstory of Julio's own design. 34 00:02:30,080 --> 00:02:33,000 Speaker 1: I work a lot in metaphor, meaning like this thing 35 00:02:33,040 --> 00:02:36,079 Speaker 1: looks like this thing, but it actually is this other thing. 36 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:37,880 Speaker 1: And I think that there's a sense of play and 37 00:02:38,000 --> 00:02:42,440 Speaker 1: wonder and discovery in what I'm interested in. A lot 38 00:02:42,440 --> 00:02:47,800 Speaker 1: of comedians derive their material or their sensibilities from like 39 00:02:48,000 --> 00:02:50,120 Speaker 1: the pains of adolescents and then going into like the 40 00:02:50,160 --> 00:02:55,200 Speaker 1: growing pace of adulthood, whereas I am very interested in 41 00:02:55,320 --> 00:02:57,200 Speaker 1: seeing the world like a kid. 42 00:02:57,240 --> 00:03:03,079 Speaker 2: Almost That sensibility led to Julio's latest endeavor, a children's 43 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:07,000 Speaker 2: book inspired by my favorite shapes. The book called I 44 00:03:07,040 --> 00:03:13,000 Speaker 2: Want to Be a Vase is out this summer. On 45 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:16,520 Speaker 2: this episode of Latino USA, Julio is going to walk 46 00:03:16,600 --> 00:03:20,679 Speaker 2: us through making it as a young queer immigrant comedian, 47 00:03:21,280 --> 00:03:26,600 Speaker 2: the shortcomings of representation in entertainment, and how comedy can 48 00:03:26,720 --> 00:03:29,799 Speaker 2: challenge the status quo. 49 00:03:34,680 --> 00:03:37,640 Speaker 1: I have an Instagram and I had Twitter before the 50 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,440 Speaker 1: dominant was in Twitter became I don't know, unhealthy, except 51 00:03:45,000 --> 00:03:47,240 Speaker 1: but I have an Instagram and I have an Instagram 52 00:03:47,280 --> 00:03:50,840 Speaker 1: because I enjoy that it's a visual medium, and it's 53 00:03:50,880 --> 00:03:53,600 Speaker 1: a way where I could display my visual way of 54 00:03:53,640 --> 00:03:57,760 Speaker 1: thinking and my officially driven humor. And for a while 55 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:02,240 Speaker 1: I thought that that existed self pertly from stand up, 56 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:06,760 Speaker 1: because stand up is predominantly an audio medium, right where 57 00:04:07,360 --> 00:04:11,560 Speaker 1: you're behind the microphone and you can't really draw people's 58 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:14,440 Speaker 1: eyes to something else that isn't your physicality. 59 00:04:14,760 --> 00:04:17,160 Speaker 5: But then I thought, like, what if I. 60 00:04:16,520 --> 00:04:20,039 Speaker 1: Do what I would do in a visual medium on 61 00:04:20,240 --> 00:04:22,719 Speaker 1: stand up, and I just get a camera like an 62 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:29,159 Speaker 1: overhead projector to show people like literally smaller things, smaller objects, 63 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:31,840 Speaker 1: and engage with them in a way that it's like 64 00:04:32,279 --> 00:04:38,159 Speaker 1: almost cinematic. The next shape is a Sphere, who you 65 00:04:38,200 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: may recognize for her current role as a Ferrera Chet Chocolate, 66 00:04:43,240 --> 00:04:45,840 Speaker 1: and I found that the technologiating me in that way 67 00:04:45,920 --> 00:04:51,200 Speaker 1: really unlocked something, and it really allowed me to get 68 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,240 Speaker 1: the audience to see the world through my eyes. 69 00:04:53,880 --> 00:04:57,880 Speaker 4: Originally we had booked the different Pherohshet Chocolate to play 70 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:00,520 Speaker 4: this part, but then I was backstage and I was 71 00:05:00,560 --> 00:05:08,280 Speaker 4: like Places, Places. I'm like, I'm sorry, but where's your 72 00:05:08,279 --> 00:05:08,880 Speaker 4: little skirt. 73 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 1: I do what I do well, and I do it 74 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:14,719 Speaker 1: because I don't know how to do anything else. 75 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:17,599 Speaker 5: So I'm happy that it feels like it works. 76 00:05:17,640 --> 00:05:22,040 Speaker 1: And I suspect the reason is because when working with objects, 77 00:05:22,040 --> 00:05:26,599 Speaker 1: they become canvases onto which we are free to project 78 00:05:26,839 --> 00:05:29,080 Speaker 1: a personality and the sensibility too. 79 00:05:30,920 --> 00:05:38,080 Speaker 4: And she was like, no, I can do it. No, honey, 80 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:39,599 Speaker 4: I know you can do it, but if you're not 81 00:05:39,640 --> 00:05:43,080 Speaker 4: in costume, I don't know what to tell you. And 82 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:47,160 Speaker 4: then this one was like, I can do it. It's 83 00:05:47,160 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 4: a cruel, cruel business. 84 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:52,800 Speaker 1: It invites people to lay and look at the world 85 00:05:52,880 --> 00:05:55,600 Speaker 1: around them differently, or to be more attentive to the 86 00:05:55,640 --> 00:05:58,520 Speaker 1: world around them. I'm showing you a way of thinking, 87 00:05:59,040 --> 00:06:01,680 Speaker 1: and that I think becomes like an exciting exercise for people. 88 00:06:02,360 --> 00:06:09,200 Speaker 4: I will now very abruptly do some impressions at you. Okay, 89 00:06:10,600 --> 00:06:11,479 Speaker 4: here's the first one. 90 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:16,440 Speaker 5: Do not rush me. 91 00:06:16,680 --> 00:06:19,320 Speaker 4: The water will be ready when it's ready. 92 00:06:20,200 --> 00:06:22,880 Speaker 5: That is a brit of filter. 93 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:28,960 Speaker 1: My editor reached out saying that she thought that the 94 00:06:29,000 --> 00:06:30,960 Speaker 1: stand up Special would make for a kid's book, But 95 00:06:31,080 --> 00:06:33,960 Speaker 1: something that we discovered was that a lot of the 96 00:06:34,040 --> 00:06:38,599 Speaker 1: humor the stand up Special comes from subverting expectation and 97 00:06:38,760 --> 00:06:41,360 Speaker 1: the element of surprise of like, oh, you're suddenly you're 98 00:06:41,440 --> 00:06:45,160 Speaker 1: showing small toys to a group of adults in the 99 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:48,680 Speaker 1: context of a stand up special, That in itself is funny, 100 00:06:49,279 --> 00:06:53,120 Speaker 1: But for a children's book, it felt like showing kids 101 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:57,520 Speaker 1: like cute little characters was not unusual. It's actually the norm. 102 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:02,560 Speaker 1: So I thought of, what is the unexpected route for 103 00:07:02,640 --> 00:07:05,839 Speaker 1: a kids book? Then I thought, well, it should be 104 00:07:06,240 --> 00:07:10,200 Speaker 1: boring looking household objects that are the stars of this book. 105 00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 1: And then I thought of like one of the most 106 00:07:15,280 --> 00:07:18,960 Speaker 1: mundane objects, which is a plunger, and what the internal 107 00:07:19,000 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 1: life of a plunger would hypothetically be like, I like 108 00:07:25,680 --> 00:07:28,920 Speaker 1: the idea of a plunger, because no one is happy 109 00:07:28,920 --> 00:07:32,280 Speaker 1: when they're using a plunger. A plunger is a very 110 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 1: unfortunate tool to have to use. A plunger has a physically. 111 00:07:37,920 --> 00:07:39,200 Speaker 5: Very unfeeling job. 112 00:07:40,040 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: So I thought, like, who is at the bottom of 113 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,600 Speaker 1: the quotem fuel of objects, and plunger was very much 114 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:49,760 Speaker 1: down there, So that just felt like a very good, 115 00:07:49,880 --> 00:08:00,680 Speaker 1: scrappy main character. I find that my work is very 116 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: informed by childhood. It's very plateful and experimental, which I 117 00:08:06,320 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: think goes along well with. 118 00:08:07,880 --> 00:08:08,640 Speaker 5: What kids like. 119 00:08:09,160 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 1: So I actually didn't find myself changing a whole lot, 120 00:08:12,280 --> 00:08:17,000 Speaker 1: going from being a comedian for adults to being one 121 00:08:17,000 --> 00:08:20,400 Speaker 1: that's also inclusive of children. As a kid, I remember 122 00:08:20,440 --> 00:08:24,040 Speaker 1: that my favorite things were stories and media that didn't 123 00:08:24,080 --> 00:08:27,720 Speaker 1: feel like they were talking down at me, but that 124 00:08:27,880 --> 00:08:31,280 Speaker 1: actually challenged me to discover something different, and I think 125 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:35,840 Speaker 1: that's what this does much. 126 00:08:36,400 --> 00:08:44,199 Speaker 5: But I can Mississippi. 127 00:08:47,720 --> 00:08:50,280 Speaker 1: The universe of Loss Spookies is very much the sum 128 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:54,920 Speaker 1: total of my sensibilities and Fred Armison sensibilities and our 129 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:56,599 Speaker 1: partner Ana Fabregas. 130 00:08:56,080 --> 00:08:58,520 Speaker 5: Sensibilities as. 131 00:09:01,000 --> 00:09:04,120 Speaker 1: What I really enjoy about it is it's not just 132 00:09:04,160 --> 00:09:08,560 Speaker 1: the show about Latin American people. It's a show about 133 00:09:09,080 --> 00:09:13,280 Speaker 1: sort of like Latin American way of storytelling, which is odd. 134 00:09:13,800 --> 00:09:16,720 Speaker 5: It's very surreal, and it is less. 135 00:09:16,559 --> 00:09:22,199 Speaker 1: Troubled by the rules of everyday storytelling or like it's 136 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:24,960 Speaker 1: not focal dying by a conventional way of seeing the world. 137 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:27,959 Speaker 1: I grew up around a lot of like odd Latin 138 00:09:28,000 --> 00:09:36,600 Speaker 1: American media, like watter in Americalo, for instance, amor just 139 00:09:36,600 --> 00:09:39,560 Speaker 1: the fact that you would have an astrologer be a 140 00:09:39,600 --> 00:09:42,160 Speaker 1: part of the news, like you get your weather forecast, 141 00:09:42,200 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: but then you also get your astrological forecast from this 142 00:09:46,240 --> 00:09:50,200 Speaker 1: wonderfully eccentric being who you don't really question. 143 00:09:50,640 --> 00:09:58,280 Speaker 5: This person's just there. And shows like Premitting Back too Afici. 144 00:09:58,440 --> 00:10:03,120 Speaker 1: Which is like a like a very sensationalist, bizarre news 145 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,240 Speaker 1: channel where they talk about real news, but then also 146 00:10:06,280 --> 00:10:08,720 Speaker 1: would dedicate a lot of airtime to like the Chubacadas. 147 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:16,640 Speaker 1: And that combined with like the melodrama of vilen novelas 148 00:10:18,400 --> 00:10:21,439 Speaker 1: predominantly Mexican telenovela's, which I found, at least when I 149 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:25,079 Speaker 1: was growing up, to be very obsessed with access and 150 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:28,640 Speaker 1: wealth to a sort of a comedic degree. And then 151 00:10:28,760 --> 00:10:32,600 Speaker 1: there is Brazilian telenovellas, which my mother was very fond of, 152 00:10:32,840 --> 00:10:40,719 Speaker 1: which are more surreal. There was one in particular where 153 00:10:40,760 --> 00:10:43,680 Speaker 1: I very vividly remember there was a character that was 154 00:10:43,679 --> 00:10:46,840 Speaker 1: in love with the moon who had to chain himself 155 00:10:47,160 --> 00:10:50,680 Speaker 1: to the basement so that he wouldn't flow away when. 156 00:10:50,559 --> 00:10:51,440 Speaker 5: There was full moon. 157 00:10:52,760 --> 00:10:56,400 Speaker 1: I found myself very drawn to living in the world 158 00:10:56,440 --> 00:11:01,160 Speaker 1: where it feels like magic is part of everyday life 159 00:11:02,120 --> 00:11:06,040 Speaker 1: and all these like blurring of the lines between science, religion, 160 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:09,559 Speaker 1: and superstition, and I feel like there are very American 161 00:11:09,800 --> 00:11:13,199 Speaker 1: attempts that conveying that. So it's like when when American 162 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:19,440 Speaker 1: storytelling engages with magic, their first instinct isentertainment and to 163 00:11:19,559 --> 00:11:23,439 Speaker 1: create rules for it and to say like, well, it's magic, 164 00:11:23,520 --> 00:11:27,960 Speaker 1: but it works like a B and C. I think 165 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:36,439 Speaker 1: that those spookies is very unpreoccupied by rules in the. 166 00:11:36,400 --> 00:11:39,360 Speaker 5: Air, assuming must be Moultique in Staypoka. 167 00:11:39,480 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 1: The magic in it just sort of happens and there's 168 00:11:42,559 --> 00:11:45,600 Speaker 1: no explanation to it. There's no rhyme or reason to it, 169 00:11:47,080 --> 00:11:54,199 Speaker 1: because it's a little something out might happen and it 170 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:57,880 Speaker 1: will never come again. In the way that like mainstream entertainment, 171 00:11:58,240 --> 00:11:59,520 Speaker 1: doesn't allow it to be. 172 00:12:00,440 --> 00:12:03,439 Speaker 2: Another master deneumonia, I mean doubly meant it. 173 00:12:04,040 --> 00:12:06,319 Speaker 5: You go rus WHATIFI got you. 174 00:12:08,080 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 1: I personally never feel worried about being inaccessible, because I 175 00:12:13,880 --> 00:12:17,200 Speaker 1: think as soon as you start worrying too much about 176 00:12:17,360 --> 00:12:20,400 Speaker 1: something being accessible, then you start making something that is 177 00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:24,480 Speaker 1: like everything else, and that might be the easiest path 178 00:12:24,640 --> 00:12:26,240 Speaker 1: to commercial success. 179 00:12:26,880 --> 00:12:29,600 Speaker 5: But that's just not something that we're interested in. 180 00:12:34,800 --> 00:12:38,319 Speaker 1: My immigration journey, if we're being literal about it, it 181 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:41,000 Speaker 1: was coming here as a student and getting a student visa, 182 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:45,320 Speaker 1: and then graduating from college and having a limited amount 183 00:12:45,320 --> 00:12:45,959 Speaker 1: of time to. 184 00:12:45,960 --> 00:12:48,640 Speaker 5: Find a sponsor. And then I did find a sponsor 185 00:12:48,720 --> 00:12:49,240 Speaker 5: to get me a. 186 00:12:49,200 --> 00:12:52,520 Speaker 3: Day job, and then I had my day job, and 187 00:12:52,559 --> 00:12:55,719 Speaker 3: then on the side I started doing comedy, and then 188 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:59,679 Speaker 3: I got to a point where my day job desides. 189 00:13:00,280 --> 00:13:02,840 Speaker 1: But I had done enough work as a comedian that 190 00:13:02,920 --> 00:13:04,920 Speaker 1: I was able to get an artist visa, and then 191 00:13:05,679 --> 00:13:08,520 Speaker 1: putting in some years as an artist visa, I then 192 00:13:08,600 --> 00:13:12,200 Speaker 1: got a green cart. Now that is, of course, the 193 00:13:12,480 --> 00:13:18,400 Speaker 1: oversimplified version of that. The everyday reality was a constant 194 00:13:19,040 --> 00:13:23,000 Speaker 1: taking clock in a constant struggled sort of like a frog, 195 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:25,560 Speaker 1: going from lily pad to lily pat, just hoping that 196 00:13:25,640 --> 00:13:28,680 Speaker 1: the next lily pad was strong enough to hold my weight, 197 00:13:29,160 --> 00:13:29,959 Speaker 1: or that there was going. 198 00:13:29,960 --> 00:13:38,199 Speaker 6: To be another new pad at all, or that being said, 199 00:13:38,559 --> 00:13:41,720 Speaker 6: it did not feel at the time, but in retrospect 200 00:13:41,800 --> 00:13:43,240 Speaker 6: it's a very lucky a journey. 201 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:46,920 Speaker 5: I find that being able. 202 00:13:46,600 --> 00:13:51,679 Speaker 1: To do things the legal way is an immense privilege. 203 00:13:52,160 --> 00:13:56,000 Speaker 1: That I was able to come here on a plane 204 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:58,199 Speaker 1: and come here legally and. 205 00:13:58,240 --> 00:13:59,400 Speaker 5: Go to school gear. 206 00:14:01,559 --> 00:14:05,520 Speaker 1: To be the quote unquote good kind of immigrant. It's 207 00:14:05,559 --> 00:14:08,959 Speaker 1: not a decision. It's a lucky thing. It's a privileged thing. 208 00:14:11,000 --> 00:14:13,360 Speaker 1: When I finally started seeing the light at the end 209 00:14:13,440 --> 00:14:18,280 Speaker 1: of the tunnel biocratically and financially was getting some traction 210 00:14:18,440 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 1: doing stand up and then finally becoming financially stable through 211 00:14:24,200 --> 00:14:28,000 Speaker 1: Saturday Night Live and then realizing, oh, okay, we're gonna 212 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:34,720 Speaker 1: say path now. It was very strange to become a 213 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,160 Speaker 1: part of something that you have been aware of for 214 00:14:38,200 --> 00:14:41,400 Speaker 1: as long as you can remember. It's not just like, oh, 215 00:14:41,400 --> 00:14:43,840 Speaker 1: I'm working on TV. I'm working on a comedy show. 216 00:14:43,920 --> 00:14:47,040 Speaker 1: It's like, oh, I'm working on the comedy show. It 217 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:51,280 Speaker 1: was interesting because I grew up loving a lot of 218 00:14:51,320 --> 00:14:54,040 Speaker 1: the kinds of sketches that I think I thought at 219 00:14:54,080 --> 00:14:56,440 Speaker 1: some point I would write, and then, as it turns out, 220 00:14:56,480 --> 00:14:59,440 Speaker 1: I didn't. There was a time where I really enjoyed 221 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:03,280 Speaker 1: stay like Maya Rudolph's Dona televersach sketches. 222 00:15:04,360 --> 00:15:06,640 Speaker 5: The threl tale hills on a telev. 223 00:15:06,560 --> 00:15:12,240 Speaker 1: Seuch, or the weekend update segments. 224 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:15,240 Speaker 5: From Studio Age and Rockefeller Center. This is weekends up due. 225 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 1: And I thought like, maybe I'll get to do some 226 00:15:17,520 --> 00:15:20,360 Speaker 1: of those, And then I got there and I was like, 227 00:15:20,960 --> 00:15:22,320 Speaker 1: wouldn't you enjoy those? 228 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:24,240 Speaker 5: But that's not your voice? 229 00:15:24,800 --> 00:15:27,800 Speaker 1: And something really flicked when I decided that I should 230 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:29,600 Speaker 1: write for the show the kinds of things that I 231 00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:33,960 Speaker 1: would write regardless of the show. Very very early on 232 00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:38,840 Speaker 1: my third week there or so, I wrote this sketch 233 00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:45,080 Speaker 1: in which Emily Blunt voiced the inner monologue of a 234 00:15:45,520 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 1: Verry or knee backing. 235 00:15:47,640 --> 00:15:51,840 Speaker 5: Sin feel of dressed and like him in everyone's. 236 00:15:51,400 --> 00:15:58,000 Speaker 1: Way, and the whole sketch, this little movie was just 237 00:15:58,200 --> 00:16:03,280 Speaker 1: angles around this one sick and Emily Blunt's boys. 238 00:16:04,560 --> 00:16:07,560 Speaker 5: And then I really thought like, oh wow, I. 239 00:16:07,520 --> 00:16:11,520 Speaker 1: Really get to do something that the show hasn't done before. 240 00:16:12,080 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 1: It is very me and it's actually working. People are 241 00:16:15,720 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 1: finding it funny and people are enjoying, and I felt 242 00:16:18,840 --> 00:16:21,320 Speaker 1: very excited that I was able to do something so 243 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:24,440 Speaker 1: bizarre to them but so natural to me. 244 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:37,520 Speaker 5: Saturday NightLive. For me, it provided immediate gratification. 245 00:16:38,240 --> 00:16:41,080 Speaker 1: It's almost like my soul in my brain didn't really 246 00:16:41,120 --> 00:16:44,240 Speaker 1: hold the space or the time for longer form storytelling 247 00:16:45,080 --> 00:16:47,680 Speaker 1: because very much like stand up, you come up with something, 248 00:16:47,720 --> 00:16:49,440 Speaker 1: then you show it to people, and then you get 249 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:51,000 Speaker 1: gratified by that, and then you move on. 250 00:16:51,080 --> 00:16:52,160 Speaker 5: And then you have a new idea and you. 251 00:16:52,200 --> 00:16:53,920 Speaker 1: Show it to people and you get gratified by that, 252 00:16:53,960 --> 00:16:54,720 Speaker 1: and then you move on. 253 00:16:55,240 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 5: And then I was. 254 00:16:55,840 --> 00:17:01,480 Speaker 1: Really able to dedicate more time and thought to longer work. 255 00:17:02,400 --> 00:17:05,400 Speaker 1: I have got to explore a side of me that 256 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:08,760 Speaker 1: Noah would be interested in if it were for the work. 257 00:17:08,800 --> 00:17:09,920 Speaker 5: I didn't stand it in You Live. 258 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:12,840 Speaker 1: But also I wouldn't be able to do if I 259 00:17:12,880 --> 00:17:14,240 Speaker 1: hadn't moved away from it. 260 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:21,360 Speaker 7: I've just received a call from Secretary Clinton. 261 00:17:26,960 --> 00:17:28,760 Speaker 1: She congratulated us. 262 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:31,920 Speaker 2: It's about us on our victory. 263 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:36,359 Speaker 1: It's interesting because before Trump was elected, I really did 264 00:17:36,520 --> 00:17:38,800 Speaker 1: feel and I don't know if I was right or wrong, 265 00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:45,000 Speaker 1: but I did feel like my otherness was a barrier 266 00:17:45,240 --> 00:17:50,720 Speaker 1: I had to overcome because I didn't look or act 267 00:17:50,800 --> 00:17:53,320 Speaker 1: or behave or was interested in the same things that 268 00:17:53,480 --> 00:17:56,720 Speaker 1: people wanted or that the industry wanted from a stand 269 00:17:56,800 --> 00:18:00,440 Speaker 1: up comedian. I looked at the lineups for show and 270 00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:09,480 Speaker 1: I was always the odd one out. And then post frump, 271 00:18:09,680 --> 00:18:12,960 Speaker 1: I feel like the industry had this very reactive impulse 272 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:17,120 Speaker 1: of Okay, wait, no, we have to include other voices, right, 273 00:18:17,720 --> 00:18:18,600 Speaker 1: And so. 274 00:18:19,080 --> 00:18:21,280 Speaker 5: Then they were like, well, how about Woolio. 275 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: But then it's like, well, as it turns out, not 276 00:18:26,440 --> 00:18:29,040 Speaker 1: only is Bolio another in these ways, he's also one 277 00:18:29,080 --> 00:18:32,959 Speaker 1: other in these other ways, in that his work is 278 00:18:33,040 --> 00:18:35,720 Speaker 1: unexpected and surreal and playful and all these things that 279 00:18:35,880 --> 00:18:39,639 Speaker 1: don't be engaged head on with identity. 280 00:18:39,119 --> 00:18:42,480 Speaker 5: But do it with these more abstracting ways. 281 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,719 Speaker 1: And then I felt like a second frustration, which was 282 00:18:47,320 --> 00:18:50,600 Speaker 1: they want me for the things that they think I am, 283 00:18:50,760 --> 00:18:53,720 Speaker 1: not through the things that I actually am. And so 284 00:18:53,840 --> 00:18:56,679 Speaker 1: I felt like I had to take a little longer 285 00:18:57,160 --> 00:19:00,720 Speaker 1: to sort of prove that I am valuable not because 286 00:19:00,760 --> 00:19:03,399 Speaker 1: of what I look like or what I was born as, 287 00:19:03,520 --> 00:19:07,840 Speaker 1: but because of the way I think, which is incidentally informed. 288 00:19:07,440 --> 00:19:09,400 Speaker 5: From where I come from and who I am. 289 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:12,080 Speaker 1: I just personally have a lot of thought selling this 290 00:19:12,920 --> 00:19:16,360 Speaker 1: emphysicis on representation that we have right now. I do 291 00:19:16,400 --> 00:19:19,840 Speaker 1: believe that it is very important to have different voices 292 00:19:20,359 --> 00:19:24,080 Speaker 1: elevated and showcased and for kids to see kids like 293 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:27,119 Speaker 1: them and stories like them. But I do think that 294 00:19:27,280 --> 00:19:33,240 Speaker 1: it's becoming very quickly a corporate crutch to doing real 295 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,840 Speaker 1: work or real change, where it's almost like audiences have 296 00:19:36,880 --> 00:19:41,440 Speaker 1: been fooled into believing that if media and commercials look 297 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:46,800 Speaker 1: like them, that that in itself is the beal end 298 00:19:46,840 --> 00:19:53,960 Speaker 1: all of progress. I joke with my friends that it 299 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:56,919 Speaker 1: felt like at one point the industry wanted for me 300 00:19:56,960 --> 00:19:58,600 Speaker 1: to come up with like a show, but like how 301 00:19:58,640 --> 00:20:01,120 Speaker 1: it came out to my abo right or something that 302 00:20:01,400 --> 00:20:06,720 Speaker 1: really really sells my otherness, And again I was like, 303 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:10,640 Speaker 1: never really interested in approaching it from that angle. I'm 304 00:20:10,720 --> 00:20:13,119 Speaker 1: very interested in motivating and letting people be who they 305 00:20:13,119 --> 00:20:16,280 Speaker 1: are rather than in telling them this is who they are, 306 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:20,639 Speaker 1: so you should find this. I really am a believer 307 00:20:20,760 --> 00:20:22,600 Speaker 1: that if you let an artist be who they are, 308 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:26,600 Speaker 1: you just need to trust that identity is a part 309 00:20:26,640 --> 00:20:29,560 Speaker 1: of that, and that if a work of art is honest, 310 00:20:30,080 --> 00:20:35,000 Speaker 1: then it doesn't matter how narrow or broad that point 311 00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:38,160 Speaker 1: of views, it will honestly attract an audience. 312 00:20:56,359 --> 00:21:00,280 Speaker 2: This episode was produced by Alexandra Salasad and edited by 313 00:21:00,359 --> 00:21:05,320 Speaker 2: Daisy Contreras. It was mixed by Andy Bosnak Special thanks 314 00:21:05,320 --> 00:21:10,399 Speaker 2: to HBO. The Latino USA team includes Andre Lopez Cruzado, 315 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:15,560 Speaker 2: Marta Martinez, Mike Sargent, Julia Ta Martinelli, Victoria Strada, Rinaldo, 316 00:21:15,640 --> 00:21:19,680 Speaker 2: Leanos Junior, Patricia s Urbaran and Julia Rocha, with help 317 00:21:19,720 --> 00:21:23,800 Speaker 2: from Raul Perez. Our editorial director is Julio Ricardo Arella. 318 00:21:24,160 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 2: Our director of Engineering is Stephanie Lebau. Our senior engineer 319 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:31,560 Speaker 2: is Julia Caruso. Our associate engineers are Gabriel le Abiez 320 00:21:31,600 --> 00:21:35,720 Speaker 2: and jj Carubin. Our marketing manager is Luis Luna. Our 321 00:21:35,760 --> 00:21:39,120 Speaker 2: theme music was composed by Senna Ruinos. I'm your host 322 00:21:39,160 --> 00:21:41,920 Speaker 2: and executive producer Marie Jojosa Joinis again in our next 323 00:21:41,960 --> 00:21:44,119 Speaker 2: episode and in the meantime, find us on all of 324 00:21:44,160 --> 00:21:47,840 Speaker 2: your social media and remember not tevayes Chao. 325 00:21:51,080 --> 00:21:55,119 Speaker 7: Latino USA is made possible in part by the Heising 326 00:21:55,200 --> 00:22:02,400 Speaker 7: Simons Foundation, Unlocking knowledge, opportunity and possibilities more at hsfoundation 327 00:22:02,600 --> 00:22:07,600 Speaker 7: dot org, the wind Coat Foundation and the Ford Foundation, 328 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:13,160 Speaker 7: working with visionaries on the front lines of social change worldwide. 329 00:22:16,400 --> 00:22:23,800 Speaker 5: A fact about me is that I wholeheartedly believe. 330 00:22:25,680 --> 00:22:30,359 Speaker 4: In reincarnation because I know, I just know in my 331 00:22:30,440 --> 00:22:35,679 Speaker 4: heart that I was the trojan guard who saw the 332 00:22:35,720 --> 00:22:37,360 Speaker 4: trojan horse approach. 333 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:43,000 Speaker 5: The gates and was like, let it in.