1 00:00:01,760 --> 00:00:05,120 Speaker 1: Dear Latino USA listener. Before we start, you should know 2 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:08,479 Speaker 1: that if you want to listen to this episode, add free. 3 00:00:08,960 --> 00:00:12,520 Speaker 1: Just join and you can join for as little as 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,400 Speaker 1: seven dollars a month. Joining also gets you behind the 5 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:21,079 Speaker 1: scenes access and yes, some cheese me. So click the 6 00:00:21,160 --> 00:00:24,720 Speaker 1: link in the episode description and after you do that, 7 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:25,800 Speaker 1: then click play. 8 00:00:26,200 --> 00:00:32,880 Speaker 2: Let's go to the show. 9 00:00:37,120 --> 00:00:38,760 Speaker 1: Welcome to Latino USA. 10 00:00:38,960 --> 00:00:40,560 Speaker 3: I'm Maria no Hosam. 11 00:00:41,000 --> 00:00:46,240 Speaker 1: The name Juangabriel immediately conjures up the image of an icon, 12 00:00:46,760 --> 00:00:57,160 Speaker 1: a shimmering showman, pouring his heart into every note, twirling 13 00:00:57,480 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: and flirting with the audience. His cultural significance is nearly 14 00:01:09,000 --> 00:01:12,640 Speaker 1: impossible to sum up. Even Netflix needed to do a 15 00:01:12,760 --> 00:01:15,880 Speaker 1: multi part series in order to try and capture it. 16 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:20,920 Speaker 1: So today on Latino USA, as we slowed down for 17 00:01:20,959 --> 00:01:24,399 Speaker 1: the holidays, we're re sharing an episode that we love 18 00:01:24,760 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: from our very own Futuro Studios podcast, My Devo. His 19 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:33,720 Speaker 1: nickname is Huanga and his poetry has been the soundtrack 20 00:01:33,840 --> 00:01:40,240 Speaker 1: of many people's lives, including Futuro Studios executive editor Maria Garcia, 21 00:01:40,480 --> 00:01:43,360 Speaker 1: who created and hosted this podcast. 22 00:01:45,680 --> 00:01:48,920 Speaker 3: Kuanga had a song for everything you want to tell 23 00:01:48,960 --> 00:01:51,560 Speaker 3: your ex in a gentle loving way that you have 24 00:01:51,680 --> 00:01:54,040 Speaker 3: someone new. Huanga has a song for that. 25 00:01:54,800 --> 00:01:59,440 Speaker 1: Redwestanless time, Miss Manasama. 26 00:02:00,120 --> 00:02:01,960 Speaker 3: You want to tell a booty call that they didn't 27 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:04,640 Speaker 3: mean anything to you, Huanga has one for you too. 28 00:02:04,840 --> 00:02:08,880 Speaker 4: Yes that ben sandong Ksufi and Besty. 29 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:11,320 Speaker 1: Is that song? 30 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:13,280 Speaker 2: No sans song? 31 00:02:14,000 --> 00:02:16,920 Speaker 3: You want to bask in hopefulness and the beauty of 32 00:02:16,960 --> 00:02:26,280 Speaker 3: the sun. Huanga has a song for that too. But 33 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:29,760 Speaker 3: what made him Huanga was that he could make his 34 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 3: songs come alive on stage. To this day, there's a 35 00:02:34,840 --> 00:02:39,200 Speaker 3: whole genre of reaction videos of people discovering the power 36 00:02:39,280 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 3: of Huanga's performances, like this YouTuber who goes by go 37 00:02:43,320 --> 00:02:44,560 Speaker 3: ot games loop. 38 00:02:48,280 --> 00:02:48,560 Speaker 2: You had. 39 00:02:48,560 --> 00:02:49,760 Speaker 5: Did you hear his voice break? 40 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:52,040 Speaker 6: That's emotion, that's raw passion. Listen. 41 00:02:57,080 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 3: It was the way Huanga emoded, way he performed songs 42 00:03:01,680 --> 00:03:06,800 Speaker 3: like there was an urgency in every lyric. 43 00:03:13,400 --> 00:03:16,760 Speaker 1: In this eight episode podcast, available in both English and 44 00:03:16,800 --> 00:03:21,040 Speaker 1: in Spanish, Marie Garcia explores her own roots as well 45 00:03:21,080 --> 00:03:24,480 Speaker 1: as her queer identity through the music of Juangabriel. 46 00:03:25,639 --> 00:03:29,520 Speaker 3: Singing Dancing to Huanga with my Mom and my cousins 47 00:03:30,200 --> 00:03:41,760 Speaker 3: is when I feel peak Mexican love. For Huanga runs 48 00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,200 Speaker 3: deep in my home. My mom taught me to love him. 49 00:03:45,640 --> 00:03:48,920 Speaker 3: I've taught my son your baby. Can I ask you something, 50 00:03:50,080 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 3: Who's your favorite singer right now? Jun dab Gungo is 51 00:03:54,520 --> 00:03:58,440 Speaker 3: your favorite singer right now? Look, my son is the 52 00:03:58,480 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 3: first one in his line born in the US. But 53 00:04:01,920 --> 00:04:05,760 Speaker 3: when I hear him karaoke Huanga with my mom, I 54 00:04:05,880 --> 00:04:08,400 Speaker 3: know that he knows where he comes from. 55 00:04:08,960 --> 00:04:11,920 Speaker 2: Amiri Rufa Mucho said in Apple. 56 00:04:11,760 --> 00:04:17,360 Speaker 5: Data from Good Life Now. 57 00:04:17,440 --> 00:04:21,320 Speaker 1: You may remember Maria Garcia from another Fuduo Studios podcast, 58 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:26,760 Speaker 1: Anything for Selena, which was in multiple best of lists 59 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 1: in the year twenty twenty one, and at the end 60 00:04:29,320 --> 00:04:32,920 Speaker 1: of today's episode, not de Vayas. Stay with us because 61 00:04:32,960 --> 00:04:35,640 Speaker 1: I'll sit down with Maria to hear more about the 62 00:04:35,680 --> 00:04:40,159 Speaker 1: show and her journey creating it. Our podcast called My 63 00:04:40,320 --> 00:04:45,440 Speaker 1: Devo is a truly beautiful and captivating, a really intimate 64 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:50,080 Speaker 1: and personal podcast that also has great music. So for 65 00:04:50,160 --> 00:04:53,400 Speaker 1: today's Leatino USA, We're going to play episode two, What 66 00:04:53,600 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: is an It's secrets and a heads up that it 67 00:04:56,760 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: contains mentions of abuse, So take care well listen. 68 00:05:10,160 --> 00:05:14,120 Speaker 3: We're starting off in the late nineties. I'm in sixth grade. 69 00:05:14,520 --> 00:05:18,600 Speaker 3: My curls are gelled up and crunchy, my lipstick is 70 00:05:18,680 --> 00:05:25,560 Speaker 3: brown and matt and my eyebrows are severely overplucked. I'm 71 00:05:25,560 --> 00:05:28,279 Speaker 3: at school, in class, and I'm staring at the clock 72 00:05:28,680 --> 00:05:32,640 Speaker 3: non stop, waiting for noon, because at noon, my mom 73 00:05:32,680 --> 00:05:35,560 Speaker 3: is supposed to pick me up from school and she's 74 00:05:35,600 --> 00:05:44,280 Speaker 3: gonna take me to the club. Literally, I'm going across 75 00:05:44,279 --> 00:05:47,880 Speaker 3: the border to Watts to Thaa the Other, a daytime 76 00:05:47,960 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 3: dance party for youth at a nightclub without the booze. 77 00:05:52,960 --> 00:05:55,600 Speaker 3: My mom takes me to my cousins in Mexico, where 78 00:05:55,640 --> 00:06:00,920 Speaker 3: we head out to the hottest strip, a street in 79 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:04,159 Speaker 3: downtown Watt is right next to the border full of 80 00:06:04,279 --> 00:06:11,320 Speaker 3: nightclubs where Huanga got his start. I walk into a 81 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 3: club called Gosmo's discothe By the way, I love that 82 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:19,719 Speaker 3: my first club experience was at a place called the Cosmos. Anyway, 83 00:06:19,800 --> 00:06:24,040 Speaker 3: the bright noon sun radiates outside, but inside my eyes 84 00:06:24,120 --> 00:06:27,440 Speaker 3: have to adjust to the darkness. I remember the bright 85 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:32,240 Speaker 3: green strove flashes, the techno thumping in my body, the 86 00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:40,760 Speaker 3: disco balls glistening. I'd grown up hearing stories about these 87 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:43,880 Speaker 3: Wattish clubs from my mom, who grew up here, and 88 00:06:43,920 --> 00:06:46,760 Speaker 3: she's the kind of person who is always starting dance 89 00:06:46,800 --> 00:06:50,600 Speaker 3: parties at actual parties, and just like on random Tuesdays. 90 00:06:53,160 --> 00:06:57,840 Speaker 3: My mom is a whoa lady, you know who? That's 91 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:02,400 Speaker 3: her point is. I grew up with a mom who 92 00:07:02,440 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 3: treated dancing like necessary joy. And this place, this nightclub, 93 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:11,160 Speaker 3: and what is it's like a temple to that joy. 94 00:07:12,120 --> 00:07:19,040 Speaker 3: I distinctly remember feeling free. We thought we were all cool, 95 00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:23,320 Speaker 3: We thought we were this. That's my cousin Anna. She 96 00:07:23,480 --> 00:07:25,840 Speaker 3: was my cousin best friend growing up. If you had 97 00:07:25,840 --> 00:07:28,280 Speaker 3: a cousin best friend, you get what I mean. Anna 98 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:30,559 Speaker 3: and I used to watch her older sisters get ready 99 00:07:30,600 --> 00:07:32,960 Speaker 3: to go clubbing, and what is It was like a 100 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:35,840 Speaker 3: rite of passage. We couldn't wait for it to be 101 00:07:35,920 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 3: our turn. I remember all of the adults in our family, 102 00:07:40,360 --> 00:07:43,680 Speaker 3: like you would go to dancing, you know, everyone, including 103 00:07:43,680 --> 00:07:45,200 Speaker 3: our grandma. 104 00:07:46,040 --> 00:07:46,559 Speaker 7: I believe. 105 00:07:46,840 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 3: As teens, Anna and I would sneak around any chance 106 00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:52,560 Speaker 3: we could and use her older sister's IDs to try 107 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:55,760 Speaker 3: to get into hawat Is clubs. But it didn't always work. 108 00:07:55,960 --> 00:07:57,680 Speaker 3: You try to use your mom's ID. 109 00:07:58,560 --> 00:08:00,160 Speaker 7: I'm never gonna forget that day. 110 00:08:00,760 --> 00:08:01,800 Speaker 4: That's so embarrassing. 111 00:08:03,520 --> 00:08:06,240 Speaker 3: Later, when I turned eighteen, I'd go out all the 112 00:08:06,280 --> 00:08:08,560 Speaker 3: time in Is since I couldn't go dancing like that 113 00:08:08,640 --> 00:08:12,080 Speaker 3: in the US. I'd go to swanky clubs wood in 114 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:14,560 Speaker 3: the shape of a pyramid, where I'd dance on top 115 00:08:14,600 --> 00:08:19,920 Speaker 3: of bars. Then later I discovered the Howattis dives institutions 116 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:22,800 Speaker 3: that have been there for decades. One of them a 117 00:08:22,880 --> 00:08:27,160 Speaker 3: lo Olimpigo, an old queer bar, still ends in karaoke 118 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:31,000 Speaker 3: with friends every time I go singing Huanga. Of course, 119 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:44,400 Speaker 3: you see, there's something singular about this city at night. 120 00:08:44,760 --> 00:08:50,720 Speaker 3: Its legacy is actually built on them, on its nighttime culture, clubs, bars, restaurants, parties. 121 00:08:51,720 --> 00:08:56,200 Speaker 3: Many say that it's this scene that birth Twangabrielle. This 122 00:08:56,240 --> 00:09:00,360 Speaker 3: is where he first went clubbing, two where he experienced 123 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:04,280 Speaker 3: a lot of first actually, and not all of them 124 00:09:04,400 --> 00:09:09,600 Speaker 3: were happy or known. Because what is like many nighttime cities, 125 00:09:10,320 --> 00:09:15,559 Speaker 3: is a place that keeps secrets, A harrowing secret about Juangabrielle, 126 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,600 Speaker 3: a secret about him that forced me to confront a 127 00:09:19,640 --> 00:09:24,720 Speaker 3: painful secret in my own home. But today, today both 128 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:27,800 Speaker 3: of these stories come out. It's time. 129 00:09:34,280 --> 00:09:58,319 Speaker 1: Coming up on Latino USA Huanga's early life. Stay with us, Yes, welcome, 130 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:02,800 Speaker 1: back to Latino Usa. I'm Maria Josa. Today's episode is 131 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:07,280 Speaker 1: from our very own Futuro Studios. It's called My Devo. 132 00:10:07,880 --> 00:10:13,240 Speaker 1: It's the story of Juangabriel, a prolific composer, terrific performer, 133 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:17,600 Speaker 1: and arguably one of the most famous artists in Mexico, 134 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,839 Speaker 1: in Latin America, and in the entire Spanish speaking world. 135 00:10:21,520 --> 00:10:25,480 Speaker 1: But this podcast is also a story about roots, about 136 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:30,480 Speaker 1: Futuro Studios executive editor Maria Garcia's connection to her Mexican 137 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:35,480 Speaker 1: and queer identities through Huanga, as Juangabriel was also commonly known. 138 00:10:35,960 --> 00:10:38,080 Speaker 1: So let's get back to the episode we're bringing you 139 00:10:38,120 --> 00:10:41,480 Speaker 1: today and pick up where we left off. Here's episode 140 00:10:41,480 --> 00:10:45,360 Speaker 1: two of My Devo with the amazing Maria Garcia. 141 00:10:48,400 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 2: Okay, we you. 142 00:10:49,440 --> 00:10:54,560 Speaker 3: Sar it here passport? Where's my pastport. It's a workday. 143 00:10:54,679 --> 00:10:56,800 Speaker 3: I'm rushing out the door in my home in al Paso, 144 00:10:57,080 --> 00:11:02,720 Speaker 3: about to head to Juatis across the border. Right here. Okay, 145 00:11:03,480 --> 00:11:06,680 Speaker 3: I say by to my dog, a pub named Cellino. 146 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:09,559 Speaker 2: By Cellino by Ceo. 147 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:16,319 Speaker 3: I'm going to want is to explore Huanga's early years, 148 00:11:16,480 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 3: his childhood, and the start of his career, because many 149 00:11:19,920 --> 00:11:24,040 Speaker 3: will tell you Huanga is what is? And what is 150 00:11:24,040 --> 00:11:24,840 Speaker 3: is Huanga? 151 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:26,720 Speaker 2: What isang. 152 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:31,040 Speaker 3: Is news? The one thing that what was known for 153 00:11:31,240 --> 00:11:36,280 Speaker 3: was Shuangariel. I know right away when we cross the 154 00:11:36,280 --> 00:11:40,559 Speaker 3: border that we need to visit Maria Mercedes Alvarez Vicencio 155 00:11:40,920 --> 00:11:46,120 Speaker 3: aka Mece. She's a legend and what is immortalized by 156 00:11:46,200 --> 00:11:58,400 Speaker 3: Huanga song about her. She was a scenister and a 157 00:11:58,440 --> 00:12:01,040 Speaker 3: sex worker who started off working the what is night 158 00:12:01,120 --> 00:12:04,920 Speaker 3: scene in the late sixties. Huanga's best friend and sometimes 159 00:12:05,000 --> 00:12:09,320 Speaker 3: roommate during his adolescence. She's an integral part of his story. 160 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:12,160 Speaker 3: So we showed up cold at her house, hoping for 161 00:12:12,200 --> 00:12:15,520 Speaker 3: the best. We knocked on her door, a small tenement 162 00:12:15,559 --> 00:12:27,319 Speaker 3: style house in an alleyway, and she answered give Mitcha's 163 00:12:27,320 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 3: in her seventies and wears bright pink lipstick. Peeking through 164 00:12:31,679 --> 00:12:34,000 Speaker 3: the door, I could see a collage of pictures of 165 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 3: Jungavriel hung on her modest walls. She was like, who 166 00:12:37,640 --> 00:12:44,600 Speaker 3: are you guys in this? We introduced ourselves and Mitcha 167 00:12:44,679 --> 00:12:46,920 Speaker 3: welcomed us in with what is hospitality? 168 00:12:47,559 --> 00:12:53,480 Speaker 6: Miamo mariar merce misins against you? 169 00:12:53,559 --> 00:12:56,800 Speaker 2: That what is? 170 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:00,679 Speaker 3: Mitcha was born and raised in what Is. She had 171 00:13:00,720 --> 00:13:03,040 Speaker 3: a rough home life and ran away as a teen, 172 00:13:03,640 --> 00:13:06,240 Speaker 3: ending up working at what Is nightclubs on the strip. 173 00:13:06,720 --> 00:13:10,160 Speaker 3: She lived in abandoned cars and houses, and then in hotels, 174 00:13:10,520 --> 00:13:13,760 Speaker 3: trying to make enough to eat, encountering creatures of the night. 175 00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:17,840 Speaker 6: Sometimes I go to the bars and I talk to 176 00:13:17,960 --> 00:13:20,960 Speaker 6: the men's and I say I'm hungry, and I went 177 00:13:21,040 --> 00:13:24,920 Speaker 6: abu rito torta and they say, oh no, no, drink 178 00:13:24,960 --> 00:13:25,840 Speaker 6: a beer first. 179 00:13:26,280 --> 00:13:28,040 Speaker 2: But I know what they want. 180 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:31,520 Speaker 3: She learned English on the strip, talking to American partygoers 181 00:13:31,520 --> 00:13:32,720 Speaker 3: who paid her for sex. 182 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:35,760 Speaker 2: They won take me to the hotel. 183 00:13:36,520 --> 00:13:40,840 Speaker 6: Sometimes they take me, they pay me, but they stole 184 00:13:40,920 --> 00:13:43,000 Speaker 6: my money because I'm very drunk. 185 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:47,040 Speaker 3: Some of her clients included US servicemen during the Vietnam 186 00:13:47,080 --> 00:13:47,640 Speaker 3: War era. 187 00:13:48,240 --> 00:13:51,040 Speaker 2: So it's lonely. It's lonely that life. 188 00:13:52,240 --> 00:13:54,760 Speaker 3: Metcha told us about the time she saw Huanga, this 189 00:13:54,920 --> 00:13:58,520 Speaker 3: puppy eyed boy, standing outside of hauatti Is club, where 190 00:13:58,520 --> 00:14:02,240 Speaker 3: she was a regular. He approached her and said. 191 00:14:02,400 --> 00:14:06,640 Speaker 6: I sing if you let me go inside, because I 192 00:14:06,720 --> 00:14:07,320 Speaker 6: want to sing. 193 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:11,480 Speaker 3: Alberto was his name. He didn't yet go by Hugabrielle 194 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 3: Macha said, sorry, kid, you're underage. 195 00:14:14,760 --> 00:14:18,800 Speaker 6: And the boss he don't want young women's and young 196 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:22,080 Speaker 6: men's here in this place because the police. 197 00:14:22,600 --> 00:14:26,440 Speaker 3: Huanga was still too young and wasn't allowed in bars. Eventually, 198 00:14:26,600 --> 00:14:30,120 Speaker 3: Matcha took pity on the boy who looks sad and desperate, and. 199 00:14:30,160 --> 00:14:33,960 Speaker 2: I say, only one song please. 200 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:38,200 Speaker 3: She bribed the band members to let him in or else. 201 00:14:38,480 --> 00:14:41,640 Speaker 6: Oh, I don't want to buy you bridos and tortoise 202 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:45,960 Speaker 6: no more. And I talked to Huanga Brier and I say, 203 00:14:46,080 --> 00:14:51,560 Speaker 6: come here, and he comes and he sing and everybody, 204 00:14:51,800 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 6: you know, they lie the way he sing. 205 00:14:57,440 --> 00:15:02,000 Speaker 3: After that night, Micha and Huanga became inseparable. They were 206 00:15:02,000 --> 00:15:06,920 Speaker 3: both young, broke bohemians trying to survive in a party scene. 207 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:11,040 Speaker 3: Sometimes they had enough to eat, sometimes they didn't, but 208 00:15:11,120 --> 00:15:12,360 Speaker 3: they watched out for each other. 209 00:15:13,280 --> 00:15:16,120 Speaker 2: They get him when I see they gave me. 210 00:15:17,040 --> 00:15:19,920 Speaker 3: So. They were facing extreme poverty, but they were also 211 00:15:20,080 --> 00:15:23,960 Speaker 3: resilient teens hungry for life. They went out a lot, 212 00:15:24,320 --> 00:15:26,600 Speaker 3: went dancing. They had a good time. 213 00:15:26,720 --> 00:15:33,400 Speaker 6: And he go playing cars Domino Lotia and we got fun. 214 00:15:33,560 --> 00:15:33,760 Speaker 2: There. 215 00:15:41,200 --> 00:15:44,520 Speaker 3: For decades, what was known as this liberal hub, where 216 00:15:44,560 --> 00:15:48,480 Speaker 3: the rules of polite society didn't go. Americans like Marilyn 217 00:15:48,520 --> 00:15:51,280 Speaker 3: Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor would flock here to get a 218 00:15:51,360 --> 00:15:56,360 Speaker 3: quick divorce. What was a precursor to Las Vegas. Picture 219 00:15:56,440 --> 00:16:01,520 Speaker 3: restaurants with perfectly fitted linen tablecloths, waiters and white jackets, 220 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:05,080 Speaker 3: and clubs that stayed open all night. What has had 221 00:16:05,120 --> 00:16:10,280 Speaker 3: been an international party destination since prohibition. The music of 222 00:16:10,320 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 3: the Mariantis says the temple for a night out filled 223 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:19,000 Speaker 3: with the sights and the sounds of the border. Sex 224 00:16:19,040 --> 00:16:22,280 Speaker 3: workers like Metcha would roam the bars and streets. A 225 00:16:22,320 --> 00:16:25,720 Speaker 3: Boston writer once called what is the most wicked city? 226 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:30,440 Speaker 7: You could say, all kinds of people from different nationalities 227 00:16:30,720 --> 00:16:34,160 Speaker 7: coming to no On all, not just the Americans. 228 00:16:35,160 --> 00:16:38,080 Speaker 3: This is a Gomez Vargas. He's been working at and 229 00:16:38,120 --> 00:16:41,440 Speaker 3: eventually owning a bar and what is for about sixty years. 230 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:45,400 Speaker 3: He partied here during the glory days of the Noah Noah, 231 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 3: a club that's the topic of Huanga's iconic song. In 232 00:16:54,960 --> 00:16:58,000 Speaker 3: his song, Juangavriel wrote that the Noah Noah was a 233 00:16:58,040 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 3: place the ambiente of ambiance, which might have been a 234 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:05,600 Speaker 3: dog whistle for a gay friendly club. He wrote that 235 00:17:05,760 --> 00:17:09,480 Speaker 3: everything here was different, a wink to open minded howattes, 236 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:18,520 Speaker 3: but waes wasn't a nighttime utopia either. 237 00:17:19,440 --> 00:17:23,960 Speaker 7: In some places he was mistreated, but that's the way 238 00:17:24,000 --> 00:17:27,600 Speaker 7: it was. Yeah, it was something bad. 239 00:17:28,680 --> 00:17:31,480 Speaker 3: You said that in some places he wasn't allowed to 240 00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:32,720 Speaker 3: sing because he was gay. 241 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:37,639 Speaker 7: Yeah, but what does it have to do sexuality with 242 00:17:38,200 --> 00:17:38,920 Speaker 7: good singing. 243 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:46,400 Speaker 3: I don't know people heckling Huanga. But if one club 244 00:17:46,400 --> 00:17:49,399 Speaker 3: wouldn't take him, Huanga would find another club that would. 245 00:17:50,080 --> 00:17:52,399 Speaker 3: I don't know if remembers Huanga as a teen calling 246 00:17:52,480 --> 00:17:55,919 Speaker 3: himself by a stage name of Adan Luna, always walking 247 00:17:55,960 --> 00:17:59,639 Speaker 3: down the Wattish strip, trying to sing for someone, carrying 248 00:17:59,640 --> 00:18:03,159 Speaker 3: a little notebook around where he'd write his songs. And 249 00:18:03,200 --> 00:18:06,399 Speaker 3: at night, Kuanga would bring his songs to Matcha at their. 250 00:18:06,280 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 6: Hotel and he and knock my door. He say, hey, 251 00:18:12,720 --> 00:18:16,199 Speaker 6: I want you you hear a new song? And I 252 00:18:16,320 --> 00:18:21,440 Speaker 6: say no, no, no, no, normalist, don't bother me. I got 253 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:25,600 Speaker 6: a big hangover. Bring me a a kagama. 254 00:18:25,680 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 3: A kawama a forty, which he'd bring her. 255 00:18:29,040 --> 00:18:33,640 Speaker 6: And when he sing, I you drinking the beer. Oh 256 00:18:33,920 --> 00:18:35,159 Speaker 6: it's a nice song. 257 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:40,280 Speaker 3: Oh. I love to picture teenage Huanga walking around with 258 00:18:40,359 --> 00:18:44,600 Speaker 3: his notebook of songs, singing them to sex workers trying 259 00:18:44,600 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 3: to sneak into clubs. By the time he was doing that, 260 00:18:48,720 --> 00:18:52,120 Speaker 3: he was kind of an expert at surviving the Hoatta streets. 261 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:56,680 Speaker 3: He started hustling here since he was a child. That's 262 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:58,520 Speaker 3: what I want to learn more about. When we leave 263 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:11,320 Speaker 3: Matcha's house during our reporting in what Is, we drive 264 00:19:11,400 --> 00:19:14,359 Speaker 3: to the house where Huangavriel lived as a toddler in 265 00:19:14,440 --> 00:19:18,560 Speaker 3: the fifties. It's a small adobe building with a tiny 266 00:19:18,560 --> 00:19:23,400 Speaker 3: courtyard up front. It's here where Huanga's family arrived after 267 00:19:23,440 --> 00:19:30,280 Speaker 3: they'd migrated to the border looking for economic opportunities. Huanga's 268 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:34,360 Speaker 3: parents were farmers in Parakuaro micho Gan in west central Mexico, 269 00:19:35,080 --> 00:19:38,080 Speaker 3: where Huangavriel was still a baby. His father lost touch 270 00:19:38,119 --> 00:19:42,680 Speaker 3: with reality and was taken to a mental institution alone. 271 00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:46,880 Speaker 3: Huanga's mom migrated north with her six children, Huanga still 272 00:19:46,920 --> 00:19:50,160 Speaker 3: in diapers. He talked about it to the Mexican TV 273 00:19:50,240 --> 00:19:53,800 Speaker 3: host Badi Chaboi in nineteen eighty five, saying his mom 274 00:19:53,840 --> 00:19:55,679 Speaker 3: had no choice but to move north. 275 00:19:56,040 --> 00:20:03,560 Speaker 4: In Thosserlasqueaking, I see that Huanga's mom got a job 276 00:20:03,640 --> 00:20:05,520 Speaker 4: as a housekeeper for a rich family. 277 00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:08,560 Speaker 3: She took Kwanga, then a toddler, with her to work 278 00:20:08,840 --> 00:20:13,040 Speaker 3: until the family didn't allow it anymore. According to his biography, 279 00:20:13,520 --> 00:20:16,600 Speaker 3: toddler Huanga spent his days with his older siblings or 280 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:20,600 Speaker 3: sometimes even alone in the busy streets of Huattis, cleaning 281 00:20:20,640 --> 00:20:25,120 Speaker 3: cars or holding people's shopping bags for money. When Huanga 282 00:20:25,200 --> 00:20:27,879 Speaker 3: was still a small child, a woman who worked at 283 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:30,719 Speaker 3: a shelter for kids saw him on the streets and 284 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:33,240 Speaker 3: told his mom that Huanga could have a better life 285 00:20:33,280 --> 00:20:36,879 Speaker 3: at the shelter. There he could learn rather than be 286 00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:42,720 Speaker 3: forced to work. In interviews for his TV bio series 287 00:20:42,720 --> 00:20:47,400 Speaker 3: a Secosiquangaarden talked about how even as a three year old, 288 00:20:47,920 --> 00:20:50,600 Speaker 3: he felt his life was over when he realized his 289 00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:52,800 Speaker 3: mom had left him at the shelter for good. 290 00:20:57,000 --> 00:21:03,880 Speaker 4: Medejo ai Utu Seemes, one. 291 00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:08,080 Speaker 3: Of Huanga's best friends for over forty years, Rosenda Puentez 292 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:11,320 Speaker 3: says Huanga would talk to her about how tough it 293 00:21:11,440 --> 00:21:12,680 Speaker 3: was to have grown up there. 294 00:21:13,680 --> 00:21:18,679 Speaker 8: He was very, very sad at the orphanage because you 295 00:21:18,720 --> 00:21:21,480 Speaker 8: know how kids can be very cruel. They were saying 296 00:21:21,520 --> 00:21:24,639 Speaker 8: to him, how come if you have a mom, you're here, 297 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:27,160 Speaker 8: so your mom doesn't love you? How come you are here? 298 00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:29,960 Speaker 2: And he really, really. 299 00:21:29,960 --> 00:21:32,240 Speaker 8: Was hurt by that, and he will solve for so 300 00:21:32,359 --> 00:21:35,680 Speaker 8: much and he's starting to really realize, Yeah, they are right. 301 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:36,480 Speaker 2: How come if I. 302 00:21:36,480 --> 00:21:41,880 Speaker 3: Have a mom lamp here. In all his years at 303 00:21:41,880 --> 00:21:44,840 Speaker 3: the shelter, he said his mother only visited him a 304 00:21:44,880 --> 00:21:50,440 Speaker 3: few times. Years later, Huanga told the journalist Mate Delgado 305 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:54,440 Speaker 3: that he had longed for love and affection, the things 306 00:21:54,480 --> 00:21:56,119 Speaker 3: he didn't have no. 307 00:21:57,800 --> 00:21:59,760 Speaker 2: More carry yo. 308 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:04,159 Speaker 3: La alesnal. 309 00:22:15,400 --> 00:22:15,480 Speaker 1: So. 310 00:22:15,560 --> 00:22:20,000 Speaker 3: At thirteen, he escaped one night, He took out the 311 00:22:20,040 --> 00:22:23,560 Speaker 3: trash and just never came back. He tried to live 312 00:22:23,600 --> 00:22:26,200 Speaker 3: with his mom, but she told him he couldn't stay 313 00:22:26,240 --> 00:22:29,879 Speaker 3: with her. Huanga's biography says she wanted to remake her 314 00:22:29,920 --> 00:22:32,760 Speaker 3: life with a man and couldn't afford to take in 315 00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:37,280 Speaker 3: her thirteen year old son. In a televised interview, Huanga 316 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:40,920 Speaker 3: Leader talked about how he understood that his mom would 317 00:22:40,960 --> 00:22:48,439 Speaker 3: never care for him. She had her own life without him. Yes, Ulvida, 318 00:22:48,920 --> 00:22:51,119 Speaker 3: people who knew him during this time talk about what 319 00:22:51,160 --> 00:22:54,960 Speaker 3: an intense kid he was. Huanga riev talked about it himself. 320 00:22:55,600 --> 00:22:57,760 Speaker 3: He said he was old as a kid. There was 321 00:22:57,800 --> 00:23:04,879 Speaker 3: a profoundness to him. Joe, you can hear that in 322 00:23:04,960 --> 00:23:07,680 Speaker 3: the very first song he wrote at thirteen years old. 323 00:23:08,240 --> 00:23:17,080 Speaker 3: He recorded it many years later, Gonza. It's about a 324 00:23:17,119 --> 00:23:20,320 Speaker 3: dove in agony who looks to the sky and asks 325 00:23:20,359 --> 00:23:23,480 Speaker 3: God to let him die after being alone in a 326 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,080 Speaker 3: nest without anyone there to love or care for him. 327 00:23:26,800 --> 00:23:28,120 Speaker 2: It's Monissan. 328 00:23:34,320 --> 00:23:36,680 Speaker 3: I listened to the song over and over again as 329 00:23:36,720 --> 00:23:40,119 Speaker 3: I drove around what Is. I could hear a little 330 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:44,920 Speaker 3: Huanga in pain, but I didn't realize to what degree 331 00:23:45,600 --> 00:23:49,920 Speaker 3: until a discovery weeks later at the Mexican National Archives, 332 00:23:52,200 --> 00:23:55,080 Speaker 3: we found a file that had been misplaced for decades. 333 00:23:55,920 --> 00:23:58,560 Speaker 3: It's a file from Hunga's time in prison when he 334 00:23:58,600 --> 00:24:01,480 Speaker 3: was a teenager. Will tell you more about his time 335 00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:04,960 Speaker 3: in prison in the next episode, but for now you 336 00:24:05,000 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 3: should know that in this file there are pages and 337 00:24:07,960 --> 00:24:12,479 Speaker 3: pages of notes on Juangabrielle's evaluations with the social worker 338 00:24:12,960 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 3: while he was detained. While at the prison, he told 339 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:20,400 Speaker 3: officials this story that I think shows what young Huanga, 340 00:24:20,720 --> 00:24:24,240 Speaker 3: without any family support, was going through. When he escaped 341 00:24:24,280 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 3: the shelter, he said, he roamed the streets of uare 342 00:24:27,440 --> 00:24:30,400 Speaker 3: Is looking for work. He did what he could to survive, 343 00:24:30,880 --> 00:24:35,760 Speaker 3: washed other people's clothes, cleaned a church, waited tables. Then 344 00:24:36,160 --> 00:24:39,800 Speaker 3: he met a priest. The priest invited teenage Huanga to 345 00:24:39,880 --> 00:24:43,280 Speaker 3: live with him as his servant. The file actually uses 346 00:24:43,320 --> 00:24:49,840 Speaker 3: that word cente. Juangavriel agreed. Then the file reads the 347 00:24:49,880 --> 00:25:05,800 Speaker 3: priest raped him. Guangabriel was fourteen years old. I'd heard 348 00:25:05,800 --> 00:25:10,080 Speaker 3: this story before. Alejandro Berla, a video producer for Huanga, 349 00:25:10,119 --> 00:25:13,359 Speaker 3: had told me that some of Huanga's close friends knew 350 00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:17,960 Speaker 3: he'd been raped by a priest, Juang LaBrie Lo Biola uns. 351 00:25:20,359 --> 00:25:22,840 Speaker 3: When Alejandro told me this, I was like, no way, 352 00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:26,960 Speaker 3: I'm publishing this story. Sounds like hearsay. And then at 353 00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:31,600 Speaker 3: the Mexican National Archives, I confirmed the story. Reading Huanga's 354 00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 3: account of the rape, I agonized whether to publish this 355 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:41,160 Speaker 3: detail or not. I consulted with other journalists, including Columbia 356 00:25:41,240 --> 00:25:46,040 Speaker 3: University's Darts Center for Journalism and Trauma. I slept on 357 00:25:46,080 --> 00:25:50,440 Speaker 3: it for months. Ultimately, I decided to include the secret 358 00:25:50,480 --> 00:25:53,679 Speaker 3: because I think my job as a journalist is to 359 00:25:53,680 --> 00:25:58,360 Speaker 3: paint an honest picture of Huanga, not just his artistic legacy, 360 00:25:59,160 --> 00:26:04,000 Speaker 3: but his human He was so alone and desperate for 361 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:08,320 Speaker 3: safety for a home. I kept imagining what it must 362 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:11,359 Speaker 3: be like to be alone at this tender age, and 363 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:15,680 Speaker 3: in your innocence and naivete and loneliness, you trust people 364 00:26:15,720 --> 00:26:19,560 Speaker 3: you shouldn't because you have no one else, because your 365 00:26:19,600 --> 00:26:26,480 Speaker 3: mom turned you away. As I say this, I realize 366 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:29,639 Speaker 3: I'm no longer just talking about Juangavriel and his mother, 367 00:26:30,840 --> 00:26:35,240 Speaker 3: because thinking about a vulnerable thirteen fourteen year old juangavrielle 368 00:26:35,560 --> 00:26:39,400 Speaker 3: in What Is makes me think of another young adolescent 369 00:26:39,760 --> 00:26:44,600 Speaker 3: once in What Is in my own family, another thirteen 370 00:26:44,680 --> 00:27:11,000 Speaker 3: year old turned away by their mother, My own mom. Okay, 371 00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:15,320 Speaker 3: I gotta tell you about my mom. She smiles at 372 00:27:15,520 --> 00:27:19,280 Speaker 3: every stranger on the street, like literally everyone who crosses 373 00:27:19,280 --> 00:27:26,880 Speaker 3: her path. She talks to dogs like they're reasoning adults. 374 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:38,200 Speaker 3: She tells scandalous jokes. She makes all the kids dance 375 00:27:38,240 --> 00:27:45,240 Speaker 3: at parties from Cumbia to Reggaeton. You know that story 376 00:27:45,280 --> 00:27:47,919 Speaker 3: at the beginning of the episode about my mom taking 377 00:27:47,960 --> 00:27:50,919 Speaker 3: me to the club. One of the reasons I cherish 378 00:27:51,040 --> 00:27:54,280 Speaker 3: that memory so much is because my mom's experience with 379 00:27:54,359 --> 00:27:57,680 Speaker 3: going out dancing when she was young was a complete 380 00:27:57,800 --> 00:28:01,280 Speaker 3: opposite of mine. Her mom didn't drive her to the club. 381 00:28:01,320 --> 00:28:04,359 Speaker 3: On the contrary, my mom wasn't really let out much. 382 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:11,040 Speaker 3: Her mom my grandmother worked as an overnight nurse and 383 00:28:11,119 --> 00:28:13,520 Speaker 3: slept all day, so my mom had to take care 384 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:16,639 Speaker 3: of her younger siblings and fend for herself since she 385 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:26,880 Speaker 3: was like nine years old. But Mama, my mom had 386 00:28:26,880 --> 00:28:30,399 Speaker 3: a complicated home life, a lot of responsibilities, and she 387 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:34,240 Speaker 3: felt really alone. So when she was a teenager and 388 00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,440 Speaker 3: friends started inviting her out, she'd sneak out any chance 389 00:28:37,480 --> 00:28:40,320 Speaker 3: she got. She would go dancing with her friends, and 390 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:43,080 Speaker 3: some of the same clubs were Huanga Once, sang. 391 00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:48,600 Speaker 5: Oka, Sabaki's Boys, Kimi, Nira, Mayba, Nalona Fla. 392 00:28:49,080 --> 00:28:54,120 Speaker 3: Even if it meant coming home to a beating Yallo. 393 00:28:55,840 --> 00:29:00,520 Speaker 5: See see why Lucie and Pivo. 394 00:29:00,640 --> 00:29:03,440 Speaker 3: They couldn't take away the dancing I'd done, she tells 395 00:29:03,480 --> 00:29:07,440 Speaker 3: me as we laugh at her endearing determination to party. 396 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,800 Speaker 3: But I know there's something deeper here. That dancing was 397 00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:16,080 Speaker 3: not just dancing for my mom, but a respite, a bomb. 398 00:29:19,480 --> 00:29:22,600 Speaker 3: They Feelie that she'd gotten a moment of happiness. 399 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:33,320 Speaker 5: A is a maximo intunss wow Sali I Nie. 400 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:42,520 Speaker 3: She had danced, jumped around with INDI been free kadiak. 401 00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:44,400 Speaker 2: Response. 402 00:29:45,840 --> 00:30:04,080 Speaker 3: This had a moment of scarce pleasure to herself. One 403 00:30:04,160 --> 00:30:07,840 Speaker 3: night My mom was especially excited to go out because, 404 00:30:07,880 --> 00:30:11,680 Speaker 3: by some miracle, my grandma allowed her to. She was 405 00:30:11,720 --> 00:30:14,280 Speaker 3: going to El Malivu, one of the night clubs where 406 00:30:14,320 --> 00:30:17,880 Speaker 3: Huanga started out. This is one of the swankiest places 407 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:20,800 Speaker 3: in what is with velvet seating and disco. 408 00:30:20,320 --> 00:30:26,120 Speaker 5: Balls pomp and. 409 00:30:27,880 --> 00:30:31,440 Speaker 3: My mom says she danced all night. Then when it 410 00:30:31,480 --> 00:30:34,320 Speaker 3: was time to go, the car of the boy who 411 00:30:34,360 --> 00:30:37,520 Speaker 3: was going to drive her home wouldn't start. There were 412 00:30:37,520 --> 00:30:41,680 Speaker 3: no taxis around, no buses. They walked to the boy's house. 413 00:30:43,760 --> 00:30:54,280 Speaker 3: The boy's dad was like, it's too late, Kustin. Everyone 414 00:30:54,360 --> 00:30:56,240 Speaker 3: sleep here and I'll take you home in the morning. 415 00:30:57,040 --> 00:31:06,240 Speaker 3: But the next morning, my grandmother was waiting at the door. 416 00:31:10,400 --> 00:31:13,880 Speaker 3: She didn't allow my mom to come in. The boy's 417 00:31:13,960 --> 00:31:20,200 Speaker 3: dad tried to explain, but the details didn't matter. No, Mi, 418 00:31:21,280 --> 00:31:26,880 Speaker 3: my mom had spent a night away from home. My 419 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:29,640 Speaker 3: grandmother didn't want my mom in her home anymore. 420 00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:32,560 Speaker 2: Who stings. 421 00:31:35,640 --> 00:31:38,880 Speaker 3: My mom even begged my grandmother to do a medical 422 00:31:38,920 --> 00:31:42,200 Speaker 3: exam so she could verify my mom hadn't had sex 423 00:31:42,800 --> 00:31:48,920 Speaker 3: my mom. My mom pleaded, begged to be let in. 424 00:31:49,600 --> 00:31:52,200 Speaker 3: My grandmother said my mom had to marry the boy 425 00:31:52,320 --> 00:31:55,280 Speaker 3: she'd gone out with a boy. My mom hardly knew. 426 00:31:56,080 --> 00:32:00,520 Speaker 3: The boy's family objected. My grandmother said she'd have him 427 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:05,640 Speaker 3: thrown in jail if he didn't marry my mom. My 428 00:32:05,680 --> 00:32:16,880 Speaker 3: mom wept, begged. My grandmother rejected her face with no choice, 429 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:21,640 Speaker 3: my mom and the boy forcibly married. My mom was thirteen. 430 00:32:22,560 --> 00:32:23,760 Speaker 2: It can easy get up on. 431 00:32:25,480 --> 00:32:29,920 Speaker 3: Me, buy me at the courthouse. My grandma didn't even 432 00:32:29,960 --> 00:32:34,280 Speaker 3: look back to say goodbye. Soon, the boy grew angry 433 00:32:34,280 --> 00:32:46,000 Speaker 3: at my mom, a terrible, terrible rage. One day, he 434 00:32:46,120 --> 00:32:53,120 Speaker 3: raped her and then he beat her. The boy's dad 435 00:32:53,120 --> 00:32:56,160 Speaker 3: saw my mom bloody and beat and told her to 436 00:32:56,240 --> 00:33:00,720 Speaker 3: run away lest his son kill her. Go and beg 437 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:04,320 Speaker 3: your mother again, he said, So, my mom showed up 438 00:33:04,360 --> 00:33:15,720 Speaker 3: to my grandmother's house. She pleaded again, said she'd fear 439 00:33:15,760 --> 00:33:19,960 Speaker 3: the boy would kill her if she returned. My grandmother 440 00:33:20,080 --> 00:33:24,520 Speaker 3: finally said my mom could stay under one condition that 441 00:33:24,640 --> 00:33:28,520 Speaker 3: my mom pay for her own divorce. And now my 442 00:33:28,600 --> 00:33:38,440 Speaker 3: grandmother said, is he ant she'd be even harder on 443 00:33:38,520 --> 00:33:44,320 Speaker 3: my mom. 444 00:33:44,360 --> 00:33:47,760 Speaker 1: Coming up on Latino USA, we wrap up the story 445 00:33:47,920 --> 00:33:52,040 Speaker 1: of Maria's mom and we see how Huanga used his 446 00:33:52,280 --> 00:34:05,160 Speaker 1: pain to make joyful art. Stay with us Welcome back 447 00:34:05,200 --> 00:34:06,280 Speaker 1: to Latino USA. 448 00:34:06,440 --> 00:34:07,520 Speaker 3: I'm Maria no Hoosa. 449 00:34:08,080 --> 00:34:11,279 Speaker 1: Today we're bringing you one of our favorite episodes from 450 00:34:11,280 --> 00:34:16,000 Speaker 1: our Apple original podcast called My Divo, which is about 451 00:34:16,000 --> 00:34:20,800 Speaker 1: the legendary Mexican artist Juan Gabriel and how his life 452 00:34:21,040 --> 00:34:26,120 Speaker 1: intertwines with the life of host Maria Garcia. Now, before 453 00:34:26,160 --> 00:34:29,319 Speaker 1: the break, Maria Garcia was telling us the story of 454 00:34:29,440 --> 00:34:33,520 Speaker 1: her mother, who, at thirteen years old, had been forced 455 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:37,400 Speaker 1: to marry that boy became abusive and in order to 456 00:34:37,560 --> 00:34:41,920 Speaker 1: leave the nightmare situation, Maria's mother was forced to drop 457 00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:46,360 Speaker 1: out of school and work to pay for her own divorce. 458 00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:49,720 Speaker 1: I'm going to let Maria Garcia, host of My Devo, 459 00:34:50,480 --> 00:34:55,719 Speaker 1: wrap up this story. 460 00:34:55,880 --> 00:34:57,879 Speaker 3: My mom has always told me how much she would 461 00:34:57,920 --> 00:35:01,000 Speaker 3: have liked to have a career that was taken from 462 00:35:01,040 --> 00:35:05,600 Speaker 3: her by my own grandmother. My mom held the secret 463 00:35:06,040 --> 00:35:10,200 Speaker 3: for decades. She's only ever told me, Not even my 464 00:35:10,280 --> 00:35:16,719 Speaker 3: brother knew. Before Kittenias Bitwins Mamasitas. I asked her why 465 00:35:16,760 --> 00:35:19,040 Speaker 3: she was ashamed of what had happened. 466 00:35:19,920 --> 00:35:22,160 Speaker 5: Trus guerresimos and nun tempo. 467 00:35:22,360 --> 00:35:28,880 Speaker 3: Because back then everyone judged you, thought you were slut, 468 00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:36,960 Speaker 3: thought you didn't have value. She thought she ruined her 469 00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:45,960 Speaker 3: own life. The fourth marriage was actually the most dramatic 470 00:35:46,120 --> 00:35:50,160 Speaker 3: in a series of insults and hurtful things my grandmother 471 00:35:50,280 --> 00:35:53,799 Speaker 3: had done to my mom. It's so hard for me 472 00:35:53,880 --> 00:35:56,959 Speaker 3: to even say this, but it's clear to me now 473 00:35:56,960 --> 00:36:00,320 Speaker 3: that my grandmother was abusive to my mom, hitting her her, 474 00:36:00,800 --> 00:36:03,920 Speaker 3: calling her a whore in front of the whole neighborhood in. 475 00:36:05,800 --> 00:36:06,320 Speaker 2: Mundo. 476 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:10,120 Speaker 3: I keep thinking of this, saying, if you treat your 477 00:36:10,160 --> 00:36:18,440 Speaker 3: child poorly, they don't stop loving you, they stop loving themselves. 478 00:36:18,719 --> 00:36:24,600 Speaker 5: Asta Apper India, Marmi Aper India. 479 00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:28,520 Speaker 3: Only now did I learn to love myself. My mom 480 00:36:28,600 --> 00:36:32,799 Speaker 3: tells me to know that I have value. It took 481 00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:36,400 Speaker 3: me all these years. I asked her why she was 482 00:36:36,440 --> 00:36:42,239 Speaker 3: ready to tell this story now? Is Manea It's a 483 00:36:42,280 --> 00:37:03,960 Speaker 3: way to liberate herself. Back in what is on that 484 00:37:04,080 --> 00:37:07,680 Speaker 3: reporting trip where we started this episode. We ended the 485 00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:12,400 Speaker 3: day in an alley called Gajejon Gargno and it houses 486 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:16,319 Speaker 3: run down tenements where Huanga lived with Mech and other 487 00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:20,400 Speaker 3: sex workers as a sixteen year old. It's easy for 488 00:37:20,480 --> 00:37:23,319 Speaker 3: me to picture Huanga here. In fact, that's all I've 489 00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:27,319 Speaker 3: been doing my entire time in Hua is imagining him. 490 00:37:28,480 --> 00:37:31,239 Speaker 3: But I think that if I want to really understand 491 00:37:31,280 --> 00:37:35,400 Speaker 3: his story, I have to try and picture his mom 492 00:37:36,400 --> 00:37:45,000 Speaker 3: Amelita Sumama a persona no. Huangabriel's niece, Silvia Guilera told 493 00:37:45,040 --> 00:37:49,319 Speaker 3: me that Huanga's mom was indeed not an affectionate person. 494 00:37:49,600 --> 00:37:55,200 Speaker 5: Your croqu Latrine ask in nas Anasi. 495 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:58,800 Speaker 3: Because of the emotional way she'd been carrying. Silvia said 496 00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:04,960 Speaker 3: she remembers her trajando, always working, fu mando, smoking, he pensativa, 497 00:38:05,320 --> 00:38:09,040 Speaker 3: lost in thought and worry. It's so clear to me 498 00:38:09,160 --> 00:38:12,799 Speaker 3: that this is a woman in survival mode, tasked with 499 00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:19,000 Speaker 3: the most essential keep her children alive, fed, safe, even 500 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:25,040 Speaker 3: if it means leaving them in a shelter. Maybe that's why, 501 00:38:25,080 --> 00:38:28,440 Speaker 3: despite the harm she had caused, Wanga spoke about his 502 00:38:28,520 --> 00:38:35,880 Speaker 3: mom with such grace. Up He said in interviews for 503 00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:38,720 Speaker 3: his bio series that one of the most beautiful things 504 00:38:38,760 --> 00:38:42,600 Speaker 3: in life is to understand, accept and forgive. 505 00:38:42,840 --> 00:38:47,440 Speaker 4: A joya denido alguno, malo recuerdos proveco. 506 00:38:48,680 --> 00:38:51,400 Speaker 3: In nineteen ninety two, he told a TV host that 507 00:38:51,480 --> 00:38:55,120 Speaker 3: even though he had bad memories, he extracted a lot 508 00:38:55,160 --> 00:38:56,080 Speaker 3: of good from them. 509 00:38:56,640 --> 00:39:07,480 Speaker 4: But okay alninius, okay alginingloos. 510 00:39:05,160 --> 00:39:05,920 Speaker 2: Are you artless? 511 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:10,600 Speaker 3: He could be a better help to others because he 512 00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:15,879 Speaker 3: had this perspective, this pain. I see that in his art, 513 00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:20,040 Speaker 3: like in Amoe Terno, the iconic ballad he wrote about 514 00:39:20,120 --> 00:39:21,040 Speaker 3: losing his mom. 515 00:39:26,840 --> 00:39:28,640 Speaker 2: Gidia can see. 516 00:39:30,800 --> 00:39:34,120 Speaker 3: You are the sadness in my eyes, he sings, my 517 00:39:34,280 --> 00:39:38,319 Speaker 3: eyes who cry in silence, longing for your love. If 518 00:39:38,360 --> 00:39:42,600 Speaker 3: you're Latin American, especially if you're Mexican, chances are you've 519 00:39:42,640 --> 00:39:47,560 Speaker 3: seen someone openly weep to this song. Something about the guttural, 520 00:39:47,680 --> 00:39:52,319 Speaker 3: an elegant way it captures grief like a lot of Latinez. 521 00:39:52,719 --> 00:39:55,520 Speaker 3: I saw my mom cry over my grandmother to this song, 522 00:39:56,360 --> 00:39:58,320 Speaker 3: and every time she tell. 523 00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:03,160 Speaker 5: Me peope, oh and Mama geuss. 524 00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:07,800 Speaker 3: She was a great mom who struggled for us. My 525 00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:10,680 Speaker 3: grandmother later regretted the way she had treated my mom 526 00:40:10,800 --> 00:40:14,880 Speaker 3: as a teenager, and she evolved. She was a doting 527 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:18,040 Speaker 3: grandmother who was kind to me, always told me how 528 00:40:18,120 --> 00:40:22,759 Speaker 3: smart I was, how proud of me she was. It's 529 00:40:22,880 --> 00:40:25,719 Speaker 3: clear to me that my grandmother was at an acute, 530 00:40:26,000 --> 00:40:29,560 Speaker 3: stressful moment in her life when my mom was a child. 531 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:34,680 Speaker 3: She was alone, raising five children, probably with a ton 532 00:40:34,800 --> 00:40:39,120 Speaker 3: of unresolved trauma. How can I judge my grandmother when 533 00:40:39,200 --> 00:40:42,600 Speaker 3: my life allows me to pursue my dreams and her 534 00:40:42,719 --> 00:40:48,480 Speaker 3: life only made space for survival. And yes, she caused harm, 535 00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:52,800 Speaker 3: but she also passed down a lot of beauty. My 536 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:57,120 Speaker 3: mom and I got our big hearty laugh from my grandmother, 537 00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:14,279 Speaker 3: and our love of dancing and music comes from her too. 538 00:41:22,880 --> 00:41:25,560 Speaker 3: I honestly think that's one of the greatest treasures in 539 00:41:25,640 --> 00:41:28,600 Speaker 3: my life that women in my family showed me how 540 00:41:28,640 --> 00:41:34,399 Speaker 3: to be unapologetically joyful. That's ultimately why my mom drove 541 00:41:34,480 --> 00:41:37,520 Speaker 3: me to my first thad the other the nightclub for teens. 542 00:41:37,560 --> 00:41:41,200 Speaker 3: At the beginning of the episode, she treated me as 543 00:41:41,239 --> 00:41:49,640 Speaker 3: if experiencing joy was my birthright. I think about all 544 00:41:49,760 --> 00:41:52,960 Speaker 3: the nights I've had in Hauattas since, as I passed 545 00:41:53,000 --> 00:41:55,120 Speaker 3: all the nightclubs on the strip at the end of 546 00:41:55,200 --> 00:42:06,239 Speaker 3: our reporting day, I have my mom to thank every 547 00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:10,359 Speaker 3: time my friends and I karaoke my favorite Huanga song, 548 00:42:11,040 --> 00:42:15,200 Speaker 3: a deep cut called Noah Noah those not to be 549 00:42:15,320 --> 00:42:19,200 Speaker 3: confused with the original Noah Noah. It's a song about 550 00:42:19,200 --> 00:42:22,640 Speaker 3: the beauty of being young and free. In what Is 551 00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:34,920 Speaker 3: at Night, Kuanga sings about meeting someone at the club, 552 00:42:35,360 --> 00:42:40,400 Speaker 3: spotting them from Afar, giving them a sexy smile. I 553 00:42:40,480 --> 00:42:44,080 Speaker 3: feel like Kuanga is narrating many of my What Is 554 00:42:44,200 --> 00:42:51,000 Speaker 3: Club memories. I wish my mom would have had more 555 00:42:51,080 --> 00:42:55,920 Speaker 3: of these memories. She didn't get those things, but somehow 556 00:42:56,160 --> 00:42:59,239 Speaker 3: she gave them to me. She gave me what Is 557 00:42:59,320 --> 00:43:03,680 Speaker 3: at night, She gave me a youth, and today she 558 00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:06,480 Speaker 3: gave me the honor of telling a part of her story, 559 00:43:07,719 --> 00:43:11,600 Speaker 3: the secret that I had carried alone for years, resigning 560 00:43:11,680 --> 00:43:14,040 Speaker 3: myself to believe it was my cross to bear as 561 00:43:14,080 --> 00:43:17,360 Speaker 3: the only daughter of my Mexican mom. And then my 562 00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:21,680 Speaker 3: mom was like, no, no more crosses, no more shame. 563 00:43:22,840 --> 00:43:55,000 Speaker 3: We have nothing to hide. We are free. Coming up 564 00:43:55,040 --> 00:43:58,800 Speaker 3: on episode three, we look back on Hunga's time in 565 00:43:58,880 --> 00:44:02,239 Speaker 3: one of the most fear prisons in Mexico. It was 566 00:44:02,360 --> 00:44:06,480 Speaker 3: a temple of horrors, to say the least. Before Huanga 567 00:44:06,600 --> 00:44:10,720 Speaker 3: was Juanga Rielle, he was incarcerated at Le Gumberri Prison, 568 00:44:11,320 --> 00:44:14,360 Speaker 3: And in reporting I came across a chapter in Huanga's 569 00:44:14,400 --> 00:44:18,600 Speaker 3: life that has never been told to now. When I 570 00:44:18,800 --> 00:44:25,440 Speaker 3: found at the Mexican National Archives, like completely changes this story. 571 00:44:26,000 --> 00:44:27,280 Speaker 3: It left me a bit shook. 572 00:44:27,760 --> 00:44:28,560 Speaker 7: Oh my god. 573 00:44:29,640 --> 00:44:33,000 Speaker 3: And it's this phase of his life that marked him forever, 574 00:44:33,719 --> 00:44:48,279 Speaker 3: and that's all coming up in the next episode. If 575 00:44:48,320 --> 00:44:51,080 Speaker 3: you or someone you know need support, go to Apple 576 00:44:51,120 --> 00:44:56,000 Speaker 3: dot com slash here to help for resources. Madivo is 577 00:44:56,040 --> 00:45:00,760 Speaker 3: an Apple original podcast produced by Futuro Studios. This episode 578 00:45:00,920 --> 00:45:05,680 Speaker 3: was written and reported by Me, Maria Garcia and Fernanda Echavarri. 579 00:45:06,400 --> 00:45:11,600 Speaker 3: Our editor is Marlon Bishop. Our senior producer is Fernanda Echavari. 580 00:45:12,280 --> 00:45:16,680 Speaker 3: The show is produced by Nicole Rothwell, Gini Montalvo, Lili Reese, 581 00:45:16,920 --> 00:45:23,600 Speaker 3: Joaquin Cottler, Tasha Sandoal and Alicia Fernandez. Spanish adaptation by 582 00:45:23,680 --> 00:45:29,560 Speaker 3: Ezequiel Rodrigues Andino and Fernando Ernandez Besserra. Our senior production 583 00:45:29,719 --> 00:45:34,160 Speaker 3: managers are Nicole Rothwell and Jessica Ellis, with post production 584 00:45:34,320 --> 00:45:39,800 Speaker 3: support from Nancy Trujillo. Mixing by Stephanie Lebau, Julia Caruso 585 00:45:40,120 --> 00:45:45,800 Speaker 3: and Gabriela Biaz. Fact checking by Nidia Baltista. Our original 586 00:45:45,920 --> 00:45:50,279 Speaker 3: music is by Paul Weitkiz, scoring and musical curation by 587 00:45:50,360 --> 00:45:54,640 Speaker 3: Stephanie Lebau. Our executive producers are Marlon Bishop and Me. 588 00:45:55,400 --> 00:46:00,680 Speaker 3: Legal review by Neil Rossini, Adrian Ojeda, Cuevas, he Men Hawrigi, 589 00:46:01,120 --> 00:46:05,960 Speaker 3: and Sehio Gomez. Futuro Media was founded by Maria Inojosa. 590 00:46:07,000 --> 00:46:11,560 Speaker 3: Follow and listen on Apple Podcasts. I'm Maria Garcia, Thank 591 00:46:11,640 --> 00:46:13,319 Speaker 3: you for listening. See you next time.