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Speaker 1: Local Radio. Radio Radio Commies a Myth and Bullshit, a

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Speaker 1: radio phonic novella Local Radio hosted by malamo Ola La Locomotives.

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Speaker 1: Welcome back to Local Dota Radio. Welcome back, Welcome back.

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Speaker 1: This is Mala and this is Dios and we are

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Speaker 1: Last Radio, a radiophonic novella coming to you once again

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Speaker 1: from Radio Spacio and boil Heights. Thank you for joining us,

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Speaker 1: Thank you for tuning in. Local Radio is a radio

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Speaker 1: phonic novella archiving the legacies, geniuses and brilliance of women

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Speaker 1: and fans of color. Thank you for being Thank you

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Speaker 1: for tuning. We have a really, really, really exciting episode

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Speaker 1: for everybody. This got people little like we're dying are

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Speaker 1: our guests our interview like we're screaming internally externally so excited.

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Speaker 1: Last time on look at that our radio. We actually

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Speaker 1: interviewed the Jacqueline Diego of the Pink Slipped web series,

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Speaker 1: which follows the lives of three best friends navigating their

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Speaker 1: careers while coming to terms that they are greater than

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Speaker 1: the some of their stifling job, self sabotage, and cultural stereotypes.

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Speaker 1: And that was a really fun episode. I can relate

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Speaker 1: to our last can relate. Yes, honestly, honestly, Um, yeah,

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Speaker 1: that was That was a short little capital that we

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Speaker 1: did for ya. Jacqueline was actually in the l A area.

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Speaker 1: She's also Chicago based like our guests. That so excited. Okay,

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Speaker 1: so we actually just have one quick announcement before we

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Speaker 1: get into Oya Lokas. Right, so we have another event,

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Speaker 1: an important one, a big one, a big one, maybe

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Speaker 1: our biggest yet maybe our biggest thing coming up saved

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Speaker 1: the day, November sixteen. It will take place in downtown

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Speaker 1: l A. So that's a Friday, Friday night. Mark your calendar,

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Speaker 1: Mark your calendars, get you make yourself available, get your

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Speaker 1: boo ready, get your home girls. Yeah, lie, stuff gets

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Speaker 1: out in Yeah, and start the shopping now. Cute one. Right,

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Speaker 1: you already know, you already know what to exp know

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Speaker 1: you have to show out little hints, little hint, little hint,

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Speaker 1: baby hint. Is that it is It will be our

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Speaker 1: two years look over sery. Yes, so just planting that scene,

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Speaker 1: keep that in mind. Emotionally prepared, mentally prepared, honestly, more

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Speaker 1: information tv A, t v A. We're not announcing quite yet,

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Speaker 1: but that is We're just going to plant the little

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Speaker 1: seed the little idea there all right. In the meantime.

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Speaker 1: In the meantime, we are going to answer some listener

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Speaker 1: questions via locas. Come here. Oh yeah, look gus my

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Speaker 1: favorite segment, my favorite segment, right, all right, So what

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Speaker 1: do you all want to know about? So y'all asked

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Speaker 1: a lot of questions on the i G post, which

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Speaker 1: we appreciate so much. We love the questions. The good

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Speaker 1: question we have like so many to answer. Now for

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Speaker 1: the next few, thank you, thank you. Um. This first

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Speaker 1: question is did you always want to start a podcast?

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Speaker 1: Do you plan on expanding the podcast? I'm praying they

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Speaker 1: give you ladies a show. Thank you for your prayers.

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Speaker 1: First of all, thank you so much for those prayers. Girl,

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Speaker 1: Thank you. Let us put that out into the universe. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: get us that we're manifesting. And I'm just going to

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Speaker 1: say that this is not the first time. Look, I'm

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Speaker 1: a listener, a follower has said something about us having

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Speaker 1: a show, right, so I think it's fascinating. I think

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Speaker 1: that it is very fascinating and also very exciting. So

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Speaker 1: let's see what happens. What happened? You never know, You

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Speaker 1: never know anything. It's possible, right, I mean and today

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Speaker 1: that we always wanted to start a podcast, I would

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Speaker 1: say no. I mean we both went to undergrad right,

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Speaker 1: and we have our like our bachelors in said degrees,

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Speaker 1: and then we both worked in the nonprofit sector, and

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Speaker 1: now we're both out of the nonprofit sector, and then

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Speaker 1: the podcast kind of just came along the way, like

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Speaker 1: wanting to do something, create something, do something different, do

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Speaker 1: something new, and also like take our online friendship into

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Speaker 1: like in real life friendship. Absolutely, like we neither one

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Speaker 1: of us have studied like journalism or communications or you know,

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Speaker 1: you can study film, radio and television, and we didn't.

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Speaker 1: We did not. Everything has been d I Y. So

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Speaker 1: sometimes like when there's glitches, when something doesn't upload correctly,

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Speaker 1: or like it's maybe maybe it sounds too loud or

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Speaker 1: maybe it sounds too low. Like that is why we

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Speaker 1: are completely d I Y. And we love your support.

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Speaker 1: We love your patients than we love that y'all keep

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Speaker 1: coming back. We do. Yeah, yeah, I feel like if

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Speaker 1: you're ever like down that sounded kind of weird. That's

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Speaker 1: why you know, our listeners are really helpful because whenever

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Speaker 1: there's audio issues, they'll be the first ones to tell yes,

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Speaker 1: I'll be like, hey, by the way, and I'm like,

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Speaker 1: oh fucking then I freak out and I have to

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Speaker 1: go do damage control, and I get it. Honestly really

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Speaker 1: stresses me out whenever there's where at work. Yeah, by

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Speaker 1: the time, right im at work and I'm like, oh

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Speaker 1: my god, people are listening and then they can't like

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Speaker 1: finish the episode at get quality. Yeah, it honestly really

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Speaker 1: stresses me out. Um. Also, like I am, I mean

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Speaker 1: you'll probably know this. I'm a little bit more of

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Speaker 1: the organized one on this show, like in terms of

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Speaker 1: like let's get the cup, let's get our schedule. I

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Speaker 1: keep us on schedule. I like try my best to

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Speaker 1: always have the guppys out on a Monday. That's not

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Speaker 1: always the case, it happens, but like that really is

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Speaker 1: my goal. Is that there's like a nice structure. Yeah

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Speaker 1: oh yeah. Um podcasting you know, for me to like

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Speaker 1: podcasting wasn't really on my radar at all until us suggested.

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Speaker 1: We know, MoMA wasn't even listening to podcast I barely

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Speaker 1: started listening to cast like this month, Like literally this,

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Speaker 1: It's honestly very true. Yes, I even made the comment, Yes,

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Speaker 1: I love how you listen to podcasts all of a sudden,

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Speaker 1: this bitch two years two years later. Well, it's kind

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Speaker 1: of like I'd like to remain I'm like, I don't

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Speaker 1: want to. I don't want too many other influences. No, no, no,

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Speaker 1: I want to remain original. Absolutely. Well that was my

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Speaker 1: That was I mean, if this is I mean, I

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Speaker 1: don't know the person that has asked this question, but like,

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Speaker 1: if you've listened to the podcast for a while, if

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Speaker 1: you've read any of our articles or interviews, the inspo

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Speaker 1: behind the podcast was actually another podcast, Like I was

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Speaker 1: listening to Rama shout Out and there are Latino X

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Speaker 1: music podcasts, and that was actually my first introduction to

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Speaker 1: latin X podcast and I was like, Mala, I want

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Speaker 1: to start a podcast. I would love it if you

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Speaker 1: could do it with me. I want you to be

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Speaker 1: my co host. And really the idea just took off

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Speaker 1: from there. We had no idea what the content was

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Speaker 1: going to be like when the idea was first talked

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Speaker 1: about until we had our first sit down and wept

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Speaker 1: everything our name like, and then we kept it a

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Speaker 1: secret for like three months, even from the mommy's like,

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Speaker 1: nobody knew. It was really hard. Nobody knew what we

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Speaker 1: were doing UM, and that's just always something that we

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Speaker 1: personally recommend, like keep it on the low until you're

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Speaker 1: ready to actually delivery, like until you can put your

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Speaker 1: guff out, until you have your logo, until you've had

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Speaker 1: your photo shoot. And that's just for us, that's that's

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Speaker 1: our brand, Like we didn't want to tell everybody, tell

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Speaker 1: our friends, and then what if like it just didn't

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Speaker 1: work out, we didn't do it, what if we never

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Speaker 1: did it. Um has this tweet the other day that

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Speaker 1: I liked UM and she said, she's like fifty speaking

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Speaker 1: into existence, shut the funk up, don't don't drinkx it right.

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Speaker 1: So it's kind of that balance. That's my motto. Manifesting

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Speaker 1: is real, you know, like manifesting is real. But I

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Speaker 1: think on some level two, it's like let me actually

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Speaker 1: we do the work first, so I have something to

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Speaker 1: show you ye first. And I think that that is

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Speaker 1: something that we hold very true to the local to

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Speaker 1: the podcast because a lot of stuff happens that we

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Speaker 1: can't share and right now it makes it really difficult.

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Speaker 1: But at the same time, it's the same thing, like

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Speaker 1: like what I just said, like what if we were

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Speaker 1: to tell y'all, oh, we're going to do this, and

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Speaker 1: then it never happens. That never happened, and then you're

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Speaker 1: waiting for it or you're disappointed or you know what

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Speaker 1: I mean, you would a waste of energy, right, So

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Speaker 1: like why why would we set us set ourselves up

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Speaker 1: for that like disappointment ourselves? You know, I will say

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Speaker 1: to like going back to like did we always want

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Speaker 1: to start a podcast? I did have an interest in radio,

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Speaker 1: like for a long time, so like you did. When

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Speaker 1: I was in college, me and my friend Laurenne, and

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Speaker 1: I've talked about this before, but me and my my

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Speaker 1: homegirl Laurenne, we had a radio show UM at University

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Speaker 1: College London u c L because we both studied abroad

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Speaker 1: there together for a year and so we had like

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Speaker 1: a year long radio show and that was really fun

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Speaker 1: because like we had a Twitter at the time and

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Speaker 1: our friends who were still at Tufts in Massachusetts with

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Speaker 1: like listen us and call it. So we had an

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Speaker 1: international radio show. And then when I came home, when

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Speaker 1: I came back to l a UM when I first

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Speaker 1: met Gordrid the apple Bum When I first met Gotto

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Speaker 1: was here at a SPA nine because I was working

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Speaker 1: on this anti gentrification radio show called Fuentes with Gotto,

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Speaker 1: with God the apple Bum and with Cecia, who is

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Speaker 1: another home girl who does a lot of activism and

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Speaker 1: stuff and she does like like hoop dancing, like when

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Speaker 1: the hoops are like on fire, fire in flames, like inflames.

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Speaker 1: So she's really cool. Um, So we had this point

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Speaker 1: funt this, but I wasn't able to keep up with it,

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Speaker 1: Like I just couldn't, so I stopped. But so, but

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Speaker 1: this has been like the project that's we've sustained. We've sustained. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean, and I will say that like during my

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Speaker 1: undergrad there was us there was a radio station, a

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Speaker 1: radio radio station, and they would like have like little

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Speaker 1: calls to do stuff and it always piqued my interest

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Speaker 1: and I would always grab a flyer. But the anxiety

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Speaker 1: was real for me. Oh my god. Did you know

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Speaker 1: Melina Soto? She had a radio show at UCSP. Now

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Speaker 1: I don't think so, No, name doesn't sound familiar. Okay,

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Speaker 1: she was at the radio stage. Really well, there was

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Speaker 1: there were these group students actually that had this show

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Speaker 1: called and they would like talk about politics and they

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Speaker 1: would play music and stuff like that, and so that

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Speaker 1: I was like Okay, those girls are doing it, you know,

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Speaker 1: but I never actually took the initiative. And you know

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Speaker 1: that's for a lot of different reasons, but to like

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Speaker 1: actually go and like let me intern here, let me

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Speaker 1: like even just like come and check it out, Like

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Speaker 1: I never really went that far. Um, But living in

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Speaker 1: l a radio radio itself is a huge part of

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Speaker 1: my life. Like we grew up, we grew up on radio.

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Speaker 1: I remember in the mornings my parents listening to Spanish

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Speaker 1: radio when they would like take me to school, same

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Speaker 1: with my grandparents, like k love on Thursdays, like is

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Speaker 1: like what my mom would listen to with her with

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Speaker 1: my ambola when they would like cook on Thursdays. You

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Speaker 1: know it's likesta. So even now, like on Thursdays, I know,

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Speaker 1: you know, so I like tune into that. So radio,

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Speaker 1: especially radio, Spanish radio, has been a really big part

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Speaker 1: of my life one or two point seven when he

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Speaker 1: used to be Rick Dy's right, like throwback, like I

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Speaker 1: would listen to that right and Kiss FM and then

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Speaker 1: Ryan Seacrest and all that ship so that girl that era.

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Speaker 1: So radio has been a very big part of my life.

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Speaker 1: And like now I listened to point three a lot

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Speaker 1: and love um, and then everyone's and then like my friends,

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Speaker 1: their moms were listening to Guadalupe Radio. That was a

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Speaker 1: very popular one. And I grew up every morning and

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Speaker 1: still in the mornings when I go to work every day,

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Speaker 1: I listen to Big Boy Big Boy. And I was

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Speaker 1: listening to Big Boy when he was on Power Wino

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Speaker 1: six And now he's was gonna ask, Yeah, I remember

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Speaker 1: him on Power Why were when like big Boy was

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Speaker 1: like a big boy, right, so he's I've been with

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Speaker 1: Big Boy for many, many years, so I love him. Yeah.

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Speaker 1: So radio and l A. I mean, we spent a

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Speaker 1: lot of time sitting in traffic and as I think,

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Speaker 1: one one component of like why radio is so successful

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Speaker 1: here because we're commuting all the time. So I think, like,

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Speaker 1: you know, one way or another, like mom and I

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Speaker 1: were meant to be here. We were meant to be

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Speaker 1: on this path and found each other. And yeah, you know,

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Speaker 1: good question. It's a great question question. Thank you for

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Speaker 1: that question. Number two? Okay, um, how do you confront

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Speaker 1: your mom when she's in denial about your depression? Also,

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Speaker 1: why don't y'all foote with the valleys? So good question,

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Speaker 1: which let's answer the depression one first, okay, so we

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Speaker 1: can end like on a lighter Okay. So first, um, well,

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Speaker 1: I will say my mom, and my mom knows that

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Speaker 1: I go to therapy, right, and she asked me, like

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Speaker 1: she knows my therapy days, and she'll like ask me

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Speaker 1: things here and there. She herself needs therapy, she does um,

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Speaker 1: and she like will not say that I have a

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Speaker 1: mental illness. She'll be like, you don't have a mental illness.

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Speaker 1: So I know that that's her denial. And also like

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Speaker 1: the stig, especially like Latino household of like no, you

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Speaker 1: don't have anxiety and depression, like, oh, this is awkward

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Speaker 1: because I do. Um, and even like I'll say and

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Speaker 1: I actually haven't confronted my family about this, but um my,

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Speaker 1: so whenever I spiral, like mentally, my room is a disaster.

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Speaker 1: And we've talked about this, like in our with like

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Speaker 1: where we talk about creating like your sanctuary and your

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Speaker 1: safe space, even if it's just your bedroom or if

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Speaker 1: you share a bedroom, your side of the bedroom and

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Speaker 1: making that be your your place of sanctuary. So I

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Speaker 1: do my best to like first thing in the morning,

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Speaker 1: you make your bed, right. However, when I'm I can't

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Speaker 1: get out of bed, because I'm not feeling it right,

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Speaker 1: I'm feeling like depressed or anxious, sad, I can't get

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Speaker 1: out of bed. So then what do you know, I'm

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Speaker 1: running for work, So I'm not going to make the

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Speaker 1: bed and I'm not going to clean my vanity after

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Speaker 1: I do my makeup, and I'm gonna put on a

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Speaker 1: million different things right before I find something that kind

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Speaker 1: of feels right. So then what a tornado hit my room? Right?

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Speaker 1: Like that's how it looks. So my mom or my

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Speaker 1: don't make comments about like, oh how long is your

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Speaker 1: room going to stay clean? Like they'll make comments like that,

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Speaker 1: and I'm like, I am not a messy person. However,

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Speaker 1: my depression or my anxiety makes me not want to

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Speaker 1: clean up, you know, yeah, and that's super common. I'm

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Speaker 1: the exact same way. And like there's so many there's

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Speaker 1: so many depressed people on Twitter, like right, so great

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Speaker 1: and terrible, right right? Because I saw this, I saw

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Speaker 1: this name where it's like you'll be like, I'm like

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Speaker 1: I want to die today, and instead instead of someone

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Speaker 1: being like are you okay, they're like yes, yes, the

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Speaker 1: same bitch. So I follow this one tweet along those

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Speaker 1: lines where it was like yes, sex is great, But

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Speaker 1: have we ever cleaned your room after being depressed for

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Speaker 1: six Yes? I mean this is right, like sends to

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Speaker 1: all my depressed bread. I mean, this is not a

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Speaker 1: part of the question, but I want to offer this tip.

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Speaker 1: Some thing that's helped me is like dackling a tiny

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Speaker 1: little corner, like little by little, like when you're really

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Speaker 1: when your room is a disaster, Like where do I start?

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Speaker 1: So for me, I'll start with like my little light dresser,

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Speaker 1: and I'll put stuff away, and then I'll move on

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Speaker 1: to the next area. Um, and then that makes And

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Speaker 1: even if I just do that, I'm like, oh, well

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Speaker 1: that looks nice, like that's that's my accomplishment. No, and

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Speaker 1: it does make a difference. I really feel better. I

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Speaker 1: feel so much better. And what I try to do

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Speaker 1: as much as possible, it's just clean little by little,

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Speaker 1: like one thing a day, Like Okay, while I'm in

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Speaker 1: the shower, I'm going to scrub the shower. I'm in here,

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Speaker 1: I'm in here anyway, you know, I'm in front of

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Speaker 1: the mirror and just wipe it down real quick. So

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Speaker 1: that's what I try to do, um, just to make

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Speaker 1: things not quite so overwhelming. But with my mom and

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Speaker 1: my depression. Well, you know, it's interesting because I think

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Speaker 1: that over the years, as a family, we've and we

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Speaker 1: have these conversations with each other. We've all talked to

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Speaker 1: each other about how I think everyone would benefit from

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Speaker 1: going to therapy. Yes, you know, my parents both have

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Speaker 1: their own very specific trauma, and they're very upfront and

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Speaker 1: honest about that and how they would benefit from seeing somebody,

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Speaker 1: how my grandmother would benefit from seeing somebody. I mean

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Speaker 1: my parents. You know, I live with my family, So

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Speaker 1: they saw me through you know, working um at peace

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Speaker 1: over violence and the stress that that caused me, and

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Speaker 1: like they are very like aware that it affected me.

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Speaker 1: So I think. And the other thing is my my

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Speaker 1: sister also has struggled with depression and was also very

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Speaker 1: open and upfront with it. It's very much like in

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Speaker 1: the family, um, we all have a little bit of it.

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Speaker 1: And so I think that kind of when we um

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Speaker 1: kind of retreat or need our alone time or disappear

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Speaker 1: or unplugged, we kind of get it. And so my

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Speaker 1: parents let me have my space because they know because

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Speaker 1: we all kind of have similar sort of behavioral patterns.

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Speaker 1: So we're all a little sad, but we're supportive of

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Speaker 1: each other and like my mom doesn't push me, she's

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Speaker 1: like very like gentle about it. And even my stir

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Speaker 1: she can only handle so much like human interaction right

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Speaker 1: and everyone's like, yeah, Ivan needs to just like recharge.

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Speaker 1: Same we're going to leave on alone. I think because

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Speaker 1: my mom and I are we tend to um we're

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Speaker 1: when we're both home, we tend to be in the

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Speaker 1: public area, like the communal the public area, the communal

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Speaker 1: public space, the communal living space like the living room.

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Speaker 1: But if I'm going if I get home and I

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Speaker 1: go straight to my room, like that's unsigned like I

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Speaker 1: need to unwind a little bit, I need to clean up,

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Speaker 1: I need to do something right and same with you're

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Speaker 1: doing right, am, like what I can now talk to

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Speaker 1: you right now? You know, Um, I wanted to share,

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Speaker 1: I wanted to say, mole, I was thinking about this

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Speaker 1: while you were speaking. But I think sometimes it also

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Speaker 1: takes like you being the one to talk about it,

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Speaker 1: you know, to get your family to like also be

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Speaker 1: self reflective because that I'm aware of my brothers don't

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Speaker 1: have anxiety and depression that I'm aware of, right the

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Speaker 1: same with the same with my my mother like don't

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Speaker 1: know what that's the case, right, But that could be

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Speaker 1: because they're not talking about it, that doesn't mean it's

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Speaker 1: not there, right, same with lots of things in our

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Speaker 1: LATINOX households, right, our Latin X families. Just because we're

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Speaker 1: not talking about it does not mean it's not there,

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Speaker 1: you know. So it's like I think I share this

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Speaker 1: one time on an earlier episode, but there was a

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Speaker 1: family thing and I'm like, oh, I'm not going I

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Speaker 1: have to go to therapy. And my mom said, oh,

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Speaker 1: she has a doctor's appointment. And I was like, you

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Speaker 1: could say I have therapy. I literally say I have therapy,

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Speaker 1: you know what I mean? And sometimes that transparency and

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Speaker 1: that honesty, like we'll make our mothers uncomfortable. They're not

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Speaker 1: used to it, no, but I'm like used to it.

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Speaker 1: That's fine, like speaking in coded totally and just like

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Speaker 1: illusion and symbol, I'm going to allude to this suggestion, right, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: they have a hard time. My mother cannot confront me

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Speaker 1: about things, right, should rather just ignore it? My mom

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Speaker 1: is very passive, aggressive, sure sure, sure, sure, right, my

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Speaker 1: mom has my mom has her moment And my favorite

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Speaker 1: still to this day is like my mom was trying

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Speaker 1: to set me up with this guy that that worked.

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Speaker 1: My mom's a teacher, so there was like a teacher's aid.

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Speaker 1: There was like around my age. Oh I know this story. Yes,

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Speaker 1: it is a great story. So my mom's like trying

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Speaker 1: to like set me up with this guy, and she

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Speaker 1: wants me to go volunteer at the school. So I

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Speaker 1: just happened to run into him and be in the

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Speaker 1: same room for the entire day and I'm like, mom, no,

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Speaker 1: like he's on my type. I'm not interested. And my

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Speaker 1: mom goes, well, well, what is your type? Down and out,

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Speaker 1: She's like you could do worse, you haven't done, Whereas

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Speaker 1: I'm like, thanks a lot, Mom, which leads us to

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Speaker 1: the second part of this question. Actually, right, why don't

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Speaker 1: talk with the valley? So first of our moms, let

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Speaker 1: us be clear. Number one, we love our listeners that

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Speaker 1: live in the valley. We have worked with council Woman

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Speaker 1: Maria Martinez, who represents the valley. Um we have gone

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Speaker 1: to the valley for now. We have not gone to

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Speaker 1: the valley for events. However, however, we could go to

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Speaker 1: the valley for events like if y'all invite us, or

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Speaker 1: if you have something we you know, come, come, come

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Speaker 1: to this. I don't know books signing whatever, you know

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Speaker 1: what I mean. Anyway, the reason we do not funk

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Speaker 1: with the valley is because both of our exes live

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Speaker 1: in the valley that we well, my last started dating

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Speaker 1: cars before I did. But there was a time where

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Speaker 1: we like, we're dating them at the exact same time,

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Speaker 1: and we were commuting, y'all, and we were commuting to

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Speaker 1: the valley, and I literally would tell people I was

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Speaker 1: in a long distant relationship and people would get mad

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Speaker 1: at me, and I'm like, I had to take five

390
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Speaker 1: free ways to get to him. That is the fucking

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Speaker 1: long distail. It was just it's just one of those things.

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Speaker 1: Is like sometimes you can just burn a place out

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Speaker 1: right right, you go too often have bad memories. I think. Also,

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Speaker 1: we had no reason to be in the valley, right

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Speaker 1: those our families don't live in the valley also shout

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Speaker 1: out there's a big proving population in the San Poritarcy Valley.

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Speaker 1: There is, but my friends and my family don't live

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Speaker 1: in the valley, so it was literally for the excess.

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Speaker 1: So we had no like other reasons to be there

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Speaker 1: except for them. So now that we're both like you know,

401
00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,560
Speaker 1: broken up with them having gone all that ship. We're

402
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Speaker 1: just we have this ongoing joke of like the valley

403
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Speaker 1: but no shades to our listeners, we know that there's

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Speaker 1: a lot of valley fried. Also, if you go to

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Speaker 1: like the city Hall and Pequoima, right, there's a mural

406
00:21:19,760 --> 00:21:23,080
Speaker 1: there with like all of the residents of Pacoima who

407
00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,119
Speaker 1: have gone on to do like amazing things like you know,

408
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Speaker 1: Danny Trejo and stuff. I'm not from Pacoima, but my

409
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Speaker 1: face is in the murals astronaut in the mural here

410
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Speaker 1: in Pecoima. I am like a little astronaut because the

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Speaker 1: artist Ignacio Gomez like used me and my siblings and

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Speaker 1: my family as models for his public works for many

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Speaker 1: many years. So I love it. That's why you're still

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Speaker 1: in the valley, bitch. I'm in the value of the value.

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00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:50,800
Speaker 1: I'm just saying, oh, that's so funny. Also, Richie Valence

416
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:55,080
Speaker 1: from the valley, lots of people. Yeah, no, no shade,

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00:21:55,119 --> 00:21:59,320
Speaker 1: and like that's only shades our exits and now, like

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Speaker 1: unless you're booking us at season, like, we have no

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00:22:02,480 --> 00:22:06,119
Speaker 1: reason to be out there, right except for sometimes we

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Speaker 1: go see our friends at Belladonna in the valley. Okay,

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00:22:10,160 --> 00:22:11,760
Speaker 1: we do have that reason. There's that reason. We do

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Speaker 1: drive to the valley to see La La. Yes, we carpool.

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Speaker 1: Its still so far far away. Anyway, one way in,

424
00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,720
Speaker 1: one way out. Whenever you see that, like I don't

425
00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:25,760
Speaker 1: even know what free way it is. It's like a

426
00:22:25,880 --> 00:22:29,000
Speaker 1: two twelve or it's like from like I've never seen.

427
00:22:29,040 --> 00:22:30,280
Speaker 1: When I had to get on that, I was like,

428
00:22:30,400 --> 00:22:36,800
Speaker 1: where the funk am I going? Like any anyway, great question.

429
00:22:37,000 --> 00:23:12,960
Speaker 1: I think it's time to get into song break. Um

430
00:23:13,480 --> 00:23:24,560
Speaker 1: um um m m m m of it and ship

431
00:23:26,400 --> 00:23:29,520
Speaker 1: all right, everybody, and we're back from our song break.

432
00:23:29,680 --> 00:23:32,560
Speaker 1: Thank you so much for being here with us once again.

433
00:23:33,320 --> 00:23:38,320
Speaker 1: We are absolutely fan girling out right now, like so excited,

434
00:23:38,480 --> 00:23:42,000
Speaker 1: so like geeking out to have our this next wonderful

435
00:23:42,040 --> 00:23:45,520
Speaker 1: guest on the show. We have the amazing Mida than Vayan.

436
00:23:45,640 --> 00:23:47,920
Speaker 1: Before she comes onto the show, I want to read

437
00:23:48,040 --> 00:23:51,560
Speaker 1: her bio so our listeners can get to know her

438
00:23:51,640 --> 00:23:55,119
Speaker 1: if they don't already. So here it goes. My Dadva

439
00:23:55,359 --> 00:23:57,760
Speaker 1: is the author of the University of Hip Hop and

440
00:23:57,840 --> 00:24:01,760
Speaker 1: a winner of the Drink and Gordon chap Book Poetry

441
00:24:01,800 --> 00:24:05,840
Speaker 1: Prize from Northwestern University Press. She appeared on six episode

442
00:24:06,119 --> 00:24:09,960
Speaker 1: six episodes of the HBO series Russell Simmons Presents Deaf Poetry,

443
00:24:10,040 --> 00:24:12,720
Speaker 1: and was a contributing writer and original cast member of

444
00:24:12,720 --> 00:24:16,280
Speaker 1: the Tony Award winning Deaf Poetry Jam on Broadway. A

445
00:24:16,320 --> 00:24:19,199
Speaker 1: gifted performer that Vaya has read her work at venues

446
00:24:19,280 --> 00:24:22,200
Speaker 1: all over the world, including the White House. My that

447
00:24:22,720 --> 00:24:26,800
Speaker 1: is here to talk to us about her illustrious career,

448
00:24:26,920 --> 00:24:30,560
Speaker 1: really her journey with poetry, and her new book, A

449
00:24:30,640 --> 00:24:33,720
Speaker 1: Southside Girl's Guide to Love and Sex. So may thou

450
00:24:33,800 --> 00:24:37,720
Speaker 1: welcome to look at our radio. Hi. It's so good

451
00:24:37,760 --> 00:24:41,119
Speaker 1: to be on here with you guys and just listening

452
00:24:41,200 --> 00:24:44,359
Speaker 1: and being on the show. I'm really excited. Yes, thank

453
00:24:44,400 --> 00:24:47,520
Speaker 1: you so much. And you're calling in from Chicago, correct,

454
00:24:48,160 --> 00:24:51,199
Speaker 1: I am, yes, where the temperature is dropped. It's like

455
00:24:51,320 --> 00:24:55,399
Speaker 1: fall is really here, summer's over right and stress and

456
00:24:55,840 --> 00:25:00,399
Speaker 1: you're you've moved back home to Chicago. You're Chicago native,

457
00:25:00,640 --> 00:25:02,520
Speaker 1: you spent some time in l A. Can you tell

458
00:25:02,600 --> 00:25:05,480
Speaker 1: us a little bit about Chicago and the role that

459
00:25:05,560 --> 00:25:08,040
Speaker 1: Chicago has played in your poetry. I think a lot

460
00:25:08,119 --> 00:25:10,560
Speaker 1: of us, um, we were introduced to your work on

461
00:25:10,640 --> 00:25:15,040
Speaker 1: YouTube through Deaf Jam watching the videos, and Chicago was

462
00:25:15,080 --> 00:25:17,679
Speaker 1: a central figure and theme and source of inspiration and

463
00:25:17,720 --> 00:25:21,760
Speaker 1: a lot of your poetry. Absolutely so I was. I

464
00:25:21,840 --> 00:25:25,520
Speaker 1: was born and raised in Chicago, and I left in

465
00:25:26,240 --> 00:25:29,400
Speaker 1: ninety six to go to school and h that took

466
00:25:29,400 --> 00:25:31,520
Speaker 1: me to the East Coast for about eight years between

467
00:25:31,520 --> 00:25:35,119
Speaker 1: school and then moving to New York where um uh,

468
00:25:35,240 --> 00:25:36,760
Speaker 1: you know, during those years of being in New York

469
00:25:36,800 --> 00:25:40,600
Speaker 1: is when death poetry really kind of happened, and that

470
00:25:40,640 --> 00:25:44,200
Speaker 1: whole era of my career. Um, and then I went west.

471
00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:47,679
Speaker 1: You know, I had an amazing opportunity with working on

472
00:25:47,720 --> 00:25:50,239
Speaker 1: a project that was being produced by Norman Lear, and

473
00:25:50,280 --> 00:25:52,640
Speaker 1: so I moved out to l A and I ended

474
00:25:52,720 --> 00:25:56,000
Speaker 1: up living there for twelve years. Um. So I definitely

475
00:25:56,040 --> 00:25:59,560
Speaker 1: consider l A one of my home bases, and it's

476
00:25:59,680 --> 00:26:02,800
Speaker 1: very near and dear in my heart. And um yeah,

477
00:26:02,840 --> 00:26:05,440
Speaker 1: I moved back to Chicago a year and a half ago,

478
00:26:05,520 --> 00:26:08,520
Speaker 1: January of two thousand and seventeen. You know, my family

479
00:26:08,600 --> 00:26:11,560
Speaker 1: is still here. My parents are getting older and my

480
00:26:11,600 --> 00:26:14,399
Speaker 1: father is experiencing some health issues, and I just felt

481
00:26:14,440 --> 00:26:16,760
Speaker 1: like it was timed away, you know, make my way

482
00:26:16,800 --> 00:26:19,160
Speaker 1: back and to be close to the family and and

483
00:26:19,160 --> 00:26:23,000
Speaker 1: and be here and it's been an interesting transition, but

484
00:26:23,600 --> 00:26:26,560
Speaker 1: I feel like I'm back home and I'm also relearning

485
00:26:26,560 --> 00:26:29,359
Speaker 1: the city all over again. It's it's so new and

486
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:32,760
Speaker 1: also so much the same. So yeah, right in an

487
00:26:32,760 --> 00:26:35,480
Speaker 1: ever changing Chicago. You know, we are listening. We have

488
00:26:35,520 --> 00:26:38,480
Speaker 1: listeners in Chicago and our friends in Chicago, so hearing

489
00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:43,040
Speaker 1: like the the flight of gentrification also happening in Chicago,

490
00:26:43,119 --> 00:26:45,719
Speaker 1: and we can obviously relate here in l A. UM,

491
00:26:45,720 --> 00:26:49,119
Speaker 1: I'm really interested to hear. Um. In your book, A

492
00:26:49,160 --> 00:26:52,040
Speaker 1: Southside Girls Guide to Love and Sex, you talk about

493
00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:55,639
Speaker 1: diaspora and being a child of Puerto Rican immigrants. Can

494
00:26:55,680 --> 00:26:59,520
Speaker 1: you talk about how living in these different very Latino

495
00:26:59,640 --> 00:27:03,760
Speaker 1: centric cities UM, like l A, Chicago, and New York, Like,

496
00:27:04,000 --> 00:27:06,320
Speaker 1: what has that, how has that contributed to your writing

497
00:27:06,320 --> 00:27:09,399
Speaker 1: and even your identity as a Puerto Rican in the US.

498
00:27:10,600 --> 00:27:14,119
Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting because I grew up in on

499
00:27:14,160 --> 00:27:16,720
Speaker 1: the South Side of Chicago, and so back in the

500
00:27:16,800 --> 00:27:18,920
Speaker 1: day when my parents kind of first made their way

501
00:27:19,520 --> 00:27:23,600
Speaker 1: here um to Chicago to United States in the early sixties,

502
00:27:23,720 --> 00:27:25,480
Speaker 1: there were a lot of Puerto Ricans on the South Side,

503
00:27:25,520 --> 00:27:28,480
Speaker 1: but they kind of either all went back home or

504
00:27:28,680 --> 00:27:32,639
Speaker 1: moved up North into what's now more recognized as the

505
00:27:32,640 --> 00:27:35,040
Speaker 1: Puerto Rican neighborhood of Chicago, which is like Humble Park.

506
00:27:35,560 --> 00:27:37,560
Speaker 1: So when I grew up on the South Side, UM,

507
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:40,360
Speaker 1: the particular neighborhood that I grew up and was mostly

508
00:27:40,520 --> 00:27:44,160
Speaker 1: polished and Lithuanian, and the demographics really shifted over time.

509
00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:47,400
Speaker 1: So I actually grew up around a lot of Mexican. So, UM,

510
00:27:47,720 --> 00:27:49,959
Speaker 1: you know, I can, I can. My accents switches up

511
00:27:50,000 --> 00:27:52,800
Speaker 1: really easy. I got to see Puerto Rican Spanish and

512
00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:55,600
Speaker 1: I could, I could slip into a Mexican accent really.

513
00:27:56,000 --> 00:27:58,679
Speaker 1: But so you know what if what it being that

514
00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:00,680
Speaker 1: took me to New York and wanted so to live

515
00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:04,399
Speaker 1: in New York was being close to UM, a large

516
00:28:04,440 --> 00:28:06,840
Speaker 1: Puerto Rican community. You know, it was kind of like

517
00:28:07,240 --> 00:28:09,879
Speaker 1: as a Puerto Rican having the New Eurecan Poetry Cafe

518
00:28:09,960 --> 00:28:12,120
Speaker 1: there was like a mecca. You know, it's like an

519
00:28:12,119 --> 00:28:15,879
Speaker 1: a mecca of of identity. UM. And then moving to

520
00:28:16,080 --> 00:28:18,199
Speaker 1: l A was was really driven by a career and

521
00:28:18,240 --> 00:28:21,080
Speaker 1: it was, you know, really interesting to be in the

522
00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:24,440
Speaker 1: city that was so diverse and you know, a lot

523
00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,480
Speaker 1: like Chicago in many ways and and and very different

524
00:28:27,480 --> 00:28:30,040
Speaker 1: and it's you know, and um, and very unique in

525
00:28:30,040 --> 00:28:33,040
Speaker 1: it's in its own way too. So UM, I feel like,

526
00:28:33,119 --> 00:28:35,919
Speaker 1: you know, they've all left an imprint on the Chicago's

527
00:28:35,960 --> 00:28:40,360
Speaker 1: home obviously, It's made the biggest, you know impression and

528
00:28:40,440 --> 00:28:43,920
Speaker 1: has had the biggest influence on my on my work. Um.

529
00:28:43,960 --> 00:28:46,520
Speaker 1: You know, like you said that, it's a rapidly changing city.

530
00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:49,920
Speaker 1: Were undergoing a lot of gentrification right now. It's a

531
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:54,160
Speaker 1: very segregated city. You know, Chicago has a really racialized history,

532
00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:58,560
Speaker 1: and so, um, I'm kind of in the middle, you know. Racially,

533
00:28:58,600 --> 00:29:02,000
Speaker 1: I'm like, you know, thanguous, so I'm not why I'm

534
00:29:02,040 --> 00:29:05,000
Speaker 1: not black, um. And you know, I'm not part of

535
00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,120
Speaker 1: one of the biggest lett you know, populations in the city,

536
00:29:09,120 --> 00:29:12,080
Speaker 1: which is probably you know, the Mexican population here. So

537
00:29:12,120 --> 00:29:14,360
Speaker 1: it's kind of always been in this kind of middle

538
00:29:14,400 --> 00:29:17,640
Speaker 1: place of of being able to bridge different identities and

539
00:29:17,720 --> 00:29:21,360
Speaker 1: communities and feeling like I see a lot around me,

540
00:29:21,520 --> 00:29:24,200
Speaker 1: I'm able to observe and watch and take in a

541
00:29:24,280 --> 00:29:27,320
Speaker 1: lot of information, um, because I can kind of like

542
00:29:27,640 --> 00:29:33,000
Speaker 1: be in this in between liminal space of of of identity. Um.

543
00:29:33,120 --> 00:29:34,760
Speaker 1: So yeah, I don't know if that answers the question

544
00:29:34,840 --> 00:29:40,960
Speaker 1: of absolutely yeah, and so you know, your Puerto Rican heritage, Chicago.

545
00:29:41,160 --> 00:29:43,760
Speaker 1: All of these things are major influences in your work

546
00:29:43,760 --> 00:29:47,560
Speaker 1: across your poems. Also, hip hop and the pillars of

547
00:29:47,640 --> 00:29:50,560
Speaker 1: hip hop just show up so often in your your

548
00:29:50,600 --> 00:29:52,400
Speaker 1: body of work as a whole. And if you could

549
00:29:52,440 --> 00:29:54,840
Speaker 1: talk to us a little bit about hip hop in

550
00:29:54,880 --> 00:29:57,760
Speaker 1: your life and hip hop today, you know, hip hop

551
00:29:57,800 --> 00:30:00,800
Speaker 1: today and like how we feel about at Lanski, So

552
00:30:00,960 --> 00:30:04,040
Speaker 1: you know hip hop. Hip hop was like the culture

553
00:30:04,120 --> 00:30:07,120
Speaker 1: I chose, you know, it was it was. It was

554
00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:09,800
Speaker 1: a space I think for a lot of young people,

555
00:30:10,160 --> 00:30:12,400
Speaker 1: you know, and especially here in Chicago. It was a

556
00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:15,800
Speaker 1: space where you could be with like minded people. It

557
00:30:15,880 --> 00:30:18,760
Speaker 1: was a space where people of all races and all

558
00:30:18,800 --> 00:30:22,719
Speaker 1: backgrounds and all religions could kind of come together and

559
00:30:22,760 --> 00:30:26,720
Speaker 1: discover themselves and discover each other. So it was it

560
00:30:26,840 --> 00:30:31,200
Speaker 1: provided the probably one of the most integrated spaces racially

561
00:30:31,760 --> 00:30:35,200
Speaker 1: in Chicago. You know, um growing up as a young person,

562
00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:38,640
Speaker 1: so you know, it was it was a place where

563
00:30:39,800 --> 00:30:42,600
Speaker 1: I could I could discover myself and I could create

564
00:30:42,720 --> 00:30:45,760
Speaker 1: my own identity, right because it felt like so much

565
00:30:45,920 --> 00:30:50,320
Speaker 1: of growing up was either a lot was being dictated

566
00:30:50,360 --> 00:30:53,320
Speaker 1: by the culture that I was growing up in you know,

567
00:30:53,400 --> 00:30:58,560
Speaker 1: being like Latina, first generation Catholic, My parents were super

568
00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:00,800
Speaker 1: old school and so that paid it a lot of

569
00:31:00,800 --> 00:31:03,480
Speaker 1: what I could and couldn't do. And then just also

570
00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:05,640
Speaker 1: kind of growing up in the city where you were,

571
00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:08,760
Speaker 1: you were boxed into, you know, either being black or white. So,

572
00:31:09,320 --> 00:31:11,640
Speaker 1: um so hip hop really gave me a space to

573
00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:16,640
Speaker 1: to discover myself, to discover identity. It's um you know,

574
00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,960
Speaker 1: I had, I had mentors um at around that age

575
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:23,880
Speaker 1: who also like put me onto music, and um, you

576
00:31:23,920 --> 00:31:26,720
Speaker 1: know it's hip hop also became like a force for

577
00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:30,000
Speaker 1: community organizing in my life because of an organization that

578
00:31:30,640 --> 00:31:33,040
Speaker 1: UM that I was being mentored at called the Southwest

579
00:31:33,080 --> 00:31:35,680
Speaker 1: Youth Collaborative UM on the southwest side of the city.

580
00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:38,120
Speaker 1: And so a lot of the things that we organized

581
00:31:38,200 --> 00:31:40,680
Speaker 1: for ourselves as young people were sentering around hip hop

582
00:31:40,760 --> 00:31:43,640
Speaker 1: you know, kind of helped to create this this program

583
00:31:43,640 --> 00:31:46,440
Speaker 1: called the University of Hip Hop. And our mentors were like,

584
00:31:46,440 --> 00:31:47,920
Speaker 1: what do you guys want to do with this, you know,

585
00:31:47,960 --> 00:31:49,840
Speaker 1: with this funding that we have, and you know, what

586
00:31:50,120 --> 00:31:52,760
Speaker 1: are you guys interested in? And we would be like, yeah,

587
00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:54,520
Speaker 1: we want we want to learn all about hip hop.

588
00:31:54,640 --> 00:31:58,240
Speaker 1: So we created this this program that you know, successfully

589
00:31:58,400 --> 00:32:01,280
Speaker 1: went on for over ten years, is called the University

590
00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,160
Speaker 1: of hip Hop and UM kids would come and there

591
00:32:04,200 --> 00:32:07,240
Speaker 1: were there were classes in graffiti, there were breakdancing classes,

592
00:32:07,360 --> 00:32:10,840
Speaker 1: there were DJ classes, there were empty classes, and some

593
00:32:10,920 --> 00:32:13,040
Speaker 1: of the most successful hip hop artists from all over

594
00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:16,560
Speaker 1: the city, you know, would come and teach UM. And

595
00:32:16,600 --> 00:32:18,800
Speaker 1: so I remember, you know, I was there. I was

596
00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:22,120
Speaker 1: I was sixteen, seventeen years old while we were helping

597
00:32:22,200 --> 00:32:26,280
Speaker 1: to to create this program, and UM, it was it

598
00:32:26,360 --> 00:32:31,000
Speaker 1: was a central theme to to my to my development

599
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:35,520
Speaker 1: as a writer, as an activist, UM and as as

600
00:32:35,560 --> 00:32:37,520
Speaker 1: an artist. So and it still is, you know, I

601
00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:40,160
Speaker 1: think UM in a lot of ways, you know, my

602
00:32:40,160 --> 00:32:43,040
Speaker 1: my my taste have have varied, and I'm and I'm

603
00:32:43,080 --> 00:32:45,480
Speaker 1: I've grown up now, I listened to a lot of stuff,

604
00:32:45,480 --> 00:32:48,920
Speaker 1: but I still find myself coming back to to hip hop.

605
00:32:49,040 --> 00:32:52,040
Speaker 1: And definitely, the the aesthetic of the culture is the

606
00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:56,120
Speaker 1: one that that always creeps its way into my work, absolutely,

607
00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:59,200
Speaker 1: and also the sort of blending. So one of my

608
00:32:59,240 --> 00:33:03,200
Speaker 1: favorite poems is Elemental, where it's the comination of the

609
00:33:03,280 --> 00:33:07,200
Speaker 1: deity with hip hop right and how the two have

610
00:33:07,320 --> 00:33:10,360
Speaker 1: fused together. And I feel like the book a Southside

611
00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:12,320
Speaker 1: Girl's Guide to Live in Sex probably does a lot

612
00:33:12,320 --> 00:33:17,000
Speaker 1: of the same, right of the fusing of the two. Yes, yes, yeah,

613
00:33:17,480 --> 00:33:20,200
Speaker 1: um yeah, it's definitely there. And you know, and it's

614
00:33:20,240 --> 00:33:22,200
Speaker 1: like even if you you know, if you look at

615
00:33:22,200 --> 00:33:25,320
Speaker 1: the book, the first half of that book is very

616
00:33:25,520 --> 00:33:28,720
Speaker 1: it's almost like two completely different parts of my life.

617
00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:30,600
Speaker 1: You know. There's one that's kind of like the coming

618
00:33:30,600 --> 00:33:33,520
Speaker 1: of age story of being in Chicago, and then the

619
00:33:33,560 --> 00:33:36,800
Speaker 1: second half of that book is really, you know, the

620
00:33:36,880 --> 00:33:38,720
Speaker 1: last couple of years that I spent in l A.

621
00:33:38,920 --> 00:33:41,440
Speaker 1: And you know, the kind of the heart aches and

622
00:33:41,520 --> 00:33:44,520
Speaker 1: the struggles of being in l A during those last

623
00:33:44,520 --> 00:33:46,240
Speaker 1: couple of years and a lot of the lessons that

624
00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:49,280
Speaker 1: I learned. And so it's it's still in there. It's

625
00:33:49,360 --> 00:33:53,480
Speaker 1: just there in a different way. You know, it's there. Um,

626
00:33:53,680 --> 00:33:56,520
Speaker 1: you know that the elements of it are still woven

627
00:33:56,560 --> 00:34:00,120
Speaker 1: throughout that kind of more mature gaze, you know that

628
00:34:00,240 --> 00:34:03,040
Speaker 1: like that that experience of being a woman and not

629
00:34:03,240 --> 00:34:05,160
Speaker 1: not the sixteen year old girl growing up on the

630
00:34:05,160 --> 00:34:08,120
Speaker 1: South Side. Um, but it's kind of it's a journey

631
00:34:08,120 --> 00:34:11,200
Speaker 1: and so um, it's still finds its way into those

632
00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:13,560
Speaker 1: poems that it's still in there and you can feel it.

633
00:34:13,640 --> 00:34:16,600
Speaker 1: And you know, I think definitely when I read it's

634
00:34:16,640 --> 00:34:19,919
Speaker 1: it's something that isn't in my in my style of reading,

635
00:34:19,960 --> 00:34:21,920
Speaker 1: it's always going to be there. Um, it's just there

636
00:34:21,920 --> 00:34:25,560
Speaker 1: in a different way, you know. Yes, yeah, I think

637
00:34:25,600 --> 00:34:29,000
Speaker 1: to like we were in high school, Yeah, we were

638
00:34:29,280 --> 00:34:35,919
Speaker 1: on scouring. There's this whole generation, our generation like yeah,

639
00:34:36,480 --> 00:34:39,120
Speaker 1: like I mean I can can speak for myself, like

640
00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:43,480
Speaker 1: I was like really into watching spoken word performances and

641
00:34:43,520 --> 00:34:48,520
Speaker 1: watching the Deaf Jam but online watching just really being

642
00:34:48,600 --> 00:34:52,239
Speaker 1: consumed on repeat, like I remember Obvious like being one

643
00:34:52,280 --> 00:34:56,320
Speaker 1: of the poets that I was really into, and Anthea

644
00:34:56,520 --> 00:35:00,160
Speaker 1: and of course like going with you right. So to

645
00:35:00,239 --> 00:35:02,759
Speaker 1: see like where y'all are at now and to like

646
00:35:02,800 --> 00:35:05,000
Speaker 1: see the amazing work that y'all are continuing to do

647
00:35:05,200 --> 00:35:07,839
Speaker 1: is just like it makes my little teenage girl hard

648
00:35:07,920 --> 00:35:10,399
Speaker 1: like really happy, like and I as an adult like, wow,

649
00:35:10,440 --> 00:35:12,480
Speaker 1: I get to interview and talk with mine and Bias.

650
00:35:12,520 --> 00:35:14,600
Speaker 1: So like to say that we're fan girling is like

651
00:35:14,719 --> 00:35:19,480
Speaker 1: to say the least of what we're feeling. Yeah, it's

652
00:35:19,520 --> 00:35:23,440
Speaker 1: such a trip. It's so funny. You say that it's

653
00:35:23,480 --> 00:35:25,120
Speaker 1: so funny. You say that people don't like do you

654
00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:27,160
Speaker 1: ever get recognized? You know, you're kind of saying that.

655
00:35:27,320 --> 00:35:29,600
Speaker 1: I was like, I'm so not, Like I'm really not.

656
00:35:29,680 --> 00:35:32,759
Speaker 1: As the other day, I was like hanging out with

657
00:35:32,800 --> 00:35:34,840
Speaker 1: a friend and the South Loop here in Chicago. We

658
00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:38,200
Speaker 1: went to this like random, kind of out of the way,

659
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:41,359
Speaker 1: a little bar you know, around the South Loop where

660
00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:43,520
Speaker 1: they were like playing trap music on a Friday night.

661
00:35:43,560 --> 00:35:45,400
Speaker 1: And I'm like, oh, this is great, this is perfect.

662
00:35:45,440 --> 00:35:47,120
Speaker 1: I don't have a drink and post up at the

663
00:35:47,160 --> 00:35:49,400
Speaker 1: corner and all of a sudden that here's like this

664
00:35:49,520 --> 00:35:57,680
Speaker 1: girl queel and that was like that was tripping. It

665
00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:01,720
Speaker 1: never happens. It was. It's feel like the strangest most

666
00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:04,879
Speaker 1: random thing love it that ever happens to be like

667
00:36:05,000 --> 00:36:08,280
Speaker 1: this this this is hilarious to me. It's such a weird,

668
00:36:08,360 --> 00:36:12,919
Speaker 1: random place for it. That's really funny. Yeah. I think though,

669
00:36:12,920 --> 00:36:15,520
Speaker 1: that's the beauty and the power of like the like

670
00:36:15,640 --> 00:36:18,800
Speaker 1: YouTube in the internet, like people all over in all corners.

671
00:36:18,840 --> 00:36:20,759
Speaker 1: As long as you have a WiFi connection, you could

672
00:36:20,920 --> 00:36:28,640
Speaker 1: watch my we could connect with like other artists. Yes,

673
00:36:30,120 --> 00:36:36,040
Speaker 1: wow yeah yeah. Um So where can people buy your book,

674
00:36:36,120 --> 00:36:39,640
Speaker 1: read your book, continue to follow your work? How can

675
00:36:39,760 --> 00:36:42,359
Speaker 1: folks continue to like, you know, see what my has

676
00:36:42,400 --> 00:36:46,960
Speaker 1: it too. So I have a website which is probably

677
00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:50,920
Speaker 1: um in in in much need of being updated, but

678
00:36:51,320 --> 00:36:55,239
Speaker 1: you know, definitely their information booking information is available there.

679
00:36:55,880 --> 00:37:01,560
Speaker 1: I'm on Facebook, I'm on Twitter, on Instagram, UM pretty often.

680
00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:03,880
Speaker 1: Instagram is probably the platform that I that I use

681
00:37:03,960 --> 00:37:07,759
Speaker 1: most frequently. UM. So that's that's available on there. And

682
00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:10,000
Speaker 1: then the book is actually, if you're on the west

683
00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:14,840
Speaker 1: coast of the l A area, is available at tachu Che, Okay.

684
00:37:14,880 --> 00:37:17,880
Speaker 1: So that's available on their website, it's available in the store.

685
00:37:18,520 --> 00:37:22,360
Speaker 1: It's available on Amazon, and also at the Northwestern University

686
00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:26,600
Speaker 1: Press website. So all three of those places have it available.

687
00:37:27,440 --> 00:37:29,439
Speaker 1: I love it. I love it. Thank you so much.

688
00:37:30,120 --> 00:37:33,120
Speaker 1: We're so welcome. Before you go, UM, before we exit

689
00:37:33,160 --> 00:37:37,280
Speaker 1: our interview, I wanted to ask you about um music

690
00:37:37,440 --> 00:37:39,680
Speaker 1: and performance. You know in the song that we're going

691
00:37:39,760 --> 00:37:44,440
Speaker 1: to exit our outro our interview. UM, you know, Mommy's

692
00:37:44,480 --> 00:37:47,680
Speaker 1: making mumbo like I wanted to. I wanted to ask

693
00:37:47,719 --> 00:37:50,399
Speaker 1: you about the role that music not only hip hop

694
00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:54,399
Speaker 1: but also like salsa, and like what has that role

695
00:37:54,440 --> 00:37:57,640
Speaker 1: played in not only your poetry writing but also your performance.

696
00:37:58,480 --> 00:38:03,240
Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, UM, yeah, I grew up like doing

697
00:38:03,320 --> 00:38:12,240
Speaker 1: musical theater. Super random fact about me to musical theater

698
00:38:12,880 --> 00:38:15,200
Speaker 1: and U. And I grew up with me in the

699
00:38:15,280 --> 00:38:18,120
Speaker 1: house all of the time. Like my mom was constantly sinking.

700
00:38:18,280 --> 00:38:20,160
Speaker 1: She was in a church choir, I was in I

701
00:38:20,239 --> 00:38:23,120
Speaker 1: was in the church choir when I was a little girl. Um.

702
00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:25,200
Speaker 1: And it was just you know, it was like the

703
00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:29,040
Speaker 1: lifeblood of our household. There was always music playing all

704
00:38:29,080 --> 00:38:31,160
Speaker 1: of the time, all of the never never a moment

705
00:38:31,160 --> 00:38:34,360
Speaker 1: when there wasn't like a radio playing. And you know,

706
00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:37,160
Speaker 1: something like this, this really beautiful detail that I always

707
00:38:37,200 --> 00:38:40,840
Speaker 1: carry with me is this um Puerto Rican radio station

708
00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:43,479
Speaker 1: all the way at one end of the AM dial

709
00:38:43,560 --> 00:38:45,960
Speaker 1: that my mom to listen to in the morning every

710
00:38:45,960 --> 00:38:48,880
Speaker 1: morning from about eight to eleven o'clock. UM. And that

711
00:38:49,040 --> 00:38:53,160
Speaker 1: was like that was like the lo all the like

712
00:38:53,880 --> 00:38:57,399
Speaker 1: Puerto Ricans in Chicago, you know what it was called.

713
00:38:57,800 --> 00:39:00,600
Speaker 1: And so people would shout each other out for days

714
00:39:00,640 --> 00:39:02,759
Speaker 1: and you could get dudes from Puerto Rico on there

715
00:39:02,840 --> 00:39:05,600
Speaker 1: and all the music. UM. So this is it was

716
00:39:05,640 --> 00:39:08,480
Speaker 1: just like a sound check to my life, you know. UM.

717
00:39:08,520 --> 00:39:10,600
Speaker 1: And I don't even know how it happened or when

718
00:39:10,640 --> 00:39:14,440
Speaker 1: it happened or why it happened. It just organically made

719
00:39:14,440 --> 00:39:16,799
Speaker 1: its way into the writing and became a part of

720
00:39:16,800 --> 00:39:19,920
Speaker 1: the of the performance and you know, and and the

721
00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:23,239
Speaker 1: poems that still does I still, um, I still seeing

722
00:39:23,239 --> 00:39:25,080
Speaker 1: in a lot of my poem there's still you know,

723
00:39:25,200 --> 00:39:30,160
Speaker 1: there's a very kind of distinct kind of musicality to

724
00:39:30,239 --> 00:39:33,319
Speaker 1: my poems that I really work musciously I'm putting in

725
00:39:33,360 --> 00:39:36,520
Speaker 1: there and um so yeah, it's just it was part

726
00:39:36,520 --> 00:39:38,120
Speaker 1: of my life, so it makes sense that it would

727
00:39:38,120 --> 00:39:41,479
Speaker 1: be part of the work. Um in the most recent years.

728
00:39:41,520 --> 00:39:45,399
Speaker 1: You know, I started dancing and drumming, um with with

729
00:39:45,520 --> 00:39:47,760
Speaker 1: a couple of groups in l A doing bom Ba music,

730
00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:50,800
Speaker 1: and I started writing Bomba songs, so I like composed

731
00:39:50,840 --> 00:39:54,920
Speaker 1: a couple of Bomba songs. So yeah, it's kind of

732
00:39:54,920 --> 00:39:57,600
Speaker 1: this thing that you know, feed my spirit in a

733
00:39:57,640 --> 00:40:00,279
Speaker 1: really big way. And and it again and so kind

734
00:40:00,280 --> 00:40:01,920
Speaker 1: of like hip hop in the same way, it just creeps,

735
00:40:01,920 --> 00:40:05,279
Speaker 1: it creeps its way into the work. Absolutely, I'm just

736
00:40:05,560 --> 00:40:09,279
Speaker 1: like continuously amazed by just everything that you do. Know

737
00:40:09,400 --> 00:40:12,840
Speaker 1: you even you know, like a reiky healer as well

738
00:40:12,920 --> 00:40:16,239
Speaker 1: in addition to I am, I mean, it makes so

739
00:40:16,320 --> 00:40:18,799
Speaker 1: much sense, like you know, not only are you a

740
00:40:18,800 --> 00:40:21,360
Speaker 1: healer like with your art, but also like now to

741
00:40:21,440 --> 00:40:23,680
Speaker 1: do reiky like it just makes a lot of sense

742
00:40:23,760 --> 00:40:27,799
Speaker 1: to us. Yeah, it does, it does. Yeah, Like wait

743
00:40:27,800 --> 00:40:30,040
Speaker 1: a minute, it's the weirder ransom. I'm like, not like

744
00:40:30,080 --> 00:40:31,799
Speaker 1: when I look at all the things, but I write

745
00:40:32,239 --> 00:40:36,920
Speaker 1: it's a random Yeah, they sit together somehow, you know,

746
00:40:37,320 --> 00:40:40,000
Speaker 1: it's just m Yeah, they're all. They're all just part

747
00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:42,880
Speaker 1: of part of the walk, part of the journey. Amazing

748
00:40:43,120 --> 00:40:45,600
Speaker 1: using well Amy that I can't thank you enough for

749
00:40:45,760 --> 00:40:48,480
Speaker 1: just all the work that you have done and put

750
00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:50,839
Speaker 1: out into the world, and like the fact that we've

751
00:40:50,920 --> 00:40:56,440
Speaker 1: been like kind of following you like little ducklings. You know,

752
00:40:56,480 --> 00:40:58,640
Speaker 1: we're just really grateful for you and thank you so

753
00:40:58,719 --> 00:41:02,000
Speaker 1: much for who you are. Yeah, yeah, thank you so

754
00:41:02,120 --> 00:41:06,279
Speaker 1: much for everything that you're doing too. Thank you. We

755
00:41:06,360 --> 00:41:16,279
Speaker 1: got we got mina advised blessing. Yes, yes, okay, well,

756
00:41:16,320 --> 00:41:19,000
Speaker 1: thank you so much. What we're gonna do is we

757
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:21,800
Speaker 1: are actually going to play our outro. We're going to

758
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:26,839
Speaker 1: play Maida's Mommy's Making Mambo and this is actually her

759
00:41:27,080 --> 00:41:33,200
Speaker 1: deaf jam performance and renditions, so musical throwback throwback. What

760
00:41:33,280 --> 00:41:35,719
Speaker 1: year was this when you were when you performed Mommy

761
00:41:35,800 --> 00:41:45,040
Speaker 1: is Making Mambo on Deaf Jam. Wow three four baby, Yeah,

762
00:41:45,160 --> 00:41:48,600
Speaker 1: this is a throwback for sureback. Can I just say

763
00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:51,759
Speaker 1: the other reason we love to watch just made my

764
00:41:51,840 --> 00:42:00,080
Speaker 1: heart so the time she flies. No, but I all so,

765
00:42:00,080 --> 00:42:02,080
Speaker 1: I just want to put this out there because a look,

766
00:42:02,120 --> 00:42:04,160
Speaker 1: I thought it. We're all about looks and aesthetics, and

767
00:42:04,360 --> 00:42:08,600
Speaker 1: you served incredible looks and aesthetics every episode of Deaf

768
00:42:08,680 --> 00:42:12,440
Speaker 1: Jam like we were definitely watching for the outfit world.

769
00:42:13,920 --> 00:42:19,480
Speaker 1: I love it. So anyways, thank you again, Mayda, as always, yes,

770
00:42:19,520 --> 00:42:21,120
Speaker 1: thank you so much and as always, look on what

771
00:42:21,280 --> 00:42:23,200
Speaker 1: is you know? Now we're to find Minaw. We're going

772
00:42:23,280 --> 00:42:26,560
Speaker 1: to post her information on our Instagram as well. Um

773
00:42:26,640 --> 00:42:30,799
Speaker 1: if you can listen in on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify,

774
00:42:31,440 --> 00:42:33,960
Speaker 1: We're on audio Boom and SoundCloud. Yes, and leave us

775
00:42:34,000 --> 00:42:36,319
Speaker 1: a review on Apple podcast A nice one please if

776
00:42:36,320 --> 00:42:40,239
Speaker 1: you feel like to do so. Thank you so much.

777
00:42:40,280 --> 00:42:43,880
Speaker 1: And this is thank you Mada, and thank you everyone

778
00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:47,760
Speaker 1: for tuning in. This is Mommy's Making Mambo by Maday,

779
00:42:55,320 --> 00:43:00,920
Speaker 1: Mommy making, Mommy making mom oh and the domain and

780
00:43:01,040 --> 00:43:03,640
Speaker 1: that then by your kitchen. My mother is the dictator.

781
00:43:03,800 --> 00:43:07,480
Speaker 1: I refresh what his Carmen's culinary queendom. She becomes a

782
00:43:07,560 --> 00:43:10,279
Speaker 1: cuisine Gounki style d our wheelding a freshly sharp and

783
00:43:10,360 --> 00:43:13,040
Speaker 1: knife like a thought above her head. Here go Yad

784
00:43:13,120 --> 00:43:16,279
Speaker 1: doesn't stand the chants, no prepackaged ship. She is the

785
00:43:16,400 --> 00:43:20,160
Speaker 1: menu mercenary, the soldier of soul food backed off, funk

786
00:43:20,239 --> 00:43:23,239
Speaker 1: up cause mommy is making mombo. She hands the hats

787
00:43:23,280 --> 00:43:25,960
Speaker 1: of iron chefts off the window, still like roa stuck trophies,

788
00:43:26,120 --> 00:43:29,040
Speaker 1: and laughs at the sight of any edible food item.

789
00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:34,399
Speaker 1: A no meats and the freezer spam and corn beef

790
00:43:34,440 --> 00:43:36,840
Speaker 1: and a can are transformed into virtual peel in minon,

791
00:43:37,760 --> 00:43:41,600
Speaker 1: rice cooks itself instantly at her command and being jumped

792
00:43:41,600 --> 00:43:50,600
Speaker 1: into bubbling pops, shrinking e roll and Julia child mere

793
00:43:50,680 --> 00:43:53,960
Speaker 1: hamburger flippers in her presence. It was there in my

794
00:43:54,120 --> 00:43:57,080
Speaker 1: mother's kitchen that I learned more than just how to cook.

795
00:43:57,120 --> 00:43:59,760
Speaker 1: It is where I learned the essence of rhythm and power,

796
00:44:00,120 --> 00:44:02,680
Speaker 1: learned to dance in the midst of clanking glovit pots

797
00:44:02,880 --> 00:44:05,279
Speaker 1: and wooden mortars and pestles. She would say to me,

798
00:44:05,760 --> 00:44:08,320
Speaker 1: the way to a man's heart is through his stomach

799
00:44:08,560 --> 00:44:10,879
Speaker 1: and your hips. So you better learn how to cook me. Huh.

800
00:44:11,160 --> 00:44:13,719
Speaker 1: She gave me the secret rescipe for a great more

801
00:44:13,800 --> 00:44:15,480
Speaker 1: too and a half cups of God. That I was

802
00:44:15,480 --> 00:44:18,520
Speaker 1: a pound, a gyrating pelvis, a pinch of her slips

803
00:44:18,600 --> 00:44:21,439
Speaker 1: or table spoon of shaking shoulders, and a generous hoping

804
00:44:21,480 --> 00:44:25,000
Speaker 1: of oh, combine and nix. And now I'm dancing the

805
00:44:25,040 --> 00:44:28,359
Speaker 1: way my mother cook slow, sultry, spicy sun lost an

806
00:44:28,440 --> 00:44:31,640
Speaker 1: natural instinctively chipping sweet sweat like fresh. Let you the

807
00:44:31,719 --> 00:44:35,520
Speaker 1: cock spinning. That's fast, that's beta was nothing summertimes upside.

808
00:44:35,600 --> 00:44:38,640
Speaker 1: He's dancing with us much kicking spot on my cards,

809
00:44:38,680 --> 00:44:42,000
Speaker 1: standing strong like a morning time will stand o steamy

810
00:44:42,080 --> 00:44:46,480
Speaker 1: as my standard. That Christmas plan being clip poppy Mama

811
00:44:46,719 --> 00:44:50,120
Speaker 1: like bin Ya la la my love watering from music

812
00:44:50,239 --> 00:44:53,680
Speaker 1: with somebe ain't got that a foos dwn My hips

813
00:44:53,760 --> 00:44:58,320
Speaker 1: do stay as sally as ah fo God go little Flora.

814
00:44:58,680 --> 00:45:02,160
Speaker 1: I'm cooking with stop out on my lando thunstop out

815
00:45:02,280 --> 00:45:08,239
Speaker 1: because Mommy is making mambo. Mommy is making mamba Mama

816
00:45:08,560 --> 00:45:09,839
Speaker 1: come int the food's radi