Notes From A Native Daughter

'Tis the summer of Despacito... There’s this music club/performance space/art space in Santurce, Puerto Rico called La Respuesta, that mostly presents the local indie rock scene. I learned about La Respuesta in 2008 when I was down in the island for a season working publicity for several local films. One of the films, La Mala needed a place for a party and my friend Nadia Barbarossa, who was part of the film’s producers team told me about it. So I called the owner, the guy that everyone called Fofito, and asked him for a date to go see the place for a possible rental. I still remember the first impression. He was dry, serious, and straight to the point which made me love him on the spot because he didn’t waste my time with bullshit talk. So La Respuesta was rented for La Mala’s premiere party where the lovely and amazing Lena Burke played the piano and sang her heart out. Since then he and I have been buddies. I stopped calling him Fofito. He is Jose to me, without the accent on the “e”. I like it more t

For episode 54 I wanted to bring back the Hostos Oral Collective. Perhaps because I’m searching left and right for people who’ve gone out and made a difference, perhaps because of the symbolism of the weekend celebrations, perhaps because I can’t stop thinking about the South Bronx and everything that’s happened there...by now I’ve heard over 150 stories about Hostos and the Bronx, los puertorriqueños, los afro-americanos, los imigrantes, the fiscal crisis, the place was burning...Somewhere in there is why I wanted to share Fernando Ferrer’s words about Eugenio María de Hostos Community College and the Bronx today. The image of him waiting for me in Hostos’ A-Building lobby is etched in my mind. There he was, the iconic former Bronx Borough President unfazed by his lone landing on 149th Street and Grand Concourse. He looked around as if thinking to himself...He didn’t need an I.D., the security guards recognized him, as well as many of the passersby. He sat inside my humble voice recording sound studio m

Sitting down with a vocal coach is a humbling thing. In this conversation both of us demonstrate our Spanglish sharpness, other than that she’s the pro. Rosie holds the distinction of being one of the audiobook voices for the United States Library of Congress. Take that. Rosie has rules, one hundred of them! In our conversation, we really only got to level one, but it’s worth the listen for our seamless in-and-out from English-to-Spanish-to-English and to catch an off-record mini class on proper diction. She asked me what language I wanted to perfect and I answered “neither,” but my answer should have been, “both.” I’ve known Rosie for many years, but a couple of years ago we met up at Tio Louis’ house and caught up in a heart-to-heart talk that has brought us together. There’s a lot more to her than being an actress and a diction coach. She also writes films and is tackling dying with dignity as the theme, a matter for a different sit-down. For now, be reminded that I’m fascinated by creative workers, and

This is episode 52 and Jane Gabriels as a guest is sort of poetic. Wasn’t planned. NFAND began as an experiment to save my life and the journey has been bountiful, but more on that some other time. For now, know that Jane and I are kindred in spirit and professional action. But she’s a Jane of all trades with prowess who masters her crafts. Her free style has made her a dancer, poet, performance artist, grant writer, producer, “boss” of Pepatián, a mentor to artists, and a Ph.D. holder. Jane and I have much to talk about and can follow our thoughts going faster than the sounds of our words. Though our talk stretches out, we managed to stay rooted in the journey towards a meaningful life, love of artists, learning to fund the arts, and the Bronx. Many look up to her, go to her, and need her because she’s simply one-of-a-kind. Photo Credit: Marisol Díaz #Bronx #Artists #Pepatian #Hostos #Dance #Poetry

I struggled to watch Angel Manuel Soto film La Granja (The Farm, Happiness is Hard) not because it was bad, but because it was so good. He had me at minute three. Bravo to him. The film is a scathing socio-political commentary. To me, the consequence of depraved corruption. In this make believe dystopian realm, La Granja’s brazen punch, if you have any humanity in you, is that it’s true. This story takes place in Puerto Rico. The Puerto Rico few want to look at, like Angel says, “It’s not the Puerto Rico you see on postcards.” But it must be looked at. We learn by contrasting the good and the bad, the dark and the light and so on... Why do we compare the most decadent and repulsive behavior of people to animals? I mean, most animals kill in self-defense or when they’re hungry, not for show. We, the people, also kill in self-defense or if we're hungry, but we also kill for show. Right? And so we’re in a category all of our own as I see it. What is animalistic about us? I’m imagining the side of human behavio

Charlie is an autodidact. He knows what he knows because he taught himself. And he’s sharp and witty and he reads, reads, and reads. I asked him how he became a writer and he went off on a story, many stories, connected stories about his life’s journey into the literary realm. It is his way of life. From song lyricist to phantasmagorical and literary terms Charlie goes at everything or has because he’s curious. That’s why he left the Bronx for a while, to see the world. I clearly see the skinny kid with no cash at 12 or so, riding the New York City subways when the whole damn thing was falling apart (just like now btw) and I guess that had something to do with him growing his thick skin. And thank goodness nothing ever happened to him. After all, he’s been through and seen and lived Charlie is sensitive, open, centered in his sense of self, forward, real, and that’s why people love him.

This is a Spanish language episode with an English intro. My background is imbued in music. My entire life has been informed sort of like a doll cut out from the Latin music scene in its many forms. Though I cannot sing or play an instrument to save my life, my Dad gave me no choice but to learn to love music and I’m all the better and privileged for it. I’ve absorbed the arts and culture from that primal field of expression ever since I can remember. One of those figures is Fran’ Ferrer. His work has impacted Puerto Rican popular music in profound ways. He is history. Really. He has given the cause his sweat, blood, and tears. Fran’ has produced some of the island’s most iconic and unforgettable figures and by extension, songs, in both the studio and live performance setting. Here he talks about his musical journey in the 60s, 70s, 80s, and 90s from El Topo to Roy to Batacumbele, Brown to Festival Marisol and the list goes on. We’re scheduled for a Part II sometime later in the year. A man of the

An actor prepares… After a ten-year hiatus, Jorge Merced returns to reprise the role of “Loca” la de la Locura in El Bolero Fue Mi Ruina - El Bolero Was My Downfall - the brave character created by Puerto Rican author Manuel Ramos Otero. In a nutshell, I would say the play is a confession of sorts, an admission of actions of sins based on love, desperation, defeat, marginalization, and the universal innate need of all human hearts to feel acknowledged and respected. Loca, is a tragic story but also a heroic one. I first saw Jorge perform this show 20 years ago at Pregones’ black box theater. The play opens June 1st, marking Jorge’s 20th anniversary with the show and his 30 years of histrionics and leadership with Pregones, now Pregones / Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. Jorge has been part of the gay rights movement for years and our conversation here stretches out to explain how the text came to him, how he began performing it as a way to stand for queer voices, what Ramon Ramos Otero signifies for

A good teacher can change you forever. Like my 11th-grade math teacher Ana. Something about how she taught opened me to the magnificence of Algebra. My awakening made me yearn for homework. I asked for more of it, I couldn’t get enough. By the time my high school graduation came, I no longer felt like I didn’t have a brain for math, which really dented in my self-esteem for years. But I did have it, it just took me a while, the right teacher. And that’s the thing with Lew Levine, professor of English. He’s taught English at Hostos Community College for years now, like 40. In broad terms, Lew’s an old-timer of the Bronx, New York City, multi-lingual immigrant populations, communities of color, The City University of New York, and education as a principle. I’ve seen so many eyes light up when they mention the Professor. They all say more or less the same things, that he’s respectful, fun, serious, makes them feel important, and he’s a stand-up man. This is a beautiful story of a life of service. #H

Comes in Rokia Diabi. A young woman and student with a promising future. The power of her promise nested in her dream of becoming a lawyer some day. She's so sincere. Goodness. Rokia has seen a lot, suffered a lot, but she overcomes. Here is a woman's story, a student's story, a snippet of an urban tale in globalized times. #IamAnImmigrant #HumanRights #Education #NYC #Hostos50 #CUNY

I stand with the students and allies of the University of Puerto Rico. For the next four weeks, I will share full episodes of the Hostos50 Oral Collective. As the repulsive PROMESA proposes to slash funding from the UPR there is no better time than to share what I have been privileged enough to document for the past eight months. The antithesis of the long-term consequences of a city without a local and public educational institution. My first love is arts and culture. And so Episode 45 is Wally Edgecombe. He’s amazing. Just amazing. And as I see it, and at this juncture, Wally is a chapter of South Bronx history. This is Part I of II. For those of you into deep dives, the various links will take you to the Soundcloud page where the rest of the vast collection, will be uploaded to for the rest of the year. And there, you will find Part II of Wally Edgecombe. The rest is history. #Hostos50 #HCC #Bronx #SouthBronx #NYC #History #ArtsandCulture #CUNY #HostosCenter

If the legendary Puerto Rican educator, writer, and patriot Don Eugenio María de Hostos were alive today, I wonder what he’d think of the community college in the South Bronx named after him, that no one thought would make it. Alas. Just this past Thursday, Eugenio María de Hostos Community College launched its 50th Anniversary Season. I can't help but believe that Don Eugenio would be proud of what one of the most marginalized and disenfranchised communities to have ever been in United States history did for themselves. The story of Hostos is deserving of a lot more attention than it has ever received. It truly is an amazing story. A story about the Bronx, New York City and a reveal of margnalized communities. My relationship with the College is long and now very profound. Life changing really. And I’ll share that story as the year unfolds. But for part one, for the past 8 months, I’ve been coordinating, conducting, and editing an oral history project for and about Hostos Community College - Hos

Julia Solomonoff rocks. She’s cool, serious, candid, and it appears like she glides from one great thing to another great thing. At it for many years, Julia has some really beautiful credits. As director, those include, The Last Summer of la Boyita (produced by Almodovar, winner of over twenty international awards) and Hermanas (participant of Sundance and Berlinale Talent Campus labs and premiered at Toronto). As producer, Alejandro Landes’ Cocalero (Sundance 2007), Julia Murat’s Found Memories (Venecia, Toronto, 2011), Ana Piterbarg’s Everybody Has a Plan starring Viggo Mortensen (Toronto 2012), Lucia Murat’s Memories they told me (FIPRESCI winner Moscow 2013) and Celina Murga’s The Third Bank of the River executive produced by Martin Scorsese (Berlin 2014). And, she was 1st AD to The Motorcycle Diaries director Walter Salles. She co-wrote and directed the feature film Nobody’s Watching (nadie nos mira), world premiering at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival in the International Narrative Competition with

Joseph and Gloria La Morte are a special husband-and-wife creative duo. They’ve etched a place for themselves in the creative economy. Combined, Joseph and Gloria have produced films, documentaries, web series, public service announcements, special segments, edited features, written screenplays, and acted; and are parents to Emile. Good people. For years they’ve been part of my artistic and professional compass. How do they/we do it? When and how does the creative life begin? Make something out of it. And that they have. Joseph says something really true here towards the end. I’m paraphrasing, but it’s something like, yes we have to pay the mortgage, but we find ways to feel at peace with how we earn our money. The crux of the hunt. And it lives with the actions of us/them, the creative work. In their case, Details, Crush, Entre Nos, Free Like the Birds, Get Some, 11 Million Stories, and much more. See JoeynGloria.com. Their son Emile will know all about producing and filmmaking for sure. I tried editing

Javier started his career in communications way back when his parents built him a playhouse, that at one point he turned into a studio news station. He wrote scripts and broadcasted the news. I can picture him clearly, little, doing his thing. He read the papers everyday at 8:00 p.m. with his parents. His love for news is a way back thing. Good it is. A consummate professional in the field of communications, Javier knows government, public affairs, culture, society, political campaigns, and a whole lot more. More like acting and performing. He combines his art and what he considers his civic duty, reporting on local news. He and I have grown up together, professionally speaking. In this episode 41, we talk about that, the things we do, the new era of news and though he’s straight laced and I the bohemian one, we’re good colleagues, with nothing but mutual respect. Good, it is. #NFAND #podcast #NotesFromANAtiveDaughter #PanAmerican #Latino #Arts #Culture #Conversations #Spanish #English #Spanglish #News

Episode 40. Towards the end of our conversation Daniel Maldonado says that “dealing with rejection is soul crushing and it never ends...it’s about managing expectations." In this matter, I feel Daniel’s next of kin. What do you say? Doesn’t the match make us usable, strong, and mature if you meet it in the eye? Every down-and-up a swallow. Standing. Daniel Maldonado is steady like that, like an oak, and owning his journey as a writer, director, and filmmaker. His movie H.O.M.E. is beautiful. They went rogue. The director, cast, and crew, filming underground NY-MTA... H.O.M.E. is on tour: Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara (market) - Festival Internacional Cine, Álamos Mágico (screening) - San Diego Latino Film Festival (screening) - North Hollywood CineFest (screening) - Phoenix Film Festival (screening) - Chicago Latino Film Festival (screening) - Bentonville Film Festival (screening). Home is where the heart is… #H.O.M.E. #HOMEthefilm #DanielMaldonado #Latino #filmmaker #NALIP #NFAND

Maria taught herself how to write in formulas, that’s the Hollywood way, and she takes to it. She’s working on a couple of horror and Sci-Fi scripts. Maria has a whole lot of profound and sensible things to say about being, writing, surviving, the politics of the day, and she’s a good listener. How we got to talking about loss and mourning I’m not sure, but we did, and I thank her for it. The dead live. What a paradox. Indeed, that this should be the week the U.S. Gov in all its mighty might announced axing the arts from federal funding. They may or may not succeed, but one thing is for sure, art will never die. Art lives. #MariaNieto #Latina #Writer #LatinoStories #Woman #ArtLives

Once, many, many years ago, I had the honor of playing Spider Woman / Spider Grandmother in Murray Mednick’s The Coyote Cycle. The culmination of performing this play meant we did seven acts through the night beginning at dusk and ending at sunrise. The Coyote, the Trickster, the Clown, and Spider Woman. The cycle of life, the story. The four elements. We had an audience. I stood eye-to-eye with an owl. Humbling. As a native daughter, my sincere heart stands with Native Nations. We have one earth. Their fight is our fight. Truly. It was an honor to march on Friday in Washington D.C. #WaterIsLife. Without water we don’t survive. None of us. None of this. This episode is what I heard - their proclamation, their credo, the plea, the warning. #WaterIsLife #NativeNationsMarch #IStandWithStandingRock #NoDAPL #NoPipelines #PeopleOverPipeline

I loved the movie Gladiator. Memory tells me, I went to see the film anywhere from 6 to 8 times on the big screen. I was mesmerized by it. Such a colossal spectacle in every single way – the music, the opening battle sequence, the costumes, the plot, the words, the vengeance, the colosseum battles, and the brilliance of Maximus Decimus Meridius, Marcus Aurelius, Commodus, Lucilla, Proximo, and Senator Gracchus. #DayWithoutAWoman #IStrikeFor #Resistance

Alfonso Díaz, is the New York City arts, culture, and entertainment reporter and red carpet correspondent for the Colombian channel. As publicist he and I have worked in a variety of projects throughout the years. Put succinctly, debonair, in the truest sense of the word. Earning respect as a serious red carpet reporter is the most challenging part of his job. We talk about that, being out there when the lights are on and things happen that curtail the job. Glamour-drinks-and-drama. To honest Work. #NTN24 #AlfonsoDiaz #TenemosQueHablar #Serious #Journalism #Latino #Español #RedCarpet #Reporter #Colombia #Noticias #Bilingual