Highly Relevant With Jack Rico

Jim McKay, writer/director of the EN EL SEPTIMO DIA, the film that many top critics are calling “one of the best films of 2018 so far,” and a potential Best Picture Oscar nominee, joins us to discuss why as a Caucasian director he felt the need to make this Brooklyn comedy about undocumented Mexican immigrants having to decide between their jobs or a soccer game.Then we chat with the President of the NAHJ (National Association of Hispanic Journalists), Brandon Benavides, about why Hispanic journalists are invisible on the Sunday political shows and morning network news programs like TODAY and GMA.Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media:TwitterFacebookInstagramIf you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe!Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:     • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subs

Mike Sargent from FOX Business News, PBS and WBAI Radio in NYC visits the show to discuss the best movies of 2018 so far with as well as why we urgently need Black and Latino film critics.Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media:TwitterFacebookInstagramIf you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe!Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:     • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

For those of you who might have heard of Blockchain, but haven’t necessarily done enough research on it, Oscar Garcia, CEO of Uulala, a technology platform company that uses blockchain technology, helps us understand who should use blockchain, why they should use it and how he believes Uulala can elevate Latinos in this country to a middle-class economy and provide 6 trillion dollars to our GDP.Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media:TwitterFacebookInstagramIf you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe!Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:     • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

We’re days away from the biggest soccer event in the world, the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and we're devoting the whole show to the World Cup. We’ll be speaking in Spanish to Argentine sports journalist Viviana Vila (2:46), who this year will become the first Latina to provide commentary for a men’s World Cup on Telemundo. I’ll discuss with her if her Argentine accent will be a problem for Mexican soccer fans, the struggles she had to endure to sit at the table of a male-dominated anchor team, and if we’ll ever see the first female play by play announcer anytime soon.Then we do a World Cup Preview of all 10 Hispanic teams competing in the tournament with Luis Miguel Echegaray (23:48), the Head of Latino Content at Sports Illustrated. Will any of them go to the finals?Episode SummaryViviana Vila interview - 3:48 How this historic opportunity presented itself: 4:42 With Aly Wagner and herself, why are these opportunities presenting themselves now? 5:43 Challenges with men she had to overcome in her career:

Culture critic Mike Sargent (FOX News, PBS Newshour, WBAI) to talk this week’s new release “Han Solo: A Star Wars Story” (1:57) and we ask Mike - if we’ll see an all-black or latino cast science-fiction/space film anytime soon? (20:19)

It’s Upfronts Week in NYC and all the TV networks are making their annual pitches to sponsors with the intention of obtaining millions of dollars to advertise on their programming. We speak with journalist/blogger Laura Martinez, about how Univision and Telemundo are trying to adapt to the demographic growth of US born Latinos, if we’re ready for English-language novelas and why the next CEO of either network needs to be a woman. Then Mike Sargent joins us to review Deadpool 2 and why he thinks it’s better than the original - from its diversity down to it’s humor.Episode SummaryLaura Martinez on Univision/Telemundo Upfront - 1:21 How miblogestublog.com was created: 1:47 Key takeaways of Univision and Telemundo upfronts: 9:00 Why Univision has a better sports portfolio: 11:40 Thougorn Lahts on both programming slates: 13:51 Why Spanish-language programming no longer resonating with viewers: 16:46 Network executives definition of a Latino is wrong: 18:43 Why Univision needs a new executive team and why th

Culture pundit Mike Sargent joins the show to help us discuss "Avengers: Infiniti War" and how it needs to be watched to maximize its experience, then we talk about Childish Gambino's "This Is America" music video with over 65M already, a review of Gabrielle Union's "Breaking In". Is it like a Lifetime movie or a nice surprise? And an interruption that detoured the whole conversation onto the topic of spam/robo calls.Episode Summary Rewatching (AIF) in IMAX 3D - 2:41 Interrupted by a spam call; discussion on how to stop spam calling - 11:47 This Is America - 21:46 "Breaking In" movie review - 33:16 Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media:TwitterFacebookInstagramIf you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe!Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:     • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here t

This week we speak with triple threat star and Tony nominee Ariana DeBose who is currently one of the three stars of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical on Broadway. We discuss the intense vocal preparation in becoming The Queen of Disco, why the show cast women in male roles, equal pay, pansexuality and Hispanic identity on Broadway.Then I chat with Zetna Fuentes, a Latina TV director who has directed some of the biggest shows currently on television - Marvel’s “Jessica Jones,” NBC’s “This Is Us,” ABC’s “Scandal” and Amazon’s “BOSCH” to mention just a few. We discuss why there are so few Latina directors in tv and film and what can be done to fix it, plus, how she uses her Hispanic heritage to influence her tv work.Episode SummaryAriana DeBose interview: 1:29Zetna Fuentes: 31:45JackedIN (US Latino Pop News Recap) segment: 29:42Musical weekend playlist: 55:33Accelerate - Christina AguileraPositivo - J BalvinSimples Corazones - FonsecaWould you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.

Comedian Eugenio Derbez stops by the show to discuss his new movie "Overboard," but we really talk about his struggles of becoming a star in an industry that has not fully embraced his culture, his accent nor his stories. We unspool why he’s making English-language movies now after a successful career in Spanish, how he overcame the sellout stigma from Mexican peers and why he believes Hollywood is afraid of creating Latino movie stars.We also analyze Avengers: Infinity War. Is this best superhero of all time? Film critic Mike Sargent don’t think so and we dissect the 3 major problems with the film and why overall we give it a 7 instead of a 10. I’ll also give you a look at the top headlines in US Latino pop culture and recommendations to 3 new tracks I’ve discovered. Keep your volume up, this is the Highly Relevant podcast!

Adrian Martinez and Allison Strong join the show today to chat about going at it in Hollywood as Latinx actors. Adrian is in Amy Schumer’s controversial new film “I Feel Pretty,” out in theaters now. We talked why the movie’s premise has angered some women, if he thinks “beauty” is a fact or an opinion, and his #1 advice for any Latinx actor wanting to break into the business.Allison is a proud Colombian-American actress who has a new movie “The Week Of” coming out on Netflix April 27th with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock, plus, she discusses her personal experiences of what acting in Hollywood is like for a bilingual actress; and she reveals the best lesson she learned from Steve Buschemi… EPISODE SUMMARYAdrian Martinez discusses his role in Amy Schumer's new movie "I Feel Pretty" - 1:04 How many movies has he been in - 1:56 Why he still has to prove himself after 100 acting credits in Hollywood - 2:33 Playing the game Hollywood wants you to play with them - 3:27 Summary of "I Feel Pretty" - 5:03 Why the movie

Ecuadorian-American actress and singer Michelle Veintimilla joins us on this episode to discuss her role as the villainess FIREFLY on FOX’s GOTHAM series. She has a solid resumé which includes performing on Broadway with legendary icon Chita Rivera, working in film opposite Russell Crowe, Octavia Spencer, and Aaron Paul, as well as TV credits in “Blue Bloods” and “The Goodwife”. She joins me today to talk how she got the part of FIREFLY, why identifying as Hispanic is crucial in Hollywood and why she doesn’t like… telenovelas. Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media:TwitterFacebookInstagramIf you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe!Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:     • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

Ben Lopez, Executive Director of NALIP joins us to discuss the rock-bottom depths Hispanic actors have reached in Hollywood. What is the African-American community doing differently than the Hispanic community? Also, Randy Falco, the CEO of Univision, recently announced he’s retiring early. What type of person should replace him? Is it time for a U.S. born Hispanic to run it and should it be a woman? Should they look into doing English-language programming? And we also chat about how NALIP’s whole mission is to help Hispanic creatives break into Hollywood.Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media:TwitterFacebookInstagramIf you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe!Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:     • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

You've heard them - Miguel, Demi Lovato, Becky G, Jennifer Lopez - all US Latino pop stars who randomly decided to sing in Spanish. Why? What were the reasons behind it? Is it a money grabbing business move or is it a genuine rediscovery of their cultural roots? Music journalist Isabela Raygoza and myself explore whether Latino music listeners buy into their strategy to reach them in their language or if it stinks of commerce.“Language - it doesn’t define your identity, but it reinforces it.” - Isabela RaygozaEpisode Summary-Miguel and Demi Lovato singing in Spanish-Cultural differences between US Latinos and Latin Americans-Reasons why US Latino pop stars sing in Spanish-Phoniness vs Authenticity-Criteria for being a Spanish-language Latino artist-American accents in Spanish singing-Selena and her bilingualness-Jennifer Lopez first Spanish album-Beyonce Spanish album-Music and identity politicsWould you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on so

There’s a new horror movie out in theaters called “The Strangers: Prey At Night” directed by Johannes Roberts. He joins the show to discuss why he feels horror movies are such a thrill for moviegoers and why his new movie is different than many others.Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media:TwitterFacebookInstagramIf you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe!Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:     • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

Latinos win big at the 2018 Oscars, but will anything really change? We also tackle Steven Spielberg’s Latino reboot of the movie musical - West Side Story - and discuss all the reasons this is a bad idea. Mike Sargent, national film contributor for FOX Business, PBS Newshour and chief film critic for WBAI Radio joins us to deconstruct it all.Episode SummaryMike Sargent talks about why Shape of Water was a safe choice by the AcademyWhy Mudbound didn’t win one awardAfter the diversity of the Oscars, is Hollywood changed forever?Inclusion Rider and strong-arming Hollywood. Will it work?Spielberg's West Side Story Latino reboot and the foreseeable problems it will haveWould you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media:TwitterFacebookInstagramIf you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe!Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:     • Click here to subscribe via i

On this week’s episode, Hilda Garcia, VP of Digital Entertainment at Univision, returns to the podcast to discuss how Univision.com has planned a MASSIVE digital event for the 30th Anniversary of ‘Premios Lo Nuestro’ airing this week. For the first time, the #1 Spanish language network will simulcast the live TV award show on Univision.com. But will it cannibalize television viewers? And we talk to UK director Alex Garland whose new movie ANNIHILATION premieres this week, and he cast 3 of the biggest Latinx names for it - Oscar Isaac, Gina Rodriguez and Tessa Thompson - and somehow still managed to get criticized by the press for allegedly whitewashing star Natalie Portman’s character. We’ll ask him why he cast Latinx actors and why it has nothing to do with the National Hispanic Media Coalition’s protest at the Oscar’s next month. 

"Black Panther" is out and already has broken records and movie myths. On this episode, we talk to three African-American guests: Soraya Nadia McDonald, a culture critic for ESPN's The Undefeated, Mike Sargent, filmmaker and pioneering Afrofuturist, and Wilson Morales, EIC of Blackfilm.com, about the film's significance, the social commentary on race and politics that lies beneath the whole film, and its chances at Oscar gold come 2019. Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media:TwitterFacebookInstagramIf you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe!Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:     • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

Author David Peisner joins the show to discuss his new book “Homey Don't Play That! The Story of In Living Color and the Black Comedy Revolution”. What you'll hear today is David speaking about why this book was so important for him to write, the significance of "In Living Color" today, the discovery of talented cast members such as Jamie Foxx, Rosie Perez, Jennifer Lopez and Jim Carrey, why an English-language Latino sketch comedy has never been successful, and the reasons why so many people love Black entertainment.Episode SummaryWhy David wrote the bookHow race played a huge part in the comedy of the showThe cultural significance behind the showHow popular culture today is informed on Black cultureThe recruitment of the talented cast such as Jamie Foxx, Rosie Perez, Jennifer Lopez and Jim CarreyWhy the show endedWill "In Living Color" ever return?Why Latino sketch-comedies haven't worked on mainstream televisionIf you’d like to listen to more episodes with this format, leave us your thoughts on Twitter @ja

Natalia Lafourcade, 33, is a highly acclaimed Mexican singer/songwriter who was recently nominated for Best Latin Pop Album at the 60th Annual Grammys for her album, Musas Vol.1 (Un homenaje al folclore Latinoamericano en manos de Los Macorinos), and is also the singer for the Oscar nominated song “Remember Me” from Pixar’s hit film “Coco”. In this episode, Natalia and I sit down to talk about her upcoming album “Musas Vol. 2,” out February 9th. We tackled the question…what’s better… a Grammy or a Latin Grammy?  We then strayed into the subject of the music business, reggaeton, Broadway and how that song “Remember Me” came into her life.Episode SummaryPotentially performing at the OscarsHow Disney approached her about Coco's "Remember Me" Working with R&B star MiguelIs a Grammy more important than a Latin GrammyMusas Vol. 2 album"Hu Hu Hu" album Dreaming of Broadway Music business and reggaeton Natalia Lafourcade explains her concert experience If you’d like to listen to more episodes with this format, le

We’re discussing the Oscar nominations this week with our good friend Wilson Morales from Blackfilm.com. We will get to the deeper meaning of how these nominations are influencing our society, and of course, do some predictions on who will win.Also, the New York Times wrote an article this week called “After #OscarsSoWhite, Hispanics Seek Their Hollywood Moment”. It makes the point that Hispanic actors are in dire need for some needed on-screen inclusion in Hollywood. I talk Brooks Barnes, the media and entertainment reporter who wrote the article about what led him to write the piece and what solutions he can impart after one year of working on it. And finally, the 60th Annual Grammy Awards are Sunday the 28th and Matt Fish, a hip-hop connoisseur will help me make sense of how hip hop and Latino music owned 2017, and what it will it mean for the mainstream music industry if the mostly Spanish-language song DESPACITO wins Record or Song of the Year?That plus music suggestions for your playlist and the latest