Highly Relevant with Jack Rico

Latest Episodes:

Ep 82 - Director Jim McKay Talks 'En El Septimo Día' Film, Why Are Hispanics Invisible On Morning Political Shows? Jun 28, 2018

Show notes

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.

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Ep 81- Best Movies of 2018 So Far and Why We Urgently Need Black and Latino Film Critics Jun 22, 2018

Show notes

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.

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Ep 80 - Blockchain For Latinos - Can They All Achieve Middle-Class Or More With It? Jun 07, 2018

Show notes

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.

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Ep 79 - 2018 World Cup Preview, Viviana Vila Makes History Jun 01, 2018

Show notes

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 Summary

Viviana 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: 7:54
How she's preparing herself to color commentate for the World Cup: 11:02
If her Argentine accent will make Mexican soccer fans uncomfortable: 12:46
When will she do play-by-play? 14:48
Who she thinks the final four teams will be and if Messi will go back to the Final: 16:25
Her thoughts on who will be in the Finals: 18:07
Colombia's chances: 18:42

JackedIN (US Latino Pop News Recap) segment- 22:06

Sports Illustrated's Luis Miguel Echegaray 2018 World Cup Preview of all 10 Hispanic teams - 23:47

Peru: 25:30
Colombia: 30:14
Panama: 32:53
Mexico: 35:42
Costa Rica: 43:04
Brazil: 46:07
Argentina: 48:08
Portugal: 52:50
Spain: 55:47
Uruguay: 58:03

Musical weekend playlist:

Cuando Tu Quieras - J Balvin

Icon (Spanish Remix) - Jaden Smith (feat. Nicky Jam)

Live It Up - Nicky Jam, Will Smith, Era Isteri, produced by Diplo

Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media:

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If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe!

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Ep 78 - 'Han Solo: A Star Wars Story' Discussion, Are We Ready For An All Black/Latino Science-Fiction Film? May 25, 2018

Show notes

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)

Ep 77 - What The 'Univision' and 'Telemundo' Upfronts Told Us, 'Deadpool 2' Review May 18, 2018

Show notes

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 Summary

Laura 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 there is a disconnect with programming: 21:54
Randy Falco's replacement needs to be a US Hispanic woman: 23:32
Why we are ready English-language novelas: 26:58
What needs to be included in next year's upfronts: 30:56
The dismissal of the U.S. born Latino: 33:54
The complexity of figuring out the Latino viewers: 35:51

JackedIN (US Latino Pop News Recap) segment- 41:31

Mike Sargent on 'Deadpool 2' - 43:15

Musical weekend playlist:

Sangria Wine - Pharrell Williams (feat. Camila Cabello)

Fall In Line - Christina Aguilera (feat. Demi Lovato)

Dinero - Jennifer Lopez (falte. DJ Khaled and Cardi B)

Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media:

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If 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

Ep 76 - How Should "Avengers: Infiniti War" Be Watched, Childish Gambino's "This Is America", "Breaking In" Review, Spam Calls May 11, 2018

Show notes

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:

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If 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

Ep 75 - Ariana DeBose Talks Donna Summer Musical, Zetna Fuentes on Becoming a Latina TV Director May 04, 2018

Show notes

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 Summary

Ariana DeBose interview: 1:29

Zetna Fuentes: 31:45

JackedIN (US Latino Pop News Recap) segment: 29:42

Musical weekend playlist: 55:33

Accelerate - Christina Aguilera

Positivo - J Balvin

Simples Corazones - Fonseca

Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media:

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If 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:

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Ep 74 - Eugenio Derbez on Accents, Clicks and Culture in Hollywood, 3 Problems with "Avengers: Infinity War" Apr 27, 2018

Show notes

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!

Ep 73 - Adrian Martinez Talks 'I Feel Pretty' and Perseverance, Allison Strong Talks Netflix's 'The Week Of' and Being Bilingual Apr 20, 2018

Show notes

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 SUMMARY

Adrian Martinez discusses his role in Amy Schumer's new movie "I Feel Pretty" - 1:04