October 9, 2025 • 34 mins
In this heartfelt episode, Wilmer and Freddy sit down with a very special guest, Amanda Pacheco, Wilmer’s better half. Amanda opens up about her journey from model and divemaster to becoming an advocate for ovarian cancer awareness after the loss of her mother. They also talk about their beginnings together; their first dates and most surprisingly, Wilmer falling in love with Amanda’s dad first via text?!
“Dos Amigos” is a comedic and insightful podcast hosted by two friends who’ve journeyed through Hollywood and life together. Wilmer Valderrama and Freddy Rodriguez push through the noise of everyday life and ruminate on a bevy of topics through fun and daring, and occasionally a third amigo joins the mix!
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Hello everyone. I'm Wilmer Valderrama.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I'm Freddie Rodriguez and this is the docent MINGOS podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Yeah, we have a very special episode today. I don't
even know where to begin. Our guest is someone that
I've known for a long time. We've trusted each other
with our lives. Shared of milkshake, Yeah we have, we
have her milshik definitely got this boy to the yard.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Oh yeah, any of you there.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Guys are watching or listening to that AMOS podcast, Thank
you so much. This is a very special episode, a
very exciting one for us because he's getting it, He's
getting a little personal, a little deeper dive. We normally
never do this where you know, neither you or I
never really do this, but foreign territory if you want
to introduce who I guess this.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Our guest is a model, a dive master, a mother
of two, and the partner to me and Mono.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Me Amigo, amandap a trick.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yay yay yay yy yn Uh honey, Hi, welcome to
the podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
How does it feel?
Speaker 5 (01:20):
I mean I could literally count on like two fingers
how many times I've talked into a microphone.
Speaker 6 (01:25):
So uh.
Speaker 7 (01:27):
Supernatural.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Yeah, well, look, we were gonna make it super easy
because obviously this is this is the this, this is
supposed to be interrogation, and we never have you know,
it's agos, but today you're the third Ama.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
You're so so very excited.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
So we you know, Leo, our producer, Leo clam I
had this idea that you know, we've gone the whole
season talking to some amazing friends of ours who you know,
have played different roles in our lives, and you know,
it all came full circle too, you know, the two
people in our lives that are made made a major,
a major contribution, if not in life, life enhancing an
(02:08):
altern moment as we revolutionize ourselves as actually not just
grown ups but real men.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Yeah, yeah, So so we thought that having an episode
where we just paid tribute to the women that makes
us a hole in the women that makes us better,
I thought, you know, would be a really cool idea.
We have a little bit of a game for those
of you who are expecting what this episode is going
to be, and we're not going to play against each
other a little bit and and Freddie's going to run
(02:35):
that game. But before that, it would be my pleasure
for you all to meet who Amanda Projecto is.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Yes, indeed, yes, indeed, Amanda. Where are you originally from?
Speaker 7 (02:47):
So?
Speaker 5 (02:47):
I was born in San Diego, and I grew up
in a small town near Sacramento called Rockland, California.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Rockland.
Speaker 5 (02:56):
I lived there for most of my life until I
moved around as I got older and have lived all over. Yeah,
mostly in northern California, southern California, but I jumped around,
lived in Hawaii for a little bit, lived in the
Philippines for a little bit.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Why did you move Why did you live there when
you were a child? Why were you moving so much?
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Well, this was not when I was a child, so
this was like old like as I got older, so
like just you know, growing up and took some time
off of college and like just jumped around a little
bit just to explore and have fun and live my life.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
And why there?
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Why did you choose to go to the Philippines and Hawaii?
Speaker 5 (03:37):
So Hawaii, I mean for obvious reasons. I mean, he
doesn't want to live in Hawaii. That was a magical
time when I went to the Philippines. I went there
for a scuba diving trip actually, and I went there
for I went there for one week for on a
liver board, So I basically like went on a dive trip.
Speaker 7 (03:56):
You go on a dive boat for a week.
Speaker 5 (03:59):
You live on the boat and you just hop around
different islands and you go on a bunch of different dives.
While I was there, I remember like I was on
my phone and I'm like looking through my maps and
I'm looking at all of the places that I was
so close to, and I was like, I want to
explore this place so much more so as everybody was
like packing their bags up and they're like, oh, got
to get back to work on Monday, I was like, do.
Speaker 7 (04:21):
I really need to get back to work on Monday?
Speaker 5 (04:24):
So I ended up saying goodbye to everybody that was
flying home back to the States, and I ended up
staying in Manila.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
And by yourself.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
By myself, and I ended up staying there for six months. Wow,
just traveling solo. Completely different culture in the Philippines. Like
I ended up like meeting a family out there. They
like took me in and I ended up living there.
I honestly never wanted to come home, but yeah, eventually
(04:57):
I ended up coming home, But it was it was
a magical time I went to Hong Kong. While I
was there, I went to Bali. Where else did I go?
I mean a ton of different islands. The Philippines has
over like seven thousand islands, so I hopped around all
kinds of different islands, just diving and yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah, I was going to ask, what was the thing
about the culture that kind of captivated you so much,
that decided that made you anchor yourself there and wanted
to summerse yourself more in it.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
I mean, just the hospitality of just the people there.
It was just like, I don't know, I felt so
safe there. I just felt like, I mean I was,
I was by myself, you know, so traveling alone was
terrifying for my dad. When I told him that I
was staying there, He's like, what do you mean, Like
why are you doing? What are you doing? You know,
(05:48):
this was two thousand and seventeen.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I think I'm only asking because you said your dad
was I'm a dad, so I could imagine the child
at a certain age.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
Says I want to stay in the Philippines for six months.
Speaker 7 (06:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (06:02):
I mean, it doesn't matter like what age your kid is, like,
you're always going to be like what as a parent,
you know what I mean. But but yeah, my dad
was absolutely terrified, like he blames all of his gray
hairs on me. Not a specific time of my life,
but but yeah, I just I don't know, it felt
it felt like another home to me, and I don't know,
(06:23):
I can't wait to take you back there sometimes.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
So then when you started exploring the Philippines and you're like, oh,
I think I'm gonna stay here forever. Why was the
one thing that you're like, I got to go back
home at some point?
Speaker 5 (06:33):
Mostly like my family and my friends were like can
you come home?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Yeah? Also your relationship with your dad, because you and
your dad are like, yeah.
Speaker 7 (06:40):
I'm so close with my family.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
And that's the reason why, like I had lived so close,
like I never like went too far from home because
I just always wanted to be close to my family.
So probably that, Yeah, But you know, you go on vacation,
you're like, oh, I can't wait to come back here sometime,
and then you realize like, well, I'm already here, Like
why so like if you don't have to go home,
like you never know when you're.
Speaker 7 (07:03):
Actually going to go back to that place.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
And for me, that's why I sometimes don't go home
because I know that when you get back home, life
gets crazy and then it's hard to get back to
those places. So if I'm somewhere, I'm like, I'm just
gonna stay if I can.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
And did you have the same experience in WHI same thing.
Speaker 5 (07:22):
I went there for my twenty second birthday, my twenty
first birthday, and I told my mom I'm not coming
home and she was like, hell you are, Like I
was with my mom. We were actually we went for
my birthday trip and she was like you're coming home
(07:42):
with me, like you're getting on that plane. And I
was like no, Well I ended up going home on
the plane with my mom.
Speaker 7 (07:48):
But I did go back like immediately after. And then
I ended up staying there for about a year.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
A year. Yeah, did you stay with the family.
Speaker 7 (07:57):
No, No, not on that trip.
Speaker 5 (08:00):
I stayed there for let's see, I say there for
a year. Actually it was like under a year. I
got Island fever pretty quick because I was like exploring.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Every single friend that we have that has either moved
to Hawaii or moved there to do a job. Eventually,
at some point, there's like a zoming in that happens
that you're like, oh, okay, the most beautiful place in
the world. How many times am I going to go
to this beach? And like you know what I mean,
like get repetitive, it gets then you get this this
(08:31):
era where like, oh man, I you know, it's like
the same day over and over and over again.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
You know.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
You know our brother Jay her Natty, you know, he
had a tough one though, because he was leading the
show and he was in Hawaii and he was basically
in every single scene. So he was like so exhausted
he couldn't even enjoy the place.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
You know.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
He would go like surfing and occasionally and stuff, but
like at the end of the day, you're there to
do this job. But as it is a unique kind
of experience to go there, So then you explore how
did you dive there?
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Too?
Speaker 5 (09:04):
At that time, I wasn't diving, so no, I was
doing a lot of snorkeling, and a lot of friends
that I had made there were like, don't get in
the ocean because it's funny how a lot of like
the natives are like very aware of how dangerous the
ocean is. So I'm going there and I'm like, oh,
I'm just gonna get in the water and I'm gonna
swim forever. But they know how dangerous it is and
(09:27):
the things that can happen in the ocean. So they
were like, you need to be safe and not just
like go out there and thinking that you know how
to swim.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
But what made those waters different or more dangerous than what?
Because you were obviously accustomed to a certain type of
water that you felt comfortable enough to just go swim.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
What was different that made theirs dangerous?
Speaker 7 (09:50):
I mean, I think just like bigger waves and you know,
like just.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Unpredictable of waters.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Yeah, right, I mean it's also like it's very deep waters,
so you're talking about some of the biggest animals.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
In the water.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
Or to a was added, I'm honestly way more terrified
of sharks here than anywhere else.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
So I guess you don't look like food anywhere else
in the world except for California.
Speaker 6 (10:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
And then so then you came back to the United States, right,
And then where did you go to school?
Speaker 1 (10:30):
At that point? You had gone to school before that.
Speaker 7 (10:34):
Let me think, So then I came back and what
did I do?
Speaker 1 (10:41):
What did I do?
Speaker 5 (10:43):
I went to community college for like ever and then
I moved to San Diego. I was going to go
to school out there, and I was studying at the
time environmental studies, and I was supposed to start school
out there. The same week that I was supposed to
go to school, that's when I got a call that
(11:03):
my mom was sick, and so I moved back home
and then never went back to school.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
You you had when we first met, we had such
an incredible inside of conversation about the moments in life
that teaches you the purpose, right, I guess, and that
maybe a little more specific the times we were recognizing
that we both have certain patterns in our lives, you know,
(11:33):
whether it was in relationships, whether it was in you know,
in the way we live life, whether it was in professions,
you know, how we looked at the world and uh
we community with the world, and some of our differences
made it even more exciting to explore in different ways,
you know. So one of the things that really captivated
(11:54):
me was, you know, your story with you and your mom,
you know, which is one of the most you know,
sober moments that any son or daughter can experience, or
your mother, and you've been very spoken about this and
You've played a lot of tribute.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
To your mother. Every year.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Every year we have a tradition where the whole family
I was invited I think a year in so to
go to go to this kind of you know, ceremonial,
you know time where they go to San Diego and
they pay respects to the mother, you know, and there's
a place where she was set to rest. And so
(12:29):
every year we come and we bring flowers, and every
year we've come and introduced our new you know, we
introduced Nakano and this year we introduced wolf and they
have a beautiful tradition of always remembering, you know, your mother.
And what I loved about, you know, the story of
your mother is that at first it feels, oh, what
(12:54):
a selfless act when I get out of college and
you know, and you take care of your mother in
the time that she was she was ill. But it's
kind of why we do for family, you know, and
it's a universal kind of primal calling. He says, Okay,
I gotta drop everything out to be here, and I
got to experience every minute. And you have been a
(13:18):
strong advocate. And if you went at you to mind
talking a little bit about your mom's journey and what
made you're such an advocate for for cancer.
Speaker 5 (13:27):
Yeah, so my mom was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer.
She it wasn't something that you know, it was anything
we thought she needed to worry about, Like, it wasn't
something that like was in our family, So it wasn't
something that she was like on the lookout for. It's
(13:48):
also a cancer that really has no like symptoms, no signs.
They're like very subtle. All of the signs are like
what you would feel if you were just like on
your period, So like nothing like crazy out of the
ordinary until it gets very serious, and then that's when
you realize like, oh, something's wrong. At that point, it's
(14:11):
already at such an advanced stage that it's really hard
to you know.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
So you get the news and you embark in the
journey of you know, staying by your mother's side throughout
the process. And in one of some of the conversations
that we had, you know, she had shaved her head
with her mom and and it was just like to me,
it was the most Uh, it was like the ultimate
sign of you know, I'm going to stand by my
(14:37):
mother's side and and all that, and I respected that
so much. My family is very close to and no
matter whether our you know, my family is either a
Spanish telenovela, you know, like a a Colombian telenovela, or
it's like a very joyous Christmas, you know. And but
above it all, it's something weird to happen in the family.
(14:58):
We we show up. I mean, I know that you
have a very similar relationship with your family. You know,
something you know, either in success or in failure and
all that you guys kind of gather around and celebrate that.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Now, yeah, we do, we do. My mom is suffering
from something very similar now. She has a cancer and
her pancreas and uh and so you know, we've we've
also gathered in the way that you have and have
been supportive.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
And it's her third third bout with cancer.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
You know, she had breast cancer in ninety eight, and
it came back after my dad passed a couple of
years ago, and then and then and then the third time.
So so I you know, I I sympathize with you
and and and very aware of what what you must
have went through. But but he was saying that that
that the journey has been also you bringing awareness to
(15:49):
to that, how has that awareness, what's what's been what's
that journey been like for you? Just shining a light
on it.
Speaker 5 (15:58):
I think the biggest thing is just talking about it,
because there really is no preventative measures as far as
overing cancer goes, So it's really just talking about it.
And like there's the one test that's like kind of
preventative is the Brucket one and two like gene mutation tests,
(16:22):
so people can test for that. If they're positive for that,
then you know that they kind of know whether or not,
like that's something that could increase their chances of getting
either breast or of airing cancer. I actually had a
friend who tested positive for it because I think her
(16:43):
mom tested positive for it. So she's like, oh, now
that I know that it's something that's in my family,
I'm going to.
Speaker 7 (16:49):
Test for it.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
She tested positive, and she thought she was doing her
you know, routine checks for it to make sure that
she wasn't, which is like either to do that test
or like a vaginal ultrasound. Other than that, there's not
a whole lot of like other tests that you can
do preventatively. So she decided to get a surgery done
(17:13):
to a hysterectomine and found out that when she woke
up from surgery she ended up having over in cancer
and she had no idea and there was no way
of them telling until they actually removed her ovaries. So yeah,
it's a really scary cancer to have because of that reason,
(17:35):
and just by talking about it, because it's not something
that's super obvious.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Finding community too.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
But I was very taken by your passionate about prevention
because you know, that's something in the Latino families. It's
such a hard thing to push her families to just
go to the doctor and just like just check it out.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
I know you don't feel anything. I know you feel.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Perfect, but like let's go and check it out. And
you had a really strong opinion about, you know, the
prevention conversation versus what's allowed and when it comes to
testing and the when is allowed for you to be tested?
Do you mind talking a little bit about that, Like
all those parameters that basically tell doctors telling you know,
(18:20):
I'd come back in like ten years to come back.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
And yeah, it's tough because they have these these age
you know, where they think that this is when you
should go and get these tests done, like whether you're
forty five or fifty. So I have to really advocate
for myself on these tests, and you know, they are
starting to realize like, oh, you know, women are getting
diagnosed a lot younger. So when you're pushing for these
(18:45):
things or starting to realize like okay, you know, being
a little bit more understanding about it. But when I
first started asking for these tests, it was it was
really hard because they're like, oh, it's not you're healthy,
you don't have to worry about it right now.
Speaker 7 (18:58):
And I was like, no, I do need to worry
about it.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
How old were you when you were asking for it?
Speaker 5 (19:03):
So when my mom got diagnosed, I was twenty two, Yeah,
twenty two, twenty three, and so yeah, around that age
is when I wanted to figure out like where my
like blood markers were at, where I like my starting
points were.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
And what would they tell you when you would ask
for it.
Speaker 5 (19:22):
They would just tell me, well, because I have a
history of it, Like they were like okay. But at
the same time, you know, I had a history of
like my grandfather died of colon cancer, and so when
my mom was sick, I was all messed up, like
I had all kinds like my body was not okay,
and so internally.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
You were stressed, very stressed.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
Yeah, and so then I started asking for a khnoscopy
because I was like, maybe I'm not okay, like maybe
something's wrong because of how my body was managing the stress.
And so when I asked for a Kolenosophy and there
was reasons why, they were like no, like and even
I fought for it, and then finally when they gave
(20:07):
it to me, they still like gave me really hard time.
While I was there, they were just like, why are
you here. You're the youngest person here. You don't need this, Like,
no one here your age is getting this done. And
so and like I had to get some things removed
and it's something that I have to.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Do, Like yeah, of course, and I'm so by the way,
thank you profoundly for being so open and vulnerable to
talk about these things, because you know, most of our generation,
a specific our age group, you know, we're entering a
zone where like we should have been tapping into this
thing way earlier, like we should have been, you know,
(20:44):
just aware of where it could go, so you could
really be aware. You know, calling cancer is the most
preventable all you have to do is just check it out.
Like it's literally the most preventable uh. And why it
is because you can do you know, this test and
they can really understand and they can help remove the
potential certain things in real time.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Right.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
So so so that's when so when that happens. It's
just I felt in a lot of my conversations and
a lot of my advocacy for calling cancer, I've I've
realized that it's sometimes culturally where you know, that is
almost like not at the conversation which you have right
you know, and as Latinos like definitely this weird taboo
(21:26):
about this thing that people don't even want to you know,
even have a conversation about. But I really hope that
these conversations kind of humanize is that no one this
this stuff doesn't discriminate absolutely anyone doesn't target a specific group.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
It targets every single one of us.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
And the fact that you're able to talk about it
and be that open about it is it's it's really
incredible because we need these conversations to happen at the
most unlikely places so people can actually be come across
with information that hopefully inspires them to say you know what, dude,
Like tomorrow, I'm going to make that call. Like I
hope anyone who's listening this conversation where now it goes shit, man,
(22:02):
like okay, cool, let me just do it. I mean,
these people are doing it and they feel young and
healthy or whatever, like maybe I should just check it
out too.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
But even her point of view about ovarian cancer, because
you had a really interesting point. You said that unlike
other cancers, there's no real Yeah, there's no real symptoms,
there's no real detection. Right, there's there's a sort of
age in place in which the doctors suggest that you
go and get tested before anything, right, Like what age
(22:33):
would the doctor say is average that a woman should
go get tested for a varying cancer?
Speaker 5 (22:38):
I feel like most of these are like in your forty,
like fifty, even.
Speaker 7 (22:45):
Fifty is like starting point.
Speaker 5 (22:47):
But even then, like if you if you don't have
like any like signs or whatever, then they're like, oh,
you know, you should be fine unless there's something that
you feel is not fine.
Speaker 7 (22:56):
You know.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
But but then but by that time, you said, then
it's too late.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
If you do have a you could have had something
at thirty fifteen years later.
Speaker 5 (23:05):
Yeah, and I think that was like my mom's biggest work, like,
like she always wanted to know is this something that
I had for a really long time and I didn't
know about it and I could have known about it?
Or is it something that like I just woke up
with and it's like, yeah, so we'll never know.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
How was her mother?
Speaker 7 (23:23):
She was forty five four?
Speaker 4 (23:29):
And did she find out a forty five she found out?
Speaker 5 (23:32):
Yeah, and then they gave her six months to a
year in one year, like almost to the day of
her diagnosis.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
Did your mom have a history of it before she
got it?
Speaker 7 (23:44):
Not that we know of, Okay, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:46):
So that's tough, right for like women like your mom.
Speaker 7 (23:49):
Who is just like a fluke.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, just like you know, so should that
be something would you suggest for all women?
Speaker 4 (23:56):
Like at twenty five.
Speaker 7 (24:00):
I think that you should be like it should be
getting checked out.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Right, right, you know, it's it's it's a it's an
ever evergreen conversation, right, I mean, I think it's like
the best solution is to just get on it. I mean,
like and then and and we obviously now as a
guarantee a solution, you know, but if you don't talk
about maybe your mom didn't have any history of over
in cancer before her, and now you do. Right, So
(24:27):
now she has it, and now Amanda now has you know, history,
a very near history of her mother having it. Which
it's a great indicator to say, like just stay ahead
of it, you know. But but I again like this
is also a great call and a great you know,
serendipitous you know, moment of this conversation to basically tell
(24:50):
everyone who's listening or watching that you got to advocate
for younger prevention. You know, you got to advocate to get
ahead of it in early to tension, right. And uh,
and I think the the idea is also to to
pass the urgency of health to our children. So then
they change it up for our culture, right, because it
(25:11):
has to spread and evolve into our cultures. You know,
truth that prevention is something that culturally we should also
be part of our truth as Latinos and and any
other you know minorities and ethnic backgrounds that that you
know that also embraced that like I'll take a back seat,
I'll go there when it hurts, I'll drink and talk
to pass the problem.
Speaker 5 (25:32):
If you let go because you're feeling something's not right,
then it's scary. But if you go and you're like, oh,
I feel fine, nothing's going to be wrong, then it's
a little.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Easier, easier, easier.
Speaker 3 (25:40):
Yeah, yeah, well pivoting from that, you know, and again
very grateful that you went there with us.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
The the idea.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
That this was one of the moments like this is
the woman that was carrying herself with so much truth,
so much reality, and so much foresight was one of
the first things that I was like, she's really interesting.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
I feel like I'm going to know her.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
And when we first met, uh, it was this ongoing
conversation of the things that we actually wanted in life, which.
Speaker 4 (26:22):
Was where how did you first to meet?
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Well, we had a mutual friend. We both have like
interesting perspectives from where she's this, she has a different perspective.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Absolutely the shorter version and I said, the cliffhanger because
we might use this one for social is that I
really fell in love with your dad first. You know,
this is the clip that Leo wanted for social media.
Speaker 4 (26:49):
And your dad's a cool guy.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Oh, he's a cool He's he's my second dad too,
you know, he's just he's awesome and he's an incredible
friend to my dad.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
He's just a great truck driver.
Speaker 7 (27:03):
He is a retired truck driver, thank god. Finally.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Yeah, tell us a little bit about that history too,
because that was something that your last.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
Name is Pacheco.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
So your dad, what's his ethnic background?
Speaker 7 (27:13):
My dad is Mexican.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
Mexican, and yeah, he was a truck driver for all
of his life and recently retired this year.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
So he finally did it.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Grew up on that truck. I met your dad.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
He was talking about retiring, but he actually did it.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you talked to him about
it like four years ago, you know.
Speaker 7 (27:37):
Oh yeah, I finally like kicked him.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Hard enough and he did it. That's it done.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
So we met to a mutual friend and and I kind.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
Of like we we we.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
I kind of was in this like I was like, oh,
should I say hi?
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Should I not?
Speaker 3 (27:54):
You know, like it was this serendipitous feeling that I
felt like I needed to connect with her. And as
soon as we connected, it was, you know, she was
she had plans to move to Miami because she wanted
to do model in Miami. One more of her adventures
where it's gonna lead her to Miami.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
Irid living in San Diego when you when you.
Speaker 7 (28:12):
Met, she had moved to maybe a month ago.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
Yeah, so it was a quick intersection before she jumped
on another flight go to Miami. But either way, she
was wondering about Miami and all the stuff, and obviously
I'm from Miami, so I was giving her advice on
where to do, where to live, and you know, like
the things to expect about Miami and all that, because
you know she was gonna go to Miami, you know.
And in one afternoon we decided to meet for for
(28:38):
coffee and we met at zinc in uh or sincue.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Zinc or sinkue zinc at no No.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
This was in in La so we in West Hollywood,
across from the Pacific Design Center, and we just had
like a three hour conversation about everything that you know,
that about our lives and all that, and I just
knew that I was going to know this person. And
then we walked over to join the Juice and we
had another coffee there, and then I was getting picked
(29:10):
up because I was going to Operational Smile in a
Park City with my friend Jennifer Sake and was there
an amazing organization by the way we could just bring
his mouth to the planet, which is incredible. But the
point is I was leaving and as I was leaving
our coffee, we had talked about everything, you know, and
I was like, I'm going to know this person.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
And as soon as a guy in the.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Car and I drove it to her car, you know,
and as soon as I took off, I was like,
I think this is going to be my friend.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
I think I'm going to have a new friend, you know.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
And we kind of send each other a few messages
and then she was like, Hey, what are you doing
Monday when you get in?
Speaker 1 (29:49):
And I was like, this hang out again.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
So we we met a second time and then we
were just you know, talking and talked more and had
the great time. And was that when we went to
the movies or when did we go to the movies after?
Speaker 7 (30:00):
Yeah, we went to the movies, like right after that.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
On the second time.
Speaker 4 (30:03):
Yeah, so second date movies.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
So we went to see the movies and there to
the movie. Yeah, okay, so we're gonna go to the
movies and my friend Toda was going to meet us
there and all stuff, and dude, it was the opening
nine for Dumble and We're gonna go watch Dumble And
as Tim Burton dumb And as we walk in to
the movie theater, my mom and my two sisters coincidentally
(30:32):
show up to the same movie.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
This was not planned at all.
Speaker 7 (30:36):
I still don't believe that it was.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
It was not planet all, but it was the opening night.
It was like the showing before dinner, right, So, like I.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
Knew that my sisters were gonna go to a movie
at some point, and of course it was gonna be
in this night. And we woke up and I'm like
a man, meet my mom and my sisters. So of
course Cinderella and my sisters are like, you know, two sisters,
(31:05):
and like she you know, and you know, obviously they're
so sweet, they're funny. They were like totally fine. But
but of course for her it's like what the will
just happened. I'm meeting his best friend, he's best friends,
you know, girlfriend, and then you know, my wife and
you know, my mother of his child, and then also
my mom and my two sisters.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
So she like was thrown in the deep end on
the second.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
I mean, that's a big that's a big deal.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
But yeah, but but it was.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
It was beautiful because you know, we went to the
movie and we didn't we didn't have you know, she
didn't have to talk to them, So so that was good.
The craziest part for me was when we went to
dinner right after and and uh, we're sitting there and
my friend had, my friend had, you know, brought his daughter,
(31:54):
like his daughter, and they're sitting there and you know,
she finds out that Amanda is it is a dive master,
and she starts asking questions about the ocean. And Amanda
spend the entire dinner talking to this young girl about
the ocean, about what she's seeing, about the places she's
(32:15):
gone and when she's discovered on the ocean. And I'm
watching her talk to this young girl and having the
patients and the and being so passionate or tell her
about the ocean and the nature and all the stuff
that she loves as an ocean lover herself. And I
literally said to myself, she's the mother and my children.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Mm On the second day.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
The second day, I just know she was going to
be an incredible mother. The way you took the time
to talk to her, I was like, she has half
that patience with our annoying as kids, and it's gonna
be pret thankfully. Uh Nacana is just as an adventure
freakings as her mother.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Yeah, pretty good.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
But let's hold that right there, and we're gonna say
this is part one and stay tuned for part two
of my conversation with my Jimmy Turi and I think
next we're gonna play a little game too.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
A little game.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
Stay tuned.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Dose Amigos is a production from WV Sound and iHeartMedia's
Michael through That podcast Network, hosted by Me, Freddie Rodriguez,
and Wilmer Valdorama.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Those Amigos is produced by Aaron Burlson and Sophie Spencer Zabos.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Our executive producers are Wilmri Valdorama, Freddie Rodriguez, Aaron Burlson,
and Leo Klem at WV Sound.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
This episode was shot and edited it by Ryan Posts
and mixed by Sean Tracy and features original music by
Madison Devenport and Halo Boy.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Our cover art photography is by David Avalos and designed
by Deny Holt.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Claw And thank you for being at Third Amigo today.
I appreciate you guys always listening to those Amigos.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
More podcasts from my Heart, visit the R Heart Radio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
so you next week
Hello everyone. I'm Wilmer Valderrama.
Speaker 2 (00:06):
I'm Freddie Rodriguez and this is the docent MINGOS podcast.
Speaker 3 (00:10):
Yeah, we have a very special episode today. I don't
even know where to begin. Our guest is someone that
I've known for a long time. We've trusted each other
with our lives. Shared of milkshake, Yeah we have, we
have her milshik definitely got this boy to the yard.
Speaker 1 (00:28):
Oh yeah, any of you there.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Guys are watching or listening to that AMOS podcast, Thank
you so much. This is a very special episode, a
very exciting one for us because he's getting it, He's
getting a little personal, a little deeper dive. We normally
never do this where you know, neither you or I
never really do this, but foreign territory if you want
to introduce who I guess this.
Speaker 2 (00:51):
Our guest is a model, a dive master, a mother
of two, and the partner to me and Mono.
Speaker 4 (01:04):
Me Amigo, amandap a trick.
Speaker 3 (01:09):
Yay yay yay yy yn Uh honey, Hi, welcome to
the podcast.
Speaker 1 (01:18):
How does it feel?
Speaker 5 (01:20):
I mean I could literally count on like two fingers
how many times I've talked into a microphone.
Speaker 6 (01:25):
So uh.
Speaker 7 (01:27):
Supernatural.
Speaker 3 (01:28):
Yeah, well, look, we were gonna make it super easy
because obviously this is this is the this, this is
supposed to be interrogation, and we never have you know,
it's agos, but today you're the third Ama.
Speaker 1 (01:42):
You're so so very excited.
Speaker 3 (01:45):
So we you know, Leo, our producer, Leo clam I
had this idea that you know, we've gone the whole
season talking to some amazing friends of ours who you know,
have played different roles in our lives, and you know,
it all came full circle too, you know, the two
people in our lives that are made made a major,
a major contribution, if not in life, life enhancing an
(02:08):
altern moment as we revolutionize ourselves as actually not just
grown ups but real men.
Speaker 1 (02:14):
You know.
Speaker 3 (02:14):
Yeah, yeah, So so we thought that having an episode
where we just paid tribute to the women that makes
us a hole in the women that makes us better,
I thought, you know, would be a really cool idea.
We have a little bit of a game for those
of you who are expecting what this episode is going
to be, and we're not going to play against each
other a little bit and and Freddie's going to run
(02:35):
that game. But before that, it would be my pleasure
for you all to meet who Amanda Projecto is.
Speaker 2 (02:42):
Yes, indeed, yes, indeed, Amanda. Where are you originally from?
Speaker 7 (02:47):
So?
Speaker 5 (02:47):
I was born in San Diego, and I grew up
in a small town near Sacramento called Rockland, California.
Speaker 1 (02:54):
Rockland.
Speaker 5 (02:56):
I lived there for most of my life until I
moved around as I got older and have lived all over. Yeah,
mostly in northern California, southern California, but I jumped around,
lived in Hawaii for a little bit, lived in the
Philippines for a little bit.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
Why did you move Why did you live there when
you were a child? Why were you moving so much?
Speaker 5 (03:19):
Well, this was not when I was a child, so
this was like old like as I got older, so
like just you know, growing up and took some time
off of college and like just jumped around a little
bit just to explore and have fun and live my life.
Speaker 1 (03:33):
And why there?
Speaker 4 (03:34):
Why did you choose to go to the Philippines and Hawaii?
Speaker 5 (03:37):
So Hawaii, I mean for obvious reasons. I mean, he
doesn't want to live in Hawaii. That was a magical
time when I went to the Philippines. I went there
for a scuba diving trip actually, and I went there
for I went there for one week for on a
liver board, So I basically like went on a dive trip.
Speaker 7 (03:56):
You go on a dive boat for a week.
Speaker 5 (03:59):
You live on the boat and you just hop around
different islands and you go on a bunch of different dives.
While I was there, I remember like I was on
my phone and I'm like looking through my maps and
I'm looking at all of the places that I was
so close to, and I was like, I want to
explore this place so much more so as everybody was
like packing their bags up and they're like, oh, got
to get back to work on Monday, I was like, do.
Speaker 7 (04:21):
I really need to get back to work on Monday?
Speaker 5 (04:24):
So I ended up saying goodbye to everybody that was
flying home back to the States, and I ended up
staying in Manila.
Speaker 1 (04:33):
And by yourself.
Speaker 5 (04:35):
By myself, and I ended up staying there for six months. Wow,
just traveling solo. Completely different culture in the Philippines. Like
I ended up like meeting a family out there. They
like took me in and I ended up living there.
I honestly never wanted to come home, but yeah, eventually
(04:57):
I ended up coming home, But it was it was
a magical time I went to Hong Kong. While I
was there, I went to Bali. Where else did I go?
I mean a ton of different islands. The Philippines has
over like seven thousand islands, so I hopped around all
kinds of different islands, just diving and yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:17):
Yeah, I was going to ask, what was the thing
about the culture that kind of captivated you so much,
that decided that made you anchor yourself there and wanted
to summerse yourself more in it.
Speaker 5 (05:27):
I mean, just the hospitality of just the people there.
It was just like, I don't know, I felt so
safe there. I just felt like, I mean I was,
I was by myself, you know, so traveling alone was
terrifying for my dad. When I told him that I
was staying there, He's like, what do you mean, Like
why are you doing? What are you doing? You know,
(05:48):
this was two thousand and seventeen.
Speaker 2 (05:52):
I think I'm only asking because you said your dad
was I'm a dad, so I could imagine the child
at a certain age.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
Says I want to stay in the Philippines for six months.
Speaker 7 (06:01):
Yeah.
Speaker 5 (06:02):
I mean, it doesn't matter like what age your kid is, like,
you're always going to be like what as a parent,
you know what I mean. But but yeah, my dad
was absolutely terrified, like he blames all of his gray
hairs on me. Not a specific time of my life,
but but yeah, I just I don't know, it felt
it felt like another home to me, and I don't know,
(06:23):
I can't wait to take you back there sometimes.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (06:25):
So then when you started exploring the Philippines and you're like, oh,
I think I'm gonna stay here forever. Why was the
one thing that you're like, I got to go back
home at some point?
Speaker 5 (06:33):
Mostly like my family and my friends were like can
you come home?
Speaker 3 (06:37):
Yeah? Also your relationship with your dad, because you and
your dad are like, yeah.
Speaker 7 (06:40):
I'm so close with my family.
Speaker 5 (06:42):
And that's the reason why, like I had lived so close,
like I never like went too far from home because
I just always wanted to be close to my family.
So probably that, Yeah, But you know, you go on vacation,
you're like, oh, I can't wait to come back here sometime,
and then you realize like, well, I'm already here, Like
why so like if you don't have to go home,
like you never know when you're.
Speaker 7 (07:03):
Actually going to go back to that place.
Speaker 5 (07:04):
And for me, that's why I sometimes don't go home
because I know that when you get back home, life
gets crazy and then it's hard to get back to
those places. So if I'm somewhere, I'm like, I'm just
gonna stay if I can.
Speaker 4 (07:18):
And did you have the same experience in WHI same thing.
Speaker 5 (07:22):
I went there for my twenty second birthday, my twenty
first birthday, and I told my mom I'm not coming
home and she was like, hell you are, Like I
was with my mom. We were actually we went for
my birthday trip and she was like you're coming home
(07:42):
with me, like you're getting on that plane. And I
was like no, Well I ended up going home on
the plane with my mom.
Speaker 7 (07:48):
But I did go back like immediately after. And then
I ended up staying there for about a year.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
A year. Yeah, did you stay with the family.
Speaker 7 (07:57):
No, No, not on that trip.
Speaker 5 (08:00):
I stayed there for let's see, I say there for
a year. Actually it was like under a year. I
got Island fever pretty quick because I was like exploring.
Speaker 3 (08:10):
Every single friend that we have that has either moved
to Hawaii or moved there to do a job. Eventually,
at some point, there's like a zoming in that happens
that you're like, oh, okay, the most beautiful place in
the world. How many times am I going to go
to this beach? And like you know what I mean,
like get repetitive, it gets then you get this this
(08:31):
era where like, oh man, I you know, it's like
the same day over and over and over again.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
You know.
Speaker 3 (08:37):
You know our brother Jay her Natty, you know, he
had a tough one though, because he was leading the
show and he was in Hawaii and he was basically
in every single scene. So he was like so exhausted
he couldn't even enjoy the place.
Speaker 1 (08:51):
You know.
Speaker 3 (08:52):
He would go like surfing and occasionally and stuff, but
like at the end of the day, you're there to
do this job. But as it is a unique kind
of experience to go there, So then you explore how
did you dive there?
Speaker 1 (09:03):
Too?
Speaker 5 (09:04):
At that time, I wasn't diving, so no, I was
doing a lot of snorkeling, and a lot of friends
that I had made there were like, don't get in
the ocean because it's funny how a lot of like
the natives are like very aware of how dangerous the
ocean is. So I'm going there and I'm like, oh,
I'm just gonna get in the water and I'm gonna
swim forever. But they know how dangerous it is and
(09:27):
the things that can happen in the ocean. So they
were like, you need to be safe and not just
like go out there and thinking that you know how
to swim.
Speaker 2 (09:35):
But what made those waters different or more dangerous than what?
Because you were obviously accustomed to a certain type of
water that you felt comfortable enough to just go swim.
Speaker 4 (09:45):
What was different that made theirs dangerous?
Speaker 7 (09:50):
I mean, I think just like bigger waves and you know,
like just.
Speaker 1 (09:54):
Unpredictable of waters.
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Yeah, right, I mean it's also like it's very deep waters,
so you're talking about some of the biggest animals.
Speaker 1 (10:02):
In the water.
Speaker 5 (10:03):
Or to a was added, I'm honestly way more terrified
of sharks here than anywhere else.
Speaker 3 (10:10):
So I guess you don't look like food anywhere else
in the world except for California.
Speaker 6 (10:14):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (10:24):
And then so then you came back to the United States, right,
And then where did you go to school?
Speaker 1 (10:30):
At that point? You had gone to school before that.
Speaker 7 (10:34):
Let me think, So then I came back and what
did I do?
Speaker 1 (10:41):
What did I do?
Speaker 5 (10:43):
I went to community college for like ever and then
I moved to San Diego. I was going to go
to school out there, and I was studying at the
time environmental studies, and I was supposed to start school
out there. The same week that I was supposed to
go to school, that's when I got a call that
(11:03):
my mom was sick, and so I moved back home
and then never went back to school.
Speaker 3 (11:13):
You you had when we first met, we had such
an incredible inside of conversation about the moments in life
that teaches you the purpose, right, I guess, and that
maybe a little more specific the times we were recognizing
that we both have certain patterns in our lives, you know,
(11:33):
whether it was in relationships, whether it was in you know,
in the way we live life, whether it was in professions,
you know, how we looked at the world and uh
we community with the world, and some of our differences
made it even more exciting to explore in different ways,
you know. So one of the things that really captivated
(11:54):
me was, you know, your story with you and your mom,
you know, which is one of the most you know,
sober moments that any son or daughter can experience, or
your mother, and you've been very spoken about this and
You've played a lot of tribute.
Speaker 1 (12:06):
To your mother. Every year.
Speaker 3 (12:08):
Every year we have a tradition where the whole family
I was invited I think a year in so to
go to go to this kind of you know, ceremonial,
you know time where they go to San Diego and
they pay respects to the mother, you know, and there's
a place where she was set to rest. And so
(12:29):
every year we come and we bring flowers, and every
year we've come and introduced our new you know, we
introduced Nakano and this year we introduced wolf and they
have a beautiful tradition of always remembering, you know, your mother.
And what I loved about, you know, the story of
your mother is that at first it feels, oh, what
(12:54):
a selfless act when I get out of college and
you know, and you take care of your mother in
the time that she was she was ill. But it's
kind of why we do for family, you know, and
it's a universal kind of primal calling. He says, Okay,
I gotta drop everything out to be here, and I
got to experience every minute. And you have been a
(13:18):
strong advocate. And if you went at you to mind
talking a little bit about your mom's journey and what
made you're such an advocate for for cancer.
Speaker 5 (13:27):
Yeah, so my mom was diagnosed with stage four ovarian cancer.
She it wasn't something that you know, it was anything
we thought she needed to worry about, Like, it wasn't
something that like was in our family, So it wasn't
something that she was like on the lookout for. It's
(13:48):
also a cancer that really has no like symptoms, no signs.
They're like very subtle. All of the signs are like
what you would feel if you were just like on
your period, So like nothing like crazy out of the
ordinary until it gets very serious, and then that's when
you realize like, oh, something's wrong. At that point, it's
(14:11):
already at such an advanced stage that it's really hard
to you know.
Speaker 3 (14:16):
So you get the news and you embark in the
journey of you know, staying by your mother's side throughout
the process. And in one of some of the conversations
that we had, you know, she had shaved her head
with her mom and and it was just like to me,
it was the most Uh, it was like the ultimate
sign of you know, I'm going to stand by my
(14:37):
mother's side and and all that, and I respected that
so much. My family is very close to and no
matter whether our you know, my family is either a
Spanish telenovela, you know, like a a Colombian telenovela, or
it's like a very joyous Christmas, you know. And but
above it all, it's something weird to happen in the family.
(14:58):
We we show up. I mean, I know that you
have a very similar relationship with your family. You know,
something you know, either in success or in failure and
all that you guys kind of gather around and celebrate that.
Speaker 2 (15:09):
Now, yeah, we do, we do. My mom is suffering
from something very similar now. She has a cancer and
her pancreas and uh and so you know, we've we've
also gathered in the way that you have and have
been supportive.
Speaker 4 (15:25):
And it's her third third bout with cancer.
Speaker 2 (15:27):
You know, she had breast cancer in ninety eight, and
it came back after my dad passed a couple of
years ago, and then and then and then the third time.
So so I you know, I I sympathize with you
and and and very aware of what what you must
have went through. But but he was saying that that
that the journey has been also you bringing awareness to
(15:49):
to that, how has that awareness, what's what's been what's
that journey been like for you? Just shining a light
on it.
Speaker 5 (15:58):
I think the biggest thing is just talking about it,
because there really is no preventative measures as far as
overing cancer goes, So it's really just talking about it.
And like there's the one test that's like kind of
preventative is the Brucket one and two like gene mutation tests,
(16:22):
so people can test for that. If they're positive for that,
then you know that they kind of know whether or not,
like that's something that could increase their chances of getting
either breast or of airing cancer. I actually had a
friend who tested positive for it because I think her
(16:43):
mom tested positive for it. So she's like, oh, now
that I know that it's something that's in my family,
I'm going to.
Speaker 7 (16:49):
Test for it.
Speaker 5 (16:50):
She tested positive, and she thought she was doing her
you know, routine checks for it to make sure that
she wasn't, which is like either to do that test
or like a vaginal ultrasound. Other than that, there's not
a whole lot of like other tests that you can
do preventatively. So she decided to get a surgery done
(17:13):
to a hysterectomine and found out that when she woke
up from surgery she ended up having over in cancer
and she had no idea and there was no way
of them telling until they actually removed her ovaries. So yeah,
it's a really scary cancer to have because of that reason,
(17:35):
and just by talking about it, because it's not something
that's super obvious.
Speaker 1 (17:39):
Finding community too.
Speaker 3 (17:40):
But I was very taken by your passionate about prevention
because you know, that's something in the Latino families. It's
such a hard thing to push her families to just
go to the doctor and just like just check it out.
Speaker 1 (17:55):
I know you don't feel anything. I know you feel.
Speaker 3 (17:57):
Perfect, but like let's go and check it out. And
you had a really strong opinion about, you know, the
prevention conversation versus what's allowed and when it comes to
testing and the when is allowed for you to be tested?
Do you mind talking a little bit about that, Like
all those parameters that basically tell doctors telling you know,
(18:20):
I'd come back in like ten years to come back.
Speaker 5 (18:22):
And yeah, it's tough because they have these these age
you know, where they think that this is when you
should go and get these tests done, like whether you're
forty five or fifty. So I have to really advocate
for myself on these tests, and you know, they are
starting to realize like, oh, you know, women are getting
diagnosed a lot younger. So when you're pushing for these
(18:45):
things or starting to realize like okay, you know, being
a little bit more understanding about it. But when I
first started asking for these tests, it was it was
really hard because they're like, oh, it's not you're healthy,
you don't have to worry about it right now.
Speaker 7 (18:58):
And I was like, no, I do need to worry
about it.
Speaker 4 (19:01):
How old were you when you were asking for it?
Speaker 5 (19:03):
So when my mom got diagnosed, I was twenty two, Yeah,
twenty two, twenty three, and so yeah, around that age
is when I wanted to figure out like where my
like blood markers were at, where I like my starting
points were.
Speaker 1 (19:20):
And what would they tell you when you would ask
for it.
Speaker 5 (19:22):
They would just tell me, well, because I have a
history of it, Like they were like okay. But at
the same time, you know, I had a history of
like my grandfather died of colon cancer, and so when
my mom was sick, I was all messed up, like
I had all kinds like my body was not okay,
and so internally.
Speaker 1 (19:42):
You were stressed, very stressed.
Speaker 5 (19:44):
Yeah, and so then I started asking for a khnoscopy
because I was like, maybe I'm not okay, like maybe
something's wrong because of how my body was managing the stress.
And so when I asked for a Kolenosophy and there
was reasons why, they were like no, like and even
I fought for it, and then finally when they gave
(20:07):
it to me, they still like gave me really hard time.
While I was there, they were just like, why are
you here. You're the youngest person here. You don't need this, Like,
no one here your age is getting this done. And
so and like I had to get some things removed
and it's something that I have to.
Speaker 3 (20:23):
Do, Like yeah, of course, and I'm so by the way,
thank you profoundly for being so open and vulnerable to
talk about these things, because you know, most of our generation,
a specific our age group, you know, we're entering a
zone where like we should have been tapping into this
thing way earlier, like we should have been, you know,
(20:44):
just aware of where it could go, so you could
really be aware. You know, calling cancer is the most
preventable all you have to do is just check it out.
Like it's literally the most preventable uh. And why it
is because you can do you know, this test and
they can really understand and they can help remove the
potential certain things in real time.
Speaker 1 (21:05):
Right.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
So so so that's when so when that happens. It's
just I felt in a lot of my conversations and
a lot of my advocacy for calling cancer, I've I've
realized that it's sometimes culturally where you know, that is
almost like not at the conversation which you have right
you know, and as Latinos like definitely this weird taboo
(21:26):
about this thing that people don't even want to you know,
even have a conversation about. But I really hope that
these conversations kind of humanize is that no one this
this stuff doesn't discriminate absolutely anyone doesn't target a specific group.
Speaker 1 (21:38):
It targets every single one of us.
Speaker 3 (21:40):
And the fact that you're able to talk about it
and be that open about it is it's it's really
incredible because we need these conversations to happen at the
most unlikely places so people can actually be come across
with information that hopefully inspires them to say you know what, dude,
Like tomorrow, I'm going to make that call. Like I
hope anyone who's listening this conversation where now it goes shit, man,
(22:02):
like okay, cool, let me just do it. I mean,
these people are doing it and they feel young and
healthy or whatever, like maybe I should just check it
out too.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
But even her point of view about ovarian cancer, because
you had a really interesting point. You said that unlike
other cancers, there's no real Yeah, there's no real symptoms,
there's no real detection. Right, there's there's a sort of
age in place in which the doctors suggest that you
go and get tested before anything, right, Like what age
(22:33):
would the doctor say is average that a woman should
go get tested for a varying cancer?
Speaker 5 (22:38):
I feel like most of these are like in your forty,
like fifty, even.
Speaker 7 (22:45):
Fifty is like starting point.
Speaker 5 (22:47):
But even then, like if you if you don't have
like any like signs or whatever, then they're like, oh,
you know, you should be fine unless there's something that
you feel is not fine.
Speaker 7 (22:56):
You know.
Speaker 2 (22:56):
But but then but by that time, you said, then
it's too late.
Speaker 3 (23:00):
If you do have a you could have had something
at thirty fifteen years later.
Speaker 5 (23:05):
Yeah, and I think that was like my mom's biggest work, like,
like she always wanted to know is this something that
I had for a really long time and I didn't
know about it and I could have known about it?
Or is it something that like I just woke up
with and it's like, yeah, so we'll never know.
Speaker 1 (23:21):
How was her mother?
Speaker 7 (23:23):
She was forty five four?
Speaker 4 (23:29):
And did she find out a forty five she found out?
Speaker 5 (23:32):
Yeah, and then they gave her six months to a
year in one year, like almost to the day of
her diagnosis.
Speaker 4 (23:41):
Did your mom have a history of it before she
got it?
Speaker 7 (23:44):
Not that we know of, Okay, Yeah.
Speaker 4 (23:46):
So that's tough, right for like women like your mom.
Speaker 7 (23:49):
Who is just like a fluke.
Speaker 2 (23:50):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, just like you know, so should that
be something would you suggest for all women?
Speaker 4 (23:56):
Like at twenty five.
Speaker 7 (24:00):
I think that you should be like it should be
getting checked out.
Speaker 3 (24:03):
Right, right, you know, it's it's it's a it's an
ever evergreen conversation, right, I mean, I think it's like
the best solution is to just get on it. I mean,
like and then and and we obviously now as a
guarantee a solution, you know, but if you don't talk
about maybe your mom didn't have any history of over
in cancer before her, and now you do. Right, So
(24:27):
now she has it, and now Amanda now has you know, history,
a very near history of her mother having it. Which
it's a great indicator to say, like just stay ahead
of it, you know. But but I again like this
is also a great call and a great you know,
serendipitous you know, moment of this conversation to basically tell
(24:50):
everyone who's listening or watching that you got to advocate
for younger prevention. You know, you got to advocate to get
ahead of it in early to tension, right. And uh,
and I think the the idea is also to to
pass the urgency of health to our children. So then
they change it up for our culture, right, because it
(25:11):
has to spread and evolve into our cultures. You know,
truth that prevention is something that culturally we should also
be part of our truth as Latinos and and any
other you know minorities and ethnic backgrounds that that you
know that also embraced that like I'll take a back seat,
I'll go there when it hurts, I'll drink and talk
to pass the problem.
Speaker 5 (25:32):
If you let go because you're feeling something's not right,
then it's scary. But if you go and you're like, oh,
I feel fine, nothing's going to be wrong, then it's
a little.
Speaker 1 (25:39):
Easier, easier, easier.
Speaker 3 (25:40):
Yeah, yeah, well pivoting from that, you know, and again
very grateful that you went there with us.
Speaker 1 (25:55):
The the idea.
Speaker 3 (25:58):
That this was one of the moments like this is
the woman that was carrying herself with so much truth,
so much reality, and so much foresight was one of
the first things that I was like, she's really interesting.
Speaker 1 (26:12):
I feel like I'm going to know her.
Speaker 3 (26:14):
And when we first met, uh, it was this ongoing
conversation of the things that we actually wanted in life, which.
Speaker 4 (26:22):
Was where how did you first to meet?
Speaker 1 (26:24):
Well, we had a mutual friend. We both have like
interesting perspectives from where she's this, she has a different perspective.
Speaker 3 (26:32):
Absolutely the shorter version and I said, the cliffhanger because
we might use this one for social is that I
really fell in love with your dad first. You know,
this is the clip that Leo wanted for social media.
Speaker 4 (26:49):
And your dad's a cool guy.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Oh, he's a cool He's he's my second dad too,
you know, he's just he's awesome and he's an incredible
friend to my dad.
Speaker 1 (27:01):
He's just a great truck driver.
Speaker 7 (27:03):
He is a retired truck driver, thank god. Finally.
Speaker 3 (27:06):
Yeah, tell us a little bit about that history too,
because that was something that your last.
Speaker 1 (27:10):
Name is Pacheco.
Speaker 4 (27:11):
So your dad, what's his ethnic background?
Speaker 7 (27:13):
My dad is Mexican.
Speaker 5 (27:14):
Mexican, and yeah, he was a truck driver for all
of his life and recently retired this year.
Speaker 4 (27:21):
So he finally did it.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Grew up on that truck. I met your dad.
Speaker 4 (27:27):
He was talking about retiring, but he actually did it.
Speaker 3 (27:30):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, you talked to him about
it like four years ago, you know.
Speaker 7 (27:37):
Oh yeah, I finally like kicked him.
Speaker 1 (27:38):
Hard enough and he did it. That's it done.
Speaker 3 (27:42):
So we met to a mutual friend and and I kind.
Speaker 4 (27:46):
Of like we we we.
Speaker 3 (27:49):
I kind of was in this like I was like, oh,
should I say hi?
Speaker 1 (27:53):
Should I not?
Speaker 3 (27:54):
You know, like it was this serendipitous feeling that I
felt like I needed to connect with her. And as
soon as we connected, it was, you know, she was
she had plans to move to Miami because she wanted
to do model in Miami. One more of her adventures
where it's gonna lead her to Miami.
Speaker 1 (28:10):
Irid living in San Diego when you when you.
Speaker 7 (28:12):
Met, she had moved to maybe a month ago.
Speaker 3 (28:16):
Yeah, so it was a quick intersection before she jumped
on another flight go to Miami. But either way, she
was wondering about Miami and all the stuff, and obviously
I'm from Miami, so I was giving her advice on
where to do, where to live, and you know, like
the things to expect about Miami and all that, because
you know she was gonna go to Miami, you know.
And in one afternoon we decided to meet for for
(28:38):
coffee and we met at zinc in uh or sincue.
Speaker 1 (28:44):
Zinc or sinkue zinc at no No.
Speaker 3 (28:50):
This was in in La so we in West Hollywood,
across from the Pacific Design Center, and we just had
like a three hour conversation about everything that you know,
that about our lives and all that, and I just
knew that I was going to know this person. And
then we walked over to join the Juice and we
had another coffee there, and then I was getting picked
(29:10):
up because I was going to Operational Smile in a
Park City with my friend Jennifer Sake and was there
an amazing organization by the way we could just bring
his mouth to the planet, which is incredible. But the
point is I was leaving and as I was leaving
our coffee, we had talked about everything, you know, and
I was like, I'm going to know this person.
Speaker 1 (29:30):
And as soon as a guy in the.
Speaker 3 (29:32):
Car and I drove it to her car, you know,
and as soon as I took off, I was like,
I think this is going to be my friend.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
I think I'm going to have a new friend, you know.
Speaker 3 (29:43):
And we kind of send each other a few messages
and then she was like, Hey, what are you doing
Monday when you get in?
Speaker 1 (29:49):
And I was like, this hang out again.
Speaker 3 (29:50):
So we we met a second time and then we
were just you know, talking and talked more and had
the great time. And was that when we went to
the movies or when did we go to the movies after?
Speaker 7 (30:00):
Yeah, we went to the movies, like right after that.
Speaker 1 (30:02):
On the second time.
Speaker 4 (30:03):
Yeah, so second date movies.
Speaker 3 (30:05):
So we went to see the movies and there to
the movie. Yeah, okay, so we're gonna go to the
movies and my friend Toda was going to meet us
there and all stuff, and dude, it was the opening
nine for Dumble and We're gonna go watch Dumble And
as Tim Burton dumb And as we walk in to
the movie theater, my mom and my two sisters coincidentally
(30:32):
show up to the same movie.
Speaker 1 (30:34):
This was not planned at all.
Speaker 7 (30:36):
I still don't believe that it was.
Speaker 1 (30:38):
It was not planet all, but it was the opening night.
It was like the showing before dinner, right, So, like I.
Speaker 3 (30:43):
Knew that my sisters were gonna go to a movie
at some point, and of course it was gonna be
in this night. And we woke up and I'm like
a man, meet my mom and my sisters. So of
course Cinderella and my sisters are like, you know, two sisters,
(31:05):
and like she you know, and you know, obviously they're
so sweet, they're funny. They were like totally fine. But
but of course for her it's like what the will
just happened. I'm meeting his best friend, he's best friends,
you know, girlfriend, and then you know, my wife and
you know, my mother of his child, and then also
my mom and my two sisters.
Speaker 1 (31:25):
So she like was thrown in the deep end on
the second.
Speaker 4 (31:29):
I mean, that's a big that's a big deal.
Speaker 1 (31:30):
But yeah, but but it was.
Speaker 3 (31:32):
It was beautiful because you know, we went to the
movie and we didn't we didn't have you know, she
didn't have to talk to them, So so that was good.
The craziest part for me was when we went to
dinner right after and and uh, we're sitting there and
my friend had, my friend had, you know, brought his daughter,
(31:54):
like his daughter, and they're sitting there and you know,
she finds out that Amanda is it is a dive master,
and she starts asking questions about the ocean. And Amanda
spend the entire dinner talking to this young girl about
the ocean, about what she's seeing, about the places she's
(32:15):
gone and when she's discovered on the ocean. And I'm
watching her talk to this young girl and having the
patients and the and being so passionate or tell her
about the ocean and the nature and all the stuff
that she loves as an ocean lover herself. And I
literally said to myself, she's the mother and my children.
Speaker 1 (32:33):
Mm On the second day.
Speaker 3 (32:34):
The second day, I just know she was going to
be an incredible mother. The way you took the time
to talk to her, I was like, she has half
that patience with our annoying as kids, and it's gonna
be pret thankfully. Uh Nacana is just as an adventure
freakings as her mother.
Speaker 1 (32:52):
Yeah, pretty good.
Speaker 3 (32:54):
But let's hold that right there, and we're gonna say
this is part one and stay tuned for part two
of my conversation with my Jimmy Turi and I think
next we're gonna play a little game too.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
A little game.
Speaker 4 (33:08):
Stay tuned.
Speaker 2 (33:14):
Dose Amigos is a production from WV Sound and iHeartMedia's
Michael through That podcast Network, hosted by Me, Freddie Rodriguez,
and Wilmer Valdorama.
Speaker 3 (33:23):
Those Amigos is produced by Aaron Burlson and Sophie Spencer Zabos.
Speaker 2 (33:27):
Our executive producers are Wilmri Valdorama, Freddie Rodriguez, Aaron Burlson,
and Leo Klem at WV Sound.
Speaker 3 (33:35):
This episode was shot and edited it by Ryan Posts
and mixed by Sean Tracy and features original music by
Madison Devenport and Halo Boy.
Speaker 2 (33:42):
Our cover art photography is by David Avalos and designed
by Deny Holt.
Speaker 3 (33:46):
Claw And thank you for being at Third Amigo today.
I appreciate you guys always listening to those Amigos.
Speaker 2 (33:52):
More podcasts from my Heart, visit the R Heart Radio app,
Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows,
so you next week
Hosts And Creators
Wilmer Valderrama
Freddy Rodriguez
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