January 27, 2026 • 39 mins
Americans weren't always accepting of languages other than English. But nowadays, being bilingual is a huge asset. Kal talks to Patty Rodriguez, the founder of bilingual children's publishing company Lil' Libros, about transforming the narrative of multilingualism in the United States.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Growing up. When you know, my parents dropped me off
at school. I would hear other parents telling their kids,
I love you, have a great day, be good, do
anything bad, and I'll be back here with my house slipper.
In tons of languages, people would speak Polish and Yiddish
and Italian. For me, it was goodrati And as a
kid who grew up in Jersey in the nineteen eighties,
having multiple languages glide passed your ears was as common
(00:23):
as well as common as like your one buddy who
insisted that his uncle was in the mafia and if
you needed anything to just let him know. And by
the way, I know that sounds like a total stereotype,
but every kid who grew up in the New Jersey
in the nineteen eighties like had this one friend, even
if you were like eight years old. Well, look, I
don't have to tell you that. Here in the United States,
it was not always like this. Native Americans had fear
(00:45):
instilled into them if they spoke their language at the
mandatory schools they had to attend. During World War One,
Germans had their language targeted. Specific laws were made in
Iowa and across the Midwest that prohibited the use of
any foreign language in public spaces. But now, when I
visit my parents in my old New Jersey neighborhood, and
(01:06):
when I walk down the street of my own New
York City neighborhood, languages weave in and out of sidewalks
and subways and restaurants. Speaking multiple languages is often seen
as an asset.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
You know, the future is bilingual, and the more languages
our children know, the better they're prepared.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Today, I'm speaking with Patti Rodriguez, the co founder of
Lil Libros, a bilingual children's publishing company, about transforming the
narrative of bilingualism in America.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Here we Go again again Again.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Hey, I'm Calpen and this is Here we Go Again,
a show that takes today's trends and headlines and asks
why does history keep repeating itself?
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Here we go?
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Good morning, How are you?
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Thank you for being here. I was excited to talk
to you, especially today, because we kept coming back to
this idea of multi lingualism or bilingualism. I grew up
bilingual as well. I speak good Roati and English. English
was my first language. But I remember growing up just
feeling like you know, I grew up in a relatively
diverse suburb of New York in New Jersey. And when
(02:32):
I say relatively diverse, I always feel like I have
to qualify. It was like white diversity. It was like
a white melting pot. So I never necessarily felt like
the fact that I was bilingual meant that I was
any less American. In fact that it was always installed
at us. It is that like that actually made you
more American. But then there was also that I do
(02:53):
remember being sometimes a bit shy about switching in and
out of English and good Roati in public places. And
it wasn't from a sense of shame. I just remember feeling, well,
it's not Italian or Spanish, so it's not like it's
going to sound weird to people, you know, at fourteen,
like Gudrati is not a sexy language. It's not Italian,
(03:14):
it's not Spanish. Like you're aware of that, right. All
of which is to say, I was very excited to
talk to you because of your background, because of what
you do. You have a really impressive professional resume in
every sense. And so if we could start at the
very beginning and just tell us about you, where were
you born, where did you grow up in what languages
did you speak growing up.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
I was born in Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I was raised in La County back in the eighties,
shortly after Reagan signed the Amnesty bill that gave close
to three million immigrants amnesty, essentially allowing communities to come
out of the shadows, my parents being one of them.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
It allowed us to live our fullest.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Latino and we grew up speaking Spanish really in a
Mexican immersive culture. But growing up there's a shame attached
to that language, and a lot of our parents wanted
to disconnect us from that language because they were afraid
(04:22):
that we were not going to find the success in
this country. So there's like this fear of keeping that
mother tongue. Then it's a fear of like not knowing English.
But I grew up in an immigrant community and that's
what has built and created me. And then I made
my way to radio here in La and I did
(04:45):
radio with Ryan Seacres for twenty years. And then in
between there in between my time there, I got pregnant
with my first son, and I started thinking about my
childhood growing up in an immigrant communit and being a
shame of my language, of speaking Spanish and being a
shame of my accent at times, and I didn't want
(05:08):
my son to grow up feeling those just awful feelings
that I feel just hold you back. So I thought
about creating bilingual books that weren't just bilingual and language,
but also celebrated culture and identity. And I pitched the
idea to traditional publishers, and those that did get back
(05:29):
to me said that my idea was just all over
the place or that I didn't make any sense. And
I was going through postpart and depression at that time
as well, so I actually believed these words and got
in my head. I started questioning who I am, Like,
who do I think I am. I'm not a writer,
I'm not an author, Like it's just silly, stupid ideas.
(05:52):
And it wasn't until my son turned three years old
and then we had a house fire and we lost
everything that day. I remember driving in getting out of work,
out of the show and driving and seeing fire trucks
and police cars in front of my house and I'm like,
(06:13):
what is going on. I remember just like leaving the
car on park and just running through the block and
I'm like, this is my house and they were like, ma'am,
it's gone, it's gotten. And I went through this huge
just depression and almost like questioning who I am as
(06:35):
a human and like what is my purpose as a
human being, as a mother, as a Latina, as just
like what am I here for? And I remembered the
idea of these children's books. So I said, I have
(06:56):
to figure out a way to do this myself. I
can't just wait on someone to say yes to me.
So with the insurance money, you know, we got paid
out and I was able to you know, uh, for
those that know how insurance works, there's categories. There's a
(07:17):
category category for the dwelling of the home. You're suppose,
you know, you're supposed to build a house. You can't
just take the money and run, like that's not going
to happen unless you own the home up outright.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
You have to rebuild.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
So there's a dwelling category, and there's a category for
you know, just personal items that you lost in the fire.
And with that check, I use some of that money
to start Little Libte's with my best friend, a bilingual
children's publishing company. Our first three books, I sent out
(07:51):
those samples to Target within three months that we created
the company, and Target called us immediately and said who's
the publisher and that it's us and they're like, no, no, no,
we mean like the publisher, not the author.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
And I said, it's us.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
We're right here in our living room having this conversation
with you. And they're like, well, we want to order
all three books and we want to have them in.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
All our stores.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
This was in five months after we created this company.
And then Barnes and Noble's called and they're like, wet,
We've not seen books like these. And that was the
beginning of this. Just like this life changing, purpose filled
experience that I've this incredible journey of celebrating two languages
(08:37):
and culture and identity.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
It's just so special.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
That's incredible, and it might it immediately makes me wonder, like,
what a great example of something positive to come from
an unfathomable tragedy, to literally lose everything and then go
to something positive and to take that, I mean, what
a huge risk to take, especially with insurance money, to
(09:05):
say this is the dream that I had and I
want to I'm going to take a stab at it.
Can you like, what were those five months like before
Target called with that amazing news? Was it a slow build.
Were you terrified? Were you just like, were you passed
the point of being terrified?
Speaker 2 (09:20):
What was I like? Well, those five months, Yeah, I
was in the zone. I honestly like now looking back,
it feels like a blur because remember I was doing
radio in the mornings here in La and that meant
having to be at the studio at five am. I
had a three year old at home as well, so
(09:43):
I'd had to come home be a mom and then
I put my baby with sleep and I remember staying
up working with my business partner maybe till two or
three in the morning. And I remember when we were
first received our books. We spent the entire night till
maybe like four packing these orders and shipping.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
And I had to be.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
At the office out of five Wow, But I didn't
feel tired. I was like, it's such a this out
of body experience. It's almost like God was inside me,
just like leading the way and I was just like
this vessel and I can describe it, describe it other
(10:23):
than I just felt it was just this purpose that
needed to be created.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Those are some of the best stories where it's like
something a passion inside you that overtakes everything and I
you know that feeling like you can be mentally and
physically drained at the same time fulfilled because you're working
on something that you're so passionate about. It's interesting and honestly, like,
I'm kind of floored to hear you say that, though,
(10:50):
because your job working for Ryan for those twenty years,
it's not like that's a stress free job, like you
you know, that's you're the pressure that you're carrying and
the impact that's a global brand, you know, it's it's
not like not to disparage other people's jobs, but it's
not like something that if you screw up here or there,
(11:12):
nobody's gonna notice. Absolutely right, that's a huge okay, So
that then makes me wonder this may be a good
time to talk about bilingualism in America overall. When we
pulled some statistics, I was kind of surprised to read
this that apparently, from nineteen eighty to twenty eighteen, the
(11:33):
percentage of multi lingual Americans so eighteen and older was
in nineteen eighty nine point two percent. I just always
assumed it was bigger. But that's what happens when you
grow up in like a more diverse environment. I guess.
So it went from nine point two percent in nineteen
eighty to sixteen point nine percent, so almost seventeen percent
(11:53):
in twenty eighteen. And most of that was because of
increased immigration, but then plus people are finally recognizing the
benefits of speaking multiple languages. There's the cognitive stuff, of course,
but then huge economic benefits. You look at most other
countries and people speak more than one language as a default.
(12:14):
So what that opens up in terms of job opportunities,
but then also in terms of cultural understanding and all
of that. People are finally now kind of catching on
to that, it seems. But all of that leads to
a question about this focus on dual language education. Did
you grow up always reading? Were you a big reader
as a kid? And then you did answer this, but
(12:34):
I'm hoping you can go into it a little more.
What made you this passionate about starting dual language education
through books? Like why books?
Speaker 2 (12:44):
I grew up reading books. I think it's one of
those things that you're just born with it. I don't
think I was taught to love to read. It was
just innate in me. I remember my library card was
like my greatest asset, and I'd walk down to the
library and I'd check out like ten books and I
(13:05):
would just come home and swallow them cool and I
would just spend hours and it was just something that
just kept me hopeful, and I continued reading my entire
life and being pregnant. It allows you to remember, you know,
traumas and wounds, and you're like, okay, it's my way
to reset now as some other or as a parent,
(13:28):
I have to do things differently now. And one of
the things, well, two of the things was ensuring that
my kids loved reading, and two to be proud of
having this identity and this culture, something that I suppressed
for many years as a teenager that I was embarrassed of.
(13:49):
I remember taking pride in being on the phone with
a boy and the boy telling me you sound like
a white girl, and I was like, oh, I do
like and I'll be so excited and it would make
me so happy.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
And now looking back, like, how awful is that?
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Right?
Speaker 2 (14:04):
So I'm like, okay, I have to find I need
to I need to correct that, I need to maybe
heal my inner child in some way. And remembering too,
how beautiful the Spanish language is, and not just the
beauty of it, but you go you understand how valuable
in an accident is not just in our country but
(14:26):
just globally, and it was. It became really important for
me and that and that's the reason why, you know,
I started a little libreals for the level of reading.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
And then the more I.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Dug into understanding literacy in our country, I realized how
heartbreaking the numbers are when it comes to children in
their literacy levels upon graduation. What did you find just
overall in the country?
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Yeah, what did you find?
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Because when we were researching this there I was of
two minds where there were some data sets I saw
where I was like, oh, how is this happening in
America that we have a limited reading level? And then
when you compare it to other countries, I also had
the opposite feeling where I'm like, okay, well we have
a national literacy rate of just under eighty percent and
the you know, you hear people it should be one
hundred percent. And then you look at like, well, which
(15:17):
countries actually have one hundred percent. It's like Finland, which
is small, homogeneous and everything is paid for by the government,
so we're never going to have that. And then the
other countries that say they have one hundred percent literacy
rate are like North Korea or Cuba, and Cuba may
because they're communists, but North Korea obviously you can't believe
the numbers that are coming out of there. So then
I was like, okay, well, seventy nine percent is pretty
(15:40):
good globally if you're comparing it to other countries. But
to your point, what were those things that the more
specific data sets of communities and kids and not just
whether they can read, period but at what level? Like
can you talk me through the things that surprised you
and made you go, WHOA, this is not okay, we have.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
To do better. So right now, roughly about forty percent
of fourth graders do not even meet the basic level
of reading proficiency.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
WHOA throughout the US.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Throughout the US, not it doesn't matter background raisky, it's
throughout the US. And then as they get older, that
number doesn't change much. Thirty percent of eighth graders do
not meet basic reading level, And as seeing those numbers
at face value, you're like, oh, you know, what does
(16:35):
it matter? Well, it matters because if we're not reading,
then we're not understanding, we're not contributing. We're not thinking
for ourselves. I think that's really the big thing that
I try to explain to parents is if our children
cannot read, they cannot think for themselves, and somebody else
will be doing the thinking for them. And when you
(16:56):
look at history in our country, this is not just
right now. You know, you can look back and this
has been happening since the beginning of our country's history,
where the ruling class has been wanting to keep its
population at this, you know, having this reading level, because
(17:18):
that's how you keep control. But then you say those
things to parents and that you sound like you're a
conspiracy theorist.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
Yeah, yeah, right, but you know, but.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Those are the trends, and I think you know, for
me as a Latina, those numbers are a lot lower.
Over forty percent of or Latino kids are graduating high
school with the fourth grade reading level, and it should
be like a national emergency, and it just feels like
no one's really talking about it.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Yeah, I mean, what a disadvantage that puts those young
people at if they're graduate you're saying they're graduating high
school with a fourth grade reading level.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
Yes, and that's just hard breaking.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Do you see in this work that you do. I
mean the technology AI, the fact that we're recording this
podcast using technology. I mean somebody would say, well, it
doesn't matter that you have a fourth grade reading level.
I can just put my lease into chat GPT and
it'll tell me what I need to know. I mean,
(18:27):
I guess that's true. But are you are you practically
seeing people do these things or what?
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Like?
Speaker 1 (18:33):
What does the future look like if if we haven't
rectified this, I.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Think for me, what the future looks like? It looks
really scary. We can't think for ourselves. Even if AI
is helping you with the application or just basic reading tasks,
if you don't even understand what AI is saying to you,
I mean, what does that say about all of us? Right?
That means we're going to be just easily manipulated. Yeah,
(18:59):
and I think that's that's my fear.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
What are the stories you're hearing from parents? Because I
mean you mentioned this also, and I know both my
parents worked. When I was a kid, I had a
key around my neck. We'd walk home from school and
unlock the door and then you just you're not allowed
to open the door for anybody till somebody's home.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
That kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
But so, how are parents helping their kids, how are
they encouraging them if they're physically not home to read
to them. What are the challenges they're saying there? And
then how does something like the libros fill that gap?
Speaker 2 (19:32):
You know, that's actually a really common question. No, if
I'm at home, how can I how can I strip
the iPad away from my son because or my daughter
because I'm at home to monitor or supervise. And the
reality is that many of these kids depend on the
leadership of their school teachers administrators, and we're seeing budget
(19:57):
cuts in schools right now and a lot of book
banning as well, and a lot of banning not just
only certain subjects, but also languages.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
It's you know, it's almost like this country is just
afraid to grow.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
So when I speak to parents, and you know, the
reality is that as a community who doesn't have the
tools and the resources we do have to work three
times as hard. And that means not just at our
place of work, but also at home as a parent.
And the reality is like, okay, just bring in books
(20:38):
at home, bring more books into your home, and little liberals,
our books are in English and Spanish, some of these
households only speak Spanish, some of the parents, the grandparents,
and our books allow for multi generational families to be
able to bring these stories home and just read to
their children. It's as important, you know, I say to them,
(21:01):
is as important as brushing your teeth.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
You brush your teeth that night, and.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Then you pick up that book, even if it's just
five minutes, but just you know, pick it up and
either read to your child or have your child read
out loud to you. Because once the reading someplace, the
math comes naturally, the science, the history, everything just makes
sense for all the kids.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
You're giving me chills with when you outline all of
the challenges and the book banning thing and educational budget
cuts are something I hear over and over again in
a bunch of different topics and realms with friends who
work in these industries, and it's obviously really scary. At
the same time, I see this positive in talking to
(21:45):
you and seeing the passion that you have for this.
You've been running Libros with your co founder for over
ten years now, right, You started in twenty fourteen, which
politically in this country, budgetarily economically, we've gone through some
pretty big swings. Those ten years. The fact that you're
still around and thriving ten years later shows us that
there is something positive there. Can you talk about what
(22:08):
you've observed from the time you started to now, like
how has the dual language space changed?
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Well, you know, it was interesting, Like I mentioned, when
I pitched the idea to the publishers, those that did
get back to me said, this idea is all over
the place, doesn't really make any sense.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
But I knew in.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
My heart because of what I saw me as a
mother and just other mothers around me in my community.
To us, this bouncing from one language to another just
comes really naturally. It's very much part of who we are.
It didn't feel forced and creating these books and the
(22:53):
way they were celebrated by our community, and not just
our community, but just parents who see the value and
lingual literacy who are like you know what, I understand.
We're not of Latino descent, however, I understand how valuable
it is to raise to immerse my child and not
just not even like two languages, two or three four languages,
(23:15):
because kids are sponges. You know, a five year old
can learn five languages, like it's like they're eating potato
chips that easy. So seeing that and then seeing how
the publishing industry has shifted and understanding the value of
not just bilingual literacy, but also these voices that you
(23:37):
wouldn't you wouldn't see in the in the publishing industry
ten years ago, the value of Latino voices, of Asian voices,
of African American voices. We're seeing that now because you know,
and I'm proud to say that we kind of started
that movement within the publishing industry in children's books.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
They're like, Okay, they saw.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
What we were doing, and they're like, Okay, it does work.
Creating books that not just Latino kids, but all kids
can see themselves in. Those are the stories that stay
with you and you're like, Okay, this person looks like me,
sounds like me, talks like me. You know, I can
be that. I can be this superhero. I can be
(24:17):
this you know, extraordinary astronaut and go to space.
Speaker 4 (24:21):
It just feels attainable.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
I also want to give your business flowers here for
a second, when did you leave Ryan Seacrest and make
Lostly Bros. The full time your full time job?
Speaker 2 (24:35):
So I ended up leaving Ryan in twenty twenty two. Okay,
I called him crying, Oh I'm so sorry, but I
have to leave you. And he's like, I've been waiting
on this phone call for a while. Patty.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
He's like, I knew it.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Yeah, He's like, you know, he's like you and he
said such wonderful things, and he's like, I'm just so
proud of you. I just I knew it. She was like,
you're meant to do more and I said, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Twenty twenty two is then a big year for you
because you guys also acquired a managing share of Chinese
English children's publisher, which was created by two Chinese American
moms called Biddy Bo. Was twenty twenty two like a
big year in other senses? And what made you want
to acquire that company?
Speaker 2 (25:23):
So it was a huge year for us because that
year we were also looking at an for investors and
we had a few meetings with some big pockets and
it just didn't feel right. So we made the decision
to instead of selling a portion of our company to
(25:44):
somebody who's already a millionaire, we decided to sell the
company to our community.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Oh wow cool.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
Yeah, So we did.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
A crowdfunding campaign and we raised two million dollars in
four days. And we met this wonderful duo to Asian
American mothers who were also building something similar to what
we are building, but in the in the Chinese American market,
(26:14):
and we reached out to We talked, and we both
realized that our missions are very much aligned, and we said, look,
we've already done this for ten years.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
We know what it takes and the challenges.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Let us help you get there faster because we also understand,
you know, the future is bilingual, and the more languages
our children know, the better they're prepared for this global world.
And it's just so wonderful to also see the similarities
in communities, just how parents are so excited to introduce
(26:49):
these traditions and these in these culture and languages without
the fear that many of our older relatives, older generations felt.
You hear stories of older Latinos who are like, there's
no way I could have spoken a war in Spanish
at school. I would have gotten punished. And now you
see this openness, the celebration of language and identity, and
(27:13):
I just think that, you know, it's what makes this
country stronger, regardless of what our politicians in our our
administration may want to say.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
It's funny. You reminded me of like all the times
when I'm speaking good rout there Hindi and there's somebody
in the room who's like monolingual and deeply insecure that
we're talking about them, I'm like, calm down, we are
not talking about Okay, maybe sometimes we're talking about you,
but generally we're not talking about you. You're totally fine,
(27:44):
don't worry about it.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
But it feels like home when you speak that language, doesn't.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
It, Yes, it doesn't. Actually, well, you know, those experiences
also kind of remind me that I enjoy being able to,
like if it's a group conversation and people are speaking
in multiple languages and not everybody is bi lingual, I
enjoy like making sure that everybody's part of the conversation
and doing like a quick translation of what somebody's saying,
or that kind of a thing like to me that
(28:10):
that brings people together, and it's more of like a
thriving kind of thing. And the more that I thought
about that, the more that it also then made me
curious as I heard you were talking like you know,
back in the day, late nineteenth early twentieth century, there
were these I'll put this in quotes because I hate
the term Americanization campaigns that pushed the idea of English
only in schooling. And now that we live in a
(28:35):
world where people it seems like things are split, right,
things are more and more polarized these days, where you
have people who, even if they're not buy or multilingual themselves, understand, okay,
if you're learning Spanish, Arabic, Hindi or Chinese, you're suddenly
at this elevated, elevated level of what you can do
in the world tomorrow, you know, if you're, if you're
(28:57):
And then you simultaneously have people who are like, well,
why everybody speaks English? Everybody else who comes here should
only speak English. You know, there's like it seems getting
like it's getting more polarized, and I'm curious. You're you're
acquiring other companies, you're multi lingual, you're there in a
market for kids at a time when people seem to
(29:18):
be really pulling back. I mean, it was beautiful that
there are teachers out there who are just making sure
that your books are available to their students if they
live in places where they're undergoing those cuts. I guess
I'm curious for the business side of this conversation, but
I'm also curious, just as a person who's passionate about
this kind of work, what does it feel like to
(29:39):
be in the middle of such polarizing times.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
I think how you and I both know that history
always repeats itself, it just comes in a different outfit.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
So we've been through this before.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
You know, we can go back to you know, just
in the nineteen sixties here in East lay in some
schools in Texas, there were walkouts happening from students who
were demanding just quality education, which also included Spanish language
teachers or just teachers that look like them. And it
(30:17):
took the efforts of these young students for many of
these school districts to adopt new ways of, you know,
of supplying this type of education to our students. So
I think as a Latina who has seen the challenges
(30:38):
my parents have faced, the challenges that I have faced,
and what we're actually currently facing right now with these
you know, just horrific deportations happening all across the country,
it feels like the work that we're doing is just
that more important because there's so much uncertainty, so we
have to become the people we needed growing up.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
I'm someone who's hopeful and regardless.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Of what's happening in all the noise, I feel, you know,
we're resilient and we always find a way to get
through the challenges that we face historically. I mean, just
a few days ago, I was just talking to my son.
I said, look, can you like, can you even like
the reason we're here? And I don't want to get
all I don't want us to go that deep. And
I'm like, it's over eight thousand generations that have survived wars, colonization,
(31:32):
like plagues, everything under the sun, and yet our lineage
survived at all, and we're right here.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
I am an optimist.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
I believe there's a there's this is a season that
we're going through, and we're going to get through it
even stronger because that's just what we do as humans.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Since you mentioned your kids, then also makes me wonder, like,
what's their relationship with Spanish and English and how is
it different from yours.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Well, you know, I think they definitely are growing up
differently than I did. And I acknowledge that I had
a first row relationship to my culture and identity. Now
as a parent, being a Racing second generation kids, I
actually have to work to ensure that the culture and
(32:27):
identity stays alive. And it's incredible that I can have
a conversation with them in English and Spanish, and I'm
very intentional about making sure that they eat traditional foods
that you know, we're playing traditional music at home. You know,
they're not going to have my same experience or not.
(32:50):
When I tell them stories of the challenges that I
went through, you know, growing up as a childhood immigrants,
they think I'm telling the story of Willy Wonka and
the chocolate factory. You know, that's how they see it,
because you know, they don't they don't know. They're comfortable
in their own bedrooms. I didn't have my own bedroom
until I was twenty one. Yeah, so it's a blessing, right,
I think, you know. And I talked to my mother
(33:13):
about this and I and I say, you know, I
feel like I'm doing it wrong, and she's like, you know,
this is why I came to this country. So you
can tell those stories to them and they don't have
to go through what we went through.
Speaker 4 (33:26):
Now they're just stories.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Yeah, that that just that floored me a little bit
because I don't have kids, but my brother does, so
I have a niece and nephew, and it's very much
that my brother is not bilingual, even though I am.
He can understand good Drati, but he he doesn't really
speak it. And so the kids are still young. But
(33:48):
I feel like a lot of those stories because I'm
older and I'm the uncle, I'm like, I guess that
falls on me and Grandma and grandpa. You know, like
you go to Grandma's house and there's a bed for
you to sleep, And when I went to my grandma's house,
we all slept on the floor like that just there
was it was one room. It was a one room apartment.
Speaker 4 (34:07):
So they will never know.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
They will not know.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
And we've shown them that they've gone to India on
a trip, and I you know, we tried to make
it a point to show them and to give them
the like the tactile experiences of what things are.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
So that requires, you know, it's work, right, it's intentional
having to introduce them to this.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Yeah yeah, yeahs to as opposed to it should be
fun and it should be it should be crazy, and
it should be there should be nightmare days and you
know all of that, Like I want them to understand.
I want them to get those experiences wherever possible. So
it's I've never actually, i think, explicitly talked with anybody
about that. So hearing your experience being quite similar as
(34:47):
the mom to just me having not a backseat. But
you know, I'm like a degree removed because I'm the uncle.
But it makes me feel a little less crazy. So
thank you for thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
No, but it's again, it's a responsibility that we have
because you know, I think are this generation forgets the
challenges and the sacrifices that the generation before had to make.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Yeah, the the the insecurity that seems to drive the
English only movement. I don't think I will ever fully understand.
Speaker 4 (35:23):
But it's just crazy.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
You have. In Latin America, it's practical you are required
to speak a second language, and also in other countries
around the world sometimes like at night on like scrolling
on TikTok and I'm watching videos of schools and and
in in China, Japan, and I'm just like, these kids
are going to rule the world, and here and here
(35:47):
we are fighting over whether you know, English should be
the only language in this country or not. Well, you know,
you have other other kids in other countries. Just it's
it's crazy. So I think, you know, in twenty years
from now, when we see these kids growing up and
we're wondering what happened, and well, this is what happened.
(36:08):
These other countries are prioritizing education, prioritizing language, while we
are over here complaining about our neighbor.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Our cultural priorities right now seem to be a little
out of whack compared to other countries. You articulated it
really well, the idea that we're fighting over this when
the rest of the world is continuing to move on
and compete against us and win, is like we're having
that this is a distraction, you guys, like why are
we why are we taking the bait on this distraction? Well,
(36:40):
that then brings me to I think one of the
one of the last questions I was gonna maybe leave
on is, given all of that, what are the things
that you find to be more urgent right now? And
then what are you excited and hopeful about?
Speaker 2 (36:57):
What do I find most urgent right now? Ensuring that
our teachers are well funded, well paid, They're so gracious,
and we don't respect them enough in this country, we
don't value them enough. We should definitely increase our education budget,
(37:18):
help mothers with childcare. And one am I hopeful. I'm
hopeful about everything. It's I don't allow them to take
our joy away, even when we're faced with these fights.
I look back at those first three months of building
(37:41):
Little Libros. I was in the zone. I was a
new mother, I had a full time job, but I
was in the zone. I was like laser focus on
this dream and it felt like a spiritual experience. And
I like to see that. I like to feel that
like that every day, that, regardless of the noise, our
(38:03):
time here is really short and we only we There's
only so much we can do in that time that
we're given. And there's this wonderful quote by Emiliano Sabata,
a Mexican revolutionary. He says it is better to die
on your feet than to live on your knees, and
(38:25):
I think that's the way we should all live life.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Totally agree, and a beautiful quote to end on. Patti Rodriguez,
thank you so much for joining.
Speaker 4 (38:33):
Us, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
That was my incredible guest. Patti Rodriguez, the previous senior
producer of On Air with Ryan Seacrest and the co
founder of the bilingual children's publishing company Lil Libros. Here
we Go again as a production of iHeart Podcasts and
Snapoo Media in association with New Metric Media. Our executive
(38:59):
producers are me Kal Penn, Ed Helms, Mike Falbo, Alyssa Martino,
Andy Kim, Pat Kelly, Chris Kelly, and Dylan Fagan. Meghan
tan Is our producer and writer. Dave Shumka is our
producer and editor. Our consulting producer is Romin Borsolino. Tory
Smith is our associate producer. Theme music by Chris Kelly,
logo by Matt Gosson, Legal review from Daniel Welsh, Caroline
(39:22):
Johnson and Meghan Halson. Special thanks to Glenn Bassner, Isaac Dunham,
Adam Horn, Lane Klein and everyone at iHeart Podcasts, but
especially Will Pearson, Carrie Lieberman and Nikki Etour. Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
Growing up. When you know, my parents dropped me off
at school. I would hear other parents telling their kids,
I love you, have a great day, be good, do
anything bad, and I'll be back here with my house slipper.
In tons of languages, people would speak Polish and Yiddish
and Italian. For me, it was goodrati And as a
kid who grew up in Jersey in the nineteen eighties,
having multiple languages glide passed your ears was as common
(00:23):
as well as common as like your one buddy who
insisted that his uncle was in the mafia and if
you needed anything to just let him know. And by
the way, I know that sounds like a total stereotype,
but every kid who grew up in the New Jersey
in the nineteen eighties like had this one friend, even
if you were like eight years old. Well, look, I
don't have to tell you that. Here in the United States,
it was not always like this. Native Americans had fear
(00:45):
instilled into them if they spoke their language at the
mandatory schools they had to attend. During World War One,
Germans had their language targeted. Specific laws were made in
Iowa and across the Midwest that prohibited the use of
any foreign language in public spaces. But now, when I
visit my parents in my old New Jersey neighborhood, and
(01:06):
when I walk down the street of my own New
York City neighborhood, languages weave in and out of sidewalks
and subways and restaurants. Speaking multiple languages is often seen
as an asset.
Speaker 2 (01:19):
You know, the future is bilingual, and the more languages
our children know, the better they're prepared.
Speaker 1 (01:24):
Today, I'm speaking with Patti Rodriguez, the co founder of
Lil Libros, a bilingual children's publishing company, about transforming the
narrative of bilingualism in America.
Speaker 3 (01:35):
Here we Go again again Again.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
Hey, I'm Calpen and this is Here we Go Again,
a show that takes today's trends and headlines and asks
why does history keep repeating itself?
Speaker 3 (01:50):
Here we go?
Speaker 4 (02:06):
Good morning, How are you?
Speaker 1 (02:08):
Thank you for being here. I was excited to talk
to you, especially today, because we kept coming back to
this idea of multi lingualism or bilingualism. I grew up
bilingual as well. I speak good Roati and English. English
was my first language. But I remember growing up just
feeling like you know, I grew up in a relatively
diverse suburb of New York in New Jersey. And when
(02:32):
I say relatively diverse, I always feel like I have
to qualify. It was like white diversity. It was like
a white melting pot. So I never necessarily felt like
the fact that I was bilingual meant that I was
any less American. In fact that it was always installed
at us. It is that like that actually made you
more American. But then there was also that I do
(02:53):
remember being sometimes a bit shy about switching in and
out of English and good Roati in public places. And
it wasn't from a sense of shame. I just remember feeling, well,
it's not Italian or Spanish, so it's not like it's
going to sound weird to people, you know, at fourteen,
like Gudrati is not a sexy language. It's not Italian,
(03:14):
it's not Spanish. Like you're aware of that, right. All
of which is to say, I was very excited to
talk to you because of your background, because of what
you do. You have a really impressive professional resume in
every sense. And so if we could start at the
very beginning and just tell us about you, where were
you born, where did you grow up in what languages
did you speak growing up.
Speaker 4 (03:35):
I was born in Los Angeles.
Speaker 2 (03:37):
I was raised in La County back in the eighties,
shortly after Reagan signed the Amnesty bill that gave close
to three million immigrants amnesty, essentially allowing communities to come
out of the shadows, my parents being one of them.
Speaker 4 (03:55):
It allowed us to live our fullest.
Speaker 2 (04:00):
Latino and we grew up speaking Spanish really in a
Mexican immersive culture. But growing up there's a shame attached
to that language, and a lot of our parents wanted
to disconnect us from that language because they were afraid
(04:22):
that we were not going to find the success in
this country. So there's like this fear of keeping that
mother tongue. Then it's a fear of like not knowing English.
But I grew up in an immigrant community and that's
what has built and created me. And then I made
my way to radio here in La and I did
(04:45):
radio with Ryan Seacres for twenty years. And then in
between there in between my time there, I got pregnant
with my first son, and I started thinking about my
childhood growing up in an immigrant communit and being a
shame of my language, of speaking Spanish and being a
shame of my accent at times, and I didn't want
(05:08):
my son to grow up feeling those just awful feelings
that I feel just hold you back. So I thought
about creating bilingual books that weren't just bilingual and language,
but also celebrated culture and identity. And I pitched the
idea to traditional publishers, and those that did get back
(05:29):
to me said that my idea was just all over
the place or that I didn't make any sense. And
I was going through postpart and depression at that time
as well, so I actually believed these words and got
in my head. I started questioning who I am, Like,
who do I think I am. I'm not a writer,
I'm not an author, Like it's just silly, stupid ideas.
(05:52):
And it wasn't until my son turned three years old
and then we had a house fire and we lost
everything that day. I remember driving in getting out of work,
out of the show and driving and seeing fire trucks
and police cars in front of my house and I'm like,
(06:13):
what is going on. I remember just like leaving the
car on park and just running through the block and
I'm like, this is my house and they were like, ma'am,
it's gone, it's gotten. And I went through this huge
just depression and almost like questioning who I am as
(06:35):
a human and like what is my purpose as a
human being, as a mother, as a Latina, as just
like what am I here for? And I remembered the
idea of these children's books. So I said, I have
(06:56):
to figure out a way to do this myself. I
can't just wait on someone to say yes to me.
So with the insurance money, you know, we got paid
out and I was able to you know, uh, for
those that know how insurance works, there's categories. There's a
(07:17):
category category for the dwelling of the home. You're suppose,
you know, you're supposed to build a house. You can't
just take the money and run, like that's not going
to happen unless you own the home up outright.
Speaker 4 (07:27):
You have to rebuild.
Speaker 2 (07:29):
So there's a dwelling category, and there's a category for
you know, just personal items that you lost in the fire.
And with that check, I use some of that money
to start Little Libte's with my best friend, a bilingual
children's publishing company. Our first three books, I sent out
(07:51):
those samples to Target within three months that we created
the company, and Target called us immediately and said who's
the publisher and that it's us and they're like, no, no, no,
we mean like the publisher, not the author.
Speaker 4 (08:04):
And I said, it's us.
Speaker 2 (08:07):
We're right here in our living room having this conversation
with you. And they're like, well, we want to order
all three books and we want to have them in.
Speaker 4 (08:14):
All our stores.
Speaker 1 (08:15):
Wow.
Speaker 2 (08:16):
This was in five months after we created this company.
And then Barnes and Noble's called and they're like, wet,
We've not seen books like these. And that was the
beginning of this. Just like this life changing, purpose filled
experience that I've this incredible journey of celebrating two languages
(08:37):
and culture and identity.
Speaker 4 (08:40):
It's just so special.
Speaker 1 (08:42):
That's incredible, and it might it immediately makes me wonder, like,
what a great example of something positive to come from
an unfathomable tragedy, to literally lose everything and then go
to something positive and to take that, I mean, what
a huge risk to take, especially with insurance money, to
(09:05):
say this is the dream that I had and I
want to I'm going to take a stab at it.
Can you like, what were those five months like before
Target called with that amazing news? Was it a slow build.
Were you terrified? Were you just like, were you passed
the point of being terrified?
Speaker 2 (09:20):
What was I like? Well, those five months, Yeah, I
was in the zone. I honestly like now looking back,
it feels like a blur because remember I was doing
radio in the mornings here in La and that meant
having to be at the studio at five am. I
had a three year old at home as well, so
(09:43):
I'd had to come home be a mom and then
I put my baby with sleep and I remember staying
up working with my business partner maybe till two or
three in the morning. And I remember when we were
first received our books. We spent the entire night till
maybe like four packing these orders and shipping.
Speaker 4 (10:03):
And I had to be.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
At the office out of five Wow, But I didn't
feel tired. I was like, it's such a this out
of body experience. It's almost like God was inside me,
just like leading the way and I was just like
this vessel and I can describe it, describe it other
(10:23):
than I just felt it was just this purpose that
needed to be created.
Speaker 1 (10:28):
Those are some of the best stories where it's like
something a passion inside you that overtakes everything and I
you know that feeling like you can be mentally and
physically drained at the same time fulfilled because you're working
on something that you're so passionate about. It's interesting and honestly, like,
I'm kind of floored to hear you say that, though,
(10:50):
because your job working for Ryan for those twenty years,
it's not like that's a stress free job, like you
you know, that's you're the pressure that you're carrying and
the impact that's a global brand, you know, it's it's
not like not to disparage other people's jobs, but it's
not like something that if you screw up here or there,
(11:12):
nobody's gonna notice. Absolutely right, that's a huge okay, So
that then makes me wonder this may be a good
time to talk about bilingualism in America overall. When we
pulled some statistics, I was kind of surprised to read
this that apparently, from nineteen eighty to twenty eighteen, the
(11:33):
percentage of multi lingual Americans so eighteen and older was
in nineteen eighty nine point two percent. I just always
assumed it was bigger. But that's what happens when you
grow up in like a more diverse environment. I guess.
So it went from nine point two percent in nineteen
eighty to sixteen point nine percent, so almost seventeen percent
(11:53):
in twenty eighteen. And most of that was because of
increased immigration, but then plus people are finally recognizing the
benefits of speaking multiple languages. There's the cognitive stuff, of course,
but then huge economic benefits. You look at most other
countries and people speak more than one language as a default.
(12:14):
So what that opens up in terms of job opportunities,
but then also in terms of cultural understanding and all
of that. People are finally now kind of catching on
to that, it seems. But all of that leads to
a question about this focus on dual language education. Did
you grow up always reading? Were you a big reader
as a kid? And then you did answer this, but
(12:34):
I'm hoping you can go into it a little more.
What made you this passionate about starting dual language education
through books? Like why books?
Speaker 2 (12:44):
I grew up reading books. I think it's one of
those things that you're just born with it. I don't
think I was taught to love to read. It was
just innate in me. I remember my library card was
like my greatest asset, and I'd walk down to the
library and I'd check out like ten books and I
(13:05):
would just come home and swallow them cool and I
would just spend hours and it was just something that
just kept me hopeful, and I continued reading my entire
life and being pregnant. It allows you to remember, you know,
traumas and wounds, and you're like, okay, it's my way
to reset now as some other or as a parent,
(13:28):
I have to do things differently now. And one of
the things, well, two of the things was ensuring that
my kids loved reading, and two to be proud of
having this identity and this culture, something that I suppressed
for many years as a teenager that I was embarrassed of.
(13:49):
I remember taking pride in being on the phone with
a boy and the boy telling me you sound like
a white girl, and I was like, oh, I do
like and I'll be so excited and it would make
me so happy.
Speaker 4 (14:00):
And now looking back, like, how awful is that?
Speaker 3 (14:03):
Right?
Speaker 2 (14:04):
So I'm like, okay, I have to find I need
to I need to correct that, I need to maybe
heal my inner child in some way. And remembering too,
how beautiful the Spanish language is, and not just the
beauty of it, but you go you understand how valuable
in an accident is not just in our country but
(14:26):
just globally, and it was. It became really important for
me and that and that's the reason why, you know,
I started a little libreals for the level of reading.
Speaker 4 (14:37):
And then the more I.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Dug into understanding literacy in our country, I realized how
heartbreaking the numbers are when it comes to children in
their literacy levels upon graduation. What did you find just
overall in the country?
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Yeah, what did you find?
Speaker 1 (14:56):
Because when we were researching this there I was of
two minds where there were some data sets I saw
where I was like, oh, how is this happening in
America that we have a limited reading level? And then
when you compare it to other countries, I also had
the opposite feeling where I'm like, okay, well we have
a national literacy rate of just under eighty percent and
the you know, you hear people it should be one
hundred percent. And then you look at like, well, which
(15:17):
countries actually have one hundred percent. It's like Finland, which
is small, homogeneous and everything is paid for by the government,
so we're never going to have that. And then the
other countries that say they have one hundred percent literacy
rate are like North Korea or Cuba, and Cuba may
because they're communists, but North Korea obviously you can't believe
the numbers that are coming out of there. So then
I was like, okay, well, seventy nine percent is pretty
(15:40):
good globally if you're comparing it to other countries. But
to your point, what were those things that the more
specific data sets of communities and kids and not just
whether they can read, period but at what level? Like
can you talk me through the things that surprised you
and made you go, WHOA, this is not okay, we have.
Speaker 2 (16:00):
To do better. So right now, roughly about forty percent
of fourth graders do not even meet the basic level
of reading proficiency.
Speaker 1 (16:11):
WHOA throughout the US.
Speaker 2 (16:13):
Throughout the US, not it doesn't matter background raisky, it's
throughout the US. And then as they get older, that
number doesn't change much. Thirty percent of eighth graders do
not meet basic reading level, And as seeing those numbers
at face value, you're like, oh, you know, what does
(16:35):
it matter? Well, it matters because if we're not reading,
then we're not understanding, we're not contributing. We're not thinking
for ourselves. I think that's really the big thing that
I try to explain to parents is if our children
cannot read, they cannot think for themselves, and somebody else
will be doing the thinking for them. And when you
(16:56):
look at history in our country, this is not just
right now. You know, you can look back and this
has been happening since the beginning of our country's history,
where the ruling class has been wanting to keep its
population at this, you know, having this reading level, because
(17:18):
that's how you keep control. But then you say those
things to parents and that you sound like you're a
conspiracy theorist.
Speaker 4 (17:24):
Yeah, yeah, right, but you know, but.
Speaker 2 (17:28):
Those are the trends, and I think you know, for
me as a Latina, those numbers are a lot lower.
Over forty percent of or Latino kids are graduating high
school with the fourth grade reading level, and it should
be like a national emergency, and it just feels like
no one's really talking about it.
Speaker 1 (17:49):
Yeah, I mean, what a disadvantage that puts those young
people at if they're graduate you're saying they're graduating high
school with a fourth grade reading level.
Speaker 4 (17:58):
Yes, and that's just hard breaking.
Speaker 1 (18:06):
Do you see in this work that you do. I
mean the technology AI, the fact that we're recording this
podcast using technology. I mean somebody would say, well, it
doesn't matter that you have a fourth grade reading level.
I can just put my lease into chat GPT and
it'll tell me what I need to know. I mean,
(18:27):
I guess that's true. But are you are you practically
seeing people do these things or what?
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Like?
Speaker 1 (18:33):
What does the future look like if if we haven't
rectified this, I.
Speaker 2 (18:36):
Think for me, what the future looks like? It looks
really scary. We can't think for ourselves. Even if AI
is helping you with the application or just basic reading tasks,
if you don't even understand what AI is saying to you,
I mean, what does that say about all of us? Right?
That means we're going to be just easily manipulated. Yeah,
(18:59):
and I think that's that's my fear.
Speaker 1 (19:02):
What are the stories you're hearing from parents? Because I
mean you mentioned this also, and I know both my
parents worked. When I was a kid, I had a
key around my neck. We'd walk home from school and
unlock the door and then you just you're not allowed
to open the door for anybody till somebody's home.
Speaker 2 (19:16):
That kind of thing.
Speaker 1 (19:17):
But so, how are parents helping their kids, how are
they encouraging them if they're physically not home to read
to them. What are the challenges they're saying there? And
then how does something like the libros fill that gap?
Speaker 2 (19:32):
You know, that's actually a really common question. No, if
I'm at home, how can I how can I strip
the iPad away from my son because or my daughter
because I'm at home to monitor or supervise. And the
reality is that many of these kids depend on the
leadership of their school teachers administrators, and we're seeing budget
(19:57):
cuts in schools right now and a lot of book
banning as well, and a lot of banning not just
only certain subjects, but also languages.
Speaker 4 (20:10):
It's you know, it's almost like this country is just
afraid to grow.
Speaker 2 (20:18):
So when I speak to parents, and you know, the
reality is that as a community who doesn't have the
tools and the resources we do have to work three
times as hard. And that means not just at our
place of work, but also at home as a parent.
And the reality is like, okay, just bring in books
(20:38):
at home, bring more books into your home, and little liberals,
our books are in English and Spanish, some of these
households only speak Spanish, some of the parents, the grandparents,
and our books allow for multi generational families to be
able to bring these stories home and just read to
their children. It's as important, you know, I say to them,
(21:01):
is as important as brushing your teeth.
Speaker 4 (21:03):
You brush your teeth that night, and.
Speaker 2 (21:04):
Then you pick up that book, even if it's just
five minutes, but just you know, pick it up and
either read to your child or have your child read
out loud to you. Because once the reading someplace, the
math comes naturally, the science, the history, everything just makes
sense for all the kids.
Speaker 1 (21:24):
You're giving me chills with when you outline all of
the challenges and the book banning thing and educational budget
cuts are something I hear over and over again in
a bunch of different topics and realms with friends who
work in these industries, and it's obviously really scary. At
the same time, I see this positive in talking to
(21:45):
you and seeing the passion that you have for this.
You've been running Libros with your co founder for over
ten years now, right, You started in twenty fourteen, which
politically in this country, budgetarily economically, we've gone through some
pretty big swings. Those ten years. The fact that you're
still around and thriving ten years later shows us that
there is something positive there. Can you talk about what
(22:08):
you've observed from the time you started to now, like
how has the dual language space changed?
Speaker 2 (22:15):
Well, you know, it was interesting, Like I mentioned, when
I pitched the idea to the publishers, those that did
get back to me said, this idea is all over
the place, doesn't really make any sense.
Speaker 4 (22:30):
But I knew in.
Speaker 2 (22:31):
My heart because of what I saw me as a
mother and just other mothers around me in my community.
To us, this bouncing from one language to another just
comes really naturally. It's very much part of who we are.
It didn't feel forced and creating these books and the
(22:53):
way they were celebrated by our community, and not just
our community, but just parents who see the value and
lingual literacy who are like you know what, I understand.
We're not of Latino descent, however, I understand how valuable
it is to raise to immerse my child and not
just not even like two languages, two or three four languages,
(23:15):
because kids are sponges. You know, a five year old
can learn five languages, like it's like they're eating potato
chips that easy. So seeing that and then seeing how
the publishing industry has shifted and understanding the value of
not just bilingual literacy, but also these voices that you
(23:37):
wouldn't you wouldn't see in the in the publishing industry
ten years ago, the value of Latino voices, of Asian voices,
of African American voices. We're seeing that now because you know,
and I'm proud to say that we kind of started
that movement within the publishing industry in children's books.
Speaker 4 (23:55):
They're like, Okay, they saw.
Speaker 2 (23:56):
What we were doing, and they're like, Okay, it does work.
Creating books that not just Latino kids, but all kids
can see themselves in. Those are the stories that stay
with you and you're like, Okay, this person looks like me,
sounds like me, talks like me. You know, I can
be that. I can be this superhero. I can be
(24:17):
this you know, extraordinary astronaut and go to space.
Speaker 4 (24:21):
It just feels attainable.
Speaker 1 (24:23):
I also want to give your business flowers here for
a second, when did you leave Ryan Seacrest and make
Lostly Bros. The full time your full time job?
Speaker 2 (24:35):
So I ended up leaving Ryan in twenty twenty two. Okay,
I called him crying, Oh I'm so sorry, but I
have to leave you. And he's like, I've been waiting
on this phone call for a while. Patty.
Speaker 4 (24:51):
He's like, I knew it.
Speaker 2 (24:53):
Yeah, He's like, you know, he's like you and he
said such wonderful things, and he's like, I'm just so
proud of you. I just I knew it. She was like,
you're meant to do more and I said, yeah.
Speaker 1 (25:05):
Twenty twenty two is then a big year for you
because you guys also acquired a managing share of Chinese
English children's publisher, which was created by two Chinese American
moms called Biddy Bo. Was twenty twenty two like a
big year in other senses? And what made you want
to acquire that company?
Speaker 2 (25:23):
So it was a huge year for us because that
year we were also looking at an for investors and
we had a few meetings with some big pockets and
it just didn't feel right. So we made the decision
to instead of selling a portion of our company to
(25:44):
somebody who's already a millionaire, we decided to sell the
company to our community.
Speaker 1 (25:50):
Oh wow cool.
Speaker 4 (25:51):
Yeah, So we did.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
A crowdfunding campaign and we raised two million dollars in
four days. And we met this wonderful duo to Asian
American mothers who were also building something similar to what
we are building, but in the in the Chinese American market,
(26:14):
and we reached out to We talked, and we both
realized that our missions are very much aligned, and we said, look,
we've already done this for ten years.
Speaker 4 (26:24):
We know what it takes and the challenges.
Speaker 2 (26:28):
Let us help you get there faster because we also understand,
you know, the future is bilingual, and the more languages
our children know, the better they're prepared for this global world.
And it's just so wonderful to also see the similarities
in communities, just how parents are so excited to introduce
(26:49):
these traditions and these in these culture and languages without
the fear that many of our older relatives, older generations felt.
You hear stories of older Latinos who are like, there's
no way I could have spoken a war in Spanish
at school. I would have gotten punished. And now you
see this openness, the celebration of language and identity, and
(27:13):
I just think that, you know, it's what makes this
country stronger, regardless of what our politicians in our our
administration may want to say.
Speaker 1 (27:23):
It's funny. You reminded me of like all the times
when I'm speaking good rout there Hindi and there's somebody
in the room who's like monolingual and deeply insecure that
we're talking about them, I'm like, calm down, we are
not talking about Okay, maybe sometimes we're talking about you,
but generally we're not talking about you. You're totally fine,
(27:44):
don't worry about it.
Speaker 2 (27:46):
But it feels like home when you speak that language, doesn't.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
It, Yes, it doesn't. Actually, well, you know, those experiences
also kind of remind me that I enjoy being able to,
like if it's a group conversation and people are speaking
in multiple languages and not everybody is bi lingual, I
enjoy like making sure that everybody's part of the conversation
and doing like a quick translation of what somebody's saying,
or that kind of a thing like to me that
(28:10):
that brings people together, and it's more of like a
thriving kind of thing. And the more that I thought
about that, the more that it also then made me
curious as I heard you were talking like you know,
back in the day, late nineteenth early twentieth century, there
were these I'll put this in quotes because I hate
the term Americanization campaigns that pushed the idea of English
only in schooling. And now that we live in a
(28:35):
world where people it seems like things are split, right,
things are more and more polarized these days, where you
have people who, even if they're not buy or multilingual themselves, understand, okay,
if you're learning Spanish, Arabic, Hindi or Chinese, you're suddenly
at this elevated, elevated level of what you can do
in the world tomorrow, you know, if you're, if you're
(28:57):
And then you simultaneously have people who are like, well,
why everybody speaks English? Everybody else who comes here should
only speak English. You know, there's like it seems getting
like it's getting more polarized, and I'm curious. You're you're
acquiring other companies, you're multi lingual, you're there in a
market for kids at a time when people seem to
(29:18):
be really pulling back. I mean, it was beautiful that
there are teachers out there who are just making sure
that your books are available to their students if they
live in places where they're undergoing those cuts. I guess
I'm curious for the business side of this conversation, but
I'm also curious, just as a person who's passionate about
this kind of work, what does it feel like to
(29:39):
be in the middle of such polarizing times.
Speaker 2 (29:44):
I think how you and I both know that history
always repeats itself, it just comes in a different outfit.
Speaker 4 (29:54):
So we've been through this before.
Speaker 2 (29:56):
You know, we can go back to you know, just
in the nineteen sixties here in East lay in some
schools in Texas, there were walkouts happening from students who
were demanding just quality education, which also included Spanish language
teachers or just teachers that look like them. And it
(30:17):
took the efforts of these young students for many of
these school districts to adopt new ways of, you know,
of supplying this type of education to our students. So
I think as a Latina who has seen the challenges
(30:38):
my parents have faced, the challenges that I have faced,
and what we're actually currently facing right now with these
you know, just horrific deportations happening all across the country,
it feels like the work that we're doing is just
that more important because there's so much uncertainty, so we
have to become the people we needed growing up.
Speaker 4 (31:03):
I'm someone who's hopeful and regardless.
Speaker 2 (31:05):
Of what's happening in all the noise, I feel, you know,
we're resilient and we always find a way to get
through the challenges that we face historically. I mean, just
a few days ago, I was just talking to my son.
I said, look, can you like, can you even like
the reason we're here? And I don't want to get
all I don't want us to go that deep. And
I'm like, it's over eight thousand generations that have survived wars, colonization,
(31:32):
like plagues, everything under the sun, and yet our lineage
survived at all, and we're right here.
Speaker 4 (31:40):
I am an optimist.
Speaker 2 (31:42):
I believe there's a there's this is a season that
we're going through, and we're going to get through it
even stronger because that's just what we do as humans.
Speaker 1 (31:58):
Since you mentioned your kids, then also makes me wonder, like,
what's their relationship with Spanish and English and how is
it different from yours.
Speaker 2 (32:06):
Well, you know, I think they definitely are growing up
differently than I did. And I acknowledge that I had
a first row relationship to my culture and identity. Now
as a parent, being a Racing second generation kids, I
actually have to work to ensure that the culture and
(32:27):
identity stays alive. And it's incredible that I can have
a conversation with them in English and Spanish, and I'm
very intentional about making sure that they eat traditional foods
that you know, we're playing traditional music at home. You know,
they're not going to have my same experience or not.
(32:50):
When I tell them stories of the challenges that I
went through, you know, growing up as a childhood immigrants,
they think I'm telling the story of Willy Wonka and
the chocolate factory. You know, that's how they see it,
because you know, they don't they don't know. They're comfortable
in their own bedrooms. I didn't have my own bedroom
until I was twenty one. Yeah, so it's a blessing, right,
I think, you know. And I talked to my mother
(33:13):
about this and I and I say, you know, I
feel like I'm doing it wrong, and she's like, you know,
this is why I came to this country. So you
can tell those stories to them and they don't have
to go through what we went through.
Speaker 4 (33:26):
Now they're just stories.
Speaker 1 (33:27):
Yeah, that that just that floored me a little bit
because I don't have kids, but my brother does, so
I have a niece and nephew, and it's very much
that my brother is not bilingual, even though I am.
He can understand good Drati, but he he doesn't really
speak it. And so the kids are still young. But
(33:48):
I feel like a lot of those stories because I'm
older and I'm the uncle, I'm like, I guess that
falls on me and Grandma and grandpa. You know, like
you go to Grandma's house and there's a bed for
you to sleep, And when I went to my grandma's house,
we all slept on the floor like that just there
was it was one room. It was a one room apartment.
Speaker 4 (34:07):
So they will never know.
Speaker 2 (34:08):
They will not know.
Speaker 1 (34:09):
And we've shown them that they've gone to India on
a trip, and I you know, we tried to make
it a point to show them and to give them
the like the tactile experiences of what things are.
Speaker 2 (34:19):
So that requires, you know, it's work, right, it's intentional
having to introduce them to this.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
Yeah yeah, yeahs to as opposed to it should be
fun and it should be it should be crazy, and
it should be there should be nightmare days and you
know all of that, Like I want them to understand.
I want them to get those experiences wherever possible. So
it's I've never actually, i think, explicitly talked with anybody
about that. So hearing your experience being quite similar as
(34:47):
the mom to just me having not a backseat. But
you know, I'm like a degree removed because I'm the uncle.
But it makes me feel a little less crazy. So
thank you for thank you for sharing that.
Speaker 2 (34:57):
No, but it's again, it's a responsibility that we have
because you know, I think are this generation forgets the
challenges and the sacrifices that the generation before had to make.
Speaker 1 (35:13):
Yeah, the the the insecurity that seems to drive the
English only movement. I don't think I will ever fully understand.
Speaker 4 (35:23):
But it's just crazy.
Speaker 2 (35:25):
You have. In Latin America, it's practical you are required
to speak a second language, and also in other countries
around the world sometimes like at night on like scrolling
on TikTok and I'm watching videos of schools and and
in in China, Japan, and I'm just like, these kids
are going to rule the world, and here and here
(35:47):
we are fighting over whether you know, English should be
the only language in this country or not. Well, you know,
you have other other kids in other countries. Just it's
it's crazy. So I think, you know, in twenty years
from now, when we see these kids growing up and
we're wondering what happened, and well, this is what happened.
(36:08):
These other countries are prioritizing education, prioritizing language, while we
are over here complaining about our neighbor.
Speaker 1 (36:17):
Our cultural priorities right now seem to be a little
out of whack compared to other countries. You articulated it
really well, the idea that we're fighting over this when
the rest of the world is continuing to move on
and compete against us and win, is like we're having
that this is a distraction, you guys, like why are
we why are we taking the bait on this distraction? Well,
(36:40):
that then brings me to I think one of the
one of the last questions I was gonna maybe leave
on is, given all of that, what are the things
that you find to be more urgent right now? And
then what are you excited and hopeful about?
Speaker 2 (36:57):
What do I find most urgent right now? Ensuring that
our teachers are well funded, well paid, They're so gracious,
and we don't respect them enough in this country, we
don't value them enough. We should definitely increase our education budget,
(37:18):
help mothers with childcare. And one am I hopeful. I'm
hopeful about everything. It's I don't allow them to take
our joy away, even when we're faced with these fights.
I look back at those first three months of building
(37:41):
Little Libros. I was in the zone. I was a
new mother, I had a full time job, but I
was in the zone. I was like laser focus on
this dream and it felt like a spiritual experience. And
I like to see that. I like to feel that
like that every day, that, regardless of the noise, our
(38:03):
time here is really short and we only we There's
only so much we can do in that time that
we're given. And there's this wonderful quote by Emiliano Sabata,
a Mexican revolutionary. He says it is better to die
on your feet than to live on your knees, and
(38:25):
I think that's the way we should all live life.
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Totally agree, and a beautiful quote to end on. Patti Rodriguez,
thank you so much for joining.
Speaker 4 (38:33):
Us, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 1 (38:39):
That was my incredible guest. Patti Rodriguez, the previous senior
producer of On Air with Ryan Seacrest and the co
founder of the bilingual children's publishing company Lil Libros. Here
we Go again as a production of iHeart Podcasts and
Snapoo Media in association with New Metric Media. Our executive
(38:59):
producers are me Kal Penn, Ed Helms, Mike Falbo, Alyssa Martino,
Andy Kim, Pat Kelly, Chris Kelly, and Dylan Fagan. Meghan
tan Is our producer and writer. Dave Shumka is our
producer and editor. Our consulting producer is Romin Borsolino. Tory
Smith is our associate producer. Theme music by Chris Kelly,
logo by Matt Gosson, Legal review from Daniel Welsh, Caroline
(39:22):
Johnson and Meghan Halson. Special thanks to Glenn Bassner, Isaac Dunham,
Adam Horn, Lane Klein and everyone at iHeart Podcasts, but
especially Will Pearson, Carrie Lieberman and Nikki Etour. Thanks for listening.
See you next week.
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