Highly Relevant with Jack Rico

'How the Gringo Stole Christmas' is one of only a handful of Latino-centered holiday films ever made. This week, its director, Venezuelan-American Angel Gracia, joins the show to discuss this pressing question: Why are Latino holiday movies so rare? Plus, we discuss his rich three-decade journey in filmmaking, the challenges of authentically casting Latino roles, and the hard business truths of making art in Hollywood.

Episode Summa...

Legendary music producer Gustavo Santaolalla has crafted the soundtrack to Rock En Español, producing career-defining albums for Café Tacvba, Molotov, Juanes, and many more. He is one of only three composers to win consecutive Academy Awards for Best Original Score for Brokeback Mountain and Babel. In our wide-ranging conversation, Gustavo shares his philosophical views on art, humanity, the spiritual connection he finds in music, ...

This week, renowned Colombian band Monsieur Periné joins the show to discuss their latest release, 'Bolero Apocaliptico'. We interview them about the evolution of their musical style, how they challenge traditional love narratives, and the influence of Afro-Colombian roots on their work. The conversation also navigates thought-provoking issues, such as cultural appropriation and white identity in Latin music, as well as discovering...

In this week's episode, we welcome singer Julio Iglesias Jr. who celebrated his 50th birthday with a new big band album titled "Under The Covers" out now, his first musical project in 15 years. He also opens up about his father Julio Sr. and superstar brother Enrique and how he defines himself in terms of race, culture, and identity.

Interview with Julio Iglesias Jr.:
Segment 1: Julio's Musical Journey

• Julio discussed his love for...

Our first guest of 2023 is Xochitl Gonzalez, the multi-talented Puerto Rican-Mexican American writer of the New York Times best-seller "Olga Dies Dreaming" and staff writer for The Atlantic Magazine. She's here to discuss with me her latest thought-provoking article, "The New Case for Social Climbing," and its impact on people of color, particularly Latinos. In our interview, we explore the advantages and disadvantages of seeking h...

In this interview with Marta Tellado, the CEO of Consumer Reports, we discuss how she became one of the few Latina CEOs in the country, how her Cuban heritage shaped her democratic ideals, and how her new book, ‘Buyer Aware: Harnessing Our Consumer Power for a Safe, Fair, and Transparent Marketplace,’ acts as a guide for consumers to reclaim their power against shady business practices. 

Marta's Favorite Things: 
Casa de Papel, Sound...

In this week’s episode, I talk to Simón Mejía, the founder and band leader of the Grammy-winning Colombian group ‘Bomba Estéreo’. We discuss his latest solo film and music project EL DUENDE, inspired by the Afro-indigenous music of Colombia’s jungles, as well as, what he thinks of Colombia’s newly elected president Gustavo Petro, and how the Bad Bunny collaboration of ‘Ojitos Lindos’ came to be without them ever meeting.

The Highly ...

In this week’s episode, we welcome Manuel Abud, the CEO of the Latin Recording Academy for a chat about this year’s Latin Grammys. We discuss an array of topics including thoughts of taking the Latin Grammys back to CBS and mainstream validation, his vision of taking the show internationally to different countries, competition from other Spanish-language award shows, which award is more important to a Latin artist… the Grammy or th...

This week I interview my good friend Benjamin Odell, who is the CEO of 3Pas Studios, the production company he and his friend Eugenio Derbez formed together. Their latest project is the remake of the French film ‘The Valet’ which premieres on HULU May 20th. In this conversation, Ben and I talk about his unique life and cultural upbringing, as well as the work 3Pas Studios has accomplished in a short time. We discuss in detail the u...

In our first episode, we welcome actress Justina Machado. You know her from the Emmy Award-winning comedy reboot of “One Day at a Time” from legendary producer Norman Lear and several other tv shows and films. Our conversation covered several interesting subjects such as Latino representation in the animation industry, why Hispanic animated films succeed and real-life Latino content doesn’t, and why she stopped using the term Hispa...

Gloria Calderon Kellett's 'With Love' is the best Latinx television I have seen. It combines all the American TV characteristics we grew up with, but with a US Latino family at the center. Think of ‘When Harry Met Sally,’ ‘Love Actually,’ 'The Holiday,' but with Latinos. It's all the shows that make us cozy up to a warm fire, a snug blanket, and hot chocolate. Gloria shares the details of how she got into the business, and how lege...

This week I welcome Colombian photographer Josefina Santos who as of late has been photographing some of the biggest names in music, tv, and film, such as Olivia Rodrigo, MJ Rodriguez from ‘Pose’ and indie director Jim Jarmusch to name a few, plus has photographed covers for The New Yorker, The New York Times, Teen Vogue and more. Josefina and I discuss what she did to make media mainstream’s elite notice her, how Instagram is a bl...

On a new episode of Highly Relevant, I talk to director/producer Lissette Feliciano about her new indie film 'Women Is Losers'. The film which premiered at 2021's SXSW Festival, has gotten good reviews for it's female empowerment story and her use of multicultural characters. She tells me how lies about Latinos in the media has become the driving force behind the mantra of her production company, Look at the Moon Pictures. She also...

In this rebroadcast of our interview with director Robert Rodriguez from February 27, 2019, we discuss his new film at that time 'Alita: Battle Angel,' how one of the main goals of his TV network 'El Rey' was to find and hire more Latino filmmakers, and if it is the responsibility of a Latino directors to create Latino stars. 

Highly Relevant Playlist

Pa Mis Muchchas - Christina Aguilera (feat. Nathy Peluso, Becky G y Nicki Nicole

Sex...

Adriana Barraza is one of five Latinas to have ever been nominated for an Academy Award in acting. She is now starring in the new Blumhouse horror film 'Bingo Hell' on Amazon Prime Video, perfectly timed for Halloween. In this new interview, Adriana and I discuss being the first Latina actress in her 60s to lead a film. It was also directed and co-written by a Latina filmmaker Gigi Saul Guerrero. We discuss her 50 year acting caree...

Actress/producer Aubrey Plaza has become a cult indie film queen since her big break as April Ludgate on NBC’s “Parks And Recreation”. Since then she’s done popular films such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, and the Child’s Play reboot. She’s now coming off of a dramedy with Michael Caine called Best Sellers, is currently working with Jason Statham on the action thriller “Operation Fortune: Ruse de...

Known for being one of the biggest comedians in Mexico, Eugenio Derbez made a splash in the indie film scene with his bilingual movie ‘Instructions Not Included,’ which became the highest-grossing Spanish-language film and the fourth highest-grossing foreign film of all time in the United States. He followed that up with ‘How to Be a Latin Lover,’ ‘Overboard,’ ‘Dora and the Lost City of Gold,’ ‘Coda,’ and now Acapulco, his latest T...