Music journalist Isabela Raygoza joins the show to discuss about the new trend of English-language mainstream artists singing in Spanish. Why are they doing this and will Hispanic audiences embrace it? Then we speak to Chilean writer Jose Ignacio Valenzuela, mostly known for writing telenovelas such as "La Casa de al Lado on Telemundo," he has a new book out called To The End of the World, the first book of a new original trilogy which has been compared to the likes of Harry Potter. Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

A movie review of two recent film releases - VENOM and A STAR IS BORN.

Matt Tyrnauer is the director of the new documentary STUDIO 54, which he calls the definitive documentary on the legendary nightclub. We talk why STUDIO 54 co-creator Ian Schrager broke his silence, why the magic of the club was never able to be replicated, and how Schrager overcame jail time to become a hotel magnate.  Then I chat with A Star Is Born actor Anthony Ramos, who plays Lady Gaga’s best friend in the film many critics are calling the best movie of the year. We discuss what director Bradley Cooper saw in him, the madness of his time on Broadway’s Hamilton, and after having already worked with giants Lin-Manuel Miranda and Lady Gaga how he has managed to stay grounded and ambitious. Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

Miguel Sirgado is the editor-in-chief of ¡HOLA! USA, one of the most important Hispanic magazines in the US. We discuss his bilingual strategy for reaching today’s highly divided US Hispanic, what the criteria is for defining a Hispanic celebrity (for example is Bruno Mars Hispanic?) and why he was at one point hesitant in taking the job.  Then we chat with Alonso Ruizpalacios, the Mexican director of MUSEO, one of the best reviewed Latino films of 2018 starring Gael Garcia Bernal. Him and I explore why he wants to make movies for people who shun predictable endings and why Mexico is more interested in celebrity than its own countries problems. Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

We review The Predator with film and culture critic Mike Sargent (1:17) and we examine the controversy behind the film. Then I talk to film journalist Clayton Davis (21:23) who was at the Toronto International Film Festival and tells us what films have already positioned themselves as the frontrunners for Best Picture at the Oscars. Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

This week, we talk about Netflix’s hit show EL BARCO (The Ship). Its from Spain, spoken in Castillian and Jack's wife will be telling us why the show is so engrossing! Plus, four trailers were released this week, between movies and TV shows, that will be talked about all year. Which ones are they? Listen in!

RottenTomatoes overhauled their eligibility rules to allow more diverse critics to be heard. What sparked the idea behind the new ruling, what took them so long, and will Spanish-language reviews continue to be allowed on the site? (3:50) Then we chat with Latina journalist Victoria Leandra who co-wrote a recent Bloomberg article on why Latinos still don’t have a movie on the level of Crazy Rich Asians or Black Panther. Is it a lack of talent or is it prejudice? (17:29)  Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

Rolling Stone Magazine Latina music journalist, Isabela Raygoza, joins us to discuss how US Latinas owned the MTV VMA’s this year (1:05), but what does that say about the dismissal of Latin-American artists? We also talk about that Maluma performance (8:09) that has left some scratching their heads, including me. We’ll break down the good and the bad of Maluma in the VMA’s.  Then… how many of you have heard the rule that you can’t bring food into a movie theater? Is it true or a massive myth? I called 3 big movie chains and asked them point blank about their food policy (22:07). Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

Marysol Castro was recently named Major League Baseball's first Latina PA announcer and the first female PA announcer in Mets' history. Before this new adventure, the NY native of Puerto Rican parents, began working at WPIX TV in NYC doing traffic reports, later returning to anchor, then becoming the weather anchor at Good Morning America on ABC, The Early Show on CBS and ESPN. She discusses with us the different opportunities she's been given, how she's adapted to them, the rejections of her profession and the traits she's used to bounce back stronger than ever. Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

Latino cinema is once again in vogue and film critic Carlos Aguilar (1:47) stops by to give us his choices for the "3 Best Spanish-Language Movies of 2018 So Far." And Ekundayo Bandele (28:49), founder and executive director of the Hattiloo Theatre, one of only four freestanding black theatres in the nation, who speaks to the hurdles and solutions the African American community faces in the arts in the US. Episode notes Latino film critic Carlos Aguilar recommends: ZAMA (Argentina), TODO LO DEMÁS (México), COCOTE (Dominican Republic) Reach out Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

Matthew Bakal, CEO and co-founder of the movie-ticket app Atom Tickets stops by the show to talk about why his 2 year old app is the future of movie-going and why it’s different than Moviepass (1:00). Also, culture and film critic Mike Sargent and I meet up at the press screening of Disney’s new family film Christopher Robin, a live-action Winnie the Pooh movie and we give you our immediate first reactions of the film (23:00).

Actress and producer Luna Lauren Velez who you’ve seen many times on TV in her roles on DEXTER, OZ, UGLY BETTY and HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER to name a few, plus her film roles in CITY HALL with Al Pacino, the recent horror film THE FIRST PURGE and the upcoming remake of SHAFT with Samuel L. Jackson. We catch up with her to discuss her new film American Adrift about opioid addiction in a Latino family, how social media has become a necessary evil for working actors and the new American optics of being Puerto Rican in this country. (26:55) Also, film and culture critic Mike Sargent (Fox Business News, PBS, WBAI Radio) gives us a visit to review Tom Cruise’s much hyped movie Mission Impossible: FALLOUT… should Tom Cruise stop doing his own stunts at 56, what makes an action film epic? and… could FALLOUT be the best of the Mission Impossible franchise. (1:38) Episode Summary Luna Lauren Velez interviewHer big break "I Like It Like That"Rita MorenoHow she you got into actingWhat kind of stories she wants to tell todayPuerto Rico Typecasting"American Adrift" and addictionWhy she’s attracted to emotionally charged rolesWhy Hollywood hasn’t embraced Latino families on screenLatino writers"First Purge" and its social commentary on raceLa Lupe/El CantanteBeing a New York actorHow social media has become a necessary evil for actorsSHAFT Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

Luis Miguel Echegaray, Head of Latino Content at Sports Illustrated, joins the show to share who he thought had the better World Cup TV coverage - Telemundo or FOX - as well as the factors behind the ratings drop, and why Hispanic teams had a terrible turnout this year. (1:00) Also, film and culture critic Mike Sargent joins me to debate SKYSCRAPER, the new homage to 70’s disaster movies starring Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson. I think it’s the worst movie of the year, while Mike lauds it for how enjoyable it was. This leads me to the question… when does the line blur between a “bad” movie and “bad fun” movie? Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

Carmen Cabana and Mike Sargent joins us to chat to chat cinematography and 'Ant-Man & The Wasp' respectively.

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

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

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

We’re days away from the biggest soccer event in the world, the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia and we're devoting the whole show to the World Cup. We’ll be speaking in Spanish to Argentine sports journalist Viviana Vila (2:46), who this year will become the first Latina to provide commentary for a men’s World Cup on Telemundo. I’ll discuss with her if her Argentine accent will be a problem for Mexican soccer fans, the struggles she had to endure to sit at the table of a male-dominated anchor team, and if we’ll ever see the first female play by play announcer anytime soon. Then we do a World Cup Preview of all 10 Hispanic teams competing in the tournament with Luis Miguel Echegaray (23:48), the Head of Latino Content at Sports Illustrated. Will any of them go to the finals? Episode Summary Viviana Vila interview - 3:48How this historic opportunity presented itself: 4:42With Aly Wagner and herself, why are these opportunities presenting themselves now? 5:43Challenges with men she had to overcome in her career: 7:54 How she's preparing herself to color commentate for the World Cup: 11:02If her Argentine accent will make Mexican soccer fans uncomfortable: 12:46When will she do play-by-play? 14:48Who she thinks the final four teams will be and if Messi will go back to the Final: 16:25Her thoughts on who will be in the Finals: 18:07Colombia's chances: 18:42 JackedIN (US Latino Pop News Recap) segment- 22:06 Sports Illustrated's Luis Miguel Echegaray 2018 World Cup Preview of all 10 Hispanic teams - 23:47Peru: 25:30Colombia: 30:14Panama: 32:53Mexico: 35:42Costa Rica: 43:04Brazil: 46:07Argentina: 48:08Portugal: 52:50Spain: 55:47Uruguay: 58:03 Musical weekend playlist:  Cuando Tu Quieras - J Balvin Icon (Spanish Remix) - Jaden Smith (feat. Nicky Jam) Live It Up - Nicky Jam, Will Smith, Era Isteri, produced by Diplo Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

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

It’s Upfronts Week in NYC and all the TV networks are making their annual pitches to sponsors with the intention of obtaining millions of dollars to advertise on their programming. We speak with journalist/blogger Laura Martinez, about how Univision and Telemundo are trying to adapt to the demographic growth of US born Latinos, if we’re ready for English-language novelas and why the next CEO of either network needs to be a woman. Then Mike Sargent joins us to review Deadpool 2 and why he thinks it’s better than the original - from its diversity down to it’s humor. Episode Summary Laura Martinez on Univision/Telemundo Upfront - 1:21How miblogestublog.com was created: 1:47Key takeaways of Univision and Telemundo upfronts: 9:00Why Univision has a better sports portfolio: 11:40Thougorn Lahts on both programming slates: 13:51Why Spanish-language programming no longer resonating with viewers: 16:46Network executives definition of a Latino is wrong: 18:43Why Univision needs a new executive team and why there is a disconnect with programming: 21:54Randy Falco's replacement needs to be a US Hispanic woman: 23:32Why we are ready English-language novelas: 26:58What needs to be included in next year's upfronts: 30:56The dismissal of the U.S. born Latino: 33:54The complexity of figuring out the Latino viewers: 35:51 JackedIN (US Latino Pop News Recap) segment- 41:31 Mike Sargent on 'Deadpool 2' - 43:15 Musical weekend playlist: Sangria Wine - Pharrell Williams (feat. Camila Cabello) Fall In Line - Christina Aguilera (feat. Demi Lovato) Dinero - Jennifer Lopez (falte. DJ Khaled and Cardi B) Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

Culture pundit Mike Sargent joins the show to help us discuss "Avengers: Infiniti War" and how it needs to be watched to maximize its experience, then we talk about Childish Gambino's "This Is America" music video with over 65M already, a review of Gabrielle Union's "Breaking In". Is it like a Lifetime movie or a nice surprise? And an interruption that detoured the whole conversation onto the topic of spam/robo calls. Episode SummaryRewatching (AIF) in IMAX 3D - 2:41Interrupted by a spam call; discussion on how to stop spam calling - 11:47This Is America - 21:46"Breaking In" movie review - 33:16 Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

This week we speak with triple threat star and Tony nominee Ariana DeBose who is currently one of the three stars of Summer: The Donna Summer Musical on Broadway. We discuss the intense vocal preparation in becoming The Queen of Disco, why the show cast women in male roles, equal pay, pansexuality and Hispanic identity on Broadway. Then I chat with Zetna Fuentes, a Latina TV director who has directed some of the biggest shows currently on television - Marvel’s “Jessica Jones,” NBC’s “This Is Us,” ABC’s “Scandal” and Amazon’s “BOSCH” to mention just a few. We discuss why there are so few Latina directors in tv and film and what can be done to fix it, plus, how she uses her Hispanic heritage to influence her tv work. Episode Summary Ariana DeBose interview: 1:29 Zetna Fuentes: 31:45 JackedIN (US Latino Pop News Recap) segment: 29:42 Musical weekend playlist: 55:33 Accelerate - Christina Aguilera Positivo - J Balvin Simples Corazones - Fonseca Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

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

Adrian Martinez and Allison Strong join the show today to chat about going at it in Hollywood as Latinx actors. Adrian is in Amy Schumer’s controversial new film “I Feel Pretty,” out in theaters now. We talked why the movie’s premise has angered some women, if he thinks “beauty” is a fact or an opinion, and his #1 advice for any Latinx actor wanting to break into the business. Allison is a proud Colombian-American actress who has a new movie “The Week Of” coming out on Netflix April 27th with Adam Sandler and Chris Rock, plus, she discusses her personal experiences of what acting in Hollywood is like for a bilingual actress; and she reveals the best lesson she learned from Steve Buschemi…  EPISODE SUMMARY Adrian Martinez discusses his role in Amy Schumer's new movie "I Feel Pretty" - 1:04How many movies has he been in - 1:56Why he still has to prove himself after 100 acting credits in Hollywood - 2:33Playing the game Hollywood wants you to play with them - 3:27Summary of "I Feel Pretty" - 5:03Why the movie doesn't use the word "ugly" - 7:55Is beauty fact or opinion? 9:18Personal story on people's view of him and his wife -10:02Social commentary of “I Feel Pretty" - 11:54How he overcame rejection in Hollywood - 14:10Why he hasn't done Spanish-language movies - 16:21 JackedIN Segment (recap of pop culture stories) - 20:16 Allison Strong discusses her new movie on Netflix, "The Week Of" - 22:19How she got the part in the movie - 23:10What getting the role meant for her - 26:50What it was like working with Adam Sandler - 29:36What she learned from working with Steve Buscemi - 30:54The pros of being a bilingual actor in Hollywood - 33:09Being "ethnically ambiguous" in Hollywood - 34:32Challenges of being a Latinx actor during the audition process - 35:41Her love for Colombian culture - 40:59Speed Round Q&A - 42:26 Musical weekend playlist: 44:27 100 Grados - Lali and Achal Let Me ZAYN -  Guerrera - DellaFuente, C Tangana Tease of Eugenio Derbez episode next week - 45:34 Would you like to get in touch with us? Email us at highlyrelevant@showbizcafe.com and help us spread the word on social media: Twitter Facebook Instagram If you enjoyed this episode head on over to iTunes and kindly leave us a rating, a review and please subscribe! Ways to subscribe to Highly Relevant with Jack Rico:      • Click here to subscribe via iTunes    • Click here to subscribe via Spotify    • Click here to subscribe via Stitcher

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