For this bonus episode, we're sharing audio from a Press Conference on Sunday, October 25, announcing the release of a nationwide Latinx LGBTQ Get Out the Vote commercial developed by the Immigration Reform Fund founded by former Congressman, Luis Gutiérrez. We’re going to play the commercial for you during this episode and stick around for the end when we will share never before heard candid thoughts from interviews post-presser with Congressman Jesus Chuy Garcia and IL State Senator Omar Aquino.

Speakers at this press conference include:

• Former Congressmen, Luis Gutiérrez

The Commercial: English + Spanish

Host: Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, Twitter @jsdeleon

Paseo Podcast Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Sound Editor: Richie Requena, Twitter @RichieRequena

Sounds: MEINL Percussion

Puerto Rican Cultural Center Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Our guest today is the first Democratic Socialist elected to Chicago’s City Council - Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th Ward). We talk about his Puerto Rican roots, what drew him to public office, his identity as a gay man, the Latinx vote this presidential election, Puerto Rico’s Governor endorsing Donald Trump for president and a whole lot more.

Host: Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, Twitter @jsdeleon

Paseo Podcast Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Sound Editor: Richie Requena, Twitter @RichieRequena

Publicist: Ambar Colón, Twitter @MeDicenAmbi

Sounds: Notification Sounds + Flor Meléndez Ramos

Carlos' Government Website + Facebook 

Carlos' Facebook + Twitter

Puerto Rican Cultural Center Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Marina Del Rios, MD, MS is with us today. We talk about what her experience has been teaching medical students, Covid-19’s impact on the Latinx community, her personal story of trying to avoid bringing the virus home to her husband and children, and a whole lot more.

Host: Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, Twitter @jsdeleon

Paseo Podcast Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Sound Editor: Richie Requena, Twitter @RichieRequena

Sounds: Notification Sounds + Flor Meléndez Ramos

Marina's Twitter

Illinois Unidos Website + Facebook + Twitter

Puerto Rican Cultural Center Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Small Business Development Center Director at the PRCC, Carlos Bosques joins the show today to talk about the Puerto Rican Cultural Center's business initiatives. Plus, we share a few thoughts on this week's presidential debate.

Host: Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, Twitter @jsdeleon

Paseo Podcast Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Sound Editor: Richie Requena, Twitter @RichieRequena

Sounds: Notification Sounds + Flor Meléndez Ramos

PRPolicy.org

Puerto Rican Cultural Center Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Short show today. We take a trip back in time to a revolutionary moment in Puerto Rico's history, El Grito de Lares, and share our thoughts on the indictment in the Breonna Taylor case along with audio from the protests afterward. #SayHerName

Host: Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, Twitter @jsdeleon

Paseo Podcast Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Sound Editor: Richie Requena, Twitter @RichieRequena

Sounds: Notification Sounds + Flor Meléndez Ramos

El Grito de Lares

Today in History: El Grito de Lares, September 23, 1868

Puerto Rican Cultural Center Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

American contemporary visual artist Carlos Rolón is on the show today. We’re going to talk about his beginnings in the art world, the NBA season, using art as a form of social advocacy and more.

Host: Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, Twitter @jsdeleon

Paseo Podcast Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Sound Editor: Richie Requena, Twitter @RichieRequena

Sounds: Notification Sounds + Flor Meléndez Ramos

Carlos Rolón Website + Facebook + Instagram

Puerto Rican Cultural Center Website + Facebook + Twitter + Instagram

Artist Alli Arochi joins the show. We talk about vejigantes, the tradition of making vejigante masks, her transition from the tech world to making her art full-time and her experience as an artist amidst Covid-19.

Host: Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, Twitter @jsdeleon

Site: paseomedia.org

Facebook + Twitter + Instagram: @paseopodcast

Sound Editor: Richie Requena, Twitter @RichieRequena

Sounds: Notification Sounds + Flor Meléndez Ramos

Alli Arocho's Website + Instagram

Made of Masks: Alli Arocho’s Aislá

Puerto Rican Cultural Center Website + Facebook + Twitter

We talk a lot about the importance of knowing our history as Puerto Ricans on this show, including the ways in which our history is kept from us. Some people recommend watching documentaries and reading books, but what about seeing and reading our history in the form of a graphic novel?

Storyteller, artist and art teacher, John Vasquez Mejias, joins the show to talk about the Puerto Rican War - a graphic novel that tells the story of Puerto Rican revolutionaries fighting American colonialism in 1950. We spoke to him a couple of weeks ago to talk about his purpose behind this graphic novel, his art and his perspective on the back-to-school debate as a teacher amidst the Covid-19 pandemic.

Host: Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, Twitter @jsdeleon

Site: paseomedia.org

Facebook + Twitter + Instagram: @paseopodcast

Sound Editor: Richie Requena, Twitter @RichieRequena

Sounds: Notification Sounds + Flor Meléndez Ramos

John Vasquez Mejias' Website + Instagram

The Puerto Rican War

Puerto Rican Cultural Center Website + Facebook + Twitter

We spoke with Rosa Clemente, the 1st Black Puerto Rican/Afro-Latina to run for Vice-President for the Green Party. Soon to be Dr. Clemente, she is an organizer, lecturer, and independent journalist. We covered a lot of topics - the younger generation fighting for racial justice, George Floyd motivating people to take action from the streets to the suites, speaking to family around issues of race, resistance in the face of oppression, the Presidential Election and a whole lot more.

P.S. It's our Birthday episode!!!

Host: Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, Twitter @jsdeleon

Site: paseomedia.org

Facebook + Twitter + Instagram: @paseopodcast

Sound Editor: Richie Requena, Twitter @RichieRequena

Sounds: Notification Sounds + Flor Meléndez Ramos

Rosa Clemente's Website + Facebook + Instagram + Twitter + YouTube

PR on the Map

Who is Black

Puerto Rican Cultural Center Website + Facebook + Twitter

Afro-Puerto Rican comic book writer, Vita Ayala, joins the show to discuss their work, how they fell in love with comics, the comic industry, dealing with trolls online and more.

Keep in mind this episode was recorded just before the pandemic made us all quarantine, so some references and insights - while worth listening to - may be dated.

Host: Joshua Smyser-DeLeon, Twitter @jsdeleon

Site: paseomedia.org

Facebook, Twitter & Instagram: @paseopodcast

Sound Editor: Richie Requena, Twitter @RichieRequena

Sounds: Notification Sounds + Flor Meléndez Ramos

Vita Ayala's Ko-fi + Twitter

Vita's Work:

• https://blackmaskstore.com/collections/the-wilds…

Puerto Rican Cultural Center Website + Facebook + Twitter