It’s been quite the year, for the United States and for Futuro Media. At Latino USA, we’re bringing you in-depth reporting from the front lines. At Futuro Studios, we’re developing ground-breaking shows like La Brega Season 3, which is set to premiere early next year.

In this special Giving Tuesday episode, Futuro Media founder Maria Hinojosa reflects on the year behind and the year ahead. She’s joined in conversation by Latino USA Managing Editor Fernanda Echavarri and Futuro Studios Executive Editor Maria Garcia.

The Futuro Plus Team includes producer Tasha Sandoval, production managers Victoria Estrada and Jessica Ellis, marketing manager Luis Luna, and development manager Danetsy Len. Mixing by Multitude Productions. 

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on La Brega and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplu

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Suave has been named an Apple Podcasts Series Essential and to celebrate we wanted to bring to the main feed one of our exclusive Futuro+ bonus episodes.

In season one, Suave told host Julieta Martinelli about a mixtape he recorded inside his prison cell at SCI Graterford more than three decades ago. It remained a mystery lost to time… until today. In this episode, the making of Suave’s long-lost mixtape, the music that inspired it, and liner notes for his favorite 90’s hip-hop and reggaeton tracks. Plus, a discussion about the importance of music in prison and the artists Suave and Julieta love.

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In season one, Suave told host Julieta Martinelli about a mixtape he recorded inside SCI Graterford 33 years ago. It remained a mystery lost to time…until today. In this episode, the making of Suave’s long-lost mixtape, the music that inspired it, and liner notes for his favorite tracks. Plus, a discussion about the importance of music in prison and the artists Suave and Julieta love. 

The Futuro+ team includes producer Sam J Leeds, production managers Francis Poon and Jessica Ellis, marketing manager Luis Luna, development manager Danetsy Len, and engineers Gabriela Baez and Stephanie Lebow.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the final episode of Season 2, Suave and the team visit a location in the Bronx with deep significance to Suave— a place where you can say his journey towards freedom began. As Suave takes inventory of the past, and the challenges of the last couple of years in particular, he comes to terms with the weight of institutionalization. And he reveals one surprising and life-changing decision. 

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the crisis he’s been going through, Suave could use a change of scenery, so the whole team decides to go on a trip to Puerto Rico. It’s Suave’s first time back since he was a child to the island where his mother was born and raised— a moment he used to fantasize about in prison. There he reconnects with family who come from a long lineage of survivors… and of Santería practitioners. A spiritual belief his mother always believed would be linked to his salvation.

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On this first bonus episode from Suave Season 2, Maria and Suave sit down to reflect on the emotional turning point in episode five, where something happens in Suave’s life that sends him on an emotional spiral. Now that the season is complete, Suave shares how distance has given him new insight into his reaction to the incident, and to his mental health. Ojo! There will be spoilers, so make sure you’ve listened through episode five before tuning in. 

The Futuro Plus team includes producer Sam J Leeds, production managers Francis Poon and Jessica Ellis, marketing manager Luis Luna, development manager Danetsy Len, and engineers Gabriela Baez and Stephanie Lebow.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An unexpected event turns Suave’s world on its head, and Suave seems ready to throw it all away. He feels violated, and it triggers a response from Suave we’ve never seen before. As he grows increasingly agitated and isolated from everyone around him, Suave’s actions put everything that he has built at risk.

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There’s one brother behind bars in particular that Suave can’t stop thinking about — Frank Ross, his longtime mentor. The man who taught him how to read and write on the inside. Serving a life sentence for more than half a century, the 93-year-old may have a speck of a chance to get out. That is, if he can convince the state to release him to die on the outside.

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On a trip to Philadelphia, Maria meets Suave’s new romantic partner and visits the home they share. He’s in a stable, happy relationship…but after three decades behind bars, sometimes a girlfriend can feel like a prison guard, and Suave struggles with the idea of commitment. In fact, relationships in general—romantic and otherwise—have been the hardest part of life on the outside for him. Suave and Maria struggle to find a balance in their own relationship as a growing distance creates new tension. What does a friendship for them look like now that he’s no longer locked up and the rules have changed? 

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Suave can’t drink. He can’t smoke weed. He can’t travel. He can’t visit old prison friends, or basically have any interaction with the police. And that’s because even though he’s free, he’s on parole for a lifetime. In other words he’s just serving his prison sentence on the outside. Sometimes all these rules make Suave ask himself, “Will I ever really be free?”

Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org.

Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. https://bit.ly/joinfuturoplus

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.