In the final episode of our first season, host Dascha Polanco sits down with longtime colleague and friend Diane Guerrero (OITNB, Doom Patrol). Together, they reminisce on their time working together on Orange is the New Black, discuss the future of Latinx Hollywood, and flex their Spanish muscles in a game about Latin accents. And, Diane reveals a story about one of her ex’s kinks.
In the final episode of our first season, host Dascha Polanco sits down with longtime colleague and friend Diane Guerrero (OITNB, Doom Patrol). Together, they reminisce on their time working together on Orange is the New Black, discuss the future of Latinx Hollywood, and flex their Spanish muscles in a game about Latin accents. And, Diane reveals a story about one of her ex’s kinks.
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This episode features clips from the following shows: “Orange is the New Black,” “Elite,” “Made in Mexico,” “How To Get Over A Break Up/Soltera Codiciada,” “El Marginal,” “Always a Witch/Siempre Bruja,” “Fabrizio Copano: Solo Pienso En Mi,” and “Four Seasons in Havana/Cuatro Estaciones en La Habana.” All clips courtesy of Netflix.
Diane Guerrero’s books, In The Country We Love, and My Family Divided: One Girl's Journey of Home, Loss, and Hope, are available online or at your local bookstore.
In collaboration with @ConTodoNetflix, a social community for Latino creators and fans alike to come together and celebrate their #LatinXcellence.
“Brown Love” is produced for Netflix by Futuro Studios.
[Music]
Dascha: Welcome to Brown Love, the show where we get real about all the things that NX communities are talking about on your timeline.Brought to you by Netflix and Con Todo.I'm your host, Dascha Polanco. Let's face it, Hollywood hasn't always given us a seat at the table. Things are changing fast, but are they changing fast enough? If we're going to get ours, we need more Latinx creatives as content execs, leading writers' rooms, creating our own production companies and telling our narratives authentically.
For today's episode, I sat down with my home girl, Diane Guerrero, who I worked with for years on Netflix's Orange is the New Black.And we talked about the future forecast for Latinos in Hollywood, and how we can start building towards it. We also talked about mental health, immigration and, I'm not going to lie, we also talked about some freaky shit. Let's get into it.
[Music]
Dascha: Thank you for being here, first of all, Diane. I'm so proud of this trajectory.
Diane: Thank you, honey.
Dascha: How far we have become, but for what you're doing, what you're speaking about. Your vulnerability, your books and where you're at. I'm really proud of you.
Diane: Thank you, honey. I love you so much.
Dascha: I love you too.
Diane: Thank you for having me on this show.
Dascha: Feel like Cristina.
Diane: Yeah. Did I tell you my mom on Cristina once?
Dascha: Stop.
Diane: I'll tell you later. It's a whole story.
Dascha: Oh, my God.
Diane: Yeah, for sure. My dad was not happy about it.
Dascha: For those who don't know, Cristina is like the Spanish Oprah.
Diane: Well, well anyway –
Dascha: She was operatic.
Diane: . . . Cristina was the Oprah of Latino or unidicion [phonetic 0:01:50]
Dascha: Exactly.
Diane: . . . of, like, Latino television. She was a talk show host. Anyway, thanking you for having me on Cristina.
Dascha: Cristina. Not on Cristina.
Diane: I know, I know, I know. I'm really happy to be here with you, Dascha.
Dascha: Thank you.
Diane: This is really exciting. This is, like, seven seasons? Seven years later after we met each other on Orange is the New Black.
Dascha: It was love at first sight, guys.
Diane: It was love at first sight. You were – just so energetic and beautiful and giving and all – just all these wonderful things that just shined out of you.
Dascha: Oh, thank you.
Diane: I saw immediately. And thank you for always being my friend.
Dascha: And you will always be my Polly Pocket.
Diane: I will always be your Polly Pocket. She called me Polly Pocket the minute we met and I was like, "Oh, my God. Thank God I have a friend." Yeah, thank you, honey.
Dascha: Yes. Well, how do you identify yourself in the Latinx community. Like, you know, we have all these terms. We have Hispanic, Latinx. We have Afro-Latina. How do you –
Diane: How do I identify?
Dascha: Yeah.
Diane: As a Latinx woman.
Dascha: Amazing.
Diane: Yeah. I am an inclusive person. I want to carry that out. I'm so glad that I've learned so much about identity and how to basically be who you are fully and also accept people who are being themselves fully. And I think that I'm trying to carry that out, too.And the term Latinx is helping to encompass that, right? And I'm just so glad that I'm alive to be a part of that and allowing a space where we could all be inclusive. So, Latinx means that to me. But I am also identify as a woman. So, I'm putting them together.
Dascha: Wow.
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: Addition.
Diane: And, no, it's in addition to being all of it.
Dascha: Columbian.
Diane: Ah, yes. My parents are Columbians.
Dascha: Yes.
Diane: I consider myself a Columbian-American, an artist and a –
Dascha: Revolutionary.
Diane: . . . human. Yeah, and a revolutionary, for sure. Hell yeah.
Dascha: Yes.
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: Yes.
Diane: For sure.
Dascha: What are you working on now, Diane?
Diane: What am I working on? I'm working on a show called Dune Patrol, which is a D.C. Comics universe show. I don't know – that's not how you say it D.C. Universe show.
Dascha: It's your world.
Diane: It's my world, baby.
Dascha: But I know for a fact that that was – that's something that we saw, but very sparingly for our community, right?
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: To see a Latin woman on a D.C. show.
Diane: Well –
Dascha: A role – a whimsical role which are roles that – I remember once when –
Diane: Are not –
Dascha: . . . we spoke about what are –
Diane: Are not for us.
Dascha: Yeah.
Diane: Right? Or typically not for us. Yeah.I'm doing a role that you would think that historically we wouldn't get. And, to be honest, I don't know. I mean, there's some Latinas in the sort of superhero world. But certainly this is exciting and it's not –
Dascha: Well, everyone we at, right? Becomes part of and becomes bigger. And it allows the opportunity for the next –
Diane: Right.
Dascha: . . . person and the next one and the next Latino to be able to do these roles and to fit different type of roles, right?
Diane: And surely seven years ago, I don't know if this role would have been available for me, if it hadn't been for the work that we have done and for the work that the people who came before us have done, right?
Dascha: Exactly.
Diane: And it's been a long road of us trying to figure out where we fit in in this world, in this – I guess, in Hollywood. And I think that what we've come to understand is that we absolutely have a place here. We have beautiful stories to share. All we have to do is tell them. And obviously shows like Orange is the New Black allowed us to be in this space.
And now what we do is just we take off running from there.And I think that's what we've seen.I mean, you have done so many projects since then. I'm, like, always amazed to see you. I just saw you in The Irishman, by the way. I saw you with Robert De Niro, babe.
Dascha: Thank you.
Diane: I saw you –
Dascha: Second time.
Diane: The second time with – yeah, yeah, no biggie, no biggie.I love that, though. I love seeing us out there.
Dascha: You know, I grew up in a household where we – it was novelas that I was like, "Ooh, novelas, novelas, novelas." Right?
Diane: Hm-hmmm [affirmative].
Dascha: And it's our background noise. And we see –
Diane: [Speaking Spanish 0:05:43]
Dascha: [Speaking Spanish 0:05:44]]
Diane: I was in love with [unintelligible 0:05:46]
Dascha: Oh, my God [unintelligible 0:05:46]
Diane: I know, but still, even watching those, we're still like – I still didn't really belong in that world –
Dascha: Exactly.
Diane: . . . because I saw – right? The whole term [Speaking Spanish 0:05:55]
Dascha: Yeah, yeah. Tambien.
Diane: Okay, so most – we're so much more than just one thing.And I feel like we were always searching to see ourselves represented on – in these kinds of stories. So [Speaking Spanish 0:06:08] was cool, but it didn't tell our whole story.
Dascha: Exactly. Exactly.So, we definitely have seen a growth in the industry. You know there's a lot more work to be done, obviously –
Diane: Claro.
Dascha: . . . when it talks about our future in Hollywood and what we're doing. And I think Netflix has done a great job at showing the diversity and giving the opportunity to such shows. I mean, in comparison to other things that you've done, what was the thing about Orange is the New Black and the things that came after that continue to represent you?
Diane: Right. Well, I mean certainly being a part of Orange is the New Black opened my eyes to so many things, right? There were so many people on that show that were living out their truth as – I mean, and we saw their process in them doing so, right?
Dascha: Yes.
Diane: That us to a whole new world of saying, "Wait, we can determine who we are and we have a say in that." And what that show showed us, I think, was that all we had to do was just say yes to ourselves and just kind of proclaim it, right? And say, 'This is who I want to be. This is my story and there's nothing to be ashamed of.A lot of people can related to this.I'm not alone here."
[Scene from Orange is the New Black]
Female: And over here we have my best friend, Marita. Say hi Chiquita.
Marita: No, go away. I already took my face off from this morning. I gotta put a new one –
Female: No. This is a day in the life for the people. Tell them what you're doing. Come on.
Marita: Okay, fine. Hi, everybody. Okay, so what I'm doing now is contour and highlight. When I wasn't in prison I would do this with a matte pro palette and a No. 19 fan brush. But in here I use three spices that you can find in any kitchen: Cinnamon, cumin –
Female: [unintelligible 0:07:57]
Marita: Yes. Your face will smell like your abuela's [Speaking Spanish 0:08:02] You gotta make sacrifices if you want to look DIY fly like me.
[End of scene]
Dascha: Do you remember that when we first started our conversations about, like – that I would always tell you, "Girl, you're going to be all right."
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: You know, you are what Hollywood loves, right? What has loved. And the beauty of that is that even though you know that, you're very aware of what is missing.
Diane: Right.
Dascha: And that's the difference. When we know the difference of having those opportunities to us, and where those opportunities are missing, you know.
Diane: Well, we want to lives our truth.
Dascha: Right.
Diane: Right? And, yes, I think once we tell our truth – I mean I think there's a lot of resistance in Hollywood for the truth at times. I think that once they see it and once they see how it works and how it speaks to people universally, then they're like, "Oh, okay. This is what it is." But we're constantly sort of fighting that, you know, within ourselves, as being truthful with ourselves. Being content with who we are. Being accepting of who we are. And because of the images and what we have seen that society has actually thrown at us, we struggle with fully being –
Dascha: Even accepting failures or, like, you know – I know at Netflix we've had shows that have canceled. Like One Day at a Time, when that canceled that was a huge ordeal.And you know what I mean?
Diane: Hm-hmmm [affirmative]
Dascha: And Netflix got a lot of backlash and the community was like, you know, they cancelled –
Diane: A show that was, in essence, a Latino show or Latinx show.
Dascha: Yes.
Diane: Or a show that showed a Latinx family kind of just, you know, having a one day at a time.
Dascha: Yeah. One day – you're so funny.
Diane: They were just – they were just having – they were just taking it one day at a time.
Dascha: Exactly.
Diane: And they were, like, no hurry the hell up. We need to see everything now.
Dascha: But you know what? What the beauty of that is? It's that I know that the community – I know people – the back – I know that there was, like, well, come on, the only show you have there. So, the beauty is to be able to have so many shows that those things are going to happen it becomes a norm.
Diane: Absolutely.
Dascha: Because it happens with other shows.
Diane: Right. There's plenty of shows that get canceled, but it's not a big deal because there's so many.
Dascha: There's so many of them.
Diane: Yeah. So, I think that what we need to do is more stories.
Dascha: Yes.
Diane: We need to have more writers. We have to have more people in positions of power that are green lightings these shows that are going to speak. And, also, not consider them, I guess – you know, understand that they're telling, perhaps, Latinx stories or diverse race, but they're also all of our stories, right? And they're –
Dascha: Exactly. And sometimes – listen, in order for us to progress any far, I think it's about realizing that we don't have to be – you know that excuse where, oh, you fit the quota –
Diane: Yeah. We don't have to explain ourselves any more.
Dascha: Yes.
Diane: Enough with this whole, like, having to, like, explain things to white people.
Dascha: Like, it should be on because – this has to be on because you don't have enough.
Diane: Yeah. And if we're having to define everything, if we're having to explain every little move that we're doing, then it's not going to be authentic and it's not going to be appealing to anybody. Nobody wants to be told how to understand something, how to like something, right?Art is to be interpreted by anyone in their own way.
The work that we have to do now, though, is making sure that there is place for stories like this, that there is place for black and brown folks, right? And for people of color to tell their stories. Because there has been just so many years of not having that. So, yes, we have to have the balance with the executives being diverse, with the writers being diverse. But until we get to a point where we're telling all sorts of stories because we are such –
Dascha: And just because they're stories.
Diane: Because they're just stories.
Dascha: And not because "This is a group of Latin stories."
Diane: Or this is the group and there's one black guy, one Latino –
[crosstalk]
Diane: And there's two white people just to mix it in.
Dascha: And they're probably not even. It's just they look that way, or what they think looks like, you know.
Diane: Or just like, it's okay if, like, you know, your group of friends is, like, that mixed.
Dascha: You know what I mean?
Diane: You know what I mean? It's like just – just be honest about the people who you are telling stories about.
[Music]
Dascha: A huge thing that I want to discuss in this segment about immigration. Right?And we're both – right? I'm an immigrant.
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: You're an advocate for immigration –
Diane: Yeah, I'm –
Dascha: . . . reform policies and so am I. We speak about it very openly.
Diane: Yeah. Well, that's the thing, right? Where, like, we have to understand that the best thing, I think, for our community – I mean, I guess in terms of representation. It's not just representation in the media and Hollywood, but it's representation across the board. And I think that's why you and I have – it's been so difficult to stay out of politics, to stay out of kind of those important issues, because they affect our community.
Dascha: And they affect us directly. Have affected us all our lives.
Diane: Absolutely. And we were on a show that spoke very loudly about the issues that were going on and – within our communities as far as the industrial prison complex, right? And those are something that really affects our communities. So, we were inspired to also be a part of this larger conversation. And I think that's the way we're going to really uplift our people is by [unintelligible 0:13:13]
Dascha: Did we know that?
Diane: No, we – of course not. No, we grew to know that.
Dascha: Yeah. We didn't even know that.
Diane: No, we didn't.
Dascha: And we didn't realize the position that we were going to be placed in. Where it's like, "Oh, I have a voice.
Diane: Right.
Dascha: And as an actor I also can give back to my community this way."
Diane: Yeah, well –
Dascha: I belong and by educating and by –
Diane: If you're in this world and you have a platform, as you do, you can choose to be silent. But I think that, as a person like you or me who deeply cares about our community, who loves our community the way we do – because I see you – I mean, I see us representing out there. And there is a deep love for who we are and where we came from. Sure.
Dascha: An empathy that even though we're not really, you know, directly affected –
Diane: No, we're directly affected.
Dascha: You know, well, we are directly affected.
Diane: I'm traumatized as hell, honey.
Dascha: You know what, I have to say – what I mean is, like, even though it's not our brother, even though it might be considered a stranger, it affects us. We're –
Diane: Oh, yeah.
Dascha: We have empathy towards it. We're sensitive towards it. We're affected every day by it.
Diane: Of course, all of us are.
Dascha: You don't have to be it to be part of it or be part of solution. And I think that when your story came out, your book, exposing that, right? Because we spoke about that and it's, like, you live in that fear all your life, right?
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: So, I mean, from Orange and then you write this book – tell, us a little bit about it.
Diane: Yeah. 2016 I released my memoire of – it's called "In the Country We Love." And it talks about my experience with having my family separated from me through deportation and, sort of, my life and journey after this very traumatic experience. And I talk about how it affected me, how it affected my family, and how I fit in in this world having that happen to me.
Dascha: It was a great book, guys. Go out and get it.
Diane: Really, get it. It's in the 99 cent bin. Anyone can afford it.
Dascha: No, it's not. Not, it's not.
Diane: No, no, it really is. I saw it.
Dascha: Did you see it in the 99 –
Diane: Yeah, I saw it in the 99 cent bin. Okay.
Dascha: Where the fuck –
Diane: I should have –
Dascha: Where the fuck did you see that so I could go and buy them, buy them all?
Diane: Now that I can afford them.
Dascha: But buy them all.
Diane: I'm going. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Dascha: I love the cover by the way.
Diane: Thank you, babe. I love it, too.
Dascha: And you did –
Diane: It's me holding – it's me holding cotton candy.
Dascha: It's, like –
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: . . . this is my truth.
Diane: This is my truth.
Dascha: While you're at the circus . . .
Diane: I'm experiencing all of this. Thank you. Yeah. Yeah, that book was really special. I mean, I don't take for granted for a second that being on a show like Orange is the New Black, obviously – meeting people like you, like the freaking women we worked with – you guys inspired me. And having that kind of community certainly allowed me to feel safe in sharing my story.
Dascha: That's amazing.
Diane: And I did. And since then I have found myself a lot more. I have learned so much about myself and my community and what really – what my purpose is. I'm still finding that. But I know that I don't want to be here if I'm not involved in that way.
Dascha: We inspire each other, Diane, you know. When we're in this industry, I feel like it's important that Latinx community –
Diane: We support each other.
Dascha: We have to support –
Diane: We stick together. Absolutely.
Dascha: . . . and transcend and support other groups, as well.
Diane: Absolutely.
Dascha: Because that's how we see change. But, most importantly, how – we have to be aware that we sometimes don't get to choose the roles that we have to play in, right? And we don't get to choose what we say or how we say it, unless we're doing it. Unless we're creating, unless we're writing, unless we're producing, we don't have that power.
Diane: Right. Yeah.We have to write our own stories.
Dascha: Yes, yes.
Diane: And change the whatever narrative has been sort of given to us or that we were born with, right?
Dascha: Exactly.
Diane: Right? We have to change that. And I think that often people, like, in our community or like us – we're used to just accepting, sort of, what has been given.
Dascha: Exactly.
Diane: And I think that we're here to tell folks –
Dascha: And live in fear –
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: . . . you know, because of your –
Diane: Right, because of your status or whatever. If you are poor. If you have family members that are in jail. If your dad's not around. If your mom has been deported. We're, sort of, taught to, sort of, like, let that be because it's, sort of, what we deserve. And I think that people – that if you do have this platform and, sort of, what we're – the kind of work that we're experimenting with now is saying, "Nah, you don't have to accept that."
Dascha: You don't.
Diane: You are much more than your circumstance. You are much more than has been told about you or what you have been given. You can do and give so much more than all of that.
Dascha: You know, it was interesting because I was not born here.I'm an immigrant. And I had my green card for so many years. And I became a citizen during –
Diane: During.
Dascha: Hey, that was my life. Because I – the fear is still to me – was like, "You'd better get into any trouble because they will take your green card. You're going right back."
Diane: For sure. For sure.
Dascha: And, so, for me, I became a citizen during Orange is the New Black. And it was such an emotional light. Oh, my God.I'm a citizen of the United States.Like, I've been in this country – and it was such, like, a freeing moment for me –
Diane: Of course.
Dascha: . . . that, "Oh, okay. I’m okay."
Diane: No, you're not threatened any more.
Dascha: That's it. Okay. So, now that you've made it, girl –
Diane: Made it?
Dascha: We're rich. We look fabulous.
Diane: We're so rich now.
Dascha: Oh, my God.
Diane: We're so rich now.
Dascha: We're so rich. We were just looking about how we looked before. We’re like who is that fool?
Diane: I know. Who is that poor? Now that we're wearing suits.
Dascha: Yeah. We're wearing suits.
Diane: My suit's Armani, babe.
Dascha: Oh, really?
Diane: I have to give it back later, but yes.
Dascha: Oh, wow.
Diane: Yeah, honey.
Dascha: Well, you're richer than me, Diane. I'm going to have to go write a damn book. Um, mantras . . .
Diane: You don't get any money from books, I promise you.
Dascha: Okay, well, I'm not going to write a book.
Diane: Don't write a book. Don't write a book.
Dascha: So, now that we've made it.
Diane: Write a book.
Dascha: Write a book. Write a book.My book is going to be a picture book.
Diane: I love that.
Dascha: A pop-up picture book.
Diane: And why not?
Dascha: It's just going to be my butt popping up, twerking.
Diane: [Speaking Spanish 0:19:06]
Dascha: And my immigration status. Like, "Yeah."
Diane: Exactly. Like with your green card, like, right on your ass? With your, like, citizenship right on your butt. Just like –
Dascha: That kind of thing.
Diane: Yeah. Sure.
Dascha: What is – right? What is your advise for our community? For Latinx actors? For those that know that they're privileged? That know that, "Hey, I have to work harder at this?" That have or stand for something, or feel like – what is your advice to them?
Diane: I think – listen, don't be hard on yourself if you care this much, you know. And, honestly, it is just a natural thing. I think that our history informs us so much. Our history tells us that we have some work to do. And if you assume that responsibility, carry it full through without any fear. Know that you are here and that you are beautiful and you are enough, and that there are people around you to support you, right?
Dascha: That's right. And we're here.
Diane: And we're here.
Dascha: And we're here. We're here and we're holding the door open.
Diane: We're holding the door open. You know, I hope people are holding it open, you know, for the next –
Dascha: For the next. It’s that change.
Diane: . . . for the next and the next and the next.
Dascha: We have to build that web.
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: What is the advice for Hollywood, though?
Diane: Hm.
Dascha: I imagine [unintelligible 0:20:21]
Diane: Me too, honey.
Dascha: Because, you know, we could be a little shady and petty.
Diane: So shady. Where's my palm tree? What is the advice for Hollywood? I'd just say, "Look, nothing about us without us."
Dascha: Woof.
Diane: You know what I mean?
Dascha: Can I hear that again?
Diane: Nothing about us without us.
Dascha: One more time.
Diane: Nothing about us without us. I think that there is so much beauty to share. And if you are trying to target an audience. If you do – are truly about inclusivity, if you're really about diversity, I think it has to be, you know, across the board in order for it to be effective and achieve the change that you want to see, right?
Dascha: Exactly.
Diane: We're doing these works so that it could affect the outside. It's not just about making money. It's not just about entertaining folks. It's about actually making change where it matters, right?
Dascha: Yes.
Diane: So that people are not being shot by cops. So that families are not being separated. So that there is justice in our system. So that there are food for children. So that people are understanding of each other.So that, you know, relationships can work. You know, we're exploring all of these things, but if we're really about that, then you've gotta be about it across the board.
Dascha: Exactly.
[Music]
Dascha: You know, I wanted to speak about mental health and how we stay mentally healthy and how we speak about it. How do you? How do you feel about it? How – what is the responsibility of us as actors in Hollywood to have this discussion about mental health?
Diane: I think that anybody in any field has a responsibility to talk about mental health, and not to talk about it but consider it, right?To consider that your employers or that your family members or anywhere around you – that people are going through stuff. And that there needs to be a general consensus that your mental health is important.That we all need to take care of ourselves and also be aware that we need to be sensitive to others who are maybe going through this type of challenges, and creating environments that make it okay to have this kinds of discussions.
Dascha: Exactly. And it's not taboo. Like, in our communities, our Latin communities, always taboo, [Speaking Spanish 0:22:45] They never –
Diane: Or, like, you know, we're going through so much already.Like, what do you mean you're mentally ill? Like, that doesn't exist for – like, that luxury doesn't apply to you.
Dascha: You know, it –
Diane: What are you sad about?
[Conversation in Spanish]
Dascha: You have to be happy.
Diane: No. And that is so wrong because our success – and I don't mean just monetary success, I don't mean, you know, professional – but our success as human beings depends so much on our mental health. And we're –
Dascha: Our growth as a community –
Diane: Everything.
Dascha: . . . is –
Diane: Depends on that mental health.
Dascha: Yes.
Diane: Because so many of us aren't realizing that our mental health – our health is being affected as a kid. Not only, you know, through the trauma that our parents are passing down and from their parents and their parents and their parents, right? From generations? But we have to understand that this is affecting us at a very early age.So, if we are taught having honest conversations about that, if we're continuing to protect ourselves in that way, then the better it would be in the long run.
Dascha: And knowing that it's okay to feel mentally –
Diane: Ill.
Dascha: . . . ill at one point in your life.
Diane: Absolutely.
Dascha: You know what I mean? And not be –
Diane: I talk a lot about that in my book. Yeah.
Dascha: Which is why I think you and I have a connection. Because I think from the moment that we've met we've always been very honest with our vulnerability, whether it's mental illness, whether it's our experience, whether it's our family, our responsibilities.People don't really know our responsibilities. Like, we have families in the exterior, right, that we take care of. That we're, like, kind of like the –
Diane: Uplift. We're like –
Dascha: . . . the providers.
Diane: Right, right. We're the providers in a family.
Dascha: And, so –
Diane: And that's a lot of pressure.
Dascha: Yes. And I think that – for me, I did not know I suffered from depression until I finally realized and accepted it that I was.
Diane: Oh, yeah.
Dascha: And I spoke about it.
Diane: Oh, yeah.
Dascha: You know what I mean? I was like, "Oh, this is what it is. I need to go speak to somebody. I don't have to be strong, right?"
Diane: Well, that's the pressure that we put in our community."We're resilient. We're strong. We can take anything." It's like, yes, we are all of those things, but we're also –
Dascha: We have moments.
Diane: We have moments. And we also are human beings and we need to take care of ourselves. And we are worthy of care.
Dascha: Self-care, self-love.
Diane: Self-care and care of others.
Dascha: Of course. Yes.And knowing, like, you know, I – my brother recently got diagnosed with schizophrenia. And for me it was like, "Holy crap –" It was, like, I was very frustrated with it. It was like, "Why am I so frustrated?" And it's because – it's not me not accepting –
Diane: We don't see those stories.
Dascha: You don't –
Diane: We don't see those stories of people in our community struggling through these things.
Dascha: I didn't understand.
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: I didn't understand.
Diane: Not every story is like [Speaking Spanish 0:25:35] you know, the border or whatever.
Dascha: Yes.
Diane: Not every story is, like, you know – we have to be okay with sharing our lives, you know, as a whole and mental health.
Dascha: Yes. And Hollywood is – its artists, you know – in Hollywood we hear it. And people are, like, they don't understand as an actor, "How are you depressed?" And it's, "Oh, why are you sad?" Or, "Why –" You know –
Diane: We're depressed because everyone is depressed.
Dascha: Exactly. It happens across the board. It doesn't matter what industry you're in. But most importantly it's knowing where to get help. Knowing that if you notice something, it's okay to ask a question.
Diane: We do need to speak about it. Do you know that the highest rate of suicide right now are for Latino women?
Dascha: Yeah. Yeah.
Diane: That's some shit.
Dascha: Yeah.
Diane: And that is attributed, certainly, to, you know, a lot of the services that aren't provided in our communities, but also because we don't talk about mental health openly.
Dascha: Yeah.
Diane: And it's – so, we're here knowing that we're going through all this stuff, but there's no one to talk to. There's not an open dialogue about it.
Dascha: I love how Netflix on 13 Reasons Why – stuff like that, they incorporated, like, the hotline. And a lot of shows are doing that, where outside of the entertainment –
Diane: We did that.
Dascha: Yeah. Well, we did it with the deportation. We did it so many times with the detention center. Like, shows after shows – the entertainment is transcending where we're also providing information. We're just not entertaining. Entertaining and capitalizing on the subject.
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: Also educating and making the audiences aware, "If you connect with this story, this is –"
Diane: Where you can go for help.
Dascha: Exactly.
Diane: Certainly, certainly.
Dascha: So, I think it's a beautiful thing that they're doing that.
[Music]
Dascha: It's time for some Brown Love. I want to talk to you about something else.
Diane: Hm-hmm.
Dascha: Can we talk about some Brown love? Brown love.
Diane: Chocolate love. Brown love.
Dascha: Chocolate love. Brown loveand it's just about love, life and your relationship status, things like that. And interesting questions about your experience and your love life.
Diane: Ooh. Is this the portion of the time where things get steamy?
Dascha: Yeah.
Diane: Okay. I'm going to get comfortable.
Dascha: So, I want you – listen. It's all up to you how steamy you can get.
Diane: Brown love is special. It is giving.It is generous.
Dascha: How special is it?
Diane: It's generous. It's – the love that I have to give is so full and so generous. And I want to continue living that and expressing my brown love – all over the place.
Dascha: Sprinkle it all over, baby.
Diane: Just sprinkling, you know.
Dascha: Sprinkling. Experience it. Share it.Intertwine it. Intertwine.
Diane: Flip it.
Dascha: Flip it. Reverse it.
Diane: Reverse it.
Dascha: Yes. Well, you do a good job at it.
Diane: Thank you, babe.
Dascha: I'm in love with you.
Diane: I'm in love with you.
Dascha: The love you share.
Diane: Likewise.
Dascha: Always. Thank you.
Diane: Okay. Go on.
Dascha: What's your relationship status?
Diane: Oh my.
Dascha: You don't have to answer.
Diane: No. I am in a loving relationship.
Dascha: That's a beautiful thing.
Diane: I am in a loving relationship. And I am starting that to be more accepting of the relationship that I have with myself, as well, and to love myself. Because I love people. You know me. I love people.
Dascha: Yes.
Diane: But it always has been a struggle to really fully love myself. And, so, that's something I'm sure we all work through. But, yeah, I'm working on that.
Dascha: So. I'm going to ask you a couple things. Like what's your favorite pickup line?
Diane: Oh, my God. Pickup line? "Wow, I think you're really smart" or something like that.
Dascha: Oh.
Diane: Yeah. I like for someone to, like, notice my brain.
Dascha: What about cringeworthy?
Diane: I don't know. Anybody who, like – yeah, anybody who has anything to say about any body parts of mine. Also, don't call me short or anything like that. Don't talk about my height.
Dascha: Are you self-conscious about your height?
Diane: A little.
Dascha: Because I've spoken about your height.
Diane: No, no. But that's the –
Dascha: They’ll pick you up.
Diane: The Polly Pocket thing, that's fine. That's you. That's fine.It's about, like – I think it's just, like, people trying to, like, pick you up in a way that is also insulting.
Dascha: Yeah.
Diane: You know what I mean?
Dascha: Yeah.
Diane: I don't know. Don't talk about me. Am I self-conscious about it? No. I just – I don't want to be self-conscious about it. So, that's why it would help if you don't talk about it.
Dascha: Exactly. So, stop talking about it. Stop trying to, like, get in my pants by talking about my height.
Diane: Exactly.
Dascha: Because you don't want me to ask your size.
Diane: Exactly.
Dascha: Have you ever tried online dating while famous?
Diane: No, I haven't. No, no.I have never done –
Dascha: Ever?
Diane: No. No, you know me, girl. A fly drops, another one comes in.
Dascha: Wow.
Diane: It's crazy.
Dascha: Their lines up. [sic]
Diane: It's been a good years for me. Can't get them away. Can't get them away.
Dascha: That's what I always ask. You know, it's funny that I get those questions about, "What's your advice for dating for a plus-sized woman?" And I'm like, "Girl, your size don't matter. I've never –" It's not about the size. It's about how you feel. What you exude.
Diane: Absolutely.
Dascha: Right? Forget about – like, there's always going to be somebody interested in someone. And it's up to you to make sure that you just ready to receive it.
Diane: Exactly.
Dascha: Sometimes we just resist too much.
Diane: Yeah. You know, I've been very open to different possibilities. As you see, people like us – I mean, where we started and to see us now. I'm like, we were definitely open to possibility. And I think that that has translated over to my love life. I think I've always been accepting of whatever came my way. If it was loving. If it was –
Dascha: Quirky.
Diane: Quirky, cool, nerdy, you know, fluffy, yummy. Whatever it was, you know, I was like, "Oh, what is this?"
Dascha: It's experiencing it.
Diane: Always down to experience and adventure. And I think I've always been open that way. And I've found love in many different places.
Dascha: Does your love cost a thing?
Diane: No. My love don't cost a thing.
Dascha: Wow.
Diane: Thank you, J.Lo. Don't you remember in the video?
Dascha: No.
Diane: She's like, "My love don't cost a thing, thing, thing." Remember that?
Dascha: Wow.
Diane: Okay. Somebody didn't see making of the video.
Dascha: See there are many fetishized stories.
Diane: Oh, my.
Dascha: Do you have any fetishes?
Diane: Oh, I – do I have fetishes? I like – I don't know if I have any fetishes. I think they're pretty standard. But I did have a – can I talk about, like, some weird shit?
Dascha: Yeah.
Diane: Well, there was a man in my life who liked cutting while – during intercourse. That's weird.What?
Dascha: For real? Like what?Like what? Like he would like just like feel pain?
Diane: He just wanted the danger. So, he would glue a little razer on my nail.
Dascha: You're lying.
Diane: And we would – but the point was not to scratch, right?
Dascha: Also, it never happened.
Diane: And we weren't supposed to scratch. But it was – the possibility was there.
Dascha: Oh.
Diane: Pretty hot. Yeah. It was like a, you know, a danger thing.
Dascha: Oh. So, it's like, "Oh, like, we're going to –"
Diane: "We're going to the extreme. One quick slice of the finger and I could possibly bleed out."
Dascha: Wow.
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: Interesting.
Diane: Yeah.
Dascha: There's people that have fetishes for feet. We could do that.
Diane: Okay. Sorry.I like feet. I like feet.
Dascha: It's okay. We're fine.This is an open forum, this spot.
Diane: Is it an open space?
Dascha: Yeah. It's an open – it's a safe space.
Diane: And I talk about, like, the community and being ourselves, and then, like, stick a little razor on your nail and see how close you can get to someone's balls.
Dascha: And I'm going to threaten you.
Diane: Yeah. How close –
Dascha: We're going [unintelligible 0:33:07] fight.
Diane: How close can you get to someone's taint? Those were fucking times, let me tell you.
Dascha: Let me tell you.
Diane: I had a fucking blast.
Dascha: I've had some moments, honey. I've had some moments, too. Well.
Diane: Diki diki diki [phonetic 0:33:22]
Dascha: You know, I like that. That we were able to experience to have these stories, because that’s how we create things.
Diane: Dude.
[Music]
Dascha: It's time to play a little game. Now I'm going to uplift you.
Diane: Okay. Wow.It's a rollercoaster.
Dascha: We're going to play a game. Okay. So, for last, I want to play a little game with you. And this is called Accent Check. In this game, we're going to play you a clip from different Spanish language Netflix shows or movies and then you'll have 15 seconds to guess what county it's from based on the accent.
Diane: Okay. Okay.
Dascha: Oh, this is fun for us.
Diane: Okay.
[Conversation in Spanish]
Dascha: Roll it please.
[Movie clip in Spanish]
Diane: The first one is Spanish. A Spanish accent from Espana.
Dascha: That was fun, yeah?
Diane: Perhaps Penelope Cruz?
Dascha: It's [unintelligible 0:34:34]
[Conversation in Spanish]
Dascha: Actually, it's Elite. It's a Spanish drama thriller.
Diane: Oh, claro. I know, I know, I know.
Dascha: Next.
[Movie clip in Spanish]
Diane: [Speaking Spanish 0:35:11]
Dascha: Yup. It's made in Mexico.
Diane: Okay.
Dascha: Okay? It's a reality TV shows that follows the lives of nine young socialites and expats living in Mexico City. There's a lot of stuff I've got to catch up on, girl.
Diane: There's a lot of content out there.
Dascha: Next, please.
[Movie clip in Spanish]
[Conversation in Spanish]
Diane: Chile?
Dascha: No. I'm going to give you a hint.
Diane: Give me a hint.
[Conversation in Spanish]
Dascha: So, that's How to Get Over a Breakup.
[Crosstalk in Spanish]
Dascha: How to Get Over a Breakup by AK [phonetic 0:36:17], Soltera Codiciada. Soltera Codiciada is a Peruvian comedy about a copywriter who's suddenly dumped and starts a blog about getting over it.
Diane: And this is on Netflix?
Dascha: All this stuff is on Netflix.
Diane: I must watch.
Dascha: The next one, please.
[Movie clip in Spanish]
Diane: Argentina [Speaking Spanish 0:36:45]
Dascha: Argentina. [unintelligible 0:36:49]
[Crosstalk]
Dascha: It's an Argentinian show about an ex-cop who is sent undercover into prison to infiltrate a criminal gang of prisoners and guards in order to solve a high-profile kidnapping.
Diane: Wow.
Dascha: Yeah. Good stuff.
Diane: [unintelligible 0:37:05]
Dascha: [Speaking Spanish 0:37:05]
[Movie clip in Spanish]
[Conversation in Spanish]
Diane: I thought it was Siempre Bruja.
Dascha: Si. Siempre Bruja centers around a 17th century witch who time travels to present day – I can't wait to see this – present day Cartagena, Columbia on the eve of her execution to save the man she loves and defeat a dark rival.
Diane: Wow. I'm, like, really good at this.
Dascha: [Speaking Spanish 0:37:57]
[Movie clip in Spanish]
[Conversation in Spanish]
Dascha: . . . in every language.
Diane: Wow.
Dascha: Yeah. And it comes from the word [Speaking Spanish 0:38:41]
[Conversation in Spanish]
Dascha: This clip was from the Chilean comedian, Fabrizio Copano's Netflix special, Solo Pienso En Mi.
Diane: Solo Pienso En Mi.
Dascha: And the last one.
[Movie clip in Spanish]
Diane: Cuba. Cubano.
Dascha: [Speaking Spanish 0:39:18] Yes, it's Cuba. Four Seasons in Havana, aka Quatro Estaciones en La Habana. This is a clip from a Cuban show the follows a detective and his partner as they solve crimes in Cuba's capital.
Diane: Well, I think I saw a little bit of this. I'm excited to –
Dascha: For real?
Diane: I'm excited to watch. Oh, I didn't see it, but I saw a clip for it.
Dascha: Yeah.
Diane: I'm excited to watch it.
[Music]
Dascha: And with that, that concludes our episode –
Diane: This was great. Thank you.
Dascha: Yes, it was. And I want to end it by doing [Speaking Spanish 0:39:54] and by saying an affirmation.What you hope for the next decade for our Latin community. Okay?
Diane: Okay. I wish for clarity for my community.
Dascha: Cheers to that. Clarity for our Latin Community. Yes.
Diane: Cheers.
Dascha: Cheers, honey.
Diane: Thank you.
Dascha: And the party has started.
Diane: And the party's begun. Okay [Speaking Spanish 0:40:20]
[Music]
Dascha: This show was produced by Netflix and Con Todo in partnership with Futuro Studios. This is the last episode for now, but we'll be back with more Con Todo content on this feed soon. If you like what you heard, be sure to rate and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify or whatever you listen to podcasts. And don't forget to follow at Con Todo Netflix on Instagram and Twitter for all things Latin excellence on Netflix. I've been your host, Dascha Polanco. [Speaking Spanish 0:40:53]
[Music]
Dascha: Brown love. Hey, Brown love. Hey, you, you want some brown love? You want some of this brown love?