Mexican actor Erik Hayser who has a new series on Telemundo called "Preso #1," a political thriller about the President of Mexico who is accused of a crime he didn’t commit. Jack asks why political themes have not been prevalent on Spanish-language primetime, if English-language Latinos will watch it, typecasting, if he still auditions, and his ...…

Film and culture Mike Sargent joins Jack to discuss the reasons that led to the new 'Men In Black' reboot to get "the boot" from general audiences.

On this week’s show, film and culture critic Mike Sargent gives us our First Reaction from inside the theater of the first NY press screening of the new X-Men film, Dark Phoenix. (3:06) Then we talk to Puerto Rican actor Marquis Rodriguez, one of the five young actors in Netflix’s new controversial mini-series “When They See Us” from director A ...…

Tanya Saracho, the talented creator of the TV show 'VIDA,' and a leading voice in the Latinx community, comes on the show to discuss how VIDA happened, the pains of writing the pilot while she was mending from a spinal infection, her bouts with anxiety and doubt and the tricks she does to get through them. She also reveals how in a particular H ...…

STARZ’s new Latinx show VIDA begins season 2 on Sunday, May 26, and one of the coolest things about the show is the soundtrack. So joining us this week is one of the show’s featured singers, Maria del Pilar, who discusses the blend of musical genres she uses to make up her sound, she also explains the business of being a musician in 2019, and w ...…

This week on the show, we discuss the Univision and Telemundo 2019 Upfronts with media reporter Michael Malone from Broadcast & Cable Magazine, plus we review the third installment of the John Wick series with film and culture critic Mike Sargent.

In an industry of barely any Latino representation, Broadway’s Sergio Trujillo is one of its most shining examples. Trujillo, of Colombian roots, was recently given the second Tony nomination of his career for Best Choreography for “Ain’t Too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations”. If you haven’t seen it yet, this Motown jukebox musical ...…

We are dedicating the entirety of this episode to "Avengers:Endgame". Film and culture critic Mike Sargent joins me to go through the most pressing questions you might have AFTER you saw the film. We do have to make a disclaimer… if you have not seen the movie yet, don’t listen to this podcast, because the very purpose of this episode is NOT to ...…

Javi Morgado is the Executive Producer of CNN’s morning-news program NEW DAY and happens to be the only Latino executive producer in the highly-competitive morning news landscape. We spoke to him about why he believes there aren’t more Latinos in positions of power in the media industry like himself, what he learned from his journey from local ...…

TV Queen Kate del Castillo joins the show to talk Season 2 of Telemundo’s La Reina del Sur 2, easily Spanish-language TV’s most iconic telenovela. Jack asks her being on 'The Tonight Show' for the first time was like, where she found the strength to overcome the darkness and fear during the Chapo moments, and how it’s like to work with Will Smi ...…

How can you can get a table "week of" at the best restaurants in Manhattan? Jack cold-called a white glove concierge and a reservationist at a 3-Michelin restaurant and point blank asked them to come clean on how the game is played. (2:41) Then, looks like the show you’ll be binging this weekend is going to be Brazilian. My wife shares her late ...…

We discuss the rise of Spanish singer Rosalía. The NY Times just included her song 'Con Altura' (feat. J Balvin) in their top song picks of the week, and Isabela Raygoza, music journalist for Rolling Stone Magazine will give me a primer on what you and I need to know. (2:30) Jack suggests 3 new movie releases (19:35) Then film critic Mike Sarge ...…

Jordan Peele’s new highly anticipated horror film, US, is out in theaters and critics are raging about it… except Jack. Film critic Mike Sargent offers his perspective on the good and bad of the film. 'JackedIN' Pop News Recap: (:50) #HighlyRelevantMusicPlaylist Calma - Los Wálters Caballero - Mr.Pig, Fancy Folks, y Bruses Below - Noah Pino Pal ...…

Maria Elena Fernandez, TV reporter for New York Magazine and Vulture.com joins us to discuss how One Day at a Time's cancellation might detour any progress made for US Latino TV shows. (1:49) Then, Concepción de León of the New York Times pitched and created their first-ever Latinx column EL ESPACE. How did it come to be? Did she encounter any ...…

Chilean Oscar-winning director Sebastian Lelio on the art of remaking his own film 'Gloria Bell' starring Julianne Moore. Why did he do it when all his confidants told him no? What did he gain from it? What did he discover through the experience? (4:04) Then film critic Mike Sargent and Jack give their First Reaction to Marvel's first female-su ...…

Robert Rodriguez, the director of the new film Alita: Battle Angel discusses how it was a happy coincidence that his lead actress Rosa Salazar was Peruvian, 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 Hispanic director to create Latino stars. (2:22) Rosa Sa ...…

Javier Bardem discusses his new movie 'Everybody Knows' starring Penélope Cruz, the moments on set where his acting just sucked and what he did to overcome it. He talked about working with wife Penélope, he also offers incredible insight on what actors need to do to give the best performance of their life, and what Alfonso Cuarón said to him wh ...…

Cristina Gallegos is the co-director of the new Colombian narco film Birds of Passage (Pajaros de Verano). We get into why she’s reclaiming the way Colombian drug movies are seen in Hollywood, the shame Latin Americans carry with their ethnicity, why she chooses to make high-brow films, and how Latina female directors are making a difference on ...…

Mexican-American TV producer Jaime Davila Jr. and 26-year-old Dominican entrepreneur John Henry join the show. Davila talks how the new Hispanic content today is being created for general audiences (1:30) and Henry discusses his new entrepreneur show 'Hustle' on Viceland, plus, he gives some advice on what you need to start a small business. (3 ...…

Film and culture critic Mike Sargent joins me to discuss the Gina Rodriguez anti-black debacle, the Tom Brokaw anti-Latino statements on Meet The Press, and why M. Night Shamalan’s new film 'Glass' is reviled by critics but adored by fans. (1:28) We also talk to Hugo Balta, President of the NAHJ to help me tackle the bloodbath that took place t ...…

Awards season expert Clayton Davis from AwardsCircuit.com joins us to discuss the 2019 Oscar nominations (10:25) and the newly minted Latino Entertainment Journalists Association (1:55), which he founded. I’ll talk to him about what would happen if Roma sweeps the Oscars… will it quiet Latino critics who claim prejudice by the Academy? Also wil ...…

This is episode 100, and to celebrate, we brought in the biggest director in Hollywood at the moment - Alfonso Cuarón (3:19). He'll discuss ROMA, why critics love it so much and Jack reveals to him his favorite scene. Also, Nicole Acevedo joins the show to discuss her article from NBCNews.com about how Latin music sales have surpassed Country a ...…

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Thanks for taking the time out to listen this week. This week we had a lot fun talking to Michael Longoria, Latino singer/actor/dancer who has performed on Broadway’s Jersey Boys as Frankie Valli and many Broadway shows, plus, is a current member of musical group The Midtown Men. He’s now out with a new Christmas al ...…

Film and culture critic Mike Sargent discusses Steve McQueen’s female heist film 'Widows' and Mark Wahlberg’s family film 'Instant Family' just in time for Thanksgiving. (0:48) Then we chat with Elisabeth Rosario, founder of the LatinX newsletter The LatinX Collective to discuss why you should subscribe to a newsletter, LatinX culture and why t ...…

Basil Tsiokas, the program director of DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival, joins us to speak about this year’s LatinX documentaries and why so many LatinX stories are starting to be made (1:06). And if you’re going to the movies, film and culture critic Mike Sargent talks to me about two new releases - Hugh Jackman’s political dram ...…

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 ...…

Film and culture critic Mike Sargent joins us to discuss two recent movie releases - VENOM and A STAR IS BORN. One we loved and one we hated. Take a guess at which ones which. We also give you a quick recap on the most highly relevant entertainment stories of the week.

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 I ...…

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 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 l ...…

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 ...…

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 t ...…

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 AB ...…

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 soluti ...…

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 Winn ...…

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 fil ...…

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 SKYSCR ...…

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 job ...…

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 ...…

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-clas ...…

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 ...…

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 f ...…

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 interrupt ...…

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 ...…

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 sti ...…

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 wa ...…

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 i ...…