Cuban By Accident

OK. So this episode has only a little to do with either. But, hey, that is Eartha Kitt and my mom in the pic, so there's that. And more (including what Eartha said to Rita about the necklace in the pic, re: The Shah of Iran). File this episode under "Stuff You Never Knew Your Mom Did When You Were a Kid." Turns out my mom was a theatre critic AND an advice columnist in the late 1970's through the late '80's. Listen as she recounts her days studying acting (?!) back in Cuba - until the day Castro's revolutionaries started setting off bombs around Havana - and the formation of Cuban arts, culture and social clubs in Miami during the 1970's. Rita tosses out names like Zev Buffman, Burt Bacharach as if they were her pals while recounting her time as a critic and columnist in a Miami that sounds as lively then as it purports to be now. This week's "Who Would You Make a Baby With?" segment features TV stars of 1960's and 70's pitted against NCIS' Mark Harmon! Come swoon with Rita:)

2 Mars 202136min

My mom moved to Miami in 1962. She had landed at NYC's LaGuardia Airport 3 years prior and lived in NYC and then Naples, FL, before settling and living in Miami for the next 34 years. Who knew how much would or could change in that time; how many waves of immigrants -- Cuban, Nicaraguan, Colombian, Haitian, et al - how much cocaine and power and blood would flow through the streets of a city now poised to become a haven for Wall Streeters and fintech start-ups (joining the Trumps and their ilk). Listen as Rita recounts her journey, my father- and godfather's start as merchant marines, and some CIA black ops alongside Miami's transformation from sleepy snow bird town to full-blown tropical metropolis. AND, of course, as she makes a difficult choice between young John F. Kennedy (who may or may not have an STD) or a young, beardless Fidel Castro (insistent upon wearing a baseball uniform while engaging in, um, 'the act') in this week's "Who would you make a baby with?" segment. Enjoy! Featured Cuban Cowboys' Song: Rococo People "Miami came of age along with me. City of my birth shaken from its sleep by my loud-ass Cuban family; by waves of exiliados and refugees whose flotillas bloodied the vanilla of a place so close to my mami's island home that Havana got itself a front row seat to a wannabe version of The Fall of Rome, OUR wannabe version of The Fall of Rome."

23 Jan 202131min

An insurrection? An act of sedition?  An overdue call-to-arms? Whatever else, the events of January 6, 2021 will cast a long shadow for quite a long time. For my mom, watching Trump supporters rush the capitol building reminded her of what she saw and experienced in Cuba. Repeatedly. Growing up in Cuba during the 1930's, 40's and 50's was not, it seems, for the faint of heart. Neither was the Cuban Missile Crisis. Listen to more of her story. And enjoy this episode's Who Would you Make a Baby With? Segment! This week, Rita is forced to choose between a dashing, young Ronald Reagan (during his "Bedtime for Bonzo" days) or a freshly-graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy Jimmy Carter. The catch?: If she picks the 40th President of the United States (Reagan), Bonzo, the chimp, will be in the room. If she picks the 39th President of the U.S. (Carter), a young, demure Rosalynn Carter will be in the room. Who will Rita choose? Listen to find out!

10 Jan 202134min

My Cuban mom voted for Biden. Given how the rest of the Cuban-American vote went and generally goes, her vote was no small matter. Listen as she talks about her decision, growing up in Cuba, and living in Miami for 37 years. Toward the end of the episode, I ask her "Who would you make a baby with?," forcing her to choose between "A fully sober Nikita Khrushchev, who insists on holding the shoe he infamously used to bang on a table during a 1960 UN General Assembly meeting and/or a clean-shaven, possibly pre-revolutionary Che Guevara." She explains her choice with aplomb and wit. You may as well know: every episode in Season 1 will end with such a (terrible-hilarious) choice.

4 Jan 202131min

Jorge announces Season 3’s focus: the 2024 Presidential election.

3 Jan 202159s