00:00
I am I'm just so passionate about this because it really was
00:03
like a group of people who said we I have influence.
00:07
I can do something about this and it feels like you're just
00:10
a stylist or you're just you know lighting or even
00:15
like we had a photographers help us you're just a photographer,
00:17
but nobody's like just anything.
00:26
Today I have the privilege of speaking with Jess.
00:31
I'm so good. I'm so happy to be here.
00:34
Jess actually flew in from Chicago to be here today,
00:38
which is major. We've never had someone fly in to to
00:42
speak with us, and your intro is so impressive,
00:46
and I, I don't want to sell you short at all
00:48
so we will get into all of your accomplishments,
00:50
but just. Is an entrepreneur and community leader who has dedicated
00:54
her career to advocating for workers and communities of color.
00:58
She's also led efforts to reunite families who have been separated at
01:02
the border. Most recently,
01:04
you actually spearheaded the team behind the famous Ice Out pins and
01:09
momentum we saw during,
01:11
you know, the last couple of months.
01:12
Your impact is impressive.
01:15
Let's start with Maremoto.
01:16
What is Maremoto? Yeah,
01:18
we started Maremoto last year.
01:20
it is a nonprofit organization that's focused on building power
01:24
and influence for Latinos in culture,
01:26
media, and our democracy,
01:28
and we do that through lots of different ways,
01:31
but we always try to keep it cool,
01:33
fun, something that you wanna be a part of,
01:35
yeah, and why was it important for you to start Maemoto
01:38
you know, I've been doing this work for a long time
01:40
in my community and.
01:41
For me, I feel like Latinos are often an afterthought,
01:44
but that doesn't reflect who we are in the population.
01:47
We're the 2nd largest potential voting block,
01:51
all the other racial groups in participation.
01:54
So if we look at the future,
01:55
we're young, we're having a lot of kids,
01:58
that's right, and that means that the future and frankly the
02:01
present is Latino, but our politics don't reflect that.
02:04
So I really wanted to make sure that there was a.
02:06
Place that combined what's exciting and awesome about our culture with the
02:11
reality of our destiny in this country which is that we have
02:15
to take on the power that is ours wonderful taking up space
02:18
because we are we are here we are,
02:20
we've been here also this is nothing new and the reason that
02:24
we're actually having this conversation today is because once upon a time
02:28
I had a little intrusive thought I want to meet the publicist
02:33
the pins that say ice out,
02:35
where are these pins coming from because they're the same pin and
02:38
I think it's awesome,
02:39
but I just wanna know the story behind the pin who is
02:43
the designated publicist that goes and drops off the pin and like
02:47
who is saying no to them,
02:48
who is saying yes to them?
02:49
I need to know the brains behind this operation and one thing
02:54
happened and led to this conversation.
02:57
I mean, where did the ice out pins come from?
03:01
Well, first I have to say like thank you for the
03:03
intrusive thought and putting voice to it because I do think sometimes
03:07
people think like this is so spontaneous.
03:09
It just like happened like.
03:11
As a celebrity was like walking out of their house,
03:13
they just put a pin on.
03:14
That's not how it happens,
03:15
not at all. It this is organizing.
03:18
This is community organizing and it's on a really big stage and
03:21
it's with really famous people,
03:22
but ultimately like it's,
03:24
it's true community organizing work.
03:26
So we, we actually came up with this as a campaign
03:29
me and Nalini Stamp,
03:30
who I have to say would have been here too,
03:34
my, my road dog on this.
03:37
The origins of this,
03:38
but she just had a baby,
03:39
so she's on maternity leave.
03:41
I think it is important to say like I saw as Latina
03:44
led. Melina is Afro-Latina.
03:45
I'm Latina obviously and together like I think it's critically important that
03:49
this campaign, even though it's about more than just Latinos,
03:53
but that it comes from our community that we're leading it really
03:56
really matters a lot right now.
03:58
So we have been friends for a million years and organized together
04:02
and we called. There,
04:04
you know, we've been talking about what's going on with ICEO
04:07
what's happening, and there was a big weekend of action
04:10
and on Tuesday of that week,
04:12
Renee Macklin Goode was shot,
04:16
and we were devastated and really trying to think about like,
04:19
OK, what can we do that nobody else can do,
04:23
that will show like how to honor her but also
04:27
how to channel like our anger.
04:30
into something that really felt like how do we make this a
04:34
big, big moment because you know it's a little bit hard
04:36
to think about now because something crazy happens like every single day
04:40
multiple times a day sometimes exactly but it was just it
04:44
was so wild that we were that we were confronting something like
04:48
this and so we called each other it was like really late
04:51
at night. I was like,
04:53
well, the Globes are this weekend.
04:57
like, can we get the pins made in time?
04:59
Like, can we get some people to wear it?
05:01
We started making a list,
05:03
our friend, my mentor Aijen Poo,
05:06
the head of the National Domestic Workers Alliance,
05:07
who's also part of this.
05:10
one of the leaders at the Working Families Power,
05:12
and then called our friend Jess at the ACLU and kind of
05:15
came together and we're like,
05:16
all right, let's make it happen.
05:17
And you know, to your point,
05:19
like there is a really strong team behind this.
05:21
Like it doesn't just happen that way.
05:23
A lot of people have to put in work and.
05:25
It was really beautiful like people that we've known forever kind of
05:30
do you think you can call so and so and see if
05:31
they would wear a pin and then like literally like people who
05:34
are at the parties the night before putting them in their purse
05:37
taking them out and handing them to people like it was
05:40
a real grassroots effort.
05:41
Grassroots organizing happening in some of the most,
05:44
you know, glamorous places.
05:46
I wanna talk about the logistics,
05:48
right, because in my head,
05:50
in my head there's security,
05:52
and then there's the ice out pin plug,
05:54
and they're going ice out.
05:58
clearly it probably wasn't like that.
06:00
But I'm hearing it was kind of similar.
06:02
it kind of was like that.
06:04
What was the logistics of making sure all of these A-listers who
06:07
wanted to be a part of this moment and messaging were a
06:12
it depends on each award show because,
06:14
you know, there isn't like an award show group,
06:17
right? It's like every show is its own show.
06:19
You have to like work with the producers and stuff like that
06:21
So like on the Grammys,
06:22
for instance, they were.
06:23
So helpful and amazing.
06:24
Like I just, I have nothing but wonderful things to say
06:26
about people at the Grammys.
06:27
They like even let us,
06:29
like be on the carpet,
06:31
which is like really,
06:32
really amazing. But then like Golden Globes,
06:34
you know, we did that in 3 days.
06:35
So that truly like we're calling anybody that we can directly call
06:41
we're calling stylists,
06:42
we're calling friends of friends,
06:44
agents, managers, whatever,
06:46
like truly anybody,,
06:48
and that like. One very memorable,
06:51
like every pin has to get delivered,
06:53
so like a huge part of this is like literally putting the
06:56
pins in the hands of the people who will wear them,
07:00
celebrity was like, yeah,
07:01
drop it off at my hotel,
07:02
and you know you can't just like drop off an envelope which
07:05
is like celebrity X like it it doesn't work like that.
07:10
go downstairs and get it.
07:12
I can't go downstairs and get it.
07:15
And it's like not how this works,
07:16
so it took us like 3 different tries to like get the
07:21
and you know he probably wouldn't care if I said it,
07:22
but this, this is Mark Ruffalo,
07:24
and Mark is, I mean,
07:26
he's so amazing. He's,
07:27
he's the first person to say yes to us.
07:28
He's an activist, of course,
07:30
and we gave him some he's like,
07:33
And he did pass them out,
07:35
and like that's why Bella Ramsey wore the pin.
07:37
I'm like 99% positive that's why Ariana wore the pin.
07:41
We had asked Ariana Garne before.
07:44
I have. The relationship with her from work of mine
07:47
that she supported in the past which is amazing but we
07:49
didn't know if she was gonna wear it so like I'm just
07:52
like anybody else like on the broadcast like looking with my beady
07:56
little eyes like who's wearing the pin and I like jumped up
07:59
and down in my house like oh my god Ariana Grande is
08:01
wearing the pin so this is really you know I'm absorbing that
08:05
if a celebrity or talent is a part of this it's because
08:08
they truly wanted to be a part of this moment it was
08:12
you know, offered by a stylist.
08:13
By a publicist, by a friend,
08:16
someone they admire, and they chose to say yes because they
08:20
aligned with it. There was no oh you have to or
08:23
you're gonna be canceled or spoken poorly of during award season.
08:28
I mean how does it feel that that was Latina led?
08:31
It feels amazing and actually this is like Tessa Thompson,
08:35
one of also the first people to wear the pin and she
08:37
looks so beautiful and amazing and she put the pins on her
08:40
purse and later on her stylist Carla Welch who's been.
08:43
So helpful to us was like we,
08:45
she did an interview actually where she got asked about it and
08:47
she said we didn't even have to talk about it.
08:49
She was like, have you heard about these pins?
08:51
and we put them on the purse and it's amazing because to
08:54
your point, like these are people who know who they are
08:57
and know what their values are and then wanna use their platform
09:00
on like one of the biggest nights of their year,
09:02
one of the biggest nights in like in our culture,
09:05
to actually say something with that platform,
09:07
and I just, I just have so much respect for that
09:09
and going off of that,
09:11
the importance of. Celebrities in political conversations in 2026,
09:17
do they belong in these conversations when it is affecting all of
09:23
I'm really glad you asked that because people are like,
09:25
does the pin matter?
09:26
Like it, it just like celebrities,
09:28
who cares? And I just think like it matters so much
09:32
the forces against you if you are like a super famous celebrity
09:36
on the red carpet in a massive gown that,
09:39
you know, is from a big fashion house,
09:41
you're promoting a big movie.
09:43
There are so many people who are telling you it's a bad
09:47
I'm sure, I'm sure some designers probably saw what they sent
09:51
and saw the pin and maybe you know had a reaction to
09:55
it it's a bold choice it's a really bold choice and so
09:58
I think that that matters a lot just like you know it's
10:00
hard sometimes for us to like stand up and say something to
10:03
our family members maybe who don't agree.
10:05
With us it's also hard for them and they're doing it on
10:08
the biggest possible stage that it can be done so I just
10:12
I really, really think it does matter.
10:13
I think, and I have a lot of respect,
10:15
but I think the other thing is celebrities were behind the people
10:18
in this case, right?
10:19
We had already seen so much organizing that frankly started in Los
10:22
Angeles like LA represent 100% and they were.
10:28
In the signal groups planning,
10:30
you know, to stop ICE deportations in their community and alert
10:33
people and stuff like that,
10:34
it was Hollywood that hadn't really said anything yet.
10:36
So the reason that Nalini and I did this is because we
10:39
knew that this award season was about to happen and we didn't
10:43
want to pretend like it was business as usual.
10:46
We didn't want people to just talk about their movies.
10:47
We needed something that would say,
10:50
hey. Are you following what's going on?
10:53
This is weird. And so to me the fact that we
10:57
were able to have so much presence in Hollywood over this time
11:01
is actually just Hollywood following all of us,
11:05
and you make a great point because the hands of our people
11:08
are often the hands feeding these celebrities,
11:12
making sure the hotels look crystal clean,
11:15
making sure that they're getting to their events on.
11:20
I think one of my favorite stories in Hollywood is Guillermo who
11:22
works for Jimmy Kimmel,
11:24
and he recently gave an interview explaining how he started,
11:27
I believe, as the parking valet at,
11:31
and slowly he was absorbed into the star that he is,
11:35
right? He is his right hand man,
11:37
but there are so many of us,
11:38
you mentioned in the beginning of our conversation,
11:39
we're we're a huge part of what America is and why America
11:43
is what it is in 2026,
11:46
We're not at the forefront or we are at the forefront,
11:49
but it's, it's 5 of us during the night when there's
11:51
so many of us shining,
11:53
so it felt, it felt like more of us there in
11:55
that moment and the work that Los Angeles spearheaded,
11:59
right, and the whole country followed,
12:00
right, was present in that moment and it,
12:03
it, it felt less ignorant,
12:06
you know, during the times and realities that a lot of
12:08
our community members have been facing.
12:10
I couldn't agree more and Latinos work in Hollywood too.
12:14
Latinos work in Hollywood too.
12:18
Latino agents and hair stylists and stylists were also,
12:24
I'm, I'm about this.
12:25
I'll talk to my clients.
12:30
Alejandra Lariza. She's,
12:31
I think she's Colombian or Venezuelan,
12:33
maybe both, and like I don't think it's an accident that
12:35
That's that her client also wore it on Grammy's night,
12:39
she reached out we were connected through a friend and she reached
12:41
out and was like how can I help?
12:43
It's like that's amazing it's so incredible because it is hard like
12:47
that's her job and so I am I'm just so passionate about
12:50
this because it really was like a group of people who said
12:54
we I have influence.
12:56
I can do. Something about this and it feels like you're
12:59
just a stylist or you're just you know,
13:03
lighting or even like we had a photographers help us
13:06
you're just a photographer but nobody's like just anything and I think
13:10
this is a perfect example of that oh so beautiful to to
13:14
see the community organizing in in every realm of of the world
13:19
moving to now this year in pop culture for some reason 2016
13:23
has had this major comeback and there's a trend 2016 is so
13:27
back and at that time you were an integral part of Hillary
13:33
Clinton's campaign against Donald Trump.
13:36
How has that. Part of your journey impacted your career now
13:40
it's so crazy. I've been thinking about 2016 a lot because
13:43
of course like you know in the aftermath of the election and
13:46
the first Trump administration,
13:48
there's so many parallels to what's happening and I think that that
13:52
nostalgia that people have for it really comes from that's the last
13:55
time. That we didn't have all of this,
14:02
I too am nostalgic for that time.
14:03
I mean working for her was the honor of my life,
14:08
very young, I told my mom I was gonna be the
14:10
first woman president unless,
14:12
it was Hillary Clinton and then I was gonna work
14:14
for Hillary Clinton and be the second woman president.
14:16
So I've literally like loved Hillary Clinton since I was a child
14:18
and wanted to work for her and.
14:21
to me, like it's so,
14:22
so amazing to have worked for the first woman,
14:26
Democratic woman to get a nomination for president,
14:29
and you know, have the popular vote,
14:32
and then I also worked for Kamala Harris,
14:34
and so to me I'm just like I want a woman to
14:38
and I wanna really be at the center of that.
14:40
I wanna be a part of that.
14:41
I think that she would have made an amazing.
14:43
President and I feel really lucky because I have so many wonderful
14:48
memories from that but one of them is just about like service
14:50
you know, she's been a public servant for basically her
14:53
entire life and I admire that so much.
14:56
I think that all of us can be of service that's what
14:59
I dedicate my life to,
15:01
and so to me I'm like I want more people
15:04
who wanna be servants to our community and.
15:06
Who wanna work really hard on behalf of our community and it
15:08
is an election year in 2026 digital platforms do play such a
15:13
pivotal role in every aspect of life.
15:15
How integral do you believe that it is for politicians to be
15:19
on socials right now?
15:21
I mean, it's kind of like 90% of the game if
15:25
you are still like doing press releases,
15:32
it's just this is where the people are and I think the
15:36
thing that people forget a lot about politicians is they are there
15:39
to serve us. They are there to represent us,
15:43
they get elected by us.
15:44
Where are we? We're on social media.
15:46
I do get a little bit cringe though because it's like it's
15:48
OK to be boring it's OK like not to,
15:51
not everybody's AOC, yeah,
15:55
you don't have to pretend you're not someone you're not exactly.
15:59
and so I wish that like more of them would just like
16:01
be their own personality and not like fake personalities.
16:04
Like I don't need to see like 65 year olds doing TikTok
16:08
dances, 75 year olds doing TikTok dances like I elected you
16:10
to do legislation, not for your dancing,
16:15
I think it's so important and particularly in a midterm,
16:17
you know, lots of people don't know that in November we
16:21
will have. Our midterm elections,
16:23
we'll reelect the next congress,
16:25
but also governor's races,
16:28
and stuff like mayor and city council,
16:31
and so lots of people don't vote in those elections
16:33
and the only way to let people know about the election
16:36
is to get the word out and that's what social media does
16:38
I love that you said a lot of people don't know
16:40
because it is so true and there's so much anger right now
16:43
at what we're living through,
16:45
but there is a plan of action and it's.
16:48
Taking place now it's taking place this year and we can all
16:52
be a part of it as long as we're of the age
16:54
to vote and registered to vote.
16:57
When we look at moments like Bad Bunny at the Super Bowl
17:01
halftime show or Carol G being the first Latina to headline Coachella
17:06
how do these kinds of cultural platforms and stages shift the
17:10
impact of a message compared to more traditional political spaces?
17:14
Yeah, I mean one is just.
17:15
Like we're there, you know,
17:17
it's taken us a long time to get Caro on the stage
17:20
at Coachella. It's taken us a long time to get Bad
17:24
and so I think that that's important,
17:25
the fact that we can be considered that Latinos can be considered
17:28
not just niche, although how niche can you be when you're
17:31
a global population, but,
17:34
but also that we can like own these massive,
17:36
massive stages, you know,
17:37
Bad Bunny had the most watched Super Bowl performance and it's still
17:42
Still on the charts from his Super Bowl performance from earlier
17:45
this year, but I also think it's about what those celebrities
17:48
do with their platforms,
17:50
what they say when they're like on the stage,
17:52
you know, I have so much respect for Becky G,
17:55
who of course appeared with Carol this last weekend,
17:58
and you know, on stage she takes that massive platform,
18:01
massive moment to shout out immigrants,
18:03
but also to say I said what I said because she does
18:06
know that there's risks and she still takes it anyway,
18:08
and I think Bad Bunny.
18:09
Did a really really similar example like that was a story that
18:12
was about Puerto Rico and about the project that he's engaged in
18:16
of making Puerto Rico you know the government live up to
18:19
the promises of that beautiful place and so to me it's like
18:23
we can be there but I don't just want representation I also
18:27
want us to take the power that our community has in numbers
18:31
and culture and use that to make our community better and you
18:36
Becky G taking the stage and standing her ground now both big
18:41
moments this year, right?
18:42
You know, Bad Bunny,
18:43
Karo G, and both had reactions.
18:45
I do absorb that Bad Bunny's reaction and controversy came more from
18:51
conservatives and right leaning individuals who were afraid to see our culture
18:57
and Karo G's backlash has been coming more from our own.
19:03
Community, why do you think that might be happening?
19:07
I mean, I think one big thing is,
19:10
you know, the Super Bowl is,
19:15
right, has been a site of political conversation going all the
19:19
to like all the take a knee combos,
19:21
and so I think there is already a built-in conflict for people
19:24
when politics is seen as like being at the Super Bowl,
19:27
but I think the genius of Bad Bunny is like it's not
19:30
politics it's. Our culture,
19:32
and he showed that like so clearly,
19:34
you know, I think around Carol,
19:38
article that came out right before her Playboy cover,
19:40
which is always controversial,
19:43
who's like the most amazing,
19:45
journalist and also happens to be Jorge Ramos's daughter,
19:49
but even if she wasn't,
19:50
she would be amazing icon alone,
19:53
my shout out to Paula,
19:55
I, Carol talked about.
19:58
Using her platform, how she thinks about it and you know
20:01
I do think that I'm waiting to see how she uses her
20:04
platform. I'm waiting to see like what she does because
20:07
I know she has such a heart for our community and I
20:09
know you know she herself is a green card holder her family
20:14
I'm sure is is part of her calculation as well
20:17
so I think that like there is awareness there which is
20:22
not always present in any celebrity.
20:25
But I think the Latino community has a really high standard for
20:28
the people who choose to represent us and I love that about
20:31
us we're like you don't get to claim us without bringing what
20:35
is also makes us powerful which is like our passion and
20:38
our willingness to say what we think and put that out there
20:41
and I think I was doing that too and I'm excited to
20:43
see how she continues to use her platform in your experience,
20:46
celebrities and talent, are they equipped with publicists who are prepared
20:51
For the political situation we are living through and Latinos are
20:56
being affected by every day,
20:58
I think it depends honestly no is probably my answer like no
21:02
and again like actually you know most publicists would probably say don't
21:05
talk about that stuff you don't need to be equipped with it
21:07
because you just shouldn't talk about that,
21:09
especially now when you know people feel like everything is so polarized
21:13
and when you're promoting a project you want as many people as
21:15
possible to you know be excited about it.
21:19
you know, I've been so,
21:20
so gratified to see like the agents,
21:23
the publicists, even like the stylists who actually are willing to
21:27
have those conversations with the talent that they work with and also
21:31
not for nothing, a lot of talent are following what's going
21:33
on. I think about Gina Torres who is a friend who's
21:36
in a bunch of work with us and you know like she's
21:38
sending me more political memes than I'm sending her.
21:43
She's, she's following what's going on and,
21:47
I wanna hear what opinions she has about this kind of stuff
21:50
and I really, really appreciate that like I want everyone to
21:53
be engaged in the world that we're all inhabiting and the public
21:56
often does, you know,
21:58
call. Talent influencers,
22:01
creators, public figures out when they're silent on certain topics and
22:06
realities that affect the everyday individual.
22:10
In your experience, is it really the concept of brands and
22:16
work and dollar signs that prevents people from being vocal?
22:23
I think, I think there's so many things,
22:27
Brands, dollar signs,
22:28
etc. but I also think it's like,
22:30
I don't wanna say the wrong thing.
22:32
And sometimes people say like that's just about cancel culture,
22:35
but it's not just about cancel culture.
22:37
It's also like I do think most people earnestly want to say
22:41
the right thing and they're not sure like what the right thing
22:44
is. That's one of the reasons why I engage in this
22:46
work and what what we try to do at Maremoto.
22:48
It's like, come over here,
22:49
we'll help you. I'll help you like DM me.
22:53
Let's figure it out together,
22:56
I think that like I actually think it's extremely Latino to feel
22:59
like you don't know enough,
23:01
like you gotta be an expert and I don't think celebrities are
23:04
immune from that either and so like actually you know you know
23:09
how you feel, you know what your family's experiencing,
23:12
you know like what's going on in the world and that's something
23:16
I want people to overcome like you don't have to feel like
23:18
you need a PhD to vote.
23:21
Quite the opposite, quite the opposite.
23:24
Just register to votevote.org.
23:27
How has your cultural upbringing shaped the way that you see your
23:31
role in American politics and as a leader in in society today
23:35
I'm, I'm Mexican and I,
23:36
I grew up here in Los Angeles in Norwalk,
23:38
California., my mom's a seamstress and my dad works
23:41
with the unhoused population and so.
23:45
they were always really like engaged in our community.
23:48
My dad worked for city government.
23:50
My mom taught Sunday school.
23:52
My dad was on Knights of Columbus at our church,
23:55
he did like Habitat for Humanity and so they just
23:59
So important to them to like be engaged in making your community
24:02
better and and being actually actively a part of that and
24:06
they voted in every single election which I didn't realize at the
24:10
time is like not normal most Latinos are not voting every single
24:13
election my parents never missed one and so I sort of say
24:16
like they're kind of like where'd you come from?
24:18
I'm like you. You did this.
24:24
You know, and I think our faith was like a huge
24:27
and, and also just like they were really grateful to what
24:30
our community in this country has done for us.
24:34
neither of my parents are immigrants,
24:35
but like I just feel like that spirit still lives inside of
24:38
us and they really do believe in making like your community better
24:42
and I took that to heart like yeah let's do that.
24:44
That's like what. An awesome job.
24:47
Oh, that's so special.
24:48
I relate to that niche experience of having political Latino parents of
24:54
oh we're gonna watch CNN until 2 in the morning when the
24:57
election is decided because otherwise,
25:00
you know, there's a rough year ahead and I was like
25:03
6 years old. What was I doing watching CNN until 2
25:05
in the morning, right?
25:07
But it. It is those lived experiences that that we have
25:11
as Latinos that do shape our our political involvement what would
25:16
you say to those who maybe don't share that and want want
25:20
to be part of that conversation want to to learn and educate
25:24
themselves? yeah I mean it's never been easier to be.
25:27
A part of what's going on.
25:28
Open up your phone and get on Instagram or TikTok,
25:30
and there's like tons of content there and there's tons of people
25:33
who are making content for you,
25:36
and, and you can use that to do your
25:39
own research and, and come up with your own opinions,
25:41
but I think the lived experience thing is really important.
25:43
Like we're engaging in politics all the time.
25:47
Whether we know it or not,
25:48
so like, are you mad that your boss isn't paying you
25:51
enough? That's politics.
25:52
Are you mad about the cost of groceries?
25:54
That's politics. Are you dealing with immigration and what's going on
25:57
Are you afraid about your parents or your sister getting deported
26:00
Like that's politics.
26:01
All that stuff gets decided at the local,
26:04
state and federal level,
26:06
by people who get elected by us,
26:07
and I think that you can actually,
26:10
it's, it's incredible that we.
26:12
can cast a vote that's like that's who I'm with that's who
26:16
I'm not with and in this time when you know the National
26:20
Guard is getting deployed and people in our government who are
26:24
supposed to represent us are doing things that are completely against the
26:28
law, I actually think it's like pretty punk rock to like
26:31
participate in our democracy and actually like want to have an opinion
26:35
and make that opinion known and so like.
26:38
If you feel like it doesn't matter,
26:40
hopefully at the very least it matters to you as a person
26:44
of just like I wanna be on the record for who I
26:47
am and what I stand for it's not a protest sign to
26:50
vote it is a right it is your right it is as
26:53
a citizen of the United States.
26:55
What do you ultimately hope people take away from both your ice
26:59
out pins and the greater movement behind them?
27:02
Yeah, I'm glad you talked about that.
27:03
Greater movement because it's like it's it's not just about the pins
27:06
like that's one intervention but it's also all the people who are
27:09
active in their communities all the protests that are happening you know
27:12
like literally this week is another vote around DHS spending and
27:18
those things are related we did this so that culture could
27:23
influence our politics,,
27:24
and that's what I want people to understand it kind of goes
27:27
both ways. Bad Bunny is saying together.
27:29
We are America is just as important as a politician who says
27:32
like I'm going to represent all Americans.
27:34
In fact, it's probably a lot more important,
27:36
let's be honest. And so like I,
27:38
I want to be able to have a space where those two
27:41
realms talk to one another and it feels authentic for that conversation
27:45
to happen and that's what we're hopeful that Marimoto is.
27:47
I think that's what we did with ICE Out and we'll keep
27:49
doing in that in that broader movement.
27:51
Ultimately, at the end of the day,
27:53
people are still being deported.
27:55
unlawfully deported people are being separated from their families.
27:58
People are starving in detention,
28:00
so we have to do everything we can to stop that.
28:02
we have to treat people humanely,
28:05
and we have to live up to our values as
28:06
a country. Where can we follow along on your journey and
28:10
hopefully become a part of it?
28:12
Yes, I hope you will.
28:13
Somosmaremoto.org. That's our website.
28:15
Or on Instagram at Almos Maremoto and you can find us
28:19
at any of those places also like you know we're out
28:21
here we are out here who knows you might find them on
28:25
a red carpet look for the pins look for momentum go to
28:30
your local protest vote register to vote absolutely oh.
28:35
Oh my gosh, I cannot forget this.
28:37
Anybody can get an ice Out shirt,
28:38
ice out pin, Begood I O.org.
28:42
you just have to cover the cost of shipping.
28:44
Oh wow. Oh my goodness,
28:46
Begood I O.org. Absolutely.
28:50
thank you so, so much for your time.
28:52
It was such an honor to speak with you.
Series