00:00
Our next guest found a fresh way to put a spotlight on
00:03
a classic New York institution.
00:06
The Bodega, she went viral with her Creative Shop cat series
00:11
Bringing some serious bodega love to the internet.
00:15
Please. Welcome to the show,
00:17
Michelle Adana. Thank you.
00:22
Thank you for having me.
00:24
Thank you for coming.
00:26
So girl, I can't get enough of your cat videos
00:28
Like you just interviewing the Bodega cats.
00:30
It's amazing. I heard there was a juicy Bodega cat in
00:33
here. Let's go look for her,
00:35
look at her right there.
00:37
She's a regal. What's her name?
00:42
They did say that I spice was a guard.
00:45
So sometimes she'd bring me 1st 1st.
00:47
She'd kill them. Is the cat Puerto Rican.
00:49
She's me. I love it.
00:53
I do that on a daily without a camera and mic up
00:56
like I love talking to anyone who's in the Bodega because there's
01:00
so much to learn from the people around us and it's all
01:04
community. It's all love.
01:05
It's so New York and I'm having a blast.
01:08
The internet is having a blast.
01:09
They love it. People really like cats,
01:16
But, yeah, it's all about the kitties.
01:18
It's all about community.
01:19
It's all about New York for sure.
01:21
Give the people what they want.
01:22
And I lived in New York for some time.
01:25
I lived there for a year but nobody ever explained the whole
01:28
cats in Bodegas thing for me.
01:30
Can you break it down for me?
01:32
Like, how is it a thing?
01:35
there's rats in New York and you need someone big boys and
01:40
you need someone to take care of them.
01:43
You want to throw hands with them and scarf them down and
01:46
that's why you got a Bodega cat.
01:48
Which hood do you think has the feistiest cats?
01:51
And are these cats like any of these cats?
01:53
Latino? Let me just say this.
01:55
We haven't gone to the Bronx or Washington Heights yet,
01:59
but I have a feeling that the feistiest cats are going to
02:02
be right there. No shade,
02:03
so much respect, so much respect and a lot of cats
02:07
are Puerto Rican. So really?
02:10
And how can you tell?
02:12
they be like, good morning,
02:14
you know, this is the way,
02:16
the way they talk to me or whatever it is.
02:19
It's just they got a little Sazon to them,
02:21
but it depends on the Bodega.
02:23
But a lot of cats are Dominican or Puerto Rican.
02:25
Hey, girl, I love that.
02:29
I know what you say is the coolest cat you've run into
02:32
in the interview. Ok.
02:34
We just had this video go up.
02:37
The cat's name is Simco.
02:39
It is the manager of a brewery.
02:42
Look at her, look at her over there sleeping on the
02:45
job. Little kitties.
02:48
That's me. When someone tried to wake me up for real
02:51
Simco, she's a very special girl.
02:53
We got her six years ago.
02:55
They have merch of the cat.
02:58
The cat, one of the managers has a tattoo of the
03:02
People have made earrings featuring the cat.
03:06
Really? So that I was like this cat is love.
03:09
Damn. You have a better house than I thought.
03:13
that has been the coolest cat.
03:14
It was amazing how much everyone knew who the cat was.
03:18
That is. So shout out to you.
03:22
That's so cool. Like I'm excited to watch like the more
03:25
episodes that come out and what,
03:27
what's something that, that we can expect like later on I
03:31
think just accept us having fun,
03:34
you know, just really having fun,
03:36
making sure these cats are loved.
03:38
This is so is very much the beginning.
03:41
You know, we're all looking at this like shop cats is
03:45
a combination of MTV cribs and Steve Irwin.
03:54
I'm about to go find some more kitties.
03:56
I'm really hoping that shop cats really helps people slow down a
04:01
little bit and chat with the people making their sandwiches.
04:04
Chat with the people around their bodega and in their community because
04:07
I know New Yorkers have a bad reputation of being like,
04:12
you know, a little salty,
04:13
a little blunt, you know what?
04:14
It's crazy because I do hear that people are like,
04:17
oh, don't look at people in the eye,
04:20
like, don't like this and this and that.
04:22
And honestly, they're some of the friendliest people like I would
04:26
you know, I was like,
04:27
This person saw that my head was just going like this and
04:30
then they came up to you,
04:31
are you lost? And I'm like,
04:32
yeah, I'm lost and they helped me like I would say
04:35
New Yorkers, I mean,
04:35
don't look at anyone in the eye.
04:37
That is true. Don't do that.
04:41
But the thing is like New Yorkers,
04:43
we're not mean we're just running,
04:45
running late. And I really want people to see this as
04:49
a chance to go into their own communities and tap into the
04:53
bodega cat and ask their bodega man a little questions about him
04:57
What's his birthday?
04:59
what's his favorite color?
05:00
And that's all community.
05:03
That's the beauty of Bodegas.
05:05
I think that's where the beauty lies in the people,
05:07
the community in there and you're just talking,
05:09
that's New York. It's all about just talking to everybody.
05:12
So it's really, really nice.
05:13
But thank you so much.
05:17
Really? Thank you and where can people follow you and the
05:21
show? So you can follow me,
05:23
Michel A Donna M IC hell ad onn A honey,
05:27
Michelle Donna. I mean,
05:29
you can follow me on Instagram,
05:30
tiktok and shop cat is shop cats show on tiktok and Instagram
05:36
So definitely check us out there and yeah,
05:38
listening to, to my podcast Bodega chat as well,
05:41
we talk mad stuff about Bodegas as well in New York City
05:45
and a variety of items.
05:47
But yeah, definitely tune into the show and let's see where
05:51
Awesome. Give it up.
Series