Nuestro Trailer Transcript
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Chuck Rocha:
The next time you're talking to your woke, white consultants, tell them, "We're not a monolith. We even speak different kinds of Spanish, all in the...
If you invested in Latinos, they would vote because I've heard my entire life and Krystal has too, is that, "Oh, Latinos are great, but they don't vote. They don't vote."
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These real stories and real narratives is how we got the vote with Bernie Sanders. I did not...
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You may have seen me on MSNBC talking about the latest political race or immigration policy or who's going to win the White House in the next election. Or maybe you've read one of my op-eds in the New York Times. People usually think of me as the Latino vote expert or the guy who got a lot of Latinos to vote for Bernie Sanders. And my opponents on the other side, they definitely think of me as a pain in their ass. But there's so much more to my story than that.
I'm Chuck Rocha. I grew up in Tyler, Texas, the proud son of immigrants from Guanajuato, Mexico. I'm a father, I'm a grandfather, I'm a partner, I'm a friend, and all of these things make me who I am.
Right out of high school, I got a job in a tire factory in Tyler, Texas, where I was fortunate enough to join the Steelworkers Local Union 746. My time there taught me about hard work, solidarity, collective bargaining, and were the roots of where my political activism would get started. I realized that my heart was in politics because I got to see politics for the very first time. I would eventually go on to become the political director of the union, leave that job, and start Solidarity Strategies, my political consulting firm in Washington, DC, and then go on to create the nation's largest Latino super PAC, Nuestro PAC.
There is no doubt that the work is tough and that it's an uphill battle for sure. But the thing that keeps me going are the stories I hear about from our communities; stories like farm workers in Texas, folks who are newly migrated to Florida, essential workers in California. The thing is we all have stories to tell. Hell, I know I sure do. But there are so many stories from across our Latino community, stories that make space for people that are undocumented and unafraid, stories that no longer leave Afro Latinx or queer folks out, stories that bring us from our childhood all the way to parenthood. But mostly the stories that have defined who we are as a people. And that's why I'm so excited to be sharing with you all for the very first time, my podcast, Nuestro.
Various:
Nuestro. Nuestro. Nuestro.
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Chuck Rocha:
A place where our stories as a Latino people are front and center. They all help us better understand what community and what Nuestro is all about. So each week, I'll be talking to artists, policy folks, and advocates about the moments that have defined their stories. Folks I deeply admire like award-winning journalist Maria Hinojosa.
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Maria Hinojosa:
The demand was why is the corporation for public broadcasting getting money from taxpayers and funding NPR and NPR is not delivering on giving Latinos and Latinas visibility?
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Chuck Rocha:
And comrades like Jonathan Jayes-Green.
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Jonathan Jayes-Green:
I cannot separate that from being Panamanian. To be Panamanian to me is to be black, to be from Colón, to eat our food, to dance our dances.
Chuck Rocha:
And old friends like Oscar winner and political cartoonist, Lalo Alcaraz.
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Lalo Alcaraz:
I did a cartoon called Migra Mouse that was chastising the Disney corporation for donating money to the Republican party.
Chuck Rocha:
And so many more others. I hope you'll listen and tell your friends too. Episodes drop weekly starting Wednesday, November the third. You can listen to Nuestro wherever you get your podcasts.