But when you think of d. C. , you mostly think of dead white guys, am i right . Like washington, jefferson, lincoln. Well, guess what. Latinos have been here every step of the way. [upbeat latintinged music] in fact, Latinx Heroes Have fought in every war for the United States for centuries. This goes all the way back to the revolutionary war. American forces got major financial contributions from cuba, and they also got help from the spanish forces led by A Young Venezuelan commander named francisco de miranda. And then during the civil war, more than 20,000 hispanics served. Almost half of them were mexicanamerican, and that was only 13 years after the mexicanamerican war. Now wheres the monument for that . Huh . Huh . Huh . Now, today, nearly 20 of the u. S. Population is latin, and our numbers are growing. Our voting power is growing too, and about one in ten votes are being cast by latinos, and yet we still make up less than 2 of our elected officials, but the good news is, we do have some prominent figures, like alexandria ocasiocortez, veronica escobar, Ritchie Torres, and alex padilla. And theyre in good company, because latinos make up more than 11 of d. C. s population. This city has a ton of latin influence in art, in politics, and in culture, and of course food because where theres latino culture, theres always some damn good food. So lets get some eats. Im buying. Youre welcome. [upbeat latintinged music] [upbeat electronic music] im in d. C. , so you know were gonna talk politics, and you cant do that on an empty stomach, so first im hitting up la cosecha, a space filled with hispanicowned businesses and restaurants bringing latinx heritage to downtown d. C. , but eating alone is no fun, so im bringing superstar diane guerrero, who youve probably seen on orange is the new black, doom patrol, or encanto where she plays isabela. Thank you. Oh, its nothing. [sighs] oh, and maybe you recognize this guys voice too. I used to say my real gift was acting. [chuckles] anyway, im really excited that diane can meet up with me. Hey, hows it going . Good to see you. Good to see you. Havent seen you since the premiere. Yeah, that was fun. Did you get an extra check . No. No, me neither. Im still waiting for it. Suckers. Lets go. Lets go into la cosecha. Okay. [chuckles] how you been . Im good. Im good. Yeah, yeah . Yeah, happy to be here. I love d. C. [upbeat latintinged music] diane, this place is so cool cause it used to be a cash and carry. Well, now, whats a cash and carry . What does that mean . Thats a great question. I think its like a marketplace where latin families around here could come and get their fresh produce. And now theyre all latin businesses. Yeah, youve got a peruvian brothers, the salvadorian pupusas, a venezuelan homemade chocolate, artisanal. Whats grabbing your fancy . All right. Well, i heard pupusa. Did we not mention pupusa . Pupusas are cornmeal tortillas with different fillings like pork or beans and cheese and are a popular dish in el salvador. Which was your favorite pupusa then . I like bean and cheese. Bean and cheese. Yeah. Lets stop talking about it. Lets go get it. Yeah, lets, please. [both speaking spanish] this is her jam. She loves pupusas. Oh, my gosh. I havent had it in a while. How did you get here . How did you come up with this incredible idea . Oh, my gosh. Spill the tea. The whole idea. Spill the tea, come on. Spill the tea, okay. So basically, my parents arrived in the d. C. Area in the 70s. When we grew up, we were like, how do we create that energy of family, business in an environment that we can relate to . Because obviously were firstgeneration. And what does pupusa mean . Well, it comes from the word popol, right . Which is an old native american term. And it also is just one of those foods that its very nostalgic for salvadorenos. Thats awesome. All right. What are you gonna have . Im gonna have the frijol con queso. Shes gonna have what she wanted. I want to do the chicharron. You want to do the chicharron. Okay. Bringing salvadorian classics like pupusas to d. C. Is what makes Chef Iris Feel at home in this city. You know, i was like, how do i get back to my roots in a way that feels connected for me . cause i wasnt born in el salvador, you know what i mean . Right, right. I think a lot of young latinos that grow up in the United States, were struggling with that, you know . Like, were tied to our old country and our parents, but at the same time, were american. Right. For me, i thought the more assimilated you were, the more accepted you were, obviously. Right, right, which is the messaging youre getting everywhere. Its the messaging youre getting everywhere. I regret this now, because im like, damn, all those moments where i could have let my parents just be themselves and try out their broken english, and it would be fine, and i thought that i was trying to protect my parents from, like, ridicule because you were the englishspeaking the better englishspeaking i was, likeyeah. And my mom would be like. [speaking spanish] like, let me be me. Yeah, right. But for some reason, during that time growing up, i couldnt accept that they were from somewhere else and that i was this sort of, like, mutant, you know . Yeah. And i really understand, you know, colombian culture, but i also understand american culture, and i speak spanglish. Right. I think it takes a long time for latin kids to understand that they have something to be proud of, you know, that everything that they are is something beautiful and powerful. Right. Takes a long time because, you know, when did you ever see latinos really being funny as themselves . When sexaholix came out, and ill tell you, when i was in high school, and nobody could afford hbo, and think about going to one of those shows i know, everybody was bootlegging. It was a bootlegging culture, thats for sure. [laughs] it was. Everybody was trading this one tape, and everybody had it. And someday im gonna have to tell my kids the story of our origins, but its not gonna start, once upon a time, because thats for white fairy tales. Latin history starts, you mother[bleep] aint never gonna believe this [bleep]. [laughter] and when it got to me, i couldnt believe it because i could be in on the joke. It didnt go to just the latino kids. That was the beautiful part of it. It went to, like, all the kids, the black kids and the white kids, and so we all had something to talk about, and they knew what our jokes were. I started writing my own stuff to make sure that i could see the latinos that i wanted to see onstage. Right, your story. Oh, here it is. Its ready. Were ready. Ooh, im so excited okay, so you got your frijole. So curtido on top obviously. And curtido, please explain what curtido is. So curtido is a fermented cabbage, and then vinegar, a little jalapeno in there, so its not too spicy. Buen provecho as we say in latin america, buen provecho. Igualmente. Ooh, its nice and hot. Take a bite altogether. [chuckles] thats good. Yes, the flavor. Oh, thats the way you eat it, yeah. Yes, she does. Come on, oh, man. When you do that spiderman stuff, mmm. Shes not playing. [imitates web shooters] [laughs] shes got skills. Its not her first pupusa. Not her first rodeo. Well, thank you; this is amazing. Of course, john. Thank you so much. Thank you, diane. This is so delicious. Shes gonna pay for it. Okay, you take care. One second. Ill leave now. Thank you. While she pays. He never pays for a thing, never. Okay, lets check out peruvian brothers. Peruvian food, im a big fan of peruvian food. And peruvian brothers. Hey, peruvian brothers, whats up . How you doing, man . How are you, john . Youre the tallest peruvians in the world. Did you play bball or no . I rowed. I rowed for the u. S. For the olympic team holy shit. Peru in the house. So tell us a little bit about your incredible peruvian brothers establishment. In 2013, were like, lets start a food truck. My brother started with the recipes of things that we miss from peru. Like, what do you miss . What do you miss . The pan con chicharron. Its a sandwich that my dad used to take us to the markets in peru to a mercado, and we used to, like, you know, just grab a pan con chicharron with freshly baked french rolls. Is that what were gonna be eating . Is that what were gonna be eating now . Were gonna be eating that. We got ceviche. We got the pan con chicharron. Bring it. But in the meanwhile, you guys can have Pisco Sour Slushy. Or do you want a Pisco Sour Slushy . Pi yeah. Pisco sour slushy. Does it have alcohol in it . Of course. Yes, though. Very strong please. [laughs] oh, got it, got it, got it. We were talking about the memories of food and how it takes you back to your country, to your roots, to your parents, to your indigenous culture. What is it to you . We want people to come here. We want people to taste something, and we want people to say, i want to go to peru. Theres so much more to peru, the culture, the textiles, the music, the scenery. The people. I love the people, man. The people. Thats what i wanted to do with this show, diane. I wanted to do a show where people watch this and go, i want to be latino. Right, right. Damn, well, too bad im not latino. And so that we can actually see the love that goes into cooking from our cultures. Like, right now, everything that ive, like, learned about you so far, and just seeing your brother. Oh, my god, seeing him prepare that. Make this dish, its with so much love. Thats beautiful, man, beautiful. Right . Yeah, yeah. Thats beautiful. Please, try it. Okay. Be honest. [laughter] and i dont eat fish. You dont eat fish . Not really. Youre gonna start. Wow, this looks amazing. Mmm. Wow. Mmm. Yeah . Good. I love lime. Lime with everything. And then we have the chicharron. If you like hot sauce. Yes, i do. Put some a little bit of rocoto, and then try it with a little bit of the smoked rocoto. Mmm. Yeah . Wow. See, one of the reasons i think its so good is, because it combines the sweetness of the sweet potato with the saltiness of the pork, and if you add the rocoto hot sauce, it just explodes in your mouth. And the onions make it look good too. Pow, pow. [laughs] when youre eating, for latin people, its a time to share, to share experiences. Its awe talk. We like to talk. Its a ritual, and i want to ask you, because youve been shes been an activist for a very long time. [light music] for years, diane has been out there pushing for change, whether its getting out the vote. Lets show up and vote this year for immigrants and for keeping families together. Or standing up for immigrants rights. I share my struggle to help open eyes to the agony that every one of these kids will face forever. Shes been on the front lines. What propelled you into activism . Well, my family was separated when i was 14 through deportation. My entire life, i kind of, like, lived in the shadows with them even though i wanted we so wanted to be alive and living amongst the living. Right, right. So i was inspired by just simply telling my truth, because my entire life i was, like, told to lie. Really . About me, my parents, everybody. We couldnt be honest about who we were. Was it that you just assumed thats what people wanted you to do, or people were actively telling you . No, i think that my parents were actively telling because they didnt have their paperwork together, i knew that i had to keep quiet, and so living like that really, really hurt me. It traumatized you. It traumatized me. So then when my parents were eventually taken away, i was left by myself. Oh, my god. Yeah, yeah. So youre left alone. I was left alone at 14. In the home. But before that, i had 14 years to live with my parents where they got to experiment with food. My father would make meals for the entire neighborhood. Right. He taught me about love through food, through our culture. [light music] when dianes parents returned to colombia, she stayed with friends and finished high school, but she traveled to see her family whenever she could. So when i set out to tell our story, it was that. It was to sort of, like, trump whatever perception they had of my community, because i knew how beautiful my community was and is. And so being here, it has such history, to see all of these latinowned businesses, like, express, and, like, a lot of firstgeneration, right . Right. Seeing them express themselves through what their parents taught them is really special. Right. Its the same thing youre doing. Well said. Well said. Yeah, thank you, man. Thank you, man. Thank you. [upbeat latintinged music] thats why places like la cosecha are so important, because they give latinos a space in d. C. To share their culture, and that leads to greater visibility on all levels, including our government. water splashing hey, dad. Hum. Whats the ocean like . Are there animals living underwater . Is the ocean warm . Yeah, it can be very warm. You were made to remember some days forever. We were made to help you find the best way there. Limu emu doug hey, man. Nice pace clearly, youre a safe driver. You could save hundreds for safe driving with Liberty Mutual. They customize your Car Insurance so you only pay for what you need [sfx limu squawks] whoo we gotta go again. Only pay for what you need. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. Liberty. seth hi, cecily. I just switched my whole family to verizon. On cecily or what you need. Oh, its americas most reliable 5g network. seth and its only 35 a line. cecily not that youre bragging. vo with verizon unlimited for 35 a line, your family now gets disney , hulu, and espn . All three included. Verizon music Playing Upstairs well be here. So you can be there. Everything from vitamin a to vitamin zs delivered in 1 hour. Everything from vitamin a [regal orchestral music] to vitamin zs delivered in 1 hour. So yo, i promised that i would talk politics, and believe me, i got a lot to say about equal representation, meaning whos sitting in those fancy buildings around town and whos not. So latinos are about 20 of the u. S. Population, right . But theyre only 10 of congress. Does that seem right to you . Nuhuh. Well, congressman Ritchie Torres, a puerto rican representative from the bronx, doesnt think so either. [upbeat latintinged music] congressman torres has been fighting for the south bronx since he was 25 years old, first as a new York City Council member. I have made the decision to allocate 25,000 to establish a food pantry for employees who have felt the Immediate Impact of the government shutdown. And then in the House Of Representatives winning new yorks 15th Congressional District at 32, becoming the first openly gay afrolatino representative in congress. Ritchie. Oh, john, how are you . Hows it going . How are you . Its good to see you. Im a huge fan. Im a big fan as well. Its an honor to have you. Thank you for having me. So exciting being here in the house. Theres Never A Dull Moment in d. C. Oh, i bet. You must be exhausted. Look, if someone had said to me a few years ago that i would become a member of congress during a Global Pandemic and witness an insurrection against the u. S. Capitol and then vote to impeach an outgoing president , and all of that would happen within the first two weeks . Thats crazy. Like, i can write a memoir. Wow. People like me dont normally make it to congress. Im just enormously grateful to give back to my home, the bronx. Right, right. cause what is it exactly, what you want to give back to the bx . My passion is housing. Mm. So i, you know, spent almost All My Life In The Bronx in poverty. I was raised by a single mother who had to raise three of us on minimum wage, which in the 1990s was about 4. 25 an hour. So i grew up in conditions of mold and mildew, leaks and lead without consistent heat and hot water in the winter, and the mission of my life is to improve the Living Conditions in public housing. Now, you ran an unconventional campaign. I was an openly gay candidate running in the south bronx, which has an element of social conservatism. So i won on the strength of doortodoor, facetoface campaigning. I went into peoples homes. I heard their stories. Its so oldfashioned, so analog. Its grassroots. Yeah, yeah. Thats grassroots. And, you know, people would tell me, in the 50 years ive been living in the south bronx, ive never had a candidate for Public Office or a public official knock on my door. So it leaves a lasting impression. That you care. Im gonna come to your home and meet you facetoface. Takes a lot of hours and a lot of time. But its worth it. And you felt energized by every conversation and you know, im an introvert. Oh, you are . But i found it energizing. Yeah. I found it energizing, because you realize that places like the bronx are full of unsung heroes. I told you. Didnt i say that . And hes verifying. I think the voters of the south bronx came to see me as the embodiment of their highest hopes and aspirations for their own children and grandchildren, and that connection is more powerful than any form of prejudice, including homophobia. Thank you. Good to see you. And i want to thank you for everything youre doing for the community. The average net worth in congress is more than a million dollars. Historically, its been a white male oligarchy. Right. Im afrolatino. I dont have a net worth of a million dollars. I dont even have a college degree. Wow, you dont . But what i bring to the table is the wisdom of lived experience. I know what its like to struggle with poverty and inequality and Food Insecurity and housing insecurity, and so i feel like i bring something new to the United States congress. Youre an anomaly in so many ways, i mean you know, like, in new york city, we have one of the largest latino populations, and yet theres not a single latino in the leadership of the new york city government. What . So that means that theres never been a latino in any of the top three Citywide Elected Offices in a town that is, well, so latino. You know, and a wise person once said, if you dont have a seat at the table, then youre probably on the menu. [chuckles] oh, snap. Like, break it down for some young person who doesnt understand politics, doesnt think their vote counts. Why do you think your Representation Matters so much . Well, representation ensures that you get your fair share from the federal government. Like, the federal government affects every aspect of your life. Mm. And no one