Blog

Moving along with my podcast until the next booking (hopefully soon). I’ve been doing self-tapings and writing my own skits. I only have one video called Green Screen Lesson up on my YouTube channel. Check it out and subscribe.

My podcast Overheard at Chica’s Café is going well. It’s a light and fun podcast focusing on entertainment friends. Check it out here.

This month is Adoption Month and on the Poetic Resurrection Podcast we have Jeanette Yoffe we discuss Yoffe Therapy her solo show and now available in paperback and Audible
What’s Your Name, Who’s Your Daddy?

It’s been a couple of weeks since I’ve blogged, life is good. I’ve been going on auditions and I’ve been put on hold. As an actor, this is something you don’t want to hear. You want to know you got the job or not.

 

Check out the episode with fellow actor and great friend Danny Mora on Overheard at Chica’s Café, if you want to know what actors go through for work, this episode is for you. You’ll hear how we started in acting the play we did together with Emilio Rivera, and the trials and tribulations of the acting career.

 

On Chica & the Man, Alex and I finally catch up with each other since our last recording in July. I’ve had several guest host on the show while Alex was on hiatus. Check out this episode and as always we laugh and banter.

It was so wonderful being on a set again. I had a great time working on Bosch Legacy with Denise Sanchez. Great cast and crew. Can’t wait to see the episode. Season 2 streams in Spring of 2023. I’ll keep you posted.

Check out season 1 of Bosch Legacy

The award winning short film I worked on during the pandemic has been released to film festivals and has won several. It’s called “Love in the Time of Pandemic” Check out the link to see the awards. Keep up the great work Emmanuel Todorov!

In the meantime, check out the gallery.

 

Yes, what it is all about? I’ve been asking myself that for some time. I’ve been keeping busy with self-tapes and in person auditions.  I realized I get more auditions when I find joy in them. I’d be more joyous booking, but that’s another story for another day. As I’ve posted before I have been busy writing short stories. I gave up on my deadline of September to finish the poetry book Inspire Me: Awakening Dreams until later this year.

I had one audition that I went all out for. Got a coach, director and a reader to help me and it came out great. I sent out my thank you for the opportunity and let it go. My agent and I were very happy with the recording. It was for a major role in a TV series. Sadly, didn’t get it but it did make it to the producers.

My podcast are doing good. I had changed the Poetic Resurrection podcast to twice a month. My other two podcasts Chica and the Man and Overheard at Chica’s Café are once a month.

Please get my current poetry book Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2.

In the meantime, check out the Gallery.

One of the pluses of being in entertainment is you get to meet great people and one of my favorite people is Uli Bella a founding member of the music group, Ozomatli. He and I have been friends for many years and I was excited to interview him for the show. We talk about the new album Marching On and its singles: El Destino & Marching On. Ozomatli’s journey from the formation of the group to the current core members. Their music collaborations with Gaby Moreno, Lisa Lisa and B-Real of Cypress Hill.

Ozomatli’s collaborative, energetic blend of multi-cultural music and activism has earned them three GRAMMYs®, four Hollywood Bowl shows, a TED Talk and much more. Since forming in 1995, the Los Angeles-bred lineup has inspired and energized listeners as far away Burma and Mongolia: Ozo’s messages and music, sung in both Spanish and English, need no translation. Like The Doors, X, Los Lobos, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and other L.A.-based artists who take cues from the city and also reflect and unearth its movements, Ozomatli reaches from the curbs to the high-rises.

Ozomatli’s commitment to social justice is ongoing. Their 2019 single “Libertad,” with founding members Chali 2na (Jurassic 5) & Cut Chemist, was the first release together since Ozomatli’s 1998 debut album. It highlighted the struggle of Latin workers in the U.S. who sacrifice everything to help family on the other side of the border wall. In 2008 the U.S. State Department appointed the band United States Cultural Ambassadors; in 2009 and 2010 Ozo performed for President Barack Obama. Hometown honors arrived in 2013, when April 23 was deemed “Ozomatli Day” in perpetuity, and in 2011, Ozomatli was awarded the NCLR (National Council of La Raza) Capital Award.

In 2022, Ozo’s new songs, stronger-than-ever brotherhood and creativity culminated in Marching On. Produced by David Garza (Fiona Apple, Sparta) at El Paso’s Sonic Ranch, the LP’s 11 songs are a unified blend of the members’ influences and ideas. Guests include J.J. Fad and Lisa Lisa on “Fellas,” while “Mi Destino,” sung in both English and Spanish, features Cypress Hill’s B-Real and Guatemalan singer-songwriter Gaby Moreno, who also lends her vocals to the title track “Marching On”.

If the city of Los Angeles had a soundtrack, it would be Ozomatli’s music. As founding members Jiro Yamaguchi and Uli explain: “You drive down Sunset Boulevard and turn off your stereo and roll down your windows and the music that comes out of each and every different car, whether it’s salsa, cumbia, merengue, Hip Hop, funk or whatever, it’s that crazy blend that’s going on between that cacophony of sound is Ozomatli, y’know?”

Band members:

Raúl Pacheco – Lead & Backing Vocals, Guitar, Tres, Jarana
Asdrubal Sierra – Lead & Backing Vocals, Trumpet, Piano
Justin ‘El Niño’ Porée – Percussion, Rap Vocals, Lead & Backing Vocals
Ulises Bella – Saxophone, Lead & Backing Vocals, Requinto, Jarocho, Keyboard, Melodica
Wil-Dog Abers – Bass, Marimbula, Backing Vocals
Jiro Yamaguchi – Drums, Percussion, Backing Vocals

Ozomatli – Moving On Album available on Amazon

@ulibella

https://ozomatli.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ozomatli/

https://www.youtube.com/user/OzoVideos

Listen to the podcast on our page.

Check out the current episode of the Poetic Resurrection Podcast. Prioritizing and Promises. This past weekend, I had everything planned. I was going to organize my guest/craft room by taking everything out and only keep what I will actually use and need. I woke up early on Saturday and then realized that I had an audition self-tape. On Friday, I remember replying to my agent that I will look at the sides for this TV show. Something was nagging at me to look at the sides in the morning. I figured I would clean the room then spend the rest of the day reviewing them. Didn’t realize this was an important audition and merited much of my weekend.

I like to memorize my sides (script section) because it makes it easier to perform. As I read the breakdown and reviewed the sides, I realized I needed a coach and a reader to help me learn the lines. Saturday was gone and even though I spent most of the day learning lines, they wouldn’t stick. After making a list and prioritizing what I needed to do, I saw the problem with memorizing my lines.

I just couldn’t get away from breaking a promise to myself, YET AGAIN. The truth is housework will always be there. My sister pointed that out to me and she’s correct. I had a great opportunity to work on a funny script. I asked a friend if she knew anyone who’s a coach and can help me with the lines. She did. I set an appointment and headed to Ojai with my friend for the day. Well, at least I thought it would be for about three or four hours, but no, it was the day.

The coach was great. Why wouldn’t he be? He’s also a stage director and had brilliant advice on the character. We were able to record it there. I am grateful to him and my friend who, by the way, drove.

The fact that I actually hesitated to stop everything I was doing to delay this great opportunity surprised me. Why would I do that? I dream of opportunities like this. Was it fear? Was it not feeling that I’m good enough?

Louise Jackson states: “We often have opposing desires, feelings, beliefs, and ideas. These can create internal conflicts and struggles that mean clashing forces feel like they’re fighting each other inside your brain. And expecting dramatic change overnight is incredibly stressful. …Trying to do too much at once makes you way more likely to break your promises to yourself.”

Yes, this was me. I had opposing desires and ideas. I rather be working on my creative endeavors, acting, writing and my podcast, yet, I like calmness. For me, calmness comes from a clean and organized home. I’ve started so many projects around the house only to leave them partially finished. I’ve worked on all my creative projects, just not the chores.

“Think about this same scenario, but played out in your relationship with yourself. You break your promises so many times you can start to doubt yourself. Even if your intentions to change are good and pure, it can be difficult to change because you lost credibility with yourself.” Ayodeji Awosika

So, what to do? I left the housework behind and decided not to beat myself up. Maybe I set too large an expectation. I then learned the script lines, got coached and recorded my self-tape. I understand that the biggest hurdle I had was that I didn’t want to once again break a promise to myself. I learned to practice self-kindness and to acknowledge that I might have perceptions (ideas) for the day, but life happens and there are gifts in the unpredictability of it.

So, I’m taking my sister’s advice and I’m spending an hour or less on clearing the guest room every day until it’s done.

Be kind to yourself. Understand life happens and many blessings.

Get a copy of my latest book: Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2

Self-forgiveness

“Forgiving yourself means letting go of the feelings and emotions associated with what went wrong. You let go of any resentment or anger. It may be easier to do this when forgiving others, but many find it hard to do this for themselves.” Betterhelp.com.

What causes us to prolong self-forgiveness? Why is it easier to forgive another–and yet, difficult to forgive ourselves? Can we find joy in the chaos? Is it our anger, bitterness, and stubbornness? When these feelings are felt, it’s a sign for us to forgive–ourselves or others.

Focus on the emotions. It’s a process of learning to forgive ourselves. Sometimes it’s difficult to understand why we feel a certain way. Is it part of our story or experiences? Understanding how we feel is opening a door to forgiveness.

I practice mirror work. If I can look at myself as I state my mistake/misunderstanding, I can move on. This is difficult because we don’t want to feel at fault or vulnerable. Yet, vulnerability is strength.

I write feelings/emotions down when I find them challenging to accept. Journaling or my pros & cons list goes something like this example.

1. Why do I feel this way? Then I list the pros & cons.
   1. Pro: They needed to hear how they made me feel.
   2. Pro: I felt empowered for the moment.
   3. Con: I hurt them more than I imagined.
   4. Con: I responded too strongly to what the situation merited.
2. Another method is I write a letter to myself using handwriting. Not a computer/phone or any electronic means. I address the wounded child within me. Can I forgive that child? Sometimes, it takes several letters before I can see the truth within myself. Practicing kindness to myself can lead to letting go and eventually joy.

We’ve all heard that we are our worst critics and we can be. For me, it’s the constant repetition of the situation. It repeats the many scenarios that could have happened. Could’ve, Should’ve, and would’ve are not our friends. It can take us down a rabbit hole which I have found to cause anxiety over a situation that might happen.

I ask myself what caused the breaking point? Was I too tired? Not enough sleep? Not feeling well? Did they push my buttons when I needed support? I’ve learned the hard way to bite my tongue because I came from the philosophy that honesty is the best policy. What I have learned is that it is not. Kindness is the best policy because honesty is just an opinion. One person’s truth is not mine and vice versa.

I have found that just pulling off the bandage and apologizing and making amends is best for me. What can you do to fix the situation? Be sincere in the apology. Know we might not remedy the circumstances, but understand that we all make mistakes and we need to learn how to forgive ourselves. I’ve had a situation where I was wronged. They never apologized and even though I have forgiven them, the relationship changed. There was a loss, and I realized my part was my perceptions were not in line with the truth of our relationship. I needed to be responsible for my beliefs. What part have you had in a relationship? Was it your perceptions? Were your needs not being met? Were your needs in alignment with theirs? Expectations of others can lead to misunderstandings. Expect what is true and forgive yourself when your perceived needs are not met. Self-forgiveness is a learning process and the sooner we learn the process, the calmer and faster we can move on.

“Choosing to forgive ourselves is a great act of compassion. Our compassion towards ourselves will radiate out into the world towards others. You will experience peace, joy, and humility. Your vibrational energy will rise. There are so many benefits to Self-Forgiveness.  I have come to learn that healing is truly from the inside out.” Belinda Haverdill from Spiral Path.

There’s a list of various in-depth articles that can help in your journey to self-forgiveness in the notes.

The poem for this week is: Alliance from The Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2 and will appear in my upcoming book. Inspire Me: Awakening Dreams. This poem also appeared in the June podcast under expectations.

Alliance

Sometimes my essence aches because of the many adventures and events others have had without a mention, and I wasn’t there. Is it me? Is the perception of what they sense I am determining my behavior, my thoughts? We spoke of holiday two summers long set for the third. The third visit around the sun and I asked when are we going? I don’t know, was the answer. Facing the truth—via social media as I view the celebratory drink in hand with another. Visiting the places of visual beauty, of distant land we planned. Why not explain? Why falsehood? A sadness took over me. Was it them? Was it me? Was it my perceptions of childhood memories that stood in the way of the truth? A truth that hasn’t existed in decades. A long ago feeling attached to a person whom I’ve surrendered my alliance. Taking responsibility for my emotions as I breathe and let go. Let go of my ideas of the past. Do I blame them? No, I’m accountable for my beliefs. Will we plan again No. Our characters detached the blinders I wore since childhood. Abandoning my memories and allowing myself permission to move on.

Many blessings.

Inspire Me Series: Book 1 & 2

Follow me at: https://poeticresurrection.com/

Podcast: https://poeticresurrection.podbean.com/

https://poeticresurrection.podbean.com/e/awakening-dreams-expectations/

Helpful links:

https://www.spiritualityandpractice.com/practices/alphabet/view/11/forgiveness

https://www.healthline.com/health/how-to-forgive-yourself#3.-Think-of-each-mistake-as-a-learning-experience

https://www.lifehack.org/837308/self-forgiveness

https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/self-esteem/what-is-self-forgiveness-and-why-is-it-important-to-your-mental-health/

https://positivepsychology.com/self-forgiveness/

https://www.spiralpathhealingartscenter.com/post/self-forgiveness-as-a-spiritual-practice

https://www.oprah.com/inspiration/deepak-chopra-how-to-forgive-yourself_2

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/the_healthy_way_to_forgive_yourself

https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/quizzes

https://www.theforgivenessproject.com/

Music: Passing Time by Kevin Macleod

Overheard at Chica’s Café, Where Friends Meet is an entertainment podcast. New episode today. After producing two other podcasts, Poetic Resurrection, which is An introspective look at life and our Perceptions and Beliefs. It’s a self-help poetry site and Chica and the Man, As Unscripted as it Gets, is about two podcasters, Alex and Sonia who talk about anything that comes to mind on the day of the recording.

One of the episodes of Chica and the Man was called Overheard at Chica’s Café and I thought what a fun name for a podcast. It’s not gossip, just hearing two friends talk. This one is light and interesting, and the goal is to have it bring a smile to your face. Tune in.

Peace.