Xolo Maridueña on Blue Beetle, Cobra Kai & Being the First Latino DC Superhero

Xolo Maridueña on Blue Beetle, Cobra Kai & Being the First Latino DC Superhero

For this episode of the De Los Podcast, hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with Xolo Maridueña — actor, podcaster, and the first Latino to headline a live-action DC superhero film — for a wide-ranging conversation about growing up on the east side of Los Angeles, building a career from the ground up, and what it really meant to make Blue Beetle. Born and raised in El Sereno, Xolo traces his path from community theater at Casa 101 and the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory, to landing Cobra Kai at 16 — the role he describes as the North Star that shifted everything. He talks about the phone call from Ralph Macchio that almost didn't happen, what it was like to watch Miguel Diaz mirror his own coming-of-age in real time, and why he didn't fully believe acting was his career until well into his seventh year of doing it. He opens up about Blue Beetle — the first live-action superhero movie with a Latino lead, a predominantly Latino cast, and a crew that felt, in his words, "like the Avengers." He shares what it was like to sit in a theater in Montebello and watch kids who looked like him cry at the screen for the first time. He also talks about his upcoming projects: the Netflix live-action adaptation of One Piece, Dog Years alongside Xochitl Gomez, and Killing Castro — a film premiering at Tribeca about a story so wild he kept thinking it had to be dramatized. It wasn't. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. 🎙 De Los Podcast drops new episodes every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation.   From the Los Angeles Times and Sonoro comes the De Los Podcast — a weekly conversation where music, pop culture and Latinidad collide. Hosted by De Los editors Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito, the show pulls back the curtain on the stories, people and cultural moments shaping the Latino experience in the U.S. and beyond. Every episode is a front-row seat to conversations with the artists, actors, filmmakers and thinkers who are moving the culture forward — not just talking about it. Guests include Leslie Grace, Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, Xolo Maridueña, Fabrizio Guido, producer and singer Empress Of, among others. Think of it as the cultural conversation that major American media rarely makes room for — a space where Latinos get to talk, unfiltered, about what they create and who they are. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. New episodes every week — available on YouTube and all major podcasts.

Cypress Hill's Sen Dog: From Cuban Refugee to Hip-Hop Icon

For this episode of De Los Podcast, hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with Sen Dog, founding member and rapper of Cypress Hill — one of the first Latino hip-hop groups to break into the American mainstream. Born in Pinar del Río, Cuba, Sen Dog came to the U.S. as a refugee with his family, eventually settling in South Gate, Los Angeles — the very neighborhood that would give Cypress Hill its name. In this conversation, he traces the full arc: from watching Soul Train on Saturday mornings and meeting a teenage Dave Lombardo of Slayer in high school, to touring the country in a tiny Astro van before "I Could Just Kill a Man" hit number one in New York overnight. He opens up about what it meant to be a Black Latino in a hip-hop scene that had no category for them, the band's legendary Simpsons cameo, and their genre-defying collaborations with Pearl Jam, Sonic Youth, and Biohazard — including his own metal project, Power Flow. Sen Dog also shares why he returned to Cuba for the first time in decades, what it felt like to step onto his grandmother's porch again, and how that trip led him to discover that his family's last name — Reyes — traces back to an ancestor sold into slavery in Cuba from Benin in the early 1800s. All of it is part of his upcoming documentary, Mi Familia, a migration story that goes from the slave ships to South Gate, Los Angeles. Plus: why he says "I'm a refugee and I say that proudly" in today's political climate, the story of picking up Celia Cruz at the airport, and why all he needed to become a rapper was a pen and a piece of paper. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. 🎙 De Los Podcast drops new episodes every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation. From the Los Angeles Times and Sonoro comes the De Los Podcast — a weekly conversation where music, pop culture and Latinidad collide. Hosted by De Los editors Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito, the show pulls back the curtain on the stories, people and cultural moments shaping the Latino experience in the U.S. and beyond. Every episode is a front-row seat to conversations with the artists, actors, filmmakers and thinkers who are moving the culture forward — not just talking about it. Guests include Leslie Grace, Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, Xolo Maridueña, Fabrizio Guido, producer and singer Empress Of, among others. Think of it as the cultural conversation that major American media rarely makes room for — a space where Latinos get to talk, unfiltered, about what they create and who they are. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. New episodes every week — available on YouTube and all major podcasts.

Leslie Grace Gets Real About Batgirl, Bachata & Being Dominican-American

Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito sit down with Dominican-American singer, actress, and Latin Grammy-nominated artist Leslie Grace for a wide-ranging conversation about music, movies, and what it means to be Latino in Hollywood today. Leslie traces her journey from recording a Christian album in her family's closet at 14, to breaking out as a bachata star alongside Romeo Santos and Prince Royce, to landing her film debut as Nina in Lin-Manuel Miranda's In the Heights — a role she spent seven years of self-tapes working toward. She opens up about Batgirl, the HBO Max film she starred in that was shelved by Warner Bros. before release, and how that experience pushed her toward indie filmmaking — including Sundance Prize winner In the Summers, and two SXSW premieres: Stages and Campeón Gabacho, directed by Jonas Cuarón. Plus: what it's like to be a female artist in a male-dominated genre, the hardest thing to learn about the music industry in the streaming era, and her take on Latinidad — and what it looks like to just exist without having to prove it. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. 🎙 De Los Podcast drops new episodes every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation. From the Los Angeles Times and Sonoro comes the De Los Podcast — a weekly conversation where music, pop culture and Latinidad collide. Hosted by De Los editors Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito, the show pulls back the curtain on the stories, people and cultural moments shaping the Latino experience in the U.S. and beyond. Every episode is a front-row seat to conversations with the artists, actors, filmmakers and thinkers who are moving the culture forward — not just talking about it. Guests include Leslie Grace, Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, Xolo Maridueña, Fabrizio Guido, producer and singer Empress Of, among others. Think of it as the cultural conversation that major American media rarely makes room for — a space where Latinos get to talk, unfiltered, about what they create and who they are. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. New episodes every week — available on YouTube and all major podcasts.

Introducing: The De Los Podcast

From the Los Angeles Times and Sonoro comes the De Los Podcast — a weekly conversation where music, pop culture and Latinidad collide. Hosted by De Los editors Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito, the show pulls back the curtain on the stories, people and cultural moments shaping the Latino experience in the U.S. and beyond. Every episode is a front-row seat to conversations with the artists, actors, filmmakers and thinkers who are moving the culture forward — not just talking about it. Guests include Leslie Grace, Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, Xolo Maridueña, Fabrizio Guido, producer and singer Empress Of, among others. Think of it as the cultural conversation that major American media rarely makes room for — a space where Latinos get to talk, unfiltered, about what they create and who they are. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro.   :studio_microphone: [https://a.slack-edge.com/production-standard-emoji-assets/16.0/apple-medium/1f399-fe0f@2x.png] New episodes every week — available on YouTube and all major podcasts. From the Los Angeles Times and Sonoro comes the De Los Podcast — a weekly conversation where music, pop culture and Latinidad collide. Hosted by De Los editors Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito, the show pulls back the curtain on the stories, people and cultural moments shaping the Latino experience in the U.S. and beyond. Every episode is a front-row seat to conversations with the artists, actors, filmmakers and thinkers who are moving the culture forward — not just talking about it. Guests include Leslie Grace, Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, Xolo Maridueña, Fabrizio Guido, producer and singer Empress Of, among others. Think of it as the cultural conversation that major American media rarely makes room for — a space where Latinos get to talk, unfiltered, about what they create and who they are. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. New episodes every week — available on YouTube and all major podcasts.