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Transcript

130 No’s Before One Yes · The Lawtino™

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_03: Welcome to the Latino Podcast, where we amplify the voices of Latino professionals, entrepreneurs, and leaders coming together to educate, inspire, and connect across one of the most dynamic binational regions in the world.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_03: Bicultural, premium, powerful.
• 0:20
  SPEAKER_01: Hey, Sean Gomez with another episode of the Latino Podcast, special edition from Washington, D.C.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Again, talking to incredible friends and colleagues that we're meeting and uh sharing time with here at the Hispanic National Bar Association annual conference.
• 0:38
  SPEAKER_01: This episode, as always, is brought to you by your sponsor, Gomez Trial Attorneys.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: We are a uh binational, bicultural, best-in-class law firm.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_01: We have offices in both the United States and Mexico.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: We do cases nationally.
• 0:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh we offer the highest level of legal representation both in the English and Spanish languages, and we are best in class.
• 1:00
  SPEAKER_01: We do believe we're the best lawyers of what we do.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, we represent consumers in cases involving personal injury, um, mass torts, employment harms, and civil rights abuses.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: Although, I I say this uh just to be funny, uh, we we always shy away from cases against the great city of San Bernardino.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_01: And we'll find out in a second why that is.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: And so uh David Arigin, um, our lawyer at our firm that runs our cross-border practice and really is in charge of outreach with other lawyers, former guests on the podcast, now my co-host.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_01: Uh okay, so let's let's talk about who we have next, sir.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so you know, excited.
• 1:42
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so we're about to hear about the conference, meeting new friends, meeting new people.
• 1:46
  SPEAKER_00: And for example, our guest right now, Oliver Maldonado, my best best in Krieger.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like you stopped by, you know, just chatting, and suddenly we're like, you know what?
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: You're on, you're gonna jump on the podcast.
• 1:57
  SPEAKER_00: So, well, first of all, thank you for agreeing on the spot and making the time.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: So, welcome, Oliver.
• 2:02
  SPEAKER_00: Maybe we want to hear from you.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's so funny that, you know, like we're here in Washington, D.C., but you know, we're in we're from San Diego, Suburnadino, people meeting in Washington, D.C.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_00: So thank you.
• 2:13
  SPEAKER_00: Uh give us a little bit about your background, like share where you grew up and all this.
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_02: Well, first of all, thank you, gentlemen, for having me on.
• 2:21
  SPEAKER_02: When I learned that you guys were from California, I said, Oh, I have to spend some time with my California family.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_02: You know how it is.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, so my name is Albert Malunado.
• 2:30
  SPEAKER_02: I grew up in the city of Ranchu Cucamonga.
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_02: Right up the freeway from us.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_02: And so for those that aren't aware, it's about an hour east from LA.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_02: It's located in the part of California called the Inland Empire.
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_02: And if you don't know anything about the Inland Empire, the Inland Empire is composed of two counties, Samardino and Riverside.
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_02: Together, they comprise five and a half million, which would be greater than the population of 25 of our 50 states in this country.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_01: Amazing.
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_02: So I come from that region.
• 2:58
  SPEAKER_01: And a very, very highly like exploding, right?
• 3:01
  SPEAKER_01: A lot of growth.
• 3:02
  SPEAKER_02: It's the fastest growing region.
• 3:04
  SPEAKER_02: It's the reason why California's economy is not has not backslided because of the economy in the IE.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_02: A lot of people.
• 3:14
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, logistics, warehousing, healthcare are the industries that have propelled it.
• 3:19
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so I'm a partner at Best Best in Creeker.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_02: I do municipal law.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_02: I represent local agencies.
• 3:25
  SPEAKER_02: I'm the appointed city attorney for the city of San Bernardino, I'm the assistant city attorney for the city of Upland, for the town of Apple Valley.
• 3:34
  SPEAKER_02: And I also have a special district client.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_02: I'm general counsel to the Beaumont Cherry Valley Recreation and Park District, which is in Riverside County.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I'll just, I guess, begin by maybe telling you the story of why I decided to become a lawyer.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_02: And so I went to college at Pittsburgh, one of the Clermont Colleges.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_02: That's a really great college.
• 3:53
  SPEAKER_02: At that time, thank you.
• 3:55
  SPEAKER_02: At that time was very much the campus activist, and the dying hall workers of Pomona College were trying to unionize at that time.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_02: And so I was supportive of their efforts.
• 4:03
  SPEAKER_02: I was at the sit-ins, I was at the marches, I was holding the signs and all those things.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_02: And every Friday I would call home and I would check in.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_02: And this Friday afternoon, there was some action that the Dying Hall workers were doing.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_02: I had just come from that.
• 4:19
  SPEAKER_02: I was walking from Pomona to Pitzer, which is about a 20-minute walk.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_02: It's a contiguo campus, the five colleges.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_02: And I shared with my mom and dad where I just come from, and my dad told me, he said, you know, you need all of that for social change.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_02: You need people at the protest, you need people to hold the sign, and you need people to holler on the megaphone.
• 4:39
  SPEAKER_02: But at some point, the movement's gonna need a lawyer.
• 4:43
  SPEAKER_02: Either because they want to sue the school or because they're gonna be charged with a crime.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_02: And either way, they need a lawyer.
• 4:49
  SPEAKER_02: And guess what?
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_02: Not one of those people can speak in court.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_02: All they can do is go and sit in court in the galley and just watch and observe what is being decided about their movement.
• 5:01
  SPEAKER_02: But you're like not a lot of people.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_02: You're a smart guy.
• 5:04
  SPEAKER_02: You can go to law school, become an attorney, so when the time comes that they cannot speak for themselves, you can speak for them.
• 5:11
  SPEAKER_02: And I said, you know what?
• 5:12
  SPEAKER_02: That sounds pretty good.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_02: That was the moment I decided to go to law school.
• 5:15
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, Dad.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_00: I don't see you as a guy just like sitting there in the bench, you know.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like no, I feel like I see you like a guy taking action.
• 5:21
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so shout out to my dad, also named Albert Maldonado.
• 5:25
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, thank you, Mr.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_01: Alban Albert Maldonado Sr.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: So no junior for you?
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: It's not junior because I have a memory.
• 5:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, okay.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_01: Amazing.
• 5:34
  SPEAKER_01: So that's a great story.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, dad is like saying, hey, you know, this is the way to really make change.
• 5:40
  SPEAKER_01: You're already a guy with uh justice in his heart, you know, and uh service in his heart.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: So off you go to the law school.
• 5:48
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, where'd you go to law school?
• 5:49
  SPEAKER_01: How was that experience for you?
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_02: So from Pittszer, I didn't go straight to law school.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_02: I went to Harvard first.
• 5:55
  SPEAKER_02: I went to Harvard Divinity School and got a master's degree in theological studies.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 6:00
  SPEAKER_02: I studied religion, ethics, and politics for two years.
• 6:03
  SPEAKER_02: And then after Harvard Divinity School, then I went to law school at Northwestern in Chicago.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_02: Amazing.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_02: Then after all that, then I returned home to Ranch Cucumonga.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
• 6:12
  SPEAKER_01: Interesting.
• 6:13
  SPEAKER_01: What a story.
• 6:14
  SPEAKER_01: So, why did you choose to go to divinity school?
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_02: So there's really two reasons.
• 6:20
  SPEAKER_02: One is the idealist reason, the other is the realist reason.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_02: The idealist reason is that at one time I wanted to run for office.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_02: I thought I might want to run for president of the United States one day.
• 6:30
  SPEAKER_02: And one of my professors told me, he said, you know, what most people in the world care most about is their religion.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_02: So go to Harvard Divinity School, study the world religions, and you will be a better communicator than almost anybody.
• 6:47
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, wow.
• 6:48
  SPEAKER_02: Because you'll be able to go deeper, yes, more substantive to their core values.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_02: I said, that sounds pretty good.
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_02: That was the idealist reason.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_02: The realist reason was they gave me a full ride and money on the side for housing.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: Very nice.
• 7:00
  SPEAKER_02: And I recognize that a Harvard degree opens many doors for you.
• 7:03
  SPEAKER_02: So I wasn't going to turn that down.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_02: I wanted to go to law school, but I didn't have to put myself in more student debt first.
• 7:09
  SPEAKER_02: So I said, let me take this two-year detour and do this.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: Super cool.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: So what was your favorite course?
• 7:16
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I we could talk about Northwestern Law School, but we all went to law school.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_01: Kind of, you know, that's very impressive.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_01: An amazing law school.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_01: But uh, you know, we were lawyers, but like what was your favorite course at Yel at Harvard Divinity School?
• 7:31
  SPEAKER_01: That that is more interesting to me.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:33
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I would say my favorite course was a course called The Making of a Politician.
• 7:43
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 7:44
  SPEAKER_02: It was media training.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_02: Oh, wow.
• 7:46
  SPEAKER_02: It was media training because a lot of those folks they run for office, right?
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 7:50
  SPEAKER_02: And our professor told us, he said, My goal is to equip you to withstand career-ending moments.
• 8:01
  SPEAKER_02: God forbid you're arrested.
• 8:03
  SPEAKER_02: I needed that course, man.
• 8:04
  SPEAKER_02: I was gonna say we gotta talk to you.
• 8:06
  SPEAKER_01: Is it too late?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_01: Can I still get yeah?
• 8:09
  SPEAKER_02: He was like, God forbid you're arrested.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_02: You know, things happen in life.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: You need to be able to walk into that interview and survive with your career intact.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_02: And so he taught us all the techniques of media training.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_02: And and that, plus another course I learned community organizing.
• 8:30
  SPEAKER_02: And the making of a politician was the mechanics, the community organizing was the substance, the value, how you connect with people.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_02: People won't listen to you if they don't like you.
• 8:43
  SPEAKER_02: So you have to establish the relationship first, and then they'll listen to you know whatever it is that you're offering to them.
• 8:50
  SPEAKER_00: You gotta connect first, right?
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_02: And you know, it was very eye-opening, I'll tell you.
• 8:55
  SPEAKER_02: I grew up middle class.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_02: I did not grow up poor, I grew up middle class.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_02: My parents grew up poor.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_02: My dad grew up in East LA, my mom grew up in Azusa.
• 9:04
  SPEAKER_02: They moved out to Ranch Cookamonga.
• 9:06
  SPEAKER_02: My dad was a cop, my mom worked for the Social Security Administration, I had a middle class upbringing.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_02: But when I went to Harvard, there's level to this.
• 9:12
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: And when I went to Harvard, the first day of that community organizing class, there were 130 students in the room, and the professor said, I want everyone to take 10 seconds, and I want you to tell me where you're from, and I want you to tell me what both of your parents do.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_02: And I went into it thinking, you know, I was kind of like biased.
• 9:34
  SPEAKER_02: I thought, okay, the dad's probably a doctor, attorney engineer, and the mom might be like a stay-at-home mom.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_02: I would say 90% of those students, both of the parents were professionals, both of them.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_02: And there were literally of the 10 remaining, I would say, there were eight, like me, middle class, and only two that were legitimately had a poor upbringing.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_02: So it was like, wow.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_02: You know, middle class is like we think, like, okay, like this is pretty good.
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_02: But again, there's levels to this.
• 10:03
  SPEAKER_02: And so it was eye-opening.
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_01: That's amazing.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so, you know, you come out of you already knew at that point you wanted to go to law school, right?
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: And so then you go to law school and then you get out there, you're looking for work.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: How'd how'd you find your way into the kind of work you do today?
• 10:19
  SPEAKER_02: Really, by chance, I'll be honest with you.
• 10:21
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I was what I wanted to do was kind of uh transnational work, probably a little bit about what you do.
• 10:29
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and I was applying to the big mega firms, but struck out.
• 10:35
  SPEAKER_02: I was told no 130 times before Best Best in Krieger told me yes.
• 10:42
  SPEAKER_02: And I had to search kind of for more mid-sized firms, and I looked to come because I was trying to stay in Chicago or maybe go to New York, Miami, where a lot of that work is based out of.
• 10:52
  SPEAKER_02: So once I struck out of that, then I pivoted, looked to come back home, and I found Best Best in Krieger.
• 10:59
  SPEAKER_02: I was a political science major, undergrad.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_02: And so when I discovered they did municipal law, I said, well, that's you know, somewhat overlap there.
• 11:06
  SPEAKER_02: And so I applied to be a summer associate.
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_02: They accepted me, and I've been there my entire career.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_02: I'm going on 10 years now.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: Amazing.
• 11:14
  SPEAKER_01: Well, congratulations, you may partner.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Thank you.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you're uh uh basically a city attorney of you know of a number of um you know cities that that need good lawyers, like the cities like government, government needs good lawyers.
• 11:30
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you for that work.
• 11:31
  SPEAKER_01: Um so here you are at the Hispanic National Bar uh Association conference.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: How'd you get involved with this group?
• 11:38
  SPEAKER_02: Um through a number of ways.
• 11:40
  SPEAKER_02: When I was in law school, you know, I would I would attend their conferences.
• 11:44
  SPEAKER_02: Um I was also involved with the National Law Student Association, and I was on their board, and there's a lot of overlap between the two organizations.
• 11:54
  SPEAKER_02: And then since practicing, I think this is probably my third conference, and the reason that I'm at this one is because I was invited to speak on the opening plenary session that we had this morning.
• 12:05
  SPEAKER_01: Oh and so I saw you up there.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, so the topic of that plenary was 250 years of the great experiment through the Latino lens.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_02: And so that's why I'm here.
• 12:16
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, super cool.
• 12:17
  SPEAKER_01: How'd you feel about your talk?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_01: How'd it go?
• 12:18
  SPEAKER_02: I think it was a powerhouse panel.
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_02: I learned as much as I gave.
• 12:22
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, I really enjoyed it.
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_01: Awesome.
• 12:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so um, you know, what would do you believe that, you know, our our listeners that may not be involved with uh HMBA, you know, may not be members, may not have even heard of it.
• 12:37
  SPEAKER_01: You know, what would you say to, you know, law students?
• 12:40
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you I guess started as a law student.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, what has this organization um, you know, added to your life and practice?
• 12:47
  SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_02: Um, first and foremost, it's food for the soul.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_02: When you come to a conference like this, you know, it's very seldom you can be in a room with more than 12 attorneys that are all Latino.
• 13:00
  SPEAKER_02: Uh, this is a place you can be among hundreds, and that is food for the soul.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_02: So I leave these conferences rejuvenated, re-energized, recommitted, you know, to helping our community and build that pipeline, you know.
• 13:18
  SPEAKER_02: And so if you're a law student out there and you're listening, reach out for help.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_02: You know, we're we're more than willing to help, but you have to reach out.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_02: Email us, hit us up on LinkedIn.
• 13:31
  SPEAKER_02: I think LinkedIn is used more now from the younger generation, but reach out.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_02: Um, because they're I'm sure the same for both of you.
• 13:38
  SPEAKER_02: We had people that helped us and extended a hand, and so now it's our turn, and we're happy to do that.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_01: So, like if they want to reach out, how do they find you, man?
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_02: So you can look up bbklaw.com.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_02: I'm the only Albert at the firm.
• 13:51
  SPEAKER_02: So just type Albert when you're looking to find out.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_01: And plus, you're like at the top if they have all the names, no?
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yes.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_02: Albert Maloneau has my email, has my number, and I will give you my personal sell, 909-732-1920.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_02: Reach out anytime.
• 14:06
  SPEAKER_01: I love to give back.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, thank you so much.
• 14:08
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks for being a resource and a mentor and uh and an example for others.
• 14:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and so uh, you know, have you you you've had like an interesting, cool like life, you know, to this point.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_01: Like, and I like the reasons you made the choices you have have been like super um interesting to me.
• 14:28
  SPEAKER_01: Like the Divinity School thing was like super cool.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_01: Like, and so have you ever well, I guess you tell us about uh something you struggled with getting to this point in life that maybe others can learn from.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_02: Imposter syndrome.
• 14:42
  SPEAKER_02: Imposter syndrome.
• 14:44
  SPEAKER_02: When I was in college and I was looking to apply it to graduate school, I'll tell you the full I gave an abbreviated version this morning.
• 14:51
  SPEAKER_02: I'll give you the full version.
• 14:52
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, good.
• 14:53
  SPEAKER_02: I know you guys will be able to relate to this being from Southern California.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_02: So I went to Pittszer and I was planning on applying for a master's in politics at the Clermont Graduate University.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, they have a good program, right?
• 15:06
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, they have a good program, yeah, but it's not, you know, elite.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_02: It's not elite, right?
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_02: It's strong, but it's not elite.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_02: And I had a professor that said, Albert, apply to Harvard Divinity School.
• 15:18
  SPEAKER_02: My undergrad thesis was in religion politics.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_02: He said, apply to Harvard Divinity School.
• 15:22
  SPEAKER_02: And I laughed in his face.
• 15:23
  SPEAKER_02: I laughed at him.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_02: I said, I have no business applying.
• 15:27
  SPEAKER_02: I'm not good enough.
• 15:28
  SPEAKER_02: It wasn't I'm not smart enough, it was I'm not good enough to go to Harvard.
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_02: And it took a hundred conversations of him trying to convince me and others until I got to the point that I believed that, that I believed that I was good enough, intelligent enough, and capable to go.
• 15:48
  SPEAKER_02: And by the time I applied, not only did I believe that they would accept me, but I believed that I was adding value to them.
• 15:55
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they're giving me a degree, but I'm giving them a perspective that they don't have.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_02: So they're also benefiting.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_02: And the students I'm gonna sit amongst are gonna benefit from my perspective.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_02: And so dealing with imposter syndrome is very real.
• 16:07
  SPEAKER_02: And when I was in graduate school, I learned the source of imposter syndrome.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_02: And the source of it is that culture is coercive.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_02: So the negative thoughts that arise in our mind that you're not good enough, you're not smart enough, or oh, this opportunity, let someone else take it first, kind of scope it out, and then see if it's for you.
• 16:27
  SPEAKER_02: Those thoughts are because when we grew up in school and we saw our TV shows and we saw movies, we're either not represented at all, Latinos, or if we are, we're never the heroes, right?
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_02: We're the villains, we're dirty, we're lazy, we're second rate, right?
• 16:44
  SPEAKER_02: We're the criminal in the back of the police car, or at best, we're the cop driving the car.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_02: And so you believe those things.
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_02: And imposter syndrome is those thoughts arise, and most of the time you listen to them.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_02: And fear is physio physiologically paralyzing.
• 17:03
  SPEAKER_02: So when those thoughts arise, you're like, okay, let me not do anything.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and so I had to unlearn that and choose to not do nothing, choose a different path, take a risk, accept that opportunity.
• 17:19
  SPEAKER_02: And and I learned that from a woman who was uh a Holocaust survivor who was placed in Rovinsbrook, which was the concentration camp exclusively for kids, and she told us, she said, when you're in that place, the you start believing the things that were said about you, that you're cockroaches, that you're a drain on society, that we should be exterminated, that God God doesn't exist and has abandoned you.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_02: And all of us that made it out, we chose to not act on those thoughts.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_02: And so surviving was resistance, joy was resistance, practicing their religious and cultural traditions, right?
• 18:10
  SPEAKER_02: Still getting married, still having those um ritual celebrations was resistance.
• 18:16
  SPEAKER_02: So that's who I learned it from.
• 18:18
  SPEAKER_02: And I said, Well, shoot, if someone can survive that, then no matter what I have going on, I can choose a different path.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, how inspiring! That's amazing.
• 18:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you for sharing that.
• 18:32
  SPEAKER_01: That's incredible.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so, in in kind of closing, you know, we like to um close out.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_01: There's a podcaster that does a podcast called, it's called the Crack Podcast.
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_01: And he he ends by asking his guests if you could write words in the sky for everyone to see, what message would you give to all of us?
• 18:53
  SPEAKER_02: Latino history is American history.
• 18:56
  SPEAKER_01: I love it, man.
• 18:57
  SPEAKER_01: Perfect, perfect for this conference, perfect for this moment.
• 19:01
  SPEAKER_01: Uh, thank you so much.
• 19:02
  SPEAKER_01: I'm so glad you stopped by, man.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, thank you.
• 19:04
  SPEAKER_01: Then you're right up the road.
• 19:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'll we'll lay off Apple Valley and somebody.
• 19:08
  SPEAKER_01: I love those coincidences of these type of competitions.
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, super cool, man.
• 19:12
  SPEAKER_01: Toda familia here.
• 19:14
  SPEAKER_01: So thank you so so much for being a part of the podcast.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: If you like the podcast, uh like it, share it, check it out.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we'll have this up soon.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_01: We'll share it with you.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_01: So this signs us off.