Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in New York
Join us for an evening of conversation between Maria Hinojosa and Rosie Perez for Latino USA live about salsa, growing up in New York City, and what hosting the podcast Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York has meant to her as a Nuyorican.
The conversation will be followed by a special guest performance and conversation by composer and Latin Grammy winner Ella Bric with host Janae Pierre of WNYC's podcast NYC NOW.
This event is a co-production of Futuro Media and WNYC.
Rob Northway
Rosie Perez is an Oscar-, Golden Globe-and Emmy-nominated actress and choreographer, Rosie Perez has been a cultural mainstay since her breakout performances in such classic films as Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” Ron Shelton’s “White Men Can’t Jump” and Peter Weir’s “Fearless.”
Perez recently starred opposite Billy Crystal in the Apple TV+ limited series “Before.” Previously, she starred opposite Bryan Cranston in the second season of “Your Honor” on Showtime as ‘Olivia Delmont,’ a charismatic assistant U.S Attorney. Prior to that, she starred as ‘Megan Briscoe’ in two seasons of HBO Max’s critically acclaimed series, “The Flight Attendant,” opposite Kaley Cuoco. The role garnered her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. The Flight Attendant has received multiple nominations, including a Golden Globe nomination for Best Comedy Series and a SAG nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series, an Emmy Nomination for Outstanding Comedy Series. Other recent credits include Apple TV+ bilingual thriller “Now and Then,” the drama series was shot in Spanish and English, the Netflix animated series “Human Resources,” the innovative feature “With/In,” a made-at-home anthology film revolving around themes of confinement and isolation and the short film Coco and Gigi which she wrote and directed.
In 2020, Perez starred in “The Last Thing He Wanted,” opposite Anne Hathaway and Ben Affleck for Netflix and as ‘Detective Renee Montaya’ in Warner Bros. “Birds of Prey,” opposite Margot Robbie. Her other film credits include: Bergman’s “It Could Happen to You,” “Untamed Heart” and “The Take,” in which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award.
Perez has also made her mark on the stage. She received strong reviews for her performance in “The Ritz” and made her Broadway debut in the hit revival of Terence McNally’s “Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune.” Perez returned to Broadway in2015 for the highly successful “Fish in the Dark” with Larry David.
Perez is a proud Puerto Rican, born and raised in Brooklyn New York. Throughout her career, Perez has been a vocal activist for a number of causes including HEART 9/11 and serves as the Artistic Board Chair for Urban Arts Partnership. In 2010, President Barack Obama appointed her to The Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS (PACHA). Rosie is the author of Handbook for an Unpredictable Life: How I Survived Sister Renata and My Crazy Mother, and Still Came Out Smiling (with Great Hair). She is also a long-time boxing fan who can often be found ringside — it's how she earned the nickname "The First Lady of Boxing."
Catalina Kulczar
As the first Latina reporter for NPR, Maria Hinojosa was among the first to report on youth violence in urban communities on a national scale. During her eight years as CNN’s urban affairs correspondent, Hinojosa often took viewers into communities rarely shown on television. In 2010, she founded Futuro Media, an independent, nonprofit newsroom with the mission to create multimedia content focused on the complexity of an increasingly diverse country and world. As the anchor and executive producer of the Peabody Award-winning show Latino USA, and as a contributor to MSNBC, Hinojosa has informed millions of listeners about the changing cultural and political landscape in America and abroad. She is an elected Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and has won dozens of awards, most recently, the George Polk Career Award, the I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence, the Public Media Journalists Association Leo C. Lee Award, and the Edward R. Murrow Lifetime Achievement Award. She is the author of four books, most recently a young readers' edition of her critically acclaimed memoir, Once I Was You.
Janae Pierre is an award-winning journalist, podcast host, and storyteller from New Orleans. She is the host of NYC Now, WNYC’s three times weekly news podcast, where she helps listeners make sense of the stories shaping life across New York City. Known for her laid-back style and thoughtful conversations, Janae draws listeners in with curiosity-driven discussions that aim to inform, engage, and entertain. Off the mic, Janae loves getting lost in New York’s neighborhoods, discovering hidden gems, local boutiques, and unexpected concerts. No matter where she lands, she brings a little bit of New Orleans with her… its music, food, warmth, or unmistakable sense of community. These days she has found a similar spirit in Brooklyn, where she lives and has built a community that reminds her of home.
Ella Bric is a Venezuelan born, New York based multidisciplinary artist, producer, trumpeter, and composer redefining the boundaries of Latin alternative music. A two time Latin Grammy winner including a historic win as the first woman to receive Producer of the Year her work bridges Afro-Venezuelan traditions with jazz, electronic music, and Latin Jazz.
Known for her genre fluid performances and bold artistic vision, Ella moves seamlessly between the worlds of live improvisation, music production, film, and performance art. Her sound carries the rhythmic complexity of the Caribbean and the experimentation of New York’s downtown scene, creating immersive experiences that feel both ancestral and futuristic.
Beyond the stage, Ella has collaborated with artists across the global music industry, contributed to Billboard, and developed projects spanning film scoring, theater, education, and audiovisual direction. Whether performing with a trumpet in hand or leading a multidisciplinary live ensemble, her work centers around identity, migration, memory, and cultural transformation.
Her upcoming project, Selfie, co-produced alongside GRAMMY winning producer Trooko and Venezuelan bandola virtuoso Mafer Bandola, continues her mission of bringing Afro-Venezuelan music into contemporary global conversations.
About Futuro Media
Futuro Media is an independent, non-profit news media organization and podcast studio founded in 2010 by Pulitzer Prize winner Maria Hinojosa. Based in Harlem, NYC, Futuro Media produces the Peabody Award-winning Latino USA, the longest-running public radio Latino news and cultural program, which celebrated 30 years on the air in 2023; Futuro Studios, focused on original podcasts and programming including Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast Suave, and acclaimed podcasts La Brega and Anything for Selena; In The Thick, a podcast about politics, unfiltered; and our IRE and Murrow award-winning Futuro Investigates, our investigative journalism arm that produced After Uvalde: Guns, Grief & Texas Politics.
About WNYC & NYC NOW
WNYC 93.9 FM and AM 820 are New York's flagship public radio stations, broadcasting the finest programs from NPR, American Public Media, Public Radio Exchange and the BBC World Service, as well as a wide range of award-winning local programming.
NYC NOW delivers in-depth reporting and analysis from across WNYC and Gothamist for all New Yorkers.
