My Futuro is Impactful: Our Projects for 2026

Summary

Suave – "My Futuro is Impactful: Our Projects for 2026"

Podcast: Suave (by Futuro Media)
Host: Maria Garcia
Guests: Fernanda Echabarri (Managing Editor, Latino USA), Jeannie Montalvo (Grammy-nominated Senior Producer)
Date: May 19, 2026

---

Episode Overview

This special episode spotlights the future of Futuro Media’s podcast slate for 2026, unveiling major forthcoming projects and highlighting the organization's mission of fearless, independent journalism that centers Latino and immigrant stories. Host Maria Garcia, along with two of Futuro’s lead creative voices – Fernanda Echabarri and Jeannie Montalvo – offers listeners a behind-the-scenes look at new shows exploring the birth of salsa music, the underdog history of soccer in the U.S., a deeply personal narrative about searching for family, and a playful new video series on pop culture moments. The dynamic conversation radiates pride, curiosity, and passionate belief in the power of storytelling.

---

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Futuro’s Mission and Growth

• Futuro’s Ethos:
  • Maria Garcia frames the organization as “fearless,” “passionate,” and dedicated to “defending democracy” and “holding power accountable.”

    “My Futuro is fearless, defends democracy, holds power accountable. My Futuro ... belongs here.” (Maria Garcia, 00:00)

• A Year of Expansion:
  • New shows, deeper journalism, and celebrating the anniversary of the Futuro Plus membership community.
  • Emphasized the importance of listener support to make ambitious, community-rooted storytelling possible.

2. Major Upcoming Shows

"Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York"

• Exploration of Salsa’s Impact:
  • Jeannie Montalvo details a dream project chronicling salsa’s rise in New York, exploring Fania Records’ legacy (the "Motown of salsa"), and the city’s central role in the global impact of the genre.

    “There is a world before salsa music and there is a world after salsa music.” (Maria Garcia, 04:16)

• Personal Passion Fuels the Project:
  • Jeannie’s academic and personal background in Latin music provides an authentic lens.
  • The project involved deep research and intimate interviews with surviving legends like Joe Bataan and Alex Masucci.
• A Star Host:
  • Rosie Perez will host; her Nuyorican roots and personal connection to the salsa era add gravitas.

    “...when Rosie's management wrote back and was like, she's interested. I was like, wait, what? It’s because Fania means something to her. Salsa means something to her.” (Jeannie Montalvo, 06:45)

• Memorable Moment:
  • Dream comes true when Rosie Perez signs on with immediate interest, bringing lived experience to the role.

"American Football"

• Underdog Story of Soccer in the U.S.:
  • Fernanda Echabarri reveals a show focused on the culture and immigrant roots of soccer, rather than just stats or games.

    “Throughout the interviews that I've done so far, we keep hearing: this is the immigrant game, which is why it has not become part of the sort of top three sports of, like, America's pastime.” (Fernanda Echabarri, 09:20)

  • The podcast will react in real time to the World Cup and explore how soccer reflects the changing face of U.S. society, including its political challenges for immigrants.
• Personal Approach:
  • Fernanda approaches from the perspective of a fan, recalling vibrant memories and the drama around the pitch, not just on it.
• Notable Anecdotes:
  • Jeannie’s childhood story about meeting the 1994 U.S. Men’s National Team in Miami – a fun nod to the changing soccer landscape.

    “I was a goalie. I played soccer. So it was like a big moment.” (Jeannie Montalvo, 11:41)

"Reaching Out"

• Raw and Intimate Memoir Feed:
  • Maria announces a new podcast feed featuring deeply personal memoirs, with the first season starring Ser Quevedo’s journey searching for his biological father.

    “There is nothing out there like this podcast…It was just officially selected for Tribeca.” (Maria Garcia, 12:35)

• Emotional Impact:
  • Fernanda voices her powerful reaction, saying the audio moved her more than anything in a long time.

    “This might sound like hyperbole, but I really have never heard anything like this before.” (Fernanda Echabarri, 13:17)

• Artistry and Intention:
  • Emphasis on slow, artful audio storytelling that is singular and emotionally resonant.

"Muy Excited"

• First Video Narrative Podcast:
  • Maria Garcia introduces her own upcoming show, blending weekly stories about landmark pop culture moments with analysis and fun.

    “Every week we're gonna bring you the story of a cultural moment...that fascinates us in pop culture and culture at large. And these are very, very fun stories.” (Maria Garcia, 14:14)

• Sample Topics:
  • Ricky Martin’s cultural journey
  • Luis Miguel and Mariah Carey’s romance
  • The significance of Shakira’s black hair for millennial Latinidad

    “Still waiting for the black hair to come back.” (Fernanda Echabarri, 15:13, playfully)

• Celebration of Belonging:
  • Pop and cultural history as entry points for deeper insight into LatinX identity and community.

---

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "My Futuro is not afraid to take risks." (Jeannie Montalvo on the culture of innovation at Futuro, 15:39)
• "My Futuro is now... There is a lot we need to make sense of... There's also a huge need to provide a relief, a break, a palate cleanser in the never ending doom scroll." (Fernanda Echabarri, 16:09)
• "My futuro is subversive... we tell stories that sometimes society messages that they don’t matter... but our audience is telling us they absolutely do." (Maria Garcia, 16:55)
• “You just gave me an idea to have a companion salsa class to go along with the podcast.” (Jeannie Montalvo, 05:13)
• “Unfortunately, because of the time period, a lot of these people are gone. So getting to connect with the people who are still around has been really amazing.” (Jeannie Montalvo, 05:25)
• “We are not giving up on this kind of storytelling. We're not giving up on the stories of our community.” (Maria Garcia, 07:38)

---

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:00–01:00: Opening: Futuro’s mission, call to support
• 02:30–06:45: “Our Thing: The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York” – Project history, creative process, Rosie Perez as host
• 08:52–11:52: “American Football” – Soccer’s immigrant story, World Cup reflections, 1994 team anecdote
• 11:58–13:17: Announcement of new “Memoir Feed” featuring “Reaching Out”
• 13:45–15:39: “Muy Excited” – Video narrative pop culture project: topics and approach
• 15:39–16:55: “My Futuro is…” – Hosts and guests define Futuro’s spirit in one sentence

---

Tone and Language

The tone is energizing, warm, and full of creative camaraderie. The team speaks honestly about the challenges of making “deeply reported, sonically rich” work in today’s media climate, but remains optimistic and mission-driven. The episode is peppered with humor, personal memories, and mutual admiration, creating an inclusive atmosphere that invites listeners into the creative process.

---

In Summary

This episode is a vibrant celebration of Futuro Media’s commitment to bold, community-focused storytelling. The team previews a slate of ambitious new podcasts—ranging from a definitive salsa history with Rosie Perez, to immigrant-centered soccer stories, to emotionally charged personal memoirs, and a quirky, insightful take on pop culture. Each project exemplifies Futuro’s ethos: stories of, by, and for the overlooked, delivered with rigor, artistry, and heart.

For New and Loyal Listeners Alike:
Whether you’re passionate about Latin music history, the soccer field’s meaning, intimate personal storytelling, or feel-good culture deep dives, Futuro’s upcoming year promises stories both fun and profound—“stories you won’t hear anywhere else.”

Transcript

[Maria Garcia]

My Futuro. My Futuro. My Futuro. My Futuro is fearless, defends democracy, holds power accountable. My Futuro ebilingue. My Futuro is passionate. My Futuro belongs here.

[Futuro Studios Host]

My Futuro is independent journalism. Futuro is having our biggest year yet. We're launching more shows than ever. Journalism that reveals, goes deep, tells stories from the heart, and does it beautifully. My Futuro is a place where you, dear listener, know that you belong. So I'm asking you to make my Futuro yours when you make a donation. Today, My Futuro becomes your futuro. And together we create a home for stories you won't hear anywhere else. So go to futuromediagroup.org donate to give my Futuro is powered by you. So from all of us here, thank you. Y gracias.

[Maria Garcia]

Foreign hi, I'm Futuro Studios executive editor and host Maria Garcia. And I'm so excited to tell you what we are hard at work producing here at Futuro because despite the challenges that public media has faced this year, Futuro has also faced a time of growth. We've been breaking news and bringing you really rigorous, timely journalism over at Latino usa. And we've also also been creating really ambitious podcasts at Futuro Studios. And of course, we also celebrated the one year anniversary of launching our subscription membership service, Futuro plus. And all of the amazing moments that we've been able to share with our subscribers. And today is one of those amazing moments because we want to give you a sneak peek at some of our big podcasts that we are going to be launching very, very soon. This is very exciting for me because we've kept these podcasts a secret up until now. We're thrilled to be joined right now by two of my brilliant colleagues and friends, Managing editor of Latino usa, Fernanda Echabarri, and Grammy nominated senior producer Jeannie Montalvo. Hi Jeannie. Hi Fernanda.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

Hi Maria. Jeannie, so nice to be with both of you.

[Jeannie Montalvo]

Hola.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

Glad to be here. Grammy nominated. That is how you introd so much.

[Maria Garcia]

I know, right? So, Jeannie, you took the majority of the time last year to produce something really, really special. You and I have been collaborating closely on this. I've witnessed how this was once a dream for Futurou Studios, a seedling of an idea. And over the last year we've created a project that was one of our sort of like dream projects, as I mentioned, and it is about the birth of salsa. Jeannie tell us about this beautiful project that you've been working on.

[Jeannie Montalvo]

Yeah, thanks, Maria. The podcast, our thing, the birth of salsa in Nueva York, came about because, I don't know, I feel like we've been talking about it for decades. Marlon Bishop, the co CEO Oya, and I have consistently been talking about how to tell the salsa story in New York with kind of this narrative that really looks at Fania Records, the kind of Motown of salsa, and how New York City was kind of a breeding ground for that. I did my thesis in Afro Cuban Latin jazz recording, so I feel like I've been living this for at least 15 years, really digging and researching. So to get to kind of like culminate it in this podcast was really exciting. When we finally got the green light and the funding to do was a really exciting moment for both of us and for everyone at Futuro.

[Maria Garcia]

We went deep. We went deep on the history of salsa. And to do this podcast now on the year that Bad Bunny finally got a salsa song to be a number one global, to me, demonstrates the timelessness, the relevancy of this music. This music changed the world. And I think the case that we're trying to make with this podcast is that there is a world before salsa music and there is a world after salsa music.

[Jeannie Montalvo]

Absolutely.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

I really want to listen. I mean, I wanted to listen before this conversation, but now I'm really.

[Maria Garcia]

I can't wait.

[Jeannie Montalvo]

Tune in.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

Does it make you a better dancer? Like, can that be my piece? Will listening to every episode of our thing make me a better dancer?

[Jeannie Montalvo]

No, but you just gave me an idea to have a companion salsa class to go along with the podcast. So maybe sign me up.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

I've seen you dance. Sign me up.

[Jeannie Montalvo]

Unfortunately, because of the time period, a lot of these people are gone. So getting to connect with the people who are still around has been really amazing. Joe Batan played the piano for me, you know, Alex Masucci. I went to his Upper west side apartment. We got to interview him there, and, like, he showed us pictures, and they've been really wonderful and really open. And I think that's gonna show in the podcast, especially, you know, the love that the team has for the people. And the project, I think really comes through.

[Maria Garcia]

I think your love, specifically, Jeannie, your love for this music, your passion for this genre, and you're a dancer. And I think having that background and that expertise, like somebody who loves to dance salsa, because it's the dancers that keep salsa alive, and I think we can share that. We have an amazing Amazing. Perfect host for this podcast. Jeannie drumroll. Do you want to tell us who is hosting this podcast?

[Jeannie Montalvo]

The one and only incomparable Rosie Perez. Recording of the podcast of our thing.

[Maria Garcia]

The Birth of Salsa in Nueva York, take one.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

Woo. Woo. I love it.

[Jeannie Montalvo]

You send emails to, like, celebrities. It's like. It feels like it goes to a black hole. So when Rosie's management wrote back and was like, she's interested. I was like, wait, what? What? What? She's like. Right away, there was no convincing. It was like, she's interested, and it's because Fania means something to her. Salsa means something to her. As a Nuyorican growing up in that time period, she's a little bit after that generation, but she grew up in New York City, and she was a teenager in the 70s. So, like, having witnessed firsthand how New York was surrounding these really big moments, you know, she's a boxing fan, so, like, the Rumble in the Jungle was, like, a very impactful moment for her. She really just brought a lot of life to the project.

[Maria Garcia]

What we do at Futuro Studios, and Futuro in general, is that we're not shying away from the difficult part of the story, and we're also remembering these histories that sometimes have been forgotten, and your gifts really, really, really make that possible. We're a nonprofit newsroom of some of the most committed journalists in the country, telling stories that often get ignored by other news outlets. And so if you're thinking about making a gift this year, please remember that your gifts make this kind of storytelling possible. And there's not a lot of this kind of storytelling right now in podcasting and in journalism. And we're here and we're saying, we're not giving up on this kind of storytelling. We're not giving up on the stories of our community. So don't forget about the importance of monthly giving if that's something you're considering, even if it's a small amount. These kind of recurring gifts really allow us to commit to this type of deeply reported, sonically rich series that we're known for. Speaking of that, let's go to Fernanda Echeverri for the next podcast we want to talk about.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

Fernanda.

[Maria Garcia]

This one. Ooh, this one's also very exciting. We had this idea, what if we do a podcast about the culture of soccer and the history of soccer with Latino communities and immigrant communities, specifically the place of soccer in the US and then we thought, fernanda's our girl. Fernanda's our girl for this.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

You know, this is a show called American Football, and it's about soccer culture in the US and its underdog roots. And it's really not about the stats or the games, but about the stories, the drama, which is my thing. One of my favorite things about this podcast is that throughout the interviews that I've done so far is we keep hearing this is the immigrant game, which is why it has not become part of the sort of top three sports of, like, America's pastime, the way baseball had become.

[Maria Garcia]

It's better up around the nation.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

Well, baseball also came from immigrants. It was just a different kind of immigrant. So I'm loving learning more about the history and the culture of something I already loved. Different from Jeannie, where I didn't do dissertations and papers on soccer. I came at it from a fan, and I can tell you the stories that I remember. The drama on the side that was happening outside of La Cancha, the pitch, the field.

[Maria Garcia]

One of the things that I love about this podcast, Fernanda, is that, I mean, you all go deep, while at the same time, you all are going to make space to react and to tell some of the stories that are gonna come out from this World Cup. So that's a big deal.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

Yeah, only a little. You know, we're just covering the biggest event on the planet and trying to do it by bringing you context. I think that's really important to us is if we see something happen in this upcoming World cup in the summer, what does it remind us of? Where does this come from? We are going to bring up the fact that the FIFA Men's World cup did happen in the United states before, in 1994. The 24 best soccer nations from around the globe will compete in. And it's coming back to a very different US Than what the US Was back then, to a very different fan base in the US than it had in the 90s. And politically, unfortunately, to a much more difficult United States for many folks.

[Jeannie Montalvo]

Can I please say that? I met the US team in 94 randomly in a hotel in Miami, and I have pictures with Lexi Lawless, and it was like the highlight of my life.

[Maria Garcia]

Lawless, go.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

Okay, What?

[Jeannie Montalvo]

We were randomly visiting family in Miami, and we were in a hotel, and I was in the elevator with Lexi Lalas. And so I have pictures with the whole team. I was a goalie. I played soccer. So it was like a big moment.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

It was super excited. That is amazing. I love it.

[Maria Garcia]

We also have some other big podcasts coming out of Futuro Studios. Very soon, later this year, we are going to launch a brand new feed. We're very excited. We've been working on it for quite some time. And it is a feed that each season is going to feature a very personal, intimate memoir like story from a creator, an artist that we believe in. The first season will launch in September with Ser Quevedo, who is a Latino USA alum and also a friend of Futuro and one of the most talented podcast artists out there. This first season is called Reaching out and it is the story of Ser reaching out to his biological father whom he had never met. It is an intimate, vulnerable, and really, really singular podcast. I can tell you now that we've heard it all, there is nothing out there like this podcast. It was just officially selected for Tribeca. You know, there's not a lot of podcasts being made like this that are artful and that take time and that tell very personal, deeply relevant stories.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

This might sound like hyperbole, but I really have never heard anything like this before. And the way that it moved me while listening to it. I want to say it's been a long time since I felt that way, but I really don't know that any piece of audio has made me feel this way. Maria, we're going to turn the microphone now on you because you have the most exciting podcast news.

[Jeannie Montalvo]

So muy excited.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

We are all muy excited about your show that I couldn't think of a better voice and a more creative and smart and poetic and funny thinker to bring us the stories that you're gonna bring us on. Muy excited. So without taking away the premise of the podcast, why don't you tell everybody what Muy Excited is about and all of you listening will understand why we're so excited for this.

[Maria Garcia]

Oh, thank you, Fernanda and Jeannie. That means a lot to me. Yes. Our new podcast, Muy Excited. It is our first video narrative podcast that I will be hosting and it's a storytelling podcast. Every week we're gonna bring you the story of a cultural moment of the past or the present that fascinates us in pop culture and culture at large. And these are very, very fun stories. One of our first episodes is about the cultural evolution of Ricky Barton and how he went from live in La Vida Loca to singing one of the most anti colonial anthems at the super bowl during Bad Bunny's halftime show and what that means for Latino belonging in the U.S. one of the episodes is about the whirlwind romance between Luise Miguel and Mariah Carey. One of the episodes is about Shakira's black hair and why so many millennials we log for her.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

Still waiting for the black hair to come back.

[Maria Garcia]

Yes. To end our conversation, I wanted to ask you all what futuro means to you. And if you can crystallize it in one sentence and you could finish the phrase my futuro is blank, what would it be? And we can start with Eugenie.

[Jeannie Montalvo]

I think futuro to me has always been a place of like, thinking outside the box and not being afraid to take chances on kind of wild ideas, wild ideas that come to fruition in really great projects. It's having a. A subconscious thought of where the story could be or what the story could be and not being afraid to kind of take those chances. So if I had to, my futuro is. My futuro is not afraid to take risks.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

My futuro is now is how I would describe it in one sentence. And it's now. Because right now, especially working for Latino USA and then working on a show like this, there is a lot of things that we need to make sense of in the world and in the United States, in politics, in policy, in real life, in everyday news. And there's also a huge need to provide a relief, a break, a palate cleanser in the never ending doom scroll. I don't see our work as completely separate. Like, this is just news, this is just culture. We really have a sweet spot here of being able to bring you both together. So, yeah, my futurou is now I'm

[Maria Garcia]

going to say that my futuro is subversive. And I think it's subversive because we tell stories that I think sometimes society messages that they don't matter. Communities that get neglected or ignored, cultural moments that maybe some people might think are niche, but that we know that our communities care about and resonate with. And so to me, that's inherently subversive, that we're telling stories that maybe to other people seem like they don't matter, but our audience is telling us they absolutely do. Thank you so much, Fernanda and Jeanne, for joining us. It's been such a pleasure to hang

[Fernanda Echabarri]

out with you all.

[Jeannie Montalvo]

So fun.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

Always nice to talk to you both.

[Maria Garcia]

I wish we worked in the same city sometimes.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

I know, me too.

[Jeannie Montalvo]

Talk about extremes of time zones here.

[Fernanda Echabarri]

Pacific, Central and Eastern.

[Maria Garcia]

Futaro is having our biggest year yet. We're launching more shows than ever. Journalism that reveals, goes deep, tells stories from the heart, and does it artfully. So my futuro is a place where you, dear listener, know you belong. So I'm asking you today to make my futuro yours. When you make a donation, my futuro becomes your futuro. And together, we create a home for stories you won't hear anywhere else. Go to futuro mediagroup.org donatetogive my futurou is powered by you. From all of us here. Thank you so much.