Earlier this month HOLA USA! shared an exclusive digital cover introducing the new era of Latino Podcasters. A part of that list was the amazing podcast “Hyphenated” brought to you by Pitaya. The show is hosted by comedy stars Joanna Hausmann and Jenny Lorenzo and is about the experience of living “hyphenated” between two cultures. As Latinas in the United States, both have developed their comedy around what it means to be bicultural. Every week, Jenny and Joanna have hilarious, and inspirational conversations about the peculiarities of being both American and Latina. You might already be fans or have seen these ladies on your screens in one of their viral videos. Joanna is a Venezuelan-American comedian, writer, and actress who became a star on ‘Flama,’ Univisión’s bilingual digital platform and her viral videos have more than 70 million views online. Jenny is a Cuban-American actress, writer, and content creator, known for her YouTube sketches with characters inspired by her Cuban heritage. Jenny is also one of the founders of ‘PeroLike,’ BuzzFeed’s Latino content platform. Her videos have more than 25 million views on YouTube and millions more on her other social networks. In this exclusive interview, HOLA USA! had the opportunity to talk to the hosts about how it all go started, and how they hope the podcast helps listeners feel ‘less alone in their hyphen.’
HOLA! USA: So how did this podcast come to life?
JENNY: It was a long time coming because Joanna and I had known each other because we were both working for major digital media networks at the time. She was at Flama, and I was at BuzzFeed and Pero Like, so we were essentially competition. but Joanna was one of my favorites over at Flama and I think we- first of all- we have only seen each other in person a number of times... like three times or something, yeah (laughs). So I think we first met officially in person at one of the VidCons some years back and when we posted the photo of us together on our socials everyone went crazy. Our audiences have a lot of crossovers and they were so thrilled, but they wanted more than just the photo, they wanted to see both of us working together, making videos together and it took a bit because obviously we live across the country from one another but this podcast was just perfect and people are so happy that we’re doing something together.
I feel like since I was born I did not make sense to anyone. [JOANNA]
HOLA! USA: Do you remember that moment in your life that you realized that you were sitting on this fence where you weren‘t really Latina enough, or American enough? And even Jewish enough for you Joanna.
JOANNA: Oh my goodness… we talk about this on the podcast so much me and Jenny but I feel like since I was born I did not make sense to anyone. No one can say my last name in Venezuela and I looked super, what I look like- an Irish barmaid. And here in the states, I was American but I didn‘t know who John Candy was and all these American references and I never felt fully in the culture. Literally, the only thing I felt like I knew I was- was funny. So comedian was like the one thing that no one- except for like YouTube comments- could take away from me and it’s ironic because it’s through comedy that I was able to figure out my identity crisis and realized everyone has an identity crisis. Everyone is being told they’re not enough of this or not enough of that when you’re a multi-hyphenate, and that’s problematic to me. I think we should embrace our identities, no matter how complex they are and although I’ll never be cast as ‘a Latina’ in any show we can create our own content, where we are the Latina in the show.
HOLA! USA: So whenever you listen to a podcast you feel something after. When I listen to my murder/true crime podcasts I‘m like, *acts out the chills* What do you hope that people feel like after they listen to an episode of Hyphenated?
JOANNA: I think we want people to feel like they are part of the conversation, that they are at the table with us- we are speaking about our lives and our perspectives but always keeping in mind that we want to remind people that they’re not alone in their hyphen, they’re not alone in feeling like they don’t fit any mold- that’s actually a strength. Having multiple perspectives and points of view actually helps you understand culture and the world better, it’s not something that makes you weaker or lesser than.
We want to remind people that they’re not alone in their hyphen, they’re not alone in feeling like they don’t fit any mold- that’s actually a strength [JENNY]
HOLA! USA: Is there anything else you want to share with people who are reading and resonating with your story or just anything you want to get off your chest that you’re feeling today?
JOANNA: I think we’re living... we’re living in a time where we are all together, alone. So I think, in an effort to create this podcast, and also for me to not feel as alone- I hope people feel less alone with us. I think that’s something that I hope people understand.
HOLA! USA: I know you both have a lot of stuff going on outside of Hyphenated, what else can we look forward to?
JOANNA: I‘m currently head writing a new Disney series that is set to premiere in 2022 where we actually see a mixed family of American and Latin parents. Which is something that was added during development, not when the series was picked up so we’ve been able to incorporate in the room with a really diverse writing room, half Latina writer room and we’re trying to hire Latino animators so that’s coming up.
You can listen to ‘Hyphenated’ on Pitaya.fm, Apple, Spotify, Amazon Music & YouTube
,type=downsize)