Sacred Lessons with Mike de la Rocha

In this episode of Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with comedian, actor, and creator Frankie Quiñones for a deeply personal conversation about laughter, trauma, and the courage to tell the truth. From finding refuge in comedy to speaking openly about childhood sexual abuse, addiction, and therapy, Frankie reflects on what it took to stop running from his pain and finally ask for...

In this episode of Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with Carmen Perez-Jordan, Chicana feminist and longtime movement leader, for a deeply personal conversation about friendship, grief, and liberation. From their shared roots in Oxnard to decades of organizing together, Carmen reflects on transforming the loss of her sister into purpose and the responsibility of carrying forward the less...

In this episode of  Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with Ken Salazar, former U.S. Senator, Secretary of the Interior, and U.S. Ambassador to México, for a timely conversation about immigration, identity, and who gets to belong in America. Drawing from his family’s centuries-long history in the American Southwest and his memoir  Borderlands: My Fight for an Inclus...

In this episode of  Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with Mónica Ramírez, founder of Justice for Migrant Women, for an important conversation about gender justice, patriarchy, and redefining power. Recorded live at the five-year anniversary of the Raizado Festival in Aspen, Mónica reflects on decades of fighting alongside migrant women, immigrant families, and...

In this episode of  Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with legendary artist Chaz Bojórquez, widely recognized as the Godfather of West Coast Graffiti, for a powerful conversation about art, identity, and remembering who we are. Recorded inside the Museo del Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City during the historic Aztlán, túnel del tiempo exhibition, Chaz refle...

In this episode of  Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with comedian, author, and actress Aida Rodriguez for a deeply personal conversation about identity, fatherhood, and finding our way home to ourselves. From growing up without her father to searching for him decades later, Aida reflects on the complicated journey toward forgiveness and what it took to realize that her worth was n...

In this episode of  Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with Def Sound, Black Afro-Caribbean conceptual word artist, producer, poet, and educator for a thought-provoking conversation about identity, freedom, and the courage to become fully ourselves. Together, they explore the stories we inherit about race, gender, masculinity, and belonging, and what becomes possible when we stop per...

In this episode of  Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with Leslie Priscilla, educator, founder of Latinx Parenting, and author of Chancla, for a deeply personal conversation about parenting, generational healing, and becoming the safe adult we once needed. Together, they explore how our own childhood experiences shape the way we parent, why healing begins with reparenting ourselves,...

In this episode of  Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with Douglas Miles, acclaimed Apache artist, photographer, activist, and founder of Apache Skateboards, for a powerful conversation about art, storytelling, and reclaiming the narratives that shape our lives. Recorded live from the  We The People  exhibition in South Los Angeles, Douglas reflects on the importance of In...

In this episode of Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with Rocio Navarro for a deeply personal conversation about water, healing, and the ancient wisdom of letting go. Recorded beside the ocean, Rocio shares how water has been used across cultures as a source of ceremony, renewal, and connection, and how it can help us reconnect with our bodies and release what we’ve been carrying....

In this episode of Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with acclaimed chef Eduardo “Lalo” García, the visionary behind Máximo in México City, for an important conversation about food, resilience, and the possibility of beginning again. From being deported from the United States to becoming one of Latin America’s most celebrated chefs, Lalo shares how...

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Carlos Avendaño Mendoza, founder of Pécora 1909 and the coffee grower behind every cup of Tepito Coffee, for a deeply personal conversation about the land, legacy, and living with purpose. From humble beginnings in Veracruz to becoming one of México's most respected coffee growers, Carlos shares how his father,...

In this episode of  Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with Chris Spencer, comedian, writer, producer, and actor, for a heartfelt conversation about comedy, vulnerability, and the truths we often hide behind laughter. Together, they explore why so many men learn to make people laugh before they learn to express their feelings. From marriage and fatherhood to the healing power of brot...

In this episode of  Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with Bryan Ramirez, founder of Reservoir Tattoo Studio, for a deeply personal conversation recorded while Bryan tattoos a Mesoamerican serpent, a symbol of transformation, healing, and rebirth, onto Mike's arm. Together, they explore why the tattoo chair has become one of the few places where many men feel saf...

In this episode of  Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with Carlos Guzman, founder of the influential clothing brand Brown N Proud, for a heartfelt conversation about pride, culture, and identity. From immigrating from México to building a movement that has helped tens of thousands embrace their roots, Carlos reflects on the healing power of representation, faith, and entrepre...

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Marisa Renee Lee, author of  Grief Is Love  and  Waiting for Dawn , for a deeply personal conversation about loss, uncertainty, and what it means to keep loving after someone is gone. Drawing from the loss of her mother, the heartbreak of losing a child, and her own journey through illness and uncertainty, Marisa sha...

In this episode of  Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with Anna Malaika Tubbs, New York Times bestselling author of The Three Mothers and Erased for a powerful conversation about patriarchy, masculinity, and the stories that shape our understanding of power and identity. Together, they explore how systems of gender, race, and hierarchy are woven into our culture, how those systems i...

In this episode of Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha sits with Baratunde Thurston at the BOOST Conference for a thought-provoking conversation about masculinity, America, and the future of humanity in the age of artificial intelligence. Together, they explore how the stories we inherit about power, work, and manhood continue to shape our culture, institutions, and emerging technolog...

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Refujio “Cuco” Rodriguez from the Hope and Heal Fund for a powerful conversation about gun violence, masculinity, and the stories boys are taught about power and protection. Moving beyond policy and headlines, Cuco explores how trauma, silence, and harmful ideas about manhood shape violence in our homes and communities,...

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Tonatiuh for a powerful conversation about gender, identity, and the cost of living inside expectations that were never ours to begin with. From his acclaimed performances in Kiss of the Spider Woman, Vida, and Promised Land, Tonatiuh reflects on how masculinity is often shaped by perception, performance, and power, and how the wor...

In this deeply moving episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Gregory Boyle, founder of Homeboy Industries and a father figure to thousands, for an intimate conversation about love, belonging, and the fathers we find along the way. Together, they explore what happens when men grow up without the guidance, tenderness, or affirmation they needed and how healing becomes possible wh...

In this live episode of  Sacred Lessons , host Mike de la Rocha continues a powerful series on gender violence with Damariz Vasquez and Ozzy Cruz, two practitioners working on the frontlines of healing at the East L.A. Women’s Center. Moving from awareness to action, this conversation centers the day-to-day realities of supporting survivors, working with men, and creating pathways for t...

In this powerful live episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha convenes a critical conversation at the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center with Barbara Kappos and Jerry Tello on sexual violence and the urgent need for accountability, healing, and community transformation. As the first in a series confronting violence against women and children, this episode moves beyond awareness to exami...

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits down with filmmaker and novelist Kevin Abrams, whose feature film,  Marisol,  follows a 17-year-old undocumented teen confronting her identity and fighting for her future. Drawing from his Mexican-American heritage and activist roots, Kevin reflects on how storytelling becomes both resistance and healing. From documentaries li...

In this deeply personal roundtable episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with four men from the DENA Heals Men’s Circle for an unfiltered conversation about sex, consent, and the conversations many of us never had growing up. Together, they reflect on coming of age without guidance from fathers or caregivers around intimacy, respect, and responsibility, and how that silence s...