Transcript 0:00 [upbeat music] Hey, it's the Latino Newsletter Podcast. I'm your host, Julio Ricardo Varela. It's a show about us all the time, and this is season two. That's right, we're back with new episodes. 0:17 This is the first episode of season two. Thanks to your generous support, we're back at it, and let's just dive right into it because I'm so excited about this guest that we're bringing on. 0:31 Bobito Garcia, AKA Cool Bob Love. He's a DJ, producer, author, filmmaker, radio, TV, podcast host, ballplayer, trainer, announcer, sneaker designer, entrepreneur, and an educator. 0:48 If you wanna read the whole bio, go to coolboblove.com. He's also the author of Bobito's Book of B-Ball Bong Bong. What'd I say? Bobito's Book of B-Ball Bong Bong. 1:02 His new memoir is available from Edge of Sports, an imprint of Akashic Books. Bobito, welcome to the Latino Newsletter Podcast. Oh man, it's an honor. Are you kidding me? I've been, I've been waiting months for this. 1:15 I'm gonna tell you straight up- Months... I get a lot of books. I took this one to my family vacation in Maine a- and I devoured it on a beach, like in- Oh... three days. And yeah, it was like- Really? And you know me. 1:29 It's like you're like me. It's like you're, you're an artist. I, I have so many like earmarks and notes, so I might... 1:35 I'm literally gonna go through the book and ask you questions because I have 'em in the book, so like that's why it's very special. But, but just tell me- All good... very s- just very at the top- All good... 1:44 like why this memoir now? Because, I mean, you've been, you've been doing this- Yeah... for a while, but like why now? Yeah. I mean, there's never not a time for us to tell our stories. 1:56 Um, and it wasn't, uh, tethered to any anniversaries. I am turning 60 in 2026. The book wasn't released next year. It was released this year just 'cause it felt like it was the, the right... It's... 2:10 I'm a rhythm dude, you know? Just like I play ball and I'm on a fast break, you know, people don't have to tell me where to go. It's just rhythm. 2:17 And, um, you know, I juggle a lot of creative projects simultaneously on a global level, uh, year in, year out, and I had this very small window to write this book, and I wrote it in seven months. And then, you know, 2:34 boom pow, it's, it's out now and, and, uh, I'm, I'm very pleased with the marketing, the promotion, the press, uh, the reception from the, the readers, um, and I really feel like 2:49 there's just a wealth of, uh, potential for it to reach a really wide audience. Yeah. 2:55 Um, you know, of course, I want to, to, to hammer my basketball community first and foremost, uh, 'cause that's a common thread but, you know, anyone into social justice, New York history, uh, the history of Puerto Rico. 3:09 Um, I mean, there's so many entry points, uh, family, cultural identity. I mean, there's, there's... You know, it's a, it's a memoir that, that sorta is almost disguised as a basketball book, but it's really not, right? 3:23 So- Yeah... I'm proud of it. I'm very proud of it. You should be. It's a work of art, you know, and- Thank you... 3:28 and, and, and before we talk about, you know, my impressions, finishing a book, creating things, I mean, that's one of... that's your life, right? Create, right? You've always done it. And, um- Constantly, yo... 3:40 constant. Like it's just... And it's just a, it's, it was just cool to see you like capture this. And, you know, for me, 'cause I left for school up here in Boston in '86, and I kinda... 3:55 I wouldn't say I forgot about like growing up in the Bronx, but when you, when I started reading like the '70s and the '80s, like you brought me back and I just wanna thank you for that. And- Mm. Good... 4:08 you wanna talk a little bit about that time? 4:09 And I, I don't wanna sound nostalgic because, you know, like you get into like we get old, like I'm, I'm only a couple years behind you and you're like, "Oh, yeah, it was a better time." 4:16 I mean, it was just growing up in the city. Yeah. But how much did that time really shape you, those te- those years? I mean, it's, it's, it's, it's a bedrock. 4:26 You know, every single ingredient of the '60s, '70s, and '80s I carry with me to, you know, this day and age even though my life has taken wonderful pivots where I, I don't necessarily return to some of the negative aspects of that era, but all the positive ones- Mm... 4:47 they're right here on my shoulder and I'm, I'm dragging them. I'm pulling them forward. Um, you know, there is something to be said about nostalgia because it is that. 4:56 Um, and I'm constantly telling people in every interview or personal interaction like I'm grateful that I was born in the '60s. You know, I got to see the burgeoning culture of hip-hop. 5:07 I got to see the nascent, uh, upstart of what we consider sneaker culture now. You know, I got to witness basketball and its brilliance before the rest of the world really knew what was going on in our parks. 5:22 Um, and so I owe everything to that, and I think, you know, that's one of the reasons why I point the documentarian historian eyeball in that direction because I want others to know about it as well. 5:37 My first book was Where'd You Get Those? New York City Sneaker Culture 1960-1987, released two, 22 years ago. Um, and you know, I picked that time period and I ended it at '87 because to me that's like the dark period, 5:55 least documented, uh, unknown, and that's, that's... to me, like I don't need to write a book about sneakers that-That everybody knows about, I wanna write about. 6:05 And that's, I mean, when it comes to my memoir, Albito's Book of B-Ball Bong Bong, I wr- I write about people and playgrounds and events and tournaments that not most people know about. 6:19 Even if you're a diehard like basketball fan, you're like, "Wait, Jorge Ortiz? Yeah. Quien? Quien? Quien?" You know, and, and s- I, but I want that t- so that all these important people in my life, um, that deserve to be 6:38 lionized- Yeah... in basketball history, like they get their, their, their proper due. Um, and so my, my book is like tr- triple threat. You know? It's, it's my memoir. Yep. 6:49 It's you- it's, it's also basketball history in New York and Puerto Rico and then globally. And then it's also an art book, 'cause you mentioned it's beautiful. 6:57 It features my 35-millimeter photography for the last 30 years. Yeah. Yeah, that's my photo. [laughs] So- Yeah, it's, there's so... 7:05 I mean, that, there was a part at the end of it, because like, I mean, I'm gonna show- Yeah... some of it because- You should... you know. You should. Yeah. I think, I mean, the stuff... 7:14 And then what I loved about it, and I'm not revealing too much about this memoir- Reveal as much as you want. I got, I gotta entice people to buy it... 7:21 the images became the story, and I saw more and more images at the end of the book, and it was just kinda like- Yeah... it's creativity, it's writing, it's art. Yeah. And it's your voice, and it's real. 7:34 And it was so clear the moment you open up that first page, and I was hooked for so many reasons. Thank you. But the biggest one I was hooked with, to go back to like, so I came from Puerto Rico in '78. Okay. 7:51 And I just remember, you know, Mom would be like, "Go out," right? So I grew up by Dewitt Clinton High School, like by 215, between 215 and, and, and Bedford Park, 8:03 and I'd go to the basketball playground at like- Mm-hmm... what, 9:00, 10:00? Yeah. And just show up, and- And figure it out... try to get a game, and, you know. Yeah. And I was quiet and shy, and- Yeah... 8:15 I forget how much basketball made me identify with this new place. Mm. You know what I'm saying? And- Yeah... I mean, obviously the, the history of New York City playground, like there are so many stories. 8:27 I'm like, oh, my God, I knew some of them. I didn't know all of them, and you have 'em here. And anyone who's like a, a basketball nerd about the city needs to read this book. Yeah. But, but just thank you. 8:37 Thank you so much. And then, then to pivot, I didn't know you played professional basketball in Puerto Rico in '87. I was in Puerto Rico in '87 in the summer. 8:46 [laughs] That must have been wild, you going and playing professional basketball Puerto Rico. It absolutely was. I mean, it was a dream come true. 8:55 And, you know, as I wrote about in the book, uh, my father, uh, was invited to, to try out for the Los Cardenales de Rio Piedras back in 1953. That was my team. Really? 9:05 That was, my dad and my papi, like played like semi-pro- Oh... in the '60s. Cool. He was a guard. Oh, wow. Oh, that's tough. Yeah, yeah. Like, so there's a lot of basketball history- Yeah... 9:14 in, in, in my family in Puerto Rico, but continue. Yeah, yeah. So, um, you know, he didn't get to realize his dream. He had to come, uh, to New York, uh, for family responsibilities. 9:24 And, um, you know, he didn't put that pressure on me to play professionally in Baloncesto Puerto Rico, not at all. Yeah. 9:33 Uh, but of course he was tickled when I, I caught the fever to play and I actually started get- becoming actually decent. Um- Yeah... 9:40 so yeah, I was, uh, scouted on the playground on 99th and Amsterdam at The Goat, where I grew up, uh, by a former player who played for Caberos by the name of Ray Diaz. 9:52 Uh, and the Piratas, you know, were a highly successful team in the '70s, so his, his, his word had weight. Um, Arrecife signed me without even seeing me play, just based on Ray Diaz's recommendation. Damn. 10:07 Um, and I played one season there and I, you know, we were the worst team in the league. I didn't get a lot of playing time. 10:12 Uh, I could have committed to going back and, you know, trying to, you know, work my way up the ladder and earn more minutes. Uh, but it was like the definitive experience of my life at that point. 10:25 And possibly, I, you know, I'm in the National Association of Broadcasters Radio Hall of Fame, you know. People consider me like an icon in sneaker culture 'cause I'm the progenitor of journalism in that space. 10:39 Um, I mean, you know, on and on and on. I've done like phenomenal projects, and I've been on- Yeah... TV, radio. But, you know, playing pro ball in Puerto Rico, that's, that's like the crown achievement of my life. 10:51 Because no one would've anticipated me being able to, to, to get there. I was five foot nine and 160 pounds, you know? Um, so but it took a lot of work, um, and being in the right place at the right time. 11:06 But I always tell people, like I wasn't lucky. I was in the right place because I, I forced myself to be in the right place. You know, I committed to being in the parks- Yeah... 11:16 as much as I could on a daily basis, playing, and eventually got noticed, you know? So yeah, and I was, you know, I was deserving of a contract at 20 years old. It was, you know, it was just unthinkable. 11:31 It was wild, man. And the thing is, it's like you were playing, you were at Wesleyan. I mean, you played at Lower Merion, like where Co- like I didn't know you played where Kobe played. 11:38 Like, there were things about you, I was like, I thought I knew about you. I like to say that Kobe played where I played. But you know what I'm saying? It's like- I was 12 years before him. I mean, I have- I know. 11:48 I was like-... I have some seniority... again, ahead of your time as some Puerto Rican kid in New York going out to like suburban Pa- wherever it was. Like- It's just in the suburbs of Philadelphia. Yeah. 12:01 But I, but I think what I've seen the thread throughout the entire book and is just how the game gave you everything. Mm.But your gratitude in this book, 12:13 like you just sit back and you're like, damn, New York Knicks, sneaker culture, DJ, traveled all over the world. Mm-hmm. 12:21 Like just this skinny, like, you know kid growing up [laughs] in the '60s and the se- you know, like- Yeah... 12:28 that was the part that I got out of this book where, where it was just, you have such an accomplished career, but there's a humility in this book that is just very strong- Yeah... 12:38 in your writing that I noticed pretty quickly. Do you wanna talk about-- I know it's hard to be like, talk about yourself being humble, but, 12:44 but like how else can you talk about humility if you can't talk about it, you know what I'm saying? Yeah, that works against each other. Talk about yourself being humble. 12:50 [laughs] But you know, I, I wanna thank you because, 12:55 you know, surprise, surprise, I'm being grateful once again, but yeah, I wanna thank you because yeah, I've been interviewed a bunch for the, for the book, but I don't think any host yet has caught 13:08 the gratitude that's expressed in the pages. And I think that might very well have to do with you being Boricua because I, you know, we are raised to be conscious of our community. We're raised to be, uh, you know, 13:23 um, conscious of, of respecting one another. I mean, it's, it's, it's in, it's in our culture, right? Um- Yeah... and that never escaped me once I became a public figure and, you know- Yeah... 13:36 having people ask for my autograph and, you know, uh, people telling me that they basically dressed and cut their hair so that they could look just like me. 13:44 I mean, you know, when I started traveling, it was like blowing my mind, right. Mm. But I never ever lost sight of the fact that all this stuff could not have happened, right. Yeah. 13:58 And so people look at my book and they're like, "Yo, how do you remember this stuff? How do you have your, your, your photos and your clippings?" And, and I tell people all the time, like, "Yo, every step of my career 14:11 was unbelievable to me," so I had, I always like- Yeah. It wasn't like I was coming out of like high school when I was an All-American and everything was being given to me. Like no, it was like everything that I got, 14:24 I had to have some t- tactile evidence of it, and not for other people, or not because I knew it was gonna wind up in Smithsonian and Cornell, and, you know- Yeah... they both acquired my archives, but it's because 14:40 I wanted to, to be able to look back at my life when I was older, and that's what I've been doing, right, and, and, and have like clear understanding of what I did. And it wasn't for my son. 14:51 I didn't know I was gonna have a kid. I mean, now I have a son, so cool, he can look at it. He doesn't think I'm cool, so whatever. [laughs] They come back. He just wants to play video games. Exactly. 14:59 You know, but anytime I, I do anything, whether it's the films that I've directed or the books that I've written or- Yeah... my tournament, listen, when I'm doing play-by-play, I, I run a tournament called FC21. 15:11 It's in 30 international locations, right? Every time I'm on a mic, whether remotely or when I was doing it in person, the first thing I say is, "Yo, thank you to the players, to the, you know, supporters, the sponsors." 15:22 It's like that's how I open up. Yeah. So that's, it's only right. It's only right. 15:27 And what I love about it, and I don't think we talk about that, that much, because I also think there's this cynicism to being like, to being like giving and humble and grateful- Mm... where it's like, what's your angle? 15:41 You know what I'm saying? Yeah. And, and I read this in the book, it's like my angle is just I'm living my life. Yeah. 15:46 Living my best life and like sitting, you know, like when, when you're like, I can just imagine you like in the '90s and the aughts and you're like, damn. 15:55 Or like when you were talking about all the travel that you went to, like in Japan and you're just like, like it's wild. Yeah. Right? 16:02 You've gotten to be in places where a- like a, a small, an infinitely small percentage of people have experienced it. But I also- Mm... see your pride. You were ahead of the game, brother, right? 16:15 And sometimes being ahead is like a double-edged sword, right? 'Cause like you were doing things as a Puerto Rican dude in the, in your 20s that were just like... 16:24 I, I mean, I instantly like identified it and I was in Boston, so I can't even imagine- Mm... like, you know, down in the city in the '90s and the aughts, and then when you were like [laughs] doing the Knicks. 16:34 I mean, come on, like the Knicks. Yeah. On MSG. Yeah. I mean- Yeah... tell me about that. Te- like I, I know I'm, I don't have a lot of questions after this. I'm just having a conversation with you. It's okay. 16:46 I, you know, it's like when I was a halftime reporter for the Knicks on MSG Network, I was very aware that I was the first Latino voice- Word... in their 60-year broadcasting franchise history. Like 17:00 I didn't, I didn't look at that as a small thing. I saw that as a huge step, and whether anybody recognized me for that or not, it didn't matter. It was like, okay, cool, I'm here. 17:13 You know, it's like my father watched the Knicks, you know, he's not around with us anymore. He passed away, you know, decades ago. But it, it, it was like a big deal to, to sit... 17:27 I mean, we weren't allowed to play music, we weren't allowed to, to talk. Like when he was watching the Knicks, it was like, yo, we have to be quiet in the house. Like it's the Knicks, you know? 17:37 Um, so I understand, uh, what, uh, sports does to people and the deeper meaning that it has when, when it represents a city or a town or a mentality. 17:51 And, you know, the Knicks are one of those franchises that does that, right? 'Cause it's not just, s- it's, it's one of the first in the formation of n- of the NBA in 1946 when it wasn't even the NBA yet, it was the BAA. 18:04 It becomes the NBA, uh, a few years later. Um, yeah, I mean, you know, that was a big deal. That was a big deal. And so, you know, I think-I earned that as well, right? 18:19 But I took that with humility and I knew, I knew it was very possible that it was gonna be a sh- a short-lived experience, and it was. They only had me for one season. Um, 18:30 yeah, uh, there were people on the team who were, like, loving and adoring what I was doing, but there were people who weren't. You know? Yeah. I wasn't showing up in a suit. 18:40 You know, depending on who I interviewed, I would break into my little street slang. You know, I wasn't the prim and proper, and I wasn't trying to be, and that's... and, and they knew that at, when they hired me, right? 18:52 So I wasn't gonna compromise my creativity. Uh, but I did go to Wesleyan, right? And I'm an author, and so I knew how to speak formally. The- Yeah... it just depended on who I was interviewing. 19:03 If I was interviewing Dan Marino, I wasn't gonna be like, "Yo, what's up, B?" You know? [laughs] I'm interviewing Fat Joe, I'm going, "Yo, yo, B, what's good?" You know? Like, yo- Exactly... 19:11 thank you for being on the show. So it just- Right. You know, I could code switch where I needed to. But if, but that, and then with the cities all, that's what I, that's what I always, you know, I'm- I haven't 19:23 called the city home since 1991. Like, I'm, I'm up, like, East Coast and, you know, in enemy territory, and I've, you know- [laughs]... I've converted a couple of teams, except for the Knicks. Yeah. 19:34 So, like, you know, they call me the Bronx Judas. All you gotta do is Google that, and that explains why. And the reason why is because, 19:41 you know, Pedro Martínez, and David Ortiz, and all these, like, Latinos started showing up, and all the, all the Dominicans and Puerto Ricans that have lived in this town who have been invisibilized in Boston just started coming out. 19:52 And all of a sudden, Fenway Park was like, "Let's go. This is what, this is the baseball I know. This is the Puerto Rico I know. This is, reminds me of, like, the Bronx." You know what I'm saying? Mm-hmm. So, like, 20:02 so that point about, like, knowing where you come from, and then- Yeah... making a life out of it, like, you're living it, right? And, um, 20:13 and now, like, you know, the end of your memoir is so poignant in the sense of, like, now you're a dad. Um, during the pandemic, you're like, "I gotta play basketball," and now you're b- Yeah... 20:25 you know, like, there's a great scene that just talks about finally when they put the hoops back up, the, the, the rims- Yeah... back up, and you take your son. [laughs] Yep. You're like, 20:35 your, your, your child is, like, little. You're like, "I'm playing." Yeah. I mean, looking back, man, like, looking back and ending it with this and, and knowing that, you know, 20:46 you, you never forgot where you came from, and you were kind of ahead of th- like, that being that, that person who was in spaces where you might not see a Puerto Rican man in spaces. Mm-hmm. 20:56 Like, you were in those spaces. Like, just how do you soak it all in, and, like, what's your next chapter? It seems like you're in a really peaceful place, um, or am I- I-... misreading that? No, I, I am. I am. 21:09 You know, I start my days with, with deep breathing exercises, and affirmations, and journal writing. I mean, you know, people don't know that about me, but yeah, I, I, I live 21:19 in, uh, an area that has a lot of nature and, you know, it's quiet, and it has allowed me to shift a gear. Yeah. I can shift back to that, you know, super high level... I mean, I s- am still super high level, 21:38 um, kind of, uh, overachiever, right- Aren't we all?... if you will. Um, but ultimately, I mean, I, I'm proud of my book. Yeah. I wrote it in seven months. I didn't have a deal for it. I was just writing, you know? 21:55 So I wasn't writing to please a publisher, an editor. I was just writing to please- You were writing for you. Yeah, I was writing for myself, and that, I think that's why- Yeah... 22:02 going back to your question about the, the gratitude, it was like nobody was guiding me along the way. I was guiding myself. And so that's why you hear that organic inner voice so powerfully in the, in the memoir. 22:15 And so, and I was... You know, when Akashic, uh, picked it, Edge of Sports/Akashic pic- picked it up, you know, they were blown away by it, and they, they really, uh... 22:26 You know, we did a copy edit to make sure the, they, you know, all the people mentioned were spelled properly, and all that- Yeah... other stuff. But it really, you know, and it was a point of contention for me. 22:35 I was like, "You gotta k- let me keep my voice." 'Cause at times I speak in Spanglish. Some, at times I'm talking in Spanish, writing in Spanish. Sometimes I'm talking in heavy-coded b-ball slang. 22:45 Sometimes I'm talking in heavy-coded b- hip-hop slang, and they allowed for all of that. But, you know, I always was intentional about writing it within a context that anybody could, could still understand it. 22:56 Um, it's a strong book, you know? Oh, it is. And, um- I, I, you know, um, yeah, it's a strong book because it's, it's you, right? Yeah. Thank you. You can just tell. 23:06 Like, and I, you know, like I said, it's like as a fellow writer, as, you know, a creative, like, we're artists, man. Like, people are like, "Oh, you're a journalist, part..." No, I'm an artist, man. 23:16 I just use these formats. Like, just like you, it's like I'm gonna DJ, I'm gonna sneaker, you know, I'm gonna play hoops, like, whatever. Yeah. I'm gonna write. 23:24 And, um, and you're kinda like a Puerto Rican renaissance, man, that people need to know that you were there. And I'm really just honored to have shared a mic with you on this. And- Yeah... um, I love this book. 23:38 This book, like, my family was like, "How's the book?" I'm like, "It's really good." Ah. And I don't just... Listen, you know me, it's like, like I founded Latino Rebels. 23:46 When, when shit was bad, I'd be like, "This shit's bad." Like, this book is good. Yeah. And this, this is a love letter to the city. It's, you get into questions of identity, family. 23:55 There's so much that, that we didn't cover, but, you know. But Luis García, man, thank you so much for being on the- Yeah... Latino Newsletter Podcast, brother. 24:03 Yeah, and, uh, and listen, uh, you know, before you leave, I wanna thank you, um, for your honest reporting. You know, I read the newsletter. Um, I subscribe to it. I follow on IG. Um, 24:17 you know, there are moments in my book-Uh, where I talk about my identity as a Boricua and, and the learning and unlearning that, that, uh, I've gone through. Um, and you know, I feel like 24:32 y- you know, you are a, at this point, part of the sort of universe where I absorb information from so that I could be informed as well as, uh, being a public figure, uh, you know, a, a small voice 24:51 to expose and, and hopefully, uh, just increase people's knowledge. Yeah. You know, whether it's through DMs and private conversations or through sharing. 25:04 Um, yeah, so continue what you're doing 1,000%, uh- Sa- same here, brother. I, I think, you know, as we- Yeah... as we get grayer in life- [laughs] And you go through a lot of things, and you've gone through- Yeah... 25:16 a lot of things. I love what you said about, you know, "I live in a quiet place," you know? And like, I'm the same way. It's like I'm up here in up in Massachusetts, and I'm like, "This is my, this is my place." 25:25 Like, I record- Yeah... right outside of my, my, my porch. Yeah. And this is who I am. And, and, you know, we just gotta keep at it, just be real, be true- Yep... and just connect. 25:36 But Bobito Garcia, y- you're just 100% class. Bobito's Book of B-Ball Bongbong, like- There it is. Yeah... and, and it explains it all. You got, y- people have to read this book. 25:46 And, uh, hopefully, you know, next time I DM you, the Knicks don't disappoint us, so we'll take it from there. There it is. [laughs] Peace out, man. Peace. Have a great one, Bobito Garcia. 25:57 Thank you for being on the Latino Newsletter. Okay. Cool. [upbeat music] How's that for a Season 2 return? Just really thankful for Bobito for being on, and he's, like, the nicest guy ever. 26:10 Like, we're talking about him, but then he's like, "I wanna talk about you." So I wanna thank him from the bottom of my heart for just being the cool class act that he is and has always been. 26:20 And, and yeah, you gotta get the book. It's a really, really good book. Quick read. I read it on the beach, like, in two days, and you learn a lot if, especially if you're a New York City playground hoops aficionado. 26:34 And you know, the connection about Puerto Rico, you know, take the time to read the book. And the Latino Newsletter is produced by Joaquin Kotler and edited by me, Julio Ricardo Varela and Joaquin Kotler. 26:48 And is also, you know, sound design and video design and mixing also by Joaquin Kotler. 26:55 Haven't done this in a while with the credits, but you know, we got music from Cast of Characters that, you know, we brought the theme song back. And if you like this podcast, follow us on Spotify. 27:06 We're posting this up on YouTube as well and all our social media accounts, Instagram thelatinonewsletter, TikTok thelatinonewsletter, Bluesky thelatinonewsletter.org. We're still on the X Lat Newsletter. 27:19 We're everywhere. And yeah, we're back with Season 2. We're gonna have more big news. 27:24 When we do Season 2, the episodes will drop in audio on Thursdays, and then the video will drop on Fridays, so trying to do this a little bit differently. And, and let us know. 27:35 Like, let us know if video is working and, and what else we can do, but all that good stuff. And yeah, we'll be back next week with another episode. The Latino Newsletter Podcast, we're back, Season 2. Peace. 27:50 We outta here. [upbeat music]
