Daddy’s Little Girl: How to Care for an Elderly Parent & Keep Them Young with Victor Rodriguez
In this episode, Victoria Jenn sits down with the main man in her life, her father, Victor Rodriguez. From Victor's migration journey from Puerto Rico at the mere age of 15 with only $15 in his pocket, to the hustle and bustle of New York, they dive into stories filled with both tears and laughter. Victor doesn't just share tales from the past, he also drops gems on how to raise kids as a single parent, and some OG wisdom on how to find your happy.
In this episode, Victoria Jenn and Victor Rodriguez discuss:
Victor's initial challenges in the States, especially learning English from ground zero.
Time-tested advice for fathers raising their little girls and the art of patience.
Victor's life perspective, why he embraces every moment, and isn't daunted by the thought of death.
How to stay young, have a social life as an older adult, and why we need to never stop having fun.
The role of forgiveness and self-love in living a life filled with joy and contentment.
This father-daughter duo paints a vivid picture of family ties, resilience, and the everlasting bond that binds parents to their children. Join them on this trip down memory lane, and you might just find some pearls of wisdom to take with you.
If you liked this episode, you'll love our next one—it's packed with similar insights and inspiration!
Celebrating Culture: My Experience at the Puerto Rican Day Parade and the Lessons Learned
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Full Transcript:
If you guys wonder where I get my flair and my personality, my dad, he has this energy, and you guys are gonna get to know him.
The bonchinche is on you.
The bonchinche is on me?
That's right.
You gonna tell him something about me?
That's right.
Literally, every guy that you said that was not for me turned out to be not for me.
That's right. I've been around.
You've been around the block a couple of times?
It was not easy for me, but I prayed to God, please help me to raise my daughter, to give her education. And I did it. It was hard, but I did it.
You're lucky, make the money.
As sure do. I mean, that's what we do at Banking on Cultura. We talk about the cultura and securing the big bag.
So you didn't know English when you first came here?
Yeah, a few words, not much.
You knew the curse words.
Yeah, no, I do. 81.”
“81, y'all. My daddy is 81. My dad has more of a social life than I do, seriously.
I live my life to the fullest. So you guys wanna take me now? It's okay, I'm happy.
I'm not afraid to die. Forgive yourself and love yourself.
Let's get this party started. What's up, everybody? Welcome back to Banking on Cultura.
I am so excited to have you here. And today I have a guest who is literally the reason why I'm here and why Banking on Cultura exists. He is a big inspiration behind this show.
He is the reason why I am proud to be Latina. He is the reason why I am the woman I am today. He's my North Star, my pride and joy.
Many of you might have met him if you follow me on the social media streets, but I'm really excited to welcome him to the show today and join me as I am your host, Victoria Jenn Rodriguez. And this is the man, the reason behind why this is all possible, my daddy, Victor Rodriguez. Hey, daddy.
How you doing, sweetie?
“I'm doing good. Can you believe you're on my show right now?
I can believe it. This is the first time I do this, Vicky.
I know.
I'm gonna be nervous.
Don't be nervous. We want you to be your natural, beautiful, amazing, loving self. It's just you and me.
Like we're having a conversation in the sala. So no need to be nervous. One of the reasons why I wanted to have you on the show was because I want to be able to have this memory forever.
I want to be like, I interviewed my dad on my show. And it's one of those things that I get to carry with me always and forever. So I'm really excited that we got to have you here today, daddy.
And you're looking all cute.”
“You're looking really fine. I'll work for this special day.
If you guys wonder where I get my flair and my personality, my mom definitely plays into that. But my dad, he has this energy and you guys are going to get to know him, which I'm really excited about. So let's start daddy, yeah?
Yes.
Let's get this party started.
You're all right.
All right, let's go. So we like to start the show with, what's the bonchinche? So share some bonchinche, papi.
The bonchinche is on you.
The bonchinche is on me?
That's right.”
“You're going to tell him something about me?
That's right. First time you're dating this guy.
Oh, okay.
Yeah.
That's where we're going with this, okay.
He was a security guard.
No, he was a corrections officer.
He came to the house. I was sitting in the living room. I just came right to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, got a beer, and he sat down and he said nothing.
I said, what the f*** is this guy think? He own the house over here? Then I call you in the kitchen, I said, Vicky, get this guy out of here.”
“This guy is no f***ing good for you. And then you say, you had to leave because my dad is a f***.
So I think I want to start this over, daddy, because you dropping a lot of f-bombs at the beginning of the show. And I don't know if people are ready. Like I want them to warm up to you, like before we throw the f-bombs, okay?
You can curse, but just not at the beginning. I want them to like fall in love with you first. Yeah, in case the sponsors, you know what I'm saying?
We got to keep them on the wraps. We might even keep this in because this is pretty funny. We're starting this over again.
All right. Here we go. Ready?”
“I'm ready. So he came up the stairs, went to the kitchen, opened the refrigerator, and he said, where is the beer? And he didn't say hello to me.
He sit down in the other chair, drink his beer. I said, well, this guy is thinking on the apartment over here or something.
He think he pay rent?
Yeah. And then I call you in the kitchen, say, Vicky, this guy, get this guy out of here. This guy is not for you.
You know, it's really interesting, Daddy. Literally every guy that you said that was not for me turned out to be not for me.
That's right. Yeah.
So like, whenever-
I've been around.
You've been around the block a couple of times? That is so funny because I remember all the dudes I used to bring to the house. Not many, but when I did bring the dudes over, like you literally called it right there on the spot.
Right there on the spot. You were like, Victor Noé? You're always right.”
“Even to this day. Even to this day. So, okay, let's get into this interview now that you shared the bonchinchin, even though it was about me.
So, if you guys didn't know, a lot of my flair, personality, vibrancy comes from my daddy. He is fly from head to toe, un papi aquí, you know, he's keeping it out with the guayabera over here. When we were driving here for this interview, I was like, daddy, where does this shirt come from?
Like, where does it originate? And it was interesting because papi said Puerto Rico and then Cuba. And then we Googled it.
And there's actually a lot of controversy as to where the shirt, this is the guayabera, the shirt, where it came from. So it's like really interesting to know that there's controversy within the community. I don't know if you guys knew that, but just FYI, that was a learning we had on the car, right?
In over here. Oh, daddy, thank you for looking the part as always.
You're welcome.
You're welcome.
Thank you. You deserve it.”
“But that's also just your personality. You know, you always got to be chulito everywhere you go. So let's talk about our story because I think our story is really special.
At least, you know, for me, growing up a daddy's girl, you know, my dad raised me as a single dad for several years. So let's talk about how…
For 26 years.
For 26 years? Oh, wow. 26 years.
My dad raised me as a single parent, but our story is interesting. And maybe some parents who are watching can relate, or maybe you can relate because you've experienced this with your own parents. So the way that I was conceived, my dad was married, right?
My mom was also in a relationship, and they met, fell in love, cheated on their spouses, and had me.
Thank God for that.
So I was a love child, in a sense, so tell the story, Papi, so you found out my mom was married, and what was that like?
“Well, I fell in love with her, we lived together for a while, and then you come, you're born, and then I had my issues, I don't know if I would go back to her, and then I went to the hospital to see you, and then I carry her in my hand, in my arm, and I give you the bibirong, and I said, oh my gosh, she's so beautiful, so I stayed with her, and we lived together for almost-
So you fell in love when you saw me, essentially?
Yeah, over eight years, I think.
Over eight years, and my mother purposely made me after you, right, because daddy's Victor, I'm Victoria, so she did that purposely for the setup, because originally, you didn't want me, because you had a whole family.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, and it began, yeah, and it began.
Yeah, yeah, so it was a little iffy there, you know? Yeah, so she gave birth, and you decided to raise me with my mom.
Yeah.
And then what happened?”
“Well, and then she left when you were six or five. Also, we had her daughter with us.
My sister Christy. Shout out to Christy.
And a couple of days, you know, a week, and she didn't come home and say, well, okay, what am I going to do? So I called Christy's father. He said, I'm going to bring your daughter because I can handle it too.
You can handle two girls. Yeah.
So, okay, so I bring her over. I said, okay, no problem. Bring her over.
And it was very hard for me because I worked eight to eight for six days, you know, and then I bring you. We get up every morning at four o'clock. I dress you up, comb your hair.
You don't even have my hair. Don't you cry because your hair, because I was trying to hurry up. And then I bring you to the babysitter.”
“She brings you to school and then she picks you up from school. And then I pick you up at nine o'clock at night and then take you home, we take a shower, fix your clothes for the next day and everything. It was not easy for me, but I prayed to God, please help me to raise my daughter, to give her education.
And I did it. It was hard, but I did it. I did it.
You sure did, Daddy. Wow.
And then my boss, owner of the Delicatessen Wolf's Deli, I used to work there. So it's a big time.
In the city down by Wall Street.
Yeah, by Wall Street downtown. And then I'm going to build a restaurant in Orlando. He said, I want you to come.
And my friend had, we do. Okay, so we went over there, we drove over there. But I found an apartment and everything nice.”
“So two weeks later, your teacher called me that you better get your daughter or she gonna want to have a foster home.
Because I was walking home alone.
Because you're alone and with your kid. I was six years, I think.
I was six years old and I had a shoestring with my kids to carry around my neck.
Saw that and she called me. And I said, oh no, no, no. So I called your mother.
I sent her some money for the cafe. Put my daughter in a plane. And that's it.
We lived there about three years.
In Orlando.
This thing was good because the center was across the street and the school too right there. It's right in front of the door.
You know what's interesting daddy? I wonder if a lot of my independence comes from me walking home alone from school when I was so young. Me taking the plane by myself to go meet you in Orlando.”
“Yeah, and I remember when I was little, because I was traveling alone, they used to put me in first class.
Yeah, and there was a lady with you all the time.
Yes, one of the stewardesses were always with me. It's interesting because at like a young age, it was almost like a foreshadow, you know? I was traveling, I was in first class.
One night you were burning in fever about two o'clock in the morning.
When we were in Orlando?
Yeah, oh my God. So I dressed you up, I went in the car, I took you to the hospital. You got an infection in your tongue.
And then I bring you home, and then I take week home to take care of you, and then you was okay. And then we went back to work. And two years later, my boss called me that he gonna come to close the restaurant, because his brother he didn't do a good job.”
“Oh my God. Now, I tried to work at nine hotel, at night it pay good money, but who's gonna take care of you? I said no.
So I called him in New York, I said, my job is still available for me? He said, yeah, yeah, come on. One Friday a week, he put everything, your clothes and a suitcase and everything, we're getting in the car and we drive to New York.
And we was out.
We was out.
We was out of there.
And then we live in my aunt's house for two weeks and then I found an apartment and then come along Christine, you know, got married, she helped me to raise you. And from there, you know, you love to work.
Yeah.”
“You go to 70, you went to the catering place and then you work for a contractual company.
I know, hold on. I want to tell the people the story when we were in Orlando and how I made you marry that lady.
Oh my God.
“So, okay, here's the thing, right? A little girl is just me and my dad. I'm missing my mom.
I'm missing like just having a woman in the house. So, I remember we met this lady and we were dating her and she treated me like a princess. She was sweet, she was cool.
And so, I put the guilt on my dad and I was like, daddy, I want a mom.
Yeah, when you say, oh my god, Vicky. So, I married her. Oh, what a disaster.
Then she was Irish and then she was drunk almost every day. I couldn't handle it no more.
You couldn't handle it no more. She also tried to take me away from you.
Yeah, yeah. And then I had to get my cousin to come and get you to her house.”
“I remember. And then do you remember what you said to me after you got divorced from her?
He said, don't ever get involved in my relationship.
Yeah, I remember that. I was like, okay, okay, learn my lesson.
Yeah, and then I came here, you know, for you to school and then.
So, okay, okay, we got to keep people on the track. Okay, so we're in Orlando. We build a life there.
I force you to get married. We get the boards. They decide that they want to close down the restaurant.
And so we packed up our stuff, came to New York. And we lived with Tia Calmin. I remember.”
“Oh my God, this woman was amazing. She was hilarious, by the way. So we lived there for a little bit before we found an apartment.
Then we found an apartment. And how old was I at that time?
I think you was about seven or eight, nine, something like that.
Nine, okay. So after we left Tia Calmin's house, we had our own place. We found a babysitter.
Across the street.
Across the street. And you were still working crazy hours. Yeah, eight to eight.
And I think that's another reason why I am the way I am with work ethic. Because I've seen how you have literally busted your ass and been in the trenches and literally raised me by yourself, working to eight.
Yeah, by myself.”
“That's crazy. You sure did.
I'm so proud of you. The way you become, the woman today. Oh my God.
I never expect that. You're turning around like that. I'm proud of myself.
Thank God.
Yes.
That's right.
You know, Daddy, what is your advice? Because depending on how you look at it, you kind of played yourself. You were married and then cheated, and that's how you had me.
I made mistakes. I turned my life around when you came to my life. And then, you know, I did good.”
“So after that, we met Christine, and we got divorced. We lived about 20 years or 18 years together.
That was the next woman that you married.
And then I've been around with her a lot. And then that was it. I decided to stay by myself.
Now, now. Okay, hold on to all that. Okay, so I want to keep people on the journey with us.
Okay.
So came back to New York, lived with the Icarmin. Then we had our own apartment. Then we were back into the routine.
You were working eight to eight. I was at the babysitter. We did that.
And then you said, I work, I love to work.
Yeah, you do.
How was that?”
“Well, right away you, no, no, you have an house and then you find a job in a catering place, right? Cross Bay.
Yeah, I remember. In Howard Beach.
In Howard Beach, yeah. And you were working there serving wine or something to the table.
I was serving food and wine and everything.
Yeah, like a waitress. You did a good job there. And then from there, you work in a construction company.
Uh-huh. Yeah.
Yeah.
Yeah, it was good, yeah.
I remember that. I remember it was like an Indian company, I think.
Yeah, yeah.
Uh-huh, uh-huh. And I remember working for them.
Yeah, yeah.
And I was literally working since I was 13.
Yeah, something, yeah.
Since I was able to get, like, working papers from school.
Yeah, yeah.
I was working since I was 13.”
“Yeah, you love to work.
Yeah.
You love to work. You love making money. Yeah, yeah.
I mean, that's what we do at Banking on Cultura. We talk about the cultura and securing the big bag. Okay, so then I was working.
Then I went to college. You know what I just thought about how interesting it was? That restaurant that was on Wall Street that you started with before you went to Florida.
I was already on Wall Street when I was a little girl. And then when I graduated from college, I ended up back on Wall Street.
Isn't that interesting? Yeah, you see? Unbelievable.
I remember when you used to wake me up in the mornings and I used to sleep in the restaurant, in the booths.
Yeah, in the booths. You remember that.
Because I was teared. I was like, oh my God, it's so early that we are here. But yeah, I remember all of that.”
“And I know that a lot of my work ethic comes from you and watching you. Because you came here. How old were you when you came here, Papi?
From Puerto Rico.
I think 16, I think. You were 16. About 15 and a half.
And did you come here with like a plan? Like, why did you want to come here?
Well, I came here to study.
To go to school.
To go to school because I was working in Puerto Rico and I would go to school in a little English. So I worked in, you know, the owner was a Jewish guy, Lieblitz. And then he burned down to the ground there, I decided to come here.
So you didn't know English when you first came here?
No, a few words, not much.
Okay, you knew the curse words.
No, I do. I went to school. So from there, so I...”
“So, pero, you came here to study because it was hard in Puerto Rico, you wanted to make money, like what was the reason?
I wanted to come to try, you know, to try New York, New York, you know, it was opportunity, a lot of opportunity, you know, everything, so, you know...
That's what they would say on the island, that they wanted to do.
Yeah, to make money, too. So, I got to work, brought away 10 hours a day, six days, make $60.
Wow, $60 is a week, right?
Yeah, everything was cheap. The sofa was an echo. Everyone was so cheap.
The rent, three bedroom, $49. Everything was so cheap. And then you can save some money, too.
Was it a culture shock for you when you came to New York from Puerto Rico? Was it hard for you to adapt?
Not really. I got adapted out of the way. Because I know people, I brought away, and I got to work.
It was easy, not too hard for me.”
“So, it was easy for you to transition? How did the ladies respond to you when you came to New York?
Well, I fell in love with one. That's why I forget my stories.
Oh, I didn't know that.
I canceled the school and everything.
Why? Because you were just like chasing her around?
Yeah. That was a crazy day.
Trouble with the ladies. But even now, you got ladies around that's catering to you, wanting to cook for you, and clean for you.
Yeah, but nothing serious.
Nothing serious.
No.
Just chilling. Just entertainment.
Now, I enjoy my life and everything because of you. Everything is good.
Everything is good. Let's offer some advice because you've got so much wisdom in you.
81. My daddy is 81. Chulito over here.
Kicking and moving. My dad has more of a social life than I do, seriously. Daddy be outside, outside.
I'll be like, what did you do this weekend?
Oh, I went to the barbecue. Oh, I went to go see this bed. Oh, I went to this party, Victoria, and I was dancing at 2 o'clock in the morning.
I just took some shots of vodka. My knees didn't[…]”
“I just took some shots of vodka. My knees didn't hurt anymore. These are the stories that I get from him.
Okay, so I want to tell some funny stories from my childhood, and then I want to get into some advice, because like I said, you have so much great wisdom. So do you want to tell the people about, because this is also very much about cultura, right? Yeah.
So do you want to tell the chicken story to the people?
Oh, yeah.
Yeah, tell the people.
Okay.
“I think it was for five or five and a half, five years old. The teacher called me one day. He said, you better come right away to the school because Vicky do something that maybe she needs some help or shrink or counseling.
I'll tell you why. So she told me that you bring this little chicken in the school to show the kids. So you take one of your hands and you squeeze it, you get so excited that you kill the chicken.
And I said, teacher, I kill about a hundred chickens in Puerto Rico and I didn't need no counseling, no shrink, and you're supposed to watch her. Okay, and what happened? I said, okay, goodbye, so I put you to another school.
Oh my God, the story that is told so many times, like family gathering, especially when my family is like trying to tease me to like calm down because I got a lot of energy. And they'll be like, Victoria, remember the chicken story? It is like one of those classics in the family.
That was something.
“What is really hilarious was your response to that story. What did the teacher say when you said, you know how many chickens I killed in Puerto Rico?
She said, what? Yeah, I killed a lot of chicken in Puerto Rico and I didn't need no counseling, no nothing. She's just a little kid.
She gets so excited and she squeezes. But you're supposed to watch it unless she didn't say a word. And then I said, goodbye.
We left, me and your mother, we left.
Oh, my God, that story was so funny. Okay, what do I want to go to next? Do you want to tell the people about how, when we vacation, what people think when we're on vacation together?
Oh, we got a wheelchair.
No, not the wheelchair. We're going to get into that. What do people think?
Oh, yeah, they think that I'm your sugar daddy. We talk and we hug and everything.
“You know why? Because me and daddy, we vacation, we go out to restaurants all the time, we do super cute things, and it's just like me and him, and we have such an amazing relationship. I think it's easy for people to see how much love is there whenever they're around us.
So if you're seeing it from afar, it's very easy to assume, because the sugar daddies is out here. They out here. But it's so funny, because we'll be on the beach, and we'll be tanning, drinking some pina coladas or something.
And there's people looking at us, and we can tell, they probably think you're my sugar daddy, probably. It is so funny. It is so funny.
Maybe we should play something out one day, to just trick them. Maybe hold hands or something to the restaurant. That would be so funny.
“But yeah, guys, so if you got a daddy who's aging and you go on vacation together, just know they probably think that that's your sugar daddy, because we get those stares all the time, and it is so, so funny. Okay, so let's get into the advice portion. So what is your advice to dads who are raising daughters?
What is your advice to them?
Well, you know, tell them, you better pray to God to help them to raise the kids. And, you know, you go along and everything, and, you know, take care of your kids, you know, and take them to school, you know, college, or get an education. Mm-hmm, mm-hmm.
But like, what type of advice would you get that when it gets like really hard? Like, outside of talking to God, like, was there anything else that you did that helped you, like, get through it?
Better, better help me that I won't think about it too much. You know, I just go along. I just do what I do, you know, and be happy to do it.
“And that's it, you know, you don't have to, you don't have to go, no, no, get, no, stress out of nothing. Just, you know, be happy and everything. Don't get angry.
So how were you not, like, how did you exercise patience? Because I'm pretty sure I was a lot to handle.
Yeah, sometimes, yeah, a little too hard, but I did it.
Yeah, so like, in those moments, like...
Yeah, but you was good. But you told me, daddy, I'm going out. It's okay.
11 o'clock. And you were sharp, right? 11 o'clock, right there.
Oh, yeah?
I was a good kid.
And then your first boyfriend, he said, oh, I'm going to take Victoria to the movie. He said, 9 o'clock. They were sharp.
9 o'clock, we're there.”
“You know, I think I get a lot of, like, me being punctual and on time from you, because you... Let me tell you something about daddy, y'all. My daddy is 15 minutes early, anywhere he goes.
We just came back from Puerto Rico, and I was ready to, like, strangle him because the plane, like, he wanted to get to the airport, like, three hours early. And I'm like, why? Why are we getting to the airport three hours early?
Like, we got time. Like, why are we getting there three hours early? That was so funny.
Okay, so advice for dads is to pray up. Have patience.
A lot of patience.
Right?
Breathe.
Try your best not to get stressed and to think good thoughts, basically, right? To remind yourself that, you know.
Don't remind yourself that you had a job to do, you know, and everything. Yeah.
And what's the job?”
“Take care of your kids. That's a big job right there. Especially, you're a single parent.
We also had a really great family that helped.
Oh, yeah.
So, you know, I think that's also.
Yeah, help me out.
You had like a community around you that was like willing to help you.
Yeah. Yeah.
And I would go to their house and sneak into their room and get red lipstick and put it all over their walls.
And powder. And my cousin's house. Every time I call my cousin, we go to your house now.
She put everything away. Oh, Victoria's coming.
We got to hide everything.”
“So, heck, I'm my dad's cousin. We were just at a family barbecue, and she was telling me the story of how I would go into my other cousins' rooms who were older than me. They were like...
I think they were like teenagers. And I would go in their room, and they would have posters of... Who was it?
It was like this famous boy band, and I would go into their room. Menudo, yeah. I would go into their room and tear down the posters.
To a point where she was like, I can't take care of Victoria no more. So she had her neighbor take care of me, because her daughters wanted to kill me, my cousins. It's funny.”
“Funny times, funny times. Okay, so let's give some advice around caring for an elder parent, because I know for many of you who are tuning in, you either are already caring for older parents or it's about to happen. And I want to offer some advice to you guys, hearing it straight from the source, of the best way to manage and get through that process.
I remember for me, and maybe was a big aha moment for you too, daddy, was the first time we had to put you in a wheelchair. So, my dad's knees have bothered him for quite some time, and we would always try to convince him, like, daddy, we got to get you a cane. I even got him, like, a pimp cane, like, really nice cane, so that he's styling and profiling.
But he would not rock the cane. He would not rock the cane. And I'm like, okay, daddy, like, we got to get this weight off your knees, because what do I tell you?
You got to walk me down the aisle, right? That's what I tell you all the time. So, we got to keep these knees.
“He would never wear it. And we would walk long distances, and we would try to get him into a wheelchair. And he was like, no, no, no.
What was, like, your big reason for not wanting to get in a wheelchair?
Well, because I could, you know, I could walk. My legs didn't bother me that much, but now I'm getting older, so, you know, so now I need a wheelchair.
No, I think it was because you didn't like the look.
Oh, probably that too. Probably. I don't want nobody to watch me, you go in a wheelchair.
Yeah, yeah. It's not, it's not, it's not sexy.
But now it's easy. We traveling, we the first one to get in a plane and everything.
Now, but this is a tip, guys, of how you can break your parents into getting into a wheelchair. So my dad never ever wanted to get into a wheelchair. We would travel, he would walk long distances in the airport.”
“And the way that we convinced you to get into a wheelchair, we were in Cancun, Mexico. I took my dad for his 80th birthday. And we were at this resort.
It was a huge resort. And we had to go from one side of the resort to the other side. And my dad saw that distance and I said, should we put you in a wheelchair?
And then that was the moment. That was the moment that we put him in a wheelchair. And from then on, I think your whole perspective on wheelchairs like shifted.
Yeah. Because now when we go to the airport, by the way, guys, this is a hack for you. Okay, you heard it here.
I'm banking on Cultura. When you preorder a wheelchair, it's like VIP service. Most times, you're able to like fly through the security line.”
“You get to the front. You're the first one to board the plane. You're the first one to leave the plane.
So if there's someone in your family that needs a wheelchair, reserve in advance. Thank me later. I want to know.
I want to know if you guys ever done this. But now you're more, I would say, accepting.
Yeah, comfortable. Now I'm more comfortable with it.
Yeah, you're more accepting of the fact that like you need some help.
Yeah, definitely.
Yeah. So what got you over that hump? Because I'm pretty sure there's people that are listening, you know, that have stubborn parents who don't want to do that.”
“So what is your advice to them? Like, how can we help them convince them?
“Well, you know, you have to, you know, try to live your life, you know. And then, you know, if somebody try to help you, you know, because you're age, you know, tell them it's okay, you know, to help you out.
So be accepting to help.
Be accepting to help, yeah.
But if a person is not accepting to help and they're just stubborn, like, how can you?
Well, I don't know. If the person is stubborn, what could you do?
You gotta just let them rock out.
Let them do the thing because if you try to help them and they don't want it, so you can push. You can push them to say, yes, okay.
Yeah.
Except to them. You know.
All right. Well, daddy, one of the things that we were talking about when we were driving here, which I thought was really interesting, and I said I wasn't gonna get into it, but we're gonna get into it because I didn't want to cry and get emotional. Pero, you said, I asked you if you were afraid of death, and what did you say?
“I said, no, I'm not afraid of death. I know I'm gonna die. You know.
I'm not afraid, you know. I'm okay. Okay.
Yeah.
If I die tomorrow, I'm okay.
Is that because, like, you feel like you lived a happy life?
Because, yeah, I lived my life to the fullest. So, you know. So, God wants to take me now.
It's okay. I'm happy. You know, I'm not afraid to die.
But I'm not. I'm not afraid to die. I know I'm going to die.
Everybody's going to die.
Is that because you think there's, like, something special in the afterlife? Like, you think you're going to be okay in the afterlife?
I don't know. I mean, I mean, I think that when you die, the spirit get float in the air. They stay in the air.
That's what I think. Because everybody says that when you die, it's a paradise up there. But who knows?
Yeah.
I mean, nobody come down to tell you how it is. You don't know.
Right.
You don't know.
But you say you're going to come down in your spirit and you're going to come to hang out.
“Yeah, I'm going to come down. I'm going to put you by your leg. That's me.
That's how I'm going to know.
Yes, right.
Got it. Okay, daddy, so what is your advice for living a full life? Because you said that you lived a full life, you've done it all.
So what is your advice?
Well, you know, don't get angry, you know, don't get upset for a little thing. You know, do your exercise, you know, like I do every morning. I do exercise in my house.
I watch what you eat, you know, and what you drink and everything, you know. Take it easy and live your life the way, you know, the way to be, you know, like be happy. And that's it.
How do you find your happy? Like, how do you know what's your happy?
Well, you know, I mean, I make some, you know, I make so many mistakes in my life, but now it's right up my age. So what am I going to do? I got to be happy or don't stress myself out because I'm going to die soon.
“I want to live longer, but I'm not afraid to die, you know.
So what I'm hearing is the way for you to find your happy is to forgive yourself.
Exactly, yeah. Forgive yourself and love yourself.
Hey, that's right. You know, I like that. So forgive yourself for the mistakes that you made.
Yeah, yeah. And I make a lot. But I turn around and I'm okay now.
And give yourself permission, like give yourself some grace to grow and to become a better person.
Now, right now, I'm a better person when I was younger.
Right. Right, because you've learned a lot.
Yeah, I learned from my mistakes. I like to help people, you know, and everything.
Why do you think people love you so much? Because literally, everywhere we go, like I could put my dad anywhere and he'll make friends like immediately.
Yeah.
Like everyone just instantly like gravitates towards him.
I'm friendly with everybody, you know. I like everybody, you know. I make friends with everybody, you know.
Like that day in Europe, that girl was in Europe. That you got an award.
When I got an award?
Yeah.
Oh, yes.”
“Yeah, yeah.
Oh, my God. Hilarious, guys. So I was honored by the Ford Company.
Honored me as a trailblazing Latina. Shout out to Ford. And they had this like, you know, kind of like a gala award ceremony.
And I actually had to leave early. So I left early. My dad stayed there with my sister and my brother-in-law.
Shout out to Myrna and Eric. And they sent me this video. And my dad is on the dance floor with like this young woman.
And like, everybody was hyping them up. Everybody had the cameras out. But this is my dad.”
“Everywhere he goes, he was on the dance floor living it up. Do you remember that birthday? How old did you, I think it was your 70th birthday.
Do you remember that birthday? When we went to the Coco Cabana? The Coco Cabana?
Oh my god, I loved that. You call me daddy, I'm gonna take you out for your birthday. I mean, put a suit on, dressed up nice.
By 8 o'clock, you call me, go outside. And I see this big white limousine. And then the guy, hello, are you Victor Rodriguez?
I'm gonna take you to the door. He said, where are we going? I'm gonna tell you.
I'm getting a big limo in the back, whatever. You call me, say, daddy, it's a bottle of whiskey over there. Take a shot.
He said, okay. So we went, we opened the door. Everybody was waiting for me outside.
Oh, my friend, my family. That was the 70s. That was great.
Yeah, that was a fun birthday.
Oh, man, that was good.
“That was a fun birthday. I think the best part of that birthday was when you told me you were calling everybody in Puerto Rico from the limo and telling them...
But also, my dad wanted to go to the Copacabana forever and never been to the Copacabana. After we finished dinner, we went upstairs and we went to dance and were having a good time. And so many men came up to my dad and was like, I hope I have your energy when I'm your age.
Like, I hope I'm like you. It was so much fun. It was good times.
It was good times. It was good times.
How about the one when I was 75?
What did we do for your 75th? Remember, what did we do?
You took me to the street club. Oh, I got all these young girls in beginning dancing in my lap while you give me some money.
You know what's funny is I was just thinking in my head. I was like, do we want to share that story? I don't know.
Okay, ready? Let's put it out there. Oh, my God.
That was hilarious. Oh, my God.”
“That was hilarious. Was that for your birthday or was it for Father's Day?
No, that was for my 75th birthday.
It was for your 75th birthday?
Yeah.
Oh, my God, guys. This was such an amazing memory. It was so much fun.
And this two Greek guy was sitting next to me. I said, oh, my God, who's that young girl you with? Oh, she's my daughter.
She bring me here for my birthday. He said, oh, my God. Listen to everybody.
She's the woman. You bring her father for her birthday.
I remember we like drink for free that night because everybody was so surprised that I was there with my dad.
He was surprised that your daughter bring you to the street club. I tell everybody that, you know, that story. I said, I don't believe it.
It was funny. It was a great memory. And it was one of those things that I will never forget.
My best friend, Lindy, was there. So we all got to like experience this together. And I remember, and this was like the perfect way to end the night.”
“We're like walking out. But before I tell them what we're walking out, what was really funny, so I give my dad money, you know, for tips or whatever. And all the girls needed to do was like walk past my dad and like smile him and he would give them money.
And I'm like, daddy, we're gonna go through all the money.
Like, I don't know, make them work for it a little bit. He was just so happy and they were showing him so much love. Especially because they knew that he was there with his daughter.
And then we're walking out. And then I remember you telling me, Victoria, this is the best night of my life.
Thank you so much for bringing me here.
Oh, that was great that night.
Oh my God.
That was amazing. So guys, if you can't tell already, this is my dad, my amazing dad, who I can literally take anywhere and he will fit right in. And he is the reason why I am so happy.”
“He is the reason why I get to do Banking on Cultura. He is the reason why I embrace my Latinidad. I used to go to Puerto Rico as a child every single summer.
So that's how I got connected to my culture and really got to learn the beautiful side of my culture. And I'm just so honored to have you on the show. And I'm so happy that we got to do this.
I know we overshared maybe a little bit. It's going to be really interesting.
Now it's out there in the world.
Oh, but I hope people fall in love with you as much as I have. And we're going to live until we're 100 years old. We're going to walk me down the aisle.
I'm planning to.”
“We're going to do all the things to make sure that you are on this planet for as long as possible because you are a gift to this world, Adi. You are a gift.
I'd be honored to be here.
Thank you. I appreciate you.
You are the best.
No, you the best. I love you so much. So, so much, and I'm trying not to cry right now.
Pero, thank you, Daddy, for being here. And you know what? I want to share one more story because this is another fun birthday story.
Mi gente, did you hear? Banking on Cultura is also on YouTube. So if you're into the visual thing, if you want to see our reactions and get into these fits, honey, make sure to look up Banking on Cultura over on YouTube.”
“Do you remember? So guys, I used to host this event every single year called The Woman Who Roars Summit for my nonprofit, The Female Collaborative. And one year, it was actually 2020, before COVID got crazy.
I held it in March 2020 before things hit the fan. And it was his birthday. And so it was a predominantly women's event.
So it was massive women there. And do you remember that I had them all sing you happy birthday? So I had him come up to the stage and they all sang him happy birthday.
And he was like, oh my God, I never had this many women sing happy birthday to me before.
Thank you so much, Victoria.
That was a great night. That was a great day.”
“That was a great day. So we celebrate birthdays around here. So I hope this episode served as a reminder of maybe checking in with your parents if you haven't spoken to them in a while, or just showing some extra love and making sure you take full advantage of the time that you have with your family, with your parents here.
And if you're a daddy's girl and you're missing your dad and you guys are on the outs or maybe having challenges, I hope this episode inspires you to reach out and just say you love them if that's all you can do. And just keep celebrating your parents, y'all. And make sure you spend as much time with them as possible because it is truly a gift.
Every time we hang out, it's like a ball. It's always good times.
Oh, yes.
Always good times.
Always.”
“Wait, Papi, is there a final word that you want to leave with the people before we end today's episode?
I think we covered everything.
You think we covered it all? Okay, sounds good to me. Well, guys, thank you so much for tuning in.
I can't wait to see you on the next episode. Hola, mi gente. Thanks for listening to today's episode.
Don't forget to make sure and leave a review. This is super important because this is how we're measured on the different audio platforms. So if you want to hear more of Banking on Cultura, if you were vibing, if you had takeaways, if you just enjoyed this episode, please make sure to leave a review.
I appreciate you so much. Until next time.”