POCHO Migrant Editor Al Madrigal’s epic quest for identity — Half Like Me — debuts on FUSION next Thursday.
Coconut Madrigal (white inside, brown outside) knew turning an intensely personal journey into a docu-comedy wouldn’t be one easy trick, but he never anticipated what happened next.
“I set out to dial down my pocho level from a ten to a five,” he told POCHO in a text message Tuesday night, “and ultimately something much greater and unexpected happened. I ended up not giving a shit.”
“I encourage others to try it, feels great.”
Al got some help from three mostly-reliable sources:
- Univision’s Jorge Ramos
- POCHO Jefe-in-Chief Lalo Alcaraz, and
- Gustavo ¡Ask a Mexican! Arellano.
(Some viewers may recognize the location where Al, Lalo and Gustavo drink micheladas as a luvly wine bar in East Los. Other viewers may recognize Al from the hit NBC sitcom About A Boy. It’s a free country, OK?)
In an email Tuesday night, Alcaraz explained how he and Gustavo, editor of the OC Weekly, felt about working with the Señor Latino Correspondent of The Daily Show with Jon Stewart:
Gus and I were happy to help young Alessandro on his journey of self-mex-discovery. Al Madrigal is the hardest-working half-Mexican in Hollywood today.
A text from Gustavo echoed the sentiment:
Al is a mensch for letting Lalo and me help him with this project. He was a gentleman and a cabrón, and pocho America will be glad to embrace him as one of our own. He’s our secret weapon in the #televisionreconquista.
Lalo:
Gustavo:
Con Jorge Ramos:
Chekalo! Half Like Me debuts January 22 on FUSION. Consult your local cable listings.