Explore every episode of the podcast Sacred Lessons with Mike de la Rocha

In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits down with comedian Jerry Garcia, whose journey from Huntington Park stages to HBO and Netflix has made him one of today’s most relatable voices. Beyond the laughs, Jerry is a father of three boys whose humor bridges culture, family, and healing. Together, they explore how comedy helps men embrace vulnerability, how culture shapes storytelling, and how fatherhood changes everything.

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits down with Curly Velásquez, storyteller, actor, and producer known for BuzzFeed’s Latinx, PBS’s Dead & Buried, and iHeart/Sonoro’s The Super Secret Bestie Club. Curly has built a career proving that the Latino community is not monolithic, uplifting voices across queerness, Afro-Latinidad, Indigeneity, and mixed heritage. Together, they explore how identity can heal rather than divide, how grief can become medicine, and how living truthfully offers liberation for all men redefining masculinity.

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits down with legendary photographer and director Estevan Oriol, whose lens has defined Los Angeles and global street culture for decades. From tour-managing Cypress Hill and House of Pain to receiving his first camera from his father, Estevan shares how photography became his medicine. Together, they explore how images can heal by restoring dignity, visibility, and belonging to those often unseen. Through his work, Estevan reminds us that representation is care, memory is justice, and every image can be an act of healing. 

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits down with Steve Corona, Chicano skater, storyteller, and community voice whose skating blends culture, pride, and healing. From his viral “Pati-Charro” video at Mariachi Plaza to managing a skate shop in Lincoln Heights, Steve has become a cultural bridge between skateboarding and Chicano identity. Together, they explore how skating can be more than sport, it can be sanctuary, therapy, and a way to reclaim culture on your own terms. With honesty and humility, Steve reminds us that falling isn’t failure, it’s part of the process, both on the board and in life. 

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits down with world-champion hoop dancer, filmmaker, and cultural ambassador Eric Michael Hernandez. Together, they explore how hoop dance became a path of resilience, healing, and cultural belonging. From growing up Lumbee and Chicano in Southern California to touring the world with Cirque du Soleil, Eric shares how movement reconnected him to his ancestors and purpose. He also reflects on his award-winning film Courage, a reclamation of identity and family legacy that continues to inspire. This conversation weaves themes of masculinity, Indigenous visibility, and the courage to heal generational wounds.

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 In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits down with internationally renowned musician and changemaker Aloe Blacc. Together, they explore how music can be more than art, it can be medicine, activism, and a call to healing. From his Panamanian roots and Afro-Latino identity to global hits like “The Man” and “I Need a Dollar,” Aloe shares how his artistry bridges culture, justice, and resilience. This conversation dives deep into identity, fatherhood, and the courage it takes to redefine masculinity by leading with love.

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This is part one of a two part episode of Sacred Lessons where Mike de la Rocha sits down with his longtime mentor, poet, and cultural leader Luis J. Rodríguez. From his early years navigating gang life and addiction in East L.A. to becoming an acclaimed author and community organizer, Luis shares how words, art, and storytelling became medicine for survival and transformation.

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In part two of this special Sacred Lessons episode, host Mike de la Rocha sits down with his longtime mentor, poet, and cultural leader Luis J. Rodríguez. Together, they explore how mentorship, purpose, and creativity can turn pain into power and how our stories carry the seeds of healing and belonging.

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits down with Isaac Zamora, youth advocate and family therapist for a number of youth-serving organizations. Rooted in Chumash and Chicano heritage, Isaac’s journey from incarceration to higher education at Santa Barbara City College, UCLA, and Pepperdine University reveals how culture, kinship, and redemption can turn shame into healing. Together, Mike and Isaac explore education as liberation, the power of community healing, and the importance of walking with, rather than apart from, those impacted by the system.

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits down with Memo Torres, Director of Engagement and multimedia journalist at the James Beard Award–winning L.A. Taco, for a moving conversation about storytelling, community, and the emotional responsibility of bearing witness. From his roots as a third-generation landscaper to becoming one of LAs’ most trusted narrative voices, Memo shares how writing and cultural reporting can serve as medicine for working-class and immigrant communities. Together, Mike and Memo explore the sacred role of the storyteller holding pride and grief at once, documenting truth without exploitation, and finding humanity in moments of crisis.

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In this special live episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha facilitates a powerful panel discussion titled “Sacred Lessons: Exploring Men’s Healing” at the launch of The Indigenous House, a visionary lifestyle brand and media platform rooted in Indigenous cultures, creativity, and community. Joined by DJ Emcee One, Eric Michael Hernandez, and Thosh Collins, Mike guides a deep, honest conversation on what it means to redefine manhood in a moment when our communities are calling for healing. Together, they reflect on where their earliest lessons of masculinity came from, the tensions between inherited expectations and lived truth, and the courage it takes to choose vulnerability, presence, and care.

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Maestro Jerry Tello for a deeply grounding conversation on ceremony, culture, and healing. A community leader, healing practitioner, and internationally recognized voice for justice, Jerry shares wisdom shaped by his Mexican, Texan, and Coahuiltecan Indigenous roots and upbringing in Los Angeles. With over five decades dedicated to healing individuals, families, and communities, Jerry reflects on fatherhood, violence prevention, and the power of culturally-rooted practices to restore dignity and connection.

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Selema Masekela for an intimate conversation about culture, nature, and the love between fathers and sons. From surfing, skating, and snowboarding to music and movement as medicine, Selema reflects on how the outdoors became a spiritual home and a pathway to belonging. Together, Mike and Selema explore legacy, grief, and healing, honoring their fathers’ impact while learning how to redefine manhood through tenderness, presence, and love.

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Richie Reseda, artist, abolitionist, and CEO of Question Culture, for a raw and transformative conversation about masculinity, accountability, and healing. From co-founding Success Stories inside Soledad Prison to co-creating Songs From the Hole, Richie reflects on unlearning patriarchy and the radical belief that healing is possible anywhere.

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Vic Mensa and his father, Edward Mensah, for a rare, intergenerational conversation about becoming a father, becoming a son, and becoming accountable to something greater than oneself. Vic reflects on how fatherhood has ushered in a quieter, more intentional chapter of his life, grounded in ancestry, purpose, and love. Two men. Two lineages. One shared responsibility: raising sons who know they are loved.

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Chris Rivas for a powerful conversation about identity, belonging, and the quiet lie that so many of us carry: that we are not enough. Actor, author of Brown Enough, and cultural storyteller, Chris challenges harmful notions of supremacy and masculinity while inviting us to reclaim our stories as medicine for ourselves and for our communities. Together, they explore awakening, intimacy, consumption, and the courage it takes to unlearn what we were taught about taking up space. This episode is for anyone who has ever asked, Am I enough?

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Salvador Santana, musician, producer, and son of the legendary Carlos Santana, for a deeply personal conversation about fathers and sons. This isn’t about fame or Grammys. It’s about fatherhood, legacy, and the vulnerability it takes to love across generations. For the first time, Salvador speaks candidly about his own son and the pain of almost losing him, reflecting on how that experience reshaped his understanding of love, responsibility, and healing. Together, Mike and Salvador explore what it means to grow up with a larger-than-life father and the lifelong work of understanding, accepting, and redefining that relationship on your own terms.

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Jose Arellano, entrepreneur, community leader, Vice President of Operations at Homeboy Industries, and Mike’s business partner at Tepito Coffee. Together they reflect on Jose’s journey from the streets and incarceration to becoming a leader helping others rebuild their lives. This deeply personal conversation explores second chances, brotherhood, and the power of unconditional love to transform a life. Through his work at Tepito Coffee and Homeboy, Jose reminds us that healing is possible, dignity can be restored, and sometimes a simple cup of coffee can bring people from different worlds together.

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In this episode of Sacred Lessons, host Mike de la Rocha sits with Ernesto Yerena, renowned movement artist, cultural storyteller, and truth-teller whose work has shaped a generation of organizers and creatives. Together, they explore how art can become both resistance and medicine, born from the frontera, ancestral memory, and the search for identity. Ernesto speaks candidly about anxiety and his health, offering a rare and vulnerable conversation about mental health among men of color. This episode is a powerful reminder that healing happens in community and that creativity, culture, and lineage can guide us back to ourselves.

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