By Anthony Vidal and Kevin Perez 

A popular saying goes around among local journalists: “There is always a Miami connection.” Almost every coverage on major, ground-breaking national news seems to connect to South Florida in some way. However, Gabriella Nuñez soon discovered that there is more depth to that mantra than what is seen at face-value.

Miami isn’t just a place, it’s a culture.

From the pristine beaches to the dynamic nightlife, it is a place that welcomes millions from diverse backgrounds every year. The residents move to the beat of their own rhythm — an amalgamation of cultural percussion, dialects, languages. 

This is a lesson that Nuñez learned to understand when she moved to Gainesville to attend the University of Florida. It wasn’t just the Cuban food she missed, it was the bustling spirit of home. In short, Miami is different, and its stories are as colorful and lively as the people that inhabit it. She found herself telling those stories, and wondering how other people’s homes shape their own stories.

Even storytellers crave stories.

Nuñez uncovered her love of reporting and interviewing, her desire to understand the human experience. Such a passion swayed her to become a multimedia reporter for a local news station in Orlando. 

As the podcast genre took off, Nuñez struggled to find one that told the stories that she was most interested in, told in a way that connected with her.

“I was trying to find a podcast that I related to. I was bouncing between news and culture and trying to find that Miami sound that I missed… and I couldn’t find that. So, I created something that I didn’t see and I brought on people who I thought could help with that vision,” she said.

After toying with the idea of incorporating some homely quirks with her podcast, Gabriella invited two of her friends, who were both originally from Miami. Doing so has allowed them to create a podcast that provides a sense of home for people who might be away, while also bringing that “Miami” mix into it. 

“I’m like, how cool would it be to have two people from Miami who don’t necessarily have the heavy, thick Miami accent, but you can definitely get the South Florida vibes from, who are educated journalists, explain the news or topics about our community and our culture” said Nuñez. 

So she turned to her friend — sorority sister and Miami native Daniela Prizont-Cado — and said, “Oye, let’s start a podcast!”

So they did, and ¡Oye! Let’s Talk was born.

But, something was missing. “I felt like we needed the male perspective too,” she said. And so she reached out to Manuel Estopian, also an MLEC and UF alum, and an assignment editor for CBS Miami. Estopinan had interviewed Eric Trump’s visit to South Florida during Donald Trump’s re-election campaign.

“Over a year ago Gaby had this project and she invited me on to it, and it’s been history ever since then,” Estopinan said.

So Estopinan joined the team and formed a podcast that encopmases their home away from home, Miami. 

In their professional life, they work in the journalism industry, which provides a distinct view on different topics. They know the biggest news stories of the day, they likely covered them in their day jobs. 

But, the podcast provides a different avenue: the opportunity to discuss the news.

Throughout each episode, Gabriella, Manuel, and Daniela collaborated on issues ranging from politics and the election, to the Black Lives Matter movement and also lighter subjects like music, the holidays, and relationships. 

Podcasts have grown in popularity. Partially because in this fast-paced world, they slow down and explore conversation. These aren’t TikToks or soundbites, these are three young professionals discussing news and culture, politics and the economy while also enjoying conversations on film and entertainment and how all of these intersect: bringing laughs, discussions, and sometimes interviews that shine a light on the information that is relevant in our community. 

“So with our podcast we want to not only educate our listeners about hard topics like Black Lives Matter and talking about colorism within our Latin X community; but, aside from that we also like to entertain our guests…so we not only educate and inform our viewers but also entertain them,” said Estopinan. 

And often, these elements all intersect. 

After a particularly heavy episode, the trio decided to follow up with a lighter discussion on music, which ended up being much deeper than what they had initially anticipated.

“We all work in news and we feel the news fatigue,” said  Nuñez, “so we decided to follow with music and had an episode on Bad Bunny which really brought up how he’s part of a cultural shift in music and society.”

The episode became an exploration of Latinx influence on pop culture, marketing, and art. Bad Bunny is a star now, but he is part of a trend, years in the making.

  “Daddy Yankee walked so Bad Bunny can run,” laughed Estopinan. And so the “light episode” actually explored what Bad Bunny stands for, how and why it resonates with audiences. That is what the podcast strives to do: inform, entertain, and inspire conversations. 

Making a podcast is not as easy as it seems. As for every new person working on a podcast, they encounter struggles for the team of Oye, Let’s Talk! Slowly but steady enough, they crew had merged with a rhythm that made the episode flow well, along with the expected technical difficulties and the time management it all demands. 

During a pandemic, more people have a tighter schedule to work through due to quarantine and remote schedules. As journalists, Gabriella, Manuel ,and Danny need to plan out the days where each of them are available — and surely often, that could be hard to come by. However, the focus to commitment and the drive of passion is what has kept Oye Let’s Talk alive. 

“So once you start the project just be committed everyones coming along with you with the project and make sure everyone’s committed and everyone’s willing to put in the work because nothing is easy,” said Estopinan

However,  the three person team of Oye Let’s Talk pushed through the mud and continued on making their podcast despite all challenges. It is a story of hard work and overcoming challenges, and this story is reflected through the devotion that makes each episode as fun and entertaining as the next.

“Don’t be afraid of trial and error because a lot of what we have learned has been trial and error none of us have ever been podcast hosts before, we’re all  learning new skills as we do this. And again it’s a passion project so that’s what you need to keep pushing it forward,” said Nuñez.