Becca Ramos on Family, Food, and El Barrio | Takeout and Talk
I knew podcaster and producer extraordinaire Becca Ramos and I were instantly going to be friends once she mentioned her love of H-E-B, the Texas-based supermarket chain that essentially defined both of our childhoods growing up in the Lone Star State. I mean, where else could you buy both butter tortillas and a butter tortilla-scented candle?!
There are multiple points of commonality between us that we immediately identify, which only adds to our good virtual vibes. Not only are we both native Texans (she grew up in Houston, while I was further southwest in Eagle Pass), but we’ve both lived in New York City and devoted the past few years of our professional careers to this crazy world of podcasting. In addition to producing hits like Las Culturistas and Mess, Ramos is now the creator and host of a new series from iHeartMedia centered on the Puerto Rican experience called Welcome to El Barrio. More than a dozen episodes are out now, and you can stream them wherever you listen to Takeout and Talk.
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Before Ramos and I can get any further, I have to know where she selected her meal from. Turns out, she chose a restaurant in her current barrio in Brooklyn called Wei’s, and opted for the General Tso’s chicken and eggplant with garlic sauce. Hearing her takeout order reminds me of when I’d regularly order from New Golden Star Chinese Restaurant in the Washington Heights neighborhood during the late 2010s. Ahhh, memories...
But alas, I’ve gone in a different direction today—one that feels a bit more appropriate for how I want to begin our conversation. I mention how I went with the Tex-Mex scramble from Pancake Boy here in San Francisco because of my love for the “cuisine” I was raised on. It has chorizo, jalapeño, tomato, pepper jack cheese, onion, avocado, garlic, chipotle aioli, and pico de gallo. It practically screams home to me.
By comparison, Ramos says there wasn’t even a whisper of her culture during her formative years. She adds that she wished Texas had a Puerto Rican restaurant. And honestly, not even a restaurant—just another family, another young woman, another bit of representation that didn’t contribute to the feeling of isolation that affected her identity journey early on.
Enter her parents, specifically her mother, who Ramos describes as the “leader of the culture in our family”—the person who made sure their Puerto Rican identity was present, celebrated, and nurtured on this “island” they found themselves on. We get a sense of this during the series’ inaugural episode, which features Mamá Ramos as a guest.
As Ramos shares more about her mom during our chat—including how she’s responsible for sending her funny memes and acting as a total hype woman for Ramos and her friends—I immediately include her on my list of Boricua Baddies showcased on Welcome to El Barrio. Ramos jokes that she needs more straight men on her show since she’s mostly invited women and queer folks onto the program (which sounds great to me!). Aside from her mom, other guests have included actors, authors, and entrepreneurs who each offer their own unique perspective on the broader diasporic experience.
Something I’m curious about, though—especially as someone who didn’t necessarily grow up in a “barrio”—is how Ramos defines that space. Is it a physical one? Is it more of a state-of-mind type of place? What do we see, hear, or smell while in el barrio?
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“I feel like salsa music...and I say salsa specifically over reggaeton because I feel like all the old heads are always listening to salsa, merengue, cumbia, bachata,” Ramos says. “When I hear that, that is what feels like el barrio more than blatant reggaeton, because it feels like your elders are there, and elders make the community, right?”
“Obviously hearing any sizzles because people are cooking. And it's gotta be loud. It doesn't feel like the neighborhood unless the music is a little above your comfort level. And then you gotta hear the abuelas in the kitchen.”
Hearing her describe el barrio this way makes me feel nostalgic, as if this version is becoming harder to find in certain pockets of the country for a myriad of reasons: gentrification and racial segregation, the transition to remote work, post-COVID social anxiety, and this incessant need to constantly be online and scrolling—just to name a few.
That’s part of Ramos’s motivation for creating the show, which she says has been almost three years in the making. She’s trying to remind all generations that being part of el barrio is a way of life—one that needs to be preserved as we move deeper into the digital age.
“Even though it’s my voice and my journey and I’m going through it through my lens, I want everyone who’s listening to feel like you are a part of this, you’re on this journey with me. This is a community.”