The Best of Both Worlds 💕
Camila Victoriano on producing a collaborative cultural & genre mashup
Hi Besties!
I hope y’all had a relaxing, luxuriously long Labor Day weekend. Every podcaster I know is constantly overworked, so this is a well-earned holiday for us.
This week I’m bringing you a Q&A with Camila Victoriano, co-founder and head of partnerships at Sonoro — which produced the popular fiction podcast Love and Noraebang along with The Mash-Up Americans. What struck me about this interview is how collaboration and creative partnership can help everyone shine together.
Part of your mission at Sonoro is to make Latin podcasts more mainstream. How are you trying to accomplish that?
CV: For us, it's about letting creators tell the stories they want to tell - across genres. We're developing horror series, sci-fi, fantasy, romantic comedies, thrillers, documentaries, and more. By giving our creators that creative freedom — and not forcing them to write a story that doesn't feel authentic to their lived experience or passions — we create this incredible pipeline of Latino-driven entertainment that doesn't exist anywhere else.
What's the premise of Love and Noraebang, and what was the inspiration for this cultural/genre mashup?
CV: Both the Sonoro and Mash-Up teams live the reality of Love & Noraebang already — we and our families and our friends often have identities that are connected to more than one culture. So it felt really important to create an uplifting story that featured these kinds of diverse characters. Plus, we just thought that telenovelas and k-dramas, being two of the most successful TV formats in the world, were due for a reinvention in audio.
How did Sonoro and The Mash-Up Americans work together on this production?
CV: We both worked hand in hand to develop the concept, write the scripts, record our talent, and develop the sound design and original music. It was a true creative partnership from the very beginning.
Tell us about the writing and story editing process for Love and Noraebang.
CV: We worked with two wonderful writers, Anthony Aguilar and Quincy Cho. Both are Angelenos, and both are representative of the cultures in our story. That was hugely important to us. But it was a true collaborative process between our creative executives and producers, the writers, and the team at The Mash-Up Americans.
It was so fun to hear Randall Park in this, and the rest of the casting was on point too. How did you approach and land such great talent for this show?
CV: We were so excited to announce this cast. The feedback we heard from talent during recording sessions was that they were just really having fun. They were genuinely excited to get into the studio and say their lines or sing karaoke — they saw themselves in these characters and this unapologetically optimistic story. I think when talent really loves the material, it's an easy yes.
How did you approach marketing this podcast to leverage its cross-cultural appeal?
CV: For us, the story and cast spoke for itself — we created portraits of all the characters and really let them shine in our visual materials and audio trailers. Then we utilized our original theme song extensively to create a cohesive sonic brand.
The show has been out for about six weeks now. What’s been the response thus far?
CV: The response has been wonderful — it's been gratifying to see how the show has resonated with listeners around the world. The show became #1 in Mexico, South Korea, and the US, so it was a true global phenomenon.
Thank you, Camila!
➡️ Follow Camila @camilaniche on Twitter to stay up on her work.
➡️ Listen to Love and Noraebang on your favorite podcast player.
➡️ Check out the rest of Sonoro’s slate on their website and follow @SonoroPodcast on Twitter.
Sign Up for the Multitude Podcasting Conference this Friday - Multitude Productions is presenting their first-ever Multitude Podcasting Conference — a virtual presentation this Friday, September 9th, from 10am-5pm EST — aimed at providing transparent insight and concrete knowledge to creatives looking to turn podcasting into a sustainable job. Registration is free, but attendees are encouraged to donate what they can, and all donations will go directly to offset the cost of the conference and speaker fees.
New Producer Resources - Enjoy this extensive list of resources for folks new to the radio/audio industry compiled by Talia Augustidis, who deserves a medal for creating and curating this 17-page document.
News Director (full-time) at Nebraska Public Media | Lincoln, NE
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News Director (full-time) at KFSK | Petersburg, AK
YOU’RE WRONG ABOUT: THE DONNER PARTY W/ CHELSEY WEBER-SMITH - You’re Wrong About, hosted by Sarah Marshall, is a reliably good podcast, and since I’m thoroughly obsessed with the Donner Party, I had to listen to this ep. I’ve read several books and diaries about their dramatic trek West doing research for my own version of this story, and I have to say, Chelsey’s telling is delightful. She hosts American Hysteria, which I’ve added to my playlist thanks to this episode.
THIS AMERICAN LIFE: THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE - I’ve been listening to A LOT of This American Life recently. I really want to produce a story for the show, so I try to listen to the stories I connect with multiple times until I know their construction. This episode was another recent fave.
This week’s edition of Play It Forward comes from podcaster and health coach Mishaun Christian! Mishaun recommends The Rich Roll Podcast, a podcast with a mission we can all get behind: unlocking your best self. Author, athlete, and wellness advocate Rich Roll converses with some of the most inspiring thought-leaders in the world. Mishaun suggests starting with The War of Art: Steven Pressfield.
“Resistance towards the things we deeply believe will bring us in alignment with our core desires is something I think all humans experience: whether that’s writing a book, starting a business, quitting a job, etc. This is especially true when it requires you to be a beginner. Being a beginner is painful because failure challenges our egos. In this episode, Steven Pressfield and Rich Roll discuss and unpack this concept of resistance through the lens of their own experience and stories. It’s an incredibly inspiring episode for anyone who desires alignment with their highest calling. It also highlights that it’s never too late to start, which is an excuse we often use as humans.”
As a health coach and host of The Woo Lab, Mishaun also knows a thing or two about endeavoring to be your best self. She and her co-host Chelsea aren’t afraid to have deep conversations as they explore topics of self-discovery, spirituality, the supernatural, the paranormal, and beyond. She suggests one of her favorite episodes: Unpacking the Four Agreements and Fifth Agreement.
“I’m particularly proud of this episode because it was born out of a need for Chelsea and me to humble ourselves. As addressed in the ‘Let’s Chat’ portion of the podcast, we initially set out to record an episode on how to be compassionate towards people who aren’t as far on their journey as we think they should be. Upon further discussion, we realized how problematic that line of thinking is. Who are we to say where someone should be? We realized there’s much more we can focus on in terms of how we show up.
So in this particular episode, we give our egos some gratitude (because ego bashing is so often the norm), we attempt to unpack Don Miguel Ruiz’s agreements, and then share examples where we have struggled or succeeded in upholding these agreements ourselves in our own life. And finally, we share new agreements that one could use to help them navigate tough situations.”
If you’re at the start of a new undertaking or seeking a spiritual tuneup, these podcasts are definitely for you!
➡️ Here’s the link to submit for future editions.
So… ROLL CALL! 🗣
What are your favorite podcast mashups — either genre/creative or on the partnership front?
Follow me @courtneykocak on Twitter and Instagram. For more, check out my website courtneykocak.com.