Inspiring Conversations with Rick Rodriguez of La Cara Productions

Today we’d like to introduce you to Rick Rodriguez

Hi Rick , so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, a region in the Southmost tip of Texas, in the 80/90s. Music was always a part of my life. My first hero was my older brother Homer who at a very young age, played drums in our local church. I grew up wanting to be a musician like him. My father Ricky Rodriguez, was also a huge influence as he worked hard until he became one of the most recognized radio personalities on Spanish Christian radio in the entire Southwest, Texas, Mexico and Central America, a position he held for over 20 years and he always had the most current music on hand. At one point my brother Homer was in a touring band and my father had a run of shows as a solo artist. It was like I was living with two local celebrities. Being raised in the small town of Los Fresnos, TX and in a Christian household didn’t keep me incapsulated in a musical box. Every year for Spring Break, university students from around the country would flood our region to hit the beach at South Padre Island or visit the Mexican border towns near by. If I traveled 20 minutes East, I’d end up on the beach listening to Rock, R&B, Rap and Pop music. If I traveled 20 Mins South, I’d end up in Matamoros Mexico, where the rhythms and sounds of Cumbia Tropical, Musica Grupera and Mariachi were the soundtrack of the streets.

Those days that I would be around the spring breakers who wore their university merch, their Greek letter organization sweaters and planted their university mascot flags on the beach influenced my desire to head off to college one day and be one of them. The days spent in Matamoros made me want to take my music and culture with me wherever I went. Eventually I ended up at MTSU and graduated from their Recording Industry program with a minor in Music and Mass Communications (2002, thank you Amy Macy). I am extremely proud to be a first generation Mexican American and the first person in my entire family tree to receive a bachelors degree. I am the product of two immigrant teens who one day came into this country illegally in order to give my brothers Homer, Joseph and me a shot at the American dream. Thanks to their sacrifice and the amazing spirit of this beautiful country, here we are, proudly waving the American flag and looking out for our Latino community creating opportunities for others along the way.

We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
My mindset and my faith have always made the journey a bit easier even when times were tough. The road hasn’t been smooth. As children of immigrants, we grew up low income living in government housing, we received government assistance and my mother, Socorro, doesn’t speak English. This is one of the reasons going off to college was just an illusion and to many in my circle growing up, it seemed unattainable. When you grow up in this kind of environment, you’re basically on survival mode. You don’t get a whole lot of time to dream. You’re too busy thinking about how you can shake yourself out of poverty and you seek the first job that can get you the biggest check in order to start bringing financial help into the household to take some of that burden off your parents.

I was blessed to have a mother who always believed in me and pushed me to dream big and work hard. Her prayers were constant and soon enough many of them were answered. As I got older and moved from Texas to Tennessee, the foundation my parents had laid for me, became crucial for both the success and some of the challenges that I would face for the first time as a Mexican kid in a new region of America. It hasn’t always been easy to be the brown man in a white industry. The political climate hasn’t always been rainbows and sunshine and just the fact that I’m Mexican or different has made this ride interesting but very worth it. I’ve also met some beautiful souls. I wouldn’t change it for anything.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about La Cara Productions?
La Cara Productions is an entity that offers consulting, management, artist development, production and serves as a bridge between LatAm music, culture and lifestyle and the rest of the world. We are influential by creating solutions, innovative partnerships and staying constantly engaged with the Latino community. Our goal is to bring Latino talent to the forefront of the music industry.

La Cara means The Face in Spanish. We are the proud face of the Latino community in the music business. Our goal is to connect the community with the Nashville music industry and provide ideas for growth and enrichment. My desire is to give everyone equal opportunity regardless of where you came from. What separates La Cara Productions from any other entity, is the focus we put on outreach. We are very intentional in bringing professional music industry insight to our people and everything we do and say must be done in both English and Spanish. Language will not be a barrier if you are navigating the waters of the music business. On the contrary, I want the fact that someone speaks Spanish to be a strength and not the reason they don’t get a chance to prove themselves. We let the music and the rhythms do the talking.

One of the most important partnerships that has evolved and that I am very proud of is with my great friend and colleague Raul Malo who is the founder of Mono Mundo B, a boutique record label housing a catalog of amazing music from Latin artists that come out of countries like Cuba. When Raul is not on the road touring as front man for the Grammy award winning band The Mavericks, he’s in meetings with me discussing the affairs of the label where my role is VP of Operations. Raul Malo was one of my musical heroes growing up and it’s an honor to call him my friend and business partner now.

If you want to know how to reach the Latino community in an impactful way, just call La Cara Productions. We will help you get it done!

Can you talk to us a bit about the role of luck?
I believe luck plays a role in life in general. Sometimes luck is just the blessings that come your way for working diligently. There have been many instances where I was at the right place at the right time or just happened to be in the proper circle of friends. As a kid in the late 90’s I heard ‘All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down’, on the radio in South Texas and felt like someone had slapped me in the face with something amazing. I immediately became a fan of The Mavericks. The sound was so sick and the energy of the tune along with a great lyric was so dope. To top it off, they had Flaco Jimenez, a Texas accordion legend ripping on it. Fast forward to years later, during a music festival, I meet Michael Guerra, who at the time was playing accordion on the Raul Malo solo tour. One day Michael introduces me to Raul and the rest is history. That one chance encounter with another Latino in Music City turned into a long lasting friendship with Michael Guerra, who is an accordion beast, and lead me to meet one of my musical heroes Raul Malo. After a few years, I was brought on as part of the management team for The Mavericks, which then turned into me becoming tour manager for the Raul Malo solo tour, I eventually got to meet and work with the legend Flaco Jimenez and even created a management partnership with Betty Malo of Bam Bam Management.

This is an industry where you can’t just sit at home and dream of great things to do. It also requires hustling, getting out there and networking. Luck or blessings are part of the reason I have gotten to shake many influential hands, met endless amounts of amazing collaborators and opened many doors in my personal and professional life.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://lacaraproductions.com
• Instagram: @lacaraproductions
• Facebook: Rick Rod