nochelatina Film Features

Q&A Sessions: Shawn Hernandez

10/27/2009 11:04:00 AM

Standing at a daunting 6’2” and weighing in at roughly 295 pounds, Shawn Hernandez is no small guy, which has always worked in his favor as far as his career is concerned. Born in Houston, Texas, Hernandez is an American professional wrestler of Mexican, Puerto-Rican, and white descent who’s best known for his appearances in sports entertainment company Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). When he was an adolescent, Hernandez was prohibited from playing football by his parents, who did not approve of physical sports. Believing in the teenager’s athletic potential, the football coach at Hernandez’s high school stopped by his house one day to convince his parents to let him play the sport. Hernandez’s parents gave in and thus began his sports career. Hernandez played football through college and eventually left it to pursue wrestling.

Since then, Hernandez has built a name for himself. Back in 2000, he worked for World Wrestling Federation, appearing on various episodes of its syndicated show, Jakked. The wrestler has also appeared in independent promotions. He debuted at TNA in 2003 and then left to work on the Texas independent circuit several years later. Some of Hernandez’s past titles include the National Wrestling Alliance (NWA) North American Heavyweight Championship in 2003, and the NWA World Tag Team Championship in 2006, which he won with fellow wrestler, Homicide. NocheLatina recently got the chance to chat with Hernandez and he talks to us about his profession, being a dad, and what he perceives to be a lack of superheroes for Latino children.

nocheLatina: I understand you played football in college. What was that experience like?

Shawn Hernandez: The same as high school. I’ve never been exposed to anything racial until I got out of my military environment, with people not expecting much of you. To me, it was a little harder to succeed.

nocheLatina: How did you first get into wrestling?

Shawn Hernandez: I stopped playing football in ‘96 or ‘97, and local WWE came into town. I always wanted to do wrestling, but I never got the chance to even give it a try. My parents were so against physical sports. I wasn’t allowed to play football until 11th grade so it was kind of weird being the biggest kid in the school playing basketball in ninth and tenth. The football coach came to my house and convinced them to let me play. You know how protective mothers are. They baby you a little too much.

nocheLatina: You’re better known as ‘Hernandez’ and ‘Hotstuff Hernandez.’ Where did those names come from?

Shawn Hernandez: When I first started wrestling, but I haven’t used ’Hotstuff Hernandez” since 2003. I was trying to be a cocky superhero for Latinos. I wanted to be outgoing and let everyone know that we’re here too.

nocheLatina: For those unfamiliar with wrestling moves, what is the ‘Border Toss?’

Shawn Hernandez: It’s real simple. I pick someone up in a crucifix position, like how Jesus carried the cross, and I throw them as far as I can backwards, where they can’t see where they’re going. Other wrestlers have used a variation of this move, but none of them throw as far as I do.

nocheLatina: How do you feel while you’re wrestling and all eyes are watching you?

Shawn Hernandez: I go off the energy of the crowd, it only amps up my performance that much higher…I just want to do what they want to see. The vibe from the crowd determines how emotional and aggressive I get in the ring.

nocheLatina: What does your family think of your persona while wrestling?

Shawn Hernandez: They don’t understand. I’m very pro-Hispanic and sometimes, a bit overboard because I don’t think we get enough representation, especially in athletics. My father, he’s retired. My mother passed away, she never saw me wrestle. My sister, she just rolls her eyes. Muscular guys in Speedos don’t appeal to her.

nocheLatina: I understand you had a neck injury. When was this and how did it affect you?

Shawn Hernandez: April 30, 2009. Yes, I mean, everyone wants to be the best in their particular field…I had a partial disk taken off and to think you might not even get a chance to wrestle again, as much as you want to be recovering, you need to think of alternative ways of making a living.

nocheLatina: And did you think about an alternative way to make a living during your recovery?

Shawn Hernandez: Every day. We were crossing our fingers, hoping that the doctors would give me the clearance to start again.

nocheLatina: If you weren’t wrestling, what would you be doing?

Shawn Hernandez: Probably would still be doing some power-lifting or strongman competitions.

nocheLatina: Do you feel you have a role in this business to uphold to, as a Latino?

Shawn Hernandez: Yes, especially when there are very few Latino heavyweights. Every time I wrestle, especially in a lot of pro-Hispanic communities, people say, ‘Win that belt for us.’ It can be very difficult sometimes.

nocheLatina: Do you feel pressure from your Latino audience?

Shawn Hernandez: I think it’s a very good motivation factor for me. When you get down or feel like you’re tired or you’re injured, it’s the people that are expecting you to be on top of your game every time you’re out there. .

nocheLatina: One of your daughters is into power-lifting. How did you feel when she first expressed interest in it?

Shawn Hernandez: Way against it.

nocheLatina: Why?

Shawn Hernandez: I felt just like my parents when the coach came to my house to convince them to let me play football. They want to strap all this weight on her They’ve been trying to get her to do it since ninth grade. Last year, I let her do it and she does the same thing I did when I was a kid- she has the same strength and everything, it’s ridiculous.

nocheLatina: How do you feel about it now?

Shawn Hernandez: I’m very proud. She’s also the cheerleading mascot of her school as well.

nocheLatina: Do you have any highlights in your career thus far?

Shawn Hernandez: Yes, in 2006, my partner- he’s a Puerto-Rican from Brooklyn whose wrestling name is Homicide- and I were the first Latinos to win the NWA Tag Team Championships. It’s probably my biggest moment.

nocheLatina: Do you have any hobbies?

Shawn Hernandez: Weightlifting and X-Box- that’s my whole life.

nocheLatina: Being a Latino in this business, have you had to overcome any obstacles?

Shawn Hernandez: Everyone has stereotypes of different nationalities and when you think of Hispanic wrestlers, you think of the small guys on those televisi

Q&A Sessions: Kristina Guerrero

10/6/2009 1:19:00 PM

As a young girl living in Sunnyside, Washington, Kristina Guerrero would spend many nights glued to “Entertainment Tonight,” the CBS television news show on all things pop culture. She was certain that becoming a reporter and discovering upcoming trends was exactly what she wanted to do. Since then, Guerrero has never looked back.

After she graduated from high school, Guerrero packed her belongings and left behind her native Washington for the University of Southern California to study broadcast journalism. As she prepared for college, Guerrero faced criticism from people who didn’t think she’d make it far.

However, she knew she would.

Guerrero began her career as an intern for LA’s FOX KTTV, where she logged endless tape and ran errands. After she graduated from college with a Bachelor’s Degree in broadcast journalism, Guerrero landed a gig as co-host of a relationship talk show on SiTV network, which marked the beginning of her on-air career. Afterwards, Guerrero moved to Texas and hosted her own CBS morning talk show, titled “Great Day S.A.” for a few years. She later found herself back in California, where she worked as an entertainment correspondent for “Inside Edition.” The budding journalist’s dreams were becoming a reality. Since then, the 29-year-old has worked her way up the entertainment news scale and about a year ago, made history by becoming the first-ever Latina host of E! News, recognized as one of the top celebrity resources in the nation.

For the first time, Guerrero speaks exclusively with nocheLatina about her love for entertainment, working in front of the camera, and even reveals which celebrity she likes to call “uncle.”

nocheLatina: I understand you began your career at LA’s FOX KTTV as an intern. What was that experience like?

Kristina Guerrero: It was a great experience- I got a chance to do all kinds of grunt work. I ran a lot of errands, but I befriended an entertainment reporter there so after I finished all my work, I got to see her interview people. She would take me out on assignments with her.

nocheLatina: As an intern, did you ever think you would end up where you are today?

Kristina Guerrero: Absolutely. What I mean by that is I got into internships really young and knew this is exactly what I wanted to do. I knew that I had to get my foot in the door and ask a lot of questions because I wanted to be great as a reporter. The only way I could do that was to work my way up.

nocheLatina: After you graduated from the University of Southern California, you landed a gig as co-host of ‘The Rub,’ a relationship talk show on SiTV network. Describe your experience.

Kristina Guerrero: First of all, it was a dream come true. I spent a long time getting coffee and checking the machines for paper, escorting talent, whatever they needed. Now I was doing what I had set out to do, to host a TV show. It was the beginning of my on-air career. Having the opportunity to work for SiTV was great. Being host of a show that was crazy, silly, funny, and serious while sending out a great message was one of the highlights of my life.

nocheLatina: I understand you’re the first Latina to work as a regular correspondent for E! News. How does that make you feel?

Kristina Guerrero: It’s about time, right? You know what, I love being able to represent my culture, to have my story told, from where I came from and all this adversity I had, in a show that speaks to my generation about entertainment. I’m honored to be able to do that- to be that role model.

nocheLatina: Did you always knew you wanted to be a TV show host?

Kristina Guerrero: Ever since I was little, I’ve been watching ‘Entertainment Tonight.’ I just have this love affair with television and entertainment news. I always knew I wanted to do that. All those journalists out there, making a change in the world, the hard-core journalists, I admire them. But I set out to also have a great time. It was a perfect fit for me to be an entertainment news reporter.

nocheLatina: What, in your experience, has been the greatest challenge thus far in your career?

Kristina Guerrero: The thing for me, what’s been so great for me, is that a long time ago, I set out to make my dreams come true. So many people discouraged me and said I couldn’t do it. I truly believed that I deserved it and I could do it. Against all odds, I kind of went off on my own, followed my own path, and made my dreams come true. Sometimes I kind of just stop and I think, ‘I did it. I’m living my dream.’

nocheLatina: From what you have seen and reported, is the entertainment industry as glamorous as it seems?

Kristina Guerrero: No, it’s not. It’s…you know what, it’s a lot of hard work- a lot of hard work goes into it. I’m so lucky that I have stylists that make me beautiful and wonderful, but there are a lot of hot days. It’s really difficult. But I don’t ever like to take away from the romanticized idea of Hollywood. It is a lot of hard work, there’s a lot that goes into it.

nocheLatina: I understand you hosted your own CBS morning talk show, ‘Great Day S.A.’ in San Antonio, Texas.

Kristina Guerrero: Yeah, I was the main host of that show for three years, every single morning, Monday through Friday. They brought me in when I was 24, a year out of college. They saw I had a lot of tenacity and a ‘go-get-em’ kind of thing. They cast me to host and carry the show. It was the foundation that I needed to be a host. San Antonio is a beautiful city; I call it my adopted home. The people there and the city itself took care of me while I was there. I would do pie eating contests, anything that I could do to make TV.

nocheLatina: Is there a difference between your experience hosting in Texas versus Los Angeles?

Kristina Guerrero: The biggest difference, obviously, is that in San Antonio, I hosted a show locally, which reached several hundreds of thousands of people. I come to Hollywood, I’m doing E!, and it reaches countries all over the world- millions of people. But the great thing about local TV is, you have so much more reign and it’s a smaller group of people just trying to make a show on-air every morning. But with a show like E!, you have much more resources.

nocheLatina: What has been the highlight of your career thus far?

Kristina Guerrero: One of the highlights, probably every time, is just the moments by myself when I look around and see what I’ve accomplished. I’m sitting here in my life, in my dream, living it.

nocheLatina: How do you feel when the interview roles are reversed. For example, in this case- I’m asking the questions and you’re answering.

Kristina Guerrero: I’ve gotten a little bit better, but when I first started getting interviewed,