#157: It’s been almost one year since a secret recording of four powerful Latino leaders in Los Angeles leaked to the public, setting off one of the biggest political scandals in L.A. history.
Then-City Council President Nury Martinez, Councilmembers Gil Cedillo and Kevin De León, and labor leader Ron Herrera were caught on tape making racist, demeaning comments about Indigenous people, Black Angelenos (including a city councilmember's child), and Black political power.
And it was all in the context of a strategy session about advancing Latino power in the city.
The tapes became national news, with many people — including President Joe Biden —calling for all the leaders to resign. Herrera and Martinez did. And now, for the first time since her resignation, we hear from Nury Martinez in an exclusive interview with LAist Studios.
Our colleagues on the 'Imperfect Paradise' podcast team, including host Antonia Cereijido, challenged Martinez to account for the racist, hurtful things she said in that conversation.
The team spoke with former and current councilmembers about their reaction to the tapes — including Mike Bonin who, along with his young Black son, was singled out in the conversation — and to scholars and indigenous rights activists about what the tapes revealed about long-simmering tensions within the city.
In today's episode 'How To LA,' Antonia talks with Brian about the making of the podcast.