Radio Show turned Podcast | Talk Show

Created, Produced & Hosted by: Marisa Silva Rocha

“Amá” are the 1st three letters of the Queen of Fado’s first name, Amália Rodrigues. The Queen of Fado has been my muse and a constant fountain of inspiration. Amá Conversa is a talk show established/recorded in 2020 and aired in January 2021 through a (Portuguese) Media outlet based out of the Central Valley and my own social media platforms.  “Amá Conversa” began as a radio talk show and was later converted into a podcast. All of the work was unpaid as volunteer-work. I grew the (Portuguese) Media’s account from 1.5k to 5k followers in an 11-month span (Oh the beautiful, good ol’ days before social media’s “algorithm”, making it impossible to grow that quickly in a short amount of time now-a-days, unless you pay for their services!). Not only did I help them grow and glow, but a few months after my show Amá Conversa aired, I brought on another radio show/podcast (April 2021) that aired for a season of 13 episodes. Then a month after that (May 2021), I brought on another radio show/podcast that launched and still runs today, through their platform, with almost 30 episodes.

The first season of Amá Conversa consisted of 50 1-hour long episodes, including music and guest-speaker interviews that accounted for half of the episode. The music featured was a mix of new tunes trending in Portugal, a mix of TugaHipHop, Fados of all kinds (new hits and classics), and music from local artists! It was just a ton of outstanding music that various people could connect to! I wanted to bridge the enormous gap between Portugal/Azores and the Luso communities. I found that the majority of the community only knew of Jorge Ferreira and Quim Barreiros… but what about ALL of the other amazing Portuguese artists??! I saw a BIG divide/disconnect and wanted to make that smaller over time. I have always been in tune with what was trending in Portugal because we often went there, and my primos were always a great help keeping us up to trend! I felt like the people in California, or Americans in general, were not in tune with what was happening NOW in Portugal/Azores. I wanted them to have easier access to learning first-hand. The show began twice a week, then decreased to once a week over 11 months. The full episodes were available in podcast (audio) form on Spotify, and anywhere podcasts were streaming. The influential guest speakers featured in Season 1 were a mix of people from all over the world. We had a bilingual program where some episodes were featured in English, some in Portuguese, and others were a mix of the two!  Our audience primarily consists of Portuguese and English speakers, making the show easy to relate to as bilingual. The video interviews can still be found on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram (approx 30 minutes each). On YouTube, they are organized as a public “Playlist” under my account, Marisa Silva Rocha, where all the episodes are organized (by Season).

Season 2 (2023) was done differently; it was just a podcast on Spotify (available for your listening pleasure) and not a radio show with music included. We continued with our excellent video interviews with influential guest speakers available on YouTube (as a public “Playlist”), Instagram, and Facebook for your watching pleasure! In Season 2, we had the honor of speaking with some of the participants from Season 1, who came back with an update on how they had been doing. We also had NEW guests that we got the chance to get to know and learn about! There are 11 episodes for Season 2, all 15-30 minutes long. You can go back and watch both seasons of Amá Conversa at your leisure!

We have some VERY exciting news – Season 3 (2024) has begun, and AGAIN ~ we are doing things a lot differently this season!

Season 3 Has Begun!  *Same Concept, NEW Format!

This season, we are shaking things up a bit and doing things a lot differently than we have done before! We knew that Amá Conversa was still a relevant, strong show concept that the community lacked and desperately needed! There is nothing like it out there, bridging and narrowing the divide/gap  ~ It is its own entity that no one could ever replicate, recreate, or replace.  After a 6 month break, we have stepped it up, and we are ready to rock in a whole NEW and modern way, connecting to a larger audience than ever! Through market research over time, this change had to be implemented to reach more people ~ because the definition of insanity is doing the same thing while expecting new results ~ I knew that traditional interviews were old-news and a thing of the past, that the public was just simply not “into” as much anymore. We believe that this new format will be more enjoyable not only for the participants but for the viewers as well! You want your hard work to reach as many people as possible, or else all of the work and effort would be in vain, right?! Thankfully, we’ve had a good audience for the last two seasons. Still, given the current market research that we had been doing for over a 12-month’s period, it proved that social media platforms had indefinitely changed, and we needed to as well!  Let’s face it, during the pandemic, we DID have a lot of time to be tuned in for an hour or even half an hour, but that just is not the case anymore with our fast-paced, busy world that we live in ~ where we can only focus for a few seconds at a time and then we are on-the-go again, to the next! We had to come up with a creative way to still keep the same strong concept of bringing influential guest speakers, making them shine while reaching a larger audience ~ as well as continuing with our more profound mission of narrowing that gap between the old country and luso-communities from all over but in a NEW, relevant and modern way! This way, we are keeping up with the ever-changing and evolving technologies and social media platforms and making sure our beautiful Portuguese community is heard Loud And Clear; with the inclusion of all Season 3 will consist of 30-90 second REELS that will be available for your watching and sharing pleasure on the same platforms that you love and grown to love Amá CONVERSA over the years; Facebook, Instagram, Youtube (shorts), as well as being introduced to a NEW platform that we will also be utilizing this season; TikTok! (YUP! This momma is challenging herself to keep up with the trends!)While conducting and collecting market research, I discovered a new love and passion for REEL creation! Season 3 will consist of a mix of in-person and self-recorded videos, focusing on the influential guest speaker in a creative & shortened way.

I’m telling you, we are doing things a lot differently ‘round here, and I am LOVIN’ the positive vibes we have received in the short time of launching Season 3!  We currently have the first 3 episodes out and hope you enjoy them. Stay tuned for more amazing influential guest speakers and VIVA a Nossa Cultura Portuguesa! NOTE: TikTok followers get FIRST VIEWER ACCESS to Season 3 episodes! Make sure you follow to be the first to see them!

President of the Casa dos Açores Hilmar

In-person @ the Tourada a Corda in Easton, CA.

*Medical assistant, photographer, and folklore dance member of the group “Mar Bravo”

Episode 2-  Valentim Aguiar

“Cantoria” desafio singer from Terceira Açores Portugal

In-person @ the Modesto CA. Festa 2024

*First time in California; first performance in the U.S.A.

Episode 3-  B MAGÏN

Trilingual recording Artist specializing in TugaHip-Hop and Latin tunes, from Stockton, CA | In-person @ the Modesto, CA. Festa 2024

*First performance at a Portuguese festa!

Every Friday, Marisa Silva Rocha has a regular column in our NOVIDADES (the island and the diaspora) platform. If you didn’t catch it on NOVIDADES, we would feature it here on Filamentos (arts and letters in the Azorean Diaspora), also by Bruma Publications from PBBI-Fresno State.