Meet Maria Felix of Bloody Podcast in West Adams

Today we’d like to introduce you to Maria Felix.

So, before we jump into specific questions, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I grew up in a varied set of Latino and Hispanic communities. First in Orange County, then the High-Desert area of Victorville, and the Inland Empire. Except for a brief move with my family to Miami, FL, I’ve lived in So-Cal all my life. My mother is Nicaraguan and my father is Mexican-American, I was born here, in Orange, CA. I have a lot of memories of coming to Los Angeles for very specific events and errands that only other immigrant families would recall. I remember joining my mom for endless lines at the Immigration Centers, and I remember the big day when she received her American Citizenship. There’s little things too, ever since I can remember I knew about Santee Alley, we always drove up to 3 hours from Victorville to buy fabrics in the Fabric District, there was also the stretch of time my mom sold gold jewelry that she bought from a jewelry downtown named Sammy.

I started writing very young, at 10 I won an award for some speech writing contest I botched at the ceremony because my speech was too long for me to get completely off book- I got nervous and forgot most of the words. While that discouraged me from public speaking until college, I kept writing. I wrote poems, lyrics, short stories, I wrote lists of jokes I never showed anyone because I wasn’t sure if any of it was any good. For a long time, the only reaffirmation I had was my grade point average, because the kinds of creative pieces I was interested in writing weren’t something you got a grade for, and they certainly weren’t something my hard working parents would have time to relate to, let alone read. I was always grateful for everything they did, I was always aware of how hard they were always working, how hard life is for families like ours. My mother fled here during the Nicaraguan Revolution, leaving four children in the care of her mother. Since I was a baby she worked up to 3 jobs to provide for me and my half-siblings, who stayed in Nicaragua until they were adults. Not for lack of trying, as I also have clear memories visiting a lawyer in LA who helped us with their cases, but it still took until I was 27 for the first of my siblings to come to the United States from Nicaragua. I grew up an only child, but in reality, I was the smallest of 5.

When I was 16, my mother opened her door to 4 foster children, all Latino, and all from different backgrounds. Because of them, I was shown that while we had known suffering, I should have an endless pool of empathy and that not every family, not ever mother, was like mine. I feel like I learned early on that life isn’t as simple as making it happen, that before and after there are a series of circumstances that shape a life, and it is our duty to continue trying to find ways to overcome some of those circumstances. I had no intention of going to college because I had no path, but the kids I helped raised until they were 18, and my caring mother made it so I dove right into college, applying at the last minute to schools in my area in order to stay close to my family.

After studying psychology at University of California, Riverside, I moved to Los Angeles to delve into the world of film production and screenwriting. It wasn’t my intention to get into performing and writing live sketch comedy. At first, I only took improv classes to overcome my shyness and to find the humor in my own writing. I knew I loved comedy, having gotten into improv classes because I found out that Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Steve Carell and the rest of that comedic generation got their start through it- but except for a few encouraging words from some friends and associates, didn’t know if I was personally funny enough to ever pursue it. I fell in love with improv, and for the first couple of years performed every opportunity I could. Then, sketch comedy took over my life. Through improv, I gained the confidence to put my work out there, good or bad. I quickly understood I needed to hear aloud, or better yet see my work on its legs to judge whether it worked or not. I needed to hear the silence from an audience to even begin to understand my voice and how it resonated with others. The silence becomes as essential as the laughs and the groans, it’s not just about finding the funny, it’s about finding the subtle and the still.

Performing was never my long term goal either, but like so many I learned that if I had a specific character in mind or even a cadence to a character in a piece, I am often the only one I can count on to put it up, repeatedly, and tweak it ever so slightly. That’s how I fell into and stuck with sketch performance and directing. I wrote for CBS Diversity Showcase in 2017, and since then have written and been on the producer teams for E! News, NBC, and Funny or Die. I’m the head writer for the monthly The Nicky Urban Show at the pack theater, what we like to call a kid’s show for adults, and perform/write for the show The Night Cap with Stacy Rumaker at the Virgil. I recently directed a musical comedy entitled Bidi Bidi Bang Bang, a musical conspiracy about what if JLo killed Selena. And of course, most dear to me is Bloody Podcast, my podcast with Lauri Roggenkamp, where we talk about women (and only women) in true crime and mythology because men talk enough about themselves.

I consider my voice loud and strong, but still something I’m trying to completely define. I don’t just define myself as a Latina writer. I define myself as a true crime and criminology fan, a poet, a feminist, a smart as fuck millennial, an advocate for Latino and LGBTQ rights, a surrealist and a humanist. All these perspectives I’m trying to jam pack into the creative I put out into the world.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Simply put, money and time were some of the biggest obstacles in my way. No one likes to hear it, but sometimes there isn’t someone around to bankroll your next short film, and your parents need help paying the electric bill. I can’t buy a new light kit knowing that my family needs help. Purely pursuing writing means either two things, you have a means to, or there’s not much you need to contribute funds to. I don’t have a means, and I have people I care about that I need to help. Therefore, I’ve held down a consistent job in production for the last seven years. At first as a freelancer, and for now I have what I consider another personal goal of mine. I work at Viacom as a production coordinator, specifically for Comedy Digital. I’m lucky enough to work in the department that is nearest and dearest to my heart and informs my writing more than any other “day job” I could ask for.

I always tell people I basically have two full-time jobs. One at a company, and one for myself. Every night is spend researching a case or writing. I’ve fallen asleep at 3AM writing a pilot draft and gotten up at 6AM to be on set more times than I can keep count. I can’t wait until that’s my schedule, but for my words.

Bloody Podcast – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from others?
Bloody Podcast started because Lauri and I are fans, fans of all things true crime, horror, and mythology. While there are podcasts that cover those things, we noticed that women were the exception, not the norm, as the topics of those podcasts. Naturally as comedians, we wanted to have our friends join us as we explore the timelines, crimes, and/or acts of the infamous women who have helped shape this world.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I define success by being able to freely and fully pursue what you love. The best way to live is to be a constant student, always learning, exploring new cultures, trades, skill sets, pleasures, and taboos of the world. That and being the #1 google result for Maria Felix.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.bloodypodcast.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mariafelix.la/
• Other: https://www.instagram.com/bloodypodcast/

Image Credit:
Michael Garcia, Nick Remes, Jas Sams, Maria Felix, Joe White

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