Is Alex a FAKE NO SABO? + We’re DROPPING THESE LATINO TRADITIONS

"Every time I go into that ride and we get to the Mexican part, I'm just so like, ah, I love being Mexican."

That moment—describing the "It's a Small World" ride at Disneyland—captures the emotional core of this episode of Pretty, Not Smart. Hosts Louie and Yoatzi Castro, joined by producer Alex, use Hispanic Heritage Month as a backdrop for a wide-ranging conversation about identity, language, family, and the traditions they want to carry forward. The episode is loose and personal, but it consistently returns to a few central questions: What does it mean to be Mexican or Latino in America? How do you navigate not speaking Spanish when you look like you should? And which parts of your culture do you fight to keep?

The "No Sabo" Debate and Language Inheritance

A major thread of the episode is Alex's status as a "no sabo"—someone of Mexican descent who does not speak Spanish fluently. Alex explains that his parents chose to teach him English first because his older sister struggled transitioning to school after learning Spanish. "My mom says I didn't give a fuck to learn," he says, "but my dad says they never taught me." The result is a frustrating gap: Alex took Spanish in high school, played on all-Spanish soccer teams for 15 years, and visited his grandmothers regularly, but the language never fully stuck.