Episode Details

I sat down with Wendy Medina Herrera, a writer, director, and the president of Paella Club, the monthly hang for Latino creatives in LA. She’s quiet, she’s sweet, and she has done a ridiculous amount for someone who calls herself unassuming.

Check out Wendy’s brand new website: Here.

And if you’re in LA, find Paella Club on Instagram @paellaclubla and get yourself invited.

We go from her middle school news class in San Diego (she hung around as a sixth grader until the older kids let her be an extra) to Chapman, internships at MACRO and Blumhouse, and a Facebook post that turned into a job assisting Carlos López Estrada, right as he took on a film for the Sphere in Vegas. We talk about doing the thing that scares you, why horror movies are little time capsules, and her grandma burning a Ouija board (still the mystery of the year). Then we get into how Paella Club grew from house parties into the community that made LA feel like home for me.

In this episode

• 00:00 Googling yourself and being called “unassuming”
• 02:26 What Letterboxd is and why it’s a film diary
• 04:51 Middle school news class and the teacher who pushed her
• 05:47 Science high school, YouTube, and getting into Chapman
• 07:54 Interning at MACRO and Blumhouse
• 08:10 Not getting the job, moving home, and the Facebook post that changed everything
• 10:15 Making a film for the Sphere
• 12:09 Her biggest lesson: do the scary thing
• 13:56 The Artist’s Way and baking her first cake
• 14:52 Hot Cakes
• 17:17 Why she loves horror movies
• 19:35 Grandma burned the Ouija board
• 20:38 Paella Club: invite only, but everyone’s welcome
• 21:58 How Paella Club has grown
• 25:46 Her new website
• 26:52 Writing her first horror short

Follow Wendy: @wendy.medina.h
Follow Paella Club: @paellaclubla

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Ilse Will Say is an Intrepida Entertainment podcast, hosted by Ilse Zacharias Rivera. Produced and edited by Jacob Cagle. Music by Eric Backus. Photography by Joel Maisonet.

The views and opinions expressed on Ilse Will Say are entirely those of the host and guests, and do not reflect the views of any employers, sponsors, or innocent bystanders. This podcast is for entertainment purposes only. Nothing said here is professional advice. We're here for the laughs, y'all.