- [Announcer] Funding for this episode of "Que Pasa NJ" with Carlos Medina has been provided by Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Hackensack Meridian Health, the Center for Hispanic Policy Research and Development, the Engineers Labor Employer Cooperative 825, ROI NJ Business Magazine.

- Welcome to the season finale of "Que Pasa?"

We have an exciting lineup covering business, justice and entertainment.

First, Wesley Matthew, CEO of "Choose New Jersey" joins us.

From Global Diplomat to CEO.

He shares his journey, why New Jersey is the place to be for business and how the state's getting ready for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Next, Justice Michael Noriega reflects on his experience growing up in Hudson County as a Peruvian American and his path from an immigration and criminal defense attorney, to New Jersey Supreme Court Justice.

And finally, we have from FX's "The Bear," David Zayas and Emmy winner, Liza Colon-Zayas.

This real life couple talk about what it's like playing a married couple on screen and why it's so important for Latino talent to tell our own stories authentically.

Let's get started.

(bright lively music) (lively music continues) Let's kick things off with our first guest.

We have Wesley Matthews, the CEO of "Choose New Jersey."

He's turning New Jersey into a hub for international trade and small business.

Let's dive into what makes New Jersey the top spot for business.

Welcome to "Que Paso," Wesley.

- Thank you Carlos.

- So coming from a family from India, tell me a little bit about your family's journey here, to the United States.

- Yeah, my parents both came as students separately before marriage.

My dad came to Washington DC, my mom came to Galveston as a young nurse in 1970.

Like good Indian children, their parents met back in South India.

We come from a state called Kerala.

Their parents met and then told their kids that they should meet.

So my dad took the Greyhound bus from DC down to Dallas.

My mom took it up from Galveston to Dallas and under the supervision of a cousin of my mother's, they met for a weekend and then told their parents, "Yeah, we can get married."

- I love it.

- Went back to India, got married, and then settled in Dallas and that's where me and my two sisters were all born and raised.

- You've traveled the world literally as a member of the Foreign service, you know, tell me about that experience, number one, and how it influences the work you do today at Choose.

- Yeah.

Yeah.

That's a great question.

I think my experience in the US Foreign Service is probably, you know, the highlight of my life.

Like having that experience, not just to live abroad, but to represent the country that you were born in that gave your parents the opportunities it did, to represent it abroad in other countries is again, the opportunity of a lifetime.

And I think for me, taking those experiences and being in those countries, and the context that we've made through the 14 years I was in the Foreign Service has been really helpful in expanding New Jersey's kind of footprint, image, reputation globally.

- So let's talk about Choose New Jersey.

I understand you opened some international trade offices.

How many have you opened?

And tell me how they're going.

- Yeah, great.

Well Choose, for those of you that don't know, your viewers, is the state's nonprofit business attraction agency.

So we do our work in conjunction, I would say, hand in glove, with the governor's office, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and other branches of state government.

We basically market the state around the nation and abroad as an ideal American state to grow your business and raise your family.

'Cause we think the two, especially post-Covid, are very much interconnected.

Over the last six and a half years, we have opened five international offices and we've set up that footprint by design.

It's where...

Historically, where a lot of the trade and investment flows for our state have come from.

And where we think, where if we're talking about the next chapter of New Jersey's economic growth story, where we think we can continue to harvest additional investment, trade opportunities.

And also making these linkages that you hear the governor talk about that are so important on research, commercialization of research, and higher ed collaborations.

- Sure.

More than attracting businesses to New Jersey, Choose has a lot of other functions.

Being a state that has 22% Hispanic, tell us a little bit about how you serve those Hispanic businesses in the state.

I know we've had some round tables with the general councils, as an example of some of the initiatives that your office has undertaken.

- Right.

When I first joined the Murphy administration in 2018, it was clear that we needed to do a lot of outreach to all of our global partners.

The Latin-American population, in particular, was a no-brainer for us.

So back then it was 2018 or '19 where the governor convened, I think it was 18 Latin-American Councils General.

When I took over at the helm of Choose three years ago, that was one of the first convenings we did, again, was to meet with that group again, to understand their concerns, their needs.

We are in touch with businesses, Hispanic-owned businesses, early and often, there is a slew of programs and we help market those programs to the community.

We have been to Latin America, I think almost half a dozen times in the last two years.

We're building momentum not just with the governments in Latin America, but also making sure that Latin-America owned businesses in New Jersey know that there's a supporting hand.

And we do that a lot in conjunction with the state chamber.

- Yes.

- So, thank you for you, and the work that you and your team have done over the years.

- Thank you, Wes.

Thank you.

Obviously my work with the Chamber...

I know that New Jersey leads the nation and educated consumers, geography, between New York and Philadelphia.

So here's your chance to give me a little bit of an elevator pitch.

Why "Choose New Jersey?"

- Yeah, for any business or family thinking about New Jersey, I say, if we had to summarize our value proposition in two words, it would be talent and location.

We have America's most talented workforce.

Per capita, no other state comes close to New Jersey.

Number two, our location.

So if you're a business selling things or goods or services, we have an addressable market of 40 million people within a three hours drive.

On the other side of the ledger, if we talk about families, for us, the values argument is increasingly important.

It gives me no pleasure to say that America seems to be, you know, moving into opposite spectrums or states do.

New Jersey, I think is on the right side of the ledger on almost every single issue when it comes to values.

Whether it's environmental stewardship, whether it's, you know, gun safety and gun control.

You name the issue, whether it's public schools, infrastructure, we win on all those categories.

And we've seen that post-Covid, where you have employees that are working for companies in other states that are now choosing what their own feet and saying, "I'd rather be in a state like New Jersey than X, Y, Z state."

- Last question for you.

- Yeah.

- A little bit of a curve ball here.

So what's your favorite Latin-American food or cuisine?

- Oh man, that's a good one.

I studied Spanish through 12th grade.

I actually got credit for my...

I passed the exam, the AP exam.

All through my Spanish class, you had to have a Spanish name and they call me... My name was Carlos, by the way.

- (laughs) Interesting.

- I love all food, especially Latin-American food.

Anything tacos, I love.

I also love soups and stews.

There is a great restaurant in Hoboken called, "La Isla" that I just discovered recently.

- Yeah, Cuban restaurant.

- Yes.

- Yeah.

- And their Monday soup of the day, is a chickpea chorizo soup.

- Oh okay.

- I don't think anywhere in America you'd find a soup better than that one.

- Oh, I love it.

- Yeah.

- I love it.

Thank you for being with us today.

We really appreciate.

- Carlos, thank you for having me.

And again, thank you for your work that you're doing for the community here.

- Thank you.

(bright lively music) - I'm honored to introduce our next guest, Associate Justice Michael Noriega, a distinguished attorney in immigration and criminal defense.

Justice Noriega was nominated by Governor Phil Murphy and sworn in as an Associate Justice on July 6th, 2023.

With a background as both a public defender and a law professor, he now brings his profound commitment to justice and community to New Jersey's highest court.

Welcome to the show, Justice.

- Thank you very much for having me.

- Hudson County Boys, Wee Hawk and Union City, tell me about your parents' immigration from Peru to Hudson County and how growing up in Hudson County impacted your career.

- My parents made the choice of coming from Peru in about '74.

And when they got here, it's a whole new life.

They were a couple of miles from here, on 14th Street in Union City, and they didn't really know what to expect.

So raising three boys in a small apartment and trying to figure out how to make ends meet, and change their life from what they had in Peru was an eye-opening experience for them.

And for me.

I think growing up in Union City was a, was a tough place to grow up sometimes.

Great food, great community, great friends, but sometimes a little tougher than expected.

I think it taught me a little bit of grit, to make sure that I knew what I was doing in the real world.

So, but it was great.

- From '23, Governor Murphy nominates you to be a Supreme Court Justice.

Tell me about this milestone.

I mean, first Peruvian obviously, and there have not been many Hispanic justices prior.

How has this impacted your friends, your family, your circle?

I mean, I'm proud of you.

I know the community is super proud of you.

- Well, thank you.

I mean, this was the most unbelievable moment of my life.

I mean, I did not expect it.

To get the call from the governor's office to ask if I would pursue this was...

I could walk you through every second of that day, as if it were yesterday.

It was probably one of the most amazing experiences.

And it's been really overwhelming to watch my family, especially the older members of my family that first came here as the pioneers of our family, to establish our roots here.

To see them look at me and know me as the little kid who wouldn't stop talking, suddenly have this position of a distinction in the state.

And I can see the pride in their eyes and it makes me feel accomplished.

It makes me feel like I've paid back their sacrifice, which is an enormous importance to me.

- So you went to Rutgers undergrad, you went to Seton Hall Law School, and private practice.

Tell me about that transition from private practice to Supreme Court Justice.

That's quite a journey.

- It was a challenge.

To be completely honest, it was one that I had thought about many times because I had considered pursuing a position on the trial court 10 years earlier.

And I'd given it a lot of thought.

My judge, who I clerked for, Judge Camille Kenny in Hudson County, right down the road in Jersey City at the Hudson County Superior Court, she became my mentor.

And would allow me to reach out to her and have conversations throughout the course of my career.

We talked about the possibility of my going on the bench and what that would mean.

And, she sort of let me in on a little bit of that background and the backstory of how it works when you're a judge.

So, I reversed course and threw myself into my career and I really expanded it, opened up the immigration practice, started working in other areas, and started doing pro bono work.

And suddenly found myself enjoying my practice and my career so much.

My dreams of the bench started to fade a little bit.

So the switch, when this call came, which is a very different call, you don't say no, somebody taps you to be on the Supreme Court.

The transition to leaving advocacy and finding complete objectivity, to have to to decide cases, regardless of what I may have been for or against, as a practitioner, was a challenge, at first.

It was a huge challenge.

And it took a lot of discipline to put aside my personal preferences, and make a decision based on the law.

And, based on what I've learned up to this point in my career, what the law is, how it's interpreted, and how I interpret it.

Which is a strange new position to find myself in.

- Public defender's office, criminal defense, immigration.

And I know we were talking in the green room, you talked about some of the satisfaction you felt, especially working in immigration.

Tell me about that, how it impacted your career.

- Sure.

It wasn't something I had set out to do.

I discovered it along the way.

So I started doing removal defense, representing folks that had been facing removal and detention for their criminal charges being in the country unlawfully.

But then I found the family part of immigration where folks were petitioning for each other.

Folks were applying for naturalization, parents were applying for children, children for parents.

And it turned out that I found this entirely new, rewarding area of the law that I hadn't experienced before.

Because every case ended with this happy moment of families being brought together, somebody being overjoyed by this little document that suddenly gave them rights in this country and authority in this country.

And then there was the naturalization ceremonies where I got to stand next to a client with their little US flag and, a piece of paper made them so proud.

And it's just this document, right?

And it's about what this country is founded on.

The idea that a piece of paper that people have put their whole hearts and souls into can live on for centuries.

Right.

These documents are now important.

People put them in safes, people pass them on to their children.

People are looking for them, for their grandparents' documents, which represented a planting of seeds in this country, that have produced fruits for generations after.

So then there's the ability to now naturalize folks and reading the oath to citizens.

I did one yesterday.

- Oh, okay.

- In Burlington County.

So I've done four as a justice.

I participated, I probably had well over 100 clients that were naturalized during the course of my time as an attorney.

It's a nice full circle of my career as being a child of immigrants who naturalized, helping people naturalize, and now actually giving the oath to individuals to naturalize.

I feel like it's really completed a circle of sort of immigration in my life, that's been fantastic.

- As a role model, as we keep on reminding folks, what would you tell young viewers that are interested in the law and thinking about that path right now?

- Be brave.

Be as brave as possible.

Get over the fear that you can't do it.

That it's beyond reach.

I didn't have any special skills.

I didn't have any magical attributes.

I wanted it, I worked hard.

I stumbled, I failed occasionally, and I got up, dusted myself off and kept going.

It... Nobody handed me anything.

It took hard work and grit and determination, and support.

So it doesn't matter if you have no tools at your disposal to begin with.

You know, you find them and you develop them and you sharpen them and you get there.

And I think they can all do it.

I think anybody who dreams that they can do this, can do it.

- Justice, thank you so much for your time.

- Oh, this is a pleasure.

- Thank you for being a role model.

It's very important to me that we tell these stories to our viewers.

So, thank you.

- Thank you so much for having me.

I appreciate it.

(bright lively music) - And our last guests are the fabulous Boricua couple from the Bronx, David Zayas, who's been with us before.

And today he's joined by his lovely real life wife, Liza Colon-Zayas, who plays his onscreen wife, Tina Marrero on the hit series, "The Bear."

Liza recently won the 2024 Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series.

And I'm happy to say she's the first Latina to do so.

Welcome to "Que Pasa" Liza and David.

- Thank you for having us.

- Happy to have you as part of the "Que Pasa" family.

Our familia.

Congratulations on your prime time Emmy Award.

First Hispanic to win supporting actress in a comedy series.

- [Liza] It's crazy.

- It's amazing.

- It's amazing.

- It's amazing.

So I know you were born in New York, the daughter of Puerto Rican parents.

Tell me that experience.

- Yeah, my dad was born and raised in Chelsea.

His mom came, I think it was in 1919 by boat.

And my mom came I believe in 1944.

And it was rough.

(chuckles) It was rough back then.

- Did that rough, as you describe it, background prepare you for a rough industry such as television, stage?

- I had no idea how to find this.

You know, we were just, you know, trying to survive in the South Bronx, in the projects.

And, there was no path.

Even though my mother always believed in me, there was just no way of knowing how.

And, it was a long grind.

I had no idea.

Eventually in college I did a bunch of plays 'cause I was like, I think this is what I wanna do.

And then, it just unfolded from there.

I met David.

- And David, you've been an alumni in the show.

I'm happy to have you as part of our familia.

Born in the Bronx, tell me a little bit about that upbringing and that grit that has helped you in your career.

- (chuckles) From the Bronx and, yeah, I grew up in a middle class family.

My parents were born in Ponce and, and we grew up in...

Started off at Hunts Point.

And when I went to high school, we went to Stevenson High School in Soundview area of the Bronx.

And yeah, I had a really good family, And really good parents and really helped me, and just, you know, my brother and my sister.

We just had a good up upbringing.

- So how did you two guys meet?

- We met at a theater company.

We started a...

They started a theater company, Labyrinth Theater Company, at that time it was called LAB, "Latino Actors Base," which was around '92.

And, that's where I met Liza.

She was one of the original 13 that we had.

And then, you know, a couple of years went by and then, you know, she came to her senses and we started dating and then we got married.

- I love that.

Earlier in the green room we were chatting, and David, you mentioned, you know, creating your own project, writing your own roles, your own play, which you did many years ago.

- I think it's up to us to create stories, to write stories about our culture because other people wouldn't even know how to write or what to write.

And I think it's how our part, we need Latino writers, Latino directors, Latino producers.

We need to kick doors down and we need to get our story out there 'Cause we're as interesting as anybody else.

And I think that, I know that there's been issues about representation in this industry, and I think yes, there's a problem with that, but I feel that Latinos need to take the initiative and write their stories and push their stories in.

And you gotta continue to do that and not give up when doors slam in our faces.

Just kick those doors down and continue to do it.

- You guys have been generous enough to hook us up with some footage from "The Bear."

So we're gonna show viewers right now, you guys together, and then I'm gonna ask you about that.

- Remember when we were 20?

- Yeah.

Was it scary like this?

- Yeah, different scary, but yeah.

- Yeah.

I never want you to worry, baby.

- So let's talk about that scene.

What was it like working together?

Husband and wife on a great show, which has won so many awards, including your fabulous Emmy?

- It was a gift for me.

It was a gift.

You know, I was doing a play in New York and we find out that there's an episode that Liza was on, then there's a character of her husband, and they asked me if I wanted to play it.

So they would pick me up after the matinee on Sunday, fly me to Chicago.

We would shoot on Monday and I'd come back to do the show Tuesday night.

And what's great about, is it shows a relationship, a marriage, two Latinos, two Puerto Ricans.

That is a positive one.

It's not like, oh, you just got outta jail or like, he's an alcoholic.

No, this is just a family, a couple that's trying to survive.

It was shown with a lot of love and it was in a lot of class.

- I love working with him.

It's so easy.

Like, he's just such a pro and, and you know, they approached me.

They were like, "Do you think that David would wanna be on the show?"

And I said, "Maybe."

(people laughing) And then they approached you and...

But I didn't know, like, I thought he was gonna be my ex- or something, you know?

And, then I read the script and it's this... And it's David.

And he's like, humble and supportive and kind and hardworking.

I was like, (sobbing) started crying.

(laughs) - So, talking about Tina, tell me what it meant to play that role and how is she similar or dissimilar to Liza?

- Very sim...

I have a very...

I have a bad temper.

(people laughing) - Is this correct, David?

- Where's my camera?

(people laughing) - I feel like my struggle in this business, and like so many people I'm hearing from, from whatever profession, the struggle of working poor people.

What happens when you are let go after having security for a long time?

What happens when you are of a certain age, and you live in a society where people think, "You're older, you're dispensable."

I was told that you are the face of the working class woman.

"That's epic.

But if that's true, I'm honored."

- If our viewers are thinking of getting into the career that you guys have successfully navigated, what advice would you give to some newcomers?

- I would say, if you want to teach, then, you know, get your masters, do the whole thing, if you wanna teach.

But don't go broke.

This is not guaranteed.

Being an artist is not a guarantee.

So you don't have to do that route to be legit, then just do it, you know.

Don't wait for somebody else to give you permission or to be like somebody, or to ever compare yourself to anyone.

You are you.

And the earlier we accept who we are, then you're gonna inspire people in the room and they're gonna wanna create something for you.

You're like, nobody else.

Just love yourself.

- Well, you know, there really isn't a formula.

If you find that this is something in your heart that you wanna do, then you have to just do it.

And the success will come if it comes, or it may not.

But the one way, for sure, that it will not come is if you quit.

You know, you gotta love it.

You gotta love it, to do this.

And if you love it, and you just stay with it, it will happen or it won't happen.

But for sure it won't happen, if you just stop and quit.

So, that's mostly what I would say to that.

And also, find community.

Acting isn't a lonely profession.

You have to find connections with other artists, with other writers, other directors, other actors.

And if you find a community, you find opportunities.

And that's really important.

It's important to keep you in the game.

- Thank you both for sharing your wisdom and sharing your time with us.

- Thank you.

- Thank you guys.

- Thank you.

- Thank you for having us.

- Appreciate it.

Thank you.

- Familia, that's a wrap of our fifth season.

Before we go, I'm thrilled to announce that we're expanding our YouTube channel, "Que Pasa NJ."

Check it out and catch our uncut interview with Liza Colon-Zayas and David Zayas.

Remember, you could watch this episode and all past episodes from season 1 through 5, anytime on pbs.org.

A huge thank you to my incredible team, K-Vibe Studios here, in Jersey City, New Jersey.

And our guests this season.

And especially to you guys, for tuning in and supporting us.

We'll be back in 2025 with season 6.

Check us out.

- [Announcer] Funding for this episode of "Que Pasa NJ with Carlos Medina" has been provided by, Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, Hackensack Meridian Health, The Center for Hispanic Policy Research and Development, The Engineers Labor Employer Cooperative 825, ROI, NJ Business Magazine.

Thanks to the Statewide Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of New Jersey.

Find out more about our familia at shccnj.org.

This has been a production of the Modesto Educational Foundation.

(bright lively music) (lively music continues)