Author Jeff Messick joins me to talk about the darkness that shaped his first novel, the faith he found afterward, and how every word we write can become a weapon or a prayer. Two old friends, one deep conversation about purpose, prose, and grace.

In one of the most emotional episodes of Green Chili Chisme to date, host Dave Pedraza sits down with Gil Jimenez, son of the legendary Flaco Jimenez, for a conversation that spans four generations of musical lineage, cultural weight, and the emotional cost of carrying a dynasty.

The episode opens with both men unexpectedly breaking down as Dave shares how Flaco became the pillar of DB Media — from the Tardeada Music Festival to the night Flaco walked into a Michael Guerra show and changed the trajectory of everything that followed.

Gil takes us deep into the Jimenez Dynasty, tracing his family back to his 4x great‑grandfather Patricio Jimenez, one of the earliest accordionists in Texas. He shares the story of the last song he recorded with his father, a rock‑leaning track Flaco encouraged him to pursue to stay different.

Dave opens up about learning drums at Fort Ben Harrison, stepping up his songwriting by learning guitar, and the early days of DB Media — including the Michael Guerra origin story and the night Michael played drums for his two idols, Flaco and Steve Jordan, on the same stage.

Gil responds with a never‑before‑told story: a late‑night hotel room on Hwy 90 where Flaco and Steve Jordan traded riffs until Steve finally put down the box and said, “Flaco, you’re a bad motherfucker.”

The episode crescendos with Gil breaking down while recounting the last conversation he ever had with his father — a promise to carry the Jimenez name forward. He reveals that Flaco left him a vault of songs written by both his father and grandfather Santiago, entrusting him to bring them to life.

This is an episode about fathers, sons, legacy, lineage, and the emotional truth behind the music that shaped generations.

Some episodes stay on the rails. This one… absolutely did not.

From the moment we said hello, Natasha and I were talking tacos, tequila, spirit guides, cooking, Europe, Hendrix, Joplin, and the left turn that will take her into Texas this summer.

We talk childhood, culture, film sets, touring, and the music that shaped her — and then she hits me with a brand new song, performed live, for the first time ever, right there in the studio. Subscribers get it free.

This week’s Green Chili Chisme guest is former DCCW Champion Solrac Thunder — and this conversation goes deep. We talk about him losing his dad at four, being raised by his mom and grandparents in Los Lunas, and how wrestling became the place where performance and identity finally clicked.

We dive into NWA territory roots, the Guerreros, the Romeros, and what it means to carry a legacy in the ring. A powerful, honest episode with one of New Mexico’s most compelling performers.

Albuquerque’s own Hobo Hank breaks down his journey from backyard dreams to the big leagues. Hear how Ernest “The Animal” Baca trained him, how the Hobo Hank gimmick came to life, and what it was like sharing locker rooms with Tommy Dreamer, Bret Hart, Kurt Hennig, Bubba Ray, and the Guerreros. Plus — Hank talks money, promotions, and what it really takes to run DCCW as one of its co-owners. Wrestling fans, this one’s for you.

Released in sync with Ron Franscell’s new novel, Deep End

This episode of Green Chili Chisme drops in perfect sync with the release of Ron Franscell’s new novel, Deep End: A Deaf Row Mystery — a timing we didn’t plan but absolutely leaned into on‑air.

What starts as a conversation about his book becomes something far deeper: a raw, unexpected meditation on fear, lineage, and the stories that keep us alive.

Ron talks about the two deaths — the one when your body goes, and the one when the last person speaks your name. David opens up about the Pedraza line possibly ending with him, and the hope that his voice will live on in the cloud for future generations to find.

Together, they explore the value of storytelling to humankind, the weight of legacy, and the strange comfort of knowing that a well‑told story can outlive the person who wrote it.

And in one of the episode’s most powerful moments, they agree: If anything said today inspires someone to pick up a pen, they’ve done their jobs.

A mystery novel release. A perfectly timed episode drop. A conversation about the echoes we leave behind.

This is Green Chili Chisme.

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In this sweeping, deeply personal conversation, legendary drummer Ernie Durawa takes us through a lifetime shaped by rhythm, resilience, and destiny. Raised behind his aunt’s San Antonio bar after losing his mother as a toddler, Ernie spent his earliest years falling asleep to conjunto music — a soundtrack that would define his life.

By 17, he was already playing with giants: Spot Barnett, John Lee Hooker, and Big Joe Turner. A twist of fate sent him to Chicago, where he joined Isaac Cole’s band and performed everywhere from Resorts to the Playboy Mansion. A chance encounter with Don Knapp led to three years of study under Roy Knapp, connecting him to a lineage shared with Hal Blaine.

Ernie’s journey carried him to New York with Delbert McClinton, where John Belushi sat in on blues harp, invited them to SNL, and introduced them at the Lone Star Café in a room filled with Jimmy Buffett, Mick Jagger, and Bette Midler. The next night they were on Solid Gold with Dionne Warwick.

Returning to Texas, Ernie finally joined Doug Sahm — beginning a 35‑year partnership that included Austin City Limits, Mount Fuji, another SNL run, and the 1979 Montreux Jazz Festival, where Ernie’s drumming helped carry Texas soul onto one of the world’s most iconic stages.

Along the way he toured with comedians George Gobel and Tiny Tim, collected awards, and continued shaping the sound of Texas music. Today, he’s still creating and collaborating with artists like Will Owen Gage.

This episode is a living archive — a testament to a man who has played with legends, survived the road, and carried the rhythm of Texas across the world.

From Guanajuato to the South Side of San Antonio, former Mrs. San Antonio Emilce Goreti Ferreira has been writing her own story since she was a kid — even before she knew she was a storyteller.

She grew up where you smell BBQ in the air and hear music on every block. A young mother who pushed through judgmental pageant rooms, she eventually became Mrs. San Antonio, then stepped into print work, music videos, films, and even a national Pepsi commercial — competing against thousands of women who looked just like her.

But her real voice emerged when she returned to the page. A lifelong reader and writer, she began crafting stories for the little Mexican girl she once was — stories that didn’t force her to choose between being Mexican or American.

We talk creative writing, character creation, assimilation, legacy, and the moment she realized she belonged in the literary world. Emilce is building something for her family, her culture, and every young girl who needs to see herself on the page.

This one is full of corazón.