Episode 5: The King Of The Conga

Before Hollywood, there was a ratty Miami warehouse, a $15-a-week canary-cage job, and a teenage Cuban exile who refused to quit. In this episode, Wilmer Valderrama tracks how Desi Arnaz hustled from cleaning bird poop to playing rumba at the Roney Plaza, navigated U.S. immigration by leaving and re-entering for his green card, and caught the eye of bandleader Xavier Cugat—opening the door to New York’s Waldorf Astoria. When a chaotic first gig nearly gets him fired, Desi invents a show-saving spectacle: “La Conga.” One drum, one beat, one line—and a star is born.

Featuring: Wilmer Valderrama (That ’70s Show, NCIS, Encanto)
Topics: Desi Arnaz, Miami exile, Xavier Cugat, Roney Plaza, green card/asylum, rumba music, conga line origin, immigrant hustle, 1930s Latin music, Desilu origins, Hollywood history, Latinx representation.

Starring: Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama is produced by WV Sound in partnership with iHeart’s My Cultura Podcast Network.
Starring: Desi Arnaz and Wilmer Valderrama is written by Erick Galindo and narrated by Wilmer Valderrama. It is produced by Sophie Spencer-Zavos and Leo Klemm, with special help from Angel Lopez Galindo.

Executive producers are Wilmer Valderrama and Erick Galindo.

This episode was edited and engineered by Sean Tracy and features original music by Halo Boy and Madison Davenport. Cover art illustration by Lindsey Mound. Voice acting by Eddie Mujica and Andy Vargas.

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