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[0:06] Robert Peterpaul: Hello, beautiful people. Welcome to the Art of Kindness, where we have compassionate conversations with artists from all areas of the entertainment industry who are using their voice to spread joy and make this big spinning planet in the universe a better place to be.

[0:22] Robert Peterpaul: I'm Robert Peterpaul, and I'm so glad you're here. Hello, friends. I hope your corner of the world is filled with sunshine wherever you're listening from today. I'm really excited about today's guest. I'm so excited! Who you'll no doubt recognize from a smattering of fun roles on screen. As we touch on, she also made headlines around the world for a major act of kindness. Today's guest is Francia Raisa.

[1:04] Robert Peterpaul: Francia Raisa is an actress and entrepreneur born and raised in Southern California. Her professional career started with a cheer in the cult classic flick, Bring It On: All or Nothing. Francia soon gained more recognition as a series regular on The Secret Life of the AMERICAN TEENAGER, a title that I totally flubbed during our conversation, and continued lighting up the screen in shows like Netflix's Dear White People, and as a first-generation Cuban American and roommate opposite Yara Shahidi on Freeform's Grown-ish, the Black-ish spinoff.

[1:39] Robert Peterpaul: Francia most recently starred in another spin-off, the hit Hulu sitcom How I Met Your Father, opposite Hilary Duff. As an entrepreneur, Raisa shared her family salsa recipe with the world in partnership with the La Victoria brand, which had a limited run before selling out in the fall of 2023. She's currently partnered with the brand Modelo to celebrate the launch and expansion of Modelo Spiked Aguas Frescas, a line of vibrant, spiked flavored malt beverages expanding to new markets across the country.

[2:14] Robert Peterpaul: And for the second year in a row, Modelo pays homage to the street vendors that helped inspire it and keeps the beloved Mexican street drink tradition alive. Raisa is also dedicated to assisting organizations dear to her heart, like Unlikely Heroes, whose mission is to provide safe homes and restoration to victims of sex trafficking worldwide. Before we pop into that conversation, I do have a few housekeeping items.

[2:47] Robert Peterpaul: The first of which is that I'm thrilled to say I have a show coming up. I'm going to be in Kinky Boots at ACT of Connecticut, right here in Ridgefield, Connecticut. It's such a beautiful theater. There's lots of Broadway people involved, and I think it's gonna be a really wonderful production. So please check it out if you can, no pressure at all, at ACT of Connecticut. And it would be great to meet some of you. I love you all.

[3:10] Robert Peterpaul: I also want to give a shout out to our incredible intern, our Incredi Turn. Incredible turn? Our kind turn? I don't know. There's something there. But I want to give a shout-out to Carly. Carly, we love you and everything you've done for the Art of Kindness podcast. And I want to congratulate you on your new internship this summer. She still wants to help us out here at the AOK, but she's going to be doing this wonderful summer internship that I'll let her share with the world.

[3:38] Robert Peterpaul: And I just hope we all can send some good vibes her way because Carly is the best. The final matter of housekeeping is that I hope y'all are following us on social media at Art of Kindness Pod and at Robert Peterpaul. We're doing lots of fun stuff over there. In fact, we just did a ticket giveaway for A Sign of the Times. A Sign of the Times. The off-Broadway show that we featured here a few episodes back with Shalina Kennedy. Go listen to that one if you haven't already. It's an awesome conversation.

[4:08] Robert Peterpaul: And that was great. So you never know what's gonna pop on over there. We love doing giveaways and just sharing really fun and positive content to brighten up the news feed. Now, without further ado, please welcome the fabulous Francia Raisa.

[4:35] Robert Peterpaul: There she is.

[4:37] Francia Raisa: Thank you.

[4:37] Robert Peterpaul: I was gonna say I like yours too.

[4:39] Francia Raisa: It's so cozy.

[4:39] Robert Peterpaul: Thank you.

[4:40] Francia Raisa: It's my little breakfast nook.

[4:41] Robert Peterpaul: Is it?

[4:42] Francia Raisa: Yeah.

[4:43] Robert Peterpaul: That's epic.

[4:44] Francia Raisa: It's like you're sitting in a loving corner of French fries, and it looks so comfortable.

[4:48] Francia Raisa: It is.

[4:49] Francia Raisa: Oh, French fries, hilarious. I love French fries. I people put candles in French fries on my birthday because I'm not a cake fan.

[4:56] Robert Peterpaul: Really?

[4:56] Francia Raisa: Yeah.

[4:57] Robert Peterpaul: Now, Francia, I gotta say, I've heard a lot about your salsa. I have to try it, but do you ever dip the French fries in the salsa?

[5:03] Francia Raisa: I dip everything in salsa. Here's the thing: the biggest misconception is that only you can eat chips with salsa. No, I actually get pissed off when people eat chips with salsa. I never did that until I came out in this American world. I was like, I put it on literally everything. Everything. Eat salad. Everything.

[5:20] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah, she puts that on everything.

[5:22] Francia Raisa: I love that you stand for salsa, and but you also stand for such wonderful things like the SAG-AFTRA strike recently and representation and all these things. And of course, I loved you recently on How I Met Your Father. So I'm just so excited to talk to you. Thank you for your time today.

[5:36] Francia Raisa: Thank you. I'm excited to talk to you too.

[5:39] Robert Peterpaul: Yes. And before we get into everything, Modelo and these exciting collaborations you have currently going on, I always like to start out asking here on the Art of Kindness, how are you at accepting compliments? Because I feel like it's sort of a tricky thing in this business, right?

[5:53] Francia Raisa: Uh-huh. I'm sure you get a lot of them all the time.

[5:56] Francia Raisa: Yeah. And what's crazy is I get mad if people don't say it. Like if someone says, "Oh, you're beautiful," but you know that already. I'm like, still, I want to hear it. So I've gotten a lot better. I started getting annoyed when I would give people compliments and they'd be like, "Oh no, I look terrible today." And I’ll be damned, is that how I sound?

[6:16] Francia Raisa: Yeah. So now, I mean, I give myself compliments. There was, I'll say it like this. I was talking to someone once, and I was like, "Guys, he's like the male version of me. I really like him," which really tells me that I really love myself.

[6:33] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. You should love yourself. That's what we're here for. We gotta have self-love because we can't love others if it doesn't come from us to get a little cheesy already, but you know, I'm a cheese ball.

[6:42] Francia Raisa: I feel that so deeply. Well, I mean, I don't think anyone understands that concept yet because we were raised with, you know, entertainment and school of like being chosen. Hey, who wants to answer a question? Whoever gets a question right gets surprised. So pick me, pick me. We all grew up with pick me syndrome, so it's hard to learn or unlearn when we're adults that like it starts from within and then it's like the rest of the world. And if someone doesn't like you, okay, bye.

[7:08] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah, you're so right. I think it's a systemic thing too. You know, I know for me, after I do a show, I do a lot of theater and I come out the stage door and people say things like, "Oh, that was great," you know, whatever. My first instinct is to say, "Oh no, I had a sore throat today, it wasn't that good." You know, it's to deflect it. But embracing that self-love and having people like you say that, who so many people look up to, is just it's a wonderful thing to remember.

[7:30] Robert Peterpaul: And before we get into some of your projects and what you have going on, I would also love to ask you what your definition of kindness is. Because I think all this falls under that, and it would just be cool to hear your thoughts.

[7:37] Francia Raisa: Unconditional grace.

[7:44] Robert Peterpaul: Oh.

[7:45] Francia Raisa: I just made that up. It's unconditional grace. We all have trauma. We all go through stuff. I have my bad days, you have your bad days, and I've learned a lot that when someone projects onto me, it's not personal at all. It's something that they're going through, and especially if it's someone that I care about. I'm like, okay, I know this isn't geared towards me. I'm gonna give you grace because I know you. And we can move on. I mean, literally, we all offend each other, and I'm just starting to take it so personal. And if it's someone that's just not ready to grow and they're just not there, I just pull myself away. Unfortunately, it doesn't mean I don't care about them. You know, I used to be spiteful, and if someone betrayed me or something, I'm like, I'm gonna get you.

And then I don't learn or yeah. Yeah, now I'm in a place where I was like, ugh, they're just in a season. I've been there, I understand what that's like. They'll grow out of it. If they don't, that's for them. So just unconditional grace.

[8:40] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. That's so smart. Do you feel like being an actor and a creator has helped you with that? Because we hear so many no's, and you kind of do have to in the back of your mind wrestle with that and just say, it's not me, it's not personal, it's a million other things.

[8:52] Francia Raisa: Yeah, I don't know if I learned it from the no's per se. I think I've learned it from just portraying my characters, you know. You really have to—acting is hard. I know it looks easy and people think we're just saying lines, but like we have to open Pandora's box and feel things that the average human physically can't feel. Like, just can't, you know, those chest pains you get when you're sad. Oh, times that like we have—we're getting paid to feel those when we portray these people. So I think, you know, every single one of my characters has taught me something. Yeah, being in the business, but I think not from the no's, just from a bunch of assholes in the business.

[9:32] Robert Peterpaul: Well, you let it fly, let it fly. You always stood out to me as doing that. I mean, I remember in high school at my girlfriend's watching the teenage show you were on, American... I'm so sorry.

[9:41] Robert Peterpaul: And every time you're there, we go. Every time you like came on screen, I'm like, this girl can feel like you were really feeling you stood out from as soon as I saw you on screen. So that checks out to me. I would love to know as we kind of fly over your career, and then I'll pop into the chat with Modelo. Is there an act of kindness you feel like that stands out to you as kind of getting you to where you are today? I'm sure there were a lot of them, but like one that sticks out as sort of just changing your journey.

[10:06] Francia Raisa: One besides donating a kidney?

[10:08] Robert Peterpaul: What?

[10:09] Francia Raisa: Well, I know. I mean, that I used to work for Ola, and we wrote about that quite a bit. And I was like, this is the news we need more of. It's positive news that unfortunately people may take eventually into something else. But I loved seeing that in the headlines. Yeah, I mean, it was definitely a personal choice. It definitely was just an act of kindness, no matter what the rumors are. And like, listen, we experience it with every hero in the world. I'm sure, you know, there were stuff written about Martin Luther King after he passed. Like, people are always just gonna look for something negative, and like I said earlier, unconditional grace. Like, I put myself in a position where people are interested in my personal life that one's I wish that wasn't so crazy as it has been but you know sometimes people need a distraction from their own lives and if it's someone else I know when I was growing up I was wondering what Jonathan Taylor Thomas was doing every day so track to set up myself for my life so I'm that distraction I mean I guess I just have to be grateful that people care about how my feelings I guess but yeah it was something I just did because I really felt called to do it and I've been very blessed since you know I my first audition right after surgery two weeks was Grown-ish and I booked it so and I've just yeah and I've just been in my own journey um ever since it definitely did a lot for me and my favorite thing about that is I'm able to talk up to other potential donors.

No one really knows I do that but the amount of times people have called me and said hey my friend's about to donate do you mind talking to them like yeah I'll have a two hour conversation with them and I think when I went to the movies a couple months ago someone went up to me and like hey I don't know if you remember this but I'm your sister's friend and I asked her if you could talk to my friend because she was donating kidney and I was like oh yeah and he was like she's doing great thank you for that so that makes all of that worth it.

[11:58] Robert Peterpaul: That's special. You're forming your own mini support group which I think is great.

[12:01] Francia Raisa: I forgot Crowned donors need it. Donors need it idea I just did a film with Yara Shahidi what a what a nice gem.

[12:08] Robert Peterpaul: I love her.

[12:09] Francia Raisa: Isn't she that's no way yeah she is at a tiny part but it was a good time it was back cake. So speaking of kindness, you know, you have this yeah, you have this new partnership. I want to get to this where you've been able to pay it forward, like we're talking about right now. Just talk to us about this exciting venture with Modelo and the expansion of Modelo Spiked Aguas Frescas, just to set the scene. You know, this is the second year that they're doing where they're just honoring street vendors, which we all grew very grateful of during the pandemic, who just kept us fed and gave us a reason to leave the house, and we've acknowledged you know the value of small businesses, and so I was really appreciative.

This is geared towards my people, the people I grew up with, and you know, aguas frescas was such a staple for me growing up. So to have that little nostalgia feeling of like this spiked aguas frescas is really delicious, and it's fun. And I love that we were able to surprise San Valor yesterday with the new cart. Like he was just telling me, he was just telling us that he was praying over the weekend. He was like, I know timing is everything, timing is everything. I've been praying for something like this, and little did he know that this was being planned for like six months.

[13:16] Robert Peterpaul: Yeah, see, it's important what you put out there. Take us through the surprise, take our listeners through this because this is kindness right here. This surprise is insane. I love it so much.

[13:24] Francia Raisa: Yeah, so Jesus or Juice, um, you know, was hanging out with him, and I think you know, they he thought he was just doing a content shoot. I don't he didn't know anything about the Modelo, uh, aguas frescas, nothing, or that you know, a cart was even coming. He had shared with Modelo and Juice that he wanted to expand um beyond a las frescas and make food and stuff, so they actually provided a grill, a fridge, a bunch of stuff. And if he's not ready to do it yet, he if they can remove it, like it's pretty versatile. And he was completely blindfolded, and he had his wife with him just asleep, and you like to see him creeping. We're all nervous. I'm sweating. I'm like, oh my god, it's so exciting.

And he takes he takes off his blindfold, and it was like he was stuck, he was shook. He didn't even he froze for a little bit, and he was like, I didn't expect this. I didn't expect this. And he did cry, which was amazing and beautiful. Um, and that's when he started sharing. He was like, I just prayed for this, and I I just this is unreal. I can't believe it. And all he kept saying was, Is this real? Is this real? Oh, is this real life?

[14:30] Robert Peterpaul: That makes me so happy. We need more content like that. Because do you remember I remember growing up Extreme Makeover Home Edition?

[14:36] Francia Raisa: Yeah, there's content like that when they're like, move that bus. And it was so good.

[14:43] Robert Peterpaul: Guys, and people are overcome with these emotions. Now we can all watch this somewhere, right? Can we?

[14:47] Francia Raisa: Because I need to see this. Okay. I'm gonna put it in the show notes just so everyone knows. I'll link right to it, and then you can make sure to go out there support. Juice is great. I talked to him about I think like you said, a year ago, he did a surprise almost to this day, was it? Disneyland.

[15:00] Robert Peterpaul: Oh, with Modelo, yeah, this is yeah, he did it a year ago.

[15:04] Francia Raisa: Yeah, and um, I learned about him already. What's funny is my makeup artist was talking about him in the car, not knowing we were about to shoot with him because they were talking about the Disneyland trip he did with the outside, and um I said, Man, I really love that. He goes, Do you want to come? I said, Absolutely. I do that all the time. I love being bringing people and their kids to Disneyland. So I was like, let's make it bigger and better. So I'm thank you, Modelo for introducing me to him because I get to be in touch with my people.

[15:29] Robert Peterpaul: Thank you, Modelo. Wait, what's your favorite ride at Disneyland?

[15:31] Francia Raisa: I just feel like I need to know that right now.

[15:33] Francia Raisa: Ah, probably Space Mountain.

[15:36] Robert Peterpaul: Okay, classic.

[15:37] Francia Raisa: Yeah, but I get nauseous now, but I do love it.

[15:40] Robert Peterpaul: Oh, I love it. And my sister out every time, it's hilarious.

[15:43] Francia Raisa: Isn't that suck as you get older? I'm like, I used to love these roller coasters, and now my body's like, nah, man. Like, I can't do Matterhorn anymore.

[15:50] Robert Peterpaul: It's shake too much.

[15:51] Francia Raisa: Shake, shake, shake, Seniora. I love that. I'm gonna go shake up a can of your sauce after this. I know we're not talking about that today, but this sounds like the best. So I mean, the last time we saw you, before I wrap you up, you were shining on How I Met Your Father, which I feel like left us too soon. Is there like gonna be a wrap-up there? Do we know? Like some kind of possibility.

[16:09] Francia Raisa: I saw that on Instagram. I asked them, you know, after we found out about the cancellation, unfortunately. It was, you know, the strike. I asked, hey, so who's the dad? And they're like, um, if it's dead, dad, we'll tell you, because obviously everyone starts shopping shows afterwards, but I don't know. I don't think it's coming back. I know what happened with me. I end up with Charlie and I have a son, which was cool and fun to see me um as a mom. But other than that, I still don't know who the dad is. So hopefully one day they tell us, you know, Hillary's about to have a baby, you know.

[16:41] Robert Peterpaul: Oh, I love her.

[16:42] Francia Raisa: So you know, things change. I know. I'm grateful for that experience. This I that that experience. One, I got to work with Hillary. Two, my cast is amazing. Three was my first time doing sitcom, and I fell in love with it. And you killed it. And I was trying to surprise you with someone. We usually like to do a surprise compliment game on the show with someone from the show, but it was just too tight a window to make it happen. So if I get one, I'll like I'll send you what they said, what they submitted. I reached out to a couple of your friends on that.

[17:06] Francia Raisa: Yeah, I this is my like fun, my fun thing I like to do on this show. The compliment game. There's a cheesy theme song and everything. But I love talking to you, and I know you gotta go. So I would just love if you could kind of end our time together by sharing a tangible tip or piece of advice for listeners out there on what they could do every day to just make the world a little bit brighter. I mean, we all can't surprise people with cars. I wish we could, but what's something you think that people can do?

[17:29] Francia Raisa: The best thing you can do is make your world internally brighter and then it shines through. My favorite thing to do in the mornings is listen to Snoop Dogg's affirmations, and it just gives me a pep in my step. I'm not kidding. I have it on repeat while I'm having my coffee. Snoop Dogg does it for me. It and then you know, you just have like a little pep in your step and you walk out and people feel that energy. People can feel when you're down, people can feel when you're pissed. We all are very sensitive to energies now. So the best thing you can do is make sure you're good here. And if you're not, stay home until you are.

[18:00] Robert Peterpaul: I love that. That's great for actors too in auditions. You gotta walk in there with good energy because we can feel these things. Casting directors can feel when you're desperate, and no one likes that.

[18:07] Francia Raisa: Nobody likes that.

[18:08] Robert Peterpaul: No, except for desperate housewives. But just know that these casting directors, which I've learned being on the other side of things now, everyone's rooting for you. People want you to do well. People want you to do good. So it's not like they have it out for anyone or they already have a choice. They're looking for just something different. So if you have some if you read something and you even though the script says one thing, you see something differently, do the different things.

[18:30] Francia Raisa: I love that. What a beautiful note to end this on. And I gotta say, I'm rooting for you. I love seeing you shine. I hope it continues. I can't wait to see what you do next. And I just thank you on behalf of everyone over here for being such a good role model, because you really are someone to look up to in this business.

[18:44] Francia Raisa: I appreciate it. You're so sweet, Rob. I can't wait to see who you say. Now that you told me about the compliment thing, I'll probably would have been like, I know.

[18:52] Robert Peterpaul: I it's it's one though. I read it to people and then I give you like hints and you have to guess who said it. If you come back again, I'll try and make sure we do it because it's a good time.

[19:00] Francia Raisa: Yeah. I'm a I'm a little Muppet, so I like to do random shit like that.

[19:03] Robert Peterpaul: I love it to meet you.

[19:04] Francia Raisa: It was great to meet you too. Thank you all.