‘Rubirosa’ Podcast Explores Life Of The Real James Bond

Rubirosa, a documentary podcast produced by Stitcher’s Witness Docs and created and hosted by Christopher Rivas (Call Me Kat), debuts today. It explores the life of Porfirio Rubirosa, the man who inspired the character of James Bond. Besides being a Dominican diplomat, Porfirio was an international polo champion, race-car driver and pilot. He was a renowned casanova, who was married five times, to women including Barbara Hutton and Doris Duke. He spoke five languages and twice became the wealthiest man in the world.

Rivas, a Dominican-American actor, author and storyteller, not only offers a portrait of Porfirio’s life but also investigates whitewashing in Hollywood and considers how his childhood may have been different had more movie heroes looked like him.

I spoke to Rivas about why representation matters, and about how his version of Porfirio’s story evolved into a podcast from a one-man show. We also discussed his book, Brown Enough, which comes out this fall.

Risa Sarachan: I was surprised I’d never heard of Rubirosa until now because James Bond is such a big deal. How did you first learn about Porfirio Rubirosa?

Christopher Rivas: It’s wild, right, to think that one of the most successful franchises of all time could have been a Brown man! I found out while in college. My buddy sent me an email with a link to a Vanity Fair article – and my world was shattered. I was this young, Brown actor in a mainly White theater conservatory, and all I ever wanted to be as a child was the first Brown James Bond. Little did I know, I was closer to that place than I ever thought.

Sarachan: I know this started as a one-man show. How did it evolve into this?

Rivas: I started writing the one-man show days after reading the Vanity Fair article. After a few years of touring that show around the country, I got connected with Stitcher. Stitcher said yes to all that I had made, but they also wanted so much more! With the Rubirosa podcast, they wanted to go deeper, and they were ready to put in some real journalism and resources. I don’t know how much I can say without giving away some of the juicy surprises. I’ll just say that we uncovered and unearthed and went to some pretty incredible places with this podcast. Stitcher helped me really get into the weeds of Rubirosa’s life – from his highest of highs to his lowest of lows – and my own life, for that matter.

Sarachan: Did you grow up a James Bond fan?

Rivas: I loved Bond as a kid. I would run around for hours in my tighty whities with all my nerf guns strapped to my body or hidden around the house, and I would imagine and play out these elaborate James Bond fantasy missions. I had the gadgets, the cool watch, the British accent, everything.

Sarachan: What do you think the impact is for Black and Brown children when they don’t see themselves represented in films and television shows growing up?

Rivas: Whether it’s Bond or someone else, as a kid, my White friends were able to put themselves in any movie they wanted. They could fantasy cast their own biopic in a matter of minutes. They had endless choices of nearly identical celebrities and characters and stories that looked like and represented them: their food, their faces, their hair, their families, their homes, and their Tuesday night dinners.

As a 4’10” prepubescent Dominican kid with glasses, a big nose, and a curly ass afro in Queens, who did I have to choose from? About three actors and three storylines that were criminalized, hypersexualized, and mediocre at best.

What we see matters, and what we show matters, and this is a theme that we frequently explore in Rubirosa. Because the stories that the media chooses to invest in are a not-so-subtle way of telling us what stories and people matter, and what stories and identities are worth representing. Young Brown and Black kids need to see themselves more and more and more and then some more so that we know we are seen, and we too matter.

Sarachan: What’s your creative process when developing your work?

Rivas: This whole journey to create the Rubirosa podcast started from one major question: “How might my life have been different if that character I loved most as a child looked like me, looked like my father, had my hair, my skin, my nose?”

As an artist, I find it essential to unearth my question. In my opinion, a persistent problem is a proper question not yet asked. I try to ask big questions and hopefully live, write, make, and explore myself into an answer.

Sarachan: Can you tell me a little about the book you have coming out this year?

Rivas: Brown Enough explores Brownness’ role in this White/Black world.

Brown Enough opens with a moment that forever changed my life: The night Ta-Nehisi Coates told me in an intimate gathering in downtown Los Angeles that Brownness wasn’t in the race conversation.

I asked him, “All I hear is Black and White. As a Brown man, an Afro-Latino man, where does that leave me?” Coates took a short breath and responded, “Not in it.”

Like a reprimanded child, I took my seat and remained silent for much of the event. But the effects didn’t end there. This conversation pushed me to contemplate and rethink how Whiteness and Blackness have impacted my sense of self and worth.

“Why is Brown not in it?” became the unspoken question for the rest of my life and a thread moving through this book and all my art. Eventually, in every conversation, during every date, at every job, I began to ask: “What are the consequences of not being in the conversation?” and “What does it take to be in it?”

Brown Enough is the quest to find an answer.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

The first episode of Rubirosa can be listened to here.

Pre-order a copy of the book Brown Enough here.