tavis: good evening. from los angeles, i am tavis smiley. tonight a conversation with author edwidge danticat and her new novel "claire of the sea light." it seeks to or trey haydee. then we will talk to comedian, writer, and producer, rick najera. he has a new memoir called "almost white." we are glad you joined us. those conversations are coming up.

♪ >> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. tavis: award-winning author edwidge danticat writes about haydee. she was born in port-au-prince.

countrylex view of the is at the heart. it has been praised by reviewers , using words like intoxicating and compelling. i am always intoxicated and compelled when i have you on the program. it's good to have you back. your kids are fine? >> yes. tavis: and this novel the sea is as much a are as anybody or anybody else. the sea is such an important part of our history. it's how most of us got to this lostof the world, and we so many people. this continues. it is an incredible point of

view with which to explore the environment. >> tell me about the story. whoseire is a little girl mother dies in childbirth, so her father is struggling with this decision, whether he should keep her with him or give her a way to a richer woman. decision,tory of the and it's also the story of the villa where they live and how they interact. >> you wrote part of this novel before the earthquake and the other part after? >> yes. >> how did that impact or not the writing? >> the earthquake happened in on a and the town is based

real town where my mother's seeny is from, so having the changes in the town over the years, it affects a lot of the reflection. aboutnot want to write the earthquake, because i am not ready. i was not there. there are elements that would be missing. it right before the earthquake but also have reflections about loss, about environmental challenges that have been brought about by the earthquake without having the earthquake be the center of the story. page 152 there is a wonderful line that says, how do you even choose what to mend when so much has already been destroyed? you?w do i think it's a question a lot of

people are asking themselves. you pick up what people do and , because in many cases you have no choice. it's a question that is at the core of any disaster. something lost. brag that yous are a macarthur genius, and when they give you this high honor, you can do anything you want to do basically, yet you have chosen to keep this story of and the complexity of haitian life and challenges and ups and downs which we will get to. you have made that the

centerpiece of your life's work at least today. willu expect that continue? is that what you are at thegetically offering epicenter of your corpus? >> there are so many stories. so many stories that even in my own life i feel like i could explore more deeply. an artist should never say what you will do for the rest of your life. so far it has been an honor to tell the stories we have been able to tell. they are not often told in this perspective from somebody who knows the inside and the outside. i am happy to be part of this with people trying to

tell more complex stories about haydee. -- katie. -- haiti. think it is?u >> we know them more than we know people in our own lives. are privileged to go deep in the soul. you cannot walk away and say i don't know you. it's another in-depth way of looking at individuality, which is so often denied.

think literature, art, music, and all these can reach people more deeply in a profound way. tavis: there is death and destruction. not you whether or about haydeerative can change, will change. if so, how does that happen? >> it has to change. more voices. it needs more voices from within. it needs all these stereotypical

views overturned, and how do you ?verturn them to raise voices from the haitian but also therience narrative itself, the way people are living, these have to change, because often our stories are written -- they are decided i the outside, -- by the outside, so because he be -- haiti has this history of great i thinkies in the past, we are always looking to that next step. half the population of haydee is under 25. is under 25. there will be a change of course. tavis: let me move from fiction

to nonfiction, to what is haiti.ng in real life in has the relationship changed at all in the era of obama? it was pretty much delegated to the state department. u.s. intervention has always been forceful. we want you to take out your leader. off. has been hands there was some response after -- earthquake thomas whatquake, and in terms of is happening.

there are the parliamentary elections that are two years late. those interventions are always too headed and to what you want kind of situation. one has to be very careful. >> there is obviously a relationship. this, butaware of there is this law taking place in the dominican republic. happening. >>s passed athe high court ruling in which they considered anybody who was born there from 1929 on who did not have a

dominican parent is in transit. migrants or the majority of immigrants who have ,een there for four generations and youome stateless, could be removed at any time. people are picked up sometimes he does they are dark skinned. on the other side. it is something for anybody who goes on vacation in the dominican republic for knowing

these are happening that you have close to a quarter of a million people who are by atially a stateless irreversible,o be so they cannot try to reverse it, because you cannot essentially make four generations of people stateless. consider yourself made aware. the new book is called "claire of the sea light." good to have you on the program. thanks for coming on the program. coming up, comedien rick najera. stay with us.

latinos may be the fastest- growing ethnic roup, but many still feel marginalized. he is an award-winning writer, actor, producer, and he has "almosta memoir called ."ite good to have you on this program. there is a serious story that is the back story. you had a near-death experience. i wonder if you might tell me the story. experience.trange i collapsed at home by myself.

i hit my head and nearly bled to they found me. number 10 is i can still drink and drive. they said i may not come back normal. my wife said, that's good. you never were normal. i was as close to death as anyone could ever come. because of that, i said i want to write the book. clear?when were you >> i was not clear. in the book i said, this is how you died. my wife told me i came out of it and started telling jokes.

they were not great jokes. the nurse came up to me. i motioned for her to come here. do you know how to get a man out of a coma? give him viagra. it was such brain damage. my jokes were not as sophisticated then. >> nurses can be a tough crowd. i have a lot of people visiting and very concerned. my wife said, you have to stop working so much. we have to take many jobs.

ask, how dout to not to work so hard, which is what got you in this coma in the first place? >> a lot of times you create your own work. that is what i learned from whoopi goldberg. we all start with one person shows. since we couldn't go through the studio, we went through the back door, which was theater. my father went to vietnam during the war. i said, when did you go to vietnam? he said, during the holiday. the tet. said, a lot of overtime. mexicans have an extreme hard

work ethic, so when a job does come, we tend to take it. i am learning to be more >> i expectout it. everyone will ask about how things are changing. there are two or three networks. >> robert rodriguez has his own channel. advertisers are lied to for a number of years. there is a large group of spanish, but there are a large number who are in both worlds. market tory hard understand, but it is a huge 2 trillion in buying

power. it is amazing. >> does latino humor crossover? it's funny or not. >> does black humor crossover? broadway, and they said, latinos on broadway. i was the first show that was success will. -- successful. i was in a nightclub, and they said, you are a funny man. surrounded at a nightclub. i saw your show. hilarious. i did not realize it crossed over to other new yorkers. latino humor is based on humor.

funny is funny. tavis: one will we be this familiar with latino comedians? you can do this all day with black comedians. him fluffy. e are all working very hard. i am working on an animated roject. i put gabe in my show. he had never flown first class. he had an opportunity. let gabriel fly first class. isold the stewardess, he julio iglesias's son, but he is

not good looking. if you can make his time and so special. gabriel gets off the plane. first class is amazing. they were so good to me. i said, that is first class. i was going to say paul rodriguez come up but everyone knows him as p-rod. >> i know a friend of mine developing a show, and i tell you, he is a good-looking kid. we both had good-looking children. we don't consider ourselves good-looking. out looking good. that kid is handsome. tavis: tell me a bit about your journey in this town.

you are still on it. journey yout the are on and whether or not it has been worth it to have to go through all this. >> i think about that. if i had called myself rick rivers, would my career have been different? call myselfnt me to that. it is the road less traveled, but i take understand and we are has made myge tribe life more interesting. rightk i chose the choice. kids are half anglo, half mexican. i call it spanish language

waterboarding. theas given them a love of culture. if you love your culture, you are able to love other cultures. it is about being inclusive. where i get in trouble. , ilusive, exclusive debate fret sometimes that members of play with community this notion of assimilation. to be so want inclusive that you sacrifice. >> they called him the white hispanic. it looked like he assimilated pretty well because he was americans.the white

you are always going to have that in every culture. unclee calling people tom's. we are calling them tio tacos. is very culture that defined, but we are also able to .et other cultures the guy that gave me a job was nan wayans.ns -- kee \ they included me in that world. you have to keep true to who you are. it's not that i am changing because i am ashamed or don't respect my culture. andght have sushi at lunch lunch, butey's -- at it is still part of my culture. are driving your

reality, you will be fine. tavis: the new book is called forced white: confessions of a latino in hollywood." on, and it isou good to see you. hat's our show for tonight. thanks for watching. as always, keep the faith. >> for more information on today's show, visit tavis smiley at pbs.org. tavis: hi, i'm tavis smiley. join me next time for a conversation with director steve mcqueen about his new movie "12 years a slave." that is next time. we will see you then. ♪

>> and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> be more. pbs.

hello and welcome to this is us. i'm becca king reed and this week we're inside the pacific hotel part of san jose's history park. we're going to look at an exhibit called through my father's eyes. ricardo alvarado was a very talented photographer who took many photograph. his daughter janet found those photos after her father passed away. today we're going to share some of those photos and memories with you. and we'll also meet an incredible woman who is at the forefront of independence. and we're going