Guanabee Interviews BMX Champion Ricardo Laguna

First things first: Meet Soy Tu Madre, Guanabee's newest team member! She's bringing it all the way from Las Vegas and her first contribution comes in the way of an interview with papasito BMX champion Ricardo Laguna. Check it out! 

- Nacomprende

Ricardo Laguna — The South American King Of Dirt

Ricardo Laguna is known for being a BMX champion & a proud representative of Latinos in the world of extreme sports. He's also the star of the upcoming Ricardo Laguna Project which premiers tomorrow at 9pm on the tr3s network.

I went into this not knowing what to expect. Having not followed extreme sports since my last year of high school many (ok not THAT many!) moons ago, I found Ricardo to be a down-to-earth guy who's living the moment while absorbing everything that comes his way. He tells me he's speaking to me from the rooftop of a hotel in the middle of Hollywood, almost reluctant to admit to his not-so-new success.

"It's pretty wild these days; a little kid's bike got me to a couple little places, to conquer a couple things. It's mind blowing." Ricardo has been a pro rider for a decade now. He met Wilmer Valderrama a few years ago and they had a connection. This led Valderrama to produce the documentary which is set to be featured as 8 episodes on tr3s. "I'm overwhelmed at how many people have reached out to me," he tells me about the sneak preview of his show.

Guanabee: Have you been bitten by the bug? Do you want to do more T.V.?

Ricardo: To be honest, I haven't got time off. I've been from one thing to another. A lot of people look at me like I'm just a BMX bike rider, but not a lot of people know that I've been fortunate enough to make a little money through BMX and I've invested

Guanabee: Tell us about getting honored in your Home Town of La Paz, B.C.

Ricardo: Oh, yes! The Ricardo Laguna Dirt Park. How crazy is that? Can you imagine some kid that was born in La Paz, moved to Las Vegas, found out about BMX and the city contacted me and said "We can't believe you just won the South American King Of Dirt, we want to name a park after you and give you the key to the city" I was like - I'm dying to go back to my Home Town, and there is not better way to come back. I feel like I'm dreaming, so please don't wake me up!

Guanabee: How do you stay focused while juggling everything that's going on?

Ricardo: You know what? I don't know! I really feel like I'm scattered. I guess I'm doing all right; I just want t keep going faster.  Pressure is what I live for.

Guanabee:  What have you had to sacrifice in order to get to where you are now?

Ricardo: Everything comes with a price tag, you know?  I've sacrificed relationships, trying to find a girl and me being a Latino, having a Latino Family, my mom and dad wanted me to be married before 30. I'm going to be 30 on April 13th.

Guanabee: Speaking of being Latino, how was it for you growing up bicultural?

Ricardo: I mean if you live a bicultural life, you're well aware that traditional Hispanic families want to live together, eat together, and grow old together. Everyone is just really tight. But what is next? What can I come up with and pioneer? It's as simple as teaching my mom how to like a comment on Facebook, which to us is like second nature. That's what I'm trying to introduce to my family; what ever is second nature of what Americans do. My parents just came here to work, and it's something that we've done.

Guanabee: What do you to blow off steam?

Ricardo: I think I do my best under pressure, honestly. You sleep when you die, and as my mom says:  please stop and smell the roses. But why do that when the rest of the garden is still growing?

Guanabee: Your mom sounds like a pretty traditional Mexican mom.

Ricardo: She's textbook! The show will show you the traditional textbook scenarios to follow, which I do. But I'm just trying to add my own twist to it. You have to see the show! We put my dad on a diet, we put him to work!  Just another day in paradise for Ricardo Laguna ha ha ha.

Guanabee: It's been really nice to talk to you and see a Latino doing well specially from my Home Town.

Ricardo: I appreciate it, but let's get more of me out there, and better than me! Be ready, there's more Mexicans to come. They'll be more of us.

So make sure you catch my fellow Las Vegan this and every Wednesday at 9pm pacific on tr3s: