Sh*t Miami Girls Say Creators Release El Podcast

The Sh*t Miami Girls Say characters you know and love are back in a bold departure from their video parodies. Now they're conquering a new medium with El Podcast. Two of the three founders — Michelle Sicars and Aimee Carrero — recently chatted with New Times about their first two episodes, Miami stereotypes, and the healing effects of comedy.

“It was cumbersome juggling our other work [producing and acting in Los Angeles] and getting [Sh*t Miami Girls Say] content done,” Sicars says. “We put out a Miami Music Week video, and then Aimee contacted [me and Giancarlo Sabogal] for a podcast, and it sounded like the perfect opportunity for us. It was a good outlet for all of us for scheduling. It’s less demanding for content because there’s no shooting, and it’s easier on our end to have just speaking and talking than a visual aid.

"It’s also a good outlet for us as characters," Sicars adds. "[El Podcast] is about current events and content happening within the world, but coming from a very Miami perspective."

The Sh*t Miami Girls Say team dropped the first 25-minute episode of El Podcast, titled “Pitbull Academy,” late last month on iTunes. In the podcast, Sicars, Carrero, and Sabogal play three Miami Latinas who represent three distinct personalities often seen in the Magic City.

“I am Gabi Rodriguez. Gabi with an ‘i’ because there’s a difference," Sicars quips. "Gabi is raised in Coral Gables and moved to Brickell. She went to Catholic middle school and probably high school. There’s a lot of lawyers in Miami, and that’s fun," she adds sarcastically.

Carrero, on the other hand, plays Caro G, "because there are always a million Caros in each friend group." Caro G is a registered nurse, but "it’s really based on me,” admits Carrero, who grew up in Kendall. “It’s anything above 97th Street, right after Dadeland, all the way to the Everglades. These are people I know and love... they live in a preconstruction home because it’s all new developments. They go to Dadeland Mall.”

The third recurring character, Livette Alons, is voiced by Giancarlo Sabogal. “Livette is older. We call her Cuarentona because she’s in her 40s," Carrero explains. "She lives in South Beach because she has had it with not living by the water. She walks everywhere, goes to happy hours, and to the beach every weekend. She doesn’t go clubbing as much anymore. She’s living the Miami lifestyle with a capital ‘M.’ Her side businesses are Mary Kay, Uber, selling vitamins. She is hustling.”

In the weekly El Podcast, Gabi, Caro, and Livette chat about various Miami happenings with humorous injections of opinion. The three ladies also welcome a special guest each week. In the first episode, they spoke with a parody of the original papi chulo — Pitbull — who was voiced by Sabogal. “[El Podcast] is fun because it straddles the line of what’s real and not,” Sicars says.

Sh*t Miami Girls Say released their second episode of El Podcast last week, in which they interview a character named Dolce Cubana, a dancer at the Booby Trap, a strip club in Doral that was raided for drugs in late April.

Though El Podcast focuses on both local and national news, the creators admit they find it difficult to stay in the loop with Miami happenings because they are now based in Los Angeles. “We definitely do struggle with not living in Miami right now," Carrero says. "Luckily, a lot of my high-school friends still live there, and Michelle has a sister who is there. We make it back [now and then], but we do need to have phone calls and ask, ‘What’s a cool club? What’s a headline?”

Through podcasting, they say, they can deliver comedy to their fans on a more consistent and sustainable schedule.

“I hope El Podcast gives listeners a good laugh, especially in this day and age, because nobody is immune to what’s happening in the country and around the world... Comedy is the most healing thing we can offer as a performer. We can give someone a break out of their day and make someone think in a way they haven’t been before,” Carrero says.

“Above all, it's fun,” Sicars adds, “really, really, really fun. There are times when we will break out of character and start laughing because the content is so ridiculous. It’s stressful to juggle a lot of things, but it’s been so much fun.”

Listen to Sh*t Miami Girls Say: El Podcast on iTunes.