The mexican magnificent mile. with over hundreds of shops, i needed a local guide, so i m meeting up with hollywood legend and chicago native, michael peña. you might have seen him in his breakout role in crash. - you talking about that bullet that came through your window? - or his huge hit ant-man. - yeah, this dude sounds like a badass, man. - michael went from the hood to hollywood, but he always comes back home. michael, what s up? how you doing? - what s up, bro? - how s it going, dude? i m sorry i m overdressed. - no, no. i think you re the first person i ever seen with a suit here. - in this town? - no, not in this neighborhood, because there s a lot of quinceañeras here. - oh. - so you thought i was going to a quinceañera? - yeah, yeah. - [laughs] so this is your favorite spot, huh? - i ve been coming to this spot since i was four, you know? - wow. - my dad every time before and after soccer games, we would come here. it just it s always been a part of my life. and if i
She always pushed school. - she was the first one in the whole family with a bachelor s degree. - my parents, you know, they came from mexico. she s, you know, second generation. but her sphere of influence is like crazy, dude. you know, like it s really affected everyone. like, i would have never thought to be an actor. you know, i never dreamt that big. - she s the one who told him to go on his first audition. - incredible. - but he s always been a hard worker, dude. - yeah. - even if he didn t succeed in acting, whatever else he would have done, he would have been he would have been great at it, dude, period. that s it. - yeah, there, you got it. you go it. - there you go, look at that. that s my best friend. - is that right? - he s gonna put a poster, michael peña for president. - it sounds like you always had a work ethic and you always had a sense of keeping at something till you got good at it, like you were driven. - yeah, and i learned it from that guy, from my dad. - which
music (“i swear”) plays jaycee tried gain flings for the first time the other day. and forgot where she was. [buzz] you can always spot a first timer. gain flings with oxi boost and febreze. you can always spot[upbeat music]. - a lot has changed in chicago since michael peña was a kid. latinos now make up nearly 30% of chicago s population. but latinos have been systemically underrepresented in the city s government. and illinois first mexican american representative, congressman jesús chuy garcía, who i m meeting today, has been working to change that. congressman garcía wants to make sure that mexican americans in this city are seen and heard. and one way is by showing off
The mexican magnificent mile. with over hundreds of shops, i needed a local guide, so i m meeting up with hollywood legend and chicago native, michael peña. you might have seen him in his breakout role in crash. - you talking about that bullet that came through your window? - or his huge hit ant-man. - yeah, this dude sounds like a badass, man. - michael went from the hood to hollywood, but he always comes back home. michael, what s up? how you doing? - what s up, bro? - how s it going, dude? i m sorry i m overdressed. - no, no. i think you re the first person i ever seen with a suit here. - in this town? - no, not in this neighborhood, because there s a lot of quinceañeras here. - oh. - so you thought i was going to a quinceañera? - yeah, yeah. - [laughs] so this is your favorite spot, huh? - i ve been coming to this spot since i was four, you know? - wow. - my dad every time before and after soccer games, we would come here. it just it s always been a part of my life. and if i
- dude i had to work two full-time jobs in the summer. and i remember i slept like three, four hours a night because it was two eight-hour shifts. - sí. - yeah, yeah. - balancing multiple cultures for first-generation latinos is never easy, especially if they re made to feel like outsiders in their new home. sometimes friends who feel like family can provide that extra support. and in michael s case, it was his godmother sylvia. so i want to hear how you inspired all these young fellows into being who they are today. - well, i had the high school across the street from my house, so these guys were always hanging out. my son always was bringing somebody home. but mike was full of energy. and i said he s gotta do something with his energy. i think he would be good as an actor. - you re like a skilled placements person. - yeah, i saw the skills that he had. - yeah, yeah, yeah. - i mean, i m so proud of him.