Meet Danny Mendoza | Storyteller

We had the good fortune of connecting with Danny Mendoza and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Danny, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
The most important lesson I’ve learned about risk is that it is constant – present in every moment of every day, regardless of context or circumstance – and it is entirely unavoidable. Risk can potentially be mitigated – without perfect knowledge, which I know I don’t have, the most any of us can hope for is a partial and stumbling form of mitigation – and there is as much risk in inaction as in action. Where I am now in my life, I find my regrets mount much more with regard to what I chose not to do than what I chose to do. I’ve chosen to do some dumb, self-destructive things that I would of course want to take back if I could – but it’s the unspent opportunities that haunt me.

I’m working on being better at giving my future self fewer reasons to feel haunted. I’ve been at an extended inflection point in my life for longer than I’d care to detail, but while change is as constant as risk, deliberate change in a chosen direction takes time to play out. So, when I think about risk, I think about the ephemeral nature of opportunity and I remind myself that however frightening going after what I want can feel, nothing frightens me as much as a closed door.

In that way, accepting that risk is everywhere all of the time has not only helped me analyze my options at any given moment more clearly, but also more effectively make my peace with my own fear.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My primary focus as an artist has always been on the intersections of storytelling and service.

That has manifested itself to date in so many ways:

documentaries born from my anti-genocide activism and my love of arts education;

arts education initiatives built to provide underserved students with access to artistic practices that develop transcendent life skills;

fiction films featuring interesting artists exploring their authentic life experiences;

and theatre that embraces the weird and wondrous ways in which we strive to reach across the fog and find each other in this often confusing world.

In between all of that, I’ve had to make enough money to live, which I’ve done so far through a mix of running television shows, directing and producing commercials/other branded projects, and now working as a network executive.

My hope, as an artist, is to keep the intersections of storytelling and service at the center of my work as I both explore my own stories to tell from my cultural perspective and support the work of those around me who have brilliant voices I am grateful to have a chance to amplify. I’m a big believer in mutual aid. That saying about only going far if we go together is among the truest I’ve heard – and I am all in on going far. So, let’s go together.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Given that my best friends are all from here, this is gonna take a bit of imagination. I have some very close friends not from here and have had the opportunity to host them in town – and that has been a blast, but pulling from that would just turn into an exploration of what some awesome people I grew close to in college enjoy about a place like Miami. That’s fascinating to me, but I think y’all are really just asking what I most enjoy in Miami – so I’ll do my best to highlight some of that.

If you’ve got kids, hit the Frost. My wife and I just took my nephews on her side of the family there as their Christmas present and it was an astonishingly fun, fulfilling all-day event. Rediscovering the world through their eyes – and discovering new things about them and ourselves in the process – was a beautiful gift to ourselves that day. I highly recommend it. (It helps that they’re also extremely considerate kids.)

For nature that’s easily accessible, I like the beach in Key Biscayne or the quieter (re: more northern) parts of Miami Beach. I don’t enjoy touristy spots (at all). I find the over-commodification of so much in our town highly concerning and think we would collectively benefit quite a bit from a return to more shared experiences enjoyed free of charge,

For somewhat more challenging nature, the Everglades can’t be beat. It’s easy to take for granted here, but the Everglades are one of the most unique ecological experiences in the world. It’s a gift that we have it here to experience – and one that may not always be here for us to experience (particularly if wanton overdevelopment continues to encroach on it). It’s worthy of our respect and protection. I recommend experiencing it, in safe and healthy ways, while we can.

For art, I find surrounding myself with books intoxicating and comforting. Books & Books is a great place for that. As far as cinema is concerned, Coral Gables Art Cinema – right across the street – can’t be beat (especially for 35MM, 70MM, and late-night retro movie outings). For theatre, my favorite spot is Villain up in Little Haiti; I’m biased there, as I collaborate with them a lot, but they really do have something special going in their art and their community. And as art museums go, the Rubell Museum is one down here that I find myself able to return to while always getting something new out of the experience.

And if you do go to the Rubell, I recommend stopping in at Leku for the Basque cheesecake. It’s the best I’ve ever had. I have it every year now for my birthday.

I don’t do sweets much anymore, but when I did I loved ice cream above all else. When I indulge now, my favorite spot at the moment is Danielle Gelato in the Grove.

I could keep going, but this is a lot already. I hope you keep this all in, though, as every recommendation I’ve made here rates as equally important to me.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My wife, my parents, and my dog collectively get the primary shoutout here. For me, they each embody everything good in this world in their own unique ways and I’m grateful every day to have them in my life. I wouldn’t be the person I am today – or able to do what I can do – without them. I love them all dearly.

Since y’all mentioned books here as well, I do want to give a shoutout too to the work of Johann Hari. Lost Connections saved my life and, arguably, Stolen Focus did as well (albeit in a different sense, as it helped me reclaim my right to determine the use of my own time and attention). Even Chasing the Scream taught me a lot that I carry with me all of the time.

Lost Connections, though – that book helped me come around to understanding & accepting that I’m not broken and that my pain isn’t my enemy: it’s just a very unpleasant form of communication. It warns me. It tries to help me identify what’s wrong – what’s not working; what’s hurting me – so that I can change my circumstances. This book helped me see myself more clearly again and learn to listen productively to my pain. For that, I’m forever grateful and recommend this book to anyone who may find it useful

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drm305/

Other: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3113024/

Image Credits
Corte Tropical was written & created by my mother. ¿Qué pasa, U.S.A.? was created by my father. Miami Creation Myth was written by Andrew Otazo. I produced I Am Frankie through Paradiso Pictures. Andrew & I put Flandemic together with an awesome set of collaborators from Villain Theatre. Spectrum of Hope was funded by Myrna & Freddie Gershon, to whom I owe one of the best experiences of my life. My partners on 11:55 were Ben Snyder & Ari Issler – and I also owe so much to Josh Blum & Matt Thurm for everything we shared on that film. Familiar Voices was my first film and I couldn’t have done it without the collaboration of so many fellow students at NYU, as well as so many members of the faculty there (especially Dean Sheril Antonio).