Years have passed since Season One, and Suave is thriving. He’s got a great job. He’s on the news for his work on prison reform. He’s even got a new nickname on the block: Mr. Pulitzer. Suave is doing what he always dreamed of – and he’s making a real difference. It almost seems like “happily ever after.” Or is it? Season 2 of Suave was made possible by The Mellon Foundation. Mellon makes grants to support the visionaries and communities that unlock the power of the arts and humanities to help connect us all. More at mellon.org. Want to support our independent journalism? Join Futuro+ for exclusive episodes, sneak peaks and behind-the-scenes chisme on Suave and all our podcasts. www.futuromediagroup.org/joinplus.
Chapter 1: Who is Luis Suave Gonzalez and what is his story?
Hi, Suave! What's up, what's up?
And Suave, a man who, for a long time, never imagined that he would ever leave a prison cell, let alone be here at the ceremony for the Pulitzer Prize.
I'm walking in and I'm looking. And I'm looking at all these expensive suits. I only paid like $90 for my suit.
We walk up the iconic Columbia steps, through the doors, past statues of Zeus and Apollo. It feels like standing in a Greek temple. None of the other journalists here invited their sources to the ceremony. In a sea of black bow ties, Suave is rocking this bright blood red tie. One by one, the winners are announced. They called him suave, like the shampoo, but whatever.
On stage, we hold hands, and Suave holds the award. Suave decides immediately he's gonna be the one to keep it. After dinner, there's a reception. There's lots of very polite mingling happening over wine. Pretty boring, to be honest. So we sneak off outside for some fun of our own. Right on the Columbia steps, we sip on our drinks. Maybe even a little joint gets sparked.
We go outside, and in my head, I'm thinking, tonight is the night that I realize I'm free. I'm really free. It was like one of the movies that I watch in prison that you know is a sad movie, but at the end, you know when they sit like in the steps and they see the sunlight, you know it's like something magical is gonna happen.
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Chapter 2: How did Suave’s life change after winning the Pulitzer Prize?
In this moment, everything is perfect. A man who was in prison for more than 30 years just won the highest award in journalism. That was the night that Mr. Pulitzer was born.
I know what it is. Yeah, this is your man Swap. Yeah, I'm just chilling in the tub, man. Ready to take a shot of bath. But I just want to introduce y'all, man. Yo, this is the adventures of Swap Gonzalez and his Pulitzer. So, yeah, I'm in the tub with my Pulitzer. I'm ready to give my Pulitzer a shower because, you know, we got to stay clean, man.
You know, we just can't be too in the...
Mr. Pulitzer living his best life. It's happily ever after, right? From Futuro Studios, this is Suave. I'm Julieta Martinelli. In 2017, David Luis Suave Gonzalez was released from prison after 31 years serving a life sentence without parole. He was one of thousands of juvenile lifers granted a second chance at life.
This is his story about life after incarceration and the search for the true meaning of freedom. This is season two. Maria, how are you?
Oh my God, Julieta, I am great. I mean, yeah, season two, we're here. Yeah, we're back. I'm so excited. I think maybe we should introduce ourselves, right?
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Chapter 3: Who are the hosts and producers behind the Suave podcast?
Yes, of course. So you are legendary journalist, Mariano Rosa, the host of Latino USA and the founder of Futuro Media.
Okay, well, legendary is a big word. But in this case, because I'm actually part of this story, I'm not going to be doing the job of hosting. That is going to be done by the host of Suave Season 2. And that is you, Julieta Martinelli.
Yeah. Hi, so I'm Julieta. I've been covering criminal justice pretty much all of my career. And I'm actually the co-producer of season one of Suaves. So I was always there in the background reporting and writing for the show. And you might have even heard me here and there in that season, most notably on episode six while running down the street. Like running. Threw me off.
Well, clearly he lives in that house. and we should hurry the fuck up and get out of here.
It's like, get out of there as fast as possible.
Yeah, and you know, I applied for the job to work on season one because the prison system has always been really real for me, right? It's always been a part of my life. I grew up around a lot of people that were affected by the carceral system. And, you know, one of the first memories I have is of my dad being accused of a crime.
And my mom wanting to separate us from all of that and bringing us to the U.S. And here I was undocumented. I grew up in a community around a lot of undocumented people. So heavy police presence. You know, I've seen a lot of people lose their freedom. And I think that really taught me that people are very complex, that people can be good and do bad things.
And I don't think that we're always telling the story about those gray areas, right? And so the story we're telling this season, it's a little different from last time.
It's about the long shadow of prison, about the challenges that no one warns you about when you get out, and about how after spending the majority of his life locked up, freedom for Suave has not been everything he imagined it would be.
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Chapter 4: What challenges does Suave face after prison despite his success?
So, you know, Maria, when season one ended in 2021, Suave was focused on starting his new life in Philadelphia. And I think we could have stopped documenting there. I mean, we definitely thought about it, right?
Right. He's out of prison. I mean, end of story. We tracked it all. As the time passed, you know, it's just so natural for me to record everything. So even after the podcast dropped, I'm still recording. And that's when I realized, hold on a second. Like this story is not over at all. In many ways, I was like, we're just scratching the surface.
And so basically, we just kept documenting everything that was happening in Suave's life. And como siempre, there was a lot happening.
Early on in reporting, I asked Suave what he thought this season should be about. But as I've been thinking about writing season two, in season one, we ended with you really wanting like some stability, wanting to get a stable job, like a relationship. That's kind of where you were when we ended. I see you laughing and it's killing me.
Because I already know where you're going.
So my question is... If I use this tape here in the episode one, what does Suave want to achieve in season two?
Season four in life. Listen, season one, I was living life. I wasn't having fun. I was fucking boring. I was, I wouldn't say stressed out, but I was out of touch with my community, if you want to call it that. I'm living the hood, but I was out of touch. I chose to do that. Now it's like, man, fuck, I'm gone. I'm gonna have some fun. And I know that it can lead to destruction ways.
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Chapter 5: How does Suave view his new life and identity post-incarceration?
I know that already. And I'm trying not to, you know, cross that destructive path. But I'm having fun on all levels. I'm having fun. So with season two, I'm hoping that people get it, man. Like, we human beings, we just been... deny certain things because of our incarceration. I'm a human being. I'm only 30 right now. I came home when I was 21.
You know, I mean, I'm looking at it in them terms, right?
Now, we are going to get to that destructive path that occurred later on in season two. But first, the truth is, Suave is having fun.
Especially after the Pulitzer. I mean, things really just took off.
I've been awarded like three different awards. Well, there's been a couple of new stories.
A local man is doing what he can to save our streets. He spent decades behind bars. Sean Ed Wilson introduces us to this inspiring man.
I was given a second chance for a reason. Making music. Making music. That's something that I'm doing, you know. You ain't wanna hold me back.
I'm like a warrior inside of my head. I was barely a child and making decisions. 31 years I was locked in that prison.
I started my own true crime, true story episodes of podcasts with different people. As Lieutenant Governor, what is your position on juvenile lifers coming home and being on parole for life?
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Chapter 6: What role do Suave’s friends and community play in his story?
Chapter 7: How is Suave influencing criminal justice reform and gaining recognition?
Chapter 8: What is the long-term impact of incarceration on Suave’s freedom?
This is the voice of a man who's found himself at the end of his rope. A man who survived more than 30 years in a max security prison, got out, became successful, built what many would consider is a dream life. And now, seven years later, was risking it all.
At this point, I don't give a fuck who go to jail or not. Y'all poke the teddy bear, not y'all got the grisly bear. And the reason? The reason, as the cliche goes, is that you can leave prison, but prison never really leaves you.
But before we get there, let's start with happier times. We're standing outside Columbia University's historic Lowe Library in New York City. It's October 20th, 2022, and spirits are high. Most of the team behind the Suave podcast is here, including journalist Mariano Rosa.
Hi, Suave! What's up, what's up?
And Suave, a man who, for a long time, never imagined that he would ever leave a prison cell, let alone be here at the ceremony for the Pulitzer Prize.
I'm walking in and I'm looking. And I'm looking at all these expensive suits. I only paid like $90 for my suit.
We walk up the iconic Columbia steps, through the doors, past statues of Zeus and Apollo. It feels like standing in a Greek temple. None of the other journalists here invited their sources to the ceremony. In a sea of black bow ties, Suave is rocking this bright blood red tie. One by one, the winners are announced. They called him suave, like the shampoo, but whatever.
On stage, we hold hands, and Suave holds the award. Suave decides immediately he's gonna be the one to keep it. After dinner, there's a reception. There's lots of very polite mingling happening over wine. Pretty boring, to be honest. So we sneak off outside for some fun of our own. Right on the Columbia steps, we sip on our drinks. Maybe even a little joint gets sparked.
We go outside, and in my head, I'm thinking, tonight is the night that I realize I'm free. I'm really free. It was like one of the movies that I watch in prison that you know is a sad movie, but at the end, you know when they sit like in the steps and they see the sunlight, you know it's like something magical is gonna happen.
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