Ricardo Chavira – Favourite Things

Each week Reaction Weekend brings you Favourite Things – interviews with interesting people about the skills, hobbies, pleasures and past times that make them who they are.

Ricardo Chavira is an actor best known for playing Carlos in the long running NBC series Desperate Housewives. He is a US prime-time TV regular on shows including Scandal, Welcome to the Family and Six Feet Under. He has also starred in Motherf*ker with the Hat at the National Theatre and Jesus Hopped the A Train on stage in New York.  Chavira is currently starring in the hit series Selena: The Series, which is streaming on Netflix now.

These are a few of his favourite things… 

BBQing

I love to grill, and I especially enjoy doing it for other people. Slow cooking or smoking meat is particularly gratifying . From choosing spices to finding the right pieces of wood and coal, I find every step of the process enjoyable. Preparing to grill is as important as the actual act of grilling. And let’s not forget the fire. In the early morning hours, creating a fire that will produce just the right amount of heat, and then maintaining it over the course of an entire afternoon takes practice. I think it appeals to the hunter-gatherer in me.

Red Wing work boots

I’ve been wearing a pair of Red Wing work boots since I was 15 years old. Having worked many outdoor jobs and restaurant jobs even into my thirties, I’ve learned it’s good to have sure footing and proper protection for your feet. Once broken in, they almost feel like an extension of your foot. They’re a bit cumbersome, but there are many styles from which to choose. And they last: I believe I have a pair that are more than 20 years old.

Theatre

The theatre, to me, is church. Storytelling is how we interact as human beings, and a theatre is the hearth. To be in a theatre is magic: the smell, the feel of the seats, the buzz of anticipation, the lights, the hum of the audience, the backstage butterflies, the touch of a curtain in your hand right before an entrance. To stand on a stage—with a packed audience, or during rehearsal, or alone—it’s where I want to be.

A road trip

Texas is a big state. Growing up, there were many family road trips that seemed to take forever. A short trip would be 3–5 hours. I would get lost watching things go by the window, imagining there was a long-legged man running through crop fields chasing me. I learned to love a road trip, and now I try to take one every couple of years. I think it allows me to disconnect, to give myself room to clear my mind. Recently, I travelled from Texas to California to Baja to finish filming Selena: The Series. I was staying self-contained due to Covid. Upon finishing Selena, I drove to Los Angeles for a month and then made the long trip back to Texas in time for the holidays. My son joined me on the last leg. Not our first father-son road trip, and hopefully not our last.

An honest conversation

Even if it’s painful or uncomfortable, an honest conversation is best. You get to speak truthfully to another person who is, has been, or will be important to you. Even if it’s addressing subject matter of the past or future, an honest conversation always brings you to the present. When you have an honest conversation, you hopefully learn as much about yourself as the other person. Just remember that only when you’ve applied what you’ve learned is the conversation complete. Otherwise, you may have to have it again.