Marcello Hernández has never been shy about turning his Cuban and Dominican upbringing into comedy. But during a new appearance on Amy Poehler’s Good Hang podcast, the Saturday Night Live star went beyond the punchlines, opening up about the cultural differences inside his own family, his mother’s complicated relationship with Cuba, and why performing comedy in Spanish has become especially meaningful to him.
The episode, released October 6, features Poehler sitting down with Hernández for a wide-ranging conversation about his Miami childhood, soccer, comedy, SNL, and his Latino identity. Fellow SNL cast member Sarah Sherman also appears in the episode.
© GC ImagesFor Hernández, being raised by a Cuban mother and Dominican father gave him a front-row seat to two Caribbean cultures that share plenty of similarities but have distinct personalities of their own.
Marcello Hernández Explains Cuban and Dominican Cultural Differences
Poehler brought up Hernández’s background directly, telling him she loves hearing him discuss the differences between his mother’s Cuban culture and his father’s Dominican culture.
Hernández started with something familiar. “The food is pretty much the same,” Hernández said before explaining that Cuban culture is more closely associated with salsa, while in the Dominican Republic, “they do merengue and bachata.”
He then demonstrated how the rhythms of the two cultures extend beyond music and into language.
Hernández explained that Cuban and Dominican Spanish can sound noticeably different, with Dominican Spanish coming across as “a little higher and faster.” He slipped between the accents during the conversation, giving Poehler a demonstration of the linguistic differences he grew up hearing.
© WireImageMarcello Hernández Opens Up About His Cuban Mom
The conversation became more personal when Hernández discussed his mother’s experience leaving Cuba and eventually building a life in the United States. “My mom came from Cuba and it was difficult because they took her stuff,” Hernández told Poehler, referring to his mother’s experiences surrounding Cuba’s communist government.
According to Hernández, those experiences shaped the way his mother viewed her identity after coming to America. “When she came to America, she really leaned in to being American,” he explained. At one point, he recalled, she even talked about changing the family’s last name to Smith.
© Variety via Getty ImagesHernández said his mother wanted to distance herself from what she had experienced in Cuba and embrace her new country. “She was so, like, sad and embarrassed of what happened in Cuba that she wanted to be fully American,” he said.
It is a revealing detail because Hernández’s career now puts his Latino heritage front and center. His comedy frequently embraces the accents, personalities, and experiences that shaped his childhood, even as his mother’s generation once felt pressure to assimilate.
© GettyHow Marcello Hernández’s Family Inspired His Comedy
Hernández’s Cuban-Dominican background has been part of his comedy since his earliest days on Saturday Night Live.
During his first “Weekend Update” appearance in 2022, Hernández introduced himself with a joke that quickly established exactly where he came from: “My mom is from Cuba. And my dad is from the Dominican Republic. So obviously, they’re divorced.”
© Mary Ellen Matthews/NBCSince then, family and Latino identity have remained recurring themes in his comedy. His protective Latina mother sketch with Pedro Pascal drew from a dynamic Hernández knew well, and his mother has repeatedly been cited as an influence on his work.
Hernández has previously said that his Cuban and Dominican roots are inseparable from his material. “I definitely feel very connected to my Cuban and my Dominican roots,” he said in an earlier interview, adding that being from Miami is “a huge part of my comedy.”
Marcello Hernández Loves Performing Comedy in Spanish
One of the most interesting parts of Hernández’s Good Hang conversation came when Poehler asked whether he believes he is funnier in Spanish. His answer was immediate: “Yeah.”
“I’m fast in Spanish,” Hernández explained, revealing that he has also been performing stand-up in Spanish and doing some touring in the language. “And it is so fun.”
There may even be some disagreement over which version of Hernández is funniest. “My family, my girlfriend, my dad, they think that I’m better in Spanish,” he said.
Hernández also spoke about the evolving world of Spanish-language stand-up, pointing to a new generation of comedians working in the space while acknowledging the performers who came before them.
He described the contrast between traditional Spanish-language comedy, which could involve longer stories or political characters, and the fast, observational style familiar to American stand-up audiences. Bringing that punchier approach into an all-Spanish room can feel fresh, he suggested.
© Will Heath/NBC via Getty ImagesFor Hernández, however, performing in Spanish is about more than getting laughs. “When I’m, like, doing a Spanish set with all Hispanic people and we’re all laughing,” Hernández said, “it feels very powerful.”
He specifically connected that feeling to the current climate for Latino communities, saying that gathering in a room where everyone can laugh and express themselves in Spanish carries extra weight.
Amy Poehler and Marcello Hernández Talk Latino Representation
Poehler also praised the current SNL cast for bringing different voices and experiences to the show, describing that variety as important to keeping the long-running sketch series reflective of its time.
That prompted Hernández to sum up the moment with a simple declaration: “Latinos are having a moment.”
© WireImage“We’re having a moment,” he added. “Let us have a moment.”
The Miami-born comedian joined Saturday Night Live in 2022 and quickly became known for bringing bilingual humor and distinctly Latino characters into some of the show’s most memorable sketches. His comedy draws heavily from growing up with a Cuban mother, a Dominican father and the particular cultural mix of Miami.
