VH1 Interview: Caliente (For The Love Of Ray-J)

Taken from VH1.com Caliente talks about her time on show, she also talks about the drama with flossy and Mz. Berry, she discusses about her 15 year old son, and her TV hosting job.

How was the show for you?

For me, it was perfect. I don’t have regrets and I don’t have so many bad stuff. Ray would fight, would complain with some girls. But for me, it was very good experience and I’m so happy.



Was it frustrating to be eliminated when it seemed that the other girls had more baggage?

Honestly, I was in shock. I don’t believe that he picked Platinum over me when I don’t know what is the point if somebody told you, “I’m in love still with my ex-boyfriend.” I have told in the interviews: “I don’t have ex-husband, I don’t have ex-boyfriend, I don’t sleep with his friends.” I was so clean! I think that my problem was my English. Sometimes with Ray, we cannot have the deeply conversation.




What did you think about the way your English was portrayed with the subtitling and everything?

That it was bad for me?




The show kind of made light of it. Do you laugh about that?

Honestly, I don’t care. When the people say, “Oh, she speaks so bad,” I want to know what they do these people if they go to my country with nobody speak your language. When I move here, it is not like Miami. It was like if you move to China. I don’t understand nothing. I can’t say, “Hi,” I couldn’t say, “Bye.” Nothing. I move here one year ago, I go to the school for two months, and learned each day. I know that my English is not perfect, but at least I try! I for this, on one occasion, I was so mad at Extra. She laugh for my English all the time. I say, “You can’t laugh because somebody don’t speak exactly the perfect language.” Maybe for the people here, it’s funny when I speak English, but for me it’s funny when certain American people try for speak Spanish. It’s like, “Mucho caliente.” (Laughs) Or, “You are mucho bonita.” Ten percent the people laugh, and others understand when I talk. If you go to my country, it would be so hard, because if you don’t speak the same language, the people get so rude with you. So I am happy for that. People that know me, they told me, “Are you crazy, if you go to some shows and it’s all in English and you don’t speak perfect English?” And I say, “I don’t care! I try!” Nobody believe in me, but I say: when it’s for love, it don’t care your language, because the language for the love, it is around the world.




I thought your accent was a cute part of your character.

Yes, honestly, I don’t do on purpose. I say what I think. Just yesterday, somebody told me, “Why you say, ‘Shut up your mouth?’ You can’t say this. You need say, ‘Shut your mouth.’” (Laughs) Yesterday, somebody told me the correct expression. It was my son.




There was a lot of talk in the episode about you not being serious enough for Ray. What do you think about that?

I disagree. I talk with Ray and I told him I have so responsibilities in my life. I’m very serious person. I can live on myself always in my life with my son, I can support me, so I can be so serious. For this I love laugh, because if you are so serious everyday, if you have somebody in your life, you can’t be so serious all the time because it’s boring, your life like that. For this I totally disagree, because I can laugh, I can be happy everyday, because I say, “Thank you God, I wake up this morning. I have all health.” So, I love laugh. Ray told me, “You’re so funny because you make jokes, and finish and nobody understands and you laugh.” (Laughs)




You were upset when you were eliminated, though, right?

I don’t was upset at all. I was disappoint, I was in shock, that is different than I was upset. I really appreciate it that he walk with me to the door, because he don’t walk with nobody at the home. And he walk with me, he open the door, he kicked me out. (Laughs) But was very nice action from him to me. I told Ray that if I can’t find nothing with you, I know that I can find one very good friend, and I have a great time and I don’t have regrets for nothing. When I was upset, I was upset. When I fight with Flossy, she know I was for one reason, because she talked something about my son. For me was, she cross the line. When I fight with Extra, it was because, come on. You can’t live with this girl 24 hours. She’s insane. When I was happy, I was happy.




What did Flossy say about your son?

She say, “Why she’s here if she have f***ing stupid son?” She don’t told me this, the girls told me that. When I confront her, she say, “Uh, yes, it’s true. I don’t say nothing wrong.” I don’t care if you have 15, 30, or 50, when you say something about my son, my son is my life, you cross the line. I talk with her after the fight, “I can’t ignore you ’cause we live together. I can say, ‘Good morning,’ ‘Good night.’ But don’t waste your time with me, because I don’t want to be your friend.” I’m Latina, I’m very passionate.




I can tell. How old is your son?

My son is 15.




Did he watch the entire season?

He watched sometimes, because he have the friends in the school. All the girls watch the school, so when I went to the school one time because he play basketball, the girls say, “Oh my god, you’re Caliente!” My son is no like me. He’s more shy. He’s more intro. But he don’t care nothing. He say, “I don’t want to see the show.” I talked with him before I enter on the show, I say, “Hey, this is tough. I don’t want to do nothing that you feel so bad for me, but you can think nothing, because I don’t know what the people will see after I leave, because I don’t edit the tapes.” I told him, “You only think I’m good mom. I do everything for you, so you never listen to people.”




Did you have beef with Mz Berry? You called her “grandma” at one point.

I call “grandma,” because all the girls call her “grandma.” But in the first time, I don’t like her. I confront her, because we have some situation in one room the first day. I’m Latina, when I talk maybe if I have some friend, I like touch. And the people say, “Don’t touch me,” or something like that here. There’s more distance. So I was talking and is not for purpose, I touch her arm, but not bad ’cause all of the girls were there, and she say, “Excuse me? Why you touch my arm?” But she told me very bad. And it was in the first five minutes when we enter the home. And I said, “Excuse me, I don’t want be rude, but I don’t do nothing.” And she said, “Yes! Don’t touch me!” But she told me so bad. It’s not the same Mz Berry that all the people saw. She was so rude with me. Later, I asked her, “Why you acting with me like that?” And she said, “I don’t remember!” I don’t understand. I’m sorry if I’m Latina and I like touch, but I don’t want touch you because I want to hurt your arm or something like that. So I had so distance and I don’t care what she say. I’m not stupid. Mz Berry have the same age like me. We have the same age. The girls was more younger. And she knew exactly what she need do for give Ray his attention, and I knew it, too. But after everything, we start talking because we have our life in the same level. Because she have her kids, I have my son. We are cool in this level. And in the end, after the detector liar, she say, “I try for find so many bad stuff about her, and I couldn’t. I know that she is very sweet person.” And is true. In the end, I don’t have nothing for say bad about her. I was in the game, because in the end this was the game. I don’t was there for find friends.




Did you go into the show a fan of Ray?

I didn’t know who is him exactly. Only I know one song for him. He ask me, “You know who is my sister?” No. I really don’t know. I like him, and I like him more after when I enter the show, because he’s so funny. He’s so nice. I find very nice friend. So, I need talk with Ray, I need him introduce me with his friends.




No homey-smashing!

Because I remember we was in the basketball, I wanted to stay there. (Laughs) But they say, “No, no, no. Be nice, be nice.” But Ray send me home, so I don’t care. I can say again: I love black mens. (Laughs) Yes.




Tell me about your job as a TV host.

My show is in five countries: it’s in Chile, Brazil, Argentina, now in Spain and Mexico, too. I’m still doing. My producer in Argentina, they send the people for the production for live here for three months. We film in two times in the week. When they need more, they come back. I start doing show in Argentina, but he tell me, “I figure the epicenter for the cars is in California, so you can consider moving there.” I come here for try, I never going back.




What’s the show called?

You gonna laugh, but it’s American Dreams. It’s about the cars. I know the cars, believe me. I love cars. I go to for like Pebble Beach, you know the auctions? The people can buy the cars for $20 millions. The show has like three parts: the news for the new cars, the American cars and the classic cars. I do interviews with the owners of some cars and they explain what they do, or we try find car with some history. When I move here, I start for filming around my area, so I try to talk about history of the area and they mix this with some classic car I know there.




I never would have pegged you for a gearhead.

I love it. I’m not like a stupid girl talking about the car and I don’t know what is Mustang, I don’t know what is Stingray 24. I know the history of the cars.




I’m impressed.

Yes, I’m smart. Here is so many pretty girls. I don’t have 20 years, so I need be more smart and I need be more showing my personality, because if I don’t use this, I’m lost here.