GREENUP Gerardo and Kathy Mejia will be at their home in Greenup Tuesday evening when the season finale of their television show, “Suave Says,” airs on VH1.
For most people beyond age 30, Gerardo Mejia will always be the guy from the 1991 music video “Rico Suave.” Younger television fans now know him as the dad from the family-oriented VH1 show “Suave Says.” The Mejia family has settled a long way from their TV residence in L.A., although the matriarch of the family explains the move to Greenup was actually a step closer to the place she calls home.
“I’m from Ironton and I was Miss West Virginia when I was attending Marshall ... and then I married Rico Suave,” Kathy Mejia said, smiling as she explains she had never even heard of the small city in Greenup County before she began looking for houses in the region.
“I didn’t even know Greenup existed, but I saw this house on Craigslist,” she said, giggling as she confessed she originally thought it might have been in Russell or Raceland. The big house, with room for the entire family from the television show, was a perfect fit, she said. Despite growing up on the other side of the waters with plenty of negative ideas about the Ohio River as a polluted waterway, she says the view from the Kentucky side now offers daily inspiration.
“I look out there every day and I just love it,” she said.
“I’ve always wanted to come back home. I wanted out of California,” she said, sitting with her husband in their Mediterranean style home overlooking a long, scenic stretch of the nearby river.
Life off screen
Sitting together on the couch in the living room while their son, Jaden, occasionally made an appearance, the Mejias demonstrated the chemistry that makes them ideal for television. Dressed for the gym, he wanted to let her do the talking and she wanted to keep him nearby in case she said something silly. His eyes light up as he praises the “man cave” area in the basement, and she notes there are also rooms ready for their daughters and show co-stars, Bianca and Nadia, who are off pursuing their own lives and careers.
They’ve seen the entire season of their family’s show, and say next Tuesday’s season finale is one they are most proud of. She summarizes their marriage was in trouble when they were first contacted about doing a reality television show, and the series honestly reflects their efforts to maintain their relationship and family.
“He was in Ecuador and I was here,” she said, noting reality TV has been cited for many divorces, although that doesn’t seem to be the case for them.
“Instead of reality television breaking us apart, reality television brought us back together,” she said, explaining they’ve only been at home in Greenup for a short while since production and interviews for the show were finished.
Ratings for the final two episodes of the season will likely determine the show’s future, they said, explaining Suave Says is an unusual show for VH1.
“VH1 has a very urban following,” he said.
“With most of their shows it’s ‘bleep, bleep, bleep.’ So they are testing things with a family show,” she added. “So far the ratings have been so/so, but they’re going up! We will see how the last two weeks go.”
Gerardo said he was “a little bit worried as a father and a guy” about having his family in the spotlight of reality television.
“But, we said ‘Let’s give out a good message.’ We have seen it all and can say we accomplished that,” he said, estimating a 50/50 chance of the show being renewed for another season.
Being Rico Suave
“The kids didn’t have any idea. Their teacher know him. People in their 30s really remember him. Sometimes their friend’s parents will say ‘Wow! Your dad’s Rico Suave!’” Kathy said of her husband’s alter ego. Her own sister was the perfect age to be a Rico Suave fan, she said, adding her sibling actually broke down and cried after speaking to her future brother-in-law on the telephone for the first time.
“I had to be that guy to get to where I am now,” he concludes with a shrug.
“I remember back then getting sweated a little bit by some of the women’s groups,” he said, acknowledging the nature of his lyrics and the heavy-rotation video featuring his shirtless image often surrounded by scantily-clad dancers.
Always positive even in the anti-drug lyrics of his hit song, Gerardo says his message remains motivational.
“Don’t give up on your family. Don’t give up on your wife and kids. Make it work,” he said.
Dancing
Among their local pursuits, which include her development of the Eternal Yoga studio in downtown Ashland, Gerard and Kathy Mejia are rehearsing for their part of the upcoming Dancing With Our Stars event to benefit the Highlands Museum & Discovery Center, Feb. 7 at the Boyd County Community Center. The practice sessions aren’t especially pretty, they agreed.
“He wants to do his thing — like hip hop, and I’m more the ballerina type,” she clarified. “So, we’re doing two songs. One in each style.”
“You might think it’s a comedy,” he said, shaking his head slightly.
The season finale of Suave says airs Tuesday evening on VH1.
TIM PRESTON can be reached at tpreston@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2651.
