As Conan O’Brien puts in work for “Conan Without Borders: Made in Mexico” – an upcoming episode of his travelogue show filmed in Mexico City – he’s also taking in the culture. As soon as he touched ground in DF last week, the ginger-haired late-night host granted an interview to Televisa before he moved on to chatting with the fans who greeted him at the airport. Along the way his team has Snapchatted and recorded Facebook Live videos so that we could all follow along, which is how we know that while his soccer needs work, his Spanish isn’t that bad.
In one Facebook Live video, he and Giovani dos Santos chatted after playing futbol. The Brazilian-Mexican athlete complimented Conan on his skills and invited him to play for El Tri. And while watching the gangly comedian heading a soccer ball is surely one of the highlights from his visit to Mexico, it pales in comparison to the time he spent at Los XV de Marisol.
Conan’s team dedicated a full hour on Facebook Live and many, many snaps to Marisol’s 15th birthday party, where Conan served as the honorary padrino. Typically, a padrino may help pay for a dress or participate in different parts of the quinces. So Conan fulfilled his duties by waltzing with Marisol, greeting guests, and appearing prominently in family photos. He also gave a speech about the quinceañera completely in Spanish.
O’Brien recently revealed that he’d host an episode in Mexico as a response to the anti-Mexican sentiment surrounding Donald Trump’s administration. “As you all know, it’s sort of fraught times right now, tense times,” he said. “Our country’s immigration policies are certainly in the news, including, of course, our relationship with Mexico. Now, there’s been a lot of talk from President Trump about building a wall along the Mexican border, and then imposing a stiff tariff on Mexican goods. It got a lot of people upset. Well, I want to take things in a more positive direction.”
The episode will feature an entirely Mexican crew, audience, and even guests – with Diego Luna and Vicente Fox planning to roll through. The episode will air on TBS on March 1, but in the meantime, you can check out his adventures and Mexican hospitality as documented on Snapchat below.