- God.
All right, here we go.
Uh, awesome.
Dear dad. (laughs)
So it's the end of the year, it's the holiday season,
and this year I've been able to experience
so many memories with my father.
We've been able to go to Hawaii.
He dressed me, gave me some fashion tips.
We've been able to exchange diets,
and I was really able to learn from him
more than I've ever done before.
It got me thinking that we never actually expressed
how we felt about each other before.
So that's why I'm going to call him and let him know
that we will be giving each other Christmas cards,
and we'll be expressing how we feel about each other.
This is my idea yet, I'm nervous.
And I don't know why.
I'm willing to see where this goes,
and hopefully this brings us together,
and connects us in a more meaningful way.
But I think it's gonna be hard for him,
he's gonna be talking a lot of shit
through this whole process.
(phone ringing)
- [Dad] Hello?
- Hey, dad.
- [Dad] Hey, what's up?
- Calling you to say that, you know,
we had a pretty good year, so I figured we'd do
one more video, since it's the holiday season.
- [Dad] What?
- We should do a holiday card exchange
where you go get a card for me, I get a card for you.
And as weird and as hard as it may be,
write how we feel about each other.
- [Dad] That's easy, there's nothing really to write,
but okay.
- I feel like there's nothing to write either, believe me.
It's going to take a lot of creative energy
to do this, but this is why I think it's a good challenge.
I suggest you go get the card now
and think of some eloquent things to say.
- [Dad] Oh, that's gonna be quick.
It's gonna be longer to get the card
than what I'm gonna write, so.
- I told you, I told you he was gonna talk shit.
Oh I love it, I can't wait to hear
what you actually have to say after all this shit talking.
It's great.
- [Dad] All right.
- All right, bye.
I'm gonna go for it.
And if he doesn't go for it.
That's on him.
So, this is just gonna be uncomfortable,
but let's see how it goes.
So I got my card.
I think it's pretty crazy how out of all the sections
there's really only one dad card option.
The whole sections full of mother, son, daughter,
everything you could think of, but no dad.
Like literally, I got the only dad card option there was.
Kind of shows like The lack of like
words that we give our fathers and sons.
Like there was some tons of mother, sons,
but no father and sons.
Which is pretty eye opening to me.
So I got my card.
I'm nervous, I'm nervous to be completely honest.
It's weird, it feels awkward, I hate that it does.
That's why we're doing this, right?
That's why we're making this happen when it's
spaces out of uncomfortability,
it's usually we're creating growth.
Here we go, let's give him a ring.
Yo, so I got my card.
You got yours?
- Yeah, I got my card.
- I got like a nice red one,
and you got like dirty envelope.
Did you write anything in it?
- I think you're just messing with me.
- He thought I was just messing.
God, all right, here we go.
Uh, awesome.
Dear dad, (laughs)
I would have to say, out of all the people in my life
my feelings towards you have been the most complex.
I've always loved you, but depending on the age
and what I was going through,
it always took a different shape or distance.
No matter what that love looked like,
you're always the one I wanted to make proud.
You were the one I wanted to emulate.
Although I grew up to be different in a lot of ways,
your energy and what you brought as a human being
is what I wanted to capture.
What I was wanting to capture,
which is why in our low times,
It hurt me even more.
But in the good times, having your support
made me feel unstoppable.
You were 17 years old when you had me.
And to say that, and to know that you never let me go.
You always wanted me in your life,
through your entire life, it makes me feel so lucky
to call you my dad.
To learn your lessons, to push me to be better,
to support my wild dreams when no one else did,
to know me and to say I can do it.
I don't know when the day will be.
I don't know when.
But when that day comes, I'm excited for my child
to meet the man who made his father, this great.
I love you, dad.
Your son.
- Oh, that's nice.
That's real nice.
- Yeah.
- Hold on.
- You're old ass.
The readers on.
- All right son, all I have to say that my legacy,
and the Vasquez name will be more of an impact
because of you.
You're a true leader of men, women, children,
and more importantly, a family,
and more importantly, for me.
Always willing to help and impact as many lives
that you can, especially my life.
I see you grow up so many ways
that every single minute of time in my shop, in the house,
I talk about my children, and I talk about you all the time.
Words are not enough.
I truly feel about you, son.
But right now all I can say, that I'm very proud of you.
Merry Christmas.
And I love you very much.
Your dad, Elizamel Vasquez Sr.
- Wow.
- Yeah.
- So, let me break it down.
Every time I see you, you're me
Everything what I wanted to be at that, at your age,
that's what I wanted to be.
My dreams, I thought my dreams wasn't going to come true
when I became a young dad.
I thought everything went downhill.
But there's always a purpose in life.
And my purpose was to be a young father,
and to bring up a man that you became.
But you did mostly everything, you know?
I would just, maybe I was a big part of it,
maybe I wasn't but for you to say that was a big part,
it means a lot, because I feel like I wasn't
in the beginning of your years.
But I'm just very proud of who you became,
and for my dreams that I thought wasn't coming,
that was never going to come true,
my dream is right there in front of my eyes.
Besides your brother Elijah, and your sister,
my daughter, Analisa.
I love what I have, I love you as a man,
I'm always very proud of you, proud of my children.
All three of them.
I'm a very proud dad.
And yeah, I talked a lot of shit about the card
and everything like that.
But this is not enough.
There's a lot more.
But, all I can say that I'm very proud of you, son.
And I love you with all of my heart.
- I love you too, dad, and I feel that,
and I appreciate that.
And, yeah, I mean there's something that's like,
so real to hear that, you know, from your father.
I mean, it's like you know biggest thing,
it's like you know me, and you knew me
from so many stages in my life, so to hear that person
that you respect so much to give you those words
means a lot and really like motivates you and pushes you
to be great and keep, you know,
being all that I am.
But no, I just want to say, I appreciate you so much
for doing this and opening up.
I'm excited for us and our future and more memories
we're going to have together, and like,
I just want to say that I love you so much.
And, yeah.
I can't wait to see on Christmas.
- I can't wait to see you on christmas,
and honestly I can't wait to see
more of what you're gonna do in 2020.
I'm gonna be excited for that.
2020 is gonna be your year.
And I can't wait to see it, I'm gonna be in the front row.
- I'm excited.
You too, dad, I'm excited for us.
Its gonna be a good one.
- I love you, you know that.
(gentle uplifting music)
- [Little Boy] Pero like.