Welcome to "Daddies on Duty," a heartfelt and enlightening podcast where we dive into the unique and vibrant world of parenthood through the eyes of two dads with an extraordinary story. Hosted by a Emmy Award-winning journalist Eliecer Marte and his husband, Erick Marte, this podcast peels back the curtain on their remarkable journey to fatherhood, from the challenges and triumphs of foster care adoption to the intricate process of international surrogacy.
Join us each week on "Daddies on Duty." Let's celebrate the journey of parenthood, together, one episode at a time.
How do we preserve Latino culture?
As two Dominican-American dads, we’re constantly navigating how our kids learn about or Domincan traditions and how to keep our traditions alive — from the cooking and dancing to the trips back home to the Dominican Republic. We do our best to make sure they stay connected to their roots.
But let’s be real — they were born in the U.S., and that means their culture is beautifully mixed. Even keeping up with the Spanish language becomes a challenge.
Have you ever heard the phrase “Bésame la mano”? Among Dominicans, it’s a gesture of respect toward elders — grandparents, aunts, uncles, and parents. (And no, it doesn’t literally mean kiss my hand! )
In this episode, we sit down with Jasdomine Santana — author, content creator, and mother of two. She’s the creative mind behind Tiny Dominican Explorer and bilingual children’s books that celebrate Dominican culture.
Jasdomine is known for her Dominican-inspired Spanglish songs like “The Wheels on the Guagua” — classic kids’ tunes reimagined with Caribbean rhythm and flavor. Her creative journey began after the birth of her first child, inspiring her to make fun, educational resources for bilingual families.
Explore her work:
jasdomin.com (https://jasdomin.com/)
YouTube: youtube.com/@TinyDominicanExplorer (https://www.youtube.com/@TinyDominicanExplorer)
Free Educational Resources: jasdomin.com/pages/free-gratis-education-resources (https://jasdomin.com/pages/free-gratis-education-resources)
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#BésameLaMano #DaddiesOnDuty #Parenthood #BilingualKids #BilingualEducation #LatinoCulture #DominicanPride #Family #RaisingBilingualKids #RepresentationMatters #LatinoParents #CultureAndIdentity
2 Oct 2025
Episodio 17: ¡Los buenos modales se enseñan en casa! (Spanish Episode)
En este episodio, exploramos cómo los buenos modales, la etiqueta y el protocolo comienzan en el hogar. Educar a nuestros hijos va más allá de la escuela: es una responsabilidad diaria que impacta directamente en su comportamiento, respeto y desarrollo personal.
Nos acompaña Karen Espinal, licenciada en Comunicación Social y Periodismo, asesora de imagen pública, conferencista y directora de la Academia Karen Espinal. Junto a ella, conversamos sobre:
La importancia de inculcar buenos modales desde la infancia.
Qué papel juegan los padres como modelos de conducta.
Herramientas prácticas para fomentar el respeto, la empatía y la cortesía.
Cómo el protocolo y la etiqueta pueden adaptarse a la vida diaria de los niños.
Errores comunes que cometemos como adultos al corregir o guiar el comportamiento infantil.
Una conversación amena y reflexiva que nos recuerda que la educación con valores y buenos modales empieza en casa.
17 Jul 2025
Home First, Kids Next? Or the Other Way Around?
Thinking of buying a home, but also thinking of starting (or growing) your family? In this episode, we dive into one of life’s biggest crossroads: real estate and parenthood. Should you buy before the baby or after? What matters most—budget, location, school districts, space?
Whether you’re searching for your first family-friendly home or selling your current one to make room for more tiny feet, real estate investor and dad of two, Sandy Cuevas (he sold us our first home), breaks it all down. From the emotional to the financial, from spotting a home’s hidden potential to navigating today’s unpredictable market, this is your real-world guide to making smart, family-focused decisions.
Tune in for insights, strategies, and honest talk on the family home formula: When, where & how to buy or sell as parents.
4 Jul 2025
Becoming our best version to be better parents.
Life coach Omayra Jiménez discusses how parents can prioritize self-care and personal growth to become better parents in this interview episode.
19 Jun 2025
Kids’ birthday parties- stress, anxiety and cost! (Spanish episode)
Decoration experts Edwin Pinto and Ronald Pinto discuss the stress and high costs of children's birthday parties, offering advice on meaningful celebrations without overspending in this interview.
6 Jun 2025
Raising authentic children
Dr. Enmanuel Mercedes discusses strategies for parents to foster authenticity and individuality in their children amidst social pressures, in this interview episode.
23 May 2025
Foster parent burnout Ft. Sim Swilpa (New Jersey Angels
Kim Swilpa, Executive Director of New Jersey Angels, discusses the high rates of burnout among foster parents due to stress and lack of support in this interview episode.
8 May 2025
Do we need to make an appointment to have sex?
Do we need to make an appointment to have sex? How to prevent becoming roommates after having kids. Let’s face it, being parents is not as easy as it looks on social media. Balancing a healthy relationship and sex life with your partner becomes extra challenging once those little ones absorb all your time and energy. On this episode of Daddies on Duty we sit down with Clinical therapist, LMSW, Yudy Cid to get tips and best practices to continue building and maintaining a sexually active relationship while also keeping up with the duties of parenthood.
24 Apr 2025
Are homosexual parents less capable of raising mentally stable children?
Historically, there has been a lot of disagreement among psychologists, psychiatrists, sociologists and society overall whether two parents of the same sex raising kids is harmful or not to children. Are homosexual parents less capable of raising mentally stable children? is it detrimental to their mental health? on this episode of Daddies on duty, Eliecer Marte and Erick Martinez sit down with Clinical License Social Worker and founder of Minds together LCSW, PC, in NYC, Jean Carlos Osorio to get some answers.
9 Dec 2024
Fighting stigma or normalizing? Introducing our family in public.
Daddies on Duty hosts Alex and guest explore how to normalize their non-traditional family in public spaces as an educational moment for raising awareness.
8 Oct 2024
Episode 7: 9 month check-in
Surviving fatherhood: We have made it through the first 9 months after our beautiful daughter Cataleya was born. It has been a very rewarding experience but it has not been easy at all. On this episode we talk about the what it has been like to adjust to our new normal. Returning to work, trying to have a social life and even maintaining a healthy relationship as a couple including our sex life.
16 Sept 2024
The delivery room
The time we waited for has finally arrived.The moment to welcome our beautiful daughter Cataleya into this world! From her first cry when she was born to saying goodbye to our surrogate once it was time to leave the hospital. The beginning of a new journey and the end of process.
12 Aug 2024
Episode 5: Surrogacy and our religious family
How did our parents accept our surrogacy journey and how hard has it been for them to understand it. With religion playing such a big factor, we dive into the conversations we have had with our mothers and other family members. We also address the critics and backlash we have received even from family members.
5 Aug 2024
Episode 4 "More than a foster child"
If our international surrogacy process has been full of ups and downs, our journey to adopt our foster child has not been any easier. It has been a process full of emotions. We became foster parents when a beautiful girl and his "half" baby brother arrived at our home in 2021. Life had different plans for us and everything has changed ever since. Join us on this episode as we talk about this other side of parenthood why fostering is such an emotional rollercoaster.
29 Jul 2024
Episode 3 "We are the devil and we are going to hell."
Many believe we do not deserve to be parents because we are two gay men. We have received numerous attacks from people who believe we are going straight to hell. Some say, we are preventing our kids from having and mother. On this episode we get very personal about how we feel with all of these comments. We also explain why we do not want our kids to "turn out" gay like us.
22 Jul 2024
Episode 2: Surrogates gone crazy! You are not the father!
We are getting more deep into our surrogacy process on this second episode of Daddies on Duty. This conversation is about our ups and downs with our initial surrogates, including how one of them tricked us into sending her extra money. Our journey to fatherhood through international surrogacy came with many unexpected surprises, the biggest one being the transfer of the "wrong" embryo. Also, the answer to the question a lot of people ask, who is the father?
12 Jul 2024
Episode 1: Welcome to the "Happy Room" Why are we doing this?
Welcome to Daddies on Duty. During this first episode we begin our candid conversations about how we initiated our journey to parenthood and why we decided to share what we have been through so far and what we will continue to experience as we raise our children. You will hear from the very first seconds, there are no scripts here. These are real conversations between my husband, Erick Martinez, and I (Eliecer Marte). Just like we do every night when we are sitting on this same couch where we are recording our podcast.
One of us wanted to have kids, the other one wasn't really feeling the idea. Society thinks we can't form a family because we are two gay men. And are you ready for something spicy? did we think of each other when it was time to give out our sperm? it is time to find out! Welcome to the happy room. Enjoy!
Who has been a guest on Daddies on Duty
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Omayra Jiménez
Edwin Pinto
Ronald Pinto
Dr Enmanuel Mercedes
Kim Swilpa
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
90,130
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 49 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
64
Social presence
0
YouTube
85
Engagement
0
Contact Daddies on Duty
Guest appearances
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