Even though she called me ‘Mur,’ I still liked talking to Lilana as she offered details behind Moto’s decision to evict her as their first casualty.
Murtz Jaffer: Hi Liliana, how are you doing?
Liliana Gomez: Not too bad, how are you?
MJ: I am doing good, do you want to get right into it?
LG: Sure.
MJ: One of the common things about all the episodes of Survivor Fiji this season is how shocked everyone has been to be voted out. You are certainly no exception. How surprised were you when you saw how the votes went down?
LG: I think I was one of the very few that were 100 percent shocked and surprised, because I didn’t think that it would be a good move to get rid of somebody as strong as me at the beginning of the game. You know, in the beginning you are still focused on winning as a team and getting as far as possible with the most people and to have an advantage in numbers. So I didn’t think it was a good call at all.
MJ: What did you think when you watched the show back on TV and you heard those words that you said to your tribe as you were leaving?
LG: Oh, I just went back into that space and I was just like ‘I can’t believe it still!’ I couldn’t believe it at that moment. At this point, I am over it. But when you see it, it’s like you relive that moment again. I was just like ‘oh my god, like what happened?!’ I should have created stronger alliances and I should have fought for us to keep immunity and go to the Ravu island.
MJ: Do you think it was just because you were a threat and do you see this as a compliment?
LG: Oh, totally. Totally. One of the things that I am proud of is that I went out with a bang really. Because it wasn’t about ‘she’s annoying, she’s useless ‘ It was like ‘this girl can take it all and not only that, but the guys like her.’ You know? I was like one of the guys. I wasn’t trying to be this kind of this prissy, talk about my hair type of girly girl. Although they kind of make me come off as kind of a flirt with the massage thing. (Laughs). But for the most part, I was one of the guys and I think that they respected me for that.
MJ: Were you speaking another language when you were out there?
LG: I did speak another language because the majority of the people on my tribe spoke Spanish. But I never did to I would never talk about anybody behind their back. I am not saying that I wouldn’t have if I had stayed longer
MJ: (Laughs).
LG: I am being honest. But I would never say anything vulgar. As far as the game is concerned, I probably would have been like ‘yeah, vote her off.’ But, no, no, no. It’s just second nature. Like it’s just habit. If somebody understands you and that language that you cherish so much, that it just comes out naturally. But I would make sure that I would translate whenever we spoke Spanish.
MJ: In her interview with me last week, Sylvia talked about how Dreamz told her that the game started with the young people having an alliance of 10 to vote the old people out. She said that Dreamz said that you and Rocky were the leaders. Was this the case?
LG: Isn’t that amazing? That from the very beginning, that I was considered (out of 19 people) one of the leaders? And they didn’t show me that much! In the editing process? That’s a good question right there. I definitely stood out. I was very social, very physical as far as our everyday life on the island and in the challenges but we (Rocky and I) did connect and did create an alliance. Him, Erica and Jessica.
MJ: Right so you wanted all the young people to basically get together?
LG: No, that wasn’t even the consensus. That just kind of came out of nowhere. Dreamz being paranoid or trying to create something. Dreamz is much smarter than most people think. I think he uses his loudness and being obnoxious, to throw us off. You know?
MJ: If it was the case, if you bonded with the younger people, why do you think Stacy, Edgardo and Alex still went after you?
LG: Well, it wasn’t Edgardo and Alex that went after me. They were kind of they had already gotten in an alliance with them (Lisi and Stacy), for what reason I do not know. (Laughs).
MJ: (Laughs).
LG: Maybe it was just for the numbers. To have some weak people with them at the end.
MJ: Exactly.
LG: You know, they wouldn’t want to give it to them because they didn’t do anything!
MJ: Exactly, or that they could beat them easily in the individual challenges.
LG: Yeah, that makes sense. That totally makes sense. I was definitely a competitor against them. No doubt about it. At the time, they knew that it wasn’t a good time to get rid of me. Too early. Yes, down the line but not at that time.
MJ: Although it looked like Lisi was the one who wanted you gone the most, I have seen other interviews where you also pointed the finger at Stacy. What was your relationship with Stacy like?
LG: Oh, we got on each other’s nerves but we would smile like ‘hey girl!’ It was like ‘get away from me girl!’
MJ: (Laughs). Kind of like highschool. Kind of like highschool.
LG: It was just crazy! But the thing about Stacy is that she is very politically correct. She’s always trying to say what sounds right and she’s never real. She never says what’s really on her mind and so that’s why I think they probably didn’t show too much about how she felt towards me. And Lisi, she doesn’t have a filter. Which I love about her too, but I just totally was offended by her remarks on that last episode.
MJ: Do you think it was just a case where the tribe wasn’t big enough for two incredibly hot girls and how was Stacy just wasn’t able to work with you just because you were in the same kind of role?
LG: Well, I heard some scuttlebutt. (Laughs). I heard some gossip about that and I totally 100 percent believe that is very likely because she just seems very high-maintenance and vain in that way. And that’s fine. That’s the kind of person she is. She doesn’t like to admit it, but whatever.
MJ: Why do you think so many of the good-looking girls have been targetted early. Jessica, Erica and now you?
LG: I know! You know, the first two girls I can’t really speak on Ravu. I think that they were just playing their individual game too early and it was easy for the people to point the finger at any little mistake that they may have made. Just so that they could try and save their behind. Erica yelled and people got paranoid.
MJ: Right, but you don’t think it’s like let’s vote out the hot girls? Because that seems to be what is happening.
LG: Well, I don’t know. I have been asked that before. As far as Stacy’s concerned, as my tribe is concerned, that could have been it. Even though I kind of blush when I hear that because I didn’t consider myself as the hot girl in the tribe. I mean come on now.
MJ: Well if it wasn’t you, it had to be Lisi.
LG: Excuse me?
MJ: I said if you weren’t the hot girl, then who was it? Was it Lisi?
LG: (Laughs). Well that depends on perception.
MJ: We saw you engage in a lot of flirting. Was this your strategy going in?
LG: No, that was probably two minutes out of my whole time on the island. I never was like the flirt. If anybody was flirting, it was Stacy.
MJ: Finally, what did you think of Lisi and her comment about your diabolical Mexican mind?
LG: I thought it was super ignorant. And I am going to forgive her because she doesn’t know better. She had no reason she can have her opinion and that’s fine but to throw in the race card, it wasn’t even needed in the context that she was speaking. I just thought that was ignorant.
MJ: What’s next for you?
LG: What’s next for me? Well I am actually currently in the studio recording. I’m actually a singer and I took on that mortgage loan job to support myself as an artist so I am just doing that. And I have a foundation that I am doing research for and getting off the ground. It’s for children to learn how to express themselves through art. And that’s what I am doing. Just kids and music. That’s my focus.
MJ: That’s perfect, thank you so much.
LG: Thanks.
Liliana Gomez grew up the second eldest of eight siblings in the city of Oxnard, California. Born of Mexican descent, Gomez always held strong to her roots and decided, with the permission of her parents, to move to Guadalajara, Jalisco, for one year when she was 11 years old. Surrounded by the rich, colorful folklore of Guadalajara, she discovered her passion for music and singing.
Moving back to the United States, Gomez eventually became an assistant for handicapped children at a local junior high while she was attending high school. In 1999, she graduated from Rio Mesa High School and then immediately joined the United States Marine Corps where she served for eight years. Gomez received her training in Parris Island, South Carolina, and graduated as Squad Leader and Honor Graduate through Military Occupation School. During her tour in the U.S. Marine Corps, she served in the Operation Iraqi Freedom War in 2003.
Gomez is currently a mortgage loan officer in Los Angeles where she helps people buy, sell and/or refinance properties. She aspires to pursue a career as an entertainer as her passion has always been with the arts and working with children.
Gomez enjoys anything athletic, the outdoors, music, singing, dancing, independent films, barbeques and playing with her nephews, Frankie and Dario. She also enjoys following professional soccer. She describes herself as strong, stubborn, confident, goofy and a witty gal. She is most proud of her sense of family and her burning fire for life.
Gomez currently lives in Oxnard, California. Her birth date is April 5, 1981.
– Survivor: Fiji airs on CBS on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
– Survivor: Fiji airs on the Global network in Canada on Thursday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
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