Voices in Our Heads
The World of Journalist Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
Journalist Adolfo Guzman-Lopez lives and reports in a multicultural world and we’re better for it. Guzman-Lopez is a reporter who covers education at KPCC 89.3FM. He knows something about cross-border and cross-cultural life. Born in Mexico City, he was raised in Tijuana, Mexico and then, at a young age, moved to San Diego. But weekends and summers were all about crossing borders and visiting family. It was family that helped Adolfo Guzman-Lopez set a path in life.
Coming up Adolfo Guzman-Lopez
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez’s aunts played an important role in his early development. His mother’s sisters, younger than her, were beginning school teachers in Tijuana. “And that served as a big example to me.” They reinforced the value of learning and reading for him.
“They were very important…in the way this intellectual curiosity has shaped my life.”
Those early years fed that intellectual curiosity. The people he admired were Octavio Paz (Nobel Prize in Literature 1990) and Carlos Fuentes (Mexican writer and diplomat). There was a weekend program on Mexican TV that was broadcast out of Tijuana into San Diego called “Para Gente Grande.”
“I would see Octavio Paz, Carlos Puente, and all these musicians and they were so articulate about arts and culture and history.”
The program encouraged Guzman-Lopez to think to himself, “I want to be able to talk like those guys about things that happened societies of about a thousand years ago.” He was set onto a path where he would interview people. The young Adolfo Guzman-Lopez wasn’t sure it was going to be journalism but he had it in the back of his mind.
Fast Forward to the Future
Fast forward to college at the University of San Diego to freelance newspaper reporter for San Diego Union-Tribune and Chicago Tribune writing music and film reviews to KPBS 89.5FM in San Diego to now KPCC, Southern California Public Radio.
“When I started here, I covered a little of everything…transportation, I covered school.”
It’s the latter beat that Adolfo Guzman-Lopez has settled into covering mostly higher education and school districts that are not L.A. Unified. For Southern California, the educational issues are numerous.
“You have a large English learner population so there are issues there. The issues of the Charter Schools. The issues of standardized testing are very important and the State has a big say in it. School districts have a big say in it.”
Adolfo Guzman-Lopez on Good Storytelling
The KPCC reporter gave us a behind the scenes perspective on two of his education stories: Community college remedial program ‘broken,’ doing more harm than good, advocates say and New shelter making a dent to solve college student homelessness. Guzman-Lopez was surprised by college student homelessness. The story grew out of another story.
“So, this college student was telling me that he survives and that he gets by and that he buys beans and vegetables at a lower price and everything and sometimes he goes without eating.”
Guzman-Lopez was moved by the story. Thinking as a journalist led to him asking another question to himself, “What?” That led to a follow-up questions, a telephone number, and the realization that there are students going hungry on college campuses and they’re also homeless.
What’s in a Name?
Then, there is “The Simpsons” episode story. Adolfo Guzman-Lopez was named dropped on an episode of the Simpsons. You’ll have to listen to our podcast to find out more about that and the future of public radio. No pressure. Hint: Good storytelling is not going away.
You can find out more about Adolfo Guzman Lopez and his stories HERE. His handle on Instagram and Twitter is @aguzmanlopez. You can also find him on Facebook.
