TKTK
And now, the gigs:
THE ABSOLUTE GIGS
Weekly columnist, Los Angeles Times: I've been reading the Los Angeles Times since the days of the late, great Jim Murray and Allan Malamud (I still remember the Murray column mocking the Oregon Ducks when they reached the Rose Bowl for the first time in a generation). I regularly contributed to their Op-Ed pages from 2005 until 2011, when my former bosses asked me to stop when I became editor of the Weekly. I started writing occasionally last year at the invitation of former Times editor-publisher Davan Maharaj, who was always a fan of the Weekly. And now thanks to Op-Ed pages editor Juliet Lapidos, I'll now tackle California every Wednesday. Here's my first column, where I called those who quit California "cowards"—oh, the emails I'm getting (actually, the super-vast majority of them are positive, even those who can no longer afford to live in Cali. They get what I was stating; those who didn't are whining).
It was important to me that if I were to do a column again, it wouldn't be Latino-focused. I did that already, and I'm more than that. So I was glad that Lapidos challenged me to tackle the entire state—finally, a reason to visit Yreka! That said, I want to thank the Times' former Latino columnists—Agustín Gurza, the late Frank del Olmo, and the martyred Rubén Salazar—for paving the way; I can only be a pretender to the legacy ustedes created. And an extra gracias to former Times op-eders Bob Sipchen and Matt Welch, for taking a chance on this Mexican so long ago...
Editor-at-large, Remezcla: A lot of Latino-themed websites have popped up in the past 15 years to address the lack of Latino representation in the MSM; a lot of those websites are garbage. Remezcla isn't. I've always been impressed by their smart takes on Latino culture, both the high and the low, the stateside and the hemispheric. They were one of the first websites I contacted to freelance for when I left the Weekly, and I was thrilled that they liked my ideas. I was even more thrilled when they created this position for me. It's part-time, with a specific task: Get more Latino writers from the American Southwest and other areas that even Remezcla hasn't reached (we're talking Chicanos in Detroit, Salvadorans in Denver, uruguayos in Louisville, etc.) to cover their own community.
This lets me continue to edit emerging writers, and—more importantly—help them get clips on a national platform. I've learned well from the people who helped me get to where I'm at today: if you can help a writer take a step up, it's your moral imperative to do so. And I hope that I can help Remezcla reach even more readers in the process, because they deserve all the success they can get. Seriously: follow them on Facebook/Twitter/etc.
"Orange County Line" commentary, KCRW-FM 89.9: Been doing a weekly commentary about Orange County for Southern California's premier NPR station for five years. Tune in every Monday around 6:40 p.m., or hear past episodes on iTunes.
"Good Ol' Chico" columnist, Gravy: My unlikeliest gig: I've been the columnist for the James Beard-winning bimonthly journal of the Southern Foodways Alliance for three years. What's a Mexican from Orange County doing writing about the South? Find out yourself.
Mexican Música Monday columnist, Latino USA: This one came just last year, when I asked LatinoUSA.org editor Julio Ricardo Varela if he'd be interested in me doing smart listicles about regional Mexican music—artists, genres, themes, and the like. He agreed, and the column did great—dig my list on the best songs of the Mexican Revolution. I'll be restarting the columna soon, which may or may not appear on Monday--but they should for the alliteration haha. This one isn't permanent just yet, so make it permanent by donating to Latino USA, which you should anyways since they're overall chingones.
Last Wednesday of the Month on The Tom Leykis Show: I've been appearing on Tom's show for 12 years now, and almost every last Wednesday of the month at 3 p.m. PST for the past six years. Call in and yell at me! 901-3000-TOM!
THE DEFINITE OCCASIONALS
Columnist, Reason: Whenever I have a national idea, it'll probably appear on Reason, partly because this is probably the last outlet where I can cuss in Spanish, but more importantly because they let me publish virtually anything as long as it's somewhat coherent and totally HILARIOUS. Many of my lefty friends have expressed disappointment that I run with this libertarian rag; to them, I'll say that Reason were huge fans of the Weekly for years, and editor Katherine Mangu-Ward and editor-at-large Matt Welch were the first people to offer me a home for my writings after I left the Weekly. I appreciate loyalty above almost anything else. Besides, I did want to publish my stuff with a prominent socialist publication (my politics are Marxist of the Grouch variety); they offered to pay me nothing, while Reason gives me pesos. Pesos are good!
Car reviews, Pocho.com: Last year, I had the chance to do a car review—and I loved it! I've always loved cars, and I plan to continue reviewing them for Lalo Alcaraz's website because it seems no other publication wants to have a Mexican review a non-classic car.
Projects with KCRW: That's all I can say for right now—details to come...
Freelancing like a flâneur: Basically, I'll write for whoever I admire and who'll have me. The definite occasionals will be Curbed LA, Eater, Jezebel, L.A. Taco (now run by the ever-chingón Daniel Hernandez), and Alta, a new magazine published by the grandson of William Randolph Hearst (!). Are you a publication that wants me to do something for you? Hit this homie up.
THE PROBABLE MAYBES
Podcast: I've been asked to do one for years now, and we had a great one with OC Speakly until the Weekly's owners said we were wasting our time. I want to do one, but I don't know what it would look like, nor am I going to put my money into something that won't make money. If I'm going to burn cash, I'll do that on gardening—at least my tomato harvests are BUMPER.
Book: Can finally get around to developing an idea that'll make my agent and publisher happen.
Hollywood Gus: I'm still part-time WGA, so there's that...
And now, the gigs:
THE ABSOLUTE GIGS
Weekly columnist, Los Angeles Times: I've been reading the Los Angeles Times since the days of the late, great Jim Murray and Allan Malamud (I still remember the Murray column mocking the Oregon Ducks when they reached the Rose Bowl for the first time in a generation). I regularly contributed to their Op-Ed pages from 2005 until 2011, when my former bosses asked me to stop when I became editor of the Weekly. I started writing occasionally last year at the invitation of former Times editor-publisher Davan Maharaj, who was always a fan of the Weekly. And now thanks to Op-Ed pages editor Juliet Lapidos, I'll now tackle California every Wednesday. Here's my first column, where I called those who quit California "cowards"—oh, the emails I'm getting (actually, the super-vast majority of them are positive, even those who can no longer afford to live in Cali. They get what I was stating; those who didn't are whining).
It was important to me that if I were to do a column again, it wouldn't be Latino-focused. I did that already, and I'm more than that. So I was glad that Lapidos challenged me to tackle the entire state—finally, a reason to visit Yreka! That said, I want to thank the Times' former Latino columnists—Agustín Gurza, the late Frank del Olmo, and the martyred Rubén Salazar—for paving the way; I can only be a pretender to the legacy ustedes created. And an extra gracias to former Times op-eders Bob Sipchen and Matt Welch, for taking a chance on this Mexican so long ago...
Editor-at-large, Remezcla: A lot of Latino-themed websites have popped up in the past 15 years to address the lack of Latino representation in the MSM; a lot of those websites are garbage. Remezcla isn't. I've always been impressed by their smart takes on Latino culture, both the high and the low, the stateside and the hemispheric. They were one of the first websites I contacted to freelance for when I left the Weekly, and I was thrilled that they liked my ideas. I was even more thrilled when they created this position for me. It's part-time, with a specific task: Get more Latino writers from the American Southwest and other areas that even Remezcla hasn't reached (we're talking Chicanos in Detroit, Salvadorans in Denver, uruguayos in Louisville, etc.) to cover their own community.
This lets me continue to edit emerging writers, and—more importantly—help them get clips on a national platform. I've learned well from the people who helped me get to where I'm at today: if you can help a writer take a step up, it's your moral imperative to do so. And I hope that I can help Remezcla reach even more readers in the process, because they deserve all the success they can get. Seriously: follow them on Facebook/Twitter/etc.
"Orange County Line" commentary, KCRW-FM 89.9: Been doing a weekly commentary about Orange County for Southern California's premier NPR station for five years. Tune in every Monday around 6:40 p.m., or hear past episodes on iTunes.
"Good Ol' Chico" columnist, Gravy: My unlikeliest gig: I've been the columnist for the James Beard-winning bimonthly journal of the Southern Foodways Alliance for three years. What's a Mexican from Orange County doing writing about the South? Find out yourself.
Mexican Música Monday columnist, Latino USA: This one came just last year, when I asked LatinoUSA.org editor Julio Ricardo Varela if he'd be interested in me doing smart listicles about regional Mexican music—artists, genres, themes, and the like. He agreed, and the column did great—dig my list on the best songs of the Mexican Revolution. I'll be restarting the columna soon, which may or may not appear on Monday--but they should for the alliteration haha. This one isn't permanent just yet, so make it permanent by donating to Latino USA, which you should anyways since they're overall chingones.
Last Wednesday of the Month on The Tom Leykis Show: I've been appearing on Tom's show for 12 years now, and almost every last Wednesday of the month at 3 p.m. PST for the past six years. Call in and yell at me! 901-3000-TOM!
THE DEFINITE OCCASIONALS
Columnist, Reason: Whenever I have a national idea, it'll probably appear on Reason, partly because this is probably the last outlet where I can cuss in Spanish, but more importantly because they let me publish virtually anything as long as it's somewhat coherent and totally HILARIOUS. Many of my lefty friends have expressed disappointment that I run with this libertarian rag; to them, I'll say that Reason were huge fans of the Weekly for years, and editor Katherine Mangu-Ward and editor-at-large Matt Welch were the first people to offer me a home for my writings after I left the Weekly. I appreciate loyalty above almost anything else. Besides, I did want to publish my stuff with a prominent socialist publication (my politics are Marxist of the Grouch variety); they offered to pay me nothing, while Reason gives me pesos. Pesos are good!
Car reviews, Pocho.com: Last year, I had the chance to do a car review—and I loved it! I've always loved cars, and I plan to continue reviewing them for Lalo Alcaraz's website because it seems no other publication wants to have a Mexican review a non-classic car.
Projects with KCRW: That's all I can say for right now—details to come...
Freelancing like a flâneur: Basically, I'll write for whoever I admire and who'll have me. The definite occasionals will be Curbed LA, Eater, Jezebel, L.A. Taco (now run by the ever-chingón Daniel Hernandez), and Alta, a new magazine published by the grandson of William Randolph Hearst (!). Are you a publication that wants me to do something for you? Hit this homie up.
THE PROBABLE MAYBES
Podcast: I've been asked to do one for years now, and we had a great one with OC Speakly until the Weekly's owners said we were wasting our time. I want to do one, but I don't know what it would look like, nor am I going to put my money into something that won't make money. If I'm going to burn cash, I'll do that on gardening—at least my tomato harvests are BUMPER.
Book: Can finally get around to developing an idea that'll make my agent and publisher happen.
Hollywood Gus: I'm still part-time WGA, so there's that...
