By Mimi Pollack
What makes Adolfo Guzman-Lopez tick? That is a question I have asked myself for a long time. This is a man who went from an undocumented immigrant to graduating from UC San Diego, to Taco Shop Poet, to reporter for KPBS and presently KPCC, and finally to a student of the Torah, despite being raised Catholic.
Adolfo Guzman Lopez, 46, was born in Mexico City in 1969. He moved to Tijuana when he was three. At the age of seven, his mother brought him to San Diego, where she worked cleaning houses in La Jolla. Many days after school, Adolfo would hang out with her while she was working.
Adolfo was a bright and easy-going child, and one of his mother’s clients took an interest in him, helping him enroll in Kate Sessions Elementary in La Jolla. He was one of very few Mexicans, but he learned to get along and absorb all that was going on around him.
He attended Mission Bay High School and although he did well academically, because of his background, it was sometimes hard for him to form lasting friendships. At the same time, he found he was growing apart from the rest of his family. He was between two worlds.
Spanish was still the dominant language at home, and his parents gave him little reinforcement when it came to his studies. They were so busy surviving that they didn’t have time to follow up with him. They were also strict and didn’t allow him to go out much. Despite that, Adolfo went on to become not only a successful student, but also fluent in English and Spanish, writing poetry in both languages.
While still in high school, he began to work at the Oakwood Garden Apartments. Many retired Jews and World War II veterans lived there and Adolfo became friends with them. He liked to listen to their stories, and this had a positive influence on him. A good reporter likes to listen to others’ stories.
He was also positively influenced by one of his counselors in high school who saw how motivated and determined he was. This adviser encouraged him to apply to Muir College at UC San Diego, where he was accepted and started in 1987.
Adolfo had a secret though. Until his senior year in high school, he had lived in San Diego as an undocumented immigrant. Finally, in 1986, when the immigration-reform law was passed under President Ronald Reagan, Adolfo was able to get a green card. He became a citizen in 2000.
At UC San Diego he studied political science under mentors Wayne Cornelius and Paul Drake. He attended many of the talks given at the Institute of the Americas and worked on the student publication Voz Fronteriza where he got the journalism bug. He graduated in 1994 with a degree in political science.
It was at the university that he met Adrian Arancibia and Miguel Angel Soria, and in 1994 the Taco Shop Poets were born. Inspired by the Puerto Rican poet Jesus Papoleto Melendez, they wanted to combine the spoken word with jazz, and perform “for the people” in taco shops, coffee houses and other public venues. Mikey Figgins joined them on bass and Kevin Green on drums.
A year later Tomas Riley joined, and they began to tour around California and beyond, enjoying increasing popularity. The ride lasted until 2004 when they went their separate ways. Today, Adolfo, Adrian and Tomas occasionally get together to perform.
In 1993, Adolfo began working as a freelance reporter at KPBS and in 1996 became a news talk show producer. He also launched a daily Gen-X arts and culture show called, “The Lounge,” which featured in-studio performances. Sean Lennon was one of his guests. His success at KPBS led him to KPCC in Los Angeles where he has been working as an education reporter ever since.
Love also led him to the Los Angeles area, where he now lives in Long Beach. In 1992, he met Lysa Saltzman, and they began dating. She was studying to be a lawyer, and was later hired by a firm in Orange County. They married in 2002 and have two children, Jordan, 11, and Elyanna, 4.
They decided to raise their children as Jews, so Adolfo wanted to learn more about the Jewish faith. They joined Temple Israel in Long Beach. In 2011, he began to attend Saturday morning Torah classes with Rabbi Steven Moskowitz as a way to have more intellectual stimulation and connection.
At first, he didn’t get the teachings of the Torah, but soon the spiritual lessons became important to him. He views himself as an observant non-Jew who is a part of the tribe. He is not sure yet if he wants to convert.
Being torn between worlds seems to be part of Adolfo’s life path. From the time he was a young child, curiosity has been his MO. This same desire to learn and grow has led him on many different paths successfully.
Mimi Pollack is an ESL teacher and a freelance writer.
