Gentle cabrones:

Did you see the goal?

In the first minute of the first period of Game 6 between the Las Vegas Golden Knights and the Anaheim Ducks this past week, Golden Knights right winger Mitch Marner got a long pass and sped to the net. He had a clear path to a shot until he didn’t — a defender slowed down his breakaway to a sputter. Then Marner did the only thing he can do:

He pivoted.

Marner turned around so that his back faced the Ducks goaltender and came to a full stop. He feinted to the right, then tapped the puck to his left. Only one way to score: through his legs.

GOAL!!!

1-0, first period in a series that the Knights led 3-2. No way the Ducks could recover. 5-1 the final, with the Knights advancing to the Western Conference Final. People are already calling Marner’s move one of the great goals in NHL history, and it very well might be the greatest since Bobby Orr’s Superman winner.

But what I especially loved about Marner’s sequence is that it displayed the importance of something anyone who wants to advance in life must master.

The pivot.

Mike Tyson once said that everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth. And ain't that the truth? So when that happens, what are you gonna do about it?

When you've prepared and trained and practiced for your big moment, and then all of that preparation won’t help you at all, what are you gonna do about it?

I've seen the scenario play out many times before in my life. Most people fail.

Politicians freeze in fear. People dumbstruck by actions they weren’t expecting. That king from the third Lord of the Rings, wandering around unable to conceive of a victory, because his plans. were…well, not up in fire because dragons are a Game of Thrones thing.

When life hands you a lemon, make limoncello.

Winners pivot.

I pivot.

Let's pivot!

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Pivot.

Speech at Cal State Fullerton maybe 15 years ago — wait, that would’ve been 2011 and this speech was like 2007…that was 19 years ago?

Fuck, time flies.

Youth summer camp for Latino and black kids to learn from each other. Can't remember who ran it. Career day. About 70 people in the audience in a lecture hall meant for twice more. The person who spoke before me was a comms person for the U.S. Forest Service. Maybe it was a communications panel, now that I think of it.

Parent day — they were there to check out what the kids were doing. The Forest Service woman didn't read the room at all. She talked about Latino this and Latina that, and did a lot of it in Spanish. Suddenly, a black parent all the way in the back yelled — and that's the proper word because they were upset — that not everyone in the auditorium was “Latin.”

The poor woman fumbled through the rest of her speech until she cut herself off early. The tension was real. The Latino parents were angry. The black parents were angrier. 

My turn. 

I, of course, never have any prepared comments when I speak, unless I'm giving a commencement speech or getting some sort of honor. I just give my hosts a topic, meditate on the subject, and step up to the podium and talk. I’m not sure what I planned to talk about during that Cal State Fullerton summer camp, but I knew I had to scrap it when it was my turn because I had a new job to do.

New speech in three minutes? Sure!

First thing I announced is that I was gonna speak in three languages. English, to the parents who only spoke English. Spanish, to the parents who understood that language better. And a whole different message to the kids in Spanglish. I can't remember the particulars of the speech except I urged everyone to embrace each other because there was just no other way. 

It was probably the best speech I ever gave, because not only did I calm everyone down but I won everyone over — including the angry black dad, who thanked me afterwards. Afterwards, the woman who had been humiliated thanked me near tears for what I had done. 

Pivot!

I was able to secure an interview with someone whose handlers did not want me to talk to. Thankfully, I had a friend in the person’s inner circle who got me in. Right as I was about to start the interview — scratch that, right as I pressed the record button on my phone — the main handler said that I could only talk about one subject and could definitely not talk about the subject I thought I had been cleared to talk about.

My friend looked at me with apologetic eyes but also a bit of intrigue. How the hell was I gonna be able to salvage this one? 

He had seen it before.

So I played by the rules of the handler. I  I got the person I was interviewing on such a roll that I was able to get an even richer story out of it – and I even got to ask one question about our forbidden subject that they gladly answered as they glared at their handler, who stewed that their plan to foil me failed. (This would lead to a severe reprimand for the two of us — especially my friend — but I’ll deal with that in a future La Comédie Oranger chapter)

PIVOT!

The wedding of dear friends of my honey and I. My honey was the wedding planner. Small ceremony, big hall. I did not have to help one bit – so I drank. Didn’t get too drunk because I would have to sober up to drive home, but enough to where I was faaaaaded.

Then someone grabs me. The emcee was even more drunk than I and couldn’t continue. The person who was supposed to cover for them had stage fright and refused to do their new job. I’m the one who knew how to charm crowds – so do it. Even worse? A celebrity friend of the newlyweds was about to serenade them. I got up on stage, made everyone laugh, walked off to applause and then collapsed in a corner somewhere out of nerves.

How do you pivot?

Know everything — no, seriously

All that learning and practice sets up your muscle memory to take over and try something you couldn’t possibly think of when you have to scrap your plans. Most of the times when you’ve pivot, you shouldn’t even be thinking – you have to unlock your inner T-800 and let it do its thing.

Trust yourself

Goes without saying, right? Then why say it! (Writing lesson there for ustedes). But pivoting is when you let your insecurities wither to the pathetic roadblocks that you are. You’ve gotten this far by you being you — just a little bit more of you is expected for the pivot, is all.

Be scared but brave

When you have to pivot, things are not normal. Let that fear of the unknown and imminent failure guide you to success. Fear is an underrated positive attribute. There’s no shame in being scared. I’m no biologist, but adrenaline courses through my body when I get nervous, the adrenaline I need to do things I otherwise wouldn’t do if I was calm.

Don’t pivot for pivot’s sake

This goes specifically to media conglomerates who toss what works to “pivot” to something new. That’s not a true pivot. A true pivot is a game-changer, not a lemmings march. If it works, improve on it instead of jumping off the proverbial cliff.

Not every pivot is going to be successful. But success usually goes to the over-planners who know it’s all for naught once it’s go time.

Poor Ducks. Better pivot next year?

**

Enough rambling. This was the semana that was:

IMAGE OF THE WEEK: Me and my honey at her epic 50th birthday party last weekend, just after I sang for her “Since I Don’t Have You” by the Skyliners by memory instead of some damn karaoke machine or some weak-salsa mariachi reading lyrics off an iPad. Thank you all who attended and those who wish her well — my media chica’s more radiant than ever!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “I beseech you to treasure up in your hearts these my parting words: Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity” — Horace Mann

LISTENING: “Rosita Alvírez,” Sparx. My mami had all the CDs of this sister group but somehow never told us — or never knew? — that they’re New Mexico music royalty, being the daughters of Tiny Morrie, the brother of Al Hurricane. AMAZING voices and harmonies, although their simultaneous swaying and off-shoulder blouses is SO 1990s. Hence included in Gustavo Arellano’s Weekly Radiola of Randomness YouTube songlist, where I’ve included every song I’ve ever featured in a canto — give it a spin!

READING: “Who should be on the Mount Rushmore of Oakland sports?”: A gimmick turned brilliant idea by the voices included and the history that unspools with each answer — even if you don’t agree with them, you learn along (my choice: Rickey Henderson, Bill Russell, Frank Robinson and Alysa Liu)

Gustavo Events  

May 23, 6:30 p.m.: I’m going to be participating with other local authors at a read-a-thon for Arvida Book Co., 115 W Main St., Tustin. Entry is FREE, books BARATO — support your locally owned bookstore!

Gustavo in the News

“Spencer Pratt Is Making Them Sweat in L.A.”: In which a Wall Street Journal reporter calls me “liberal,” showing how little the reporter actually reads me.

“Paradise Dynasty and Burritos La Palma team up on birria soup dumplings”: You know we live in a different era when the Orange County Register is quoting work of mine as an expert voice.

“California gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton mocked for misidentifying a ‘street taco’: The Guardian shouts out my taco tweet, as well as…

“Steve Hilton Called a Crunchy Del Taco a ‘Street Taco’ in California. The Backlash Was Instant”: …The New York Times…

“MAGA candidate roasted after misidentification of California food staple” …The Raw Story…

“Steve Hilton Faces Criticism Over Barstow Taco Social Media Post”: …Asatu News…

“A Look at Our Less-Than-Great Slate of Gubernatorial Candidates; RIP, Jason Collins–Coachella Valley Independent’s Indy Digest: May 14, 2026”: …Coachella Valley Independent…

“The ‘street taco’ blunder that shows Brits just don’t get Mexican food”: and The Times UK…

“Notebook: Alt Writing I” and “Notebook: Alt Writing II” AND “Notebook: Alt Writing III”: Someone does a multipart series on how amazing alt-weeklies were and includes me in all three parts.

“Alta Journal Lands 16 Nominations at the 2026 Southern California Journalism Awards”: Me and my “Ask a Californian” co-columnista Stacey Grenrock Woods are finalists for humor, as we should be!

“The Rise of Republicans in Latino California with Gustavo Arellano”: I don’t think I shared this one from last year, but I do remember that Chuck Rocha was pretty dismissive of me — haven’t been back on!

“To Live and Die in LA- Reconsideration?“: AltaPolicyWonk shouts me out as he usually does.

“Spencer Pratt and the Temptations of Populism”: The Atlantic writer Conor Friedersdorf should’ve named me instead of just link to my story given he’s also from Orange County and once wanted to debate me on immigration before he became famous haha.

“KCRW FUNdrive”: I wrote a little missive for KCRW’s drive, but I can’t find the link!

“The 2026 Pulitzer Prize winners announced”: A British publication shouts out my finalist nod.

“Rough & Tumble”: Made it into the May 15 edition.

“Nominees”: I’m telling you, someone likes me over at Merriam-Webster!

“Undercurrents with James Billot”: The British version of The Free Press quotes me but doesn’t name me.

Gustavo Stories 

“Grítale a Guti”: Latest edition of my Tuesday night IG Live free-for-all.

“Calvert vs. Kim: How Prop 50 forced a Republican showdown”: My latest KCRW “Orange County Line” commentary is about California’s 40th congressional district.

“Top candidates for California governor face off just weeks before June 2 election”: I contribute pieces to the Los Angeles Times live blog on watching the debate without sound, questions that each candidate should’ve asked each other, and the end of Antonio Villaraigosa as the It candidate.

“Tom Steyer courts Latinos in Santa Ana. A young voter wonders if it’s just a show”: My latest L.A. Times columna sees the California gubernatorial candidate visit Alta Baja Market. KEY QUOTE: “So a visit to Santa Ana, the heart of Latino Orange County, was a good move. At Alta Baja, he could talk to my Mexican American wife and other blue-collar Latinos. When rival Xavier Becerra came to O.C. a few weeks ago, on the other hand, he appeared at a private fundraiser attended mostly by professional Latinos.”

“How a fast food taco showed us who Steve Hilton really is”: My next latest L.A. Times columna talks about another California gubernatorial candidate. KEY QUOTE: “A humble man would have immediately owned up to his mistakes. Hilton is not a humble man.”

“Who won and who lost in Thursday night’s California gubernatorial debate? Our columnists weigh in”: My latest L.A. Times co-columna analyzes all the debates. KEY QUOTE: “The two candidates who advance to the general election would be wise to offer Californians a hope for the future that doesn’t call back to our yesterdays.”

You made it this far down? Gracias! Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram while you’re down here by clicking on their logos down below. Don’t forget to forward this newsletter to your compadres y comadres! You can’t get me tacos anymore, but you sure as hell can give them — and more — to the O.C. Catholic Worker!