Canto CLXXIII: My Profe Once Wrote Me a Letter

Gentle cabrones:

Yesterday, I had the honor of speaking before a book club where members read books by Orange County people and/or Chapman University alumni and/or employees, and wouldn’t you know it: I’m an and/or doubly!

They kindly chose my Taco USA: How Mexican Food Conquered America and even more kindly agreed to meet me at my honey’s Alta Baja Market (still even more kindly: they agreed to reschedule for this Friday at the last minute because columna duties came up at the last second and necessitated a change). The members enjoyed their food while I rambled for 15 minutes about my book, then I got sharper than a queso de pata once they asked questions about everything from how the same dish may have different names depending on region (the wet burrito of California is the enchilada burrito of Arizona is the smothered burrito of the manitos, while New Mexico’s adovada is the pocho cousin of el norte’s adobada) to where one could get a good cup of café de olla (at Alta Baja, of course).

Then a gentleman raised his hand, and it was exactly who I suspected it was:

Dr. William Cumiford. Chapman alum, Chapman history professor with a specialty in Latin America. Profe for 33 years at my alma mater.

My profe.

I immediately smiled when he saw that I recognized him. The best professors you have, you try to take multiple courses with no matter what they teach. That was Dr. Cumiford.

I took a History of Mexico course with him and Latin American History through Film and would’ve taken more classes with him except I was there for just two years. Such a great profe that I always think about him when I think about my Chapman years, every time I step into Beckman Hall (where at least one of his classes was for sure) and always mention him as an awesome profe that I had in the past whenever the opportunity arises.

I know I exchanged emails with him a few times over the years, but I think I had seen him once ever since I graduated in 2001. And here he was, listening to me.

Still looked exactly the same: bespectacled. Immaculate white goatee. Soft but resonant voice. Skinny with a perfectly Bicced head.

Dr. Cumiford asked a great question about the popularity of Mexican alcohol in the U.S., and I answered that only beer and tequila were really popular at the time of Taco USA’s publication in 2012 but that we’re now in a Mexican booze renaissance, a word I immediately took back because that would’ve suggested Mexican booze went through a time where it dropped in popularity, which it never has. He asked a follow-up question about whether it was true that Mexican beers owed their foundations to German, Czech and Austrian immigrants, and I trotted out my well-worn line that Bohemia didn’t take its name from the last Aztec emperor, which ALWAYS gets a rightful laugh.

It was so wonderful to see Dr. Cumiford, and I looked forward to catching up with him after my talk — but a few minutes after his two-part question, he rose to stand besides me.

He told everyone how he was my professor and that in an envelope he was about to hand me was a letter of recommendation he wrote for me 25 years ago, when I graduated from Chapman and was looking for what was next.

“I am a prophet!” Dr. Cumiford joked to everyone as he said he knew I was destined for greatness the moment I took his classes and that I exceeded all the expectations he had of me when I was there.

Damn.

People in the audience asked that I read out loud his letter of recommendation. I refused — gotta sign up to my newsletter, where I’d share it, I said, because you always got to be plugging what you do, you know? But I did share a lot of what I said in this here canto about Dr. Cumiford and disclosed my favorite move in his class to psych out my fellow classmates: while all the other students were furiously taking notes, I just listened and absorbed everything and still got As.

Dr. Cumiford laughed and nodded in delighted memory.

Afterward, I helped my honey out at the counter when Dr. Cumiford approached. He praised Taco USA for its academic rigor, for its ease in read, for its humor and expert melding of English and Spanish and loved how my columnas reflected that. I tried to ask how he was doing, but profe wouldn’t hear of it: right now, it was about me.

“You haven’t changed at all,” Dr. Cumiford said. “Well, except for a little bit more gray.”

“And not as much hair anymore!” I deadpanned.

We posed for the photo below, I vowed to email with him so we could connect further.

But what did he write about me so long ago?

First time reading this newsletter? Subscribe here for more merriment! Feedback, thoughts, commentary, rants? Send them to [email protected]

As I opened the manila folder Dr. Cumiford gave me, I flashed back to when I took his classes.

Kind, but with expectations students needed to do their part. Confident like only an Army vet can be but not cocky. Knew what he lectured about. The book he assigned us to read for the Mexico course, Triumphs and Tragedy: A History of the Mexican People, remains one of the best textbooks I ever had to read. Great smile but more of a chuckler than a laugher.

It was so touching that Dr. Cumiford not only kept up with my career, but bragged to his group about what a great student I was. That wasn’t always my life, of course. Three years before I entered Chapman, I was a proud underachiever at Anaheim High with a good chance of not graduating.

It took Ms. Spykerman calling me out to snap me into attention (Canto CXCIII). But once I got it, there was no looking back. Once I had a class like Cumiford’s — read a lot, write a lot, think a lot — I was on my way to where I am today.

Rising to the occasion: not something everyone can do. Thank God I’ve been able to more often than not.

What was in Dr. Cumiford’s letter?

It was a two-pager he wrote the month I graduated. I was seeking…something…I applied for, something I completely forgot about until I saw to whom Dr. Cumiford’s letter was addressed to. A summer opportunity, since I didn’t need scholarships since UCLA was not only going to give me a full ride for grad school but also a stipend. Something that would’ve allowed me to advance my academic career.

So what did the letter say???

To Whom It May Concern:

It s with great pleasure that I write to you in support of Mr. Gustavo Arellano's application to your fellowship program. I met Gustavo just over a year ago when he enrolled in my History of Mexico course at Chapman University. Moreover, I have enjoyed ongoing contact with Mr. Arellano during the current semester in my course titled, "Latin American History Through Film." My long-standing association with the diversity and multicultural programs on the campus has likewise afforded a number of opportunities to interact with Gustavo on a regular basis. I can state without reservation that Mr. Arellano is one of the most intelligent, creative, articulate, and accomplished members of the Chapman University student body community. Further, he has been a superlative role model for minority students on the Chapman campus.

Without attempting to chronicle Gustavo's numerous and impressive achievements in research, service, committee work, and volunteerism, I nonetheless must call attention to the stupendous record he has amassed at Chapman in a relatively short period of time. Ranging from Director of Multicultural Affairs and News Director of the campus radio station, to editor and writer of the Chapman MEChA chapter, Mr. Arellano's extracurricular activities have been nothing short of stupefying. While attending classes full-time, Gustavo has maintained a busy life of writing, editing, committee coordination, volunteer service, and club membership. Moreover, his activism has been infectious in attracting many other Chapman students to issues of diversity and multicultural awareness.

Amazingly, Gustavo's busy and productive schedule of service has not detracted from his stellar endeavors in the classroom. Mr. Arellano is one of the very brightest students I have encountered in my eight years at Chapman. I can readily attest to his mastery of both English and Spanish and his felicity in written and verbal expression. Gustavo unfailingly brings a keen eye to critical analysis while rising to every academic challenge. He has performed as the number one student in the History of Mexico and Latin American History Through Film courses. Mr. Arellano possesses all the requisite attributes for the most demanding academic pursuits; he is the quintessential candidate to conduct exacting research and produce penetrating and informative results.

For the objectives outlined by the [REDACTED BY GUSTAVO FOR REASONS THAT WILL SOON BECOME APPARENT], Gustavo is the perfect choice as a researcher. He is consistently well informed on the issues of the day, particularly regarding matters involving the Latino community. Mr. Arellano's considerable experience in community-based organizations qualifies him as an ideal candidate for the qualities you seek in this endeavor. In fact, it is rare to encounter a student who exudes intellectual depth while projecting such a gregarious and varied life outside the classroom. Gustavo's impressive record is a testimony to a young life full of promise.

Finally, I must add that Gustavo is outgoing, extremely personable, and socially energetic. Mr. Arellano is no cloistered scholar, but rather channels his intellectual capabilities into mainstream service to his university, fellow students, family, and community. Gustavo will be a credit to your program as he has been an unparalleled asset to Chapman University.

Should you require more information regarding Gustavo Arellano's outstanding academic achievements and estimable personal traits, please contact me at your convenience.

“You haven’t changed at all.”

And yet I had. Everything Dr. Cumiford saw in me then didn’t exist until I entered Chapman and decided to level up (Canto CX). It was through people like him that I was able to transform into a far better version of myself.

I’m still trying.

In a few weeks, I’ll teach my Latinx History of OC class at Chapman. Fourth fall in a row I’ve done it. I just had my first Chapman student take a class of mine for the second time. I’ve had a couple of parents tell me how my class helped invigorate their children and more than a few students tell me the same. I’m starting to write letters of recommendations for my students.

His letter, man…

Thank you, Dr. Cumiford, all these decades later. Everything you said about me then, I’ve tried to live up to, even if I didn’t know that’s how you saw me and even though I’m not really estimable or felicitous.

But the funny thing about this banger of a recommendation? It didn’t work. I didn’t get what I was seeking.

But it’s okay and absolutely not Dr. Cumiford’s fault. Because I didn’t get that fellowship, I was able to spend my summer at the Infernal Rag, which seeded in me the idea that maybe journalism could be a thing for me. Everything Dr. Cumiford saw in me then was like a resume for a public scholar, yes: but what is the best public scholar if not a street-fighting columnista?

And don’t worry, Dr. Cumiford: Sixteen years later after you wrote this wonderful recommendation, I applied to an affiliated branch of the exact same place that rejected me back in the summer of 2001.

I needed a job. They didn’t give it to me. And now, they no longer exist.

But here we both are. Let’s go grab lunch!

**

Enough rambling. This was the semana that was:

IMAGE OF THE WEEK: Terrible photo of delicious pizza at Pizzeria Bianco at the Row DTLA. Surprised my honey for our 13th wedding anniversary — textiles are the gift you’re supposed to give, so guess away!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Perhaps we cannot make this a world in which children are no longer tortured. But we can reduce the number of tortured children” — Albert Camus

LISTENING: “Aquellos Ojos Verdes,” Trío Guayacán. Mostly forgotten trio that nevertheless impresses with their bohemian wonder. Love how they mix into the standard maracas and what seems like the same trumpeter that played on Pedro Infante’s version of“Flor de Retoño” to their perfect melodies — and a rumba-style piano! 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: “16 hours in an Oakland dive bar”: My Oakland comadre Azucena Rasilla gets to show off her reporting and community chops with this wonderful piece, one I’ve always wanted to do but OC ain’t borracho enough.

Gustavo Events  

August 9, 1 p.m.: I’m going to be reading poetry in front of Alta Baja with a bunch of superstars: LAist legend Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, Lisa Alvarez (Canto CDXX), Mike Sonsen (Canto CDLVI) and more in an OC-vs-LA series! At my honey’s store, 201 E. Fourth St., Ste. 101, SanTana. Event is FREE

August 11, 7 p.m.: I’m going to give a pre-talk before a screening of American Pachuco: The Legend of Luis Valdez at the Frida Cinema, 305 E Fourth St., #100, SanTana. Tickets are $13 and can be bought here — and you’ll probably catch me at the 2:30 screening that day of Sullivan’s Travels because OH MY GOD IT’S SCREENING!!!

Gustavo in the News

“Downtown L.A.’s infamous graffiti towers are finally getting cleaned up”: A Los Angeles Times newsletter you should subscribe to plugs a columna of mine.

Gustavo Stories 

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

“Are Flock cameras spying on you? O.C. residents think so”: My latest KCRW “Orange County Line” commentary talks about Costa Mexico’s ridiculous continuation of its contract with the All-Seeing Eye of Sauron.

"Boyle Heights neighbors demand accountability amid warehouse fire aftermath”: I appear on Inside the Issues to talk about the headline at hand and a bit about Legendary Cosumo and Hook-u (Canto CDLX).

“The joy and heartbreak of adopting a senior dog”: My latest L.A. Times columna talks about Frosted Faces Foundation. KEY QUOTE: “As I stared into his tired eye, I remembered what he and Hook taught us.”

“The banality of evil in the Border Patrol’s secret anti-immigrant slur”: My next latest L.A. Times columna talks about “tonk” and features quotational fire from Nericcio (Canto CDLXI). KEY QUOTE: “If you’re still doubting that racist violence fuels President Trump’s deportation deluge, just consider what Gavidia and Ramirez have been through.”

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!