Que Pasa Calexico

If you grew up in the 90's and early 2000's here in Calexico you probably remember the name TacoMex. The Arellano's and their food have been a staple in our community since 1992 when they first opened TacoMex. For most people who are in the restaurant business they know that owning a restaurant is a family affair and most of the time the younger members of the family end up hating it and don't see it as a future career, but not for Martin Arellano Jr. After being away for a while and running 3 successful food trucks in the San Antonio area he's come back to help his parents with Birria Red but only with one condition, if they let him bring back TacoMex to life and after having a successful soft open this past weekend the future looks bright for this new TacoMex era!

Follow TacoMex on Instagram!!

Today I had a really interesting conversation with Jonathan Angulo an El Centro native who is in the process of researching some of our local swap meets and open aired markets like Las Palmas, Santo Thomas and even the Price Center. Although he's in the early process of research and the writing of his book I learned a lot from some our local shops and local personalities.

Visit Jonathan's website for updates on his research and book.

It's election season once again and today I had the pleasure of talking to a returning guest, she is currently on the Central Union High School Board of Trustees and has been an elected official for the last 27 years and is now running for Imperial County Supervisor District 2, my guest today is Diahna Garcia-Ruiz.

Follow Diahna's campaign on Facebook!

Hoy tube el plaser de visitar Imperial Valley Colectivo y platicar con Ana Vazquez la creadora y duena del colectivo. Me conto un poco de sus experiencias que a vivido en los casi 3 anos de tener el colectivo. Tambien platicamos de los articolos que venden en el colectivo y como es que funciona ser parte del colectivo.

Sigue a Imperial Valley Colectivo en Instagram!!

Today I had a returning guest, the guest with the most appearances on the podcast. He's a former podcaster, stand up comedian, former Brawley elementary board of trustee, the 2023 Hidalgo Society Hispanic Male of the year and current Brawley city council member, Gil Rebollar. In today's episode we talked about local politics, what its been like being on Brawley's city council and how it compares to being on a school board and life in general.

Follow Gil on Facebook!

Today I had a returning guest, amazing artist, a Raves and Rants of Imperial Valley exile and now he's one of our local artist selected for the Far South/Border North grant my guest is Fernando "Fro" Reza. Today we talked a little bit of everything local politics, movies, funko/Mondo, movies, nostalgia and life in general. It's always fun catching up with old returning guest especially when it comes to toys and old movies/cartoons.

Follow Fernando on Instagram!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to an amazing artist out of San Diego but who was "born" and raise in Calexico, Ricardo Islas. We talked about what it was growing up in Calexico, how he started drawing and how it's going now that he's a full time artist.

Visit Ricardo's Big Cartel Shop!

Today I had the please of talking to the president of the Imperial County Central Committee and current community services commissioner for the city of Calexico, my guest today was Roxsanna Pacheco. She is also "born" and raised in Calexico with long roots in city of Calexico.

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Today I had the please of catching up with a returning guest, Alexandra Rangel. Our first conversation was back in 2019 and Alex was a local reporter working for KYMA. A few years later she left KYMA and started freelancing for KPBS in San Diego. She then decided to expand her range and move to Florida and work for a local network. She recently came back to the valley and I wanted to catch up and see what her experience was moving across the country and what her future plans are.

Follow Alexandra Rangel on Instagram!!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to a fellow Caleciano, podcaster, beer drinker and Brand Ambassador for Ballast Point Brewing Co., my guest today was Jeff Lozano. After living in SD for quite a while Jeff has temporarily come down to the Imperial Valley, specifically Calexico. We talked about what his experience was like growing up in Calexico, especially in the punk rock era/trasher era. Jeff also shared with me what made him fall in love with the small brewery/craft scene/bar and how he ended up working for Ballast Point. This will won't the last time you see or listen to Jeff on the podcast I really hope to collaborate with him in other projects that will benefit our community.

Follow Jeff Lozano on Instagram!

Today I had the pleasure of having a meal, drinking some chai and having a conversation with Angel Esparza. Many of you might know Angel as the creator of Mi Calexico or as a former Calexico City Council candidate or as one of the organizers for one of the many Calexico Art Walks. Angel is now working on a new project and he's hoping he can get some help from our community. During the pandemic Angel got really into drinking and making his own Chai tea and now he's hoping to open a space where people can come in and enjoy a healthy meal and drinks but also come in and learn, create and collaborate.

Follow Magic Chai on Instagram!

Today I had the pleasure of visiting the Comite Civico Del Valle headquarters and talk to two people that wear many hats at Comite but one of the most important roles they play is as the coordinators of the Salton Sea Outreach Program Mr Richard Brown and Ms Fernanda Vega. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to meet with Fernanda and Richard was to hear about their upcoming community workshop on April 20th to get an overview of the recently released 2023 Annual Report and learn about projects underway and current planning efforts.

Follow Salton Sea Community Outreach Education & Engagement on Instagram!

Today I had the pleasure of meeting the new director for the ICHS Pioneers Museum Mrs Caitlin Chavez.  A lot of us from the Imperial Valley might have seen the Pioneers Museum on our way to IVC or whenever we take Aten road but we ask ourselves, "I wonder what's inside?"  And let me tell you there's a lot of amazing displays showcasing animals from our area to actual buildings that are part of the Imperial Valley's history.  Director Chavez and her small staff do an amazing job at preserving and maintaining ICHS Pioneers Museum and I really hope that the next time you are in the area you stop by and learn more about what's inside and even outside.

Follow ICHS Pioneers Museum on Instagram!!

This episode is in Spanish.

Hoy tube el placer de platicar con una dueña de pequeña empresa de la cuidad de Calexico, la Sra. Anabel Lippmann.  La Sra Lippmann junto con sus dos hijas y su hijo abrieron Tropicana Fruit and Juice Bar poco antes de la pandemia.  Desafortunadamente hace mas de un año se empeso a renovar la carretera 98 y su negocio fue impactado negativamente.  

Sigan a Tropicana Fruit and Juice bar en Facebook!

Welcome to the 2023 season of the podcast!  Today I had the pleasure of talking to two very talented female boxers who happen to be sisters Liz and Yaya Oceguera.  Trained and coached by their dad they have won national championships and aspire to one day represent the USA in the Olympics, if possible Paris 2024.  These young ladies shared with us some of their experiences as boxers and what their routine looks like when they have a fight coming up.

Follow Liz and Yaya's boxing page on Instagram!

Today I had the pleasure of meeting and talking to Imperial Valley College President Dr. Lennor Johnson.  We talked about some of the amazing accomplishments our local community college has accomplished, like being on the top 10 list of ASPEN list.  But Dr Johnson was here to talk and promote a measure that's on the November ballot, Measure B.  If passed they hope to bring in close to $130 million dollars to expand it's facilities to be able to train our local students in lithium, and also train more fire fighter, police officers, paramedics, and emergency medical technicians to name a few.

Learn more about measure B on their Facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/ImprovePublicSafetyTraining

Huge thanks to Calexico Brewing Company for allowing us to record this episode at their tap room!!

Thank You to my Anchor Sponsors!

Camilo Garcia, Jake, Eric Ortega

Norma Sierra Galindo IID Director representing division 5 and serving the entire Imperial Valley!

Sergio's Tacos and Hotdogs!

Follow Sergio's Tacos and Hotdogs

Today I had the pleasure of talking to a candidate for El Centro City Council Ms Sonia Carter.  This is her 2nd time running for city council, back in 2020 she ran for the 1st time and she was amazed of how well her campaign did despite being in the middle of the pandemic.  She feels that this time around she can do a much better job now that she can go out and talk to the community in person.

Follow Ms Sonia Carter's campaign on Facebook!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to hard working stay at home mom who left a successful professional career to spend more time with her son Mathew who is in the autism spectrum.  After leaving the workforce she has spent her spare time advocating for all children with autism.  She spent a lot of her time living in the outskirts of Westmorland but has recently moved into town and this has make her realized the needs for some of the families in her community.  She hopes having a seat in the Candidate for Westmorland Union Elementary School Board will help her be a bigger help to those in need in her community.

Read a Calexico Chronicle article about Ms Gloria Brambila!

Today I had the please of talking to a former Calexico City Council and former Mayor for the City of Calexico and now candidate for Calexico City Council Mr Bill Hodge.  If elected this would be his 3rd term as a member of Calexico City Council.  Mr Hodge hopes that his experience and willingness to stand up to administration to fight for what's best for the city and it's residents will get your vote this coming November.

Follow Dia De Los Muertos at the Border on Instagram!!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to assemblymember for California's 56th district, Eduardo Garcia.  This is the third time I've had the honor of talking to assemblymember Garcia but this is the 1st time we talked in person.  In today's episode we talked about some of the legislature that was recently passed, some of the issues our district is facing, some of the projects coming down the pipeline and he also talked about why he believes he is still the right candidate to advocate for district 56.

Follow Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia on Facebook!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to a life long Imperial resident and now candidate for Imperial City Council, Mrs Ida Obeso-Martinez.  She is also a member of MANA of Imperial Valley and part of the board for ARC of Imperial Valley.  This is her first time running for an elected position and although she already helps her community in many other ways she feels being part of the city council she'll be able to be a bigger help for the community of the City of Imperial.

Follow Ida's campaign on Instagram!!

Today I had the pleasure of having a returning guest, Ms Gina Dockstader.  Gina is a 4th generation Imperial Valley native and local entrepreneur who is running for a seat in the IID board of directors.  Ms Dockstader is hoping to represent the people of division 3, this is her first time running for a public office position and was able to be the top vote getter in the June elections and run in this run off election.

Follow Gina's campaign on Facebook!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to an El Centro native who is now running for the position of district attorney in the November election, my guest is Mr George Marquez.  He ran a successful campaign in June and now is hoping to have your vote in the November election.

Follow George Marquez' campaign on Facebook!

My guest today has been an employee for the IID for the past 48 years, he's was a city council member for the city of Brawley for 12 years and now he's a candidate for board of directors for IID division 3, Mr Don Campbell.  He was 2nd in votes in the June election and is now facing Ms Gina Dockstader in the November run off election.

Huge thanks to Calexico Brewing Company for allowing us to record this episode at their tap room!!

Thank You to my Anchor Sponsors!

Camilo Garcia, Jake, Eric Ortega

Norma Sierra Galindo IID Director representing division 5 and serving the entire Imperial Valley!

Sergio's Tacos and Hotdogs!

Follow Sergio's Tacos and Hotdogs

Today I had the please of sitting down and having a chat with the Mayor for the City of El Centro and now candidate for re election for El Centro city council, Mr Tomas Oliva.  Tomas ran for city council a couple of times and lost and then in 2018 he was elected for city council and is now at the tailed of his first term.  He feels that with the knowledge he acquired in his first term as a city council member he now has more to offer to the residents of El Centro and he hopes to be re elected this November.

Follow Tomas Oliva on Facebook for campaign updates!

Today I had the pleasure of talking returning guest, Mr Gil Rebollar.  Gil is in the last months of his 1st term as Brawley Elementary Board of Trustees and he is now a candidate for Brawley City Council.  

Follow Gil's campaign on Facebook!

Today I had the please of talking to Kristian Salgado, the new Imperial County Master Gardener Coordinator.  The UC Master Gardener Program has been in existence for almost 40 year in the state of California but this will be the 1st year we will have one in the Imperial County.  Kristian and I talked about gardening, composting and a lot of other things about growing and plating food or flowers, but most importantly we talked about how you can become a Master Gardener.

Follow UC Master Gardener Program in Imperial County on Instagram!!

Today I had the please of talking to Luis Daniel Sandoval aka El Pinkis.  For those of you who don't know what Pinkis is, it started as a hot dog cart and now it has evolved into a Food truck.  Luis and I talked about how and why he decided to start a hot dog cart and the hurdles he faced to get all of his permits and licenses in order.  We also talked about local politics and what the future holds for Pinkis Food truck.

Follow Los Pinkis Food Truck on Instagram!

Today I had the please of having a conversation with Calexico's new city manager, Mrs Esperanza Colio Warren.  She is Calexico's 2nd female city manager and the first Mexican Female city manager.  Ms Colio Warren shared with me what motivated her to get to where she is now and what she hopes to accomplish has Calexico's new city manager.  She knows its going to be hard work but she's used to working hard and she hopes to be able to guide everyone at city hall the best way she knows how.

Thank You to my Anchor Sponsors!

Camilo Garcia, Jake, Eric Ortega

Norma Sierra Galindo IID Director representing division 5 and serving the entire Imperial Valley!

Sergio's Tacos and Hotdogs!

Follow Sergio's Tacos and Hotdogs

Today I visited a place some of us used to visit as a cool place where you could hand out but quietly and also to do research for any school project, our local library Camarena Memorial Library.  I had the pleasure of talking to library manager Mrs Lizeth Legaspi.  We talked about how she became the library's manager and how they've adapted during COVID and how they are trying new things to keep the community interested in reading and being creative.

Visit Camarena Memorial Library's websites!

Today I had a returning guest, Mr Eric Reyes.  The fist time Eric was on we talked a little bit about himself and we didn't get a chance to talk about some of the committees he's involved and why he feels it's important for everyone to have a seat on the table.  We also talked about the June 7 elections and why we need more people to vote and to believe that their vote does count. 

Thank You to my Anchor Sponsors!

Camilo Garcia, Jake, Eric Ortega

Norma Sierra Galindo IID Director representing division 5 and serving the entire Imperial Valley!

Sergio's Tacos and Hotdogs!

Follow Sergio's Tacos and Hotdogs

Today I had the pleasure of talking to the current Imperial County Assessor who is now running for re-election for another term, Mr Robert Menvielle.  We spoke about his experience as the Imperial County assessor and why he should be re-elected to be our county's assessor for another 4 years.

Follow Mr Venvielle's Campaign on Facebook!!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to a former Brawley city council member and now candidate for IID director for Division 3, Mr Don Campbell.  

Mr Campbell is a El Centro native but has lived in Brawley for the past 20 or so years.  He's worked for the IID for the past 48 year and wants to bring his knowledge as a IID employee to the IID board of directors.

Follow Don's campaign on Facebook!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to mayor pro-tem for the city of Calipatria, she is also the director-coordinator for the Niland Family Resource Center and advocate for our the low income families and the under served families in the North end of the Imperial County, my guest for today was Mrs Maria Nava-Froelich. 

Follow Maria Nava-Froelich's campaign on Facebook!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to a 1st generation Calexico, Calexico High Graduate, UC Santa Barbara Graduate and now Imperial County Board of Supervisors candidate for division 1, Briant Fabela Luna.  

Follow Briant on Instagram!!

Today I had the please of having a conversation with a life long Imperial Valley native and now candidate for IID division 4, Mrs Gina Dockstader.  She is a 4th generation Imperial Valley native with a long background in agribusiness, she's a Calipat graduate with a BA in public relations and minors in business and Spanish.  This is her first time running for any public office position and hopes to put Imperial Valley families first if she's elected.

Follow Gina Dockstader's Campaign on Instagram!!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to one of the two candidates for Imperial County Assessor, Mr Ricardo Avila.  In his early 20's he worked for the assessor's office, he later when into the private sector but eventually came back to the Assessor's office.  After working for several assessors he feels it's time for a change and he feels he's can lead the office to a positive change.

Follow Ricardo Avila's campaign on Facebook!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to former mayor and current city council from the city of Imperial, Ms Karin Eugenio.  She is now also a candidate for IID Division 5, in today's episode we talked about her experience as a city council member and how she plans on helping the imperial Valley as an IID director if elected.

Follow Karin's campaign on Facebook!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to a returning guest, Ramon Castro.  He is a Marine Veteran, Brawley City Council member, veteran advocate and now Candidate for IID Board of directors for Division 3.  After running for city council a couple of times and not  coming out successful, in 2020 Ramon finally got a seat for city council in Brawley, now he's trying to run another successful campaign. 

Follow Ramon Castro's campaign on Facebook!!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to a returning guest, Andrew Arevalo.  Last  time we spoke we we're in the height of a pandemic and lock down and he had decided to run for a board member seat at El Centro Elementary School District and won all while getting used to distance learning/teaching.  Andrew is now running for IID board of directors for Division 1.

Follow Andrew Arevalo's campaign on Facebook!!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to current deputy district attorney for Imperial county and now candidate for District Attorney for Imperial County, Mario Vela.  He is a Calexico native and grew up with learning from his parents, who both studied and practiced law in Mexicali.  Although only 31 Mr Vela feels he has the experience and knowledge to lead the Imperial County district attorney's office.

Follow Mario Vela's campaign on Facebook!!

Today I had the pleasure of hanging out with the guys from Strangers Co, Felipe Stranger, Jerrod Storm and Snarf D.  We talked about some of the events they brought to the valley in the past and what we can expect in the near future from them.  Make sure to follow them on Instagram for all and any updates!!

Follow Strangers Co on Instagram!!

Today I had the pleasure to talk to a returning guest, Mr George Marquez.  The first time I spoke to Mr Marquez he stopped by to talk to Calexico's Rotary Club since he is the current president for the chapter.  This time he stopped by to talk to us about his campaign to run for Imperial County's District Attorney.  He talked to us why he feels his experience as a prosecutor and as a public defender can help him become a  good District Attorney and how he plans to fix one of the things he feels the DA's offices needs fixing, high rate turnover.

Follow George Marquez' Campaign on Facebook!!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to returning guest, Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia.  He stopped by to give us a review of some of the things he was able to accomplish in 2022 representing the 56th assembly district which include communities in eastern Riverside County and Imperial county.  Some of the topics we touched were the redistricting, Salton Sea and New River updates and historic 2021 budget allocations for education, broadband and housing.

Follow Assemblymember Eduardo Garcia on Instagram for any updates!!

Today I had the pleasure of talking to police chief for the city of Calexico, Chief Gonzalo Chalo Gerardo.  Back in episode 47 I had the pleasure of talking to Chief Gerardo back then he was about a year into his role as police chief, fast forward to today and he's about a two weeks away from his retirement.  

Thank You to my Anchor Sponsors!

Camilo Garcia, Jake, Johnny Cabrera, Edward Velasquez and Norma Sierra Galindo!

Sergio's Tacos and Hotdogs!

Follow Sergio's Tacos and Hotdogs

Today I had the pleasure of talking to a life long BroleÑo, Imperial valley High School football hall of famer, Calexico High School former teacher and local activist, Mr Eric Reyes.  Mr Reyes is part of several organization and committees that war looking to bring social justice and equality to everyone in our community especially our local farm worker.  In today's episode I wanted to dive into Mr Reye's upbringing and to kind of learn what gave him this passion to do the work that he's doing.

Thank You to my Anchor Sponsors!

Camilo Garcia, Jake, Johnny Cabrera, Edward Velasquez and Norma Sierra Galindo!

Sergio's Tacos and Hotdogs!

Follow Sergio's Tacos and Hotdogs