Meet the Board: Ivan Garcia
Ivan speaks with Director of Development, Emily Long about his experience growing up on the US-Mexico border and how that experience informs the way he champions Latinx stories.
Emily Long: So Ivan, how old were you when you were growing up on the border? What was your family situation like?
Ivan Garcia: I was born in El Paso. My family had the privilege to be able to get good health care, and have me be born in Texas, and then just go back to Mexico, because they could. So we were privileged enough, middle class, to be able to do that. So I grew up in Juárez, most of my life. We didn’t have a lot of money or anything, but I had a decent and fun time growing up there. I spent most of my life there until I was 23 years old, when I made a full time move to El Paso to live. But since I was 12, or 11, I started going to the public school in Texas, I used to go to a public school, so it was kind of weird, right? But we crossed every day, to Texas to go to school. I mean, it was fun, it was something different. I remember the times before 9/11, when crossing the border was so easy, and — like, not easy, not in a way of getting here without your papers or anything, right? I mean easy like they were chill, there were not these big revisions, or checkups, or whatever.
And then after 9/11, it was like one hour, two hours to cross every day. And you will cross the bridge because over there the Rio Grande comes through New Mexico and starts right through New Mexico and then through El Paso and it goes all the way through the Gulf of Mexico. So that’s why you have a river, and it’s kind of different from the other areas where you can cross the border.
And then I will say, El Paso and Juárez, one city from above, you don’t see the difference. But once you put your feet on the ground, it’s a very different kind of place when you are in the US and when you are in Mexico. At my time, it was considered the most dangerous city in the world, and the murder rate per capita was tremendous. And then in the US, across the fence, you had the number one safest city in the US, and the best city to retire in.
EL: So how old were you when you moved full time? Over to the US.
IG: Full time, I moved when I was 23. I made the move in — November of 2010, I think it was.
EL: Sounds like it must have been hard to leave, then?
IG: It was, but it was just the right decision. And just the feeling of feeling safe — it’s not like they were after me. No one was after me or after anything, it’s just feeling safe, that anything can happen because you can be at the wrong time at the wrong moment. I have many friends, and a couple of friends that were murdered, or they were kidnapped, and stuff like that. That, at least if it happens here, it will be a big deal. Over there, it’s that every day thing.
EL: Culturally, does that change how you identify?
IG: I think that, like any other place, like if you have someone who lives on the US-Canadian border, they’re their own kind of breed, right? Because they live under a different set of circumstances. And then on the Mexico-US border, it’s a totally different set of circumstances. It’s a different culture. I call myself a border boy, or “fronterizo”. We even have a different set of license plates over there that are not the regular set of plates that you have in the rest of Mexico. I identify myself as a border kid who grew up in a very different set of circumstances. Like me, there are like four million people out of every generation who are from that area, or that come out of there to do a different set of things.
Either way, I love Juarez. I go back as many times as I can. I visit my friends every now and then, I visit my parents. They’re there. They are US citizens, and they choose to live over there. The beautiful thing there is just the people. The city? It’s ugly. That’s the truth. It’s not a pretty place.
EL: Do you feel like you need to tell your story any differently? You’ve had what, for most of us in Chicago, might be considered a kind of unique experience growing up on the border.
IG: I think everyone has their unique story growing up. I know mine sounds weird when I’m telling all these stories about things, like, “I remember when I was here, and there was a shooting.” But that’s just what happened when I grew up, and where I was.
It made me who I am. In a way, it made me see things differently, I don’t get spooked easily, like with violence and things that I see on the news. It helped me also feel closer and more empathy for people who didn’t have the same chance that I did, because my parents just decided they were privileged enough to have me being born on the other side of the fence. And that brought me a lot of opportunities in life that I don’t think I would ever have gotten in any other way. As much as I could work hard, and make all these projects, I don’t think it would have gotten me where I am at just because the only reason that I am where I am besides hard work is that I was born here. I feel sad for other people that work really hard, but their set of circumstances is just that they have no real good choices. I feel more empathy for people who are crossing the border, who are just trying to make a life and a living for their families back in their countries. Ask that person who walks all the way from Central America, all the way to Juárez or any other border city just to try to get asylum or a permit or something.
EL: So does that all play into your work at your work at Univision? I know you’re a huge champion, obviously, for the Latino community and culture.
IG: Yeah, of course. I love to tell the story of people who went through super, super dark and hard times, and they made it. Now they’re doing something great for the community here, even though they don’t have much financially. They don’t have much financially to give, but they give their life to help out other people. We also have the cliche story of these guys who made it big and blah, blah, blah, but I like to go after people who are actually doing something with their hands, with their time, instead of just just money.
EL: Do you have a favorite story that you’ve done lately about someone who’s doing something with their hands?
IG: We have a guy who just decided to organize and ask the city for a lot that was full of oil and trash in their community. And he made a community garden, he decided to give classes, and also invite other people who used to live in rural communities in Mexico, just to come and plant seeds of their favorite fruits or things that they are not able to get here.
EL: Is that here in Chicago?
IG: Yes, it is around Pilsen, I also get to do some passion projects. Right now we’re doing a project about three kids. We have been following them since I think it was January of this year, in their senior year in Morton West High School in Berwyn. It’s about these three Latino kids and what their transition from high school to university looks like. We have this young woman who was selected to play soccer in Division One. So she went to Champaign because she wanted to live closer to her family, she got a full scholarship. We have this other guy who’s studying to be a medic and got a full ride to University of Chicago. And we have this other guy who chose the path of music, and he sings mariachi during the week and the weekend.
We followed them between their transition from a few months before graduation, through graduation, through what the ninety days of transition looked like during the summer and then when they’re going to college or university. For the girl who plays soccer, she plays on a team where she stands out because she’s the only person who’s not white. And we talk about that, and we talk about opportunities. Like anything, you have to work harder just to get to the same place that other people get to, just because of your skin color. We called that one “El Último Verano,” or “The Last Summer.”
EL: Is it a news story or a short film, or something else?
IG: It’s a short doc, but we have to adapt it to TV, we are also making a version that we are trying to put into our own streaming service (VIX) from Univision.
EL: When do you think it’s going to come out?
IG: We had it ready for this October because we wanted to release it during Hispanic Heritage Month. But, you know, the universe didn’t align. We were not able to secure a sponsor. So I think we’re going to do an under-the-radar broadcast in December. And then we’re going to do the fall screening next year. It’s either September or October.
EL: It sounds like your work is something that you’re really passionate about. What are some other things that make you get up out of bed in the morning on these dark cold Chicago mornings that we have coming up?
IG: One thing that gets me out of bed is spending time with my wife. I love her. I love to work. I love projects. If I don’t have a project, I go crazy. I have to be doing something. I love woodworking. I suck at it, but I like it. Because I’m not very patient. If I have to measure something, I just go for it. I eyeball everything.
EL: Can I ask how you met your wife?
IG: I met my wife in Juárez. In a nightclub. I used to have a radio show over there that I started when I was 16. It was a DJ show. Not EDM, but it was more like progressive electronic music, like from the rave scene. As part of the show, I used to have Wednesday nights at a certain nightclub. The owner would keep the beer (sales) and I would keep the cover. I was charging, and I met her and she was underage, I was underage too. So it was fun.
EL: So you were sixteen when you met?
IG: I was..seventeen? Eighteen. And she was sixteen.
EL: That sounds like a fairy tale romance, the fact that you actually met in person and not on an app. That’s a great story that you have.Switching gears a bit, the last question that I have is about Kartemquin. You’re relatively new to the board at Kartemquin. Is that right? How did you get connected with Kartemquin?
IG: Super new. I have been on the board for a year. I got connected through Teri Arvesu who used to be the Content and VP here, she told me about the organization. I looked it up. I read about your mission and everything that you guys do. And I love creating content. Besides that, the commentaries and everything that you guys do and what you are actually trying to achieve — I should say everything that we’re trying to achieve. And I love it. I’m not like a movie buff, or anything like that. I’m just a regular guy who loves content and loves documentaries. But to tell you the truth, I couldn’t be able to tell you like, this guy directed this, and these guys directed this. I don’t know. I just remember the names of the countries. And if they are memorable, I remember them.
What got me intrigued was this idea and the mission of helping these filmmakers who are not able to tell their stories or who are not able to produce these pieces, because they don’t have the money. So those stories don’t get told. That’s what got me intrigued. Because I remember when I was, I don’t know, eighteen and I had all these crazy ideas. You know, when you’re young, you have all these crazy ideas and you think that everything’s gonna work out. And then you grow up and you find out the reality of life, and how everything works. And I couldn’t do it because I didn’t have the financial means. I didn’t know anyone who could help me out, just to do something simple. When I was twenty, I released a two-sided DVD documentary on a soccer team.
EL: Oh, we have to see it!
IG: It’s so bad. It was so bad, but I even sent that thing to print and produce. Do you remember discmakers.com? It was this huge company where you can duplicate CDs for music, and then they started doing DVDs. And I don’t know if you recall, but you could only fit a certain amount of time onto a DVD. I wanted to have more time and have the same amount of quality, so I decided — I got all my friends involved. I got my wife, my now-wife, her dad and both my parents to invest in my movie. I think we gathered around $30,000.
EL: That’s not nothing! That’s good!
IG: And then all the production, I was able to put under my corporation costs, when I had my production company at that time. Then we got all this money, the team is winning, I didn’t want to close the production of the documentary because it was a Cinderella story of this team who came from nothing and they made it to a final. So I kept recording, I kept recording, and I didn’t close the production in time. I thought, “They’re going to keep winning next year, I’m going to close the production then when the season is over, and this is going to be a boom. Let’s print 15,000 copies.” They were beautiful. I’m one of those people who thinks that you shouldn’t put a cheap product out. If you’re going to do something, go all in with everything that you have. So I hired the best photographer in Juárez, I said, “Let’s have the best production packaging.” We did the manufacturing here in the US, so that was expensive. By the time that we released the DVD, the season started, and they made a record of the team with the most losses, so I couldn’t sell anything. I sold 5,000 copies or something like that. No, it was horrible, it was like people would throw it at me, like “You can have your DVD, they don’t win anything.”
I also have this side of me that’s an entrepreneur, a dreamer. But you know. You try, you learn. I spent the next three years trying to pay off everyone.
EL: That’s a classic filmmaker story.
IG: My mom still has boxes of the DVDs. I’m like, “Just throw them away.” And she’s like, “No! Generations to come have to watch this!” I’m like, “No, they don’t!”
Going back to the question about why I’m here. I believe in the mission. I believe that people who don’t have the means and the financial backing but they have the brains and they have the passion for it, they’re willing to work hard, to get it done, but they just need some support? They should be able to do it. It’s not like it’s going to happen for everyone, but at least we could get some out there, right?
I’m still in the same boat. We want to put these things out, and you have to work hard, and the universe is just about numbers. You keep working, and eventually one of the many bullets that you shoot is going to make some good impact. That’s a very violent reference, but it’s going to get you there. It’s just about working hard, and in my view, that’s what Kartemquin does. They’re there to help. At the end of the day, that’s what brought me here, history and mission.
ABOUT IVAN
Ivan is Creative Director at Univision Chicago. He grew up on the US-Mexico border, literally crossing every day from country to country. He describes it as a beautiful way to live, two cultures into one. He was able to appreciate and understand the issues of two countries and the problems of a highly transited international border. Like many he was born in El Paso, lived in Mexico, went to School in El Paso and worked in content production in Ciudad Juárez until all of his clients had to close their business due to extortions and the anarchy created by the war between drug cartels in the city. He made the full time move to the US in 2010 working in a NBC and CBS affiliate. Later in 2013 he got an opportunity with Univision in Chicago, where he has been since. For Ivan, these past years have been a wonderful experience having the opportunity to produce national shows, campaigns, specials, and short docs and create content that empowers our Latino community through stories of struggle and success.
Ivan is the recipient of many awards, including 14 Regional Emmys, two National Daytime Emmy nominations, a Silver Telly Award, Regional Edward Murrow and Peter Lisagor awards, and the Univision Circle of Excellence.
