Meet Juan Elosua
Latino staffers at NPR share their family stories of perseverance, sacrifice, and hard work to achieve the American Dream. These stories are defined by universal values of pride, hope, and an endless determination to help shape the new American landscape.
I grew up in Vigo, a small town in Galicia, on the northwestern coast of Spain. It is a beautiful green region that receives a good amount of rain, has white secluded beaches, and is famous for its seafood. It does not match the image people have of Spain: We do not sing Flamenco nor eat paella; instead, we play Celtic bagpipes and eat delicious octopus.
My mother is an English professor and my father an engineer. They loved to travel and signed up for a Home Exchange program, before internet existed back in 1986. Each year, we would receive a heavy book in our mail with the listing of available houses, their location, and pictures. It was amazing to try to come up with a new destination together as a family — getting to a new country when you are a kid, understanding how different their culture is, even using sign language to get three slices of ham in a supermarket (in rural Germany).
“We do not sing Flamenco nor eat paella; instead, we play Celtic bagpipes and eat delicious octopus.”
My parents always thought that English was a must for me and my brother, so we both spent our teenage summers traveling to the U.K., enrolled in intensive English learning experiences. When I turned 16, I spent my full junior year of high school in an exchange program in East Detroit. Everything was new to me: making new friends, Coney Island hot dogs, LaserDisc movies (yeah, a visionary family), almost getting in a fight for helping a cheerleader study chemistry. It was a great experience that helped me mature quickly.
With that heritage in my blood, traveling has really sunk into me and I have done my share. I took a year off in 2007 and made a round-the-world trip with my girlfriend, Marta, who is now my wife. (Note: If you survive 365 days together traveling with your backpacks, believe me, you have proved that it can work out as a couple.)
Sadly, my father died back in 2011 after fighting a devastating degenerative illness. Those important moments change your perspective in life. They make you scrutinize what your current path is and if there are some changes to be made. So, shortly after my father passed away, I changed industries from IT departments in financial institutions to newsrooms and NGOs trying to make compelling journalism with a data focus.
In 2015, I moved to Argentina to work at La Nación newspaper in Buenos Aires as a Knight-Mozilla Fellow. I loved the experience and have left many good friends there. 2016 came with another big change in our lives. I have joined the NPR Visuals Team at the end of May, and I am still adapting to the workflow, the culture, and the city.
I am thrilled to see what the future brings and look forward to dive into this new adventure. Life is short and we should try our best to make the most out of it.
