Meet Daylight’s up-and-coming multimedia journalist Marco Guajardo
Guajardo looks to report on solutions, not just the problems
Introduce yourself:
Hi, my name is Marco Guajardo, a bi-national millennial seed germinated in El Centro, sprouted in Mexicali and planted in San Diego.
Why did you become a journalist?
As a 20-year old college student, around the turn of the century, I witnessed in real-time the role that many U.S. outlets and national pundits played in uncritically propagating the Bush administration’s fabricated pretenses for the second invasion of Iraq.
Through the work of independent and international journalists, I’ve followed how that continued lack of scrutiny has extended into the framing of other major world events where the U.S. government is involved — including the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
The magnitude of the consequences is not lost on me. Collectively in these conflicts, millions of people have died, trillions of dollars have been wasted and countless hours of my life have been spent glued to the computer screen seeking credible, independent sources to help me make sense of everything. When I look back, I tell myself if certain U.S. media outlets had reported more thoroughly, I could’ve just been outside smelling the orange blossoms and planting sweet cherimoya trees.
So I decided to go back to school in my 40’s to become a reporter. I now seek to do this work the way I think it should be done, by holding power accountable and asking the important questions that I don't see being asked.
As a lifelong resident of San Diego, I’ve also seen how local cultural and political movements may go unreported or underreported. I seek to give visibility to the civil society groups that organize their communities around relevant local issues to effect change.
What type of journalism do you like to cover? What topics?
I hope to report on how individuals and organizations are actively working toward building alternative sustainable models outside the traditional ways of doing business, providing services and influencing policies. My goal is not only to report the news, but also to inform our audiences to help them take control of their lives and communities.
I’m also interested in digging deeper into the root causes of issues and learning how national policies affect us at the local level. For example, I am interested in looking deeply at why so many refugees coming to San Diego flee countries destabilized by decades of U.S. foreign and economic policies, or how the financialization of our housing industry and the bank bailouts after the 2008 financial crisis (followed by 0% interest rates and loose money printing policies) laid out the conditions for the homelessness and affordability crisis many San Diegans are now facing.
Who’s your favorite musical artist?
I grew up listening to Silvio Rodriguez, an icon, like the Bob Dylan of Latin America. His music never ceases to be relevant or to inspire me.
What TV shows or movies are on your mind at the moment?
At the moment, “Judging Freedom with Judge Napolitano” on YouTube is the most worth my time… unless there’s a Game of Thrones spinoff floating around that nobody’s told me about! A close second is Al Jazeera’s reporting on the Middle East. A distant eleventh is “Love Island” because my girlfriend can’t stop watching it, and I don’t know why!
What hobbies do you have?
I do all the typical stuff — hang with my family, cook healthy food, work out, doom scroll.
When I have the time I like to garden, talk geopolitics, play guitar, practice Muay Thai, go backpacking, attend renaissance fairs and have costume parties with my friends!
What does living in San Diego mean to you?
It means being close to my family, continuing to grow within my community of friends that has embraced me across a lifetime of conscious evolution, and it means being connected to my geographic, linguistic and cultural roots. It also means I’ll probably never achieve my dream of buying land and becoming a 21st-century permaculture farmer!
If you weren’t a journalist, what would you be doing instead?
If I were not a journalist, I’d be… a 21st-century permaculture farmer! I grew up in Fallbrook watching my parents tend to their fruit orchard and vegetable gardens season after season. I love the cycles and the physical connection to the land. In these times, anything that will peel my eyes off of a screen and connect me to the natural world is a godsend. Plus you just haven’t lived until you stuffed your face with giant, ripe cherimoyas.
If you could interview any person, living or dead, who would it be and why?
As of April 3, a Reuters analysis found that at least 1,238 entire families were erased from Gaza’s civil registry, with no survivors. Other reports say entire generations of Palestinian families have been killed by Israel.
I would sit down with any one of those families and tell their stories.
Do you have a favorite journalist or writer who inspires you?
It would have to be Chris Hedges. He was on the front lines reporting on the wars in Argentina, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Iraq, Bosnia, Kosovo and the Palestinian territories during the 80s and 90s. The moral and intellectual depth this man carries is astounding.
If you could write a headline for your life right now, what would it be?
San Diego man channels inner octopus, finds balance during storm
What’s the most unexpected or bizarre story you’ve ever covered?
The college newsroom I was editor-in-chief at received a vague tip from an administrator about something that was happening in the candidate search for a new district chancellor. When we did some research into the tip, we found that a few days prior to his final public interview for the position, one of the finalists received a second vote of no confidence at the community college district where he was chancellor.
After my story was published, I found out that the candidate had been selected as the finalist for the position, but faculty district-wide caught wind of my story and pushed the hiring committee to retract its decision. They selected another candidate. It was the most consequential reporting I had done up to that point.
Thanks for following along as we introduced each of our co-founders and our board. Our fifth and final co-founder, Maya Srikrishnan, is currently on maternity leave, and she will introduce herself as soon as she returns.
San Diego State hosts 53rd annual powwow
Students, faculty, alumni and local Indigenous community members donned colorful regalia, sang, danced and served up frybread tacos during the 53rd powwow at San Diego State University last weekend. Several Indigenous students at the event — one of the oldest continuously running college powwows across the country — said it is one of the many ways they feel connected to their culture during their journey through higher education. — Lauren J. Mapp
Protester rights
The American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties is hosting a virtual Know Your Rights session focused on First Amendment and protest rights on April 23 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. You can register online. — Kate Morrissey
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