Quinones, Sam 1958–

PERSONAL:

Born December 13, 1958, in Munich, Germany; married; wife's name Sheila; children: Caroline Kateland. Education: University of California, Berkeley, Bachelor of Economics and B.A. (American history), 1982.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Los Angeles, CA. E-mail—samquinones7@yahoo.com; samquinones@mexis.com.

CAREER:

Orange County Register, Santa Ana, CA, journalist, 1987; Stockton Record, Stockton, CA, crime reporter, 1988-1992; Tacoma News-Tribune, Tacoma, WA, 1992-94; Mexico Insight (magazine), reporter, 1994; freelance writer in Mexico, c. 1994-2004; Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA, reporter on immigration and gangs, 2004—.

AWARDS, HONORS:

Alicia Patterson Fellowship, 1998, for series of stories on impunity in Mexico.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION

True Tales from Another Mexico: The Lynch Mob, the Popsicle Kings, Chalino, and the Bronx, University of New Mexico Press (Albuquerque, NM), 2001.

Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration, University of New Mexico Press (Albuquerque, NM), 2007.

SIDELIGHTS:

Sam Quinones is a journalist noted for his in-depth reportage on stories involving Mexican immigrants and immigration issues. He has also won praise for his writing on gangs in Mexico and in the Los Angeles area. Quinones grew up in California, and worked as a reporter there for several years before moving, first to Seattle, then to Mexico. Although he lost his first job in Mexico within months, when the magazine he was writing for went out of business, Quinones found he did not want to return to the United States. Working as a freelance journalist, he was drawn into the human stories behind legal and illegal immigration. Quinones remained in Mexico for ten years. While there, he reported on historic events in the nation's history, including the election of Vicente Fox in 2000, following seventy-one years of one-party rule. He got to know people from all walks of life—from gang members, to government officials, to the inhabitants of a transvestite colony. From these experiences came his first book, True Tales from Another Mexico: The Lynch Mob, the Popsicle Kings, Chalino, and the Bronx, a collection of nonfiction stories that paint a picture of modern Mexico. Quinones followed True Tales from Another Mexico with a similar volume, Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration. After returning to the United States, Quinones put his deep understanding of immigration issues to work as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times. In an interview with La Bloga, Quinones reflected: ‘My books try to tell the stories of unnoticed people. My favorite stories to do are those where the people I'm interviewing have never met a reporter. I don't spend much time on the political/policy side of the immigration issue. I'm more interested in finding poignant stories of real people."

True Tales from Another Mexico was praised by C.M. Mayo in the Wilson Quarterly as a ‘beautifully written collection of essays’ that ‘is a wonder and a delight.’ Mexico is frequently portrayed by American journalists as pitiful and hopeless, but Quinones's book celebrates the ingenuity and energy of some Mexicans, while not flinching from more disturbing stories, including tales of unsolved murder, a cult, and glue-sniffing. Throughout, Quinones maintains his belief that Mexico will become a stronger nation and a player on the world stage; according to Mayo, the author's ‘splendid’ book gives testimony that Mexico, while troubled in many ways, is ‘in the midst of a transformation."

With a similar tone, Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream exposes the hardship and celebrates the determination of those Mexicans who struggle to better their way of life, often by coming to the United States. The book's first, last, and middle chapters are concerned with Delfino Juarez, who made his way from a mountain village, to Mexico City, and ultimately to Arizona—nearly losing his life in the process. In other portraits, Quinones sketches Andres Bermudez, who returned to Mexico after making a life in the United States; he illuminates the business of human trafficking, which is so prevalent at the border between the United States and Mexico; and he explores the motivations of people so determined to improve their lot in life. Though the stories sometimes seem disconnected, ‘the rich picture evoked overall is fascinating,’ according to Elizabeth L. Winter in Library Journal. A Publishers Weekly writer also recommended Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream as a collection of ‘skillful, moving stories."

In his interview with Olivas, Quinones said: ‘I think writers need to read a lot of varied material. If you ever feel that you shouldn't read something or someone because you wouldn't agree with it, then you should probably read it. Doing that helps jostle your world a bit and that's good. When you have lots coming in from all over, your brain is able to make the connections that lead to better insights. That's my experience, anyway."

Quinones told CA: ‘As a journalist, I spent a lot of time doing interviews and writing about them. I have a file in which I write up anecdotes I've heard, or thoughts I've had, about where the story might go. Those notes help me think about the story and determine what other questions I need to ask. Then I go back and do more interviews, often of the same people I've already spoken to. Re-interviewing, sometimes several times, is a big part of how I write. You get down to different layers of truth about someone the more time you spend with him or her. I also do a lot of rewriting. The hardest part of the process is getting a first draft done. I enjoy the polishing and rewriting.

"What I like most about writing is that it allows you to see how the world is made up of many shades of gray, not so much black and white. This is especially true when discussing people's motivations. It's helpful and humbling to recognize that you may never be able to determine why people do things. Recognizing that helps to keep you mentally nimble, and less quick to make assumptions. That is very healthy."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Aztlan: A Journal of Chicano Studies, fall, 2004, Gerard Meraz, review of True Tales from Another Mexico: The Lynch Mob, the Popsicle Kings, Chalino, and the Bronx.

Economist, April 21, 2001, review of True Tales from Another Mexico, p. 105.

Library Journal, March 15, 2007, Elizabeth L. Winter, review of Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream: True Tales of Mexican Migration, p. 84.

Los Angeles Times Book Review, May 13, 2007, Gustavo Arellano, review of Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream.

Publishers Weekly, March 5, 2007, review of Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream, p. 54.

San Francisco Chronicle Book Review, April 22, 2007, Dagoberto Gilb, review of Antonio's Gun and Delfino's Dream.

Wilson Quarterly, spring, 2001, C.M. Mayo, review of True Tales from Another Mexico.

ONLINE

La Bloga,http://labloga.blogspot.com/ (July 2, 2007), Daniel Olivas, interview with Sam Quinones.

Los Angeles Times Web site,http://www.latimes.com/ (October 26, 2007).

Sam Quinones's Home Page, http://www.samquiones.com (October 27, 2007).

WritersNet,http://www.writers.net/ (October 27, 2007), biographical information on Sam Quinones.