Gangs, drugs and alcohol were once a way of life for the award-winning author Luis Rodriguez. But these days, Rodriguez has become an international speaker, advocating gang intervention and positive life choices by inspiring others to discover their own individual passions.
Rodriguez was the guest speaker Oct. 17 at Bakersfield College and held two speeches, one at 10 a.m. in the Fireside Room, and another at 7 p.m. in the BC Indoor Theater.
The event was sponsored by the Bakersfield College Grace Van Dyke Byrd Library, and was the first in what is supposed to become a yearly event made possible by an $800,000 donation bequeathed to the library by Dolores Cerro.
Rodriguez believes that everyone has something that they are meant to do in this world and that each of us must find that art or passion within ourselves.
BC President William Andrews introduced Rodriguez at the 7 p.m. speech, calling him a “life-long learner” and stated that Rodriguez is “very passionate about inspiring change in the lives of young people.”
Rodriguez said, “At a certain point you have to decide that ‘I’m going to do what I really love to do,’ and make that your life. It’s very difficult. You’re always going to get pulled off track, and many people of course don’t make it.”
Rodriguez spoke about his childhood, family and gang life.
According to Rodriguez, he moved to south central Los Angeles when he was 2 and began life on the street at the age of 7. He found gang life appealing and joined one when he was 11. At the age of 12, he was doing drugs and dropped out of school when he was 15.
When he was 17 he was jumped into a main gang called the Vario, and after being beaten into the gang by his fellow gang members, they attacked a rival neighborhood and he was ordered to stab a man with a rusty screwdriver, which he admittedly did.
“I remember when I stabbed this person, how the screaming didn’t seem to come from him, but from a far away place. That’s how detached I was,” said Rodriguez. “You really can’t feel the pain, because if you could you wouldn’t be doing this.”
Rodriguez estimated that the time he spent incarcerated was two to three years, and that during that time he was once housed next to Charles Manson.
After more than seven years of drug use, gangs, incarceration and violence, Rodriguez decided to change the way he’d been living. He outlined five steps for others that wish to do the same:
1. Ask for help
2. Find your art/passion
3. Find a cause
4. Find a spiritual life
5. Own your own life
Rodriguez also discussed his own passion, writing.
His best-selling book “Always Running: La Vida Loca, Gang Days in L.A.,” published in 1993, was written as a cautionary tale for his son, Romero, who had become involved in gang life as well, and is now serving 28 years in an Illinois prison.
Rodriguez said that some schools banned the book but that every time a school did, he ended up selling more copies.
He also recited several poems, three of them were dedicated to “important women” in his life, his mother Maria, his aunt “Tia Chucha” and his wife “Trini.”
When he was done with his speech, Rodriguez invited the audience down to the stage to ask questions from a separate podium. The audience seemed to find both Rodriguez’s books and his speech inspiring.
“It opened my eyes,” said Rachel Rodriguez, a BC student. “It actually changed the way I feel about life.”
Anabel Villalobos, a BC nursing major said, “It was an awesome speech,” and that what she got out of it was “no matter what situation your in, you cannot lose faith and there is hope. I think a lot of people right now don’t have either.”
Rodriguez concluded the lecture by meeting the audience personally and signing books. He said that he was leaving for Central America Oct. 19 and will be traveling to Venezuela and Peru in November to speak about gangs.