S1: Welcome in San Diego. It's Jade Hindman on this episode of KPBS Midday Edition. A familiar voice joins us to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month here from award winning sportscaster Adrian Garcia marquez. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month , we're highlighting voices across the community. This next voice will be familiar. For soccer fans.
S2: It's an approach Chucky delivers into the box. Dangerous. And it's going to be a goal. Go!
S3: Go! Up!
S2: Up! El capitan. El capitan.
S1: How can you not be hype after that? That is Adrian Garcia marquez. He's the play by play radio announcer for San Diego FC. He's also the Spanish play by play voice for the Chargers in Los Angeles. But it's not all soccer. His Emmy winning career has taken him to the NBA , the NFL , several World Series and the Olympics. Adrian Garcia marquez joins me now to talk about it. Welcome to Midday Edition.
S4: Oh , thank you , thank you Jade. I'm just happy to be here.
S1: Glad to have you here. So listen , you grew up right here in Chula Vista. What was the sports scene like then? What do you remember?
S4: Well , it was one of the best sports teams , I think , ever in the history of San Diego. If you look at how competitive it was , um , you know , growing up right between Chula Vista and Pearl beach , Sonny Segundo. So it was especially on the baseball side , uh , it was highly competitive. That's where Benjie Gill came out of obviously , that whole generation whole succeeded by later on. You'd get out of there on one side before that Oscar role is. So the baseball scene was red hot as far as sports were concerned. And then for football at Southwest High , We ran a very good program coach park there at southwest. I almost dropped my phone and it was just always a very competitive environment. From the time we were playing flag football right there at the South Bay Rec Center and playing basketball , flag football , you name it , soccer at the at , you know , from a wire. So to the Boys and Girls Club right there in Imperial Beach. So it was very much a great time to be a kid growing up in the 80s , 90s there in San Diego.
S1: And I hear your interest in sports broadcasting began in the sixth grade. Tell me about that story.
S4: You know , I have to thank Mrs. Jen. Cheryl. She was my sixth grade teacher there at Barry Elementary. And what she used to do , she was such a great. And this is just a shout out to all teachers who do a little extra , who think about the students and understand that not all students are going to learn exactly the same way. You got to break through. You got to get through some of these kids. And I was a very talkative kid. I was always in trouble growing up there in elementary school. I don't think I ever won my parents Citizen of the week sticker that everybody would get right , like , oh my , my kid citizen of the week or citizen of the month. I never in six years of elementary did I give that to my parents. But Mrs. Cheryl did see something right. And what ended up bringing it out was she would construct news teams from Mondays to Fridays. So Monday had a news team Tuesday and so on and so forth. And that was a little sports anchor , right. And what inspired us was she would grab a little camera and she would record us , and that's how we would do social , you know , events , history , whatever. So we treated it like a newscast. What I did was I started to take the next level. I'm like , all right , this got me all hyped up little sports kid right there. Already threw the soccer , football , baseball. So I said , you know what? I'm going to be the sports anchor guy. And I started to cut out from the San Diego Union-Tribune like there was one shot of Ozzie Smith and it said wizardry right there on the front cover. And I grabbed that. And my mom used to tailor things and go to Yardage Town right there in Chula Vista. So then I would grab like those little popsicle stick things , put them together. Next thing you know , I had over the shoulder graphic when I was doing my sports. Right. And uh , and then Jack white , may he rest in peace. The great Jack white from channel ten came to our class and just inspired me even further to become a broadcaster someday. And I never let that dream die. You know , growing up , they tell you , be realistic , you know what's within your reach. And my parents were very hard workers , 2 or 3 jobs. You know , my dad was in tech right there , South Bay general. And then it became scripts. And my dad was as hard working as it gets for 30 plus years. My my mom as well. And they always told me , no , amigo , you got to work hard , but , you know , stay within the means. It's , you know , believing what you want to believe and dream all you want to dream. But I don't know if the sportscaster thing maybe a history teacher. And that's what I wanted to become a history teacher and a baseball coach. But it worked out a little bit differently.
S1: Yeah , well , I mean , from from that passion in sixth grade , how did you get to where you are now as a professional?
S4: Yeah , it was a cosmic accident to be , to be completely honest , because like I said , I had prepared myself to be a high school history teacher and become a baseball coach , maybe offensive coordinator quarterback coach there at my old high school , southwest , and I was already part of the coaching staff with the JV and working my way up right through the baseball programs. But I was going to eventually become a teacher. But then at the same time , my life really took a turn when my first born was on the way. I had to get another job. I had to get two more jobs , right? So what I ended up doing was going to a local radio station , jammin on Radio Latina right there in Chula Vista. I know you've all seen those buses , those giant limo buses running around the city , uh , since back in the day. And this is around 98. And I went to the radio station. I went to apply. I said to the person that was at the front desk , I'm like , listen , I'm a bilingual guy. I'm just looking for a job. All I'll mop the floors. I'm very good at making those little bags with the knots. If you need me to clean the office or whatever , I'm good. I just want to learn something about the radio business as one of my other jobs. And she told me. She told me straight up , mijo , we're not hiring right now. Sorry. Destiny would have it that the guy that ran promotions was dropping off mail at the front desk , and he goes , wait a minute. I heard you said you're bilingual. Let him in. He had a conversation with me. He goes , I need a guy on street team bumper stickers. You're going to connect speakers , you're going to put up the tent and you're just going to let the DJ do their thing. And that's going to be your job. You're going to one day do Radio Latina , the next day you're doing jammy 90 and flipping back and forth. I did that , and from that I started doing Street Team. I met a guy who told me about the San Diego Flash that was there , an A-League team in San Diego. And since I wanted to go into sports broadcasting , I listened to him. I had to create a demo. I didn't have one. He goes on demos , send them a demo , and I had to create one using Sega from the video game. Yeah , for soccer 95 Sega. I grabbed the crowd noise. I put it onto a boombox. I recorded America contra River , played America in Copa Libertadores on the VHS , pulled it all into the bathroom , had a little tape recorder , and then I did about two minutes right of play by play. I sent it in. I get called into the office there with , uh , with the channel. At the time , it was channel 17 before he became Univision and Don Federico , that was there running the operation told me , hey , I really like what I heard. Where was this set? And I kind of lied. I told him , yeah , I had some deals that worked for Televisa , and they let me kind of get a little bit of run and blah , blah. Lie lie lie right , fake it til you make it kind of stuff. I go home , right? He goes , I love it. You're going to get the job. I still want you to come in to audition , but you're going to get one of the two spots. I love what I heard. I go back to my house in Imperial Beach. I tell my wife , oh , it went out , it went really great , babe , blah blah blah. And she goes , but you lied. Though she's always been my Jiminy Cricket and conscience , right? She goes , yeah , that's great. But you kind of lied though. And I'm like , oh , you're right. I go right back to the office. I , Tom Tirico , I used Sega VHS boombox bathroom and I , I did it like that. And he says , son , if this is what you're doing with home appliances , I can only imagine what you're going to do with the real gear. Thank you for the honesty. You're still going to stick around and that's where the ball started to roll.
S1: I'm telling you that way to go after it. Like , and there's such a lesson for , for people who may be who are inspired by your work. Right. To to to stay in the game , to go after it and get your foot in the door any way you can. Yeah.
S4: Yeah. That's it. And I love going back to high schools when I get invited to , you know , I was recently at Cal State Fullerton speaking to a group of students in journalism , and they ask me these questions about how do I break through? Find a way. I know it's it's and this is the example I gave them now back then we had to do stuff like that. Nowadays you have a whole network on your phone. You have an application that can help record it. It looks like you're in a studio. So that doesn't surprise me. People have YouTube shows , their TikToks , whatever they do , there's your avenue. You're becoming your network. The thing you need to do is still you still got to put in the work. You still got to do the reading. You still got to put in the mileage of going to parks , going to stadiums , talking to people , talking to coaches , talking to other media and still work your way through it. It's not going to just fall from the sky , but there are more opportunities. It's just just a matter of seeing what's out there , what's available to you , and then use that to get yourself , you know , get your foot in the door. The hardest part is not really I mean , it's difficult to break through , but once you break through , that might be a little easier. It's harder to stay there once you get into the big leagues , if you will. Once you're there and you're like running around with people just as good or better with more experience , and they're coming in just as ambitious. That's what separates some talents and some people from others. That's where the breakthrough happens. Or you find out that maybe it wasn't for you.
S1: All right. Well , I mean , nowadays you're doing it all as a play by play broadcaster. What is it like switching between Spanish and English , and how is your style different in each language?
S4: The only time that I , I think my style changes is due to the sport. As far as the culture of each sport. Like I don't call baseball the way I call soccer. Uh , you know , I heard the clip they're using Chucky Lozano. There's no way I go that crazy during a baseball game , but I do it. Go a little nuts , but in a different way. Uh , same thing for football yesterday. You know , just trying to kind of mind my emotions in in Buffalo as the Chargers , you know , had five turnovers and still gave that game up. Uh it was it it only defers to the sport because I respect the culture of each sport. And with both English and Spanish I , I , I do my best to keep the energy up and not sound the same for every sport. And that's part of the challenge that I welcome as a broadcaster. I , I just have to give each port their words , their gloss and their vibe and their culture. And I separate all 4 or 5 and in two languages. And it hasn't been easy , but I've worked really , really hard to make it as seamless as possible. Right.
S1: Right. I mean , you're calling five different sports and really , you know , depending on the sport , it really does impact how you you deliver , for sure. And of course , as I mentioned , you know , we heard a very impressive goal call from you in the intro. So how do you do that without running out of breath?
S4: How do you know it's you you catch? It's like a singer , you know. I've always I'm very musical. Deep down inside. I really believe that if I maybe didn't go into sports , maybe I wouldn't have even gotten into teaching. I might have been producing music. You know , I come from a circus family. And my grandmother , she was a trapeze artist. My grandpa was a drummer , you know , the Houdini in Mexico. They started back in like the early 1890s , and they kind of worked through the 1940s and 50s. And so there's very much a musical family , right? Like I said , my grandfather was a drummer very much in this jazz and stuff. I sometimes wear his little ring , and I think that that's what. Kind of does it for me. It's , it's the , the musical part that , that , that the part that wants to sing. Well here's your chance. Right. So you got to belt it out again. Every sport is different. A touchstone call has a different touch than that. Maybe a gold call. I know my fans were getting on me. It was hilarious. Over the weekend for San Diego FC. Uh , there was an own goal and there were some technical difficulties in the and the feed. I was in Buffalo and the feed was kind of jumping on the on goal for Austin. And then in the end though , no excuses , it's still the call. And people are like , man , that was a boring call. And that one I did take. I'm like , wait a minute. Now there's one thing I definitely try to hang my hat on as I am not boring when we're on the air and when the game is boring , I go right into pop culture , I go into song lyrics , I do whatever it takes to try to keep the audience there and put a little bit of lipstick on the pig. You.
S1: You. You're adding flavor where you can , you know , I get it , I get it.
S4: I was trying to look. Yeah.
S1: Listen , after years , uh , immersed in this sport , what do you think makes soccer culture in the San Diego Tijuana region. So unique. It's.
S4: It's. You just said it's San Diego. Tijuana being a border town , you get the best of both worlds. I know I lived it going to Tijuana all the time , coming back and forth to my grandmother's house , family. My dad still lives there , uh , because football has always been. And I know it surprised people outside of San Diego like , wow , what a great market for soccer. It was a dormant giant. We had no idea. Please go. Let's go back to the San Diego Sockers days. I mean , these guys are the ones that came up with one for the thumb and all that good stuff , right? The the Sockers were dominant and that's how I got into football growing up. Like I said , from the rec leagues there at South Bay , uh , you know , the Boys and Girls Club and I be always playing football. And my friends , my family , everybody I grew up with all the way through high school , highly competitive soccer. I mean , we're like , you asked me at the beginning how competitive was the scene in high school? Also , soccer in the Metro Conference was crazy because we had a lot of football leagues that come in , go to high school. Uh , they're from Tijuana , so some of the best players in Tijuana were at high schools there in South San Diego , and we'd all mix up and we'd have some , some , some great battles. But I think in the end the culture for football has always been there. And MLS should have already introduced itself to San Diego a long , long ago. I remember I used to argue I'd say Salt Lake City. Are you are you kidding me? Real San Diego sounds much , much cleaner. Much , much nicer. But it never came and it was only a matter of time and Destiny San Diego FC would be born. But the audience , the fan base , has always been here. It's a very knowledgeable fan base and they know their football and they expect , you know , they have high expectations for San Diego FC and rightfully so. They waited this long.
S1: I mean , this Hispanic Heritage Month , what's top of mind for you then as you think about sports culture here in San Diego?
S4: I think I'm in a in a unique position because I don't know if there's ever been a Latino broadcaster , a Mexican-American broadcaster , for one of the major teams here in San Diego doing it in English. I know we've done it in Spanish , and the only thing left for me was to actually , I got into this business to call the Padres , to be honest with you. Like , that was the dream. I said , one day I want to call Padre baseball. That's the only team I haven't worked for , by the way. It's crazy. I've done Dodgers , angels , Red Sox. I've been the voice of the Red Sox out there in Boston and the network stuff , the Oakland A's where I got my start and I've never got a chance to to to do the Padres , which is kind of crazy. But when I think about that , I was like , wow , man , I haven't done the Padres. But in the end , you know , it's it's just a matter of the passion , right? And whatever you have , you put it in there and you just go.
S1: All right. I've been speaking with Adrian Garcia marquez. He's a longtime sportscaster and currently the play by play radio announcer for San Diego FC. He's also the Spanish play by play voice for the Chargers in Los Angeles. Adrian , thank you so much and happy Hispanic Heritage Month.
S4: And thank you. And to close that up really quickly , because I kind of lost my train of thought there were how important it is. I do want to make this point for all of you that are bilingual , bicultural , and I know that this is a crazy time right now , you know , to to just put yourself out there with the industry and the changes and all that , believe that it can happen for you. But I made it happen. You can make it happen because I was the kid at the back of the class , always in trouble. And here we are talking to you. Here to you. Jaden. Things can things can happen for you. Just work hard , be honest and be nice to people on your way up because you're gonna run into them on your way back down.
S1: The best advice? Thank you so much , Adrian. It's been a pleasure.
S5: Thank you.
S4: Pleasure's all mine.
S5: Take care.
S1: You , too. And thank you for joining us today. If you missed anything , you can download KPBS Midday Edition on all podcast apps. Also , if you have feedback or ideas , we want to hear them. Send an email to midday at KPBS or call us. The number is (619) 452-0228. Don't forget to listen to All Things Considered on your drive home to get news and breaking updates around San Diego. I'm Jade Hindman. Find me on Instagram at Jade Hindman. We'll talk again tomorrow. Until then , have a great day on purpose , everyone.
