The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 38
How I Got Here
J O S É
G .
G O N Z Á L E Z
The founder of Latino Outdoors,
Estamos Aqui
You don't have to be an adventure athlete
to offer up an essential voice for the growth,
change, and evolution of the outdoor industry toward a more inclusive and diverse
space. By José G. González
I CONSIDER MYSELF AN OUTDOOR ENTHUSIAST. YET THE "TRAIL" THAT
led me to the outdoor industry was an unexpected circuitous path. I often
say that I am Mexicano by birth, U.S citizen by naturalization, Latino by
socio-cultural identity, Chicano by socio-political identity, and Hispanic by
Census count. I am a teacher by training, artist by practice, conservationist
by pursuit-mine is an ambicultural mestizo quantum identity.
To unpack that a bit more, I was born in a small Mexican rural town
where "the outdoors" was simply outside. I migrated with my family and
grew up in the Central Valley of California, where I first began to think
about the ideas of "public lands," "protected spaces," and "going outdoors
for recreation." Mostly that meant day trips to the river and fishing with my
uncles. Once, I recall being disastrously ill-prepared for a snow day with the
family. I wore plastic bags in my shoes because we didn't have proper snow
gear. I didn't visit my first iconic national park until I was in college, even
though I grew up just two hours away from Yosemite.
38
/ SNOW SHOW 2019
IT WAS REALLY IN COLLEGE, AS
THE CREATION OF LATINO OUT-
an undergrad in a program for
future teachers, that I began to
connect with the outdoors as
a platform for education and
recreation. I spent summers
working as an outdoor education
instructor for migrant students in
California. That was my introduction to providing culturally
relevant outdoor experiences. It
was also my first real introduction to backpacking and camping. My experience evolved from
simply "being outdoors" to going
outdoors for fun and recreation.
Simply because "it would be fun"
led me to return to Yosemite to
hike Half Dome four times.
I went into teaching-in middle
school, high school, and teacher
education for undergraduate and
graduate programs. I also continued to teach and then support
instructors in the summers for the
same migrant education program I
was a part of as an undergrad.
It was two years after my
graduate program that I took on a
mentoring fellowship at Radio Bilingue, Latino public radio, where
I was able to follow the founding
executive director for a year. I had
little experience in that field, but
the purpose of the fellowship was
the mentoring relationship. The
experience gave me the chance to
pursue some of the connections I'd
been thinking about art, culture,
conservation, and education-and
it set the initial foundations of
Latino Outdoors.
doors has always been a community effort. Our volunteers and leaders manifest so much more than
I could ever have dreamt of. As
founder, my vision was to connect
with others, to create community,
and share our narrative. I wanted
to know how people with a Latinx
identity fit in to outdoor culture.
It all started with that feeling of
being seen, being valued for who
one is, and having spaces for that
to bloom. It's the simplicity of "Hey,
that's for me, too." That, I think, is
one of the lessons for the outdoor
industry. "For me, too" means the
experience includes the other, and
welcomes them. It acknowledges
they can be there in their own
way, not in the way you expect
or demand them to be. Others
can have the same passion and
"stoke" you have for the outdoors,
but they need to be supported in
how it's relevant and important to
them. That involves you acknowledging when your actions may
have been exclusionary.
It is no surprise that the work
and call to action on equity, inclusion, and diversity have become
more prominent in the outdoor
industry. This is something I care
deeply about. Perhaps it's simple and naive, but here I am. My
identity, lived experience, and
voice-which is representative
of others like me-is essential to
the outdoor industry. We are all
connected by and through the
outdoors. Estamos aqui.
"I RECALL BEING DISASTROUSLY ILL-PREPARED
FOR A SNOW DAY WITH THE FAMILY.
I WORE PLASTIC BAGS IN MY SHOES BECAUSE
WE DIDN'T HAVE PROPER SNOW GEAR."
M I C H A E L E S T R A DA
Gonzáles is a speaker, illustrator,
and educator who loves to share
his outdoor vision.
The Daily - January 30, 2019
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of The Daily - January 30, 2019
Contents
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - CW1
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - CW2
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - Cover1
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - Cover2
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 1
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 2
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 3
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 4
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 5
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - Contents
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 7
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 8
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 9
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 10
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 11
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 12
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 13
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 14
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 15
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 16
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 17
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 18
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 19
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 20
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 21
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 22
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 23
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 24
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 25
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 26
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 27
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 28
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 29
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 30
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 31
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 32
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 33
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 34
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 35
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 36
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 37
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 38
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 39
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 40
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 41
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 42
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 43
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 44
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 45
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 46
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 47
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 48
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 49
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 50
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 51
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 52
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 53
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 54
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 55
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 56
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 57
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 58
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 59
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 60
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 61
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The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 63
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The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 65
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The Daily - January 30, 2019 - 67
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The Daily - January 30, 2019 - Cover3
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - Cover4
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - CW3
The Daily - January 30, 2019 - CW4
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https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/dailySM2022_Day3
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/dailysm2022_Day2
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/dailySM2022_Day1
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/daily2022_Day3
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/daily2022_Day2
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/daily2022_Day1
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/daily2021_day3
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/daily2021_day2
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/daily2021_day1
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/outdoor-retailer-august-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/outdoor-retailer-july-2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/outdoor-retailer-june-2021
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https://www.nxtbook.com/emerald/outdoorretailer/april_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/march_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/february_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/january_2021
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/december_2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/theweekly_07302020
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2020summer
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/nxtbook_bhtest/weeeekly_05052020__JJ
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https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/daily2020_day3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/daily2020_day2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/daily2020_day1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/preshow2020
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2020winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/postshow_summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/day3_summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/day2_summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/day1_summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/preshow_summer2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2019summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/postshow2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/daily2019_day3
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/daily2019_day2
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/daily2019_day1
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/preshow2019
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2019winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2018summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2018winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/201707
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2017summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2017winter
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2016summer
https://www.nxtbook.com/nxtbooks/outdoorretailer/2016winter
https://www.nxtbookmedia.com