Congrats to the Man Who Made ¡Ask a Mexican!

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Posted by Gustavo Arellano in Chronicle a Mexican, Main, Naranja News

September 13, 2007 8:48 AM

Permalink | Comments (14)

Months ago, while I was in New York for business, I asked my editor at Scribner if the rumor was true: Was the best damn publishing house on Earth really talking with Daniel Hernandez about bringing him into our familia? My jefe said sí, and I rejoiced.

Hernandez, for those of you who aren't familiar, is an award-winning 26-year-old chingón: a staff writer at LA Weekly, keeper of one of Southern California's more eclectic blogs, as apt to write about mustaches as he is deflating false saints. A good guy, talented as fuck--and the man who made my career.

In February 2006, Hernandez wrote a profile about me and ¡Ask a Mexican!. It would be his last piece for the Los Angeles Times before defecting to the LA Weekly. To be blunt, his Column One changed my life. Gracias to him, I received the two-book deal from Scribner, the Colbert Report appearance, the requests to emcee events. Whereas others wept and moaned about my good fortune, Hernandez was characteristically humble. "There was some attention thrown my way [because of my article on Gustavo], but I'd like to think I was just doing my job," Hernandez toldLAist in an interview last year. "My sole intent was to tell the world about a revolutionary journalistic voice causing desmadre right under our noses. Whatever happened after that was not my concern. But it was cool to watch, definitely."

Enough about me. Yesterday, Hernandez told me that the rumor is true: He's leaving LA Weekly not because of some New Times conspiracy but because Scribner has asked him to write a book about Mexico City based on his amazing cover story from last year. He'll spend a year in DF and write like a madman. It would've been visionary for LA Weekly to keep him as a staff writer down south, especially in light of the whole Aztlanification of the United States, but así es la vida. Congratulations, Daniel: Couldn't have happened to a more-deserving reporter. And while I'm sad you'll no longer work for my newspaper company, I'm ecstatic we'll still be professional broders at Scribner. Everyone else: read him daily at Intersections, and look out for Daniel's Mexico City book late next year or early 2009.

In the meanwhile, LA Weekly is looking for a staff writer to replace Hernandez. Good luck filling his zapatos, but please do: LA needs someone as verbose and hard-charging as Hernandez to tell its wild, wonderful tale.

Comments (14)

William Nericcio says:
September 13, 2007 11:25

A huge tip of the sombrero to this dynamic duo of Chicano
Scribner stable mates for their success in the world of ink,
paper, and writing. felicidades!

Dr. Memo Nericcio
Chair, English and Comparative Literature
SDSU

cindylu says:
September 13, 2007 12:21

Congrats to Daniel. And man, I need to step it up. I'm already 27 and don't have a book deal. I'm just in grad school :(

hmmm says:
September 13, 2007 23:48

Sorry, but Daniel is too full of himself and definitely over-rated. Next!

EL CHAVO! says:
September 14, 2007 01:07

First George Lopez gets cancelled and now this? It's a conspiracy I tell you! ;) Good Luck in DF, DH!

Diego says:
September 14, 2007 06:49

I hope to get a book deal one day. Best of luck, Daniel!

Tony says:
September 15, 2007 11:11

D. Hernandez is definitely over-rated. He is not "amazing" mediocre, yes. His writing is amateur.

Lazaro says:
September 15, 2007 17:33

The guy makes one trip to Mexico and now he's the expert of youth subcultures? HAAAAAAAAAAAA
We'll see how he pulls this off. There are people that would do a much more stellar job than this LA Weekly amateur will do. Guess, they give books deals to everyone these days. Also, what's up with all this self serving advertising? Its pathetic.

Clara says:
September 17, 2007 23:09

So is this the classic 'scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' deal? sounds like it. Daniel Hernandez is so clueless about our community, he wasn't even raised in Los Angeles, now he is going to Mexico to write a book about its youth?!?!

Wow. Goes to show how out of touch book publishers are these days!

Gustavo Arellano says:
September 17, 2007 23:19

Dunno if the above haters will bother returning to our humble blog, but who do ustedes see as the best voice of Latino LA? And Clara: who cares about where Daniel was born? Some of LA's best voices come from Daniel's same terruño: San Diego/Tijuana.

Tony B says:
September 18, 2007 17:04

Gustavo: Sadly, there is no "best" voice of Latino LA, and it certainly isn't Daniel Hernandez. I really don't understand all the hype about this guy. His prose is rotten, he unnecessarily inserts himself into his stories and he has a bigger ego that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, which just makes him an embarassment to Latino LA, not an asset.

Ernesto L. says:
September 21, 2007 11:44

I totally agree with the "haters" its not "haters" Gustavo--- its people telling the truth, isn't that something you do for a living?
Tony B is right on point, Daniel Hernandez is full of himself and really cares more about self promotion than he does about the Latino community. He ALWAYS inserts himself into stories (someone needs to go back to Journalism 101). In a way, we Angelenos are glad he is going to Mexico, maybe the Chilangos will put his ego in check and he could learn to become a REAL journalist not a self promoter or M.A.P. (you know, those guys he wrote about in his cheesy article for the LA Weekly)

Lizette says:
September 21, 2007 12:01

nice, one writes an article about the other, the other gets a book deal then returns the promoter the favor......good connections or talent? you be the judge.

Chicano professor says:
September 24, 2007 20:35

Since D. Hernandez will be writing for the "gringos" who don't know any better, all will be considered "amazing" when its really not. For those of you who want to read some quality work about this subject of youth culture in Mexico City I recommend a true writer Ruben Martinez and his The Other Side: Notes from the New L.A., Mexico City and Beyond.

Daniel H. says:
March 11, 2008 15:18

Geeeeeeeezo, I never got around to actually reading these comments until now. For the record, my deal was formed and secured completely independently of Gustavo. Different agents, different editors, etc. And I appreciate people noting that I use the first-person in my work; it's a time-honored practice in immersion journalism. Bottom-line is, my work speaks for itself. I can confidently say it has always been respected, if not always liked -- but that's usually by people who's interests or biases aren't served by what I report. That's something I'm proud of.. Gustavo, and your readers, saludos desde la Ciudad de Mexico...

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