For 14 years, I’ve reported on and written stories about the people, places, community and culture that make San Antonio amazing.
It’s literally on my bio for social media — @KSATRJ by the way! — so writing about myself this time is definitely strange.
I started at KSAT in the summer of 2010 as the overnight digital producer and writer for our morning newscasts. I would come in at midnight and work behind the scenes to help produce Good Morning San Antonio.
Little did I know that more than a decade later, I would be in a position to anchor GMSA.
Early on at KSAT, my managers encouraged me to try more on-air reporting. I was hesitant at first, but I found my voice covering our Spurs during those incredible runs in the early 2010s, culminating with the 2014 title.
From there, we launched our GMSA at 9 a.m. newscast and I was asked to be part of the on-air team. I’ll never forget what it was like to cover the Spurs in the mid-to-late 2010s (ahhhh Kawhi!), but it was time to broaden my horizons.
My managers asked me to cover more news and community events, and I immediately fell in love with getting to know people across all parts of San Antonio.
When I shifted to a full-time reporter for our 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts, I covered everything from the pandemic fallout and the tragic Uvalde shooting to education and housing issues, Mayor Ron Nirenberg, then-Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff, and breaking news. Many times, that included speaking to people on the worst days of their lives.
Being a Hispanic voice for our underserved communities and having a platform to tell these stories from our neighborhoods is something I do not take lightly.
But there’s also Fiesta, Dia De Los Muertos, the KSAT Pigskin Classic, the San Antonio Sports All-Star Basketball Game, and of course the arrival of some French phenom named Victor Wembanyama. You may have heard of him.
Late last year I took over as traffic anchor and with that, came more opportunities to anchor our morning and noon newscasts.
One of the best compliments I received from a viewer while covering transportation and construction was, “Wow, you make traffic actually interesting.”
But that’s the way I feel about this entire city, which is growing by the day. The energy, cultura, heart and compassion of San Antonio are always interesting and unmatched. This is a beautiful city in so many ways with amazing people that have great stories to tell.
I was born and raised a proud Mexican-American in El Paso and I am a first-generation Texas State graduate (Eat’Em Up Cats), but I found my life with my amazing wife Cristela here in San Antonio.
I was recently named the co-anchor for GMSA at 5 a.m. and 6 a.m. I want to bring that energy and enthusiasm for our city into your homes every morning, whether you are watching us on-air, online or KSAT Plus.
It’s a full-circle moment, but of course, I could not have done it without the support of my wife, family, friends, colleagues, our news director Mario Orellana and my GMSA family, including Stephanie Serna, Justin Horne, our great morning producers, editors, photojournalists, and our new GMSA anchor Japhanie Gray. I also have to thank my former KSAT colleagues, Mark Austin, Mike Osterhage and Steven Cavazos.
I’m ready for this next step at KSAT and I hope our viewers will continue to believe in our journalistic integrity, ethics and honesty to give you the best morning news, weather and sports coverage in the 210!