WATCH: Gallego Talks with Arizona’s Family for Hispanic Heritage Month
Phoenix, AZ – Rep. Ruben Gallego (AZ-07) joined Arizona’s Family for a sit-down interview to discuss Hispanic Heritage Month.
Click here to watch the interview.
Full interview transcript:
Ruben Gallego: When I met my first Latino lawyer, I was like, “we make those?” It's like, wow. But that was very inspirational for me because it made me think like, wait, why couldn't I be a lawyer someday?
Olivia Fierro: That revelation, a seed of possibility that would grow an even bigger future for Ruben Gallego, United States Congressman representing Arizona's Seventh Congressional District, first elected in 2014. If I were to ask your son, who you said is five and a half, what does daddy do for work? What would he say?
RG: For a couple of years, when people ask him, he would say, dad speaks for work. Which is also very true. And then now he understands I pass laws, and yeah, he's great. He comes to D.C. a lot too. The best thing is just that, you know, we get to spend time together, you know, and, you know, when you grow up without a father figure, you know how important it is to be a father to your son.
OF: In many ways, his life today illustrating the change possible in one generation from son of immigrants raised by a single mom to Harvard graduate and United States Marine.
RG: I realized at a young age that I had to, you know, step up. And the best way to step up is to be a good example to my sisters, be a really good student, and show that there is a future for us. We weren't going to be poor for the rest of our lives. And, you know, I got into my head as a young man that, you know, I'm smart, I work hard. And in this country, you know, that matters.
OF: Gallego succeeded, proving that as a working-class Latino, he could create a new future, one that would always require a hunger and humility that often set him apart at Harvard and in D.C.
RG: I was a janitor. I cleaned other students’ bathrooms. I was a bouncer. When students were planning their spring breaks to Costa Rica or to Europe, I went to work because it was an opportunity to go work. Eventually, I realized that my self-worth had nothing to do with what was in my bank account. My self-worth was what I was doing to better myself, to better my family, better my country. And, but it wasn't easy. I really did feel like an outsider. Even now, I am a fish out of water in a lot of places I go. But, you know, if you're true to yourself, you'll always be centered in the right place.
OF: For now, his right place is the House of Representatives continuing his commitment to serve his Arizona constituents and to be a voice for fellow Latinos and military veterans.
RG: What a veteran wants, and what a Latino wants is a successful life, a stable family, a future. Again, back to the theme of the American Dream. And so when I'm in Congress, that's what I focus on, trying to bring that to them, trying to create the opportunity for them to actually be able to execute on that. At the hardest of times, even when I was in war, I just looked at the most important thing is determination. Keep, keep going. You'll survive this.