It’s 6 p.m. and Ed Tijerina saunters into Drink, a popular local wine bar. As he jauntily waves hello, everyone in the room turns to look, espousing greetings and nods of acknowledgement. Although it might appear to be a scene scripted for a sitcom, it’s the real McCoy. And so is Tijerina.
Tijerina, lauded for his San Antonio Express–News column, which covers what he likes to call “the city’s untold stories,” is a natural thanks to his wry wit, his “regular guy” sensibility and his genuine love of people.
Hanging around with Tijerina is similar to standing in the shadow of the most popular kid in school. People become famous via pure proximity. Although Tijerina is generally not the tallest guy in the room, people who talk to him seem to peer up to him and seek his recognition – and he always gives it because “I just really like people.”
Tijerina, or Edmund, as his mother calls him, is a multi–faceted fellow on both good days and bad days. He is difficult to pigeonhole, and he likes it that way. A Houston native, he is a graduate of both Harvard College and the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. To add to that list, he was also an accomplished chef and restaurateur in between newspaper reporting jobs in several cities, including Milwaukee, Chicago and Corpus Christi. Besides continually cultivating his sophisticated wine palate, Tijerina is also an avid reader and writer with a few (yet untold) stories up his sleeve.
“I like to think of myself as a renaissance man,” he said with a laugh. “I remember reading that description when I was younger and thought ‘that would be cool.’”
Tijerina’s attitude is reflected in his work. While some may consider his work a mere collection of interesting little stories, he stresses that culling the best of business and society happenings and throwing in a dash of San Antonio chisme for good measure actually takes a great deal of effort. Collecting sources, however, is a breeze for him since his grace and ease in speaking to people extends from country clubs and icehouses to boardrooms and ballrooms.
“I think of myself as an ambassador for the Express–News,” he said. “I am a face that [people are] able to connect with. There are so many stories out there. Ultimately, for the reader, it’s all about ‘why should I care?’ Those are the stories I try to pick – the ones that touch people.”
Tijerina is hardly beyond a snicker or two. He writes at what he calls a “dual level,” which means that if one reads the story quickly, one simply gets the message; but if one reads closely, one really gets the message.
“I loved Warner Brothers cartoons as a kid. [They were] written with sophisticated humor that children found funny on one level and adults on an entirely different level,” he said. “That’s what I try to do, and I think I succeed.”
While maintaining a job that keeps him on everyone’s A–list might seem like the best thing in the world, Tijerina explains that it actually translates into a daunting task at times. Despite the long hours of work that go into his column, he relishes the positive feedback he receives from his writing.
“People have told me that even if they don’t have time to read the entire paper, they’ll read my column just to see what’s going on,” said Tijerina with a smile. “That lets me know I’m doing my job.”
While Tijerina’s enthusiasm for the city and its “untold stories” has not wavered over the past several years, his time spent out in the evening chasing these stories has wavered a bit. Thanks to marrying his “soul mate,” the former Lupita Castrajon, a year ago, Tijerina finds himself limiting his evening story hunts in order to spend time with the most important person in his life.
Tijerina and Castrajon were already acquainted when they entered into the Leadership San Antonio Program (co–sponsored by the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and the Greater Chamber of Commerce), and Tijerina knew he had met his match after spending concentrated time with Castrajon. Both shared strong family bonds and values, an interest in the mechanics of city happenings and a desire to improve the city. After they married in a storybook ceremony in downtown San Antonio, Tijerina says his best memories are of their honeymoon in Paris, as well as the adventure of lugging bottles of champagne back through customs.
That’s what’s great about Tijerina: he always has a great story to share, and he is always interested in learning more. In addition, he always tries “to touch lives across the spectrum.”
He certainly has touched a number of lives. In fact, one of his favorite memories as a reporter involves a Bay City incident about the one–year anniversary of a devastating tornado. It is also one of his most notable memories.
“So many people were affected by [the tornado]; although the Red Cross did a great job, there were still people who needed help,” he said. “An elderly [couple] I interviewed never got the porch put back on their home. After my story ran, volunteers went and restored the porch. It felt really good to know I made a difference.”
So how does a man with a million balls in the air stay so grounded? “Well, Lupita does that for me,” he said with a smile. “She’s intelligent and a great listener; I enjoy bouncing ideas off of her. And although it’s hard to believe, I’m high–energy, and she calms me.”
The genuine admiration and love Tijerina has for his family has also shaped him. His voice crackles with pride when he recalls the hard work of his family and how it created a powerful, motivational and valuable example of success for him.
“Just two generations ago, my grandmother, born in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, came to San Antonio and had a taquerÃa on the West Side,” he said. “My father became an engineer at NASA, and then I ended up at Harvard.”
So what does the future hold for this renaissance man? “I love what I’m doing, and if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to expand,” he said. “[Lupita and I would] like to have a family, of course…and hopefully leave a legacy of the hard work of our families and also make the city a better place. If I could help nudge things a little bit by what I do, well, I’d be honored.”
