Sergio Muñoz Bata is a syndicated columnist for Reforma, a former member of the Los Angeles Times editorial board, and former executive editor of La Opinión. Before interviewing Mexican presidential candidate Josefina Vázquez Mota, he sat down in the green room to talk about his many interests, from philosophy to music to film to Mexico.
Q. Where would we find you at 9:00 on a typical Friday night?
A. At my computer.
Q. How do you react when you’re embarrassed?
A. I blush.
Q. What do Mexico City-where you were born-and Los Angeles have in common?
A. Pollution, traffic-and, now (not before) there are quite a few good Mexican restaurants here, at least five or six that I know. And food in Mexico is delicious.
Q. What teacher or professor, if any, changed your life?
A. Oh boy-that would be a long, long list. One of them would be a professor from Spain, José Gaos. He was a Spanish Republican who came to Mexico after the Spanish Civil War. I asked him if eight philosophy students could have a seminar with him. He gave us 12 lessons on Aristotelian metaphysics that were very important to me. There was another, Father Gallegos Rocafull-he was a priest who had been disowned by the church because he was anti-Franco-he was very, very important to me. Last one: I’m doing my Ph.D. now-my doctoral dissertation-and I just had a class called “Words and Music” with Professor Dana Gioia [at USC]. We studied how music began.
Q. What comes easily to you?
A. Nothing! [Laughs.] Loving my grandchildren-that comes very easy.
Q. You studied film as well; do you have a favorite filmmaker?
A. I can tell you that I saw [Alain Renais’] Hiroshima mon amour 11 times, one after the other. We would see it once, and then the teacher would say, “OK, tell me what is the musical theme of such-and-such scene …” Then he’s say, “Tell me the lighting on this scene …” So we saw it 11 times in one day.
Q. Where do you get your news?
A. I read three newspapers in print: the Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, and The Financial Times. But I also read a lot of newspapers online from all the places where I publish my column.
Q. When did you last sing out loud?
A. Yesterday or today, I think-at home, in the shower. I love music.
Q. Describe yourself in five words or less.
A. I try to be nice, I try to be understanding, and I try to have fun.
*Photo by Aaron Salcido.