Photo by Ronnie L. Esparza.
Rebecca Plevin is a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times. Previously she was an editor at the Fresno Bee where she oversaw the bilingual Central Valley News Collaborative. Before moderating a panel for the Zócalo and The James Irvine Foundation event—“‘What Is a Good Job Now?’ In Agriculture”—she sat down in the green room to talk about Joshua Tree, yoga poses, and The Nutcracker.
You grew up in the D.C. area. What is something you miss about the DMV?
It’s been so long since I lived there. I grew up reading the Washington Post, and it was kind of fun to feel close to politics. I even liked reading the Style section—it was all politicians; the gossip was like where’d so-and-so senator eat for dinner last night.
Your husband’s a park ranger. Do you have a favorite state or national park?
I have to say Joshua Tree. I was really into bouldering and did a lot of rock climbing in the park. And now we do more hiking in the park. The desert is full of secrets, and it’s really fun to discover them.
If you were a yoga pose, which one would you be?
I’m torn between a tree pose and a pigeon pose. With a tree pose you’re grounded, you’re rooted, but you’re reaching up towards the sky and growing strong. With a pigeon pose you’re really relaxing and trying to let go of all the stress. You need both a little tree and pigeon in your life.
What has been the hardest part of being in a production of The Nutcracker?
So I grew up performing in The Nutcracker in the Washington ballet. I was all of the children’s parts. And now in the desert, some friends and I are choreographing a desert-themed Nutcracker. I’m choreographing a dance. It’s going to be the quails—me and then a bunch of children, kind of like the mother quail and then the baby quails. This will be my first time choreographing for children.
How’d you get involved in reporting on equity?
My first job in California journalism was for a bilingual newspaper in Fresno called Vida en el Valle, owned by the McClatchy company and the Fresno Bee. That’s where I really started learning about farmworker issues and agriculture and low-income communities in California. That’s really shaped a lot of the reporting that I do today. I also reported at the Desert Sun and covered immigration, and did a lot of coverage of farmworkers in the eastern Coachella Valley. I try to draw on my experiences in a vast stretch of California as I report on equity now for the L.A. Times.
What is one question you’d like answered about farmworker equity?
One question I have is how your average consumer can support farmworkers when they’re at the farmers market or at the grocery store. Are there things people can do, things people can look for in order to support farm workers?