Esmeralda Montenegro-Owen

Esmeralda Montenegro-Owen’s career started out in Spanish broadcast journalism. She bounced from Univision to Telemundo and back to Univision, before leaving in 2011 to work in public relations, first for the National Steinbeck Center, then for Hartnell College. As of July, she’s pivoting again, this time to become executive director of the nonprofit Youth Orchestra Salinas.

Montenegro-Owen attributes her adaptability and go-getter attitude to her upbringing. Her family immigrated to Huntington Park after civil war broke out in her native El Salvador. In the U.S., she and her brother focused on getting good grades in school while her father, who used to be an agricultural engineer, bussed tables and worked other odd jobs.

At the University of Southern California, where she first majored in civil engineering, she was forced to drop out in the middle of her sophomore year, when the state began distributing financial aid only to citizens and permanent residents.

But that didn’t keep her out of college. She took classes at L.A. Trade Community College, and won some scholarship money from winning a Ms. El Salvador L.A. competition. After three years, she became a legal resident and returned to USC. Inspired by the journalist who interviewed her when she was competing in Ms. El Salvador L.A., she enrolled in the journalism program. Montenegro-Owen spoke to the Weekly about the then-and-now of immigration policy, and what’s in store for the future of YOSAL.

Weekly: How does your experience immigrating compare with people who are immigrating today?

Montenegro-Owen: There’s much more information about immigration today. Back then it was black and white. Fortunately, I had a work permit. Today there are more programs, like DACA [Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals]. But there’s not much certainty to those programs either, and I understand the anxiety.

What advice do you have for young people going through the immigration system?

There are so many bright young kids out there and they have such potential. I’d say keep up with your education. They cannot take your knowledge away from you. And keep preparing yourself for big things here, until they stick you back on a plane.

What are some challenges running YOSAL and what are your goals?

A big challenge is that the program funded by mostly by private donations. We are so blessed a lot of people care about music education and give consistently. There are also some grants. I hope to work on creating an endowment for YOSAL, so that’s there’s more reliability and consistency, so we don’t have to constantly worry about money and can focus on growing the program.

I also hope to attract more teachers, maybe with apprenticeships or internships. We have an alum working for YOSAL, so that’s exciting. Alan Truong started with YOSAL in sixth grade. He was born and raised in Salinas. He attends Oberlin Conservatory. He is our teacher’s assistant in the orchestra and helps with the wind ensemble and sectionals.

How do you communicate to parents and kids that YOSAL is worth their time?

Parent involvement is an area that I want to focus on. I want parents and members of the community to have ownership of this program, and that takes commitment. We have things like a summer camp in partnership with the Big Sur Land Trust. That’s an overnight thing, not just afterschool; I understand the anxieties that some parents have sending their kids to somewhere overnight.

These kids perform around three times a year, in concert halls, and they can’t believe people are clapping for them. It’s all about having these kids see themselves in these places like concert halls and not just in classrooms. We want families to feel motivated that their kids deserve to have these experiences.

Do you play an instrument?

I don’t. I tried in a very limited capacity to learn the piano and the organ. I did a little bit of choral work at church. I did learn to appreciate all kinds of music early on. I grew up with meringue, a lot of Mexican pop artists and music from the Caribbean.

You were a beauty queen. Do you have any beauty tips?

Beauty comes from the inside out. Be physically active, feed your body with good food, feed your eyes and ears with love and positivity, feed your soul and brain. Plus, laugh and be kind to others.