Zócalo Editorial Director Andrés Martinez

A Man Who Needs Television, Fears Scurvy, and Loves Tacos al Pastor

Andrés Martinez is editorial director of Zócalo Public Square and vice president of the New America Foundation. Before moderating a panel on Miami after immigration reform, he revealed the technology he can’t live without, his greatest irrational fear, and what he proselytizes for—but not his guilty pleasures—in the Zócalo green room.

Q:

Where are your favorite tacos in the world?


A:

I’d have to say El Fogoncito in Mexico City.


Q:

What profession would you practice in your next life?


A:

Architect.


Q:

What food won’t you eat?


A:

Many. It’s easier to list the ones I do eat.


Q:

What’s your greatest irrational fear?


A:

Getting scurvy. I’ve had it ever since reading Mutiny on the Bounty as a kid. So I eat a lot of limes. TMI!


Q:

Which of your colleagues or friends tells the best jokes?


A:

Can I say Gregory [Rodriguez]?


Q:

What’s your guilty pleasure?


A:

Do I have to name just one?


Q:

Are you going to answer all of my questions with questions?


A:

I don’t know, what do you think?


Q:

What are you reading right now?


A:

I’m reading Adrian Wooldridge’s book on corporations; he was the first Zócalo speaker. I’m also re-reading Crime and Punishment, which I hadn’t read in 10 years or more. I try to always read fiction alongside nonfiction.


Q:

What do you proselytize for?


A:

Free speech and good tacos al pastor.


Q:

What piece of technology could you not live without?


A:

Television, to watch sports with my son like I did with my dad.