Arreguin: Yes. When I was 12 my
grandfather saw that I had talent and took
me to the school of fine arts. They said I
was too young, but he insisted and they
allowed me in.
M.J.: When did you move to the U.S.
and what drew you to Washington
State?
Arreguin: I came here 65 years ago. I
was having a lot of problems with my
father and he threw me out of the house. I
was drinking a lot and he suggested I do
something with my life — go into some
sort of business. He gave me a large sum
of money to start a business but I didn’t
know what to do so I went to Acapulco
and spent it all.
M.J.: Oh no! So what got you to
Washington State?
Arreguin: I had a little convertible back
then and I saw this Danish-American
family who was out walking. They had
three beautiful daughters so I pulled
over and asked if they’d like a ride to
wherever they were going. They accepted
and when they exited the car they tried
to pay me, but I said, “Oh no, I’m trying
to learn English.” I was surprised when
the mother said, “Well, why don’t you get
a couple of friends and take the girls out
dancing, or something?” So I did.
We ended up spending a lot of time
together; we decided to keep in touch.
Eventually, they invited me to come visit
them in Green Lake, near Seattle. So I
drove my car up to Washington. It was the
first time I ever saw snow.
The girls’ father had grown very fond of
me. He said I should go to college here,
so I went to the University of Washington
(U.W.) campus to look around and fell in
love with the buildings and atmosphere. I
was in heaven! I had to return to Mexico,
but eventually I managed to come back to
the States with a student visa and got a job
making $100 a month working as a janitor
at a Lutheran church.
I hadn’t been in school long before I was inducted into the Army. They sent me to
Korea. I spent 13 months on mission and when I got back I resumed my classes at
the university. At first, I went to school for architecture, because my father made
me fear that I would fail as an artist. But I was doing well with my art and sat in on
a few classes. I fell in love being there, seeing all these students with all those fine
painted canvases and I thought, “Wow I can do that!”
M.J.: I’m glad you did. So you began art school in Mexico but finished up here
at the University of Washington with a master’s degree?
Arreguin: Yes. I was in school when all of a sudden the advisor called me and
said, “Congratulations, you’re going to get your bachelor’s degree!” And I said,
“That’s horrible news! I won’t have anywhere to paint. What’s going to happen to
me?” He said, “Well, why don’t you apply for a master’s degree?” I asked how long
that would take and when he said two years I said: “I’m gonna try it!” And I got
accepted.
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