“I regretted it the day everybody else graduated and I didn’t.”

Juan Sigala didn’t have much money as a kid. He wasn’t very good in school either.

He would play in the street, not worrying about the things we have to worry about now. Even if there was nothing to play with they would still find a way.

His dream was to build a family. Get a good job that involved cars. Raise good children.

And that was exactly what he did.

Transcript

Delailah Sigala: Umm..The first question is very easy. What do you think about my music taste? [Laughs]

Juan Sigala: I like some of it. Some of it I don’t understand.

DS: [Laughs] Like what? The BTS?

JS: BTS

DS: When you were a kid, what were your dreams? Like, dream job?

JS: Umm. Mostly just build a family.

DS: Were Tita and Guapo like, different growing up? From what they are now or are they still the same?

JS: When I was growing up?

DS: Yeah.

JS: Everything. They were more strict.

DS: They were more strict?

JS: Yeah.

DS: Like, how strict?

JS: Like, we couldn’t talk English in the house. 

DS: You couldn’t talk English?!

JS: Nope.

DS: Like at all?

JS: They would tell us to talk Spanish. But I thank them for doing that. Because I could talk Spanish.

DS: Because you learned Spanish at school right?

JS: Yeah and at home.

DS: When you were in high school, what did you really expect from life?

JS: I wasn’t good in school. I was a troublemaker in high school. So I didn’t know what to expect. BUT, I regretted it the day everybody else graduated and I didn’t. 

DS: What are your plans for the future?

JS: Um. Move up in position at work. Which is run parts and service. Kind of like what I do on Saturdays. Buy another house. 

DS: What were your fears of having a family. Like did you have any fears?

JS: Yeah.

DS: Like what kind of fears?

JS: Biggest fear was not raising good children. 

DS: When you met mom, what was your first thought of her? Like what was your first thought?

JS: I liked her eyes.

DS: [Laughs] Her eyes? 

DS: Um. What about when you saw me for the first time? Like what did you think? First thought that came to your head.

JS: I don’t think words can express it. Obviously it’s something I never felt before. It was just different, it was-I can’t explain it.

DS: What are your dreams for me and Mano?

JS: For you? I don’t know. I just want you to grow up and be happy. To find a job that you like to do and not that you have to do. And, that you grow up to be a good person overall. And, same thing with Mano. School. Graduate. Travel. Work. Become good people. You know, do something that you wanna do for the rest of your life. Not something that you have to do. Not something your forced to do.

DS: How would you like to be remembered?

JS: As somebody that helped people.

DS: What are your best and worst memories?

JS: Best Memories. Is probably-there is a lot. Growing up. Playing with nothing. Playing with like, puddles of water in the middle of the yard. Playing with toys, playing on the street. Being able to play on the street without having to worry about all the stuff you have to worry about now. That was my childhood memories. Older memories when you were born. When your brother was born. When we got married. Those are the most.

DS: So no like, worst memories?

JS: What?

DS: No like bad memories or anything?

JS: Um. Bad memories? Yeah. I think when a Van hit your Tita. Ran-didn’t run over-but it hit her. She was laying down in the street and we saw that. One of the worst memories.

DS: As you saw me grow up. What was your like favorite trait about me? Like, maybe one of my actions or something?

JS: When you would sing. [Laughs]

DS: [Laughs] 

JS: When you would grab the mic and sing Spanish music.

DS: [Laughs] La Chancla.

JS: Mhm

DS: What was another job you had in mind? Other than work with cars?

JS: I think that’s all I ever had in mind. First I wanted to be a mechanic. Then I got into parts and I liked it. I learned it and I moved up. It’s an easier job than mechanics. Not a lot of physical demand. Not a lot of lifting and stuff.

DS: What was the hardest part of your childhood? Like, what were some hardships?

JS: Not having a lot of money. I had to share clothes with my siblings sometimes. Sometimes I would wear the pants on Monday, then I would wash them. If they were dirty I would wash them and wear them again like on Friday. Cause we had no clothes, ya know? We wore cheap shoes to school. Really cheap shoes. One time I wore, $5 shoes. They were $5 at the swap meet. While there was people that were always like well dressed. But my dad didn’t have-ya know? We didn’t have enough money to buy that stuff. So yeah.

DS: Whenever you see me or Mano, what regrets might you have? Like, teaching us something. Not teaching us something.

JS: So far, is not putting you guys into some kind of sport. Ya know like boxing or something like that. But. Yeah that’s about it.

DS: Um. Are you proud of how far we’ve come or how far our family’s come?

JS: Yeah. Yup.