A Mexican First; An American Second
The Story of NOS Co-Founder Gaston Luken
by Nathan Senge
Gaston Luken is a big, imposing man. He sits in his chair like a don overseeing his lands. After all, he grew this place, and it was through the persistence and savvy of his investiture that it has endured perilous times.
Gaston is a cultural polymorph by birth. Growing up in Calexico amidst eight different ethnic neighborhoods packed closely together, cultural fluviality is in his blood. In fact, growing up, he wasn’t sure if he was more Mexican or American.
“I was confused,” he says. “About a lot of things. So I went to see my high school advisor. I always did well in school. I told him I was going to Berkeley to be an engineer. ‘You’d make a crappy engineer,’ he told me. ‘Stick with what you’re good at it. Be a businessman. And get your degree in Mexico.’”
Gaston laughs.
“And that was that. I took his advice—I liked the guy—and went to business school in Mexico. It’s a good thing, too, because no one can do what Alejandro [Robles] does. He’s the scientific muscle of NOS. I’m the finance guy. Though now we have Scott, too, which helps. But Scott is a gringo—but he is good at spotting sharks, like I am!”
“What’s that about sharks?” I ask.
“Well, you’ve always got sharks, right? The ones who’ll invest a lot initially simply because they want control and want to steer the organization for their benefit. They don’t give a shit about the mission. So we’re looking for the opposite—people who are okay with more risk, because they believe in the mission. And frankly we need all the help we can get. It’s really backwards down here in terms of how organizations relate to the government. It’s very old-school. Very patriarchal. We’re supposed to kowtow to them. I realized that, if we can approach them with something to offer, we can turn that around.”
“How?”
“Well, I call it grassroots from the ground up. It was an impossible task, trying to structure this work from the top down. It was like trying to create an adult immediately. It was anti-natural. Nothing is born from above—you must grow something. We understood this, so we started looking around as to where we could begin doing something from the ground up. That’s how we got so involved with the Manglito community. We took them on board with us. We built NOS with them. And then the government started noticing us.”
The wind puffs in and blows a few napkins off the table and as Gaston’s napkin begins to lift he slaps it down with his wrist. It was like Mr. Miyagi!
“As I negotiated with them, I began to realize I will always identify as Mexican first, American second. That’s how I view my dual citizenship. It’s quite advantageous, being able to stream into both environments without an accent,” he says and laughs. “But now it’s time to pass on the mantle. Just as Alejandro has done with Liliana [Gutiérrez Mariscal], I will do with Aleks [Flores] and ACHAMAR. It’s time they took the lead. Especially as the harvests begin and these clams and scallops get on the market. I know how capable they both are. I’m happy to abdicate. I feel like a proud father.”