From 9-Year-Old Immigrant to City Council Candidate: Elmer Roldan’s L.A. Story

Tamarindo

Tamarindo | Sonoro

Personal Journals, Health & Fitness, News, Latinx, News Commentary, Wellbeing, Mental Health, Society & Culture

4.5 • 749 Ratings

🗓️ 17 March 2026

⏱️ 23 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

This week, we catch up with Elmer Roldan. After surviving a harrowing journey from Guatemala as a child and overcoming the challenges of generational poverty in Los Angeles, Elmer Roldan has dedicated his life to transforming his community. As the Executive Director of Communities In Schools of Los Angeles, he now works to prevent student pushout by connecting high-needs youth with the mentorship and resources they need to thrive. In this episode, Elmer shares how his lived experience fuels his current run for L.A. City Council District 9, where he aims to build a more equitable future for the neighborhood that shaped him.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Sonoro
0:03.0	Welcome to Tamarindo podcast.
0:20.0	Hosted by me, Brenda Gonzalez, a fitness coach, political nerd, and non-procations. Welcome to the Marindo podcast.
0:26.0	Hosted by me, Brenda Gonzalez, a fitness coach, political nerd, and nonprofit capacity builder.
0:31.8	And me, Delcy Sandoval, a Guatemalan American licensed therapist and passionate creativity advocate.
0:38.5	Together, we're here to uplift our community through powerful conversations with change makers, creatives, and healers.
0:42.0	Each week on the pod, we talk politics, culture, and personal development.
0:45.8	Listeners called Tamarino, the advocacy and self-love podcast.
0:48.1	Let's start the show.
1:06.6	Hi, Tamarino, Miggis. Before we get started, I want to let you know that we are down to one spot left for Enquentro, our empowering retreat to Puebla, Mexico, April 30th through May 4th. I also want to let you know that we have added an optional Mexico City excursion to kick off the retreat.
1:13.4	That means you would arrive on the 29th and we'll have dinner, breakfast, lunch.
1:18.1	We'll stay a condesa.
1:19.6	We will go to the Anthropology Museum, Chapultepec, and travel together to Enquento.
1:24.3	That's an optional add-on.
1:26.3	Contact me right away at Brenda at tamarindopcast.com.
1:31.5	Once again, that's Brenda at tamarindopcast.com.
1:35.5	If you are interested, again, one spot left.
1:38.9	Of course, if you bring a friend, we can make it work.
1:41.3	Give us an email as soon as you can.
1:46.1	All right. This week, we have a mini episode of Tamarindo reconnecting with friend of the pod, Elmer Roldan. At just nine years old,
1:52.9	Elmer and his cousins embarked on a dangerous 13-day journey from Guatemala to reunite with
1:58.2	family here in Los Angeles. They had all of their money and
	...

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