Michael Chow/Arizona Republic

Rafael Carranza is a reporter at the Arizona Republic covering the U.S.-Mexico border.

KJZZ partners with the Arizona Republic to bring you the Arizona Storytellers series. We record the live events and share them with you on the radio. In Phoenix, the storytellers sometimes share stories about our community or the life events that have shaped them in general. Megan Finnerty is the creator of the series. 

In 2009, Rafael Carranza landed his first reporting job on the Texas-Mexico border.

His parents wanted to meet his boss on the first day. At one point, Carranza’s mom, concerned for his safety, said in Spanish, “Tell them that I don’t want them to send you to the border.”

Carranza was mortified, but his boss assured her that they wouldn’t send him to Mexico on a story.

One day, Carranza was covering a funeral. A police chief at the funeral told Carranza there was a shooting on the Mexican side of the border, so he decided to go. Traffic was stopped before he got to the border, so Carranza spoke to a local police officer who told him the border was closed.

Rafael Carranza is a reporter at the Arizona Republic covering the U.S.-Mexico border. His mom is proud of him.

The next storytelling event is June 28, 2017, at the Crescent Ballroom in Phoenix.

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