Enrique Escalona on Farming, Freedom of Speech, & Oregon | Humans of Catlin Gabel
By Margot Camp, ‘23
Escalona (second from right) with his Portland-based band
“I’m an only child. I’m the only, only child in my family.” Enrique Escalona, Catlin Gabel School (CGS) Upper School Spanish teacher, shares with a smile I can see through his eyes.
Born in Seville, Spain, Escalona spent his childhood in different places around Spain, living with his parents and grandparents. During his childhood, Escalona worked on the farm that his parents owned.
“Milking cows at 5:30 a.m., by hand!”
Escalona enjoyed the farm work, and gardening continues to be a hobby of his today. “I love things that grow,” he jokes.
At a young age, Escalona’s parents made it very clear that his education was a priority for them. His parents were working-class and could not offer their son many economic opportunities. They valued their son getting an education, working hard, and doing the best he could.
“It was the most important thing they could offer me,” says Escalona.
Escalona was the first person in his family to go to university and finish it with a degree. After completing college, he pursued journalism, working at different newspapers and radio stations, eventually working for a large television station in Spain.
“I realized that it was not what I wanted to do…I was wondering what I wanted to do next…I really believed in freedom of speech, in the role of journalism nowadays, to keep democracy alive.”
After discussing his options with his professors, Escalona decided to pursue a Master's degree in journalism in the United States at Stony Brook University in New York. When he was offered a teaching position, he initially declined until he was told how much he would be paid.
“I knew what hunger was, I was really a starving grad student,” he jokes.
Escalona began teaching Spanish and soon after realized that he had a passion for it and wanted to further pursue it instead of journalism, switching his masters from journalism to linguistics.
While in New York, Escalona met his now ex-wife, who was originally from Portland, Oregon. After moving there together and eventually getting divorced, Escalona decided to stay in Portland.
Eventually, Escalona found his current job at Catlin Gabel School (CGS) and worked there for the past 17 years.
“I like the area, I like Oregon, I love the coast and I love my job here at CGS.”
Escalona has worked in various teaching positions throughout the school, including teaching in the Lower School and the Upper School where he currently teaches.
Along with his passion for teaching, Escalona shared another one of the main reasons he decided to stay in Portland.
“I've played in different bands in Portland, ever since I came here. That was another thing that kept me in Portland. I had a really good job, a really good place to come here and teach, and then I had an amazing group of friends, who I had a lot of fun going to shows and playing with, in shows as big as 6,000 people, around Oregon and Washington. It was really fun!”
Lucky for us, Escalona will be part of our community for a long time, and you can find him in the Modern Language building.