|
December 20, 2002/Tevet 15 5763, Vol. 55, No. 17
Former anchor reaches Valley with song
JESSICA BARBER
|
 Nestor Guzman prepares for broadcast at the Channel 10 News Station during his career as a Spanish-language news anchor. Photo courtesy of Nestor Guzman |
Guzman, a native of Colombia, South America, has enjoyed a lifetime of travel and new experiences. Among them, serving as a news anchor on Channel 10's former Spanish-language local news broadcast. These days, however, Guzman has turned his attention to music through his long-standing participation in the Temple Solel choir, and a career with Vanguard Group near his Scottsdale home.
Most recently, Guzman participated in a Hanukkah concert at Kivel Campus of Care, an annual Temple Solel tradition.
"We sing at least twice a month at the synagogue," says the 10-year choir veteran. "The (Kivel) concert is great because we go there every year and sometimes we see new people. Sometimes they have been listening to us for years and years."
Guzman also participates with the Arizona Arts Chorale, an independent professional choir that will feature five performances of a Holocaust concert at various Valley locations in March and April.
"It's an excellent concert," says Guzman. "It was written by prisoners in the camps, many of which didn't survive."
Guzman landed in Scottsdale with his wife, Susan, and daughter, Jennifer, in the 1980s, after earning a degree in business from Cornell University and enjoying a five-year stint as director of hospitality and administration of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Cali, Colombia. The nonprofit organization conducts socially and environmentally progressive research.
The center, founded by the Rockefeller Center, Ford Motor Company and World Bank, offered challenges for Guzman from the beginning. While in graduate school at the Uni-versity of Massachusetts, Guzman was recommended for the project by the dean.
"They were looking for someone who knew the language and the culture to deal with all the issues to facilitate the creation of the center," remembers Guzman. "They flew me to New York and interviewed me. I left New York with the blueprints under my arm."
The first project Guzman embarked upon was building a one-mile railroad to bring workers into the building site. After three years, the center was complete and moved into a position of a "clearinghouse of information" in which research conducted worldwide would be gathered and duplicated for certainty, explains Guzman.
The center also served as a resort for political leaders, including former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara, the presidents of Brazil and Panama, the prime minister of Canada and a cardinal.
"It was a very, very interesting time in my life," says Guzman. "We had people coming from all over the world for conferences."
After relocating to Scottsdale, Guzman moved into a management position at the former Windmill Dinner Theater on Scottsdale Road.
After encounters with many famous actors and their families, Guzman embarked on a movie and videocassette distribution business and served big name clients such as MGM and Warner Bros.
"I would give people money to open (stores) and they would get the materials and then they could sell the business for a lot more," says Guzman in reference to the "Mom and Pop" stores he helped get started.
In the meantime, Guzman was editing for Channel 10 and caught the attention of a man who was creating the Spanish newscast "Telenoticias."
"I started doing that newscast on Telemundo," Guzman recalls.
Later, Channel 10 also decided to produce a Spanish-language newscast with Guzman as the anchor.
CBS also benefited from Guzman's knowledge and experience.
"CBS would send me the newscast ahead of time and I would put it into Spanish," says Guzman. "For a period of time I was working for both (stations)."
When Channel 10 cancelled the Spanish-language broadcast, Guzman was offered a position in Miami to anchor "Telenoticias" for the Telemundo network. However, Guzman and his family were attached to their new home.
"Here I am in Scottsdale and I know everybody and their brother," he says. "I have great friends and I have a great temple. To give all this up and start from scratch was not very appealing. We have been everywhere and now its time to stay put."
In addition to participating in the choir, Guzman and his wife Susan are members of Temple Solel.