Jaime Jarrín

Honorary Degrees
 
 


California State University, Los Angeles

Jaime Jarrín is the Spanish-language announcer of the Los Angeles Dodgers on KNTQ-AM radio and an active member of the Latinx community in Southern California. Mr. Jarrín came to the United States from Ecuador in 1955 at the age of 20. Prior to that, he attended Central University of Quito where he studied engineering, philosophy, journalism and broadcasting. He moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in broadcasting. Six months later, Mr. Jarrín was hired as a reporter for the Spanish station KWKW.

Knowing nothing about baseball, he attended Dodger games and joined the station’s Dodger broadcast team in 1959. Mr. Jarrín would recreate games in Spanish from sportscaster Vin Scully’s calls until the radio station sent him on the road with the team. Mr. Jarrín also acted as Dodger pitcher Fernando Valenzuela’s personal interpreter during press conferences and interviews in the early 1980s.

Over his six-decade career, Mr. Jarrín has mentored generations of Latinos in media and advocated for Spanish-language broadcasters across Major League Baseball. Outside of the Dodgers, he also covered the  funeral of John F. Kennedy, the Watts rebellion, the 1970 Chicano Moratorium, the 1984 Olympics, boxing matches and visits by Latin American leaders and Pope John Paul II to the United States. In this capacity, Mr. Jarrín has become a trusted source of information in the Latinx community. Moreover, he has  created a space for future generations interested in pursuing a career in media.

Mr. Jarrín  also has actively shed light on challenging societal issues. For example, he invited the  Dodgers to visit hundreds of migrant children who were temporarily sheltered at the Long Beach Convention Center. His intention was two-fold: to bring awareness to the players, and to show migrant children that they are not alone during such trying and uncertain times. Mr. Jarrín has received many awards and recognitions for broadcasting and for his influence on the Latinx community. 

In recognition of his dedication to the Latinx community in Los Angeles and beyond, his engagement and service to the public good and his trailblazing career, the Board of Trustees of the California State University and the California State University, Los Angeles are proud to confer upon Jaime Jarrín the honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters.