Born and raised in Tucson, Arizona Ernesto “Neto” Portillo Jr. is a proud Tucsonan. He is a columnist for The Arizona Daily Star and also works for La Estrella. While Neto was a student at the University of Arizona, he traveled to Mexico and Central America. Neto graduated with a major in Latin American Studies, but developed a passion for journalism. He “fell in love with it” when he took a basic journalism class at the U of A. He only took three journalism courses, but he was fascinated. He was told he would be a good journalist because he is bilingual and a great writer. In 1982, he attended a journalism program for minorities at University of California, Berkeley. When Neto finished the program, he began to work as a reporter in Massachusetts. He worked there for three years and then moved to San Diego, where he lived for 15 years working as a reporter. In 2000, Neto moved back home to Tucson. He started working at The Arizona Daily Star, where he was hired as a columnist. |
Neto loves to work for the Daily Star and La Estrella. He enjoys showing the culture in Tucson because he believes the culture is vital in today’s society.
In addition to being a columnist, he loves his chickens and turtles. Neto also enjoys doing CrossFit with his wife. He hopes to inspire people and give them ganas or “moxy” when they read his columns.
In addition to being a columnist, he loves his chickens and turtles. Neto also enjoys doing CrossFit with his wife. He hopes to inspire people and give them ganas or “moxy” when they read his columns.