KTLA 5 reporter Carlos Herrera’s L.A. story begins right around the corner from the station.
He took us for a walk from his childhood home to the studio on Sunset Boulevard, and it took less than six minutes.
“I would walk by it (KTLA) every single day,” he explained. “These streets bring back so many memories for me. Not only do my parents still live around this area, but also my grandparents, aunts and uncles also live in this neighborhood.”
When he was a student at Joseph Le Conte Middle School, sometimes Carlos and his friends would kick the soccer ball a little too hard, and it would end up in the KTLA parking lot. The photographers would then have to kick the ball back over the fence.
Carlos’ love for sports is actually what drove him to pursue a career in broadcast journalism.
“I remember waking up every Saturday morning playing FIFA, the soccer video game, and I would comment and narrate the games I was playing,” he explained. “My dad said, ‘well, maybe that’s something you’d want to pursue.'”
While he would see KTLA all the time, working there seemed like a pipe dream.
“I thought, ‘it’s impossible, it’s not going to happen,'” he told KTLA 5 Morning News anchor Frank Buckley. “But, here I am. When I say it’s a blessing, it really is. There’s no other word for me to describe it.”
Growing up, family and soccer were two major pillars in his life.
“We love to cook, we love to spend time together,” he explained.
He credits his parent’s upbringing in El Salvador for instilling a strong work ethic within him.
“It showed me a lot, keeping my foot on the ground, being humble, working hard for what I need to achieve,” Carlos said.
While he still views Hollywood as home, he has noticed some changes.
“It’s amazing to see how Hollywood has changed in the last decade or so with developers coming in and developing new apartment complexes and condos,”he explained. “It’s sad to see because sometimes, where I grew up, the first thing I saw walking out of the apartment building was the Hollywood sign, that’s now covered because of all these new high rises in the area.”
When Carlos isn’t reporting on the big news stories of the day, he likes to blow off steam by hitting the dance floor.
One of his favorite spots to listen to music and cut a rug is La Descarga in East Hollywood.
“It is amazing! Not only do they have great cocktails, Cuban cigars-they have live music!” he exclaimed.
Carlos also found his dance partner for life. His fiancée Abby.
“I never knew anyone who liked to dance more than me, until I met her, ” he revealed. “She loves music, she listens to music all the time.”
In August, Carlos popped the question and Abby said yes!
He tells us the wedding is very soon.
KTLA’s My Very Own Story series airs Thursdays at 8 a.m., noon and 5 p.m.
Track the stories online at digital-stage.ktla.com/mystory.
