Guillermo Arriaga - Early Life

Early Life

Arriaga was born in Mexico City. At the age of 13, he lost the sense of smell after a brutal street fight that would later serve as inspiration for some of his work. "Contrary to widespread reports, Arriaga did not come of age in a violent Mexico City neighborhood ("I can't tell you how many times I've changed that on Wikipedia," he says, "only for it to be changed back 15 minutes later"), though he did, in fact, lose his sense of smell at 13 in a street brawl." Before engaging in his writing career, Arriaga tried out a variety of jobs and professions, amongst which were that of boxer, basketball player and professional soccer player. He completed a B.A. in Communications and a M.A. in Psychology at the Ibero-American University.