Eduardo “Eddie” Rodriguez is the head security guard at MHS who loves the school as much as he did when he was a student here. A class of ’85 grad, Eddie works hard to keep Stingtown safe and in-check.

Keeping Stings Safe
An average work day for Eddie starts at 8 a.m. when he turns on the security cameras and monitors the hallways. Then he walks around the school making sure everything is under control. After that, he supervises the cafeteria during lunch-time. Throughout the day, Eddie gets calls for whatever reason, from opening a locked door to finding a student in class. Eddie is also Miami High’s Adult Education’s lead custodian.
In 2007, Eddie, who works 13 hours a day, came to work as a security guard at Miami High—where his father was head custodian for 15 years, but retired last July. As head security, Eddie believes the best part about his job is keeping the students here safe.
“To prevent mistakes and make sure everything is in control in the school, I always have to be on top of my job,” he said. “For example, I always have to ask people who they are, where they’re going, and ask if they need my help, so I can point out trespassers.”

Class of ’85 Alumn
While in high school, Eddie wanted to work in the music industry, and he later did exactly that as a music promoter at BNG for three years, where he took artists to star on the radio, on television and events. Eddie met many famous artists from el mercado latino such as José Luis Rodríguez, Jessica Cristina, and even the Dominican group Los Ilegales. After working at BNG, Eddie had his own music store, Eddie’s Music, for a while on 8th Street, but it closed down in 2006.
Eddie believes his own effort and perseverance have gotten him to where he is today, but if he could do it over again, he would choose a different career path. “I love computers, so I’d be a computer tech,” he said.
As a Miami High student, Eddie had a 2.8 GPA and loved his math classes. “My favorite memories from being a student here were being in soccer and being around my brother and his friends,” he said. However, he didn’t have enough time for clubs and activities because he had a job at his aunt’s fruteria. Eddie still keeps in touch with many of his friends from high school, and his favorite teachers from back then, history teacher Ms. Waters and carpentry teacher Mr. Wilson.
Eddie had many jobs growing up. “I worked as the assistant manager at Popular Discount,” he said. “It was a company much like a CVS, but it closed down years ago.” He then worked at a mechanic maintenance company, as a forklift driver, later as a salesman at a car accessory company. Then as a salesman at a retail store selling CDs and records for 12 years.

Eddie Del Río
When asked where he sees himself in 10-20 years, Eddie joked, “Well, with less hair would be impossible.” Eddie believes in living day-by-day and focusing on the present. “El futuro ya vendrá,” he said.
Eddie is an Aquarius who was born on January 22nd, 1968, in La Habana, Cuba, but was raised a Catholic in his parents’ home province, Pinar Del Río. He attended elementary school and half of middle school in Cuba, and then came to Miami in 1980 where he attended summer school at Citrus Grove Middle, eighth grade at Campbell Drive K-8 Center, ninth grade at Shenandoah Junior High, and finally graduated from Miami High in 1985.
Eddie, who is the oldest of four brothers, said what he is most grateful for in life are his daughters, Juliet, Jessica, and Erika who are 11, 12, and 25, respectively. “I like to believe that I have a lot in life that others do not,” he said. “I got to raise two of my three daughters, and the most important thing in life is that my family and I are healthy.” Eddie also has two stepdaughters: Emily, who is 17, and Melanie, who is 15.
Eddie’s eldest daughter Erika is a very accomplished young lady. She attended Miami Springs High until 10th grade, finished her junior year at Miami-Dade, and went on to finish her senior year in Princeton, New Jersey. She then went to Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, and even studied six months in London. Erika is now studying medicine and wants to become an emergency room physician.
One of Eddie’s hobbies is listening to music. “I don’t care much for the language of music,” he said. “Songs can be in French, Italian, or even Portuguese and I’d still listen to them.” While he has a vast taste for it, he mostly listens to pop, pop-ballad, and soft rock. His favorite artists are The Beatles, José Luis Rodríguez, and the pop band Mecano.
Eddie is a big fan of literature. He loves Shakespeare, and his favorite play is Romeo & Juliet. His favorite musical is the French The Umbrellas of Cherbourg. He loves the winter, and has traveled a lot in his lifetime to the United Kingdom, Paris, Venice, Rome, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, and Amsterdam.
If he could talk to anyone from history, Eddie would talk to Jose Marti. “He was a very intellectual man who thought a lot about the future and freedom, and on top of that, he was a poet. To meet him would be an honor,” he said.