About Arlina A.
The story of Arlina A is one of resilience, devotion, and courage. She began life as a male and later became one of the first generation of transgender people in the US.
Born into a large family 1942 in Phoenix, Arizona, in the Golden Gate Barrio, as Arnold, the richness of family life and devotion to family members was a defining factor that served to offset the poverty and prejudice of the time. Music, theater, movies, all created a tapestry of love for popular culture, to be shared with loved ones.
From a very young age, Arnold felt different from other boys, preferring girls as playmates and companions.
Arnold became a postal employee, and then lived as a man through his twenties, serving in the Army in Germany during the 1960s in the Vietnam war era. During this time, he found out about sexuality and learned of the possibility of becoming the woman that he always felt inside that he truly was.
In 1972, Arnold underwent surgery and began a new life as Arlina. Returning to work in the Los Angeles Post Office as her new self, Arlina, where she had previously been known as a man, was a difficult thing, yet she was applauded on the work floor by over 2000 postal employees.
Moving to Monterey fulfilled a lifelong dream for her, and she began a new life in a house that had often been visited by John Steinbeck, one of her cultural icons. In 2025, she began to publish her memoir, based on her diary since the age of seven. The unfolding of her personal journey is filled with her love of culture and history, especially of the Monterey area.