[1][2] Pepe Rodriguez was born in San Xoán de Río on June 20, 1950 and spent his childhood and his youth in the province of Ourense, Galicia.
After obtaining his university degree in Agricultural Engineering in Madrid, Pepe had a brief military service in the Sahara desert.
Rodriguez began working as journalist and a correspondent for major Spanish dailies in the Philippines.
He worked as editor-in-chief of Agencia EFE, the Spanish international news agency, and was the regional head for Southeast Asia and the Pacific.
José Rodriguez also founded the Centro Gallego de Filipinas, an association of Galicians in Asia for the purpose of promoting relations between the region of Galicia and Philippines.