Welcome to Miami! I had the honor of being nominated for Best Fashion Blogger for the 2018 TECLA awards. With this nomination came the task of actually getting to Miami to experience this year’s Hispanicize. How did I do it?
I want to thank Café Bustelo for sponsoring me on my trip to Miami for Hispanicize and the TECLA Awards 2018 (Named after the Spanish-language word for an individual key on a keyboard, the TECLA Awards honor excellence in Latino social media video, blogging, and those who create it.) I’ve worked with Café Bustelo in the past and I knew that it would be the perfect fit considering Hispanicize is the largest annual event for Latino trendsetters and newsmakers in digital content creation, journalism, marketing, entertainment and tech entrepreneurship. Café Bustelo is proudly Latin to the core so I thought it was the perfect collaboration for this lifetime opportunity.
WHAT IS HISPANICIZE?
I’d like to think of it as a comic-con for Latino entrepreneurs. There are tons of panel discussions about blogging, news, and media. For example, there was an awesome panel about blogger and brand relationships. Great resources for up and coming bloggers. Also opportunities to pick the brains of people who have made it.
There was also a panel with fellow NYC blogger, Freddy Rodriguez of @blueperk, about Living The Fashionista Lifestyle. The panel discussed what inspires them and how they set up their Instagram grids. One takeaway? Bloggers are split on keeping a cohesive feed theme!
Another panel focused on the best way to reach out to brands. The panel mentioned that don’t worry about numbers; the key is to have great content and have something to offer the brands. At end the end of the day, content is king.
Panels weren’t just focused on social media. One panel featured Don Francisco discussing with doctors about Latinos living with type 2 diabetes. Did you know that latinos are more likely than the general population to develop diabetes? It is estimated that 2.5 million, or 10.4 percent of Hispanic and Latino Americans aged 20 and older have diabetes. Hispanics also are more likely to have undiagnosed diabetes than non-Hispanic whites and non-Hispanic blacks.
Brands were out there to network with influencers and the press. I had a nice time driving this nice cardboard Toyota.
Café Bustelo sent me to Miami with coffee to start off each day at Hispanicize right! Pro tip, you can take Café Bustelo Espresso Instant Coffee in a carry-on.
Last day in Miami. Thanks @CafeBustelo so much for helping get here for @Hispanicize! It was an unforgettable experience. Can’t wait to share my thoughts on the week soon! #ad pic.twitter.com/csWpfl5DmV
— Diego (@DandyintheBronx) April 20, 2018
The last day of Hispanicize included the TECLA awards. Freddy was also nominated for Best Travel Blogger, so we both had our fingers crossed that at least one of us would win.
Sadly, none of us got to take an award home, but the experience of just being here was it’s own reward. Thanks Café Bustelo for helping me check out Hispanicize. Congratulations to all the winners! There’s always next year. ❤
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Thanks for reading, y’all stay dandy. 😎 Don’t forget to follow me on Instagram!
-Diego
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