Happy New Year from the secret headquarters of the Latino Rebels basement. We’ve been celebrating with our families and friends, but also planning for what’s coming up next in 2016.
This past year was full of big changes. Our founder @julito77 stepped away from the day-to-day of running Latino Rebels and turned the keys over to myself and others. We have worked tirelessly to maintain the editorial standards Julito helped to establish with the group’s original members. We also developed a new business plan for 2016. Yes, an actual business plan.
On the editorial side, we had high-profile contributors —from Rick Najera to Dolores Huerta— and interviews from Ana Tijoux to Cultura Profética. 2015 was another spectacular year for the Rebeldes, as we doubled our web traffic and were cited by countless national and global outlets. But the most important 2015 event for Latino Rebels was the announcement of a new advisory board as part of our network expansion.
If you followed Latino Rebels since 2011, you’ve enjoyed an array of informative, humorous, controversial and insightful content, most of it under the constraints of the written page. Those constraints, however, didn’t limit us or our impact.
In 2016, we look to greatly expand our louder, prouder and bolder voices. For starters, LatinoRebels.com will soon relaunch with a new look and design. Stay tuned for new webseries, new podcast shows, new e-publications, live events, new community equity building initiatives and yes, even more social media engagement. Here is a sneak peek of what we plan to start featuring:
Osito
Written and Produced by Julio Salgado and Jesús Iñiguez of DreamersAdrift
FistUp TV: Música Rebelde
Executive Producer: Eli Jacobs Fantauzzi
Color Correct News with Rick Najera
Executive Producers: Rick Najera and Latino Rebels
Latino Rebels Radio
Executive Producer: Latino Rebels
2016 is the Latino Rebels’ year. But don’t get me wrong. I’m not just cheerleading our hard-working, ridiculously talented team. I’m actually cheerleading you. Yes, you. This is a decisive election year. And that decision falls in our hands. This is the year of bolder voices. This is the year of dreamers and doers. This is the year we uplift each other, even if we disagree. This is the year to stand in solidarity with all communities around the world. Of course, this is also the time for us to have a little laugh at ourselves too, without resorting to the stereotypical, racist and sexist portrayals that Latino media and brands have promoted for too long.
This is your year, Rebelde. Embrace it. Read. Listen. Watch. Take action. Follow us. Invite others to join in the conversation. You can start by sending us your thoughts about what Latino Rebels should focus on in 2016:
[contact-form]All of us here at Latino Rebels wish you an exciting, prosperous and joyful 2016.
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Marlena Fitzpatrick is the CEO of Latino Rebels. You can follow her @MarlenaFitz.