Today we’d like to introduce you to Rosario Moreno.
Rosario, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
The summer of 2018 was an interesting time for me. I had just graduated from college, and I was trying to find my way outside of school when I wasn’t completely sure what I wanted to do with my life.
I had started posting articles to Medium about musicians that I was interested in, and while I had coffee meetings with people in the marketing and entertainment industries, I quickly realized that there were so many hardworking, people of color with incredible stories. I’ve had the pleasure of sitting with executives from companies like Mitu, Nielsen, BMI, Atlantic Records and I knew that I had to put their wisdom on paper, not realizing how impactful they may become for people who read my writing. Over time my writing evolved.
While I thought I was writing for myself, the biggest shock came when I wrote about the Latinx demographic within country music (http://bit.ly/2RBU8zH). The positive response was completely unexpected, and it made me realize that there is a need for me to keep writing. In writing my own thoughts, I’m providing visibility to people in my communities, from the professional to the personal. My writing hasn’t been a conventional approach, but by wanting to tell the stories of other people, I came to the realization that my own story should be celebrated as well.
Today, I can’t say that I have it figured out, but I think having the courage to be open and vulnerable about my professional journey and my personal ideas is needed. My Medium bio says: There are so many wildly talented, hardworking humans out there & I’m going to celebrate as many as I can. I’m excited to keep writing about the world around me.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Believing in my writing has been the biggest challenge. There were several articles that sat in my computer for weeks and even months because I didn’t feel it was good enough and even if it was decent, I thought, “Who would even read it?”
So for a long time, I never called myself a writer/blogger. I didn’t think I could live up to what I thought the expectation was. However, I think the fact I had such encouraging friends reading and sharing my articles helped keep me motivated.
If anything, I was at least writing for them! I still battle with doubting myself, but I think that it comes with the territory of being a writer, painter, artist, or any type of creator.
We’d love to hear more about what you do.
I define my writing as a celebration of talented, hardworking humans. 40% of that means minorities and women who are working in the marketing, entertainment, and nonprofit industries and are making an impact for others with their work. Another 40% is my artist spotlight series where I write about independent musicians who are committed to their craft.
The last 20% is reserved for my more personal thoughts like the Latinxs & Country Music piece where I researched, analyzed, and gave me ideas on the current state of the country genre in 2019. I think seeing that on paper may seem a bit strange, but it makes me proud that I’m providing visibility for how dynamic Latinxs in the US can be. We like country music AND reggaeton. We can’t all eat spicy food. Sometimes our Spanish isn’t as good as our English if we even speak it, that is.
I also don’t mean to say that I am the poster child of what a Latinx today is, I’m just saying that by telling the stories of people around me, I’m showing the world that you can’t stereotype us. That makes me pretty proud. You’ll learn about the career paths of other people in the industries I mentioned, and you’ll be able to put a face and name to someone whose career you may like to embody.
I’ve been to networking events and conferences with very little representation for people of color, if at all. I’ve learned a lot from those sort of events, but I think my interest would have been stronger if I saw people who looked like me and my friends or had similar backgrounds. In a small way, I hope my writing can provide some sort of direction for whoever reads it. I always say that whatever I know, however little it may be, I will always share it with someone else. That’s what my writing is all about.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
The very essence of my writing is in paying it forward, which many people have done for me. The first career profile I ever wrote was about Bryan Ruiz, an account manager for Entertainment Brand Partnerships at Mitu, and I know that without him being so open and kind about speaking with me, my career profiles wouldn’t have taken off the way they did.
I reached out to him on LinkedIn because I had a project for one of my marketing classes on brand partnerships and I wanted to learn more about his job and career path. He took my call and let me ask him questions and kind of vent, about my professional journey. The fact he was so open about sharing his wisdom gave me the confidence to keep pursuing other people to interview.
He was definitely the inspiration for my career profiles. I’ve also had the great pleasure of working with HDX Mix CEO/Founder, Vipe Desai. Aside from the marketing work I do for him, he’s been an incredible mentor. Just like Bryan, Vipe is all about helping others, and he’s made himself available for help with my writing by giving me pointers and ideas on how to approach an interview or piece. He understands what I try to do with my writing and will send me links to videos or articles to help me get new insights.
Vipe has over 30 years of experience in business himself which he is always willing to share with others, and that’s inspired me in my writing. The support of my friends has also been incredible, overwhelming even. They share my pieces on social media, they let me bounce ideas off of them, and they give their feedback. They believe in me even when I’m not sure myself. Jormery, Raymundo, Richard, Erin, Wendy, and Danny are some real ones!
Contact Info:
- Website: http://bit.ly/2KFMJrQ
- Email: rosario.moreno.rmc@gmail.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/kindalikerosy
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/kindalikerosario
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/kindalikerosy
- Other: www.linkedin.com/in/morenorosario
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
