Hispanicize 2013: Social Media, Music To Be Featured At Miami Event

Hispanicize 2013 is set to kick off April 9 at the Eden Roc Hotel in Miami Beach, Fla. The annual gathering of Hispanic journalists, activists, marketers and folks who just want to have the opportunity to meet their favorite Hispanic and Latino leaders and celebrities.

Social media will be a headlining theme throughout much of the four-day Hispanicize 2013 event. Gaby Natale of SuperLatina, Mercedes Sanches of Be Chic Mag, Flor de Maria Rivera, and Martin Llorens of Pulpo Media will form the MVP Social Media Correspondents Class of 2013 at the Miami conference. "We believe these correspondents will help us trend on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more," said Hispanicize founder Manny Ruiz.

Ruiz said Hispanicize will be launching a Latino journalism showcase of sorts, entreating attendees to become involved in social media and to allow folks to hear firsthand from successful journalists and bloggers like representatives of the Telemundo television network. Many credit social media for the increase in Hispanic journalism outlets over the past decade.

"Advances [in new media] make the access and distribution of content much easier and faster," said Hugo Balta of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

Hispanicize will also feature a star studded arrangement of popular Latino and Hispanic music groups, including Locos Por Juana and Domino Saints on April 11.

Some of the other events featured at Hispanicize 2013 include an introduction to Youtube -- Latino, Hispanic market trends, as well as forums on Hispanic branding, "Latina Mom Blogging," and a closing event dedicated to better understanding the outlook of Latino "tweens."

Consumer product conglomerate Proctor & Gamble is a major sponsor of this year's Hispanicize 2013 event.

"For more than 50 years, P&G has recognized the Hispanic community as an important consumer and business segment and we are honored to be the presenting sponsor of the Latino trends event of the year," said Lauren Hoenig, a marketing director for Proctor & Gamble.

Other sponsors and organizations that will be attending the event include the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR), Coca-Cola, McDonalds (which will be hosting a "yacht party"), El Sentinel, Fox News Latino, ESPN-Deportes, the American Latino Museum, Voxxi, United Healthcare and Latin Heat Media.

Fans and attendees of Hispanicize 2013 will be definitely excited to meet such popular figures as Vivica A. Fox, Carlos Ponce, Soledad O'Brien, and actor Lou Diamond Phillips. General admission to Hispanicize 2013 starts at $695.