Giovanny's Version: Talk Talk

“Mother tongue” is an apt phrase, with the quirk of idiom revealing an underlying truth, or at least a widely-felt sentiment - the languages of our cultures, our homes, offer a comfort not found elsewhere.

In the conversation that follow, one of our intrepid Fohr team members explores this idea with a creator who shares the language they grew up with.  At the heart of their conversation is a recurring question in the digital age: what does “community” mean when the Internet brings us both closer and further apart than ever before, and how do those of us with more than one cultural identity find a sense of belonging and respite in everyday life?

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ESCAPANDO EN ESPAÑOL

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A childhood memory I’ll always have is my parents putting on the news in the evening. Although that’s common in most households, the network chosen in my home was either Univision or Telemundo. I was hearing the headlines from Puerto Rico and other Latin American countries from anchors like María Celeste and Jorge Ramos, getting my horoscope from the iconic astrologer Walter Mercado, and hearing bits of US news - all in Spanish. It was an escape from my English-first everyday reality outside of home.  

I was born in Puerto Rico and moved to Pennsylvania when I was around 6 years old. Spanish was my first language, and I had yet to learn much English. I was held back in school because I wasn’t at the same level as my peers due to not knowing the language. I also wasn't in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes by my parent's preference. They wanted me to be fully immersed in all things American and that would get me to learn the language. I think a lot of how I am today comes from that push for immersion from strong Latino parents.

From grade school until today, my everyday life is in English, but similar to when I was younger, when I escape home, I am immersed in Spanish culture and language, from food, music and news, to my WhatsApp messages with friends - “Holi, cómo estás?!” - and shows like Betty La Fea or Elite. It gives me a sense of comfort to use the language that I don’t get to use in my everyday work life.

It’s no surprise I also get most of my media in Spanish. Did you know streaming channels have tons of ads in Spanish? As an influencer marketer, it’s something that gives me a light bulb moment. At this point, Meta has long known to target me with Spanish ads, and I can say they’re few and far between. It makes me wonder: why aren’t more brands tapping into Spanish-speaking creators to showcase their products like they have for more traditional media? I turned to one of my favorite boricua creators, Iván Emilio, to talk about being a Latino creator in the current era of brand partnership.

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In conversation with creator Iván Emilio (@theivanemilio)

Iván Emilio is a bilingual content creator and entertainment host whose content reflects his Puerto Rican culture and dialect of Spanish. He’s worked with brands such as Neutrogena, Amazon, and State Farm. Iván was most recently a video producer and personality at BuzzFeed Pero Like. These are edited excerpts from our conversation.

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GIOVANNY BAHAMUNDI: Could you share a little bit more about yourself and how much Spanish you use in your everyday life?

IVÁN EMILIO: I was born and raised in Puerto Rico; Spanish is my first language and it still is… my parents don't even speak English. I learned English because I went to a bilingual school in Puerto Rico, and then I moved to Florida for college and now I’m in LA. I'm speaking English most of the time, but I still find myself around Latinos all the time. My best friends are Latinos and so are a lot of my coworkers… we always speak in English, except when we want to gossip.

BAHAMUNDI: That’s interesting - I feel like that too, like I’m tying both my worlds together with my career and everyday life. Did being Latino influence you to start creating content? How?

EMILIO: I found early on that there was something missing in the content creating space… I was like, I think here’s my ‘in,’ because I would see other people post comedy videos in Spanish or about being Puerto Rican and they would hit immediately… I started doing videos and testing them and I saw that they would do really well. To this day, my most viral videos have been personal stories for me being Latino and specifically Puerto Rican.

BAHAMUNDI: So it sounds like being true to yourself and culture has really helped shape your content and online personality. When brands reach out to you for a partnership, do they specify that they’re looking for you to do it in Spanish? Or do you ask if they prefer to speak Spanish?

EMILIO: It depends on the brand. For example,  Neutrogena is one that I love working with, but I don’t make it “Latino.” I’m just myself because there are some things where I feel like, I’m going to be talking about a moisturizer, so it’s not like I need to bring out my Puerto Rican-ness, you know?  With some brands, it’s more like I can talk about the brand through my pride [of being Latino]. Then I'm like, totally, because I'm not only promoting a brand, but I'm also celebrating me and my culture… I'm always constantly trying to look for more of that because it also is an opportunity to celebrate my people. Especially through brands that you probably would never expect. Like the two worlds mixed, especially when it's a brand that we grew up using.

BAHAMUNDI: Are there any brands you think are doing a good job of tapping into Latino communities by working with creators, even if you haven’t worked with them?

EMILIO: I've always thought that Target does a really great job at highlighting creators, and I've never worked with them, but I would love to because I feel like they seem very authentic.

BAHAMUNDI: What are your thoughts on brands having Spanish speakers on the team and does it give Latinos opportunities for partnerships?

EMILIO: I think the biggest solution is just opening up your space and opening up the room [to Latinos at the brand level.] It's a very widely used language and an audience that isn't being tapped into as much. I worked with Uniqlo and all it took was a Latina on the team that was willing to bring me on.