Our “Dos Centavos”: Strategies For Latino Bloggers
Since 2006, the Latino blogosphere in the United States has grown by leaps and bounds—often spurred on by hateful anti-immigrant ordinances and laws considered by states and communities across the nation. Several of Texas' most prominent Latino bloggers will discuss strategies for communicating both with their Latino and non-Latino audiences and developing a blog that is a resource for progressive Latino activists.
Political blogger and attorney Mynor Rodriguez is an active part of the Texas progressive online community writing for Burnt Orange Report. Mynor’s campaign, GiveItBackStMarys.com, led the charge to expose the Department of Defense’s grant to St. Mary's University to study how to limit the Freedom of Information Act. He is a political advisor to State Rep. Juan Garcia and helped State Sen. Carlos Uresti in his surprise 2006 primary win. He served as the chief clerk for House Committee on Human Services during the tumultuous 78th Texas Legislature and as a briefing attorney for the 13th Court of Appeals.
Matt Ortega is a 23-year old Bay Area native now serving on staff with the Democratic National Committee in Washington, D.C. Blogging for several years, his writing appeared at the Huffington Post and he authored a weekly series on private contractors in Iraq for Firedoglake. Soon after graduation from the University of Arizona in 2006, he joined the Defenders of Wildlife Action Fund to defeat then-House Resources Committee Chair Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.). In 2007, he served as an online organizer on a healthcare legislative campaign for a coalition of labor, consumer and community groups in California.
Edmundo "XP" Rocha is a social worker and editor and publisher of the blog XicanoPwr.com, where he tackles issues on immigration, Latino politics, social justice, international affairs, public policy, and humanitarianism issues. During the two years he has been blogging, he was awarded the 2007 Texas Progressive Alliance's Silver Star and is considered as "one of the state's most prominent Latino bloggers" by the Texas Progressive Alliance, an alliance of bloggers, blogs and progressive Netroots activists working together to further the progressive cause. Edmundo has over eight years experience in community development, program evaluation and outcome measurement.
Marisa Treviño is a syndicated opinion journalist, who blogs about issues of importance to the Latino community, at the English-language site Latina Lista.
Working with ethnic and mainstream media, Treviño's columns are carried in USA Today and news publications/sites across the country.
