HISPANICIZE! Friends, Fun and What I Wore :)

Don't you love when you have super-high hopes for something, and then they are surpassed?

That was Hispanicize for me. I knew that it would be extremely educational, I knew it would be fun, I knew I would get to meet all the movers and shakers and I knew the party at the Conga Room would be awesome. But there was no way I could have imagined what a truly moving and inspiring experience was in store for me when I arrived at the beautiful Renaissance Hollywood hotel.

First of all-there was all the priceless information the other bloggers and I received. I'm putting together a post for my SM blog, Media Monarkey, sharing some of the best nuggets I learned from bloggers, PR superstars and some of the hugest brands in the US.

Me with Manny Ruiz (@papiblogger) and Veronica Smith (@muybuenocooking) Photo Courtesy Hispanicize

Secondly-for how large a demographic we are in the US, and for how much we are engaged in social media? The latino blogging community is not that big. Which means that, for the most part, we were all meeting people whose blogs we follow and admire from all over the country. If any of you bloggers out there have had the chance to meet some of your blogging role models, you know what a thrill it can be to spend some time with them in person. It's weird how you feel so close when you've only conversed online!

Photo Courtesy Eva Smith

Here are some of my absolute favorite blogueras from left to right: Eva Smith of Tech Food Life, Monique Frausto of Curves and Chaos, Veronica Cid from Cid Style File and Veronica Smith from Muy Bueno Cookbook. I want to say special thanks to Eva Smith-not only for telling me about the contest in which I won a pass to the conference, but for graciously giving this weary blogger a place to stay!

Photo Courtesy Eva Smith

Another highlight was the very inspiring keynote speech by actor Edward James Olmos! Thank you, Mr. Olmos for sharing your time and your passion, and thank you for stopping to take a photo with me and Eva! And yes-I am wearing my pan dulce earrings from CJ's Angels!

Then? There was the party at the Conga Room-the nightclub owned by Jennifer Lopez and company!

We all danced and partied the night away and cheered for the winners of the unbelievable prizes (including a WASHER and DRYER!!) I myself won an AWESOME prize at the conference, which I will reveal in a later post. (Of course, if you were following my tweets you know all about it already!) We actually did form a conga line at the Conga Room!

Party at the CONGA ROOM! Photo courtesy of Hispanicize

I got a lot of questions about my outfit that night-which was very flattering! For those of you who wanted to know, I wore this red dress from Stop Staring, with this yellow coat from Jockey Person to Person (it was unseasonably freezing that night!) and my Guess leopard-print pumps from a few years ago.

We took this on our way out of the Conga Room-tired but still workin' it! Photo Courtesy Veronica Smith

The other item I wore during Hispanicize (and always wear to bloggy-type stuff) was my "Nacho Mama" necklace!

Why? Because bloggers don't know each other's names! We know blog names and twitter handles (@shesnachomama, btw).  I love this necklace, which I bought on Etsy from Maria of Best Name Necklace. I especially love the sparkly little crystal she put in the "N"!

THANK YOU Manny Ruiz, Louis Pagan and everyone at Hispanicize (especially Jennifer of Mami to Mommy) for putting together this historic and memorable event. I have no doubt that many lives were changed as a result of HISPANICIZE! I hope you'll check out the blogs I've linked in this post-these are definitely folks you'll want to watch :)

And a special thank you to my wonderful husband for watching the kids so I could enjoy such a phenomenal experience!

Wishing you love with extra cheese-

Nacho Mama

*Disclaimer: I won a pass to the Hispanicize conference but have not been compensated by them or any other association or company mentioned in this post for what has been written here. All the products mentioned were purchased by me. These are entirely my own, honest opinions. For real.