Interview with Miguel Sirgado, Editor in Chief of Hola USA About LatiNEXT

MEDIA / PAY TV

“Our magazine is part of a much more complete operation with a 360 degree platform. We are not just a magazine. We are HOLA.COM and we are HOLATV We are a multiplatform and multimedia company”

Miguel Sirgado. Editor in chief of Hello! U.S

The renowned editor spoke with TVMAS director Amanda Ospina of the launch of LatiNEXT by HOLA! USA that this  October already circulates and announced the second edition in November with the Derbez family on the cover. “The focus of our business model gives us the opportunity to speak to different generations that are multilingual in digital terms for whom printed media is important, but also the digital ones,” explained Sirgado.

A clear example is the cover of this first edition of October that highlights this new generation of Latinos that has changed the way an entire generation connects with the world and influences the way of thinking of Latinos in the US and at a global level. On this cover are Latin media superstars such as: ‘plus-size’ model Denise Bidot, who is changing the concept of female beauty to make it more inclusive; actress Isabela Moner, who inspires young people with her entrepreneurial spirit; Peruvian chef, singer, model Franco Noriega, who drives us to explore our passions; actress and singer Marielena Dávila, who promotes corporal positivism; and actor, model, entrepreneur Juanpa Zurita, who promotes his humanitarian agenda.

Why did you select this group for the first cover of HOLA USA LatiNEXT?

Because it is a sociocultural group that has a new and powerful importance in the relief of those who are like Latinos. They are young people who were born and raised in the digital age and for whom technology is a second skin and nature. Precisely, we are celebrating that combination of youth, connectivity and digital fluency that has positioned them as an indisputable cultural force and that is also influencing all areas of culture.

Telenovelas are part of this collective imagination of the Latin American cultural industry that has crossed borders. With great creators, writers and actors that are icons of our culture. Our kings and queens are they and them. What space will they have in this new turn of the magazine from the background point of view and not of “showbiz” simply?

Being an entertainment publication, our actors and celebrities are closely related to culture, telenovelas, film and the world of entertainment in general. With which, they form an important part of how we present their lives and their successes on our pages. We are interested in accentuating the human part of the celebrity and of these famous. Seeing them in a familiar way, see them out of context, perhaps in the way the general public eye sees it. Give a much more human and closer vision and I think that in part it is what distinguishes us as a publication. We are interested in what they do with their status as celebrities, philanthropy, their vocation and what is beyond. How they influence society and especially the life of Latinos in the US in a positive way to create a better image and to represent us as a community. Our cover for the November edition will bring the Derbez family, the new Hispanic dynasty of HOLLYWOOD with a very attractive and powerful content, but above all very human.

Sirgado has a long and recognized career from his work in his native Cuba where he studied Art History at the Instituto Superior de Arte. He worked for the National Ballet of Cuba and opened the Ballet Teatro de La Habana, a vanguard company, under the direction of famous ballet dancer and choreographer Caridad Martínez.

In 1988, he left Cuba and worked for Vogue magazine in Brazil, as well as a producer for McCann.

Worked in Ericsson, the advertising agency in Ecuador. He moved to Miami in 1994 and was hired by El Nuevo Herald, where he wrote on topics of Cuban interests, art, architecture, interior design, nightlife and restaurant reviews.

In 2004, he moved to New York to work for People en Español magazine as an entertainment editor. He is also a cowriter and co-producer of “Patria o Muerte: Cuba Fatherland or Death” by HBO.

  • Photo credit: Matt Doyle

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