Hispanicize 2015 Announces Judges of Tecla Awards for Excellence in Latino Blogging, Micro-Blogging and Social Media/Digital Marketing

- Hispanic Market Industry Leaders will judge entries for the nation's most prestigious Latino social media and digital content awards

- Submissions being accepted through January 27

MIAMI, Jan. 14, 2015 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Hispanicize 2015 and the Latina Mom Bloggers network today unveiled the panel of 30 judges from major U.S. Hispanic brands, agencies and social media that will help select the winners of the first annual Tecla Awards, the national awards program created to recognize excellence in Latino Blogging, Micro-Blogging and Social Media/Digital Marketing.

"The Tecla Awards are the industry-standard for Latino digital achievement and today we're proud to say we've assembled a panel of judges that represents the full spectrum of the U.S. Hispanic marketing and digital influencer industries," said Manny Ruiz, founder and creative director of Hispanicize 2015, which will take place from March 16-20.

Representing the brands on the judging panel are:

• Norelie Garcia, Head of PR & Communications, Cricket Wireless
   
• Nydia Sahagun, Senior Manager, Storewide Marketing/Multicultural, Target
   
• Craig Smith, Managing Director of Corporate Communications, Best Western
   
• Maribel Ferrer, Media Relations Vice President for U.S. Hispanic and Florida, Chase
   
• Jenina Nuñez, Manager, External Communications, McDonald's
   
• Patricia Salas, Group Vice President, Toyota
   
• Christian Martinez, Head of Sales, U.S. Hispanic, Facebook
   
• Alba Adamo, Group Director, Hispanic Marketing, Coca-Cola
   
• Nuria Santamaria, Multicultural, Twitter
   
• Jason Riveiro, Manager, Multicultural Marketing, Big Lots

Representing the agencies on the judging panel are:

• Natalie Boden, CEO, BodenPR
   
• Roxana Lissa, CEO, RL PR
   
• Lissette Rodriguez, Vice President, Devries Global
   
• Michael Warner, Chief Operating Officer, Egami
   
• Giovanni Rodriguez, CEO/Co-founder, Sennseis
   
• Carolina Guana, Multicultural Market Group Account Director, Allison Partners
   
• Jose Villa, President, Sensis
   
• Freddy Balsera, CEO, Balsera Communications
   
• Luis Casamayor, President and Chief Creative Officer, República
   
• Armando Azarloza, President/CEO, The Axis Agency

Representing the digital influencers on the judging panel are:

• Gabriela Natale, President, Journalist and Digital Influencer, AGANARmedia
   
• Melanie Gonzales, Blogger, Qué Means What?
   
• Matt Cherry, Publisher, iBlog Magazine
   
• Laurita Tellado, Blogger, Holdin Out for a Hero
   
• Maya Murillo, Vlogger, Maya in the moment
   
• Jorge Narvaez, Blogger, Reality Changers
   
• Lizza Monet Morales, Blogger, XoxoLizza.com
   
• Ramon De Leon, Global Business and Social Media Keynote Speaker/Digital Influencer, RamonWOW Inc.
   
• Jose Sanchez, Blogger, Piccolo Mondo PR
   
• Rosy Cordero, Digital Influencer, FabGirlMag.com

The Tecla Awards are comprised of 30 categories; 20 devoted to Latino bloggers, vloggers and journalists and 10 focused on excellence in Hispanic marketing and media. Submissions are being accepted through January 27 at http://www.hispanicizeevent.com/tecla-awards-2015.

Finalists will be announced in mid-February, followed by a red carpet gala with celebrities, top U.S. Hispanic blogging, vlogging, journalism, advertising and marketing executives, which will be held in downtown Miami on March 16, the first day of Hispanicize 2015.

About Hispanicize 2015


Now in its sixth year, Hispanicize 2015 Week (www.HispanicizeEvent.com) (#Hispz15) is the iconic, largest annual event for Latino trendsetters and newsmakers in journalism, blogging, marketing, entertainment and tech entrepreneurship.

Co-chaired by Facebook's U.S. Hispanic Head of Sales Christian Martinez and award-winning actor Luis Guzmán, Hispanicize 2015 is a production of the Hispanicize companies that include the Latina Mom Bloggers network, Being Latino, Hispanicize Wire and the Hispanic PR Blog. Hispanicize 2015 is expected to gather more than 2,100 of the nation's most influential Latino professionals from the industries of blogging, journalism, music, marketing, film and business over five days. The event will take place in downtown Miami March 16-20, 2015.

The Hispanicize event is a launch pad for creative endeavors, new products, technologies, marketing campaigns, films, books and more targeting Latinos in the U.S. and/or Puerto Rico.

Hispanicize 2015 is a partner of the Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA), Hispanicize and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).