Voices in My Head
PalacioMagazine.com Reimagined in 2019: More Voices
PalacioMagazine.com is being reimagined for 2019. It has been more than four years since I took over the reins of Palacio Magazine de Long Beach from my good friend and colleague Andrea Sulsona. For the previous five years to the handover, Andrea tirelessly published the only Long Beach-based bilingual magazine for the city’s Latino Community. When she received an offer for her current position as Executive Director of the YMCA Early Childhood Development program, Andrea knew she faced a decision: let Palacio de Long Beach fade away or find someone she knew would work to keep the legacy of her hard work alive. She offered me a deal I could not refuse.
Rebranding to PalacioMagazine.com
Spring and Fall of 2015, we were able to publish two print magazines rebranded as Palacio Magazine. When faced with the reality of publishing an ad-supported bilingual magazine, it became apparent that this would not be an easy endeavor nor a profitable one given the media economic environment at the time. We wanted to continue to publish a bilingual magazine targeted toward a demographic that we all knew needed and wanted it. Andrea Sulsona had already proven it could be done. We tried and did not prove as successful. But, we were determined not to let her legacy fade away.
So, we made some changes in the spring of 2016. Palacio Magazine went digital as PalacioMagazine.com with no ads and English-only.
Voices for PalacioMagazine.com
With hindsight, we should have done better. There should have been a better business model. But, in spite of that, we have kept at it consistently in the face of growing personal responsibilities and no financial support. In the fall of 2016, I returned to college to pursue a long sought-after Bachelor of Arts degree. PalacioMagazine.com began republishing important voices from a wide range of sources including PBS NewsHour, Democracy Now!, TEDx, Pero Like, and other voices on justice, immigration, arts, and culture.
In 2017, we launched a podcast; first, it was called Voices in our Heads and then we rebranded it The Palacio Podcast. We’ve interviewed elected officials, community leaders, and artists. PalacioMagazine.com will continue to pursue those voices and more.
PalacioMagazine.com in 2019
In 2019, PalacioMagazine.com is set to create a series of podcasts on specific subjects including Education, Housing, Arts and Culture, Food, and Politics ahead of the 2020 election season. As always, the goal of PalacioMagazine.com will continue to be providing a platform for PoC voices and their allies that are not regularly given that opportunity. We strive to build a brand beyond Long Beach to include Los Angeles County, especially where issues are regional in nature.
If you are interested in contributing to those voices, please contact Antonio Ruiz, Publisher and Executive Editor, PalacioMagazine.com: antonioreuiz@palaciomagazine.com or call him at 562-304-3869.
