PalacioMagazine.com Was A Medium for Community Stories

PalacioMagazine.com and its predecessor, Palacio de Long Beach, always had a simple goal: to find and tell stories about the people and organizations of greater Long Beach. We featured interviews with elected and non-elected officials, community and business leaders, entertainers, athletes, pretty much anyone who had an interesting story to share about their lives and mission in life. There were the important conferences we covered, the family recipes we shared, the political campaigns we spotlighted, and the nonprofit organizations that are critical to the lifeblood of our communities.

Nearly six years ago, a good friend of mine, Andrea Sulsona, met with me over coffee. She had, what I thought then, was a crazy proposal: to take over her print magazine, Palacio de Long Beach. She was changing jobs (she became the Executive Director of the YMCA Early Childhood Education Programs. She is still there) and thought that I with my journalism and media experience could shepherd the magazine. I am not going to lie, I was hesitant. I vaguely remember the response went something like “Print was dying and that I just had too much on my hands at the time.” Well. after months of discussion and planning with her and others, including my wife, I was finally convinced.

The first print reincarnation renamed Palacio Magazine was published in May 2015 with Mayor Robert Garcia on the cover. Only two print editions were ever published. The reality of an advertiser-supported print magazine and its distribution hit me straight in the face. It wasn’t like Andrea hadn’t met with many of the same challenges during her time as publisher of Palacio de Long Beach. As I’ve told her, she was just better at being a salesperson than I was. But the reality was more complicated than that. It didn’t matter. I resolved to migrate to a digital platform and make Palacio Magazine survive, one way or another. And it did.

Recently, I sat down over Zoom with Andrea Sulsona to reminisce and to discuss the future of media and information serving communities of color in Greater Long Beach. It was a message of the need for greater communications and sharing cultures and bridging all communities. Long Beach is a large city, but a small town, and it deserves to be treated as both. I mean this in a good way with an optimistic vision and hope for a bright future. We need this now more than ever while we are in the middle of a challenge that none of us has ever experienced in our lifetimes.

PalacioMagazine.com: A Look Back

For more than five years, we’ve featured video and audio podcast interviews with a diverse group of personalities. There was Arts Council for Long Beach Executive Director Griselda Suarez, “Griselda Suarez has Art in the Soul.” Then, Thomas Fields whose relationship with me has grown into a deep friendship, “Thomas Fields Is a Man of Many Life Stories.” There was the local businessperson and community leader “Max Viltz is Shaping the Future by Treasuring the Past.” Then, Mayor Robert Garcia, “Mayor Robert Garcia: Cheerleader and Pragmatist.” Some young people had a vision for themselves that projected optimism in themselves, “Jorgel Chavez for President of the United States…in 2040.” The list of stories is endless. You can find many of them HERE.

PalacioMagazine.com also served as a platform for the Voices in My Head. I asked serious questions and wrote about the issues of the day including identity, “American. Please Do Not Ask Me Where I’m From,” and my returning to the college experience, “College Has Been Very Good But Hard for Me and That’s Okay.” This year, like no other, gave me plenty of reasons to share my voice: “Coronavirus Is Not Our Worst Enemy. We Are and I Wish We Weren’t,” “Looting Is Not Change and A Riot Is Not A Revolution,” and “2020 Is Just Like 1968. It is All About Power.”

Goodbye…for Now.

I want to thank everyone who has helped, supported, encouraged, prodded, and contributed to making PalacioMagazine.com an enduring project: my wife, Sumire Gant, Andrea Sulsona, Mayor Robert Garcia, Jessica Quintana, Alfredo Velasco, Mary Zendejas, Reverend Leon Wood, Stephanie Rivera, and an even longer list of people that I am unable to fit into this article. Thank you to all of you. Antonio Ruiz, Publisher and Executive Editor.

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