Latinos at South by Southwest’s Interactive conference are becoming a bigger part of the event this year as the second annual Social Revolución and associated Revolucionario Awards get underway.
The event launched last year and included a blogging component that highlighted Latinos in technology at SXSW, as well as an awards show that honored several different Latinos and organizations for their contributions to the tech and social media space.
This year organizers are hoping the event can bring in more people — last year there were 140 nominees from the U.S. and Latin America and 400 people who attended the awards ceremony, not to mention tons of people who connected with the Social Revolución online.
“While we were able to connect and highlight Latinos at SXSWi 2012, there have been many more Latinos utilizing social media to create and inspire changes since then,” said Mando Rayo, VP of Engagement at Cultural Strategies, the firm that puts on the event in Austin, Texas.
“We must keep the movement alive and the more people know about the ongoing work of Latinos, the more opportunities and doors will open for our communities,” he told Más Wired.
Last year winners included Calle 13, Voto Latinoa, Being Latino, Lalo Alcaraz, Vocabador, 31K Portraits for Peace and No Más Farc.
You can go to the Social Revolución website to vote and nominate people and organizations for the awards. If you cannot attend the event in March, Rayo encourages people to check out the site and the Spanglish Wall where users can create their own tech-ey Spanglish words.
The ultimate goal of the event is to highlight Latinos’ contributions to tech, so that more become panelists and speakers at South by Southwest. Part of this change is reflected by the fact that SXSW Interactive Director Hugh Forrest is one of the judges for this year’s awards.
Rayo said SXSW is working to integrate the Revolucionario Awards into the event’s official SXSW Interactive Awards. Don’t forget to check out the website, nominate, vote and stay tuned for more coverage here on Más Wired!
Full disclosure: Más Wired Editor Sara Inés Calderón was nominated for The New Americano award and Más Wired is a Social Revolución ally and we will be bringing you coverage of the event, as well as South by Southwest Interactive coverage, in March.
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