{#WordlessWednesday} Photo Highlights from @curvexpo Mode #Lingerie & #Swimwear Spring/Summer 2016 Preview Show! #CURVENY

MODE LINGERIE AND SWIM | CURVEXPO | NEW YORK 2015

I was stoked that CURVE EXPO worked with my crazy schedule this year and while I didn't spend all 3 days there I maximized the time I did spend at the show to the fullest. It was fun getting a sneak peek at the styles and trends that will be prominent for Spring and Summer of 2016. (Is it just me or is this year truly FLYING by?)

As with most tradeshows (and for those who know NYC well, the Javitz can play host to an incredible number of vendors/booths), I can only hit so many booths/exhibitors/vendors. Which makes my natural tendency to go with brands I actually wear and feel I 'know'. But I also seek out unique stories and brands with 'heart' and 'soul'.

Most trade shows are so focused on retailers/buyers that press/media can very much get lost in the shuffle which is sad, but not entirely surprising. (Not my first time at the Rodeo). So in some cases I will have mostly pictures (making this perfect for Wordless Wednesday), but with some brands I did get a chance to make a real 'connection'. 

So while this is an overview with photo highlights, expect that some of the brands I connected with during #CURVENY will be featured here again separately.

Here are my Photo Highlights, (in no particular order):

LEFT: ME! Ascending Butterfly Right: Helen Sánchez

ABOVE: Helen is the founder of a Luxury Lingerie Line that you can view at www.helensanchez.com, I connected with her via twitter before the expo and she was super awesome about taking time for me despite the fact I was unable to make a set appointment time with anyone because I was also attending panel press sessions during the time I was there. Her line brings timeless and classic luxury to the forefront with designs that speak to the modern femininity of today's woman. It is the construction and details that stand out and how so many of the pieces can so easily double as 'outerwear', in fact the 'blouse' she is wearing in the photo above is from her collection. Her initial silk collection was inspired by the fashion of the 30's and 40's (and there was actually quite a theme for the entire show in my eyes of lingerie going back to a more classic elegance - the true epitomy of a 'sexy lady', stressing the LADY part!) 

ABOVE: Ladies, men find it super sexy when you wear their shirts to bed, this set gives me that 'boyfriend' borrow feel, but in a cut that's actually flattering to your figure and curves!

I have a strong feeling we both felt a sense of relief to connect with another Latina in this industry, where I don't see enough 'bosses' with faces that match my own. I love seeing a Latina in the forefront of a Lingerie brand that stresses LUXURY and ELEGANCE with quality construction, pieces with a sumptious feel that transport you just by looking at them! I could easily see myself wearing many of her pieces on my next resort vacation. (Which I think I need to take soon - I'm in a bit of a 'burnout' mode lately!) - I'm hash-tagging this meeting #LatinaPride

ABOVE:  You have got to love the name alone, 'Naked Princess' - isn't that exactly what you want to feel like in the bedroom? Luxury Lingerie, Loungewear, Beauty and Gifts were on display and I got to leave with some fun sample size goodies including their Naked Shine Lip Gloss, Body & Boudoir Spray and Body Souffle's in scents like: 'Midnight Bloom' - (a blend of vanilla musk, exotic citrus and eastern florals) 'Vanille Blanc' - (a blend of Moroccan Vanilla, Sweet Almond and Tonquin Bean Notes) and last but not least 'Boudoir Blush' - (a blend of pink peppercorn, White Lilies, Rose and Jasmine notes).

ABOVE: Natori is a brand I thought I knew quite well, but I had no idea about 'Natori + Support' and was happily surprised to stumble upon it. I didn't get to meet with their reps so I can't report much about it but I will be looking into these!

ABOVE: When you see normal size undies and not tiny dental floss sized ones, you stop and honor them with a photo! LOL

ABOVE: It was nice seeing some of Natori's Spring/Summer 2016 pieces as I haven't worn them in awhile, but I do remember them to be well constructed and they were always durable!

ABOVE: This set by Rosa Faia caught my eye, great color! They also offer a wide range of sizes, from very small bust to very large!

ABOVE: I am an Aries - we are known for being ahem 'bold' (understatement of the century!) and our color is Red - so needless to say this set caught my eye!

ABOVE: Buyers are able to ask to see styles modeled before they place their orders. so sometimes where I didn't have a booth appointment I would take advantage and nab shots of the models as they were showing off sets for the buyers!

ABOVE: This set is by a brand we have featured often on these pages, Le Mystere! I have been wearing them for a very long time. I was bummed I couldn't get some time with reps at this booth as I have actually been wearing Le Mystere LONG before my blogging days! Isn't the model totally ROCKING this set? Her hair, the bold white against her gorgeous skin tone, she is FIERCE!

ABOVE: This frilly Emerald set is super cute!

ABOVE: The trends wall by Promostyl featured really pretty pieces, and this vintage looking lace number is so retro I just had to nab a shot of it, I hope the photo does justice to the detail. (Butterflies I will make a pinterest board for this post, just give me a few days -prepping for a Food and Wine Bloggers Press Trip - I will come back and update you guys with the link, and you know I will tweet it out as well.)

ABOVE: Aren't these colors so very Spring! As the Fall is slowly transitioning to Winter it pains me to think the cold is swiftly approaching and pretty Spring things feel so far away right now! These sets are by Le Mystere as well.

ABOVE: Now all this sexy, lacy is nice, but at the end of the day I need loungewear, I can't greet the UPS/Fedex daily deliveries with that kind of stuff (well I could I guess, LOL), I like my comfy PJ's - North East winters are COLD!!!! It was dragonfly PJ's that made me want to peek in, you know I love all things with wings! Munki Munki is a brand I am familiar with but haven't yet tried personally, but these definitely look like lazy, comfy, warm, Sunday mornings to me!

ABOVE: This is the Dragonfly set that drew me in!

ABOVE: In addition to butterflies I used to collect giraffe stuff too, they were my favorite animals to visit at the zoo when I was younger, this set brought me a bit of giraffe nostalgia, I just love their gentle grace!

ABOVE: This one sort of reminds me of nurse's scrubs!

ABOVE: Pampour Couture also gave me a wonderfully retro vibe, and after checking out their site I love that they do custom and made to order so you know for sure your piece will fit just right!

ABOVE: There is something a little 'superstar' about this one! #PajamaBallin

Elila booth at #CurveNY Model Asia Mone't #CURVENY 2015

ABOVE: OK, I haven't been this excited since I hit on Le Mystere (before the Oprah craze I might add!), I got to connect with Elila on Twitter as well before the Show and after checking out the Elila Website I was even more excited to see the line up close and personal! I got to see Asia model a few pieces for Elila, and I fell in LOVE pretty much with the entire collection! They re-sized me at the booth, (my sizing for them is a bit different than I am used to with other brands) and when I got to try a few styles on the very first thing I noticed is that 'the girls' were very much back up where they should be, (ahem and how woefully poor the bra I came in with was doing for me!), and the fact that the styles were absolutely beautiful and so were the colors. Variety is still lacking for plus size lingerie, and while we have made strides in the past few years, you either sacrifice style or support, very rarely do large size bras truly give you BOTH, these do!

I know the struggle is real when it comes to sizing ladies, all I can tell you, is get sized individually by a very knowledgeable 'fitter', you can very well be a totally different size from brand to brand, and suprisingly from style to style even within your fave brand! I know it can be time consuming, but you have to try every bra on BEFORE you make that purchase. Even a style and brand you wear consistently you should re-check every so often as your weight fluctuates, so to will your bra size my friends! (You know how some people say if they eat something it will go straight to their butt? Apparently my cheesecake indulgences go straight to my boobs!!!) Thankfully Elila will have me covered if my weight changes again! And my years of blogging have helped me learn the right styles to accentuate (yes accentuate because nothing can really HIDE them, at least Elila will help me keep them pointing in the right direction!).

Left: ME! Right: Naama Laufer from Elila

ABOVE: Elila sizing runs from 34-54 | B-N cups, and they offer seasonal color palettes to their key collections (Jacquard, Lace, Leopard, Soft Cup, Underwire, Strapless, Specialty, Shapewear, Molded and more). They recently sent me some styles to test out and as soon as I have given them all a good 'road test' I will update you guys! Having the girls up where they belong will make you look and feel a good 10 years younger! The team behind the brand was awesome, straight talkers, knowledgeable and with a deep understanding of the needs of us curvy lingerie lovers. Not all plus size bra wearers want under-wire, and with a well constructed bra you don't really need to make them all underwire if you don't want to. When you are lingerie shopping, go to a good bra store, ask for recos and start to get a look AND feel for quality construction, design and construction MATTER that is what constitutes perfect fit. Different weight and different stages of my life has brought me to various brands, I'm glad that a 'day at the office' brought to me a brand that truly took the time to not only 'measure me' correctly, but help me find styles that fit with my wardrobe and lifestyle needs. And also I was getting into a 't-shirt bra rut' so the fact they added some much needed lace to my life is awesome, stay tuned to my instagram feed, they will go up on there first! (I have to do something on the social channels that I don't do here to keep you all guessing and keep the content fresh on each channel).

ABOVE: Love+Grace has actually been on my radar WAY before CURVENY so I am glad I had the chance to meet them in person. I am a loungewear addict and I know you guys responded quite well to our loungewear/PJ giveaways in the past so comfy PJ's are definitely a fave of yours as well, I am always happy to put new PJ's on your radar, especially with the holidays coming up! I got to see some pieces from this season's Holiday's Collection as well as from the upcoming S/S 16 collection. They actually get extra brownie points from me for something you probably wouldn't expect. I arrived at their booth when some of their team was getting ready to order lunch and they asked if I would like something for lunch as well, I declined, but made mental notes that I would mention it, at tradeshows so often booths shoo shoo press away, particularly if there is a retailer or buyer in the immediate vicinity. They usually want to get rid of press quick, so I thought it was an incredibly thoughtful gesture and one that speaks volumes! The 'Cassie in Prints' PJ's offer some cute holiday styles you should check out, c'mon you know you want a new set for those Christmas Morning Selfies, Snapchats and Periscopes!

First Bra Foundation and their amazing brand partners share their story with Press at #CURVENY 2015

And last but not least a give back story that truly touched my heart, First Bra Foundation shared about the amazing work they are doing giving Breast Cancer Survivors a symbol of renewal - a bra - First Bra Foundation provides survivors with a free bra of their choice that includes a private, personalized fitting experience.

MY TAKE:

Whether you are in 'sexy kitten', 'boardroom to bedroom' mode or just plain cuddle bunny, CURVEXPO definitely had a little 'something something' for everyone, and with the styles and sizing that covered ALL body types and body shapes I have to admit it was worth the trek to the Javitz in the middle of a super cold New York City Winter to get there. I am amazed by the work First Bra Foundation is doing and I hope to see their list of cities expand and their list of Brand Partners for donations as well. C'mon bra brands fork over more bras to First Bra, what they are doing for Cancer Warriors deserves some extra help! Readers visit their site and consider donating as well. Let's all ban together and give a collective rally cry '#FUCKCANCER'!

All the brands listed above are now on my radar and are definitely ones I will be watching. They are all brands I hope to be able to deepen the relationship with!

Readers, here's YOUR call to action: Which Brand Featured Above Interests YOU most? Brownie Points: If you visit their website, share a specific style that you liked best, who knows, maybe I can have them come back and do something fun for YOU as well.

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FTC Disclosure: All opinions are 100% MY OWN. This is NOT a Compensated Post, it is an Event Recap. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 - Guides Concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, you may check our Giveaway and Disclosure Page for additional information regarding Ascending Butterfly Disclosure.

{#FashionFriday} Photo Highlights from the @CountessLuann Countess #Jewelry Collection

Press Preview of Countess Jewelry Collection - Countess LuAnn de Lesseps, New York City

I attended the Press Preview of Countess LuAnn de Lesseps Countess Jewelry Collection in New York City and thought Fashion Friday would be the perfect day to share the highlights with you!

Yes, 'that' Countess, Countess LuAnn de Lesseps from Real Housewives of New York (#RHONY) television fame,  launched her jewelry collection October 16th via evine.com.

Watch an overview here: (via OK! TV on YouTube)

The collection which is broken up into themes, includes:

Gotham City Wear - a collection inspired by the 'Fashion Mecca' that is my hometown New York City - think Bold Statement Pieces for a night out.

Above: Can't you just picture this and a cute little black dress for New Year's Eve this year?

Above: The Feathers Trend in jewelry tends to come and go, this one has a got a ton of 'texture' and presence.

Above: These are some large simulated pearls! Maybe a bit too 'Pebbles Flinstone' for me! LOL

Above: I appreciated how many of the pieces that look similar, actually had subtle variations

Above: While I probably wouldn't do such a large simulated pearl on my neck, I do like it here. The larger simulated pearl does work on the earrings for me.

Above: Super sophisticated Statement Necklace!

Western Chic - a collection she says works well for both 'Country' and 'City' Living

Overview of Countess LuAnn de Lessep's Countess Jewelry Collection Western Chic Line - F2NYC

I am a HUGE admirer of Southwest and Indian inspired Jewelry and while I am a statement necklace lover at heart (which drew me to the necklace on the upper right immediately), the piece that really won me over was actually the bracelet, so I got a good close up of it for you to really see the nuances that you might not see in the photo above.

Statement Bracelet from the Countess Jewelry Collection - Western Chic Collection

Isn't she lovely? The bold colors, eclectic mix of bracelets and even bold graphic interplay made this one my favorite from the Western Chic Collection - I was so hoping to be able to take this one home! (sadly that wasn't the case)

Countess LuAnn models my favorite bracelet from the Western Chic Collection of her Countess Jewelry Collection

Above: I am so glad she modeled this bracelet showing that it works just as easily with a white shirt, blue jeans and western boots as it does with a dress!

LEFT: Statement Necklace in Silvertone, RIGHT: Statement Necklace in Goldtone

ABOVE: Silver or Gold? Decisions! Decisions! Thanks to the affordable price tag you can actually treat yourself to BOTH! The Countess wanted to create an affordable jewelry line and each piece in the collection is under $100, how great is that?

Statement Necklace from the Countess Jewelry Collection - Western Chic Collection

Above: A recent horoscope suggested I buy something purple to wear to an upcoming event, I'm thinking this statement necklace would certainly fit the bill!

I wear a lot of Turquoise in the Summer, this would be killer with a White Pant Suit or a White T-shirt and Jeans!

St. Tropez Collection - a collection which is inspired by her travels to St. Tropez

Countess Jewelry Collection St. Tropez Line - F2NYC

Above: The St. Tropez Collection was inspired by Countess LuAnn's travels to St. Tropez, I wish I was on the beaches of St. Tropez right about now!

Above: I love this statement necklace and it's matching earrings from the St. Tropez collection.

Curvy Girl Tip: Want to love your swimwear summer photos a bit more? Wear bold earrings and a statement necklace like this one to take your swimwear photos, it pulls the eye toward them and helps you camoflauge the areas you don't want the eye to zoom in on. I think this set would look perfect with a black swimsuit and a breezy, flowy open cover up!

Hampton's Collection - a collection with a bevy of tortoise

Countess Jewelry Collection Hamptons Line - F2NYC

Above: With the cooler months ahead I could see this jazzing up a Turtleneck Sweater or Cardigan Set

ABOVE: For some reason the single strand version gives me a retro sort of 70's vibe that matches the 70's looks making a resurgence in Fashion for Fall this year, bell-bottom jeans, suede or leather platform boots and these pieces from the Countess Jewelry Hampton's Line pair perfectly together!

The Scene:

The event was held in the New York City Offices of F2NYC

Countess LuAnn de Lesseps and her mother

I have a shot of LuAnn putting this necklace on her mom, I will save that one for the Pinterest Board. Gotta do some stuff on the Social Channels that I don't give you here to keep things interesting!

Center: Ramona Singer, Right: Countess LuAnn de Lesseps

TV Personalities: Center Left: Ramona Singer, Center Right: Carson Kressley

ABOVE: I have always been a big fan of Water Walls, I keep saying I should get one so I couldn't resist snapping this photo! I love how you can see through it.

Note: I took way too many photos I will go Watermarking them and you will find these pictures (and a few bonus photos) in my 'Countess Jewelry Collection Press Preview' Board via Pinterest!

MY TAKE:

I love that the collection is as versatile as it is affordable. With accessories you can easily spruce up your favorite basics, and in many cases swapping your accessories (jewelry, handbag, scarves, accesories) is way cheaper then changing your entire wardrobe over each season.

I was pleasantly surprised by how to down-to-earth Countess LuAnn was, I guess as someone who is familiar with the Real Housewives Franchise you come to associate the 'show' with the 'person' and that sometimes isn't always good.

Somehow Countess LuAnn's lovely Mother ended up at our table it was fun to meet her but also witness how sweet LuAnn is with her Mom!

It was also fun to meet Carson Kressley in person too. And while The Countess was certainly a pleasant surprise I will say Ramona was definitely who I expected her to be. (Take that as you will).

CON: There is only one con. During the event I got into a conversation with Countess LuAnn about Twitter and Twitter Parties, I mentioned to her the "Twitter Takeover" I was invited to host for Oprah Winfrey's OWN Television Network where I tweeted from the @OWNers handle directly for a prime time weekend. SHE LOVED THE IDEA!

I was super stoked at the idea of not only presenting this collection to you all with a blog post, but with a tweet chat/twitter party that would have allowed you all a chance to win a piece to call your own.

While I did reach out to her PR team that same evening to follow up, they never got back to me.

I have worked many a 'sales' type job in my day - classified ad sales, staffing agency - I developed a thick skin and certainly am not afraid of the word 'No'. But I hate being ignored, particularly when the client themselves actually WANTED this to happen BEFORE the line launched on evine.

It would have been a super viral way to promote the line and I do hope they see this and opt to follow up on the idea eventually.

Overall I loved the line and found something from each of the four premiere collections in the line that I would totally rock. With the Western Chic and Gotham collections standing stronger for me in terms of my personal style.

Readers Sound Off: WHICH OF THE FOUR PREMIERE LINES IN THE COUNTESS JEWELRY COLLECTION IS YOUR FAVORITE AND WHY? 

Want Bonus Brownie Points, (of course you do!) visit evine.com and pick your favorite piece and tell us which one it is!

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FTC Disclosure: All opinions are 100% MY OWN. This is NOT a Compensated Post, it is an Event Recap. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 - Guides Concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, you may check our Giveaway and Disclosure Page for additional information regarding Ascending Butterfly Disclosure.

#ad: @JENGA is a 2015 National Toy Hall of Fame Finalist Help them win the @museumofplay #toyhalloffame top honor!

This is a compensated sponsored post brought to you by JENGA:

Remember those days when playing actually meant *doing* something? You weren't in front of a computer monitor, you weren't developing super long thumbs by texting your friends, but you were playing and testing your dexterity with a bit of wooden goodness called JENGA....

I remember those days fondly and while you all know I'm an avid tech enthusiast I do fondly recall simpler days of play, when the most 'technical' game I knew was 'Operation'! and before the Atari hit my radar, games like JENGA is what game night was all about and I definitely want to see classic toys introduced to newer generations.

I have to admit often times my friends pets would knock down many a game, at that crucial moment when you all knew there weren't too many 'good moves' left - an exuberant pup or attention seeking cat would knock the game down at just THAT moment. Diffusing the tension with gales of laughter that was just as fun as the game itself. Sometimes we would start games over multiple times only to have a pet (or a kid brother or sister for that matter) knock it down and no one find out who that days 'loser' would have been.

Our friends at JENGA need YOUR help. This isn't for prize money, they don't get a 'prize' for winning, they get bragging rights - hey much like the game itself right?!

JENGA is in the running for the 2015 National Toy Hall of Fame, they are a finalist and they want your vote! With 30 years on the shelf, who doesn't have a great JENGA story to share?

When you visit www.toyhalloffame.org you will see a big blue box, under that box are purple banner tabs the one on the right reads 'Choose Your Favorite Toy Hall Finalist!' Press the button that says JENGA then hit Submit, you can take this poll once per day - the winner will be announced on November 5th. It's a super simple quick click right on the homepage of the Toy Hall of Fame website and NO personal info or email address required to vote, how easy is that?

I think one of my fave things about JENGA is how it 'grew' with us and was just as fun when I got older as it was when I was little.

In all fairness, now there is wine with game night now, but I do digress.....

MY TAKE:

There is just something about a classic game night that never grows old for me. I still have them with friends and family. My fondest memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve Family Gatherings was playing games with my cousins while we waited for the big family dinner. And on Christmas Eve while the city was blanketed in white and we were waiting for Santa and counting the seconds until midnight when we were allowed to open ONE present we were always playing board games. If you don't want to see classic board games disappear be sure to give them as gifts too, introduce your child, nieces, nephews, and god-children to the joy of a classic board game night if you are not doing so already.

I hope you will consider giving JENGA your super quick vote!

GET SOCIAL:

Did you vote and want to let them know you did? Of course you do! Here is the tweet I used:

I just voted for @JENGA in the @museumofplay 2015 #toyhalloffame

What was your favorite classic board game as a kid? Did you/Will you vote for JENGA?

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FTC Disclosure: All opinions are 100% MY OWN. This is a Sponsored/Compensated Post. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission 16 CFR, Part 255 - Guides Concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising, you may check our Giveaway and Disclosure Page for additional information regarding Ascending Butterfly Disclosure.

I closed out #HispanicHeritageMonth with an @HBOLatino special screening of #POETOFHAVANA - Check out my #Photo Highlights!

HBO LATINO closes out Hispanic Heritage Month with a Private New York City Preview of the film, The Poet of Havana

LEFT: Ron Chapman, Producer, MIDDLE: Carlos Varela, Musican, RIGHT: Moderator Manny Ruiz

I recently had the opportunity to attend an HBO LATINO private preview of the award-winning music, The Poet of Havana which chronicles the career of the internationally renowned Cuban Singer, Songwriter and Lyricist, Carlos Varela - celebrating his 30th anniversary as an artist. The film was directed and produced by Ron Chapman and was filmed throughout Havana, Cuba with footage that included interviews with Music and Media Personalities including: American Folk-Rock legend, Jackson Browne, Actor and Movie Director, Benicio del Toro (Benicio actually does much of the narration in the film), Salsa Sensation, Luis Enrique and Brazilian Musician, Ivan Lins.

The film won Audience Selection BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE FILM AWARD in the Gasparilla International Film Festival in Tampa, Florida.

The NYC Private Preview included Spoken Word Perfomances and a 'Talk Back' with Carlos Varela and Ron Chapman which was moderated by the Founder of Hispanicize, Manny Ruiz.

Here are my Photo Highlights:

ABOVE: Founder of Hispanicize, Manny Ruiz, event emcee and moderator!

ABOVE: Spoken Word Performance by Puerto-Rican Actress, Poet and Activist, Caridad De La Luz, AKA 'La Bruja' (which translates to 'the witch')

ABOVE: Odette Casamayor-Cisneros, Cuban-born Scholar and Writer

ABOVE: Hip-Hop Artist and Film-Maker, Frank Antonio López

ABOVE: Hip-Hop Artist and Film-Maker, Frank Antonio López

ABOVE: Carlos Varela Surprises Guests with an Impromptu Acoustic Performance!

ABOVE: Carlos Varela Surprises Guests with an Impromptu Acoustic Performance! You know I had to get jiggy with angles just to mix things up a bit!

ABOVE: LEFT: Rebecca G. Torres of Lifestyle Remix and RIGHT: George Torres aka Urban Jibaro of Sofrito for your Soul

Guests in attendance got a chance to mingle after the talk back and I was happy to see George as we met very early on in the Digital Influencer space here in NYC and his good energy is always infectious! This was my first time meeting Rebecca! Their signs - orgullo latino - translates to 'Latino Pride'. I hope he doesn't mind me sharing, but when George shared his photos online, he said something super poignant that I felt a strong need to share as the words truly resonated with me - that Hispanic Heritage should be celebrated year round not just September 15th - October 15th.

I love taking photos of people but try to avoid the camera myself, but everyone egged me on so here is mine:

ABOVE: Your very own Ascending Butterfly holding the signs 'Amor/Love'

MY TAKE:

ah Butterflies, today for the first time in a long while, this is the part of my story that I dread. There are very mixed feelings as I write 'My Take' today. 

My previous experience with HBO Latino was for last year's Carlos Santana, Santana Corazon: Live from Mexico Live it to Believe It Special, I shared my sneak peek of it HERE. I couldn't possibly say enough about how much I truly enjoyed this event. (The press line was a bit manic - but they always are, in NYC you have to have thick skin to stand in a press line and have super tall men knocking into you and shoving you to get a shot).

But this event, sadly, I didn't love. It didn't feel as welcoming or warm as the feelings that abounded during the Santana event. These events were night and day and you wouldn't think the same team was behind them.

I got there and was told I was not on the press list, then they couldn't find my name at all. When my name was finally found (mostly by MY ability to read and spot my name in small print upside down) it was not on a press list. I rode the elevator with Ron Chapman who must have had trouble at the door also, I saw them on my way in, and then caught up to them by the time the elevator arrived. Not a good start. When the auditorium got seated I chose a lower down seat that had NO marking on it whatsoever and was rudely told to 'Move so 'real' press could have that seat'. I pointed out that it was NOT marked reserved and waved my DSLR at her, informing I was invited to Blog about the event. That didn't seem to matter so I moved, and told her pointedly, 'the way I am being treated is the coverage you can expect'.

So as promised I am sharing the good, the bad and the downright ugly. That my friends was the straw that broke this camel's back. The moment this happens at an event I shut down. I was truly furious at their rudeness.

I was considering not covering this event at all as a form of protest, so brands can learn they can't call us 'press' when it's convenient and then treat Digital Press like crap during an event - but it didn't seem fair to Carlos Varela or Ron who were nothing but nice to everyone. So I have opted to make my time worth something since they are certainly not paying me and I have absolutely nothing to lose by being honest.

I want to see more films about Latinos on screen and the way to do that is to cover them. The more exposure and the more demand, the better the quality of film-making about the Latino Community will be. But the lack of cohesion between what was being presented and the warm and fuzzies they wanted us to have and the poor way I was treated is quite a dichotomy. And therein my friends lies the rub.

The movie airs Friday, October 23rd on HBO LATINO at 8pm/7 Central and you can follow the action on social using the hashtag #POETOFHAVANA - the movie, EXCELLENT, the subject matter fascinating - watching a decades old embargo come to a close and what is going to happen now is an amazing time in Latino History - the way I was treated at this event however - Not So Much......

˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙˙·٠•●♥ Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ ♥●•●•٠·˙

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