Austin Vida is a Latino lifestyle, entertainment and culture online magazine based in Austin, Texas. Meet our staff below. Read about our history to the left.
AUSTIN VIDA STAFF
IAN MORALES
editor-in-chief
Ian Morales is a graduate of Round Rock High School and attended St. Edward’s University in Austin to study international business and communication. After working for a few years in the corporate world at Golfsmith, Ian left to work for In The Flesh Tattoo Studio, where he served as both the marketing manager and events coordinator. Ian and his friend and business partner, Chris Villarreal, founded Gwizsk Design in 2008. He served as Gwizsk’s marketing manager and social media marketing consultant. Later that year, he joined Double Stereo(formerly CDFuse) as their blog editor, where he reviewed concerts and albums for the popular music site. On any given night of the week, Ian can be found in downtown Austin on 6th Street and the Red River live music district.
AJ MIRANDA
managing editor
AJ Miranda grew up in California’s San Joaquin Valley, though he is an adopted Texan since 2002. He has a journalism degree from the University of Texas at Austin and has written about business and city life for The Wall Street Journal, The Denver Post and Laredo Morning Times. He has written about music and entertainment for Austin Vida, Red River Noise and Double Stereo. AJ is also an avid photographer and videographer.
ANGELA MALDONADO
senior editor
Angela Maldonado hails from Selena Town, aka Corpus Christi, but has made Austin her home since 2002. Her background is in journalism and radio, formerly serving as a producer for NPR’s Latino USA. In her stint with the show, she interviewed some awesome bands and had a nice chat with Joan Jett. In her previous life as a media gypsy, Angela wrangled huge inflatables on radio remotes, ran live broadcasts, promoted books and worked as an editorial assistant at the Austin American-Statesman. She loves coffee, so you could find her checking out the mochas at Epoch, Spider House or the occasional Italian soda at Little City. Angela loves music, books, travel, lip care products and 25-cent gum balls. If you’re around her, you should carry quarters.
EUGENIA VELA
associate editor
Eugenia Vela was born and raised in Monterrey, México, with the frustrated ambition of becoming a writer. Now in her 20s, she is working for her degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin and looking for new adventures around the Live Music Capital of the World. She is in love with words, fashion, Steven Tyler, early Dylan, late Beatles and anything Jack Nicholson-, Johnny Depp- and Cameron Crowe-related. She has a slight obsession with Peter Pan and if you give her a jar of Nutella, you’re golden. While not busy with schoolwork or Austin Vida, she dreams of becoming the next Chuck Palahniuk (only with a few less issues).
WINSTON RIVAS
intern/writer
When not daydreaming about Latin female singers (Julieta Venegas, Ximena Sariñana, Natalia Lafourcade, Ceci Bastida, etc.), Winston Rivas writes about them. Winston joined Austin Vida for the sole purpose of meeting/interviewing one of these singers. So far he has helped Ximena Sariñana get off stage. So it’s been a good start. Winston was born in Austin, but made a man of himself on the hard streets of El Sereno, Calif. He is getting his basics out of the way at ACC before transferring to a four-year institution, where he will try to convince kids to spin El Guincho instead of Lil Wayne. Winston is always well in tune with newest and freshest Latin artists from Tijuana to Santiago, Chile, as he demonstrates in his Latin music blog. Winston is also an avid fan of Manchester United, Dallas Cowboys, romance and “que le dijo” jokes. Also ask him to take you to eat pupusas and he probably will. Check out his personal music blog, La Musica del Caserio.
CURRENT CONTRIBUTORS
CHRIS CARRASQUILLO
photographer
Chris Carrasquillo was born in the City of Brotherly Love, Philadelphia, and has also lived in Puerto Rico and Corpus Christi. In Austin since ’94, he’s seen his fair share of shows, from the Courtney Love breakdown at Liberty Lunch to the first Rancid show in a car tint garage. He’s part-owner of Austin premier skate shop Find-N-Grind Skateshop, as well as Brown Skateboard Company, having produced skate videos. Photography is his new thing. You can see his work in Red River Noise, Austin Vida, URB Magazine and PRL-Zine. Que viva la musica!
CHANTEL CLOPINE
photographer
Chantel grew up in the Rio Grande Valley, where she graduated from Weslaco High School in 2005. She collected and experimented with film cameras and became serious about pursing photography late in high school. Her proximity and family ties to Mexico greatly influenced everything from her taste in music to her motive as a photographer. Currently, she is seeking a degree in Spanish literature at the University of Texas and another in photography at Austin Community College. When she’s not contributing to Austin Vida, she’s out exploring and photographing Austin and its vicinity.
VICKY GARZA
writer
Vicky Garza, a native Austinite, is a freelance journalist who uses her mighty pen for the power of good. She has a degree in marketing with a minor in music and entertainment business from the University of Miami, where she hosted her own morning show and ’80s retro lunch on an alternative radio station. She graduated from St. Edward’s University with a master’s in international business and loves to travel. She has visited over 91 cities in 18 countries and has lived in Texas, California, Florida, Hawaii, and across the pond in London.
MARI HERNANDEZ
photographer
Born in San Antonio, Mari Hernandez began photographing in Austin in 2003. She studied at Charles University in Prague and earned an undergraduate degree in photocommunications at St. Edward’s University in 2008. Her work has been shown at The Parish, The Pump Project and the Mexic-Arte Museum. She has worked on various promotional, documentary and creative projects with the Onion’s The Decider, Aspire photography and Red River Noise. She currently works with various non-profits and shoots nonstop all over town.
TONY LOYA
writer
For the majority of his life, Tony Loya has lived in and around the urban sprawl that is Houston, Texas. While there, he worked at the Houston Chronicle touting events, blogging about horrible television and reviewing bars (read: drinking free booze). Also during that time, he sat in classes about the Mexican American culture and analyzed literature at the University of Houston. For kicks, he wails to music while aimlessly driving his car, solves rebus puzzles underneath Lone Star caps and keeps promising himself he’ll finish the Bhagavad Gita.
MARCOS MOLINA
photographer
Just as an anthropologist would live and play among his subjects in order to gain insight, Marcos Molina (aka Subcomandante Quito) infiltrates hipster haunts six nights a week, all for the sake of creating a virtual scrapbook for future generations to ponder and emulate. His commitment to archiving Austin’s nightlife stems back to his pursuit (and passion) in Diriamba, Nicaragua, studying a rare species of bird known as Tranky. During the cataloging he would spend hours observing the neon colored “aves” known to overindulge on a plant that secretes liquid causing the same effects as binge drinking, he later noted. His research was lost when Tranky became extinct due to logging and erosion. When he’s not out shooting pictures with his trusty ol’ Nikon, you can find him operating power tools at the local Home Depot (his best friend’s a lesbian and he likes holding heavy metal in his long fingered hands), chugging copious amounts of apple cider vinegar (he read somewhere it would help retain lifelong virility and get rid of toe fungus), or reading the Mad comics he found in the first house he squatted in after he swam across the border 18 years ago.
HANLLY SAM
photographer
Hanlly Sam was born and raised in the craziest city in the world, Mexico City. Living in a city with few opportunities Hanlly moved to Austin in 2008 to major in graphic design. Although designing has always been her passion life has led her to photography. She started shooting forThe Accent newspaper as a staff member a year before she became the photo editor. As she became more involved with photography she started taking it more seriously and not just as a hobby. She has taken photo classes at ACC and has been trained by photographers before. But nothing comes better as experience as she has shot many music festivals and bands within a year and a half. Once Hanlly found herself shooting the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s in the photographer’s pit during ACL, she just knew that was what she wanted to do the rest of her life.
CARLOS SAN MIGUEL
photographer
Carlos San Miguel was born in Corpus Christi, in a building that has since been torn down. Raised on Judas Priest, Hank Williams and Doug Sahm, his listening taste changes from breakfast to dinner. Very confusing but it keeps the day interesting. Shooting photos since high school, he moved to Austin in ’89. After a long hiatus, he started shooting with his brother in 2002. Got hooked up with Los Lonley Boys in 2003 and hasn’t considered slowing down since. He has photographed bands from LLB to Brooks and Dunn, Tom Petty (his fave), Coldplay and Korn. Entrenched between the band and the audience, feeling the power and the energy flow back and forth… it’s the best seat in the house! And Austin is the place to be.
SARAH VASQUEZ
writer
Sarah Vasquez has been writing about the Austin music scene for seven years on her personal blog as well as for various other publications, such as Austin Community College’s The Accent, Austin Sound and whoever else will take her. When she’s not writing, she’s studying at ACC to finish up her basics before she transfers to a four-year university in pursuit of a journalism degree. At live shows, she may seem standoffish but really she’s just shy. So if you see her, just say hello. She currently also serves as Life and Arts editor at The Accent.
FORMER CONTRIBUTORS
CHRISTINA GARCIA
writer
Christina Garcia was born and raised in Dallas, and she recently completed her bachelor’s degree in journalism at the University of Texas at Austin. When she’s not downtown searching for the dirtiest, most danceable beats in the city, she is writing about them for various publications. On many nights, she is also known as DJ Steena. After contributing DJ interviews and album reviews to Austin Vida, Christina moved on to work in public relations and marketing for an electronic music record label.
MAIRA GARCIA
writer
Maira Garcia is a freelance writer based in Austin. She has produced content for MTV’s Choose or Lose, the Associated Press and Fort Worth Star-Telegram. Garcia has an masters in new media and a bachelors in print journalism and political science from Texas State University in San Marcos. Music, running, the Internet and little dogs are among her favorite things. She also has good taste in music as showcased here on Austin Vida. Maira contributed her last piece to Austin Vida in August 2010, after taking a position with the Austin American-Statesman.
ALYSHA HERNANDEZ
writer
While at Austin Vida, Alysha Hernandez delivered compelling interviews with musicians and Austinites of all stripes. Her work with Austin Vida began as an outlet for escaping the tedious nature of her day job at a lobbying firm next to the Capitol. She has since left the 9-to-5, as well as Austin Vida, for a position as a production assistant at C3 Presents, the company that books concerts at Emo’s and Stubb’s as well as organizes Austin City Limits Music Festival. Obsessed with bobby pins and field recordings of old folk music, Alysha finds joy in chihuahuas, micheladas, sleazy political culture and fancy word-of-the-day e-mails.
BRIAN STUBBS
founder/former owner
Brian Stubbs has worn many hats throughout his career and has been involved in customer service management, new product development, and coordinating investor funding. Brian aims to create these same relationships across his network to drive the success of those around him. Brian has also been involved in various entrepreneurial projects for the technology, magazines, retail, production, fashion, and in the music industry. Brian was chosen as a talent scout for Tony Parker’s (San Antonio Spurs) music video. His deep roots in the Latin culture drew him to create Austin’s Latin Fest and Austin Vida.
