2019 is coming to a close in a few hours and while everyone is recapping their year on social media, I decided to continue the trend from last year of recapping my year in a blog post; much more personal and it’s like I’m chatting with my friends over coffee to reflect on how the year went.
Not gonna lie, I was feeling kind of down because I wanted to end the year with a bang, whether that was having a big celebration, working on some huge project or in true Becky Boricua form, traveling. I later realized it’s ok to lay low for the last few weeks or even the last month. It’s a great way to end the year by focusing on what you accomplished, what is still pending and what you wish to start in the new year. It’s a great time to reflect on all of this, as well as organize yourself for the next year, whether that’s setting up a budget, making a vision board or starting your calendar of events.
Because of this, after my trip to Seattle and Vancouver, I decided to lay low for what was left of the year to gather my thoughts. I also found it helpful last year to recap my year here as it gives me a better idea of what I accomplished as we sometimes tend to forget everything we’ve actually done when looking at other people’s accomplishments. It was my first full year back living in LA after having moved back from Miami.
Grab your cafecito and join me as we recap the year together.
JANUARY and FEBRUARY
The year started off great as I continued to cover and attend the latest events in Latin Entertainment such as a Telemundo screening event, Calibash concert as well as in beauty by attending a Dove event and Sephora beauty & music event. I also reunited with my friend from Miami here in LA as she also moved back to LA months before I did. This was the first time we saw each other since our move back.
MARCH
My friend from Miami visited me in LA and a week later, I returned to Miami after almost a year after having moved back to LA. I enjoyed every single moment of it. It was a trip I needed because I was starting to miss Miami and my friends there.
APRIL
In April, things started to get really busy not only for me but also for Faranduleo 411. I covered several high profile events such as the global press junket for Avengers: Endgame, as well as the premiere event for La Reina del Sur. Also made it out to cover Universal Studios’ Premiere Event of Dark Arts at Hogwarts Castle. Also made it out to the Bad Bunny concert and had a blast!
That same month, I had the awesome opportunity of being invited to attend Premios Billboard in Las Vegas as well as live a backstage experience with Wisin and McDonald’s. If you missed it, you can relive it in this recap video. It was an amazing experience and we had so much fun! I got to bring my friend from Miami with me to enjoy the experience together. That same week and prior to the awards, I covered the Billboard Latin Music Week for my outlet, Faranduleo 411,
And to end the month, right after returning from Vegas, I went on vacation to Cabo and Todos Santos, Mexico.
MAY
In May, I went on a weekend getaway to Laguna Beach and another weekend getaway to Palm Springs.
JUNE
In June, I had the opportunity to cover the world premiere of Netflix’s Murder Mystery with Jennifer Aniston and Adam Sandler. I was also invited by Milani Cosmetics to be a part of one of their photoshoots for their new foundations, and I was also interviewed and featured on VoyageLA magazine. This month, I also jumped on board to work and manage the 2019 Hispanicize Event.
JULY
In July, I officially started full force working on the 2019 Hispanicize Event. The months ahead of me would be intense but I was up for the job! In between all of the work I was doing with Hispanicize, I helped on the production team of the 2019 NALIP Media Summit, and also made it out to the media grand opening of Universal Studios’ Jurassic World the Ride. Also covered the global press conference for the Lion King.
AUGUST
August was another very busy month. Besides continuing to work on Hispanicize, I attended LALIFF and the screening of the Raul Julia documentary as well as the premiere party. I also attended the screening of Telemundo’s El Secreto de Selena as well as interview Maria Celeste Arraras and the main actresses of the series. Also interviewed Ricardo Montaner and Natalia Jimenez.
Later that month, I left to Orlando and Puerto Rico for vacation! In between the 3 weeks of vacation, I was still working on Hispanicize.
SEPTEMBER
In September and right after getting back from vacation, I made a quick work trip to New York for Hispanicize. I also made it out to the Mattel headquarters here in LA for a tour of the facility and to conduct some interviews. Also attended a Don Francisco’s coffee Emmy event, and made it out to the Daddy Yankee, Sech and Becky G concert.
OCTOBER
The long-awaited month was finally here and I had no idea how much this event would cause my career to grow. Hispanicize 2019 took place here in LA and I had the opportunity to manage the whole event as well as produce the Pepsi Music Lounge which I can proudly say counted with talent such as Pepe Aguilar, Leonardo Aguilar, Angela Aguilar, Milkman, MelyMel, Willie Gomez, Los Rakas, and CNCO as well as many top executives within the industry. I also made some time to speak on a panel myself. We also had the cast of On my Block as part of a panel and Kelv among many others. Needless to say, it was a very proud moment for me, and a great move in my career.
That same month right after Hispanicize, I took a trip to New York with several of my girlfriends from Miami and LA and we had a blast celebrating our friendship, as well as my close friend’s 40th birthday!
NOVEMBER
Just when I thought work was winding down and I would finally get some rest, I flew to Vegas for Latin GRAMMY week as I’d be working as a publicist for several talent. We had media promo all week and then the awards and the parties! It was a very busy week, but also very fun!
Back in LA and right after the Latin GRAMMYs in Vegas was the grand opening of the Latin Music Gallery at the Grammy Museum which I also had a chance to attend. Also made it out to another Bad Bunny concert in the same year! This after also watching him at the exclusive McDonald’s after party last month of the Latin GRAMMYs. This month I also helped put together an event for HBO for His Dark Materials with the team that executive produced Hispanicize this year. I also attended a Rums of Puerto Rico event here in LA.
DECEMBER
Again, just when I thought I’d get some down time, December proved to be a very busy month as well! Not complaining because I love being busy! Started off with an intimate Farruko concert courtesy of Pandora. Also managed to attend a special event by Chevrolet as well as a Mana concert where I watched them up close all while breaking a record at The Forum. I was also invited to celebrate the holidays at Universal Studios Hollywood’s Grinchmas!
Later that month and before Christmas, I made the last trip of the year to Seattle and Vancouver. It’s now a yearly tradition to make a trip in December to celebrate my friend’s birthday as well as mine. We had a great time! After that, it was back home to LA to spend Christmas and New Years with my family.
I can’t complain about 2019; it was a great year of growth for me. It was a year I finally saw some movement in my career towards the direction I’ve always wanted to head and for years worked so hard for. It was also the year I realized what my years in Miami were preparing me for. It was as if this year I was finally starting to walk the road I had been paving for the last 12-13 years.
I took these last two weeks to really rest and focus on what I would like to accomplish next year. I’m still in the middle of creating my vision board, starting to work on a big project I hope to be able to share soon, as well as other personal projects I have envisioned for 2020. Thankful to God for another blessed year. Hope you also take the time to recap your year. We sometimes get so caught up in the things we didn’t accomplish, that we forget to be thankful for what we did accomplish. I didn’t think I had done much but when I started breaking it down month by month, it was then that I realized just how great it had been. I hope you do the same and prepare for next year, because this is your year!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
2020
