In this episode of Destination on the Left, Eileen Ivette shares her journey to becoming a creator and travel influencer. We discuss her award-winning Black Latin History series, which won Best Travel Series at the Black Travel Film Festival. Eileen shares historical narratives and shows people how to immerse themselves in history while traveling. She details her storytelling approach, from equipment choices to balancing work, authentic experiences, and content curation for each piece.

What You Will Learn in This Episode:

• Why Eileen is passionate about creating platforms that highlight the presence and contributions of Afro-Latinos in Latin America and the importance of representation
• How Eileen’s unique approach to storytelling involves treating her content as a love letter to a destination and the strategies she uses to create immersive and engaging content
• Why Eileen believes that exposure to diverse cultures through travel leads to personal expansion and greater cultural understanding
• What role Eileen’s background in journalism plays in her ability to capture and share meaningful stories through video content
• How Eileen collaborates with destinations and the flexibility she appreciates when creating authentic stories that resonate with her audience

Celebrating Cultural Diversity Through Travel

With an academic background in journalism, media, and film from Howard University, Eileen has always been passionate about storytelling. This passion led her to create content that entertains, educates, and inspires.

Eileen loves to share stories about black history, businesses, and events across Latin America. Her commitment to this cause was recently recognized with her award-winning Black Latin History series, which won Best Travel Series at the Black Travel Film Festival. Through her work, Eileen aims to share history and show how travelers can immerse themselves in it when visiting different destinations. She believes that cross-cultural connections and exposure to new cultures lead to expansion and growth.

Crafting Content with Heart

Eileen views her projects as love letters to the destinations she showcases, pouring emotion into each piece she produces. Her aim is always to capture the energy and essence of each place she visits, bringing it to life for her audience.

She described balancing her work with the authentic travel experience, ensuring her content remains engaging and immersive. Her goal is to make viewers feel the energy and emotions of the places she visits, even if they can’t be there in person.

Inspiring Connections

Eileen’s work goes beyond sharing beautiful destinations; it bridges gaps and inspires meaningful conversations about cultural diversity. She emphasizes the importance of connecting with one’s roots through travel, highlighting how these journeys can help individuals understand and appreciate the diverse threads that shape our shared history. Eileen’s travels to Colombia and Brazil are great examples of how immersing yourself in local culture builds amazing community connections.

Resources:

• Website: http://www.eileenivette.com/
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/eileen-ivette/
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/beLg_ljrmDU?si=a-Uh6NskvNjpWqEm

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