Sarah Vela – consultant for social media, content development, and strategy

SV: Mando, welcome, and I want to thank you for letting me interview you today.

MR: Thank you.

Let’s start with maybe the most obvious question. Tell me about your pink chicken coop.

My wife is developing an edible gardening business. We had chickens last year, but then I think our neighbors ate them…or the possum. Chickens aren’t very smart, and we let them just hang out, and then one day they were gone. First one of them, and the next day the other was gone. So then we said alright, we gotta do this again. We met this guy who lives in our neighborhood, and she gave him the design, and he hooked it up. We had leftover paint from our house, so it matches.

It’s punk rock pink.

It is, it is. It is punk rock pink. See, my wife’s from Honduras, so you know, she likes it very tropical.

Did you grow up in Austin?

I grew up in El Paso.

When I first moved into Austin I was pleased and surprised to discover there are chickens everywhere in this city, which I think people wouldn’t realize, especially if they’re from another region of the country.

I think you see it more in this part of town, on the East Side…

I don’t know, we had a lot of chickens in Hyde Park, when I lived in Hyde Park.

Really?

More than you would think.

Okay, well there you go. (laughs) My wife entered this chicken tour thing that’s happening.

Oh, like a garden tour? But for chickens?

Yeah, chicken coop tour or something. So that’s why we had to pimp out the chickens…

I want to go on that!

Yeah, you need to Google it. It’s online.  (ed. note, I Googled it, here ya go: Funky Chicken Coop Tour)  She has this cycle thing where she has the garden, the compost, we have the chickens, and it’s this whole cycle. And I just eat, and throw, and then chase the chickens…

The theme of sustainability has been coming up a lot in my conversations with people, both for Too Much Information and for this interview series that I’ve been doing for SMC Austin.

Yeah. I think Austin has the market for it. I think we’re in the top 10 greenest cities in the US. There’s a culture here of understanding food, and knowing where food is coming from, and people are more conscious about it. And so I think that’s why people in Austin are just more in tune with food. So of course sustainability comes into that, because people want to know where food is coming from and how it’s processed. Even with this whole process of sustainability, you get a light turning on, with people saying, “If I can grow my own vegetables, why not?”

And food seems to be kind of a central theme for you, really, in the work that you’re doing. I associate you with, among other things, tacos. Porque tacos?

Porque tacos? Because it is food of the Gods. (laughs) You know, I don’t know. I just love tacos. It’s a simple food, and it’s universal I think, as well as international. Everything that I do is really focused around community. And so what brings people together? Food brings people together, people, technology, you name it. So for me tacos is just one of those simple foods that people from the bottom of the chain all the way to the top can enjoy. You can enjoy breakfast tacos now at Whole Foods – from that to a taco truck here in East Austin. I just love tacos. I grew up with them. The flavors, and the creativity that comes with tacos. One day you might be craving eggs and bacon, to pork, or whatever. If you don’t eat meat you can have an avocado taco…it’s one of those foods where you can combine any type of food and put it together.

So, flour or corn?

Corn. I used to be flour though.

What changed you?

I think maybe the simplicity of the corn tortilla. The flour tortilla is good, and I grew up eating flour tortillas. But…

It’s real earthy.

Yeah, it is. It’s corn-based, it’s simple. If you just want to have one or double it up, usually people double it up. And it doesn’t fill you in one sitting. I definitely like the corn.

I’m a flour girl.

Yeah.

But I’m a white girl, too.

Yeah. There’s a tendency for Anglo-Saxons (laughs) to eat flour tortillas.

What’s your go-to taco in Austin?

I guess it has to be Taco Alayna. You know where that is?

Yep.

They just got best of Austin Chronicle this past time. I’ve been going there for years, and it’s just good.

Their beans are really good.

Yes. That’s another one of those things with Mexican food, or Latin American food. If they have good beans…and their green salsa is really good, then they good!

That’s another thing that, growing up on the East Coast in New England, a taco was always only a hard shell corn taco with ground beef and lettuce and tomato, and cheddar cheese. I had NO IDEA.

Yeah, it’s a whole other world.

I didn’t really know who you were until I saw Michelle Greer talking about the taco work that you’re doing, and I got really excited about that, because for me one of the things that’s interesting about the social media space is that everybody can find a valuable niche and a role to play, and I think that you’re an example of somebody in Austin who does that to the Nth degree. You are very clearly defined, not limited, but clearly defined. You have a real identity, it’s very strong, and what you do is interesting. I’m wondering if there was any kind of strategy behind that, or if it just kind of happened for you organically, that you became “El Mundo de Mando”?

You know, that’s funny. A friend of mine nicknamed me El Mundo de Mando.

When was that?

Oooh, years ago. My friends always think I’m either over the top, or quirky, or whatever. Or annoying (laughs). So then something would happen, and it would be some crazy stuff, and they would say, “Oh, that can only happen en El Mundo de Mando.” So they started saying, “En El Mundo de Mando…(dot dot dot)” when something funny would happen. It just kind of stuck. In my work I do a lot of engagement. That’s the core of what I do. So whether it’s engaging people in tacos, to community-based work, I think what I am is very deliberate in terms of what I put out there. And I use my personality. I believe you can create good relationships and strengthen ties when you’re authentic with people, when you’re straight up. I work at United Way, and I do civic engagement work with them, so I engage communities to be involved, and mobilize communities. I use the online space to do that, and to create interest. I’m definitely very deliberate within the whole food thing that I do as well. I do the tacos on my own time, and it’s just something that I like to do. But there’s different opportunities that I get with that, and I’m usually happy to do it.

Speaking of opportunities, RISE is coming up next week, and I know you have a lot of involvement with that. Explain what RISE is, and what your relationship is with it this year.

RISE is a Relationship and Information Series for Entrepreneurs. This is its third year. It’s workshops and sessions for entrepreneurs, by entrepreneurs. Whether you’re a business entrepreneur, a social entrepreneur, and what I call innovators. People who maybe have that idea, and they might not consider themselves entrepreneurs yet, but they’re innovators in whatever it is that they’re doing. So it’s to bring people together, to create relationships, and share ideas, and learn. That’s what RISE is. That’s going to be March 2nd through the 5th, over a hundred workshops led by all kinds of creative people in Austin. One of my night jobs is to do consulting jobs with businesses and non-profits around engagement with Hispanic communities. If someone is interested in understanding how to connect, build relationships, I call it Hispanic Engagement. Some people might think of it as Hispanic marketing. I use Hispanic Engagement because I believe that if you’re going to market, or create, some kind of loyalty with a consumer or creating advocates, you have to do it within. So it’s not just “Here, take our information.” Let’s build it, and find out what you think about it, let’s figure it out, let’s tweak it, and then you can really create a product that you can share with others, that you would really want to share with others. And that is really my strategy around Hispanic Engagement. So it’s not just “Here, buy this, buy this, buy this.” It’s more of a long-term. For non-profits it’s creating advocates. And for companies it’s building brand loyalty.

What kind of benefits are you seeing from the work that you’re doing? How is that manifesting itself?

I see it as how communities grow and work. It’s growing organically. Through the process of meeting people and connecting with people, I see that there’s a need, and people are wanting to understand and engage, build relationships with Hispanics, and understand that market. Often Hispanics are seen as just one market, but there are so many within, the Hispanic community is so diverse. So understanding that, you see the benefits of trying to connect with that specific group within the Hispanic community. For me, it’s growing a lot, really fast. I’ve been working with RISE. They were interested in putting together Hispanic sessions. One, if you wanted to learn more about the Hispanic community, or the population, or the market. And two, connect with Hispanics who are really successful in what they do. I’ve organized over 20 workshops for the Hispanic sessions. I brought in Elizabeth Avellan with Troublemaker Studios (From Dusk til Dawn, Desperado, Sin City). And James Aldrete, he was on the ’08 Obama Media Team. He’s doing a workshop on engaging the Latino community. Omar Gallaga (from the Austin American-Statesman). And different people who have different roles within the Hispanic community that want to share what they’ve been through. I’m having sessions over at the Mexican-American Cultural Center. It’s been great because it’s an opportunity to be part of something bigger. The more that I meet with people the more people are interested in trying to understand. It’s such a big market, and it’s growing so fast. So to try to understand all of it is really difficult.

Are there any basic misconceptions that you’re having to explain to people, or that you’re setting straight with people as far as the Hispanic community?

There’s a lot. (laughs). The difference between trying to market or engage these populations is going to be different. You have the business class, to the recent immigrant population, to second or third generations, and here in Austin there’s a group called “Tejanos,” Mexican-American, born and raised in Texas. Another misconception, you know how Peter Pan is never aging, he’s always the same? People think about the Hispanic community that way. There’s a myth that the Hispanic community is stuck in time, and not able to progress. There’s a lot of misconception out there that because there’s a high poverty rate, that that’s where we are. But because we’re such a diverse community – there’s over 1200 Hispanic-owned businesses in the Austin area. Our spending power is in the billions. I think there’s a misconception that we’re stuck in that need area. So what I try to do is say, how do you transition, how do you do that? And it’s about connecting with people. Just because you market once does not mean that they’ll gradually come. I think with Hispanics you have to have a series of conversations in order to build that trust and relationship. Because we’ve retreated in a way. So if you really want to engage the Hispanic community, whether it’s buying a product, or services, or whatever, you have to invest time into it. And once you do, it’s a huge market. At the same time, I like to work with well-meaning companies and non-profits. It’s not selling Budweiser ads.

What are your plans for SXSW?

I’m supposed to be doing some write-ups for Nerdabout with Michelle. And I’m thinking of doing a collaborative Taco Tweetup. Just trying to get people connected.

So, what does collaborative mean? Who’s collaborating?

I’m already going to be working with Michelle at Nerdabout, so them. And possibly I want to ping the Nuclear Taco guys. And I work with Dishola as well. So trying to figure something out. And I’m also friends with a couple of music guys who focus on Latin alternative rock. I’m trying to see if there’s a way that we can combine that as well. I’m excited about that.

Thank you very much Mando, I appreciate your time.

You’re welcome. Thanks for the coffee!

photo of Mando courtesy of Penny de los Santos.