This September-October, we at CLEVER are celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month this year by honoring and amplifying Hispanic and LatinX creators in the influencer marketing space. Four CLEVER creators have partnered with us to publish our first-ever Hispanic Heritage Month blog series. These posts are intended to provide insight into how the influencer industry can support Hispanic and LatinX creators beyond just this month.
This week we're excited to feature Pilar Hernandez of Chilean Food & Garden!
Follow Pilar at:
Blog: Chilean Food & Garden
Instagram: @chileanfoodandgarden
Facebook: @blogenmicocinahoy
Twitter: @Enmicocinahoy
Hello! My name is Pilar Hernandez, and I'm a food blogger. I live in Houston, TX, since 2003. I started my Spanish language blog "En mi cocina hoy '' in 2008 and followed it with my English language, "Chilean food and garden," in 2012.
Initially, I wrote the recipes in the blog to keep track of the new ingredients I was using to adapt my Chilean family recipes to the US ingredients. So it was a food blog without pictures, imaging THAT!
Soon enough, I realized they were others reading the blog, and also I discovered I like taking pictures of food and writing recipes, so I started to take classes and keep at it until I went full-time/pro in 2012.
- How does your content reflect or celebrate Hispanic Heritage month?
It always has been about my roots in Chile and all the Chilean food lovers worldwide. It's an enjoyable and approachable connection. The majority of my recipes are traditionally Chilean.
- As an influencer in the Latin American, Hispanic-American, or LatinX community, what message do you want brands and the influencer marketing industry to hear loud and clear? What are your hopes for the future?
If I'm candid, please stop using American as a synonym of the USA. America is our continent. We share it with lots of other countries. In Spanish, we say "estadounidense." If you say "americano" it means anyone from the Americas.
My hope for the future is to see the increased representation of Latinx in the media. We Latinos are bonded by language and culture, not by looks or race, so we want to see our culture celebrated with authenticity and showcased.
- What is your advice for brands who want to continue to celebrate Hispanic Heritage month beyond the month of September-October?
Have fun with it, Latin America is so vast and diverse. There is always going to be a way to celebrate and be inclusive. We are very family-centric and devoted to our elders and our children. We appreciate campaigns that highlight family activities.
- Have you ever had the opportunity to do a paid, brand-sponsored post in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month?
Yes, I have been fortunate over the years to work with brands with a national presence on Hispanic-American Heritage Month. Example: https://www.chileanfoodandgarden.com/sanwich-fiesta/
- Who are your favorite LatinX or Hispanic content creators we should follow?
- For Mexican food: Mely at Mexico in My Kitchen, Yvette at Muy Bueno Cookbook, Vianney at Sweet Life Bake
- For Dominican food: Clara at Dominican Cooking
- For Venezuelan food: Oriana at Mommy's Home Cooking
- For Ecuadorian food: Laylita at Laylita
