The Palacio Content Group, led by experienced content producer and Long Beach local Antonio Ruiz, has launched the new Palacio Magazine, a relaunch of the five-year-old bilingual publication formerly known as Palacio de Long Beach.
What was once a print-only publication produced every other month has now been rebranded and relaunched as an online platform that still spotlights Latino issues in “an increasingly multicultural Long Beach and the United States.” Palacio Magazine will print a quarterly magazine, also bilingual, as an extension of the new site.
According to Ruiz, Andrea Sulsona, who spent the past five years running the magazine and giving Long Beach’s Spanish-speaking community a voice, was hired by the YMCA as Director of Early Childhood Development, and simply had to choose.
“And [running the magazine] was just a big job[…],” Ruiz said. “But she had done it for five years with a job and a family, so kudos to her.”
Ruiz explained that the content produced now will be much more thematic, while Palaciomagazine.com will be the focal point of the brand and the print publication an extension of the online platform.
“The first issue was about leadership and the second one is going to be about education, then arts and culture,” he said. “We’ve got a fourth one that we’re planning around election 2016 and civic engagement.”
“Palacio Magazine, even though we’re advertiser-supported right now, we sort of see ourselves a little differently in terms of how we want to engage with the Latino community and the greater community,” he continued. “We see ourselves as more of a civic-minded community-oriented platform. We’re going to be working with a lot of different community organizations to talk about current issues.”
The premier print edition, now available throughout Long Beach, features Mayor Robert Garcia on the cover, while the online magazine showcases both video and audio podcast segments. The publication partnered with local nonprofit organization Leadership Long Beach to spread the word about IDEA FEST LONG BEACH (IF LB) and produce content within that theme.
“The Leadership [Long Beach] thing came about with our need to really promote leadership and to focus on the leaders that we have in the Latino community,” said Ruiz. “Like the mayor, like the police chief, like a couple people on the city council and a bunch of other Latino leaders that don’t get the kind of media attention that I think they deserve.”
“We’re proud to partner with Palacio Magazine on their launch,” said Leadership Long Beach Executive Director Jeff Williams in an an earlier press statement. “This was an opportunity to showcase both of the organizations and the diversity of our alumni.”
Inside the May issue, readers can find a 16-page insert for IF LB, which will take place this Saturday, May 30.
Ruiz said that although he’s excited about each of the stories in this month’s issue, he’s especially enthusiastic about the Latinas in Leadership piece, moderated and written by Melissa Morgan.
“It’s a really interesting, fascinating look at the power of Latina women in the city,” he said.
Lastly, Ruiz asked the Post to credit his wife, Sumire Gant, who created the layout of the magazine—“the art, design, everything” he said—and was “very responsible for the look of the website.”
Painting by Ramon Rodriguez
Photo of Latinas in Leadership (from left to right): Melissa Morgan, Veronica Garcia Davalos, Jessica Quintana, Alex Escobar by Oscar Bautista.