Mid-Week Intermission Friend Edition: Nancy Flores of Austin Vida
It’s Hispanic Heritage Month! 🎉 From September 15 – October 15, we celebrate Hispanic culture and uplift Hispanic voices. And in a city with a large Hispanic population like Austin, there’s lots to celebrate this time of year!
We caught up with Nancy Flores, Editor and Publisher of Austin Vida, a digital news and culture site that amplifies, informs, and celebrates Austin’s Latine communities by sharing news, highlighting local voices, and spotlighting events and goings on around town. Read on to learn more about how Austin Vida is working to build and support the city’s Hispanic community.
Long Center: Welcome to Mid-Week Intermission! We usually like to ask folks for a song to go with their interview – anything come to mind?
Nancy Flores: Argentine DJ/producer Chancha Via Circuito – one of my faves for blending electronic and Latin American folk music – will be performing at Antone’s in late September. Listen to “Sueño en Paraguay” and take a sonic journey!
LC: Happy Hispanic Heritage Month! We’re so glad to have you. Care to introduce yourself and Austin Vida to our readers who might be unfamiliar?
Nancy Flores: Hola! I’m Nancy Flores, Editor and Publisher of Austin Vida, a digital Latine news and culture publication focused on telling the stories of the Latine community in Central Texas.
I grew up in the border town of Eagle Pass, Texas, and have been focused on writing about underrepresented communities in Austin for many years. At Austin Vida, we focus on everything from community news to stories about cultural arts. Another growing area of focus has been our reporting on culturally-relevant mental health news.
LC: So how did you find yourself becoming a journalist in Austin? How did Austin Vida get its start?
Nancy Flores: I’m a longtime journalist turned news entrepreneur who previously reported for the Austin American-Statesman and Austin 360. While I was there, I penned many articles on our city’s Latine community, its needs, growth and creative initiatives.
But more needed to be done to ensure that our community’s stories were consistently amplified. That’s why at the height of the pandemic, I took a big leap of faith by reviving and reimagining what Austin Vida – which had previously operated but had ceased publication – could look like for a new generation of bicultural Austinites. I’m grateful for all of the community support and folks who are helping us shape Austin Vida’s future.
Today, Austin Vida has new life and brings solutions-based journalism to the forefront with a growing team.
LC: Can you talk a bit about the importance of cultural community in a city with a large and growing Hispanic population?
Nancy Flores: A strong cultural community benefits everyone. Latine creatives are a big part of what make our city special with contributions to everything from live music to theater. Often their work is overlooked, and that’s why Austin Vida aims to shine a brighter light on the Latine cultural arts community, which can either help you feel seen or helps you understand something new.
LC: We love that Austin Vida helps instill a sense of belonging to the city’s Latine population by highlighting their stories, uplifting their voices, and sharing Hispanic events in Austin. What has it been like to witness this impact? Do you have a proudest moment?
Nancy Flores: I love when people tell us that our free monthly Cultura Guides, which curate the best of Latine cultural arts in the city, has helped them find community in Austin.
Some readers have told us that as a result of the Cultura Guides, they are closer as a family because they are finding events that resonate with them across generations.
We also recently published a community personal essay series called “My Austin Vida: Historias of Resilience.” These were powerful and vulnerable first-person stories and it was incredibly moving to see our essayists step on the stage during our summer community reading event and share their stories aloud. It’s important to know that your stories are valuable and deserving of being told.
LC: Amid an ongoing heavy news cycle, do you have any mental health resources you like to share with the Hispanic community?
Nancy Flores: As a solutions-journalism focused news organization, we aim for our articles to center the changemakers and community solutions for local issues.
We heard a lot of feedback while launching that folks didn’t want to read an article and then feel depressed afterwards. There’s always hope and resilience in our pieces.
That’s why we recently published an article where we asked Latina therapists about coping strategies during heavy news cycles from flood disasters to political news. Here’s what they said.
We also have quarterly mental health columns that people can access at any time.
LC: What’s got you excited during this year’s Hispanic Heritage Month? Any events you’re looking forward to?
Nancy Flores: Take a peek at Austin Vida’s September Cultura Guide this month for a glimpse at all the cool events we’ll be covering from the Centroamericanto Fest, which highlights Central American film and music, to the Mariachi Herencia de México concert at the Long Center in October.
Check out our Instagram page for a chance to win mariachi tickets!
LC: What do you hope for the future of Austin Vida, and the wider Hispanic community in Austin?
Nancy Flores: We are building our Cultura Warriors membership program to ensure that Austin Vida can carry out its mission for years to come.
We hope to grow with the community and co-create Austin Vida together to tell the stories that are most important to them.
Thanks, Nancy!
Check out Austin Vida’s September Cultura Guide for more to do this Hispanic Heritage Month!
At the Long Center, we’ve always got a new partnership or something cool we know you’ll want to check out! Find and follow us @longcenter on your social media platform of choice, and we’ll see you real soon.
