Celebrating 15 Years!
Jolie Gonzalez-Padilla
President /CEO
Latin Times Media, Inc.
we are going on our 5th Annual event, and
just a few short years we went from a 1day
event, to a 3 day event, and in the midst
of God has allowed us to add an element to this event that feeds hundreds of
homeless people every year. The contest
brings in thousands of visitors from all over
the US and now the World, as this year
we have gone international and have a
participant
Victor: Who is Jolie Gonzalez-Padilla, and tell us about your family, your
background?
Jolie: Jolie Gonzalez-Padilla is just
a simple person with a lot of dreams.
I am a wife to my wonderful husband,
Victor, and a mother to my wonderful
kids: Felix “Nikko” Gonzalez, Victoria
and Zion Padilla. I am the oldest of
3 girls, and I have an older brother
Roberto Rodriguez. They all live in
different parts of Florida. My mom,
Carmen also lives in Florida, and my
father Orlando, and my step mom
Josefina live in Corozal, Puerto Rico,
and they visit us yearly, just in time
for the Cuban Sandwich Festival! I
am of Puerto Rican background, born
and raised in Chicago. I am blessed!
Victor: What inspired you and how
did you get started in creating Latin
Times Magazine
Jolie: I have always been a spiritual
person, and I have always believed
in dreams and have had faith that
we can do whatever we can envision
and enjoy. I have always enjoyed
writing and was pretty good at, and I
have always loved being involved in
our Hispanic culture, the music, the
language, the foods, the customs, the
history and people. The magazine
was born from a dream of doing what
made me happy…
Victor: You and your husband Victor
Padilla are a team who not only run
Latin Times Media and Magazine
but, both of you created and founded
the Cuban Sandwich Festival, tell us
about that?
Jolie: The Cuban Sandwich Festival
is such a blessed event. This year,
Victor: Through these 15 years you have
met Actors, entertainers, and political
figures, you also have been able to survive
in the magazine industry, tell us about the
struggles, obstacles, and successes you
have had with all of this?
Jolie: You can be certain that there will
always be struggles when you go into
business, when you start a business -or a
venture into a career, if you don’t have a
passion you might as well throw in the towel, because if I had not had the love and
passion that I feel for my business, and my
culture, I would have thrown in the towel a
long time ago, because it’s hard, and the
struggles are real, it’s a roller coaster ride
that soars high in the air, and the takes
a sudden dip…. I consider myself, and
our business a miracle that Go allowed to
happen, a magazine surviving in this digital age for 15 years? Our niche Hispanic
market and lot of ݙH[