Laurita Tellado is one of our community members who’s constantly on the move. She’s a Florida-based bilingual blogger, contributor and runs a non-profit focused on the spina bifida community. She just returned from a whirlwind European tour and opened up about the challenges of traveling with a physical disability. Make sure you follow her on social media after you read this Influencer Spotlight.
Laurita Tellado, Bilingual Blogger & Advocate
What inspired you to start a blog? How would you describe your blogging niche?
Initially, I started a blog – Holdin’ Out for a Hero (www.holdinoutforahero.org ) – in 2009, to promote public awareness of spina bifida, to chronicle my own experiences in living with the condition, and to help in my search for a spokesperson for the cause.
Eventually, due to my frequent interactions on social media with Latino/Hispanic networks and fellow multicultural content creators, I started Espresso con Leche (www.espressoconleche.com ) as a bilingual platform to share my perspective as a Latina who was raised in Orlando and is fully bilingual. Now that I come to think of it, both of my blogs are deeply rooted in trying to find a sense of belonging, whether as a person with spina bifida or as a Latina.
My niche? I’m not sure I fit into any of the typical niches! I’m not a mom or a wife, I’m not a fitness or even a health blogger in the traditional sense. I don’t consider myself a food or entertainment blogger. Rather, I share what I share through the filter of my own experiences. When I write something, I am writing from the unique perspective that I bring as a Puerto Rican woman with spina bifida who lives in Orlando and loves coffee, travel, and culture. I’m not exactly sure any of that fits into any specific box!
Tell us about a typical work day as a blogger.
Is there such a thing as a “typical” day for our line of work? I don’t know about that, but often inspiration for writing and working will hit me at odd, late hours. I sometimes prefer to work on posts and articles late at night, when I know no one is expecting me to be connected or available. Each day is different, though. When I’m traveling, my work needs to happen whenever I have Wi-Fi, so that can sometimes be a challenge.
One thing is for sure– every day for me involves plenty of good coffee!
How many sites and blogs do you write for?
It varies. I manage my own blog’s and my non-profit’s Web site, and I write for all three platforms. From time to time, I am invited to contribute to sites such as NBC Latino, The Mighty, BlogHer.com, SocialMoms, and I’ve written for Huffington Post. I’ve also contributed to sites like Hispanic PR Blog and Go Red Por Tu Corazón, and LATISM. My goals for the immediate future include pitching to other platforms where I can share my unique voice.
What motivated you to start The Laurita Spina Bifida Project?
I had wanted to found a non-profit organization since I was 10 years old, but I felt at the time that this was something only very wealthy people did. I remember being really young and witnessing a need to not only raise public awareness of spina bifida, but to bring the spina bifida community together. I never dreamed that 20 years later, I’d be in the position, thanks in large part to social media, to be one of the people bringing this community together.
But during most of my childhood and even my young adulthood, I recall feeling as if I was going through this alone. I wanted to do everything within my power to ensure other kids could grow up feeling like they belonged to a community. This is truly what helped me give birth to The Laurita Spina Bifida Project (www.lauritaspinabifidaproject.org).
Tell us about the recent trip to Europe and what you shared on social media while you were there?
Where do I start? Did that really all happen? This most recent trip I took with my parents is the longest we’ve been away from home. What’s funny is, although it sounds remarkably cliché, the longer I was away from home, the more the word “home” seemed to take on a different connotation. It’s really about the people you’re with and the enriching experiences you encounter. That makes you feel at home.
While many people think traveling to Europe is exotic and luxurious, for us, it takes a lot of saving and planning ahead, especially with our unique needs. I’m a millennial wheelchair user traveling with two baby boomers! Needless to say, we are not the typical 21-year-old backpackers you see in films about European travel! We have different considerations we need to think of.
Besides all of the cultural enrichment and breathtaking scenery, by far one of the best experiences for the three of us is whenever we can meet with people in the spina bifida community. We were able to do this several times in different cities, first meeting with a friend in Lille, France, meeting with two friends we have in Paris, and then visiting the offices of the Catalonia spina bifida association in Barcelona. This was for me one of the biggest highlights, as we got to speak with their social worker, compare notes on how people with spina bifida manage in the region of Catalonia, and talk about issues that still need to be addressed in our respective communities. It’s very empowering when you can speak to another human being who relates to the same problems, and has similar goals in mind. This is why I do what I do!
Of course, I tried to share all of this on social media, and a lot of it is there. Obviously, there are some experiences you simply need to live to understand, but for the most part, I tried to share not only the glamorous experiences but the grungy, exhausting side of traveling with a disability. That is something I want my community to know about, not to discourage them, but so that they can feel prepared when they travel for themselves.
Why did you join The Network Niche? What has been your favorite brand partnership with our influencer network and why?
I joined because I love the sense of community I feel as a content creator in being part of a network, whether online or offline. Blogging and doing social media work can often be very isolating, and it’s very important to me to feel I am part of something bigger than what I do from home.
The “Thalía En Vivo” campaign was a lot of fun to work on, particularly because it gave me the opportunity to share my cultural duality and stories of my upbringing and cultural identity, which have been very important to me.
Describe your “dream” brand partnership.
That’s a great question! I’d have to say any brand related to travel and more specifically, to the way I travel is one I’d love to work with. It’s also a longtime dream of mine to collaborate with brands that place a heavy emphasis on corporate social responsibility. Since The Laurita Spina Bifida Project has raised funds for several spina bifida communities in need in developing countries, we need to continue with this work. But being a very small, home-operated non-profit, we lack the resources and manpower to launch large-scale initiatives. Every dollar we raise, we donate to one of these communities for medical supplies or other necessary equipment. But we can’t continue to go it alone, so my dream would absolutely be to work with a brand such as Johnson & Johnson, or one of the other wonderful corporations who is doing great work in the health arena on the ground in developing communities.
What’s the next big project you’re working on? What do you want to accomplish by the end of the year or first quarter of 2019?
By the end of the year, I hope to secure more consistent, paid work in social media, writing, or editing. As an activist, The Laurita Spina Bifida Project hopes to wrap up our work with Project LatAm, for which we raised $3,000 for urological supplies for children in Latin American countries. It is my hope that we’ll soon move forward with our next initiative. Up until now, we’ve only raised funds online, and that has only been mildly effective. It’s very painstaking work. We’d love to partner with corporate sponsors and be able to take some of our work offline by hosting in-person fundraisers and who knows? I’d love to be able to eventually visit the communities we’re supporting abroad, such as Tanzania and Latin America. It’ll certainly take a village, but I’m so grateful to have one online!
One of my lifelong dreams (even as a kid) has been to bring the spina bifida cause to a national TV audience, on a popular talk show cough cough ELLEN! cough cough I wrote three separate letters over the years to Oprah, and even got a rejection letter from Harpo Studios when I was eleven. I still have that reply, and it stings to this day, but I won’t give up until positive, accurate information about spina bifida is watercooler conversation fodder. So much of the media that spina bifida receives is negative or pity-inducing. We don’t need “inspiration porn” (to be seen as subjects of inspiration or pity). What we need is full inclusion in society– at school, at work, in recreational activities and everything else. I am not stopping until that is fully realized.
Share a link to the blog post you’re most proud of:
It’s kind of like choosing a favorite child! But I think “Your Shoes Are Killing Me” is one of my absolute favorite posts. I was really nervous when I wrote it, but I was surprised at the reaction I received from many women with spina bifida who also experience frustration at being overlooked by the shoe industry. All in all, I think I helped break the silence about this oft-ignored topic in the disability community.
Where do you see yourself and your blog in the next five years?
While it’s hard to tell since I’m such a chameleon and I seem to share whatever content I’m enthused and passionate about, I see myself having a stronger voice and brand in five years. As an activist and non-profit leader, I see my social platforms as playing a huge role in my ongoing advocacy work, and I can visualize myself using those platforms as a means to unite the global spina bifida community, as well as to continue to promote my cause and efforts to a larger audience. I hope to attract high-profile figures to support my efforts– people who are passionate about making a difference like I am.
Additionally, I envision being more confident as a professional in social media management and consulting, which is currently my “day job,” and I love it! Of course, being restless and always hungry for the next adventure, I hope to incorporate as much travel as I can into my life as a digital nomad.
Follow Laurita Tellado on Instagram | Tweet @LauritaTellado
Are you a bilingual or lifestyle influencer looking to connect with brands and our community? Join The Network Niche here! We’d love to add more diverse voices to our network of content creators.
