It started in the backyard.

Raised by a village

I grew up in a big Hispanic family. Every weekend was a backyard get-together, and telling stories was everybody’s favorite pastime. Being raised by a village shaped who I am.

When my mom was working, my grandparents watched me, which mostly meant I entertained myself with movie after movie. Somewhere between the backyard and the TV, storytelling got wired into me.

People with ganas

I’ve met so many people with interesting lives, careers and passions, and I’ve always gravitated toward the ones who get nerdy about the details. People who care that much about their craft end up shaping culture all over the world, usually without trying to. That’s ganas to me: the hard work, and the love behind it. Con Ganas exists to celebrate them.

A decade in the making

I’ve had this idea for over ten years. I started it, stopped it, believed in it, got scared of it, and doubted myself more times than I can count. Now I’m all in, because I believe in it, and in myself, more than ever. And right now, something that brings people together feels needed.

What lives here

Con Ganas is where everything I love comes together: video, photography, graphic design, interiors, fashion, all of it in service of telling good stories. We support local businesses and creatives, and since everywhere is somebody’s local, it’s also my excuse to travel, explore, and support someone else’s.

It’s also home for the ideas I can’t stop thinking about: Java, the zine Sammy and I make about the coffee shops that feel like home; Hey Primo, our stories told radio-style; and a few more things still in the oven.