Five Young People on the Island Win Awards in Cuban Contest for “Influencers”

The five winners will receive workshops from specialists in Digital Marketing, trips abroad, as well as recharges to their cell phones for the use of mobile data. (14ymedio)

14ymedio bigger14ymedio, Havana, 6 March 2020 — A contest that seeks to support Cubans who want to become new stars of social networks already has its winners. The contest, launched by the presenter Alex Otaola, announced on Thursday the names of five young people from the Island who have received this support to be influencers.

After counting the votes of the public plus those of an “analysis panel” made up of “experts in influencer marketing, social networks, human rights and statistics,” it was determined that the winners are: Emma López (Category: Powerful Cubanas), Yander Serra (Category: Life in My Neighborhood), Dasiel González (Category: LGBTIQ), Ruhama Fernández (Category: Future Society, Dreams for Cuba), Jorge Záceta (Category: Environment and Animal Rights), explains the opinion competition.

After hearing she won, Ruhana Fernández, one of the winners, used her Twitter account to thank everyone who pushed her on the networks during the vote. “It is indescribable how my life has changed.”

“After several months, three eliminations and failed attempts with the final marred by votes of false profiles, catfishing and improper actions that tried to discredit this event, still fighting against wind and tide, from the precarious access to the Internet from the island of Cuba, these five young people who were selected by the Red Cuban Power team will be the five new faces of the Cuban internet,” Otaola emphasized.

The experts evaluated the quality of the videos, the size of the audiences achieved and the level of engagement of the competitors in their social media profiles. For example, Yander Serra achieved more than 16,000 views in the video he submited for the third elimination. While Ruhama Fernández generated 9,600.

Family, how much they have helped me, a thousand thanks for taking me here. It is indescribable how it has changed my life. @alexotaola @anaolema @ilianahcuba @rocamadur @Liusantiesteban @ linareslaura301 @ mariaro91986369 there are many others missing but a thousand thanks for fighting for freedom pic.twitter.com/0Zl0zJMAWW

– Ruhama (@ ruhsantiago99) March 6, 2020

The call for the contest was answered by more than 50 interested parties from the Island’s different provinces with an age range that ranged from 18 to 40 years. The Red Cuban Power Facebook page, where the competition was announced, has more than 2,700 followers and received more than 34,600 interactions in the last month.

The five winners will receive workshops by specialists in Digital Marketing, trips abroad, special equipment for content generation and also recharges for their cell phones for the use of mobile data.

The winners will also be interviewed throughout the following week by Alex Otaola on their show.

The contest seeks to open new channels of expression and opinion to new generations and to the voices of young people living in Cuba so that they can freely express and share their ideas, share their experiences and promote social change.

In the last year, and after web browsing service for mobilephones came to Cuba, the number and reach of influencers who publish content from the Island has been enhanced. With topics ranging from soccer, to daily life and even fashion, these young people publish fresh, creative and original content that is frequently distant from political issues.

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