The Journey I Never Saw Coming

"Sylvia. You have two options. Either you publish a video to your Instagram by 6 pm today, or you donate $15 to the Donald Trump reelection campaign." 

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By 5:55 pm, I had posted two videos. It was March 23rd, 2018, a date I'll never forget.

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I look like a deer in headlights in those videos. You can see me nervously glancing at my notes scribbled on a Post-it, trying to stay on topic for a one-minute Instagram video. Those cringeworthy videos are now some of my favorites because they perfectly illustrate the importance of a growth mindset. Progress isn't a smooth upward line; it's a rollercoaster full of firsts.

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Let me take you back to the beginning, to the first of all these firsts: my first protest.

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On January 21st, 2017, I attended the Women's March in Portland. "March" is generous. There were so many people we could barely move. I was alone in the pouring rain, having left my baby with a sitter to join others who felt as strongly as I did about the new Trump administration.

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Watching coverage of marches worldwide afterward, something struck me: Where were my fellow Latinos? Where were the organizations speaking to Latino communities about what was happening?

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I found only two: Voto Latino and Mi Familia Vota, both focused on voter registration and family services. But there was a glaring gap I couldn't ignore: accessible information. Where were the Latinos talking to Latinos about current events and their impact on our communities?

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My father's generation sat down at 5:00 pm to watch Jorge Ramos on Univisión. But younger generations consuming information on demand through social media weren't being reached. Where was the outreach on Facebook or WhatsApp?

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I decided to help fill this gap. Here comes another first.

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Inspired by a daily newsletter I subscribed to, I started writing a Spanish newsletter summarizing current events, including major news from Latin America and beyond.

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What was I thinking?

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I didn't grow up in the United States. I couldn't explain gerrymandering or the filibuster. I studied computer engineering, not political science, journalism, or communications.

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But maybe my naivety helped. My engineering background taught me to break down complex topics for others to understand. If I could explain to my mother why upgrading her wireless router was worthwhile, I figured I could tackle the electoral college.

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The newsletter evolved into videos after that March 2018 ultimatum. Initially creating content exclusively in Spanish, a mentor encouraged me to also create English content to reach first-generation Latinos who were more likely to engage on social media in English.

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This proved strategically smart for another reason I hadn't considered: According to the Pew Research Center, U.S.-born Latinos overwhelmingly prefer news in English, and only about half of immigrant Latinos prefer Spanish. Plus, immigrants are declining as a share of all U.S. Hispanics.

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As a one-woman operation, creating English content became my best strategy to reach and educate Latinos who are likely or potential voters.

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More than eight years later, I sometimes pause to reflect on this journey. I have vague memories of watching The Daily Show, laughing at Jon Stewart's jokes about Obama's tan suit, treating politics like entertainment. I was the Jon Snow of politics: I knew nothing. Now, I've become someone who can break down complex policy for thousands of people.

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Eight years of perseverance through ups and downs, through countless moments of wanting to quit because I thought I wasn't making a difference, led to some of the most exciting firsts of my life. Things that wouldn't have made my bucket list because my imagination wasn't that ambitious.

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I was invited to the White House.

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Me. The immigrant who didn't grow up here and had to teach herself everything about U.S. politics was invited to meet with senior government officials before the State of the Union.

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Never would I have imagined that an idea born from anger and frustration after the 2016 election would lead to this.

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Is it hard? Incredibly. It's heartbreaking, infuriating, stressful, and sometimes extremely lonely. But above all else, it's some of the most meaningful work I've ever done.

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Sylvia Salazar is the founder of Tono Latino, a digital platform that makes politics easier to understand and helps increase Latino voter turnout. A computer engineer turned content creator, she uses video and storytelling to break down complex issues and show people how to take action. Her Substack newsletter, Latino Lens, offers political insight through a Latino perspective—sharing stories, context, and lived experiences that often go unseen or unheard in mainstream conversations. Sylvia’s work has empowered thousands to feel more informed, more confident, and more ready to get involved. Follow Tono Latino at https://www.instagram.com/tono.latino/ https://www.tonolatino.com/