Today we’d like to introduce you to Gustavo Martinez.
Hi Gustavo , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
My story is really a story of starting over.
I was born and raised in Venezuela, where I earned my degree in Advertising and Public Relations and spent many years working in sales, marketing, and brand development. In 2016, I moved to the United States with my wife and our two children. Like many immigrants, I arrived with professional experience, dreams, and a willingness to work hard—but I also had to rebuild my career almost from the beginning.
My first years in Texas took me far outside the communications world. I worked in construction and telecommunications, including physically demanding jobs in the field. Those experiences gave me a much deeper understanding of the immigrant experience in Central Texas. I met hardworking people who were building lives here while often facing language barriers and struggling to find reliable information about what was happening in their own communities.
Eventually, I found my way back to what I had always been passionate about: communication, marketing, and connecting people through information.
In 2020, I founded HispanosATX. What started as a digital platform to provide useful information in Spanish to Austin’s Hispanic community gradually became something much bigger. We began covering local news, community issues, sports, culture, entertainment, businesses, and events, always with the goal of helping Spanish-speaking residents better understand and connect with the city they call home.
Building HispanosATX has opened doors I never imagined when I first arrived in Texas. We have grown into a significant Spanish-language digital community in Central Texas and have had the opportunity to cover major events ranging from Austin FC and Formula 1 to SXSW, ACL Festival, international soccer tournaments, and many of the stories that directly affect Hispanic families across our region.
But for me, the most meaningful part is not an accreditation, an event, or a number of followers. It is when someone tells us that they discovered a job opportunity, attended an event with their family, learned about an important change in the city, found a local business, or simply felt more connected to Austin because of something we shared.
Today, I continue to work at the intersection of content, marketing, and community. I help brands tell their stories and connect authentically with Hispanic audiences while continuing to develop HispanosATX as a trusted source of Spanish-language information.
When I look back, the path was definitely not linear. I went from building a professional career in Venezuela, to starting over as an immigrant, working in construction and telecommunications, and eventually building my own media platform in Austin.
Every stage taught me something. And in many ways, HispanosATX exists because of all of them.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It definitely hasn’t been a smooth road.
Starting over in a new country was probably the biggest challenge. When I arrived in the United States, the professional experience and career I had built in Venezuela didn’t automatically translate into the same opportunities here. I had a family to support, so there wasn’t much time to wait for the “perfect” opportunity. I had to work, adapt, and learn.
That meant taking jobs outside my professional background, including construction and telecommunications. I went from working in marketing and sales to physically demanding jobs in the field. It was a major adjustment, but it also taught me humility, resilience, and gave me firsthand experience of what many immigrants go through when rebuilding their lives in the United States.
Starting HispanosATX brought a completely different set of challenges. I didn’t begin with a large investment, a newsroom, or a big team. Much of the work had to be done with limited resources: creating content, covering events, building relationships, learning new technologies, developing a business model, and earning the trust of both the community and local organizations.
One of the biggest challenges has been proving that Spanish-language audiences deserve the same level of access, quality information, and representation as any other audience. Building credibility takes time. You have to show up consistently, verify information, build relationships, and demonstrate that your community is worth investing in.
There have also been plenty of moments of uncertainty. Running an independent media platform means constantly adapting to changes in social media, technology, audience behavior, and the business side of content creation.
But those challenges have shaped the way I approach what we do today. I learned that you don’t always need to have everything figured out before you start. Sometimes you build with what you have, learn along the way, and keep moving forward.
For me, the difficult parts of the journey are not separate from the success of HispanosATX are part of the reason it exists.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
My work is centered on communication, content, and community.
I’m the founder and editor of HispanosATX, a Spanish-language digital media platform focused on helping the Hispanic community in Central Texas stay informed and connected. We cover local news, sports, events, culture, business, and issues that directly affect our community.
My background is in advertising, marketing, and sales, so I also work with local businesses and organizations to help them communicate more effectively with Hispanic audiences. I believe there is a big difference between simply translating a message into Spanish and actually understanding the community you are trying to reach.
What I’m most proud of is the trust we’ve built. HispanosATX started as a small digital project and has grown into a community of more than 131,000 followers, reaching millions of people through our content. We’ve also had the opportunity to cover major events such as Austin FC, Formula 1, SXSW, ACL Festival, and international soccer tournaments as a FIFA World cup.
But what sets us apart is that we are part of the community we serve. We live here, we listen to people, and we understand many of their experiences because we have lived them too.
For me, that connection is more valuable than any number on social media.
What were you like growing up?
Growing up in Venezuela, I was always curious and very interested in communication, sports, advertising, and the way media could connect people. I enjoyed understanding why certain stories captured people’s attention and how brands and media could become part of everyday culture. That curiosity eventually led me to study Advertising and Public Relations.
I’ve also always been someone who likes challenges. If I don’t know how to do something, my instinct is usually to learn, figure it out, and find a way forward. Looking back, I think that personality has played a big role in everything I’ve built in the United States.
Sports were also a big part of my life growing up, so being able to cover major sporting events today feels very personal. One of the moments I’m most proud of was earning FIFA media accreditation to cover the 2026 FIFA World Cup. HispanosATX was the only Hispanic media outlet from Austin to achieve that accreditation, which was a huge milestone for a platform that started from scratch.
For me, that moment represented much more than covering a World Cup. It was proof of how far an idea, persistence, and years of consistent work can take you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.hispanosatx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hispanosatx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HispanosAtx
