Carrie Ferguson Weir started vlogging for fun, sharing video cuentos of her familia and what it means to be Latino in the United States.
Now, those videos have caught the eyes of so many, and Carrie Ferguson Weir has been nominated for Best Latin@ Vlogger in the Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) awards.
Born in Miami to Cuban parents, Carrie is a former newspaper reporter who now lives in Nashville with her husband and young daughter. In addition to being a Mamiverse contributor, she’s also a freelance writer and publishes the popular Latin culture site, Tiki Tiki Blog, where readers can find everything from news and pop culture to recipes and design tips.
Included on the Tiki Tiki is a section just for videos. Many of them are of Carrie herself and her hilarious take on the Latino culture. Others are actual videos she shot of friends and family. She first started vlogging when the Tiki Tiki launched in 2009.
“I truly believe some stories about our culture only can be shared through cuentos on the video screen,” Carrie says. “Plus, there’s nothing like a fun, quick video to make you laugh and nod your head in ‘Ay, mama mia’ fashion.”
Many of the videos are inspired by stories of her own family members. Carrie’s first vlog centered around her tía, who insists that her Cuban mother invented cappuccino because she used warm, freshly expressed and frothy goat milk in her children’s café con leche.
And her favorite video so far is the one about her mother. “I enjoyed doing the video, ‘I Have a Latin Mother’ because, for me, it captures the spirit of what having a Latina mom is all about, and because my mother graciously allowed me to poke some fun at her while doing so.”
Carrie feels her vlogs are popular because she tries to express universal truths about growing up and “living Latino” in the United States. She also thinks it’s important to keep them short and funny.
She was flattered to find out she had been nominated for a LATISM award. “It is a delight and an honor to be recognized by your peers for doing something you love and have a passion for,” Carrie says. “It’s also a little mind-blowing because I am a writer by profession, and always, always stayed away from the camera. Goes to show you, you never know where life leads.”
Since not many other Latinos are actively vlogging, she hopes the nomination will help her to encourage others to give it a try. “I hope the nomination allows me to better urge Latinos to take up video and other forms of digital media, like podcasts and voice recordings on their sites, because telling a story in multiple formats is a blast.”
