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Latin Power in Joomla! World Conference 2014

Latin Power in Joomla! World Conference 2014

You may have heard that Latinos like to party. And we recently had the chance to prove it during Joomla! World Conference Cancun 2014. As a Latin American I felt very proud knowing that a worldwide Joomla! event was about to be hosted in our region, and well… let’s just say us Latinos did our best to enjoy it.

Spanish track

Around 100 Spanish speakers met at Grand Oasis Cancun Hotel, exceeding the JWC Committee’s expected level of attendance, to talk about what we love most: Joomla!

Given the occasion, for the first time we had the opportunity to enjoy our own Spanish sessions track, where we talked about business, design, template creation, and site integration, while we could also attend the great sessions that were given in English, on similar topics.

Student participation

One of the highlights of this JWC was the participation of the students of Universidad Riviera from Playa del Carmen who assisted as special guests and attended the whole event, some of them being introduced to Joomla for the first time, and some others learning more about it. Gema Carrillo, the teacher in charge and who is also a Joomla! site integrator and enthusiast for the last four years, expressed their gratitude and happiness:

For our students, JWC14 was an open window to the real world. After their participation, they were amazed and highly inspired by the union of the community members.

From the beginning, enthusiasm was the common feeling between the students, and from the very first day of the conference we could hear them talking about the spirit of collaboration between the community members.

Our students were able to witness how the Joomla community grows and strengthens thanks to every single member. Proof of that was the news that was given to us when we arrived the second day: a number of members of the Latin American community had organized themselves, in order to offer us an special track just for the students. This filled us with a high sense of ownership. We valued every one of the speaks and the support of the volunteer speakers. This initiative granted us a better understanding of every other topic and broadened our vision about the event and what it was really meaning to us.

One thing that is very clear to us now is the meaning of “All Together”, which is something the Joomla community lives in every single step given, and that’s why we intend to benefit from the positive and inclusive attitude towards our students.

We want to express our gratitude to JWC14, and we promise to profit from everything we learned from the speakers and the other participants, as well as the sponsors.

We also intend on staying in the Joomla Community now, so we can share the knowledge with the other students or our university, and also strengthen the relation with the members of the Latin American Community.

The power of the community

Without a doubt, seeing the participation of young students was something refreshing for the international Joomla community. Specially, we would like to thank our regional community and the JWC Committee, who after noticing that many of the students were meeting Joomla for the first time improvised a whole track of introductory topics. Special thanks to the initiative of Alejandro Pascoli and Francisco Caivano from Argentina, Leo Soto from Chile and Luciano Martínez and Diego Medina from México; their vast experience in Joomla gave the students a quick start into our beloved tool. This is Joomla, and for all this, these students considered themselves truly Joomlers at the end of the event.

In Conclusion

So, do you question we Latinos like to party? We believe we have just confirmed it! We managed to learn, share, make new acquaintances and friends, meet old friends, learn slang from all over Latin America – even when we were often stumbling with words with funny meanings in other countries – all the while living this Joomla party in our own region.

Big thanks, Joomla! World Conference 2014! Our Latin American community is more alive than ever, and we’re eager to increase our participation and promotion, making a better and bigger Joomla!


Finally I want to express my personal grattitude to the JWC14 Committee, for allowing me to be the link between the event and the Latin American community, and a big thanks to Carlos Olivares, from Joomla! User Group Mexico City, who was vital for the participation of Universidad Riviera, and who also contributed to this article.

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