I’m César Vargas, a Dominican-American writer, producer, and strategist; founder of azul.; and founder and editor-in-chief of LUCIR.
For more than fifteen years, I’ve worked across writing, film, campaigns, and community. My writing has appeared in NBC Latino, HuffPost, Okayplayer, OkayAfrica, Latino Rebels, Fox News Latino, Latino Magazine, The Hill, cesarvargas365.com, and many others, and in The Bedford Guide for College Writers, taught in college classrooms across the country. My essay, “How First- and Second-Generation Hispanics Can Help Each Other,” appears in the 11th edition, Chapter 7, “Comparing and Contrasting,” beginning on page 107. The New Yorker has cited my work. I’m also a 2023 Ricardo Salinas Scholar at the Aspen Institute; two of my film projects won the FUSION/NHFA scholarship challenge. I wrote, directed, and edited Barrio Chino.
At NAHREP, I work with Gary Acosta and the team on The Latino Brand, from strategy and storytelling to production, editing, and social content. My career also includes work with Being Latino and Catie Waters; campaigns for AARP, McDonald’s, and Tajín; and launch strategy and editorial work for Hispanic Wealth Project’s Wealth Stream News, among others.
Across that body of work, I’ve helped build audiences in the hundreds of thousands, with projects generating tens of millions of views, hundreds of thousands of shares, and billions of impressions. Those results belong to different projects, different chapters, and the people who helped make them possible. The work in this carousel is a handful of examples from that larger, ongoing career. I’m grateful for the response and for everyone who helps bring it to life.
Through azul., I bring that experience to artists, executives, businesses, and organizations, helping them shape their message and produce work that reaches people.
And now, LUCIR. In Spanish, lucir can mean to shine, to stand out, to look good, or to show off. And why shouldn’t we? Our people, our work, and our stories deserve to be seen in full. For us, LUCIR means LATINO UNITY FOR CULTURE, INCLUSION & REPRESENTATION.
LUCIR builds on what we began as UPLIFTT, with our contributors’ stories restored and more voices to come. Film, television, and theater remain at our heart. Our lives also involve sports, healthcare, education, money, technology, and power. Our coverage belongs in those conversations, too.
Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian, white, mixed... a beautiful potpourri of everything in between. Latinidad deserves to be seen in full... spectrum, hues, and degrees.
40K+ combined follows across LUCIR’s Pages and my own public profiles. That includes Culture, Literature, and others. These audiences overlap, and YOU can also be part of that. Hit a brother up.
The reception to LUCIR’s return has meant so much to me. To everyone who has read, shared, contributed, or stayed through the different chapters: gracias. I’m proud of the work, grateful for the people behind it, and excited for what comes next through LUCIR and azul., juntos y quizás revueltos, too.
Want to contribute, collaborate, or partner with us? We’re open to it. Visit lucir.lat to read the work and connect with us.
We are just getting started. Síganme los buenos.
Los quiero mucho,
César Vargas
@cesarvargas365
