OSCAR RUGIERO; 2023 Top Lideres Awards: SW Florida

​What is your Hispanic Heritage?   Oscar: Argentino

What area of Florida do you live in? Cape Coral

What is your profession? TV Producer

Tell us about what you do for a living and how you got into it
Oscar: I am a television producer. I specialized in this area in my native Argentina. When I arrived in the United States, I noticed that the Latin community had to make its achievements visible, form solid networks, share experiences, and acquire tools. That is why I worked intensely to give them their broadcast space and that is how the TV show Power Latino emerged.

Latin Times Magazine: In your industry, what would you say separates you from your competition
Oscar: Our differential is the incentive we generate in the community. We show how the referents we have close to us achieved their goals, how they prepared themselves to succeed. We see our audience holistically, we want them to progress in business, to have greater representation in politics, to be heard, to take care of their physical and emotional health, to give advice to overcome the barriers of being an immigrant. And we do it with quality, our multicultural team works with dedication to reach the highest standards of production, recording and editing.
 
Latin Times Magazine:  Why do you feel you were nominated
Oscar: I believe that the Hispanic community is going through a positive change and my nomination reflects that. We are growing, we are strengthened and we want to show our contributions to the country that welcomed us.
 
Latin Times Magazine:  During Covid-19, tell us about your Biggest Challenge/obstacle and how you overcame it/or are overcoming it
Oscar: It was very hard because I already had everything to emigrate and I had to postpone my plans. I tried to take advantage of that time to arrive more organized and focused.
 
Latin Times Magazine: Tell us about your biggest achievement, and how you achieved it
Oscar: My greatest achievement is being able to work in what I enjoy, having built a family business that I am proud of and providing a service. We transmit values of solidarity and integration. We are new but in a short time we have made a deep impression and are being recognized in southwest Florida.
 
Latin Times Magazine:  What is next for you? What can people expect to see from you?
Oscar: We want to take our Power Latino to a larger scale. We know that there are still many Hispanics who are invisible and we want to give them a voice. Bring the social role of the media to its maximum potential.
 
Latin Times Magazine:  What does being a U.S. Citizen mean to you?
Oscar: For me it means feeling accompanied, safe, being able to make plans for the future, knowing that there is no ceiling, enjoying a privileged environment and its people who open doors for us. And it also implies a responsibility to provide the best of myself to this country of opportunities.
 
Latin Times Magazine:  What is your opinion of the state of affairs in our nation? And what role do you see Hispanics/Latinos playing in the future of our nation.
Oscar: We are a key piece in the future of the country. We can't put ourselves in the second row. We are the most entrepreneurial group, we need to start perceiving ourselves as such. There are things to improve and work is being done on it: we need to streamline procedures, have bilingual offices and better access to credit.
 
Latin Times Magazine: What is the best lesson that you have learned in leadership and how has it helped your career?
Oscar: I learned that you can always be creative to find solutions, that flexibility is a plus. Our Latin DNA is ingenious. This ability to adapt to the change that I trained so much in Argentina gave me the energy to risk the unknown, the audacity to start in a new country and form a team that follows me in many of the crazy things that I propose. Luckily, not in all of them.
 
Latin Times Magazine:  Is there anything I didn’t ask that you would like to share?
Oscar: I want to take this opportunity to invite you all to follow us, share your stories, the difficulties you overcame and give your much-needed tips.
 
Latin Times Magazine:  What is YOUR comida Latina favorita?
Oscar:  Without a doubt my wife's empanadas. Also asado and because of my European heritage, pasta and pizza cannot be missing from my list of favorites.