The days leading up to New Year’s Day have traditionally been, for me, a period of self-reflection.  As you can imagine, Mi Estilo figures prominently in this.  After all, in March, the magazine will celebrate three years, which is hard to believe.  Trust me, when I say that, the time has really flown.

In addition to seeing great things from one of our most popular writers, Rhonda Gutierrez, this year has seen us adding new personnel: Paola Bravo; Salvador Cid III and Karla Casab.  They have been welcome additions and have helped us to bring Mi Estilo to the next level.  Speaking of bringing it to the next level, keep your eyes opened for “Mi Estilo 2.0.”  If you like how it looks and feels now, you’ll dig it even more when we roll it out.

Mi Estilo has also been fortunate that we’ve become even more widely known by our Metro Detroit community.  Besides the fact that, on more and more occasions, I don’t even have to introduce the magazine because the people that I talk to say that they have heard of it.  This shows me that we are having increasing impact on the public.  A great example is the pulmonary fibrosis piece (You Can’t Take Them With You), which grew out of a comment to our writer, Rhonda Gutierrez regarding the issue.  I feel honored, when our readers feel comfortable enough to come to us and trust that we can bring a bigger voice to issues that are important to them.

While there have been successes, there have also been setbacks.  One that comes to mind is the recent defeat of the DREAM Act by Congress.  I was extremely disappointed by the actions of what I view as a cowardly Congress that didn’t think it was a serious enough issue to tackle.  While this has undermined my confidence in our politicians, it has reinforced my confidence in our ability to exercise our political rights to remove these people from office.  As we will have a new Congress, I am waiting to see what our politicians will do.

As Mi Estilo closes out 2010, I want to give my deepest thanks to our readers and supporters.  While this magazine began with the simple idea of providing a broad, progressive voice for Detroit area professional Latinos, we have grown into something bigger.  Thank you for reading.  Thank you for commenting.  Thank you for telling others about us.  Thank you for spreading the word. We would not be able to do what we do without you.  In 2011, Mi Estilo will keep working to produce the best online magazine possible and to keep maintaining the trust that you have granted us.  Thank you again. So now, let us see what 2011 will bring.

Author: José A. Rodríguez