Life & Work with Alexia Gonzalez

Today we’d like to introduce you to Alexia Gonzalez.

Hi Alexia, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
As far as I can remember, I’ve carried a deep passion for creativity and the arts, having started acting, singing, and writing at a young age. Musical theater led me to act in English and Spanish, along with entertainment reporting and host work early on. My experiences on-camera eventually shifted to music, when I was able to work with Sony Records to create a Spanish-language pop single titled “Cartas De Amor,” which launched into a Billboard ranking pop song, featured on the soundtrack for the television series, Gabriel. After spending years focusing on music and television, I put the performance on hold to pursue studies at Florida State University.

During this time, I was able to teach public speaking in order to pay my way through my master’s degree in multicultural marketing and digital studies, also leading the Multicultural Marketing Association for undergrad and graduate students. While academically immersed in all things media and digital studies, I would spend my time off traveling and writing about my experiences, having articles published in outlets including USA Today, Huffington Post, and Haute Living. Upon graduating, I merged my skill in media studies with my love for travel and kicked-off a career in public relations and marketing. My career in hospitality, public relations and marketing has allowed me to nurture my love for food and travel in an entirely new way. I’ve been able to merge the two, exploring the world from a unique vantage point, discovering new destinations and serving as an international tour guide for key industry leaders. I’ve had the opportunity to work with major lifestyle, hotel and travel brands, ranging from Hard Rock International to Norwegian Cruise Line, having supported international hotel openings, brand events, launches, hotel branding strategies and digital development, multi-million dollar advertiser campaigns (most recently Hard Rock International’s Super Bowl commercial last year, starring J.LO), media choreography, influencer campaigns and brand partnerships, to name a few and have had the opportunity to create strategic and impactful communications plans and activations. Working as a dynamic marketing professional, I eventually made my way back on-screen as a brand spokesperson, representing clients on television and syndicated radio, reigniting my love for content creation and host work outside of my full-time job. Working remotely for an integrated agency, I previously lived in Miami and had the chance to relocate to the coastal quaintness of St. Petersburg.

Since then, I’ve experienced so much growth a creator. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to expand my digital platforms, nurturing my blog The GALA Life, contributing as a writer for St. Petersburg Foodies and appearing as a guest-host on the Home Shopping Network (HSN). I’m thankful to continue to grow as an on-air spokesperson and digital marketing professional, while exploring this incredible city that I love so much. I’ve been inspired by the eccentricity of St. Pete since moving here, using the local landscape and art as a roadmap for creating standout content in this region. Tampa Bay is a unique setting with so many distinct personalities allowing for so much inspiration, but also the need to think strategically in order to really engage folks as a local creator.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It’s been a difficult process to launch my own brand outside of my very hectic and busy full-time work schedule. With salary cuts resulting from the pandemic, I’ve been able to remain employed full-time through it all but have certainly struggled financially to nurture my passions and creative pursuits. I’m starting to reap the financial rewards of my hard work, but it definitely requires lots of patience and time management.

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My career path has taught me so much about branding, sales, thinking strategically and effectively connecting with audiences — I’m now able to apply my loves of production and content creation with my experience in digital marketing to help brands authentically tell their stories while strategically connecting them to target audiences to drive awareness and revenue. A lover of literature and writing, I like to consider myself a storyteller, as I seek to find the connection, nuance and symbolism at the core of every initiative that I work on. As a zealous foodie, traveler, and explorer, I have a huge appetite for food and travel, with a keen eye for flair and a curious palate for life. Born and raised in Miami, Florida to parents from Cuba and Spain, I’ve always craved new cultures and adventures. Living in Tampa Bay now, I feel as though this is my greatest adventure yet and an opportunity for me to continue telling engaging stories from a newly refreshed lens — one inspired by the art, culture, vivacity and life that I’ve encountered since becoming a Tampa Bay local, to entertain, inform and hopefully, inspire some kind of new spark in others!

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs, or other resources you think our readers should check out?
I actually find so many wonderful resources on Pinterest, but I love listening to NPR, Gary Vaynerchuk, and “Just B,” which is Bethenny Frankel’s new podcast on success and motivation. I also have a guilty pleasure for true crime podcasts such as “Crime Junkies” and “Morbid” as well as anything Bravo TV-related.

Contact Info:

• Email: gala@alexiagonzalez.com
• Website: www.alexiagonzalez.com
• Instagram: @thegalalife
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheGALALife
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4H1-cYaKn549-fekmUAkoQ