Category — Affiliates

By ADRIAN BARRERA
Cronkite News Service

GUATEMALA CITY _ Pricila kept trying to explain to her two young children where their father had gone.

He went to the United States to work, she would tell them. No, he wouldn’t be home today, and not tomorrow, either. But he would come home some day.

“I had to be strong in front of them … I had to swallow my own tears so the kids wouldn’t cry,” said Pricila, who didn’t want to give her last name because her husband is in the United States illegally.

The first 15 days were the worst _ 15 days during which she didn’t hear a word from Feliciano. And then the news wasn’t good. Feliciano had been caught trying to swim across the Rio Grande and was sent back across the border into Mexico.

It was a month before he finally made it into the United States, first finding his way to Houston, then to Los Angeles and a job.

For the next three years, Pricila and Feliciano would communicate only by telephone. Feliciano promised he would visit, but the trip was too dangerous, and both grew tired of waiting.

A few weeks before Pricila’s 33rd birthday last year, Feliciano told her that he had found a way for them to see each other again. She should go to a place called Amigo Latino and bring the children and the rest of the family, he told her. They would be able to talk and see each other over a large-screen TV.

Pricila said she didn’t really understand how this high-tech meeting would work, but she was willing to give it a try.

It turned out to be more than she could have hoped for. Seeing her husband again was a relief for her, but a revelation for Jeffrey, 9, and Merilin, 5, who was too young when he left to remember her father.

For them, the teleconference brought their father to life.

A few months later, when Feliciano arranged for a second video conference at Amigo Latino, this time on his 33rd birthday, Pricila eagerly agreed.

So on the morning of Oct. 20, Pricila, her children, and nine other relatives _ Feliciano’s mother and father-in-law, two sisters-in-law, four nieces and a nephew _ piled into a van and drove 20 minutes from their home in Guatemala City to the agency.

At Amigo Latino, they were ushered into a sparse meeting room and sat quietly before a 55-inch television screen, staring at their own reflections in the dark screen. [Read more →]

AmigoLatino a company that connects immigrants in the United States with their families in Latin America through affordable, face-to-face video conferencing technology, is excited to announce its partnership with Ultra Telecom to jointly expand the highly anticipated family video conferencing services in Mexico

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) April 11, 2008 — AmigoLatino a company that connects immigrants in the United States with their families in Latin America through affordable, face-to-face video conferencing technology, is excited to announce its partnership with Ultra Telecom to jointly expand the highly anticipated family video conferencing services in Mexico.

Amigo Live, AmigoLatino’s affordable video conferencing service that helps connect families and communities face-to-face and in real-time, is now available in Puebla and Aguascalientes, Mexico. Thanks to a partnership with Ultra Telecom, a leading Mexican media company with a team of visionary executives, the families of Puebla and Aguascalientes can now reconnect live via high-end video conferences, with their loved ones in the United States.

“We have a very strong commitment to our community, so we are very excited to be working with AmigoLatino to provide this valuable service to the thousands of families and community groups in Puebla and Aguascalientes that have relatives and contacts in the United States,” said Arturo Zorrilla, Vice President of Ultra Telecom who is in charge of overseeing the Amigo Live project.

“Through our initiative to democratize access to affordable business-quality video conferencing services to under served markets, thousands of families have been able to enjoy the live, visual presence of their distant loved ones. It is really the closest thing to being there with them,” said Gabriel Biguria, Founder and CEO of AmigoLatino. “We are extremely excited about our partnership with Ultra Telecom, a leading Mexican company with global aspirations that shares our vision and passion to better serve our communities and countries through the democratization of technology.”

[Read more →]

AmigoLatino, a company that connects immigrants in the United States with their families in Latin America through affordable, face-to-face video conferencing technology, is excited to announce its New Affiliate Recruitment Program.

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) April 2, 2008 — AmigoLatino a company that connects immigrants in the United States with their families in Latin America through affordable, face-to-face video conferencing technology, is excited to announce its New Affiliate Recruitment Program.

AmigoLatino’s innovative video conferencing service, dubbed “Amigo Live”, has already reconnected thousands of families and it is available through out key cities in the United States and Latin America, thanks to a network of company owned and equally minded and passionate affiliates.

Democratization through Massification

“Through our initiative to democratize access to affordable business-quality video conferencing services to under served markets, thousands of families have been able to enjoy the live, visual presence of their distant loved ones. It is really the closest thing to being there with them.” said Gabriel Biguria, Founder and CEO of AmigoLatino.

“However, we know that we are just touching the tip of the iceberg in terms of the overall market need, and we are know embarking on an aggressive initiative to drive democratization through massification. Therefore, we are now looking for a select group of passionate, successful and equally minded companies and organizations, to help complement our efforts by becoming part of our Amigo Live affiliate network.”

“The promise of videoconferencing technology impacting the way society interacts has been around for decades. I believe that AmigoLatino is on the right track to make that a reality for the under served markets around the world”, said Elliot Gold, President of TeleSpan Publishing, an Altadena, Calif., leading consultancy in the teleconferencing space.

Looking for new great Amigo Live Affiliates

To continue expanding the reach and benefits that our Amigo Live service provides to many families and communities, we are looking for a select group of passionate affiliate partners.

Who we are looking for:
• Affiliates based in the United States
• Established businesses & organizations with proven successful operations
• Currently serving the Hispanic market with an established customer base
• A shared vision to benefit others by democratizing technology
• An interest in providing family video conferencing services from your location(s) to the main cities in Latin America (potential to add other regions later)

What we offer:
• Join a passionate team of individuals & organizations driving positive change on peoples lives around the world!
• An innovative service, generating unique emotions, loyalty & word of mouth recommendations from your customer base
• Incremental revenue sources to your organization
• Access to an established network of company owned and affiliate offices in the main cities in Latin America and the United States (soon in other regions)
• Assistance with sourcing, set-up and operation of the video conferencing services at your location
• Opportunity to help connect many families, friends and communities with distant ties

Next Steps:
If you are interested in being considered for our Affiliate program, please submit your information through our New Affiliates section at http://amigoblogs.com/affiliates

About AmigoLatino
AmigoLatino was launched by a passionate team of entrepreneurs with the goal of helping to democratize access to innovative channels that enhance cross-border communications and e-commerce initiatives in under-served markets. Our main channel, “AMIGO LIVE”, leverages business quality video conferencing to help reunite distant families, community groups and organizations, in real-time and at a low cost, between the US and Latin America. Another channel, “AMIGO COMPRAS”, provides families with new and efficient alternatives to the traditional cash remittance transfers, while allowing for control towards the final utilization of the funds. Very soon we will be expanding the depth and breadth of our services to the rest of the world! For more information visit www.amigolatino.com or call: (213) 380-4761