Winner of 2012 “Destino: Latinoamerica” Video Contest
United Airlines today announced the winner of its “Destino: Latinoamerica” video contest for Hispanic college students, part of United’s support of the Adelante! U.S. Education Leadership Fund. Visitors to Adelante!’s Facebook page selected the winning video from among four finalists.
Geovanna Chavez, 18, of Brooklyn, N.Y., a freshman majoring in mechanical engineering at Polytechnic Institute of New York University, won first place with her video showcasing five reasons to visit Ecuador. She recorded the voiceover in the form of an original poem. Chavez’s video and those of the other finalists are posted on the Adelante! YouTube page at www.youtube.com/user/AdelanteFund.
“This video contest was special to me since it gave me an opportunity to showcase Ecuador, my family’s native country,” said Chavez. “It also allowed me to add a poetic perspective on this country I love so much.”
Participants were required to produce a short video highlighting five reasons to visit one of the 66 destinations in the 25 Latin American and Caribbean countries to which United flies. A panel of judges from United and Adelante! selected the four finalist videos from among the submissions, which were posted on Adelante!’s Facebook page for public voting.
Chavez won six tickets for travel to any United destination in the continental U.S., Mexico, Central America or the Caribbean. She plans to use her tickets to visit the Dominican Republic.
“This year’s ‘Destino’ participants not only demonstrated great passion for Latin America but also presented very compelling reasons to visit the countries they highlighted – Ecuador, Argentina, and Colombia – and they did so in very creative ways,” said Maria Cristina Osorio, United’s director of public relations for Latin America and the U.S. Latino market.
“The enthusiasm and support for the contest and for Adelante! on Facebook were great,” said Jay Zambrano, executive director, Adelante! “We’re gratified that so many young Latinos have an appreciation for the cultures, histories, and countries of Latin America.”
Other finalists were Nataly Cajamarca of Miami, a student at Florida International University, who produced a video on Colombia; Lawrence Barajas of Houston, a student at the University of Houston, whose video also focused on Colombia; and Rosalyn Jimenez of Las Vegas, a student at College of Southern Nevada, who featured Argentina.
United also is providing tickets for 16 Adelante! scholarship winners to attend the organization’s Leadership Institute in San Antonio in October. This is the fourth year that United has sponsored Adelante!