I’m working on that!  So sit tight…and sorry for not keeping up with this.

Thanks,

Linda Nieves-Powell

Synopsis

I realized that no matter how much I wanted the past to remain intact,
what was would never be again. We all got older. We all moved on.
And maybe things were supposed to change…

Funny, intelligent, and, above all, relevant, Free Style is an inspiring novel about two thirtysomething married moms — one who is separated and the other whose marriage is hanging on by a thread. They decide to escape their to-do lists to revisit their past at Club 90, a nightclub they frequented in the early nineties. There they meet up with old friends and lost loves and dance their troubles away to Lisa Lisa and C&C Music Factory. But when they’re hit with a shocking dose of reality, they must decide whether to stay in the past or move on.
More than just a fun read, Free Style explores serious issues that women grapple with all the time — keeping romantic relationships alive, dealing with unexpected illness, single motherhood, and the need to come to terms with the past.

Publishers Weekly

As the charmingly low-key first novel from writer producer Nieves-Powell (Yo Soy Latina!) opens, it’s been 10 years since Staten Islander Idalis married the macho but unambitious Manny, and three months since they loosely separated due to their inability to agree on plans for raising their six-year-old son. Idalis wonders whether the marriage can be saved (Manny’s looking elsewhere), and whether she’ll be working as a secretary at a Madison Avenue ad agency for the rest of her life because of subtle racism and the lack of a college degree. A dreamboat she meets on the Staten Island ferry may provide one answer, but a visit to her old Bronx stomping grounds with Selenis, a former homegirl who’s now a disappointed housewife and mother, may allow Idalis to put the past to bed and pursue a brighter future. Nieves-Powell crafts an unhurried, nonjudgmental everywoman’s tale. (Mar.)

Julio Rivera is a trendy 21-year-old Puerto Rican entrepreneur and one of Staten Island’s newest residents. He currently attends Gibbs, and is a web designer turned clothing designer.  Having launched a clothing line called Rebirth, a line of originally designed graphic Tees this summer, Julio gives us insight into the retail-clothing world and the process of his success so far.   Julio an original New Jersey native recently moved to Staten Island less than six months ago in order to have easier access to the city. He has done a lot independent film and web maintenance freelance work for companies such as Converse, MTV, and other private organizations.

StatenIslandlatino.com:
How did the idea to start a clothing line come to be?

Julio Rivera:
I wasn’t working at the time and was bored so I  began working on an online magazine with mainly art images.  I wanted to make it bigger, and create something that people could really see.

StatenIslandlatino.com:
What is Rebirth?

Julio Rivera:
Rebirth is a clothing line of unique graphic tees which are available online.  It took me only three days to design the website for it.  We do plan on expanding the line, and are currently working on investors for expansion.

StatenIslandlatino.com:
Who is the Rebirth Team?

Julio Rivera:    Well the marketing team is made up of Jordan who is the account manage of the website, Alfonso who handles marketing, and Fred who handles marketing and press.  Then there is me and I, am the creative and design aspect of the company.

StatenIslandlatino.com:
How did you start the line?

Julio Rivera:
My partners and I began contracting designers to market their designs on our sites in exchange for a cut in on the sales.  Shortly after we started doing that I began designing the tee shirts, and we began marketing and searching for investors.

StatenIslandlatino.com:
What is different about your clothing line?
Julio Rivera:    Rebirth is essentially an urban skate line but with a twist. Unlike most urban skate lines, Rebirth is full of color and is more vibrant in comparison to most skate gear that is already out.  Rebirth is meant to appeal to all.  Our mission is to design and produce what people want.

StatenIslandlatino.com:
What is the hottest item that Rebirth has out right now?

Julio Rivera:
I would have to say the Heart and Lock logo T.  That is probably our most popular item right now.  But we have more designs to come.

StatenIslandlatino.com:
How hard is it to design?

Julio Rivera:
IT isn’t real hard for me to design, I pretty much just design anything that I feel I can turn into art.  It doesn’t take me more than twenty minutes to design anything on the computer.

StatenIslandlatino.com:
Do you have any plans for expansion?

Julio Rivera:
Yes.  In the future we plan on opening a show room in the city.  We also plan on opening small boutiques in New York and California.

StatenIslandlatino.com:
How has the line been received thus far?  Is the feedback positive?

Julio Rivera:
So far it has been well received.  Thanks to marketing and myspace we are growing quickly, which will definitely help us in expanding.

StatenIslandlatino.com:
What are your expectations of all of this?

Julio Rivera:
To know that I created something.  Seeing my vision come to be from beginning to end.  Watching my creation from nothing to everyone wearing it.

StatenIslandlatino.com:
What (if anything) else are you working on?

Julio Rivera:    Well right now we are working on more designs, marketing, investments, and we are in search of a female designer.  Mainly because we cant design female clothing, but we want to have female merchandise available.

For more information on Julio Rivera and Rebirth Clothing Line check out:
www.mydesign7.com  www.rebirth.com  www.underworldmagazine.com

BY MARUXA RELAÑO | maruxa.relano@newsday.com

August 13, 2007

The county of salsa has consolidated its credentials as the borough where a majority of the population is Latino, but more and more Hispanics are finding their slice of suburbia a ferry ride away, on Staten Island, according to a study of Census data released yesterday.

The fastest-growing county since 1990, Staten Island is also the only one of New York’s five boroughs where in 2006 the Latino population increased at a pace – 3.5 percent – that mirrors the national rate.

The Bronx continued to have the most Latinos (712,866, or 51.2 percent of the borough’s population), followed by Queens (607,935 or 26.4 percent of residents), the study showed. Athough Staten Island still has the smallest Hispanic population – 73,000 out of a total of 459,000 – the study found that, between 2000 and 2006, Latinos increased their presence among the mostly white population by 32.7 percent.

“It’s really dramatic,” said Angelo Falcón, president of the National Institute for Latino Policy, a nonprofit think tank based in Manhattan that based the study on Census data released last week.

“I think it’s mostly people moving from the city to a more suburban type area, and finally buying a house there,” he said.

Linda Nieves-Powell, president of Latino Flavored Productions, a theater production company in Staten Island, said that things have changed a lot since her family moved to the area in 1976. “I’ve noticed a big increase in Mexicans, but I also see more Dominican and Puerto Rican presence.”

She said seeing more Hispanics on Staten Island prompted her to set up a Web site, statenislandlatino.com, to establish “an outlet for us.”

Other boroughs with a more traditional and substantial Latino base, however, saw only a slight Hispanic population increase in 2006 – .6 percent in the Bronx and .3 percent in Queens.

Latino population continued a slow decline in Manhattan (1.2 percent) and in Brooklyn (.5 percent), which Falcón and others have attributed to a trickling exodus to the suburbs in Long Island, New Jersey and other parts of the country.

“The Latino community in New York appears to be shifting from those boroughs with the older Latino presence to Staten Island and Queens, which have the newer Latino population,” said Falcón.

more articles in /services/newspaper/printedition/monday/news

Copyright © 2007, Newsday Inc.

I have a wonderful opportunity for those of you who want to be a part of an inspiring project.  I am producing my show YO SOY LATINA! at the Center of Performing Arts at the College of Staten Island on Sept. 15th at 8pm for Latino Heritage Month. Since I’m producing this show alone I am offering a few very inexpensive sponsorship opportunities at this show. if you’re looking to spread the word on your products, books, or yourself here is a link to more information: YO SOY LATINA! Sponsorship Packages

Linda Nieves-Powell
President
Latino Flavored Productions Inc.
648 Bay Street #301
Staten Island, NY 10304
718-720-7979