This story originally ran on Digital Trends Español — the Spanish-language version of the site you know and love.
Three years ago, Lele Pons posted her first Vine as a shy high schooler. Today, she’s a Vine superstar, and the first-ever recipient of Hispanicize’s Latinovator award, presented Tuesday at this year’s conference for content creators and tech entrepreneurs in Miami.
Pons, named by Time magazine as one of the 30 most influential people in the United States, told Yarel Ramos of NBC Telemundo about her stardom, her love for the Hispanic culture, and about her new book Surviving High School, which goes on sale nationwide this week.
Pons has more than 10 million followers on Vine, but made it clear that her reach goes beyond social media success. She aspires to be an actress and singer. In fact, she recently completed a film that Digital Trends Español will soon hear more about, so stay tuned. Pons undeniably continues to grow as an artist in the entertainment industry.
At the press conference, Pons was asked where her ideas come from. “It is basically everything that happens to me every day, my life experiences. All my ideas are relatable. They are things that happen naturally, every day, things that all people know and talk about,” said Pons.
Nineteen-year-old Pons is one of the most talented and influential young people on social media. With the support of her family, she has managed to overcome all kinds of challenges, especially as a teenager during her high-school years. Her book is an account of her journey through high school. “I went through all stages. I was bullied the first year, people threw food at me, they mocked me by singing songs about me and they told me that I was ugly. I was very shy and socially awkward,” Pons said.
Digital Trends Español asked Pons about her transition from Vine star to author. “Writing this book was like making a Vine, there is a beginning, a middle and an end,” Pons explained. “When you think of a Vine video, it’s like thinking about an experience you’ve had, which people can relate to. By writing this book, I had to look back at specific moments, then think about how I overcame that difficult time and finally how everything improved.”
As for being Latina, Pons is very clear, “it is important to know where you come from,” she says when asked about the importance of being true to her roots, “I am very proud to be a Latina, because that’s also something that makes me very unique.”
Pons just celebrated her third anniversary as a Vine star, and many things have positively changed in her life. In 2015, she received a personal invitation from First Lady Michelle Obama to visit the White House and assist her with her campaign “Better Make Room”, which Pons said was the best experience of her life.
We will hear much more about Pons’ endeavors in the coming months but for now her book “Surviving High School” is available nationwide.
