We had the good fortune of connecting with Gonzalo “El Niño” Torres and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gonzalo “El Niño”, how has your perspective on work-life balance evolved over time?
I am constantly checking myself when it comes to a work life balance. I am married and have two daughters. a 5 year old and a 2 year old and have just started my company. I want to give love and attention to all of these things. The trick is that you have to find a balance if you want to enjoy it all.

I love what I do and I very much enjoy working. It is very easy for me to dive into a project and get lost for hours, weeks, or months. This happens because I get enthralled and, unfortunately, because the way this industry is, clients and partners expect you to drop everything and do what is needed to deliver. One of the key aspects of how I work and what I value is making it clear to myself, coworkers, partners and clients that family and personal connections are just as important if not more.

Having two small children has shifted my entire balance but its given it more purpose and has taught me what to value.

I want to teach my children that discipline is a key to a successful healthy life. That you should hold close to you what is important and not take it for granted. I have to make an effort to detach myself from work after an intense week or day and to enjoy with my wife and kids. I want to help my kids with homework, play with them, get rid of an agenda and just go with the flow. This is imperative.

For me, the hardest one to keep balanced is making time for myself. I have recently begun to make time to nourish my friendships which in turn give me life, inspire me, my family and work! Still working on just getting to enjoy and to do activities on my own be it read, lay down, or go skateboarding after 6 years of “not being able to.”

Starting your business, and not having a roadmap takes a lot of time but I have to ask myself “who am I doing this for” and it always comes back to the balance.

I’d rather be present and enjoy as much as I can as I go through life than to postpone and plan for a future.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
I am a creative producer and editor. In the editing process I usually work on the development and story of my projects. I love working on projects that uplift personal stories that bring out cultural customs. Be it stomping from HBCU colleges, to horse training, to reggaeton artists and their cultural nuances. I am an empath that respects and understands different points of view—culturally, ideologically and in a creative process.

It is incredibly important to understand that what I am working on is a story that has roots in a true story, even if it’s a narrative that I am working on. The stories exist and it is because of them that we are driven to create.

I learn everything I can about the project. Why it got here, where it wants to go, and where it’s going. Once I understand that, I dive into it with what I can add and change. I believe it is our duty to represent them in the most authentic way.

I learned, the hard way, that no one owns an idea—once it’s out there it becomes it’s own entity and we are here to explore it and portray it the best way we can.

I have been studying film since I was 13. I went to Dodecá Escuela de Cine in Montevideo Uruguay on the weekends and to school on during the week. I’v always known that I wanted to be involved in it someway, or in every way possible!

I am currently working mainly as an editor. I fell unto this path because it was a natural process to edit and I didn’t really need to have a whole production to work but just my computer (I actually started by borrowing a friends computer. Thank you Erwin!) It’s been difficult to navigate the freelance work but if you stick to what you like and believe in, can collaborate with people and like doing so, have strong values, then, with time, it pays off. Unfortunately it’s true that you get hires by word of mouth. I’ve applied to a stupid amount of job listings and only heard back from one to tell me they’d put me down on a roster… that was two years ago.

I persisted, spoke my mind and when I didnt see any way forward, I made my way.

I was working for a company as a freelancer editing and writing videos for A list latino artists and found myself fighting to add the nuances that made latinos latinos. It was important to know and understand where each artist came from and to portray them in the best and most authentic way. Doing so I found that as an editor I can do creative, producing, development and depending on the project, I will feel the need to explore one or all.

That gig ended and I contacted some recruiting agencies, post-production houses, reached out to previous clients, and sent my resume to an obscene amount of job offers on on LinkedIN. This also happened at the beginning of 2020. It is safe to say that it didn’t go well—only one, a post-house, reached out letting me know that they’d keep me on file.

This, my inability to stay still, and the idea that if you look for something, you will find it, led me to open my business. I knew that I had found my niche and something that makes me incredibly proud to do, so I set up my company. A video and audio development and production company that helps navigate productions to portray cultures in authentic and respectful ways. We specialize in Latinx but have been working with a variety of different backgrounds—we are cultural crossover specialists. We are a team that do creative editing, work on development, creative producing and more! The roles aren’t as boxed in as you’d usually find because I don’t work that way so why should we adhere to those rules?

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Which city? I live in Uruguay, just moved from LA on January 27, 2021 and lived in and visit Miami!

In Uruguay, come down here sometime between November and March. Stay anywhere between La Barra and Jose Ignacio. Go to Deliss and ask Joaquin to show you around or send me an email and I’ll show you the town. But really, just go to the beach and the first place you see to eat. They’re all good. Also anywhere you go, I say, ask the servers where they go and ask people on the street. They’ll know.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Life is about friendships and the people you meet along the way!!! By far the most encouraging, guiding, and supportive person in this process has been and continues to be my wife, Samantha Dargis Torres. She sees every video, gives notes, helps me structure decisions, is a mentor, she does it all. I’d like to give a shoutout to David Ramos, he’s taught me how to navigate through so many hurdles and has has been outstanding to work with. Alonso Homs gave me the encouragement and support. I can’t wait to work worth him again. Jesse Burton has been a mentor through this process and working with him is always an immense learning opportunity. Erwin Georgi, is a man that sees no borders and cannot be placed in a box, he is always an inspiration. There are so many!

Website: towers.media

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/_el_ninio/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/torresgonzalo/

Other: https://vimeo.com/towersmedia

Image Credits
¡Viva Latino!

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