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Music by Regis Victor.

I love the idea of publishing my own magazine – even if it isn’t read by anyone.  :)  Who knows, maybe I’ll bring some good content and, as the saying goes, “if you build it, they will come.”  A community based around my idea would be grand.

Every month, I will go around and collect inspiration based on the current theme.  For the month of June, I decided to go along with Summer and make it Outdoor’s Month.  The purpose of this magazine is to present you with experiences in the most immersive way possible.  I’ll bring you video and audio clips, heaps of images, and of course, some written word.

So, what does “outdoors” mean?  Part of being creative is drawing on past experiences and even though nothing beats actually living the experience, new media presents a wonderful solution to making these experiences more widespread.  So, to answer the question, “outdoors” can mean anything.  BBQing on a Sunday evening.  A family biking trip.  Sky diving.  Laying under the sun in the most comfortable hammock there is.  Making orange juice by hand from oranges off the tree in your back yard.  I really mean anything.

Now, I would love to experience everything that ends up on this blog myself, unfortunately, I don’t have an orange tree in my back yard.  On the other hand, that is the beauty of what I want to do here – you can at least draw some inspiration from the content you will find.

I want to sign off with a request, I want the content to spread to as many people as possible.  Share the posts, post them to Twitter and Facebook.  Email them to friends.  Comment on posts – give me your two cents.  I welcome and ask for your participation: creativity is humanity.

-Juan

Ironically, I didn’t always have this awe for my culture.  I used to hate my name and I hated where we lived even more. I explored the inner workings of Windows 3.X while the other kids played soccer in the streets. If you thought computers were bully magnets in the suburbs, imagine what the effect was on kids that grew up in lesser areas.

I spent my early childhood avoiding my culture so I could continue learning about electronics and computers with the least amount of backlash.  By the time I reached high school, I noticed that I didn’t care as much about who I was.  Instead, I paid more attention to what I did.  That trend continues even today.
I find art inspired by Mexican culture, like music, movies, and paintings, and I feel proud and happy to be part of something so rich and delightful.

But as creative’s, we pull most of our inspiration from our environment.  Although I learned that being different isn’t a bad thing, I also learned that being the similar is a good thing.

This isn’t just about who we are or where we came from – it is also about what we love and enjoy.  I am intrigued with Japanese and Irish cultures.  The warriors and the battles, the people and the cultures, it all fascinates me.  Even though I have learned that my culture is important, I still balance who I am and what I am inspired by.

As creative’s we draw inspiration from our environment, but every once and a while, it’s nice to be the inspiration for your own work.