BEST NON-MEXICAN MEXICAN AWARD
This category awards outstanding citizens of the world that promote, support, and contribute to the growth and development of Mexico and Mexicans. With their talent, actions, and selfless contributions these individuals have demonstrated that they do not have to be born in Mexico to be considered Mexicans at heart.
PAOLA MURILLO
Originally from Colombia, Paola immigrated to Canada in 2005 with a dream in mind: to merge her business expertise with her passion of helping her community in achieving their goals in Canada, which led her to found Latincouver in 2008, a virtual “plaza” for Latinos to gather and connect with locals and other members of their community. She has a bachelor’s degree in marketing and Business from the University of Kentucky and a MBA in International Business from the Ecole de Management in Grenoble, France. Paola speaks fluently English, French and Spanish. In Latincouver, her foremost achievements include organizing the recognized festival of arts and culture “Carnaval del Sol”, which attracts over 100,000 people every year and the “Latin Inspirational Awards”, a biannual celebration for recognized or influential Latinos in British Columbia and the inauguration of Latincouver’s physical plaza, the Latin Innovation Hub, office spaces for Latin or Canadian entrepreneurs doing business in Latin America.
PAOLA VILLAGRA
Paola Villagra is the Vice-President & CEO of PVTAX, and the Founder & President of the Latin Women’s Business Society. It is through her career, education, and passion to help others that she has had the pleasure of helping numerous Mexicans ranging from the tax and living condition of agricultural workers to helping both Mexican clients and employees become Canadian citizens. Spreading knowledge, she has also done many free tax and business seminars in Spanish, and has been the guest speaker at events various times. Her society, LWB, helps female professionals through ways of female empowerment, educational and networking events, and assisting with better job opportunities to name a few.
Additionally, she supports and helps nonprofit organizations through sponsorships, collaborations, and/or free business and tax consulting. Some include the Mexican Business Association of Canada, Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre, Vamos A La Escuela Foundation, Red Global MX and Exatec Vancouver.
Lili Vieira de Carvalho
Brazilian-Canadian Lili Vieira de Carvalho is the founder and current Executive Director of the Vancouver Latin American Cultural Centre Society (VLACC). Since its inception she has been involved in all levels of the organization’s activities, from marketing and communications to fundraising efforts. She's also the spokesperson of the Consulate General of Brazil in Vancouver's Citizen Council. The mission of VLACC is to explore and share a deeper understanding of Latin American arts and culture, and has been supportive of Mexican artists, providing presentation opportunities, promotion, and arts management. Born in Brazil, Lili immigrated to Vancouver in 2008. On her fist year in Canada she collaborated as Art Researcher at Adbusters magazine. From June 2008 to April 2011, she worked at Diane Farris Gallery as Associate Director. There she had the opportunity to curate "Twitter: Art+Social Media", the first exhibition of its kind in Canada, among many other shows. Her background is in the art market, mainly as an art agent and producer. She organized numerous exhibitions and touring shows throughout Brazil. Primarily, Lili acted as artists' agent, dealing with galleries and private clients.