Catalina Magazine ‘Empowering Latina Tour 2003’.

Catalina magazine announced the launch of its Empowering Latinas Tour 2003, which will visit six major cities across the country (Chicago, Miami, New York, Los Angeles, San Antonio, and San Diego).

The tour aims to educate, inform, and entertain its attendees with its half-day “mind, body, and soul” seminar. Topics include: Smart Financing, Navigating Your Career, A Woman’s Body, Enterprising Women, and Balancing Work and Family.

“As Latinas, we saw the need for a national tour catered specifically to us – working Latinas who try to achieve and maintain healthy lives, from work to home. And that’s what we’ve created,” says Catalina editor-in-chief Monica Aguilera Hincken. “Our attendees will learn, have fun, and network with peers.”

Notable Latina celebrities, authors, and leaders joining the tour include TV Journalist Giselle Fernandez, Actress Tessie Santiago, Authors Julia Bencomo Lobaco and Yasmin Davidds, and U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin. In addition to yearlong advertisements in Catalina, tour promotion also includes local print and radio campaigns. The tour’s first stop: Los Angeles, Calif. in January 2003.

The launch of the tour comes on the heels of Catalina’s first annual “Groundbreaking Latina” Hispanic Heritage Month event, which drew a crowd of more than 600. Actor Cheech Marin and Actress Elizabeth Pena emceed the event. Attendees included U.S. Treasurer Rosario Marin; Congresswomen Loretta Sanchez, Hilda Solis, Grace Napolitano, and Lucille Roybal-Allard; SBA Administrator Hector Barreto; Screenwriter and Director Gregory Nava; DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe; Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vazquez; and NCLR’s Raul Yzaguirre. Event sponsors included Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Geico, GMAC, Lockheed Martin, Starwood Hotels, US Airways, and Western Union.