Francisco Camara-Riess

was born in Merida, Mexico, where he earned a BA in Social Communications. He was in his second year of college when he landed his first job in a newsroom, translating The Associated Press stories for a local newspaper.

“I did not get the job because I was a Social Communications student,” says Camara-Riess. “I got it because, when I was a teenager, I was fortunate enough to spend several summers learning English at Camp Thunderbird, near Charlotte, North Carolina.”

After graduating, he moved to nearby Cancun, a tourist destination where he could apply his language skills better. That promise was proven true when he was hired as an editor for the first locally produced  edition of The Miami Herald International Edition.

“I was only 27 years old when I found myself discussing news topics with seasoned American journalists during my trips to Miami.” says Camara-Riess. “That experience changed my expectations. I saw myself making a difference in America.”

The opportunity to make a difference arrived in the summer of 2000, when he was asked to develop the editorial department of Que Pasa, a small weekly Spanish-language newspaper serving the emerging Hispanic community of North Carolina’s Piedmont Triad region.

“I found myself with the opportunity to come back to North Carolina and help a community in need of news and education,” says Camara-Riess. “It was a win-win situation.”

During his seven-year tenure with the company, Que Pasa  grew from a single edition with a circulation of 12,000 to three editions that cover virtually all of North Carolina with a circulation of 85,000. He also developed the news department of Que Pasa’s six radio stations.

“If during all those years of hard work I helped one single reader to improve his or her quality of life, then I have accomplished a lot,” says Camara-Riess.

Francisco shares life with his wife Liliana, who is also his best friend and business partner at SpanishSpeaking. They also share the happiness and responsibility of watching Patricio, their ten-year-old son, grow up between Mexico and Winston-Salem as a happy, bilingual, and bicultural young man.