She has over 20 pairs of puma sneakers, predominately pink of course, and Nas is on high rotation in her CD player. English is her first language, Spanglish is her second. As a child, she dreamed of becoming a fashion designer, but her early days as a street promoter for Def Jam Records led Melissa Giles to becoming an instrumental leader in the Urban Latino movement.
Growing up in Miami, Melissa was frustrated with the lack of events and activities that celebrated her diverse cultural background. Being of British and Venezuelan descent, she searched for something that blended her urban American upbringing with her sexy heritage.
Finding nothing that filled this void, Melissa decided to change things and made history by successfully launching Misto LES, a renowned all female marketing street team. But she didn’t stop there. Melissa recognized the need for more entertainment outlets that met the needs of Urban Lations*, so she founded Soulfrito Urban Latin Music Festival. In her position as director, she is intramental with bringing the annual music festival to the people of Miami. Along with her Soulfrito staff, Melissa also organizes monthly events in Miami, NY and LA that celebrate music, fashion, poetry and up and coming artists.
What inspired you to launch Misto LES?
I started working for street teams where it was all male. They would always ask me to bring girls and I noticed we got mad attention. A rep from Bad Boy in Miami would always say, “You’re the number one female street team.” And it stuck! From there, it grew and now we’ve developed Misto LES into a Marketing & PR Agency for the Urban Latino market. Our clients have included Baby Phat, JLo Sportswear, HBO, AOL Latino, Def Jam Records and Loud Records.
Where does the word Soulfrito come from?
Well I wanted something that represented the flava of our culture. Sofrito is a seasoning we (Latinos) add to our food and I personified it by renaming it SOULfrito. The flava of our soul!
What woman do you admire in hip-hop?
Queen Latifah. She is one of the few female rappers who has evolved and developed herself into a successful actress, mogul and businesswoman.
How has Hip-Hop influenced your life?
I love hip-hop. I grew up on it but I’m not gonna front and say I’m a true hip-hop head. But I love good quality music and I admire artists who are actually saying something like Nas, Talib Kweli and Kanye West. I also miss what hip-hop use to be. It has become too CRUNK now.
What’s your opinion of the future of Latin hip-hop (hip-hop beats with Spanish lyrics)?
I’m more concerned with Latinos making urban music in general not just latin hip-hop. I feel that Latinos have been apart of the whole urban movement since its birth and now with us being the number one minority group, the industry is finally staring to take recognition of our power.
That’s why I feel that reggaeton is getting the recognition that it is. Everyone is like, “What’s this reggaeton stuff?” What reggaeton has fortunately done is open the eyes to the urban and Latin music industries. By proving that there is a huge market with Latinos making mainstream urban music, whether it be hip-hop or R&B, and buying it.
Where do you see Soulfrito in 5 years?
Having successfully brought some culturally relevant substance to the youth across America and I expect to see Soulfrito as a leading brand in the national and international markets.
The Urban Latino movement is where hip-hop was 20 years ago, but growing twice as fast and Melissa Giles is in place and ready to burst doors open for the future urban Latino P Diddys, Queen Latifahs, Spike Lees and FUBUs of the world.
Botate Nena! Botate! (Puerto Rican seasoned, “You go gurl!”)
*Sidenote:
Who or what is Urban Latino? Urban Latino is the term used to refer to U.S. born 2nd, 3rd and 4th generation Hispanics, who consume English language media and listen to more than just traditional Hispanic music, they listen to hip-hop, R&B, Reggaeton and various other genres. Urban Latinos represent a traditional Latino culture with an Urban upbringing with over $300 billion in purchasing power.
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