Eliuth Herrera argues that it is becoming easier to start a company in the audio, video and lighting industry, which does not mean being an entrepreneur and that permanence is increasingly uncertain as it has to compete with companies that receive investments of unknown origin.
By Richard Santa S.
Overcoming machismo, one's own and that of society, has been one of the tasks that Eliuth Herrera has faced to position her name within the audio, video and lighting industry in Latin America, because, it is assumed, this is an industry of men.
Our Professional of the Month says that at the beginning of her career as a lighting technician "I was often mocked and sometimes humiliated for having two apparent defects in the environment: being a woman and being young, because clients and collaborators thought that the technical part was only known by men".
But her desire to earn a place among her peers and in the industry led her at first to seek equality with men. "I often felt compelled to overcome the physical strength and skills of my teammates, for a while I did weights at night and ran in the mornings trying to load PRT trusses with 2 bars of Source Four Par."
But this dilemma was short-lived, because a few weeks later "I understood that everything was trick, it was not only physical strength: with little strength and a lot of will things always become lighter. Nobody asked me to prove anything in front of them and that the biggest concern about being a woman in this medium was only mine."
This situation was experienced during 2002, the year in which she began her life in the entertainment medium as a lighting technique. The first company he worked for was Luzmila, a lighting company which learned about electricity, optics, colorimetry, maintenance, etc.
"For a year, I belonged to the permanent staff that prepared equipment, made electrical and lighting designs for festivals, shows, mass and corporate events. Soon, I was hired by Simply Professional (integral services company) supporting in the part of technical assembly, logistics, production, designing and making sales until 2007".
She confessed that during those years, while she gained the experience, she realized that the construction of a space or a scene from the stroke of light fascinated her and always thought "at what point could I direct that amount of lights from my photographer trench?"
The businesswoman
In 2008, Eliuth Herrera decided to take advantage of the experience acquired to set up his own company and thus opened the Kardia Producciones project, which provides professional services of audiovisual design, consulting, automation, production and rental of equipment for fixed installations, events and alternative projects.
In 2010 he partnered with the Kamikaze Studio project, a company specialized in illustration, VFX, graphic designs, compositing, 2D and 3D animation linked to the advertising sector and the film industry.
But it is not free that our Professional of the Month reached this point, education has always been an essential part of her life.
He studied at the National School of Plastic Arts of the UNAM in the career of Design and visual communication, leaning mainly in the specialty of photography, so he began studies at the University of the Cloister of Sor Juana in the career of Cultural Sciences.
The search in photography led her to carry out other studies at the Academy of San Carlos of the UNAM and at the Image Center, focused mainly on photojournalism and documentary.
She has currently taken maintenance courses, product trainnings, since 2008 she is part of Infocomm and is seeking certification as an Audiovisual Designer.
Two people, whom he considers teachers and friends, helped Eliuth Herrera to position himself in the industry. They are Hugo García and Beto Tufiño, who belong to the first company in which he worked: Luzmila. "They both pushed my interest to both the creative part and the technique, because technical women in Mexico had already existed, but it was not very frequent."
The challenges of the industry
For her, the main challenges currently facing the audio, video and lighting industry are about updating equipment, knowing what is being done and visualizing what will be done and in what niche we can stand out to potentiate a product towards different options.
"Undoubtedly, a great success has meant the constant preparation within Infocomm Latin America, with this we have been able to give a professional offer that differentiates us from the competition. We believe in design and knowledge, the Latino market must make a constant commitment to learning to exceed our expectations in front of the American or European market".
In his company, the interest in new markets has allowed him to reach relationships with different specialists and collaborators in different parts of the world, which has expanded the services and helps his professionalization.
"I consider the team I represent to be strategic and creative, we are friends solving projects together, we love our work and we are proud of what we do."
She sees a very interesting panorama for the expansion of the industry in Latin America, because the market has demanded interest in providing comprehensive services to the client.
"This has allowed the competition not only to stay in owning equipment or having trained personnel, but also requires the work of specialists who externally advise all those who seek to remain in the industry. The Latino market knows this and is understanding that it must invest in it. Because it will give more weight to ideas and design."
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FAMILY LIFE
Eliuth Herrera is the youngest of 4 sisters. He maintains that matriarchy prevails in his family, because they also have 3 nieces. "This has always influenced my way of being because I print in everything I do the commitment to be a woman. They have been an example of love and perseverance in my life and my mother is a huge inspiration."
She also indicated that "I have been married for more than eight years to a man who also belongs to this medium and who has driven me to grow in all aspects of my life. I love photography, film and music, I love to travel and ride a bike. Meditation and tai chi have been my most recent discoveries and vices."
His work schedule is not established, he assures that depending on the project in which he is working he can start the day from six in the morning. Although he does try not to pass 7:30 at night to enjoy time with his family.
