Throughout September and October, Riot celebrated Latin American Heritage Month. Riot Unidos, our employee resource group of Latin American Rioters, chose the theme Amigos Unidos.
We also brought on a new partner in Latinx in Gaming (LXIG), a non-profit dedicated to connecting Latin American people across the gaming industry to promote cultural appreciation and representation across games and entertainment. Our mission and LXIG’s closely align and we’re excited to build upon our work together during Latin American Heritage Month in the coming years.
With the month officially coming to a close on October 15th, we wanted to reflect on all of the awesome ways Rioters around the world celebrated, cultivated community, and embodied Amigos Unidos.
Kicking off our new partnership with Latinx in Gaming
Riot and Latinx in Gaming have worked together in the past and we’re super excited to take our partnership to the next level.
“There are exciting things about working closely with Riot Games,” said Cristina Amaya, President and Co-Founder of LXIG. “Not only does it elevate the work that we're doing to a wider audience, but it allows for us to work collaboratively with incredible Latine talent at Riot and hopefully help source more great talent for them going forwards. Riot Unidos is already off to a great start and we can't wait to see how we can help build each other's communities going forward through elevation, collaboration, and creativity.”
Earlier in the month, we teamed up with LXIG for their annual Game Jam in honor of Latin American Heritage month.
“There are already so many ideas we have for how to partner for the years we have together,” Cristina said. “Things like the Game Jam are how we can create something that's fun and to the spirit of Riot Games as a company while incorporating the Latine voices both internally and externally.”
The theme for this year’s Game Jam was “Empowering others in our communities.” The goal was to make meaningful connections in our communities and spark positive partnerships. A bunch of amazing developers submitted games to the Game Jam and you can check out the winners here.
This is just the start of our partnership with LXIG and it certainly won’t be limited to Latin American Heritage Month alone. Ultimately, this partnership is about representation, community, creating spaces where marginalized Latin American professionals can share experiences, and supporting each other to foster a more diverse gaming industry.
“I like to think of it as the Disney effect,” Cristina said. “When Disney told the story Encanto, I was watching it with my father and was happy to see a story about Colombia that addressed our deep-rooted issues with civil strife but uplifted our stories of love, family, and, of course, music. When I think of the wide universe that Riot Games is creating, having characters, lore, and game design that speak to the Latine Heritage can bridge so many gaps and help people not only feel seen but connect with their history. In the past, we've been lucky to work with Sho Hernandez at Riot Games who has already influenced some of the beautiful work within League.”
We’re excited to have LXIG as a long-term partner and we look forward to creating more connections between our games and Latin American culture in the future.
Bringing Cultures Together at a Night Market
With Latin American Heritage Month overlapping with Filipino American History Month, Riot Unidos teamed up with Filipinos at Riot (FAR) to host a Night Market for Rioters at our LA office. The evening featured local delicious Latin American & Filipino food like pupusas from Vchos and Lumpia Shanghai from Big Boi. The event gave Rioters the opportunity to come together for a night of music, food, and learning about these two rich cultures.
A Round Table With Riot Unidos
Members from Riot Unidos came together for a roundtable hosted by Anna Donlon, SVP and EP of VALORANT, and the executive sponsor of Unidos. The conversation touched on the Unidos members’ experience as Latin Americans at Riot, the value of allyship, and the importance of representation both in games and within the industry at large.
Stories from Latin American Rioters
As a part of the month-long celebration, we wanted to spotlight some of our amazing Latin American Rioters. We started with Priscila Queiroz who began her career creating communities in Brazil and has become a leader within Riot bringing fandom to players across Latin America.
During Latin American Heritage Month, Worlds also went to Latin America for the first time! With the play-in stage held in Mexico City, fans of League Esports saw top teams like China’s Royal Never Give Up and Korea’s DRX begin their World’s journeys in CDMX. But the main focus for the hometown fans was definitely Isurus Gaming, the winners of Liga Latinoamerica this season.
Rioters in Mexico City went all-out organizing events around Worlds. They made sure every fan left with their own custom Lucha Libre mask and put on some awesome watch parties in the heart of the city.
We celebrate Latin American Heritage Month every year but this year marked our biggest celebration yet. With our new partner in LXIG and tons more opportunities on the horizon, we’re excited to continue to uplift Latin American voices across Riot and the gaming industry.
