From the age of sixteen, Luis Bello has been working in and with the media: as a journalist; as a writer, producer, anchor, and host of radio and television programs; as a media relations and international marketing specialist; and as a newspaper and radio executive. This is rather ironic given that, during his childhood, he spent five years living with his family in the Barbanza Mountains in Spain at the Decca station where his father was the director. Luis went to school at the Pena del Oro Castle where he learn how to write and read.

     Born and raised in the small town of

     Luis attended the University of Santiago, where he earned the equivalent of a baccalaureate in Political Science, while he worked at the station. When Grupo Voz, a multimedia conglomerate, purchased Antena 3, he expanded his responsibilities within the corporation and became a journalist for the newspaper, La Voz de Galicia, and a writer/ producer for the TV show, Centro Médico, while maintaining his hosting duties on the renamed station, Radio Voz.

     After seven years with Grupo Voz, he moved on to other media outlets in Spain where he worked in various capacities including: writer/producer for a Jerry Springer-like program on TVG; host of a “live action” program on M-80 Radio; journalist for Vogue International and TV5; and writer/producer/host for Radio Autonómica de Galicia programs. It was during this time that Luis also began his career in media relations and marketing, working for the Department of Health of the Government of Galicia, Muséo Granell, and the European Union Government for whom he managed the international marketing of Santiago de Compostela as the European Cultural City of 2000.

     In 2001, Luis accepted the offer from Florida International University as International Marketing Coordinator for its Honors College, and moved to the United States. He lived first in Chicago to learn English while serving as a contributing editor for the Latino newspaper, La Raza, before going to his job in Miami where he also served as Technical Director for an international symposium held by the Centro Cultural Español and Coordinator for Vista Magazine; Luis also continued reporting for Madrid’s Tele 5 by covering select U.S.-based news stories.

     To immerse himself in an environment that had much less of a Latino influence and to increase his command of the English language, Luis moved a year later to Columbus, OH, where he became Editor and Advertising Director of La Voz Hispana. His efforts grew the newspaper to being the top one for Hispanics in Ohio, which precipitated his move to Georgia to open the paper’s Atlanta bureau. Two years and more credentials later, CNN hired him as a news writer and announcer for CNN International Radio. And in 2005, Luis joined Clear Channel Communications as an executive at Viva 105.7 FM, the #1 Latino radio station in the Atlanta market, and continued consulting in marketing for Santiago Turismo as well as Tactique, Inc., a marketing company in Decatur, GA. Luis come back to CNN on 2007 as a US Sales and Adv Manager.

     Luis has had several journalistic exclusives during his career, two notable ones being: He was the first journalist to do live coverage of the terrorists (who were in the same Florida flight school as the 9/11 hijackers) being taken to jail as well as the first to interview a Red Cross representative who was taking care of hostages when the Japanese embassy in Lima, Peru was taken over by rebels in 1992. To balance the “hard news,” he has also interviewed celebrities from Sting, the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Iggy Pop to Marisa Peredes, Celia Cruz and Penelope Cruz.

     Likewise, his skill and savvy in media, marketing and sales have served his employers and clients very well: in increasing public awareness, tourism, circulation, listenership, and revenue, amongst other results. And in the Galician region of Spain, Luis’ work in radio gave him celebrity status so many in government and business hired him to host many of their events, as did non-profit organizations (Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Special Olympics) for whom he always lent his support for free.

     Celebrity status aside, people have always sensed something special in Luis. Even the President of Spain, Felipe González, saw it when Luis was a small boy collecting donations for church from him; that year, President González used the photo of that event as the national Christmas postcard. So perhaps all this was Luis’ destiny: to move from having no contact with the outside world and achieving personal success early in life to communicating with people all over the world and helping others achieve success.


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