User:Pepeforex
Aurelio Rodríguez (born August 23rd, 1966) is a Cuban-American former model turned entertainment and technology entrepreneur. He has founded and operated the nightlife venue La Covacha of Miami, Florida, United States (1989), search-engine start-up Naveguia (2000), and E-Mail Marketing company EmailBrain.com (2003). He currently lives in Miami with his wife and two children.
Early Life
[edit]Rodríguez was born in Miami, Florida, United States as a son of Cuban immigrants fleeing Fidel Castro's communism. He attended Miami Coral Park High-School (1984), and later obtenied a Business Science degree in International Finance and Marketing at the University of Miami, graduating in 1989.
Modeling
[edit]After graduating from the University of Miami, Aurelio Rodríguez started a brief modeling career. He appeared in several fashion campaigns, among them Gianni Versace with photographer Bruce Weber, and Dolce&Gabbana with photographer Steven Meisel.
Nightlife
[edit]In 1994, after the accidental death of his father, Rodríguez took over the family business, a cafeteria named La Covacha, and transformed it into one of Miami's premier nightlife and live events venues. He became a latin entertainment pioneer and innovator by successfuly fusing the nightlife marketing trends with the international sounds that came to Miami from Latin America, developing a unique melting pot that gave La Covacha its distinct edge. La Covacha burned down in 1999, Aurelio Rodríguez and arquitecht William Lane, redesigned the club and developed a outdoor live venue where many artists have performed live, including: Gilberto Santa-Rosa, Oscar D'León, Franco de Vita, La Oreja de Van Gogh, Charly García, Willie Colón, Víctor Manuelle, Orishas, Aterciopelados, Los Amigos Invisibles, Los Enanitos Verdes, Rabanes, Joe Arroyo, El Grupo Niche, Jorge Celedón, Silvestre Dangond, Peter Manjarrés, El Binomio de Oro, Los Hermanos Zuleta, Fonseca, Bacilos, Richie Ray & Bobby Cruz, Gian Marco, Cabas, among others.
Controversies during this period include laundering money for former Miami-Dade County Commissioner, Miriam Alonso.
Business Ventures
[edit]In 1999 Rodríguez founded Naveguia.com, a search engine startup targeted to hispanics and brazilians, raising US$ 3 million in venture capital. Naveguia folded after the dot-com crash. In 2003 Rodríguez created EmailBrain.com, an Email Marketing company. This company was sold in 2008 to Dotster, a multi-million dollar internet business. Currently, Aurelio Rodríguez serves as Senior Director of International Business for Dotster, spearheading international business strategies, new projects and international ventures for the company. He is also currently an investor and advisor in CareCloud, a medical billing and EMR software startup.
References
[edit]- Leland, John and Chambers, Veronica (July 12, 1999) Generation Ñ. Newsweek.
- Levin, Jordan (April 15, 2003) Latin Clubs Reflect Ever-Evolving Melting Pot. The Miami Herald.
- Fraser Delgado, Celeste (February 11, 2006) La Covacha’s Barranquilla Carnaval Can Offer Only Memories. Miami Sun Post.
- Korman, Nina (August 3, 2000) Rocking On. Miami New Times.
- Editorial (September 19, 2002) Busted!. Miami New Times.
- Cantor, Judy (August, 25 1995) Nightclub Jitters. Miami New Times.