SISVAIS

There are moments at every concert -every good concert -- when the audience knows something is about to happen. Something big, something that sends the building rocking and rolling with waves of excitement. The anticipation is as real as sweat on skin, the thrill of which beats like a drum, coalescing the moment into something magical and magnetic. While scientists and businessmen have yet to bottle this type of electricity -- the kinetic energy of potential -one woman embodies it.

Marina Monsisvais is an El Paso entrepreneur who is behind the scenes and ahead of the curve when it comes to all things cool.

Monsisvais and her team at Barracuda Public Relations have been instrumental to El Paso’s development and continue to assist the city in achieving its potential through leading by example.

“I started Barracuda Public Relations in 2010,” she says. “It was me, the laptop, my kitchen table and a friend who worked with me. We’ve always been a city with potential, but I could tell we were actually about to grow into our potential. And I thought it was the right time to start this type of business.”

Monsisvais isn’t afraid to take a leap of faith -- she dives right in.

“I’m the kind of person that’s always started things but never for myself (until Barracuda),” she explains during our cover shoot. “When I was in college, I noticed there wasn’t any punk on the college radio station. I walked in and was like, ‘I need a punk show.’ And they’re like, ‘Who are you?’”

Monsisvais grew up as a self-proclaimed free range kid in LA’s Inglewood neighborhood and moved back to El Paso with her family in 1992. As if moving 800 miles from the ocean to the desert wasn’t enough, she was also moving from middle school to high school.

“Everything sucks when you’re 14, but everything sucks more when you’re 14 and don’t know anybody,” she recalls. “I felt like I was this alien that landed. But the other thing that I learned really quickly that has served me very well is that you can do anything here. You can literally do anything in El Paso.”

Such as asking her college radio station for her own punk show, but not before proving herself by cutting her teeth on a gig that wasn’t punk rock whatsoever.

“I had to DJ country music at 7am on Mondays and Wednesdays,” she laughs.

Not long after, she began covering live shows in El Paso for “Stanton Street,” Beto O’Rourke’s alt-weekly that launched in 2002, as music editor.

“I was the music editor and photographer covering the music scene. We started from scratch with no idea how to run a business, but we knew what kind of content should be consumed,” says Monsisvais.

“Stanton Street ‘’ evolved from a digital e-zine to a 15-issue print run during a period of growth in the community in the early 2000s. Since then, Monsisvais has remained in the local music scene while also establishing herself as a local leader.

“In all the years I’ve known her, one thing that comes through strongly and consistently about Marina is how incredibly loyal to El Paso she is. She’s made it her mission to promote the great work and amazing individuals coming out of this city to the rest of the world as well as to her fellow El Pasoans,” O’Rourke tells The City Magazine. “She does it passionately, whether she’s taking in a show at a local venue, hosting a conversation on her KTEP program ‘State of the Arts’ or through her PR firm, where she harnesses her creativity and confidence in her clients to help them realize their goals. El Paso is lucky to have her.”

While often in the spotlight (or behind the scenes) at shows and other community activities, Monsisvais also has a family life.

She met her husband, dentist Dr. Paul Ro, in true rock and roll style but with an El Paso twist.

“We met at a rock climbing event at Hueco Tanks. Where we were we had a concert in the middle of the canyon surrounded by pro rock climbers who were climbing the canyon; I was in charge of curating the music and booking the bands for the show. Paul was a rock climber and a volunteer belayer, getting all the climbers up and down. We were at the after party, and he gave me cuts on the corn line,” she says.

Today, Monsisvais and Dr. Ro have been married for more than 16 years that have been filled with adventures, rescue dogs, and many, many, concerts that help lay the foundation for her (and El Paso’s) future.

“After we got married, I went to work at UTEP Special Events, where I did a lot of the concerts and events with that team,” she says. “That’s where I decided that I needed to do my own thing.”

Being an entrepreneur isn’t easy, but Monsisvais navigates the businessworld with aplomb -- and on her own terms.

“I like being the underdog,” she says. “A tattooed woman with funky hair who people never saw coming,” she says of the early days at the helm of Barracuda Public Relations.

Today, she’s hard to miss and impossible to ignore -- neither of which has anything to do with her fiery hair or unique body ink.

Since its inception in 2010, Barracuda Public Relations has been leading through innovation, technical expertise, and genuine desire to do good in the community.

A few accolades include being the first agency in Texas certified by the National Institute for Social Media and recipient of the 2017 Governor’s Small Business Award, with recent projects in collaboration with Spaceport America, the I-10 Connect Project, and establishing Castner Range as a national monument.

“I’m most proud of having built a business that functions on purpose,” says Monsisvais. “We’re purpose driven before profits, and the profits follow because we’re working passionately, we’re working with purpose, and with people and projects we care about. We work with heart and that is reflected in our work.”

Her business ethos of putting people first and following her heart was influenced by her family.

“We’re first generation, my parents are both from Juarez. My dad is one of twelve and was the only one to get a college degree,” she says. “He knew he wanted to be an engineer, so he went to UTEP. His decision to go to college changed our lives completely.”

Monsisvais’ upbringing in and understanding of the community have helped her cultivate a unique lifestyle that is as fun as it is fulfilling. When she’s not using her foresight to improve the community, she keeps her hands busy and body moving.

“I’m a vinyl DJ, so I play records with my friends,” she says. “With lots of dance parties. Tons of dance parties: sometimes with people; sometimes just me, Paul Ro and the dogs; sometimes we have six people dance parties -- total silliness.”

She’s also taken up ceramics, molding items out of clay and enjoying the process that involves unplugging for a few hours.

“Sundays are sacred. That’s when I spend my time in the ceramics studio. Just building and getting lost in the clay. You literally have to get your hands full of clay and can’t look at your phone,” she explains.

With a lifetime of memories and the world at her feet, Monsisvais remains grounded and grateful to the Borderland for its influence on her.

“When I’m in El Paso,” she explains, “I feel strong, powerful, and smart, all that stuff. I am the most comfortable in my skin when I’m here.”

Like the ceramics she creates each Sunday, she’s molded a life that’s enriched with culture, strengthened by community, and sustained by a willingness to dirty the hands -- even if the final shape is unknown.

“My advice to young women is to know that you don’t have to know what you want to be or what you want to do, don’t be afraid of the journey—not knowing the end is the best part. A lot of folks really spend a lot of time questioning themselves and not taking action out of fear,” she says.

Taking action doesn’t always require having a concrete plan, but it does require a foundation built on self awareness and confidence.

“Once you realize that the things that make you different are actually your superpower and you embrace them,” says Monsisvais, “you’re good to go.”

For now, she’s enjoying her time as she continues to grow Barracuda Public Relations by identifying and cultivating strengths, then helping them shine.

‘I have zero value if I’m telling people what to do versus pulling out what they bring to the table and making them comfortable enough to bring it,” Monsisvais says. “Our job is to make other people shine. That’s all I need.”