The Latin American Adult Business Expo (LALexpo), now in its seventh edition, saw a massive increase in attendance this year, with organizers Juan Carlos and Anthony (AJ) Riviera stepping up their game to gather just over 3,800 people for the event that wrapped up about ten days ago in Cali, Colombia.
"LALexpo is an ambitious project but it’s also something very close to our hearts,” said AJ in an open-heart speech to the journalists after the local government of Cali welcomed and declared the LALexpo 2020 opened. "We have a deep love and respect for each member of our industry. It can be a very complicated business but if we stick together and support each other, as Latinos but also as adult business owners, we’ll be able to move forward and exchange with other established international brands. The main idea behind LALexpo has always been to bring people together and join our efforts to improve business developments and models' global work conditions. We are very thankful for all the support that everyone has shown since the beginning."
LALexpo 2020 has gathered companies, models and allies in a professional and safe atmosphere to the huge Convention Center of the Valle Pacifico. With an abiding interest to meet and explore new opportunities, the attendees showed a thirst for knowledge, new business development and/or expansion.
"LALexpo was a great opportunity to meet key partners and talented models for FemBosses Studio and A Mestre, my two main projects open to all the empowered women who want to take control of their careers within the industry. It was a real honor to co-host the Award ceremony with the notorious Fernando Solórzano. I really loved the whole event and experience; it was perfect!" said Luna Corazón, CEO of FemBosses Webcam Studio, with a genuine smile.
LALexpo was born of an idea from two of the biggest cam studios in Colombia, so it is no surprise that the major focus of the expo has always been the adult camming market—but this year, participants also showed a strong and powerful presence of sex toys, clipstores, legal, marketing and logistics representation.
"The show remains the best opportunity for global adult companies to meet and collaborate with new and recurring Latin American allies. CAM4 likes to work hand-in-hand with our closest partners, and LALExpo is a great occasion to hang out, make friends, and close profitable deals,” explained Camilo Ramírez, CAM4 LATAM Regional Manager.
Ninety-three sponsors, 62 booths and stands were set up during this three-day conference. The event was already famous for its intense parties in some of the best clubs in the city, all of which showed major attendance by expo attendees. This year again, the participants could also enjoy a wide variety of seminars; from traffic to payments, plastic surgery, mental health, PR, legal and logistics, the event has gathered some of the industry's best experts to share their experiences and valuable tips.
"LALexpo was truly incredible; everything was well-thought-out and well-executed. In all areas, the LAL team made all of us feel like VIPs. I can’t wait until next year!” said Allie Awesome, an independent content creator.
"This is my fifth LALexpo and I continue to be impressed by Anthony and his team for the event quality. LALexpo is absolutely the place to showcase your business to the Latin American market and to make waves in the cam business,” affirmed Brad Mitchell, President at MojoHost.
Some famous names and faces were among this year's panelists, including international porn stars Esperanza Gómez and Nacho Vidal, the great boudoir photographer Hernán Botero, the digital influencer El "Mindo" Ortiz, the iconic Juan Bustos, ManyVids' CEO Bella French, the kinky master Baron Samedi, the fashion designer Alejandra Cossio, the porn director Cristian Cipriani and the talented plastic surgeon Fernando Buritica.
"LALexpo 2020 was a great success for all the attendees, including Bongacams team. I was happy to be back to one of the best industry shows and looking forward to the next year,” noted Katy, BongaCash Senior Affiliate Manager.
"It was my first year at the LALexpo and I had the most amazing time," said Bella French, co-founder and CEO of ManyVids. "I finally got the chance to meet our beautiful Colombian MV Stars. I was so happy to see many Colombian members of the LGBTQ2+ community. Connecting with adult content creators is so important for us at ManyVids; love was definitely in the air! The event itself was very well organized and well-thought. AJ and his team took such a good care of us. Thank you for everything!"
Between the Chaturbate models VIP section, a pool, a food court and an entertaining lounge, LALexpo took pains to ensure the best environment for their guests to mix business and fun.
"LALexpo 2020 was very well organized by AJ and his amazing team. The whole event was very professional. We were glad to meet with a lot of partners and we have also connected with many new ones. I can't wait for next year!” said Mereane, ImLive Host Representative in an enthusiastic statement.
"This year, the event was packed, and for us, it was an amazing opportunity to showcase to the Latin American webcam models what PornHub is really about. It gave us the chance to meet those who already make part of our community as well to meet future PornHub models,” added Catalina Zuluaga, PornHub's Colombian representative.
The fifth edition of the LALexpo Awards 2020 was co-hosted by a playful and entertaining duo: International porn star and business owner Luna Corazón and famous Colombian actor Fernando Solórzano.
"LALexpo is more than just an event,” said Esperanza Gómez, international porn star and webcam business owner. "It is an opportunity to learn, educate, inform and legalize. It’s like a university or a workshop camp. This year, with more than 3,800 attendees, LALexpo has proved to be the major gathering for online businesses. It came up seven years ago and kept growing. The LALexpo is going to last for a long time. It has clearly become a trendsetter in our industry,” predicted the glamorous Colombian celebrity.
Among the awards winners were Chaturbate for Best Overall Cam Site, StripChat for Best European Cam Site, Cam4 for Best North American Cam Site, BongaCams for Best International Cam Site, CM Studios for Best LatAm Studio, ManyVids for Best Clip Site; Best Studios won the Best Cam Studio award, Amaranta Group Agency won Best LGBT Cam Studio, Night Prowl won Best European Studio, XloveCash won Best Affiliate Program; BlueEyesLexi won the Best Female Cam Model award and Dorian Lux won the Best Male Cam Model LALexpo Award 2020. (A full list of the winners will be available on Lalexpo.com.)
In its seven years of existence, LALexpo has retained its status as the main industry hub for any relevant adult business related to Latin America. The event offers a trustful and ethical connection for whoever wants to do business with Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries.
Those interested can find the official LALexpo 2020 video here.
But LALexpo is now preparing for an even greater challenge: Bringing the Latin heat to other latitudes—meaning that LALexpo Las Vegas is fast approaching; the first edition of this conference in the United States that already promises to be one of the best.
More information about LALexpo in Las Vegas, which will take place April 9-11, 2020, may be found here.
—Information provided by Alex Lecomte
