Once again, LATISM, Latinos in Social Media (LATISM), the largest organization of social media professionals of Hispanic origin, is leading the way.  Today they have announced the launch of an annual awards program for excellence in Latino communications in California. The first awards ceremony — September 18 at the Los Angeles Convention Center — will be the centerpiece of the kickoff of “Latino2: The California Tour,” a year-long event series focusing on the emergence of Latin-Americans in the digital/social world.

“The Latino2 tour is a year-long conversation with stops in the major geographical areas where Latinos have had a strong presence,” said Ana Roca Castro, co-founder and chair of LATISM. “The awards ceremony is a perfect way of launching the tour, by bringing together some of the best minds in communications in one of the largest, most vibrant markets in the US.”

The Latino2 event series kickoff — titled “The Marketing Tribe” — will also feature a keynote by social-media guru Brian Solis, a panel of Latina mommy bloggers, and an in-depth interview with one of the leading cross-border marketing agencies in LA.

“This is the kickoff of a year-long tour, and we want to give the first attendees a taste of what’s to come,” said Castro. “Future events will be more topical — entertainment, technology, politics, non-profits — but excellence in communications stitches the series together.”

If you would like to participate and nominate a favorite someone or an agency for an award, go to http://latism.org/latism-ca-2/.