The Slow Burn

Blog since 2005

What I Remembered, What I Ignored, and What I’m Taking Into 2026

2025 has been an intense journey full of contrasts. It began with a heartfelt goodbye and ends with my soul more open after the magical and serene family encounters that we usually experience in Escondida. Meanwhile, laughter under a blanket of fireflies outside Kuala Lumpur with my grandson Mauricio, spiritual retreat in Kuchaman, spectacular […]

HALO MARKS

Bob Isherwood, Saatchi Saatchi’s global creative director, has insisted over the years on the importance of focusing on developing ideas that are bigger than ads. In addition, from his humanistic perspective, he has also been a major contributor to Saatchi’s proposal for [...]

OBAMA®: A POSSIBLE LESSON IN BRANDING

By Rogelio H. Umaña. Guest blogger. Leaving aside the political discussion and the possibility of whether or not this young senator from Chicago will become the next president of the United States, there are several lessons we can learn from “Obamania” as [...]

ALL TO BE DONE

We could assume a typical position in our country, and convince ourselves that the issue is really one of budgets. We could also say that our ideas are top-notch and that the problem is that clients don’t approve of anything good. We [...]

TRIBE AND THE COUNTRYSIDE

THE GAP BRAND IN PPT

| View | Upload your own A few weeks ago I came across Rogelio Umaña’s blog with this rich, interesting and valuable Powerpoint document, with ideas and contributions to add to the arsenal of arguments and considerations when working with brands. So [...]

SIMPLY STRENGTHS

I’ve mentioned it before, and today I can’t stress it enough. Buckingham’s proposal makes sense, is simple and adds up in one direction: put your strengths to work to bring you to your full potential. His series of short films called Trombone [...]

The power of the unpopular

Napoletano uses fucking like commas, she’s strong, has an impactful personality and says she doesn’t mind losing business, if she loses it because of who she is. I’m 10 feet away from her as she speaks at SXSW and I can’t tell [...]

Costa Rica is more brand than country

A few days ago I came across an ad in the American Airlines magazine that left me impressed. It was about one more sailing ships in the Caribbean, the Mediterranean and Costa Rica. And at that moment it was as if the [...]

SXSW Interactive for the weekend

A new edition of SXSW Interactive is coming (March 9 to 13) and we wouldn’t miss it for the world. Last year I was there for the first time, and now I think it’s going to be hard for me to pass [...]

15 years of Fundavida

Chris Dearnley came to Costa Rica some 17 years ago. A Harvard MBA graduate, he traded large corporations and business for his vision of life focused on our country, to plant a Vineyard church and help those most in need. Since then, [...]

Javier Mora will be a jury member at Cannes

Tribu DDB‘s Chief Creative Officer, Javier Mora, has been confirmed as a jury member at the next Cannes Lions. He is the first Central American to be appointed, after Costa Rica received a special place for 2012. His selection was made directly [...]

Today is the first day

With this image I woke up this morning, as I was getting ready for a quick trip to Guatemala. I couldn’t let the moment pass without a click and a few moments to feel the breeze, the sun at dawn and all [...]

The Slow Burn

Blog since 2005

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