On the path of life we meet unparalleled people, who, can be an inspiration for all. In this case addressing the public every day on audiovisual platforms and even on social networks, Luis Carlos Monge, is an example of being an ideal Costa Rican citizen, professional journalist and wrestler.
We continue to carry out interviews in TCRN, with personalities from Costa Rica, many of them you have seen on television, on the networks or somewhere else, others we let you know that they are present. Each character with different stories, they tell us about everything they have done to be where they always dreamed of being today, with success and courage.On this occasion, Luis Carlos Monge, the well-known Costa Rican journalist, tells us about his career and much more.
His roots, his family
Luis Carlos Monge, is a native of Costa Rica, grew up in Desamparados, his maternal family is from there and his paternal family is from Acosta (San José), which is already a more rural area with a lot of meaning for him being located between the city and the countryside, in Acosta he lived happy moments among horses, cows and ranchera music.
He has always had an excellent relationship with his parents, despite the fact that both separated when he was 10 years old, they have always been there for him and Luis, today does everything possible to be with them.
Dedicating himself to journalism
He studied Sociology at the University of Costa Rica (UCR), and has artistic training from the Girasol Theater of the UCR where he also studied journalism obtaining a degree in audiovisual production; He holds a diploma from the TEC of
Monterrey on digital journalism and a degree from the Institute of Locution Learning for News Media adding to this a degree from the Technological Institute of Costa Rica in English conversation.
“For more than 10 years I have been practicing journalism, most of it on television, I worked for 13 years on channel 7, as a news presenter, I was chief of information for the morning magazine BuenDía, presenter in the magazine, reporter and editing coordinator” he says.
Later, he dedicated himself to setting up his own audiovisual production company with which he was able to develop his own program ¡A Cachete! People liked it a lot and it is one of the most watched in the Central American country.
He was in charge of communication for Telecable, which is a telecommunications company in Costa Rica, and now he works as public relations and communication manager for Ibux ESPH. And if that was not enough he is a professional wrestler, and was recently champion within the most important competition for that sport in Costa Rica.
Doing several things at once is something he enjoys
For many years, he was in charge of his media section that was successful in Costa Rica called Pelos de Traba, which he hopes to resume at some point, “it was the exercise of community journalism but “with concrete results”, the idea of the section was that we followed all the way through.“Thank God that for many years we were able to fix roads, bridges, give homes to people who needed them,” said Monge.
Do you admire someone in particular?
A character that he admires is Dwayne Johnson (The Rock), for everything he has achieved,he has transcended in many fields and is always seeking to improve himself through hard work, with principles; at the same time seeking to motivate others.”He has a phrase that I apply to my life in what I do: “it is good to be important, but it is more important to be good.” In the country (Costa Rica) he admires Franklin Chang Díaz, since in his opinion, it is an example of how far a Tico can go, traveling to outer space and more.
How do you see the practice of journalism today, what would you like to change?
“Regarding the exercise of journalism the fact that more people have access to information democratizes it but does not always allow a professional outcome, in the sense that there are many fake news, many pages that only work with a certain editorial line and hide its interests behind, there is a lot of misinformation, people share what they want to believe and what is more in line with their beliefs and not always what is true, so that has complicated everything today,” answered Monge.
It should be noted that Luis Carlos has always been critical that journalism does not have to be flat, boring and so much so that people do not identify with it, “throughout the different stages in which I have been able to practice, I have always tried to connect with people, to be aware of what my audience wants, what people want to hear. Sometimes there are topics that interest them, but they are so boring to explain, that people disengage, thekey is how to reach the public and that is missing for some journalists, it is necessary to think about how to make the content more attractive, to show it, tell it on television, on the radio and on social networks,” he added.
This professional journalist has his own social networks, through which he works with several brands, “I have to be very organized with all my work commitments, I try not to stress myself so much, I plan and allow myself to do things like for example, if one day I want to sleep more I do it, or if I want to go out somewhere”.
Finally, Luis Carlos Monge, expressed a motivational message for the world, very useful for these times: “Although many people say it, we do not realize that life is too short, it is just a little while, when we realize it, months have passed, years, decades, we must think about what we have done in that time, how we have taken advantage of it and I do not mean to be killing ourselves working, but rather about time for our family, our loved ones that we stop seeing, places that we have wanted to visit, foods to try, etc. We only have the experiences lived, take advantage of the moments that life gives us and be happy, making others happy”.
We are filled with the fact of continuing to tell everyone stories of Costa Ricans and people residing in Costa Rica, who contribute to the country and leave a mark with their professions. If you want to know more about Luis Carlos Monge, follow him on Instagram: @luiscarlosmongep
