Since she was little, Lana was passionate about media, and she dreamed of traveling the world. Little by little she worked on it, until today, uniting her two passions in a single project, a travel blog called Lana’s Pocket.
Lana’s given name is Melanie Vélez Ortiz. Although she is a native of Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, her dreams led her to move to the capital city, San Juan, when she was only 17 years old to study for a bachelor’s degree at the School of Communications at the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras Campus. In the midst of this university life, Lana has the opportunity to go on a student trip to South American countries, Argentina and Uruguay. While she was traveling, she was able to feel the greatness of the world and its beautiful landscapes from the plane, and it was then that she promised herself that she would take a good trip once a year, when she was only 19 years old.
Upon graduating from college, Lana begins to dedicate herself to her career as a professional relationist with well-known local and international brands in Puerto Rico. She later decides to do a master’s degree in marketing to solidify her profession and manages to lead a team in one of the best public relations firms in Puerto Rico. Every year, Lana planned her trip as she promised herself, and that is how she began her great journey as a frequent traveler, reaching more than 28 international destinations today.
On her trips, Lana realizes that many of her friends, colleagues and acquaintances were looking for her to plan one of the same, seek travel recommendations and / or learn a little more about how she achieved that lifestyle between work and travel. And in 2016 she decides to create her own travel blog Lanaspocket.com to educate people about travel, tourism, cultures and gastronomy. The success of her readership, mainly from Latin America and the Caribbean, has led her to expand her blog on social networks and create a traveling community.
Lana currently resides in Northern Virginia with her husband, Norberto, and her dog, Maya Panda. She serves as a bilingual digital content strategist at ALSAC/St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as well as being a travel blogger.
For more recommendations, visit www.lanaspocket.com or to follow Lana on her social networks: @lanaspocket
