Best Buy Co. Inc.

09/10/2021 | Press release | Archived content

Teens design PopSockets products to celebrate Latinx culture

Four teens from Best Buy Teen Tech Centers across the country had the opportunity to express and celebrate their Latinx heritage by creating their own PopSockets PopGrip to be sold as part of our Latinx Heritage Month campaign.

The teen designers were commissioned and compensated through PopSockets' standard procedures for freelance designers. And they had the chance to follow along in the process to see their design evolve from an idea to a product sold at Best Buy.

The teen's PopGrips are nowavailable for purchaseon BestBuy.com. Half of the sales from each design will be donated to the Best Buy Foundation and reinvested into Best Buy Teen Tech Centers.

Teen Tech Centersare safe, afterschool learning sites where teens have access to the latest technology and the guidance of experienced mentors. Plus, they get opportunities to apply their skills through hands-on experiences like the PopSockets partnership.

Left to right: Abraham Castillo, Joe Hernandez, Maya Acevedo and Carlos Jesus.

Joe Hernandez, who attends The Best Buy Teen Tech Center at the Family Services Association in San Antonio, was one of the four participants. For him, designing his PopGrip was a way for him to get in touch with his Latino roots.

"Sometimes I do feel guilty that I don't know some things or that I'm not the best at Spanish," he said. "But it's all a learning process."

As Joe was searching for inspiration for his design, he came across artist Frida Kahlo and her work. The more Joe learned about her story and activism for women's rights, the more inspired he became.

He decided to design his PopGrip in a way that would nod to Frida's legacy. The design, titled "Roots," features a skeleton of Frida dressed in colorful attire with decorations to symbolize Day of the Dead celebrations.

"Frida Kahlo de Rivera is an inspiration to me and my heritage as an icon of strength and dignity," Joe said.

Throughout the process designing his PopGrip, Joe said his PopSockets mentor was a huge help in brainstorming ideas and creating the design.

"I don't think I could have asked for a better mentor," Joe said. "He really tried to help me flesh out ideas. He was a great dude just to talk with. … I hope to keep in contact with him later on."

Clickhereto explore the teen-designed Latinx Heritage Month collection of PopGrips on BestBuy.com.

Clickhereto view our Latinx Heritage Month landing page on BestBuy.com.