Live & Life in Palmas New October Edition 2021

her successful endeavors don’t stop
there.
In 2012, Cristina went to law school.
She attended St. Thomas School of
Law in Miami. Cristina ended up
graduating Cum Laude and passed
the Florida and Washington DC bar.
She then returned a second time
WILLIAM BURN FER-
NANDEZ is another
restaurant entrepreneur
who gained success in
Puerto Rico.
William has a different
story than Rogelio
and Cristina. He lived
in Guatemala, Mexico
and Venezuela during
his childhood. At around
14-years-old, his family
returned to Puerto Rico.
William graduated high school
from Colegio Marista in Guaynabo.
He went to college at the University
of Puerto Rico and graduated with
a bachelor’s degree in Finance. William
then proceeded his studies with
a Master in Finance from the Inter
American University of Puerto Rico.
He got into the industry at age 19,
while still working on his degrees.
William started at Señor Frogs where
he eventually become general manager
at age 22. William attributes his
speedy success to Carlos Gonzalez,
the owner of Señor Frogs. “I was
blessed to have such a great mentor,”
said Burn.
By age 25, William was supervising
various operations for the restaurant
group in the Caribbean. The next
step for William was to have his own
restaurant. He ended up contacting
to her home of Puerto Rico. Now she
has her own consulting firm, Cinmarc
& Associates, L.L.C. and runs Cafe de
la Plaza.
“Puerto Rico is a place for innovators,”
said Colón. “ If you have a
vision and you have imagination, the
island is your oyster.”
the now popular Distrito
T-Mobile, and
took on the role of
creating a burger
concept restaurant.
Their initial vision
for the restaurant is
what made it a popular
spot for locals and
tourists
“We’ve all seen the
negative documentaries
on burger fast
food joints, on processed meats and
such, said Burn. “ We wanted to design
a burger concept that focuses in
being transparent and detailed.”
And at last, La Burgesia was made!
But they had a few set backs before
they could open the doors to the
public. The pandemic pushed their
opening date over a year. Although
challenging, William and his team
persevered and were able to make it
possible.
William agrees that even though
it’s difficult, working in Puerto Rico
can be the right decision.
“There’s much to re-invent and
innovate on the island,” said Burn.
“There’s also the home court advantage
concept. You know and understand
the market, the competition
and the areas of opportunity.”
A member of William’s
team who also
sees Puerto Rico as a
place of innovation is
RAÚL COSCUL-
LUELA. He was in
charge of the branding
and marketing of
La Burguesia.
For people who
don’t know, Raúl
went to high school
here at The Palmas Academy. He
then attended Marquette University.
Raúl realized his passion for the creative
side of business and transferred
to The School of Visual Arts in New
York City.
After gaining work experience in
the marketing field, he decided to
move back to Puerto Rico during the
pandemic.
“Though the island can sometimes
be a challenge, knowing you’re building
something with roots is much
more gratifying,” said Cosculluela.
Raúl is co-founder of Culture Create,
a creative studio where he designs
experiences for brands, artists
and musicians. Some of his recent visual
collaboration include: Cangrejos
de Santurce Basketball team, Arena
Medalla, and Sunsets Hard Selterz.
Raúl, like the others who came
back, believe Puerto Rico has great
opportunities if you look for them.
“I see Puerto Rico in many ways,
like a blank canvas with a lot of space
for innovation that has a generation
of young entrepreneurs hungry to
achieve big things with the talent to
back it up,” said Cosculluela. ➤