From Zero to a Community: How We Started in Polkadot Americas

Ecosystem
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:globe_showing_americas: Polkadot Americas Community

Origin and Foundation

The Polkadot Americas community was born on April 13, 2025, driven by the personal motivation of Francisco Albornoz, César Escobedo, Simón León, and Eduardo Cardoso. In the following weeks, Angélica Graterol and Matías Santaolaya joined the core team.

We identified that there was no open space for active collaboration within the Polkadot ecosystem across the American continent. Therefore, we decided to create a non-hierarchical community where anyone with a genuine interest in contributing could join. Today, we have more than 87 active members, organized voluntarily and in constant communication to drive initiatives within the Polkadot ecosystem.

Purpose

The goal of Polkadot Americas is to expand the representation of the Spanish-speaking community across the continent, promoting decentralization and open, inclusive, and collaborative participation.

:loudspeaker: Channels and Reach

  • Telegram: 90+ active members

  • X/Twitter: 137+ followers: https://x.com/polkadotamerica

  • Instagram: 45+ followers: h ttps://www.instagram.com/polkadotamericas/

  • YouTube: Active channel with dozens of hours of content:

:television: Weekly Programs

1. Monday Night DOT

  • Every Monday - 24:00 UTC
  • Hosts: Francisco Albornoz (Main), César Escobedo

A space for interviews, talks, and debates with key figures in the ecosystem. It explores projects, challenges, and technological advancements in Polkadot. It has gained significant reach recently.

  • Monday Night DOT #05 - Descentralized Nodes feat ValidAndina - May 12 - +600 Views h ttps://x.com/i/broadcasts/1vAxRDblONkGl
  • Monday Night DOT #08 - El poder de la unión Polkamericana - June 02 - +600 Views h ttps://x.com/i/broadcasts/1BdxYqRZnpQxX
  • Monday Night DOT #09 - Edición ChileDAO - June 09 - +500 Views h ttps://x.com/i/broadcasts/1ynKOlOrRDOGR

2. OpenMic

  • Every Wednesday - 11:00 UTC
  • Host: César Escobedo

Focused on governance, proposal discussion, analysis of the Polkadot forum, and voting perspectives, both from individuals and collectives (including DVs).

  • OpenMic Session #2 h ttps://x.com/i/broadcasts/1ZkKzYyOmwvxv
  • OpenMic session #5 h ttps://x.com/i/broadcasts/1zqJVjRBlpdJB
  • OpenMic session #8 h ttps://x.com/i/broadcasts/1yoKMojEkwNJQ

3. De DOT a DOT

  • DOT to DOT: h ttps://x.com/i/broadcasts/1RDGlzZlPDMxL
  • Fridays or Saturdays (variable schedule)
  • Hosts: MattSanto
  • Co-host: César

A free-form format to connect experiences among community members, guests, and developers.

Each program has also featured the outstanding participation of Simón León, Eduardo Cardoso, and Angélica Graterol, enriching the spaces with a variety of perspectives and experiences.

4. POLKAMANIA

This will be our most important program: a monthly festival held on the last Saturday of each month. It will last over 3 hours and showcase the best of the ecosystem. It will debut on June 28th.

:brain: Special Guests

We have been fortunate to host:

  • Members of collectives actively participating in governance (individually or through DVs).
  • Node operators in Kusama, such as Florentina, who shared her technical experience and is part of the Decentralized Nodes program supported by the Web3 Foundation.

:laptop: NerdConf Hackathon: Nerdcamp

Polkadot Americas actively supported the Hackathon organized by NerdConf, held in person in Mendoza, Argentina, and virtually for all of Latin America and Brazil.

:bullseye: Polkadot Americas Contributions:

  • Support in disseminating, communicating, and educating about the event.
  • Direct invitations to communities and key players within and outside the ecosystem.
  • Participation in live programs with the NerdConf team to inform and motivate participation.
  • Creation and management of Satellite Meetups, totaling 11 activities in 9 cities and 8 countries in support of Nerdcamp.

:link: Hackathon Results – 44 projects and nearly 300 hackers

:globe_with_meridians: Regional Meetups

During the hackathon, meetups were organized in several countries, demonstrating the community’s reach. Polkadot Americas achieved this milestone, reaching 8 different countries. You can see all the activities we’ve held in the following thread: https://x.com/polkadotamerica/status/1930479502494167451

All of this was done through the Meetups Bounty; several use cases that participated through invitations in these meetups have been presented.

Analytics:

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In recent weeks, the account’s metrics reflect a steady phase of organic growth, characteristic of a community-driven project that is successfully connecting with its target audience.

Polkadot Americas is no longer just an emerging project, it’s becoming a recognized presence within the Spanish-speaking Web3 ecosystem. The metrics show there is a strong community, growing interest, and clear potential. The challenge now is to maintain this momentum, strengthen the formats that drive the most engagement, and continue inviting new users to get involved.

Future Participation in Polkadot OpenGov Looking ahead, Polkadot Americas is excited to announce its upcoming participation in Polkadot OpenGov. We believe deeply in the talent of our collaborators, and as such, we’re preparing to make our first proposals. We’re particularly thrilled to confirm that Wario and Edgard Salinas will be playing

Conclusion:

Polkadot Americas has consolidated itself as an autonomous, inclusive, and proactive space within the ecosystem. Thanks to the joint effort of its community, it has managed to promote educational content, support relevant events such as hackathons, and encourage active participation in Polkadot governance.

We continue to work with the firm purpose of empowering the Spanish-speaking community in the Americas and beyond, connecting talents, ideas, and projects with the future of the Web3 ecosystem.

Our next steps include using bounties to support our activities, as well as taking our first steps into OpenGov. We have a lot of talent and believe strongly in each of our collaborators who have made this possible.

after finish we want to show you guys, our statistics of how many people is in our Telegram group and where are they from:

CHILE :chile: 17%
ARGENTINA :argentina: 14%
MEXICO :mexico: 28%
VENEZUELA :venezuela: 7%
COLOMBIA :colombia: 10%
ESPAÑA :spain: 7%
BRASIL :brazil: 7%
OTRO (PERÚ :peru: ECUADOR :ecuador: BOLIVIA :bolivia: URUGUAY :uruguay:)10%

Currently, this project has not received funding, and certain costs have been covered by Francisco Albornoz and César Escobedo.

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We had to reduce the number of links included, as our account on the Polkadot forum is relatively new and there is a limitation that allows a maximum of two links per post. Nevertheless, we prioritized sharing the most relevant ones and additionally included some key metrics from our social media channels to provide an overview of the reach and growth of Polkadot Americas.

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Over the past few weeks, the metrics from the Polkadot Americas Twitter account show sustained and significant growth. This trend is a clear sign that the content is resonating with an audience interested in the Web3 ecosystem and, in particular, in the space we are building for Polkadot from Latin America.

• Continuous organic growth: Impressions have shown an upward trend, with notable spikes on key days, demonstrating that the topics covered and consistent communication are generating visibility and engagement.
• Active interaction: Likes, replies, profile visits, and new followers remain at stable and healthy levels. This confirms that the audience is not only viewing the content but also interacting with it and seeking to get more involved.
• Retention and attraction: The ratio of new followers to unfollows has been positive. In other words, more people are joining than leaving, which is crucial for building a solid and growing base.
• Genuine curiosity and interest: The steady number of profile visits indicates that new users are interested in learning who we are, what we do, and how they can get involved.
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We want to show the Spanish-speaking Polkadot community and the broader Polkadot ecosystem that we remain strongly committed to contributing actively.

  • Our Telegram group now has over 90 members and continues to be active, while our presence on Twitter/X has surpassed 135 followers, all through organic growth. This growth will continue, as we remain open and welcoming to both Web3 natives and newcomers alike, consistently extending invitations across the various countries where we have a presence.

We extend our sincere thanks to all members of the Polkadot community. Warm regards.

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[ENG] I’ve enjoyed the work being done by Polkadot Americas, especially its focus on collaboration. I’ve been able to support them in some specific initiatives and I hope they continue to grow healthily and remain a space for the entire Spanish-speaking and Brazilian community.

Unlike other communities that seek to control everything, in Polkadot Americas, it’s possible to see a real openness to everyone who is passionate about the Polkadot ecosystem.

Congratulations on the milestone of encouraging mass participation (and without the requirement of working only when there’s funding) during the recent hybrid hackathon. I think it’s a true demonstration of the support for this group.

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[SPA]
Me ha gustado la labor que se realiza desde Polkadot Americas, sobretodo por su orientación a la colaboración. He podido apoyarles en algunas acciones concretas y espero que sigan creciendo de forma sana y sigan siendo un espacio para toda la comunidad de habla hispana y de brasil.

A diferencia de otras comunidades que buscan controlarlo todo, en Polkadot Americas es posible ver una apertura real para todas las personas que sienten pasión por el ecosistema de Polkadot.

Felicidades por el hito de fomentar la participación masiva (y sin la condición de trabajar solo cuando hay fondos) durante el reciente hackathon hibrida, me parece que es una verdadera muestra del respaldo hacia este grupo.

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I found out about Polkadot Americas a bit over a month ago and almost by chance. I joined a live call on Twitter (45 mins after it had started) and the first thing I heard was something along the lines of…

We are trying to unite the Polkadot community of the entire continent, not just the Spanish-speaking countries, but also Brazil, North America and we’re even including Spain. … and we want to work in a decentralized way, welcoming everyone, even those new to the ecosystem.

As someone who has only been a part of this ecosystem for a few months, I thought this was a brilliant idea and I felt very welcomed. I am thankful since they even invited me as a guest to some of their initial live shows.

In my research and learning I noticed there are many Dotsama agents spread along the American continent, many doing wonderful work, contributions, education, but my impression was that most individuals or collectives were working independently. There was not yet something to unite them.

I am known to be an optimist but I certainly hope that this project can keep growing and can bridge connections between different active Dotsama groups within LATAM but also the rest of the continent and beyond.

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Thank you so much, Florentina, for your thoughtful words and support. It really means a lot to us. Knowing that you felt welcomed and inspired reminds us why we’re doing this to build a truly inclusive and decentralized Dotsama community that connects people across the entire continent. We’re excited to keep growing together!

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Polkadot Americas is doing a great job! I’ve attended their governance open sessions, and it’s fantastic to have a public and open space to discuss Polkadot in Spanish. I’ll keep attending to help grow the Spanish-speaking community. Keep up the great work!

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Thank you, Wario! You are a very polite person and a very active key member of the Polkadot Americas DAO. We’ll keep pushing this forward thanks for the support!

Cheers from Michoacán!

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@PolkadotAmericas
From NerdConf, all we can say is thank you. Thank you for showing that decentralization is not just a technical concept — it’s a way of building, collaborating, and growing together as a region.

The synergy during the hackathon was a clear example of what happens when communities organize around passion. Seeing how you amplified the event with satellite meetups across 9 countries was simply incredible. It fills us with pride and motivation to keep creating spaces where technology is just the excuse to meet, learn, and build together.

This is living proof that LATAM is awake in web3. We know this is just the beginning, and from NERDCONF we are committed to keep supporting this movement. More hackathons, more workshops, and anything that helps strengthen this ecosystem and onboarding new developers.

See you in the next challenges.

stay nerd :high_voltage: stay cool

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Supporting you guys during the hackathon was truly an honor for us. We firmly believe that communities should actively contribute to initiatives like these, which bring significant value both to Web3 and Web2 users.

As you rightly mentioned, the LATAM region is not only awake to Web3 but is increasingly evolving into a highly technical and skilled community. We sincerely thank you for leading the NerdConf Hackathon and encourage you to keep up the excellent work.

Please know that we are always open to collaborating with you in future endeavors. Cheers!

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