Age: 49
Where I'm from: Little Havana, Miami
Where I call home: Miami
Position: Spanish-language Radio & TV Broadcaster and Senior Advisor of Hispanic Broadcasting & Marketing
Focusing on right now: Expanding the Heat's int'l social media presence and preparing for my 2,000th broadcast on Saturday.
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Paneda stays busy with dual roles with the Heat,
but finds time to unwind with his wife and kids
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Best advice: Be as professional as possible and be honest, and I follow that all the time. I got that from my parents. I had a wonderful, wonderful upbringing in terms of education and manners at home. And it all starts at the house.
A must for a new hire: Are they qualified for the job and what is their passion for the job? I see a lot of people that work just to work, and it’s not really their passion. And if you don’t have that passion, I don’t think it’s the right person for the job.
Broadcaster I most admire: TV play-by-play announcer ERIC REID, my broadcast partner on the English side. He is the hardest working broadcaster I know. It is just incredible. I don’t think there’s anybody else in the NBA who prepares as hard as Eric, and I think there are others in the NBA who would tell you that. It’s impossible to prepare as much as he does.
Best book I've read this year: I'm currently reading "Band Of Brothers" by STEPHEN AMBROSE. Coach ERIK SPOELSTRA passed the book out to the organization this season. I don't want to compare anything to going to war, but it's about a group of guys who have an us-against-the-world mentality, similar to what the Heat have.
First thing in the morning: Twitter is the first thing I read every morning. I follow everybody in our business and what I look for is: Does a writer have something I don’t have? Did LEBRON say something? Did WADE say something? It’s incredible because from Twitter, you go to other articles of interest. I'm following all of the NBA. I have to be informed of all this because it becomes part of the broadcast that night.
Talking tech: Associated Press sports writer TIM REYNOLDS is a must-follow on Twitter. He’s very good at what he does and is usually very fair and also has a pulse on what’s going on. All of the Heat beat writers are a must too. And, just for entertainment purposes, FRANK ISOLA. He’s just hilarious. He’s crazy, but he’s the best. His wittiness is second to none.
Must have music: I’ll listen to anything from my kid’s hip-hop music to salsa. I’m not picky. I’ll listen to most anything. But I’m not a country guy. I don’t have a favorite artist. From COLDPLAY to BEYONCE. In Spanish, I’ll listen to basically anything -- GLORIA ESTAFAN -- I like it all.
Food for thought: There's a restaurant we've been going to since my wife was pregnant called Casa Paco. It’s a mom-and-pop operation that has been there over 20 years. It’s just over by my house and it’s a Spanish cuisine -- not Cuban, Spanish -- they are from Spain. They treat us like royalty; I even have my picture up on the wall with a championship trophy. I don’t even have to order; they know what I like.
How I unwind: We have a close-knit family with my wife and boys. We’ll hang out and watch a movie or program and we’ll do that at night. We had a great trip to Costa Rica a couple of years ago where we had 20 adults and 22 kids. And we did everything from white-water rafting to horseback riding to surfing to zip-lining and golfing. We just had a phenomenal time. It was part rain forest and the Pacific coast of Costa Rica.
Day in the life: I believe we are No. 1 or 2 in terms of season-ticket holder base in the NBA and attendance in terms of Hispanics. So whatever we're doing in English, we want to promote in Spanish. On the exec side, I am the person to do most of the Hispanic stuff. My job is to inform the Heat of what’s going on in the community. There are always political situations that come up in Miami because of where we are, whether it’s a Cuban issue or a Venezuelan issue. Miami is basically the capital of Latin America in the U.S., so I just want to make sure we are doing the right thing for the community and don’t insult or offend anybody.
