My Speaker Experience at JSDay Canarias 2023

In the summer of this year, I had the opportunity to participate in JS Day Canarias 2023. Spain and Tenerife are wonderful places to visit, and I had a great time there. The weather was perfect, the culture was rich and diverse, and especially the food made me feel welcome. Spain had my heart, and we hadn't even started with the conference yet.

JSDay Canarias 2023 was a milestone for me - my very first international, in-person conference. The blend of excitement and nerves was real, but I was determined to make the most of this unique opportunity. As Stack Builders, we had the chance to participate with two developers, Fernanda Andrade and myself, which made the experience even better because we supported each other.

My session was all about asking and reflecting on "Are Promises Our Only Choice?" I dove deep into different ways of handling asynchronous operations in JavaScript through functional programming. My talk was one of the first conferences after the keynote by Kent C. Dodds, so I didn’t know what to expect, but the Canarias community helped me all the way. The room was buzzing, the audience was engaged, and the questions were really good. Chatting with fellow developers was an incredibly fulfilling experience.

JSDay Canarias 2023 was the place to be for the JS Community in Spain, giving me the chance to meet some of the industry's biggest names, including the legendary Kent C. Dodds. Kent's opening keynote, "Making Felix Felicis," set the bar high for an inspiring event. Interacting with these experts and sharing insights made me understand how important it is to create community and have a better understanding of how to create a better network of colleagues.

The organization by Dailos Díaz and the entire organizing team was flawless. The venue was spacious and comfortable; there was always something to do, places to talk, take pictures, have a coffee, and the schedule was well-planned and balanced.

I believe it was more than just a conference; it was a celebration of the JavaScript community's passion and spirit. The engagement during other sessions was palpable, with standout talks like

• Anna Sala's "Storybook, the Best Friend We All Need"
• Erik Rasmussen's "Model-Based E2E Testing With State Machines"
• José Manuel Lucas's "Programación funcional en TypeScript con fp-ts"
• Fernanda Andrade's "Going Beyond the Test Pyramid in TypeScript."

These sessions highlighted the growing interest in functional programming within the JavaScript and TypeScript communities.

Also, we had the chance to attend a satire or stand-up presentation “101. How to build bad Software” by Adrián Ferrera and César Alberca. It was a really fun talk, all the community participated sharing funny experiences we all have had in the industry.

There were so many great talks that I couldn’t attend them all, but luckily they will be available online soon. I can’t wait to watch them and learn more from these amazing speakers.

Speaking at the JSDay Canarias 2023 was an invaluable experience. I had the opportunity to share my passion and knowledge about functional programming with a wonderful audience, to learn from some of the best speakers in the world, to visit a beautiful place, and to see firsthand how the JS community grows.