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From chart-topping anthems to blockbuster hits, Latinos in the United States have profoundly shaped the country’s cultural terrain. Yet despite immense success and market influence, true representation—both on stage and behind the scenes—still lags behind. Let’s explore the dynamic impact and continued challenges.

Music: Crossover Hits & Cultural Fusion

• Ritchie Valens, with his iconic “La Bamba,” was the first Mexican-American rock star to bridge Latin sounds and mainstream

SXSW panelists urge the industry to capitalize on the economic potential of Latino representation. Four Latino entertainment leaders gathered at SXSW on Friday to confront a striking economic revelation – the entertainment industry is missing out on approximately $18 billion annually by undeserving Latino audiences.

The 2024 McKinsey study titled “Latinos in Hollywood: Amplifying Voices Expanding Horizons,” revealed that improving Latino representation both on screen and behind the camera could

According to research by consultancy firm McKinsey & Company released last year, which looked at movies and shows released from 2013 to 2022, Latinos held 4 percent of lead roles in theatrical films and television shows, and 7 percent on streaming series, despite making up 19 percent of the US population. That makes Latinos one of the most underrepresented groups in Hollywood; only Native American representation is similarly bad. READ MORE AT MOTHER JONES

We’ve enjoyed an impressive run of fact-based sports sagas during the past year — “Nyad,” “The Boys in the Boat” and “The Young Woman and the Sea” leap to mind — but in terms of amazing actual events, this one’s the best. READ MORE AT THE DAVIS ENTERPRISE

During the summer, when Hollywood produces blockbusters that cater to those on vacation from school and looking to beat the heat, Latinos are consistently the group that boosts box office success. In an industry coming under increasing pressure from streaming platforms and strikes, Hollywood’s Latino fans are the most avid moviegoers per capita in the U.S. READ MORE AT NBC NEWS

Despite being the largest minority group in the United States, 19% of the population, Latinos are underrepresented in both the media and film and television productions. According to a study by the Annenberg Inclusion Initiative at the University of California, the data has not improved in the last 16 years. In nearly two decades, only 75 actors in lead or co-lead roles were Latino, which means that the representation of actors of Latino origin in Hollywood is only 4.4%. READ MORE AT EL PAIS

US Latinos account for 24 percent of box office ticket sales and 24 percent of streaming subscribers.3 To put this into even sharper contrast, US Latinos see films 3.3 times a year, per capita, compared with 2.9 for Asian-Americans and 2.3 for White Americans.

Yet Latinos hold less than 5 percent of leading on-screen, off-screen, and executive leadership roles in US media. Half of large media companies’ boardrooms include no Latino representation, and overall there is limited progress toward pa

Hispanics and Latinos remain underrepresented in film, a trend that has carried for 16 years, according to a new report from the University of Southern California. Even when movies did feature Hispanic or Latino characters, they were usually stereotyped as immigrant or as having low income. READ MORE AT THE GUARDIAN

From the get-go, Puerto Rican director Àngel Manuel Soto understood the responsibility and pride of making history with "Blue Beetle" (in theaters Friday), DC's first Latino-led superhero movie.

"We never get this chance to tell stories like this," he says. "Much less, to show us as heroes to the world (and) in a cinematic universe that's so followed and in a genre that includes us as sidekicks at best." READ MORE AT USA TODAY

Radio is immensely popular among US Latinos. According to Nielsen, broadcast radio leads all other platforms in reaching Latino audiences on a monthly basis. In 2022, 97 per cent of US Latinos tuned in to radio each month, compared to 92 per cent of the general population. From 2017 to 2022, live TV viewership declined 13 per cent among Latinos to 84 per cent.

Spanish is also the US’s most common non-English language, spoken by nearly 50mn people in the country — 12 times greater than the next

Hollywood companies are facing a series of challenges, including technology disruption, increasing competition, online piracy, economic slowdown, and, importantly, the pressure to demonstrate a continuous growth trajectory. By ignoring the U.S. Latino consumer group, Hollywood may also risk alienating the major source of demographic growth in the country for years to come.

It's time to make Latinos visible again, behind the cameras, in leading roles, and as decision-makers at the C-suites. Holl

YouTube TV now offers a streaming plan featuring only Spanish-language channels and is also beefing up the lineup of Spanish-language content with a new add-on for the virtual MVPD’s base package.

The new option, called Spanish Plan, costs $34.99 per month (with an intro rate of $24.99 per month for the first six) and features 28 channels in Spanish including ESPN Deportes, Fox, Cine Latino, CNN Español, Discovery en Español, Tastemade en Español, Nat Geo Mundo, and Estrella TV, among others. U

Although Latinos and other people of color are avid moviegoers, they are deeply underrepresented on-screen, two recent reports show. The big picture: The first year of the pandemic ravaged the movie industry, with a 72% drop in ticket sales, but research shows that Latino, Black and Asian Americans helped keep it afloat. READ MORE AT AXIOS

The greaser. The hot tamale. The gangster. The maid. The narco. These and other stereotypes are how Hollywood has traditionally portrayed Latinos for over a century. Even as they have become America’s largest minority, and as their box-office clout has increased, tired tropes continue. READ MORE AT LOS ANGELES TIMES

Despite liberal Hollywood's best intentions, every other decade becomes the emerging "Decade of the Hispanic," as if the group exists in a perpetual state of arrival. Even as the big-budget film adaptation of the Lin-Manuel Miranda musical "In the Heights" hit theaters and HBO Max last week to rave reviews, Latinos in Hollywood say they face outsize obstacles in getting stories that reflect their experiences to the screen. READ MORE AT GAZATTEXTRA