The Hollywood Reporter: The Most Powerful Latin Players in Film, TV and Music

Conversations about the state of Latinos in media can be so depressing. Year after year, researchers remind us of the total lack of progress — just this week, USC’s Annenberg Inclusion Initiative shared that “Hispanic/Latino representation in film has not improved in 16 years.” This after years of advocacy groups explaining that our demographic is a growing consumer and cultural force.

We’ve been stuck in these circular conversations for too long, going as far back as October 1978, when Time published a cover declaring “Hispanic Americans — Soon: The Biggest Minority” and with it, the prediction that the 1980s would be the decade of the Latino. Then and now, it’s clear that the Latino community represents the future. We contribute trillions to the national GDP, and we’ve consistently demonstrated our impact on the global cultural landscape. Last year, Latin music generated $1.1 billion in revenue, proving that language isn’t the “barrier” it’s made out to be. Latino moviegoers made up 30 percent of ticket sales in 2022 and, according to Nielsen, we consume around nine hours of media per day.

The Latino community’s impact on culture and business is undeniable, and we’ve finally reached a long-awaited inflection point.