Hispanic Heritage Month gives us four weeks to spotlight the contributions Hispanic and Latino Americans have made. Kicking off on September 15 and running through October 15, this annual tribute was established in 1988 to honor the independence days of several Central American countries. But like so many other commemorative months, the impact of Latino and Hispanic Americans deserves recognition all year long.
Plus: Five Hispanic Heritage Month facts that will make you proud (Pulso)
With over 65.2 million Latinos living in the country, nearly one in five U.S. residents, they are not just a key voting bloc this election season; Latino and Hispanic Americans are a driving force in pop culture and history. Think about it — brands like Goya Foods, the legendary music and timeless fashions of Selena Quintanilla and classic reads like Sandra Cisneros’ The House on Mango Street are woven into the fabric of our childhood memories. Yet, despite their $3.2 trillion buying power and status as the largest minority ethnic group in the country, Latinos still face glaring underrepresentation in mainstream media.
In 2022, NBC News reported on a study from the University of California, Los Angeles, about Latino viewers who helped keep film studios afloat during the Covid-19 pandemic despite the lack of representation in front of and behind the camera. That year, we saw films like Encanto win Best Animated Feature and Best Original Score at the Academy Awards, but the study revealed that only 7 percent of leading acting roles and about 8 percent of overall film acting roles went to Latinos.
And the numbers are even lower for Latino writers and directors in Hollywood, leaving little opportunity for accurate and authentic Latino storytelling, writes Emmy-Award winning producer and journalist Marisa Arbona-Ruiz for palabra.
In the piece, Arbona-Ruiz, who attended last year’s 36th Annual Hispanic Heritage Awards in Washington, D.C., spoke with actor Tonatiuh Elizarraraz of ABC’s Promised Land about Latino representation in Hollywood.
“We’re not a monolith. We’re not a genre. We’re fully formed people who love and dream,” he said.
The actor goes on to call out Hollywood’s devaluation of Latinos and excuses by studios and networks about why they don’t fund more projects.
“I don’t know how much more we can prove to them. Every time we do it, we break box offices. So, they have to take leaps of faith and not market things as strictly Latin shows,” Elizarraraz said.
One example of the kind of authentic Latino representation Elizarraraz calls for is Gentefied, a multigenerational dramedy centered on three Mexican-American cousins chasing the American Dream in Los Angeles. The show tackles themes like family, gentrification and being undocumented. Despite its nuanced storytelling, Gentefied was canceled by Netflix just two months after the second season debuted. Reportedly, the series didn’t appear on the platform’s top 10 list, raising questions about how success is measured in an industry dominated by algorithms and metrics.
Following the show’s cancellation, Gentefied co-creator Linda Yvette Chávez wrote on Twitter: “Metrics and algorithms will never measure the true impact of what we did here. … We may never see how deep the work goes or how far it reaches, what seeds we planted for change in the world, but we do the work anyway.”
When projects centering Black and Brown characters, like Gentefied, get greenlit in Hollywood, they often receive less compensation, fewer resources or fewer opportunities compared to white film directors — or what Award-winning Honduran-American actress and producer America Ferrera calls the “brown discount.”
In an interview with URL Media partner Latina to Latina, she shares: “It’s one thing to get a yes, but there is a way in which our yeses generally come packaged and they’re often at a discount and they’re often less money.”
This trend of Latino-centered and affirming shows getting the axe from major streaming platforms was the focal point of a recent Instagram reel featuring a collaboration between URL Media partner Pulso and Latina film director Steph OH. While Steph is the first to admit she doesn’t have all the answers to resolve Hollywood’s persistent devaluing of Latino voices, she calls on viewers to support existing Latino media, reminding us that there are stories waiting to be discovered.
In another reel, the creator also dives deeper into the complexities of representation in a way that’s not always easy to articulate, noting how being part of an underrepresented group has shaped her ability to dream and reconstruct stories for future generations: “Movies are more than just entertainment; they serve as inspiration and hope for what can be. As a woman and as a Latina, I want more for all of us.”
As we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, Luz Media has curated a list of must-read books by Latina authors that should be on your radar. From the dystopian sci-fi novel Solis (available for pre-order) to a look at the rise of the Latino far right and a powerful guide for leaders looking to reignite their passions, these books showcase the depth and diversity of Latina voices.