The Latino community is almost completely shut out of Hollywood, both in front of and behind the camera. Latinos only represent 5.8 percent of speaking roles in media despite the fact that they over-index as frequent moviegoers.
Young Latinos represent a massive audience with tremendous spending power, and they want to see themselves represented on screen.
Latinos account for half of all population growth since 2000, and in 2015, Latinos produced $2.13 trillion in GDP in the U.S. A 2015 study showed that relatively diverse films enjoyed the highest median global box office receipts and the highest median return on investment.
There’s a myth that leading Latino characters alienate white audiences, but Latino artists have proven this wrong time and time again thanks to Broadway juggernauts like Hamilton to this summer’s inescapable hit Despacito, which recently became the all-time most watched music video on YouTube with more than 4 billion views.
When Latinos see their stories being told authentically in media, they embrace the brand, product, TV show or movie with open arms. Just look at Dora the Explorer with $1 billion-plus in licensing retail sales. Hollywood has a golden opportunity to give voice and representation to the Latino community, a burgeoning powerhouse that is becoming the new mainstream in America.
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