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.
2023 was set to be a game-changer for Latino representation in film. We had Eva Longoria’s feature directorial debut with Flamin’ Hot, an outstanding performance from our friend Eugenio Derbez in Radical and, of course, Blue Beetle, the first superhero film rich in Latinidad in ways we had yet to see on the big screen. We were ready — and then, the strikes.
We were gutted. I had many conversations with executives and creatives, like Gloria Calderón Kellett, who knew what this moment meant not just for the industry, but for our community. I’ve long admired Gloria (who had two shows premiere this year) for how she uses her platform and business to showcase the dynamic intersectionality within our community, flaws and all. We had the same thought as the strikes began: Progress delayed, again?
Oddly, the urgency of the moment created something unprecedented: 27 leading Latino groups organized and activated to publish an open letter showing support for our actors and writers on the picket lines, pledging to use their influence to celebrate and recognize their creative achievements. It was the first time they had all come together like this, and it proved that we were more united now than ever before. Why this show of solidarity? Because we needed to remind everyone of the role our community plays in moving our society forward.
Because it’s not just our influence as consumers that the industry should be paying attention to. As you’ll read below, Latinos have steadily amassed power across all sectors of media — onscreen and off. These leaders are not only speaking to Latinos and making content that resonates with us, but are also reshaping the complexion of the business and culture for all.
And that is true power. — Ruben Garcia
Ruben Garcia is a culture and impact consultant who authored the #SupportLatinoCreatives joint letter, was a producer on the 2023 Hispanic Heritage Awards and most recently was co-head of cultural business strategy at CAA.
HOW WE SELECTED: THR editors consulted with industry insiders and our staff beat reporters to identify and vet the executives, creatives and talent of Latin descent who currently wield the most power in their respective media and entertainment fields, and have the greatest impact in shaping mainstream culture.
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Cris Abrego
Image Credit: Carlos Eric Lopez CEO, Hyphenate Media Group; chairman of the Americas, Banijay
Cris Abrego, quite fittingly, has had one of the more surreal career trajectories in entertainment. A reality producer who got his start logging tapes for Road Rules before going on to create aughts hits such as Flavor of Love, Celebrity Paranormal Project and The Surreal Life, he segued to the C-suite after the 2008 acquisition of his 51 Minds Entertainment shingle by Dutch-based multiplatform media company Endemol. “I certainly felt something shift when I sold my first business,” says Abrego, who was 36 at the time. “To have that kind of windfall at that age was life-changing.” Read the full story.
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Bad Bunny
Image Credit: Gladys Vega/ Getty Images Musician; actor
He’s graced the Met Gala carpet, wrestled in WWE matches, hosted SNL and co-starred in this year’s lucha libre feature Cassandro and 2022’s Bullet Train. The Puerto Rican multihyphenate’s 2022 El Último Tour del Mundo was the fastest-selling tour since 2018, according to Billboard, and this April he became the first Spanish-language artist to headline Coachella.
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J Balvin
Musician
The Prince of Reggaetón holds Guinness World Records for being the Latin Grammys’ most nominated artist in a single year (13, in 2020) and having the longest-running No. 1 song by a solo act on Billboard’s Hot Latin Songs chart with 2017’s “Ginza.” He’s credited with opening the U.S. market to fellow Colombian artists like Maluma and Feid.
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Tracy Brennan
Agent, CAA
The veteran rep, who served as co-head of the agency’s motion picture talent department for five years, is committed to creating opportunities for people from historically excluded backgrounds, like her mother’s side of the family, which hails from Mexico. Her diverse roster of busy stars includes Jenna Ortega, Kerry Washington, Anya Taylor-Joy and Ana de Armas.
How the industry has changed for Latinos “I can advocate for my clients based on the qualities they uniquely possess, rather than adhering to the narrow descriptions that roles for Latinx actors historically have had.”
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Ilia Calderón and Jorge Ramos
Co-anchors, Noticiero Univision
The co-anchors of Univision’s flagship newscast are among the most important and influential newscasters in the country. Calderón co-moderated the Sept. 27 GOP presidential primary debate, viewed by nearly 10 million people, while Ramos is the longest-serving network news anchor in history, having helmed Univision’s evening newscast for the past 36 years.
Most powerful Latin person
Ramos “Sonia Sotomayor, and my daughter and son. Their generation was born with much more power than us.”
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Gloria Calderón Kellett
Image Credit: JC Olivera/WireImage TV writer-producer
Since moving her TV business to Amazon in 2019, she’s launched rom-com serial With Love and gentrification satire The Horror of Dolores Roach, part of an ambitious slate of Latine-fronted projects. A writer, producer, actor and showrunner, Calderón Kellett serves on the Television Academy’s executive committee, the Creative Coalition and the Untitled Latinx Project.
First memory of Latino representation in pop culture “The drug dealer on Miami Vice had the name Calderón. It was exciting to have my last name on TV but also a huge bummer.”
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Joanna Calo
Co-showrunner, The Bear
Since the Emmy-nominated FX comedy debuted as an instant phenomenon in 2022, the writer-producer has become one of the most sought-after new voices in comedy. Cutting her teeth on BoJack Horseman before working on the first season of Hacks and consulting on Beef, she just went into development on another FX venture: an adaptation of buzzy This American Life segment “I Was a Teenage Smuggler.”
How my industry power has changed “I’ve always had a voice inside telling me to say yes to everything. But I have noticed recently it’s gotten slightly easier to say no.”
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Cardi B
Image Credit: Gotham/GC Images Musician
The New York rapper was the first solo female artist to win the Grammy for best rap album with Invasion of Privacy in 2019, and she’s teased its follow-up to release next year. She’s also the first female artist to have all songs on an album go platinum, and with her 2021 single “Up,” she became the first female rapper to have five entries at No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart.
Cardi B (left) and Bad Bunny, who previously collaborated on 2018 track “I Like It” with J Balvin, posed with Doja Cat at the 2023 Met Gala, whose theme was Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty.
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Cesar Conde
Chairman, NBCUniversal News Group
Conde has led the transformation of NBCUniversal’s news businesses since taking charge in 2020, leaning into streaming through NBC News Now and programming Peacock with original news and opinion content, as well as simulcasts of CNBC and MSNBC’s morning shows. He also has made diversity a priority through his “50% Challenge,” an effort to make the news division more representative of America with at least 50 percent female employees and 50 percent employees of color.
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Alfonso Cuarón
Director
The first Mexican director to win an Oscar (for 2013’s Gravity) has a filmography as diverse as it is decorated, reliably delivering dystopia (Children of Men), semi-autobiography (Roma), YA fantasy (Harry Potter) and erotic coming-of-age (Y tu Mamá También). One of only two people to receive Oscar nominations in seven categories, including directing, editing and cinematography wins, he’s now in the edit bay for upcoming Apple TV+ drama series Disclaimer, starring Cate Blanchett.
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Carmen Cuba and Carla Hool
Casting directors
Casting directors have the power to mint stars, thereby changing the landscape of Hollywood. Hool has become the town’s go-to when it comes to scouting Latin talent, working on Coco, Flamin’ Hot and Narcos. Meanwhile, Cuba is one of Hollywood’s casting go-tos, period: She changed the lives of the Stranger Things gang (winning her second Emmy in the process), and her upcoming credits include Mr. & Mrs. Smith and Crying in H Mart.
Having power in this business means
Cuba “Being able to get to the most powerful people directly without having to prove who I am, where my taste lies or what my process looks like.”
How the industry has changed for Latinos
Hool “Producers started coming to me to consult on the authenticity of Latin representation, instead of me having to constantly educate people on the diversity of our community. There’s an openness to doing it right and being respectful that wasn’t there before.”
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Daddy Yankee
Musician
His 2004 masterpiece, Barrio Fino, made him the first reggaetón act to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart, and became the top-selling Latin album of the decade, paving the way for artists like Don Omar and Wisin y Yandel to swim in the mainstream. Barrio Fino’s lead single, “Gasolina,” is the first reggaetón song inducted into the National Recording Registry. Now retired from music, he is an executive producer on Neon, a new Netflix comedy series about three friends moving to Miami to pursue their reggaetón dreams.
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Ariana DeBose
Image Credit: Jenny Anderson/Getty Images Actor
The first openly queer Afro-Latina to win an Oscar (as Anita in Steven Spielberg’s West Side Story remake) has had a busy few years since she was in the Hamilton ensemble on Broadway in 2016. Her nonstop slate includes Disney’s upcoming Wish (where she leads the voice cast), with Sony’s Kraven the Hunter and Apple TV+’s Argylle on deck.
First time I felt represented in pop culture “Zoe Saldaña. I was watching someone whose skin was as beautifully dark as mine, who had a fire in her that I understood.”
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Guillermo del Toro
Image Credit: Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images Director
A true multihyphenate and triple Oscar winner — including best picture (The Shape of Water) and best animated feature (Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio) — the filmmaker has been a prolific storyteller in both English and Spanish for more than 30 years. Projects in the works include a take on Frankenstein with Oscar Isaac and Andrew Garfield and stop-motion film The Buried Giant, both for Netflix.
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Eugenio Derbez
Image Credit: Courtesy of Sundance Institute Actor; producer
With a career box office take of more than $2.5 billion, Derbez is the highest-grossing Latin actor in the world. His crossover career includes Oscar-winning CODA and his own projects via his and Ben Odell’s banner 3Pas, whose latest release is the Sundance audience award-winning drama Radical: “3Pas is here to make a small change in the industry and tell stories with Latinos by portraying them in a different way.”
When I knew my industry power had changed “Sept. 2, 2013. Instructions Not Included broke all the records and my agent called me: ‘Everyone wants to meet you.’ ”
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Nina L. Diaz
Chief creative officer and president of content, Showtime/MTV studios & Paramount Media Networks
Diaz’s stock has soared alongside boss Chris McCarthy’s, where she’s now part of his five-person leadership team, overseeing development and production at Showtime along with MTV Entertainment Studios content, which includes more than 120 series across brands like Comedy Central and MTV.
Most powerful Latin person “My dad, David Diaz. He was the first Hispanic anchor of a major New York TV organization and taught me to stand in my power.”
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America Ferrera
Image Credit: Jacopo Raule/Getty Images Actor; producer
She delivered the monologue of the year in Barbie and exuded similar populist energy in the Gamestonk feature Dumb Money. The first Latina to win a best comedy actress Emmy (for Ugly Betty) wields her power behind the camera as well, exec producing Gentefied and readying her feature directorial debut, an adaptation of Erika Sánchez’s best-selling novel I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.
Having power in this business means “Having the trust of others.”
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Beau Ferrari
Chairman, NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises
Ferrari has restructured the division, home to NBCUniversal’s Spanish-language businesses, to boost its original content production and serve as a feeder for NBCU’s platforms (including the Telemundo channels and Peacock) and also other networks and streaming services. As the Spanish-language TV and streaming home for the FIFA World Cup, Telemundo’s platforms saw record engagement for the men’s and women’s tournaments over the past year.
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Becky G
Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Musician
The Inglewood native sang Flamin’ Hot’s “The Fire Inside,” a Diane Warren-penned contender in this year’s Oscars race. She also just wrapped her first headlining tour (Mi Casa, Tu Casa) and oversees the makeup line Treslúce Beauty.
Having power in this business means “Saying, ‘I deserve this,’ without guilt weighing down on our shoulders.”
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Karol G
Image Credit: Rick Kern/Getty Images Musician
Colombia’s “It” girl made history as the first woman with an all-Spanish-language album (Mañana Será Bonito) to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart and is the female artist with the most career entries (60 songs) on the Hot Latin Songs chart. An estimated 15,000 fans showed up to see her on the Today show stage this summer, she’s the face of the Loewe fashion brand’s Paula’s Ibiza collection, and she’ll make her live-action acting debut in Netflix’s crime drama Griselda.
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Alexis Garcia
Executive vp of Film Group, Fifth Season
A cornerstone of the film festival circuit, the Miami native is behind some of the biggest recent sales titles, from Flora and Son to 80 for Brady. From his post, Garcia pushes to work with Latin talent like director Julio Quintana, who was behind Netflix’s Blue Miracle and SXSW standout The Long Game, both Fifth Season titles.
One step to increase Latin industry power “More representation without explanation. It shouldn’t take making a Latino version of something to feature our faces and voices.”
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Dany Garcia
CEO and chairwoman, The Garcia Companies
What isn’t Dany Garcia working on? There’s Seven Bucks Entertainment (Black Adam, Amazon’s Red One), which she co-founded with ex-husband Dwayne Johnson and runs with her brother, Hiram, its president of production. Her extensive portfolio also includes energy drink Zoa, tequila Teremana, an Under Armour line and the relaunch of football league XFL, which recently announced a merger with the USFL.
The moment my industry influence changed “When I made the switch to WME for D.J. and myself. I had the tools to fulfill my vision for a nontraditional representation model around a talent/IP.”
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Selena Gomez
Image Credit: Patrick Harbron/Hulu Actor; musician; producer
With 430 million followers, Gomez is the most followed woman on Instagram. An Emmy nominee for Only Murders in the Building and Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me, she also has Max cooking show Selena + Chef; collaborations with a slew of artists including Ozuna, Cardi B and J Balvin; and makeup line Rare Beauty, which is expected to surpass $300 million in sales in 2023, according to Fast Company.
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Salma Hayek Pinault
Image Credit: Lionel Hahn/Getty Images Actor; producer
She became a Hollywood movie star nearly 30 years ago with Desperado, but Hayek Pinault considers Ugly Betty, which her banner Ventanarosa produced, the more significant breakthrough in convincing a major network (ABC) to embrace the Latino consumer. Of the long road to the crossover hit, she recalls, “We had to come up with thousands of ideas until we broke them down.” Today, Ventanarosa has first-look deals with Max and TelevisaUnivision’s Vix. Says Hayek Pinault, who most recently starred in Black Mirror and Magic Mike’s Last Dance (and whose husband, François-Henri Pinault, recently purchased CAA): “The strength of our company is we’re very good creative producers that know how to bring results.”
How my industry power has changed “I have more freedom now. They can see me in a more three-dimensional way. That gives me more freedom to interact with respect and be respected.”
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Eugene Hernandez
Director, Sundance Film Festival
The 2024 edition will see him fully step into his post as head of U.S. independent cinema’s most important film festival, whose selections can make careers for up-and-coming filmmakers and juice distribution prospects for indie titles. Hernandez joins from the New York Film Festival, which became a must on the awards circuit under his purview.
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Gabriel ‘Fluffy’ Iglesias
Image Credit: Daniel Knighton/Getty Images Comedian
The lovable everyman from Long Beach in the loud Hawaiian shirts — who jokingly refers to himself as “the King of the Mexicans” — has parlayed his wholesome act into big business. He was the second-biggest live draw in 2022, according to Pollstar, earning $25 million from 82 shows, including a history-making sellout date at Dodger Stadium. At that show, attended by 42,00 fans, California State Sen. María Elena Durazo told him, “You talk about our community and our struggles in a way that is respectful.” Iglesias’ characteristically humble response? “I’m just trying to tell jokes and make people smile.”
First memory of Latino representation in pop culture “Menudo. They made an appearance on Silver Spoons. Singing in Spanish on an English-speaking American show — even as a kid I knew that was huge.”
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Alejandro G. Iñárritu
Director
Not that it’s a competition, but Iñárritu has the most Oscars among the Three Amigos (five if you include his special achievement award for the VR project Flesh and Sand) and was the first Mexican filmmaker to be nominated for best director or best picture (2006’s Babel, which was nommed for both). The one-two punch of Birdman (2014) and The Revenant (2015) made him one of just three helmers ever to win back-to-back directing Oscars.
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Oscar Isaac
Image Credit: Alison Rosa/CBS Films/Courtesy Everett Collection Actor
Since his breakthrough in the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis a decade ago, Isaac has become a global star with lead turns in both prestige and franchise fare, including Star Wars, Dune, the Spider-Verse, Moon Knight, Ex Machina, Scenes From a Marriage and The Card Counter.
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John Leguizamo
Image Credit: Courtesy of NBCUniversal Actor; writer
With more than 100 credits that include everything from horror comedy (The Menu) to animated musicals (Encanto), Leguizamo is one of the most versatile and prolific actors in the biz. A major turning point for him was his 1991 off-Broadway one-man show Mambo Mouth, which drew big names like Arthur Miller, Al Pacino and John F. Kennedy Jr. “A white theater audience met me where I was at, and we thrived,” he recalls. “The Latino audience came, and it was church. I knew what it meant to an audience in a content desert for their culture.”
One step to increase Latin industry power “The magic bullet is executives at the highest levels, so we don’t have to do a dog-and-pony show for optics and not real change.”
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Eva Longoria
Image Credit: Photographed by Jai Lennard; Styling by Maeve Reilly, Hair: Ken Paves, Makeup: Elan Bongiorno using L’Oreal Beauty Actor; director; producer
After amassing small-screen producing and directing experience (see: Gordita Chronicles, Grand Hotel, Jane the Virgin), Longoria made her feature debut with Searchlight’s Flamin’ Hot, opening on Hulu and Disney+ simultaneously. She has long thrown her name behind projects to ensure a green light, and with the launch of Hyphenate Media Group with Cris Abrego, she will be able to scale her efforts, beginning with Apple TV+ series Land of Women.
First memory of Latino representation in pop culture “I looked up to Salma Hayek early in her career. And Rita Hayworth movies. She’s Latina, but nobody knew it.”
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Jennifer Lopez
Image Credit: Everett Collection Actor; musician
The epitome of Latin power, J.Lo demonstrated that she was more than able to keep up with the changing guard of Latin pop on “Cambia el Paso,” a 2021 neo-reggaetón duet with Puerto Rican star Rauw Alejandro. While prepping her first studio album in a decade — the anticipated This Is Me … Now — Lopez starred in Netflix’s action pic The Mother and upcoming sci-fi thriller Atlas. 2023 also found her developing her own spritz cocktail brand and releasing three separate collections on JLO, her footwear line.
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Jesús López
Chairman and CEO, Universal Music Latin America & Iberian Peninsula
One of the key architects in Latin music’s global domination these past two decades, López served as the exec behind major cultural milestones such as Luis Fonsi’s reggaetón-fueled 2017 megahit “Despacito” and the rise of stars like Karol G, Sebastián Yatra, Feid and Anitta.
If I could will into existence one role occupied by a Latino “A Latina as president of the United States.”
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Phil Lord
Writer; producer; director
He’s one of the most in-demand producers for a reason. Alongside producing partner Chris Miller, Lord (whose mother is Cuban) has one of the best batting averages in TV and film over the past decade. In 2023, the Lego Movie franchise steward delivered surprise hit Cocaine Bear and animated Oscar frontrunner Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, and the duo have the final Spider-Verse installment, another Lego Batman and loads more in development.
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Diego Luna and Gael García Bernal
Image Credit: Amazon Prime Video / Courtesy Everett Collection Actors; producers
Through their banner La Corriente del Golfo, the longtime friends have brought to life projects illuminating Mexican life and culture, like Cassandro. Their respective acting careers also keep them busy: Luna was a Golden Globe and Critics Choice nominee for Andor while Cassandro has García Bernal in the film awards conversation.
How Latinos have shaped culture
Luna “Today’s audiences around the world are more used to the diversity of Latino culture. I didn’t understand until I left Mexico and [saw] how rich and diverse the different communities of the Latino world are.”
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Maluma
Image Credit: Mireya Acierto/Getty Images Musician; actor
Growing up in his native Medellín, Maluma saw fellow Colombian artists like Shakira and Juanes become part of the mainstream. “Seeing them perform at all these awards shows around the world made me think that nothing is impossible,” he says. After the release of his 2012 debut, Magia, he became one of the world’s biggest Latin stars with a sound that effortlessly merges reggaetón grit with honeyed pop hooks. He struck gold with delicate urbano gems like “Hawái” (2020), as well as iconic duets with Shakira (“Chantaje”) and Madonna (“Medellín”).
If I could will into existence one role occupied by a Latino “I want to be the first Latino to play Batman.”
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Jorge Mejia
President and CEO, Sony Music Publishing Latin America & U.S. Latin
“My first musical memory is connected to a song by Roberto Carlos,” Mejía says of the Brazilian crooner. The exec has kept alive his passion for quality Latin songs, fostering some of the genre’s most iconic tracks of the past couple of years, including “TQG,” the reggaetón-fueled duet that brought Shakira and Karol G together. Last year, he won ASCAP’s Latin Publisher of the Year award for a record-setting 18th time.
Having power in this business means “Earning the trust and respect of everyone you work with — songwriters, your team, the people that you report to.”
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Ignacio Meyer
President of U.S. Networks, Univision
The TelevisaUnivision veteran replaced Luis Silberwasser a year ago after the latter left for Warner Bros. Discovery. Now overseeing the largest Spanish-language content provider in the United States, Meyer is producing the first-ever international telecast of the Latin Grammys, which will take place Nov. 16 in Seville, Spain.
How Latino influence has changed “When salsa surpassed ketchup in sales in the U.S. and tortillas outperformed white bread in the early 2010s, those products ceased to be categorized as ‘ethnic’ and became mainstream cuisine for many.”
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Lin-Manuel Miranda
Image Credit: Rob Kim/Getty Images Composer; actor
“Power means the ability to navigate a clear path from the initial impulse of ‘This should exist’ to ‘This exists and we can now share it,’ ” says the winner of numerous Tony, Emmy and Grammy awards — and a two-time Oscar nominee — who transformed Broadway musicals with In the Heights and Hamilton, and wrote iconic songs for Moana and Encanto. And progress is “a cha-cha — one step forward, one step back, three in place,” quips Miranda, who will play Hermes in Disney+’s upcoming adaptation of Percy Jackson and the Olympians. “Good thing we can dance.”
When I knew my industry power had changed “When I stopped having to substitute-teach to supplement my rent in 2007.”
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Rita Moreno
Image Credit: Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection Actor
A matriarch for the entertainment industry’s Latin community and Hollywood at large, she maintains a full dance card on the eve of her 92nd birthday. Moreno followed February’s 80 for Brady with a guest turn on Lopez vs. Lopez and a cameo in Fast X. A trailblazer and EGOT, the native Puerto Rican also has a storied history as a social activist who was at Harry Belafonte’s side at the 1963 March on Washington.
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Andy Muschietti and Barbara Muschietti
Director and producer
The eye-popping billion-dollar success of It and It Chapter Two made Hollywood take notice of the Argentine filmmaking siblings, whose Double Dream banner inked parallel first-look deals with Warner Bros. Pictures and Warner Bros. Television Group/Max. They’re now developing the Batman feature The Brave and the Bold while aiming to wrap It prequel series Welcome to Derry.
First memory of Latino representation in pop culture “Every time Linda Cristal would show up on reruns of High Chaparral, our mom would say, ‘Linda Cristal is Argentinian.’ ”
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Ana Navarro
Image Credit: Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Co-host, The View
The political strategist turned commentator speaks to a significant demographic that continues to be underestimated and overlooked by mainstream media: right-leaning Latinos, whose numbers have once again grown since the 2020 election. The Republican’s profile has risen steadily over the past decade through regular news and opinion show appearances, culminating in a permanent seat at the zeitgeist table, The View, for which she has received two Daytime Emmy nominations.
Most powerful Latin person “¡El Papa Francisco! Pope Francis is Argentinian.”
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Jenna Ortega
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix Actor
At 21, she’s taken Hollywood by storm with breakout roles in Wednesday and the revived Scream franchise. “In the last year, I’ve felt a shift in the way people view me,” says Ortega, who has Beetlejuice 2 among multiple projects in the pipeline. “I’ve received opportunities from those I’ve long dreamed of working with.”
First memory of Latino representation in pop culture “It has to be the Chicana princess, Selena Quintanilla. She was one of the first artists I looked up to.”
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Pedro Pascal
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO Actor
From The Mandalorian to Game of Thrones, he’s been part of the biggest culture-defining series of the past decade. Pascal, who was born in Chile before his family emigrated to the U.S. as political refugees, has kept his gold streak going with The Last of Us. A varied upcoming film slate includes Pedro Almodóvar’s Cannes title Strange Way of Life and Ridley Scott’s Gladiator sequel.
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Desiree Perez
CEO, Roc Nation
The Bronx native of Cuban descent has helped power Jay-Z’s colossal success. Responsible for the company’s multimillion-dollar deals across touring and brand partnerships for artists and athletes, she led the agency to executive produce the Super Bowl Halftime Show, which garnered Perez her first Emmy. “Our collaboration with the NFL has had extraordinary reach,” she says. “Roc Nation’s influence contributes to our artists’ careers, in negotiating business and financial deals while securing ownership rights for our clients.” Rihanna’s performance at this year’s show made history, garnering 118.7 million views.
Most powerful Latin person “My father, but if I had to choose No. 2, I have incredible admiration for Sonia Sotomayor. What a force.”
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Peso Pluma
Image Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Musician
Pluma joins the growing number of regional Mexican artists who infuse hip-hop and reggaetón into authentic corrido beats. At 24, he has had a steep meteoric rise, frequently visiting the inner chamber of a Billboard chart (his Génesis reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top Latin Albums chart) while making history as the first regional Mexican artist to perform on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.
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Zoe Saldaña
Image Credit: Lynsey Addario/Paramount+ Actor; producer
She’s the only actor in the world to have starred in four movies that have grossed more than $2 billion each, including the three top-grossing movies of all time (Avatar, Avatar: The Way of Water and Avengers: Endgame). What Saldaña does with her franchise power is channel it into passion projects that center multidimensional, multicultural women, including last year’s From Scratch series (produced by Cinestar, her banner with sisters Mariel and Cisely). Always busy, she’s now starring in Taylor Sheridan’s Special Ops: Lioness (which she exec produces) opposite Nicole Kidman.
When I knew my industry power had changed “After my first film with James Cameron in 2009, I had the ability to choose projects and work with people I was passionate about.”
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Hans Schafer
Senior vp global touring, Live Nation
Schafer’s rise in the competitive world of concert promotion is partly a reflection of his ability to organize sold-out stadium tours for Los Bukis, Bad Bunny and Karol G. He also was instrumental in RBD’s reunion, which could well become the No. 1 tour of the year. “I see a shift where now you see the fans, and not the artists, crossing over. True power will manifest itself when diversity is no longer a checkbox but a well-integrated model in all organizations.”
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Nir Seroussi
Executive vp Interscope Geffen A&M; songwriter; producer
Seroussi has shown exquisite taste when it comes to discovering cutting-edge artists across all Latin genres. His roster includes Karol G as well as música mexicana tastemakers Iván Cornejo and Grupo Marca Registrada, Argentina’s Khea and Colombian-American neo-soul diva Kali Uchis. “Latin creatives are no longer confined to their own insular networks,” he says. “Now they have access to everything and everybody.”
Having power in this business means “Your network is your power. You can’t operate alone if you aim to have a lasting career in this industry.”
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Shakira
Image Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images Musician
Shakira has spent most of 2023 reinventing herself while creating music loaded with gravitas and cultural relevance. The Colombian legend turned her split from husband Gerard Piqué into pop art, releasing two heart-wrenching duets with urbano stars Rauw Alejandro and Ozuna, both of which went global. She followed up with the Latin revenge anthem of the decade, her infamous and addictive “Shakira: Bzrp Music Sessions, Vol. 53” with Bizarrap, and is now gearing up for a new album and world tour.
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Luis Silberwasser
Chairman and CEO, Warner Bros. Discovery Sports
One of the most powerful executives in sports, Silberwasser manages WBD’s relationships with the NBA, MLB and NHL. It’s an all-encompassing job for the veteran TV exec, who has served in top roles at Univision and Discovery. And with the sports audience among the most diverse in all of TV, reaching every demo and age group, it’s a critical division for WBD.
How Latinos have shaped culture “The acceptance of Spanish-language music and artists such as Bad Bunny, Maluma, J Balvin, Shakira. Spanish and non-Spanish speakers are listening to their music, and these artists are now household names in America.”
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Julio Vaqueiro
Anchor, Noticias Telemundo
Since taking over Telemundo’s flagship evening newscast in 2021, Vaqueiro has made it a priority to spend time in the field, covering major stories from the migrant crisis to the aftermath of the Hamas attack in Israel.
How Latin power has changed “We now have a record number of Latinos in Congress, and Latinos are having a huge impact in sports, culture, entertainment and business. But there’s still a lot of work to do.”
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Afo Verde
Chairman and CEO, Sony Music for Latin America, Spain and Portugal
An accomplished musician, songwriter and producer, Verde is revered among artists for his commitment to safeguarding the creative process. As an executive, he has fostered a roster populated by veterans and newcomers alike, including reggaetón mega-stars Manuel Turizo, Maluma and Rauw Alejandro.
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Sofía Vergara
Image Credit: James Devaney/GC Images Actor; entrepreneur
For seven years, she reigned as the highest-paid actress in the world, bringing in $43 million annually (according to Forbes) through Modern Family, America’s Got Talent and savvy endorsement and licensing deals, including a long-running furniture collection with Rooms to Go, an apparel line at Walmart and, as of this summer, beauty brand Toty. Next year, she’ll unveil her most enterprising leap yet: starring in and exec producing crime drama Griselda, about drug lord Griselda Blanco.
When I knew my industry power had changed “In 1999, I independently produced and marketed my own swimsuit calendar that outsold all similar publications in the market by tenfold that year. That success showed me the U.S. and traditional Hispanic markets were a profitable double punch.”
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Warren Zavala
Partner, WME
He may represent some of the biggest names in Hollywood — Ryan Reynolds, Tyler Perry and Selena Gomez, to name a few — but Zavala is hesitant to call himself a power player: “I’m in a service-based business. I see value in having your voice heard, the ability to advocate, and having the trust of clients.”
First memory of Latino representation in pop culture “Desi Arnaz.”
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Rachel Zegler
Image Credit: Courtesy of Murray Close/Lionsgate Actor
Still a relative newcomer, the 22-year-old has already landed multiple iconic and coveted roles: West Side Story’s Maria, Lucy Gray Baird in the Hunger Games prequel The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, and Snow White herself.
One step to increase Latin industry power “An emphasis on support for and within our community!”
Written by Seth Abramovitch, Ashley Cullins, Mia Galuppo, Borys Kit, Ernesto Lechner, Mikey O’Connell, Christy Piña, Richy Rosario, Lacey Rose, Rebecca Sun, Etan Vlessing and Alex Weprin
This story first appeared in the Nov. 8 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
