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I saw an add for horchata drinks at Starbucks yesterday. I thought it was just a California thing, but it looks like it’s a nationwide return of an horchata-flavored iced shaken espresso drink, along with the arrival of a new horchata frappuccino drink. I forget: Horchata really is that girl, and not just in the U.S. It’s also growing in popularity in the UK, where searches for the beverage are up, according to The Guardian.

In this newsletter, I’m exploring the hyphen between:

- Fernando

In 1986, researchers found that Hispanics in the Southwest lived as long, or longer in some cases, than white Americans despite having lower education and income levels. The researchers described this as an “epidemiologic paradox.”

This became known as the “Hispanic Paradox,” challenging notions that higher education levels, better income and access to health care lead to better health.

No one has been able to pinpoint exactly why this is the case, but some research suggests diet, lower rates of smoking and strong family and social support give Hispanic people in the U.S. a leg up in longevity.

Still, the paradox has long been challenged. Some experts theorize that the improved health outcomes for Hispanic Americans are due to the “salmon bias,” the idea that sick, elderly migrants return to their countries to die and thus are not counted in U.S. mortality data. Others have pointed to the “healthy immigrant effect,” the idea that newly arrived people to the U.S. in general are healthier than native-born populations.

Regardless of how steep this advantage is or what is behind it, some researchers warn this health advantage could be at risk of disappearing.”

In 2024, two researchers (one of which was co-author of the 1986 report mentioned earlier) wrote an editorial on the health outcomes for Hispanic and Latino people in the U.S. and how modern dynamics in the country could end this health advantage. The report identified a several factors contributing to this, including:

Why am I writing about this now? A report from KFF shows Hispanics saw the highest increase in uninsured rates for people under 65 from 2023 to 2024. Could the “Hispanic paradox” be about to disappear? Or is it about to get stronger?

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How do you say fence in Spanish? Fernando, the writer of this newsletter, will never forget that it’s “cerca” because one time when he was a kid, he said “fensa,” and his dad has yet to let him live that moment down. Fernando has since made it a point to improve what he calls his “pocho Spanish.” Maybe you have a similar story. Well, now there’s a fun way to improve your Spanish as a family.

Yo Sabo is a family-friendly card game that brings generations together in a shared learning and entertainment experience. It’s easy to play — even your abuelita can get it on it. The game includes various cards: Cómo Se Dice (translation), Prueba Time (trivia) and Chancla (challenge) cards.

The game was born out of personal strife. Carlos co-founded it out of his own desire to improve his Spanish after always being known as a “No Sabo” kid. When you play the game, you’re supporting a Latino-owned small business! ¿Cómo se dice “I love it”?

Check it out here.

How much would you spend on a quinceañera if you were having one this year? Would you hire professional dancers or ask your cousins to do you a favor and be your dancers for a day? Would you have a merchandise booth? Do you even know what that is? I went inside the world of modern quinceañeras for my latest mini-documentary.

I post a mini-doc every two weeks on my YouTube channel. Subscribe to the channel so you don’t miss the next one.

Buyer’s remorse for some voters. A new bipartisan poll from UnidosUS finds some Latinos who voted for President Donald Trump wouldn’t do it again. 25% of the 3,000 surveyed voters said they would not. Sixty percent of those surveyed cited “cost of living” as the top priority for what elected officials need to address. [UnidosUS]

Where do Latino voters get their information from? In L.A., Spanish-dominant Latinos get 70% of their political news from social media. But local TV news is still No. 1 among all Latino voters in the area. That’s one of the key findings from the ThinkNow National Voter Report. [ThinkNow]

Jorge Ramos won his first Emmy as a “news creator.” The former longtime Univision news anchor won his first Emmy as a “YouTube creator.” That was the caption on the official post from the @themmys.tv account. “I think this is a strong message,” Ramos said during his acceptance speech. “It’s like the big bang of independent journalist.

A massive carne asada? Snow Tha Product is holding a giant carne asada on June 6. It’s half-inspired by her music video for her song “SABADO,” which features a giant cookout, and by desire for what she feels the Latino community needs right now. [Watch my video]

The most watched women’s soccer league in the world? It’s in Mexico, and it’s the Liga MX Femenil, surpassing the NWSL in the United States. The Mexican league has achieved that feat months before it celebrates its 10th anniversary later this year. [El Universal]

The Spanish-language “Heated Rivalry” is here. ViX Micro, the vertical shorts arm of TelevisaUnivision’s ViX streaming service, premiered “Rivales a doble juego,” an LGBTQ+ drama where two soccer players will “fight to become the league’s top scorer” when an “unexpected connection threatens to change everything.” Sound familiar — pero en español y con un balón de fútbol? [ViX]

Are Latino content creators avoiding posting in Spanish? Gaby Huezo, the founder of influencer partnerships agency Haus of Duke, posted on LinkedIn about how “incredibly difficult” it was to find U.S.-based Latino creator swho consistently create content in Spanish. And it’s not because she couldn’t find U.S. creators who can speak Spanish. There are plenty. It’s that she couldn’t find many who are posting regularly in Spanish. The comments are enlightening, and some point to one specific reason: Posting in Spanish risks making your audience not U.S.-based, which lowers the rates a creator can charge. [Gaby Huezo/LinkedIn]

You’re reading this email because you signed up for the In The Hyphen newsletter or because someone forwarded it to you. If it’s the latter, sign up here:

This section is a random musing from the week that is not related to my work as a journalist, usually. 

This week’s rant is very related to my work as a journalist: I was invited to speak at an event for the Hispanic Public Relations Association yesterday in L.A. The panel I was on was about the “news creator shift,” the trend we’re seeing where journalists are leaving legacy organizations to go off on their own.

The conversation was moderated by Katherine Johnson Dunn and included Gabriela Ulloa, Iván Emilio and me. I hadn’t heard my own experience as a creator-journalist echoed so loudly until now — and I love that. Where the creator-journalist industry is right now compared to a year ago is so different. For one, there are more players, and now there is more institutional recognition that we exist. Thank you, Mando Compean of H+M Communications (and a big supporter of In The Hyphen) for inviting me!