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Hi {{first_name | friend}},

Mexico won last night in spectacular fashion, so today feels like Friday. Yay!

Did you watch “Backrooms”? I haven’t, but I know the horror movie is about liminal spaces. (I had to look up what liminal meant. It’s a transitional or in-between state, phase or space). Well, the comedy channel TheCrazyGorilla made a video showing what Latino backrooms look like. Can you guess what’s in the middle of one of the rooms? A giant tub of Vicks VapoRub.

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

- Fernando

UCLA released the second part of its Hollywood Diversity Report for 2026. The annual reports examine the relationship between diversity and the bottom line in film.

The reports largely highlight the lack of diversity in film, but what stands out to me in these reports is this:

The genres with the highest Hispanic/Latino audience share are animation and horror.

I want to zero in on horror specifically because of how prolific these films are for studios (more on that later).

Latino consumers make up nearly 1 in 3 (29.1%) moviegoers for horror films. Compare that to drama films, where they make up 15.5%.

We saw this obsession in action recently with “Obsession,” which is now Focus Features’ highest grossing movie ever. Thirty-two percent of its opening weekend box office was thanks to Hispanic/Latino viewers.

This isn’t a new phenomenon. A 2015 Nielsen analysis found that horror fans were 23% more likely to be be Hispanic.

So why do Latinos love horror movies?

“Part of it is ingrained in Latino culture to have this folklore that’s based on stories that have been passed on for generation that either are mean to instill fear in children and keep them in line.” That’s what Ana-Cristina Ramón, co-author and co-founder of the Hollywood Diversity Report, told the Sacramento Bee in 2021.

Catholicism may be another reason why.

“We’re born into Catholicism in large part,” Etienne Hernandez Medina, the founder of H+M Communications, told NPR in 2015. “The duality between good and evil, devil and God.”

“Prey for the Devil,” a film about exorcism released in 2022, could be proof of Latinos’ attraction to good versus evil in a religious context. Of the opening weekend’s audience, 38% were Hispanic or Latino.

Mexican actor Demian Bichir told Buzzfeed in 2025: “Don’t ever forget that we in our culture, we dance with death.”

Here’s why I’ll be paying a lot of attention to horror films and Latino moving forward:

According to the UCLA reports, horror films have the highest return on investment (ROI) compared to any other movie genre. Horror films bring in 2.6X the investment. Compare that to comedy films, which have a 1.5X ROI, and drama movies, which have a 0.4 ROI.

Now, answer the following question. I’m trying to see something:

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Do you know a “No Sabo” kid? Or maybe a “No Sabo” adult? The name is usually applied to people who are descendants of a Spanish-speaking family but don’t speak Spanish fluently. Maybe you even have a little “No Sabo” in you yourself.

What if you could improve your Spanish while hanging out with friends? What if you could do it during your next game night? And what if it came with lots of laughs?

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. Plus, when you play the game, you’re supporting a Latino-owned small business! ¿Cómo se dice “I love it” in Spanish?

Check it out here.

Have you used the term to describe yourself in the last 12 months? I was at the USC graduation put on by the Latino Alumni Association a few weeks ago, when I realized how much I didn’t hear the term. Just years prior, the word was everywhere at this graduation ceremony.

Was this an isolated incident? Or a sign of a broader shift? I looked into it in this 15-minute mini-doc:

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

Venezuelans are mobilizing to help in the aftermath of the earthquakes. Two back-to-back earthquakes struck Venezuela Wednesday night, leaving at least 164 dead. But there are thousands still missing. Actors Juan Carlos Garcia and Rafael De La Fuente are among the many public figures using their Instagram profiles as billboards for missing people. This page was also created by citizens as a way to report a missing person and provide information on specific people: desaparecidosterremotovenezuela.com

An investigation found 93% of ICE street arrests in New York and New Jersey target Latinos, even though Latinos make up only 66% of immigrants without legal status in the region. That was the key finding after The City Reporter reviewed more than 1,200. Corona also had the highest number of ICE street arrests of any New York City neighborhood. [The City Reporter]

Latino business owners and the midterm elections. In south Texas, some Latino voters who voted for President Donald Trump are having buyer’s remorse, according to NBC News. And it may mirror nationwide trends. A 2026 U.S. Hispanic Business Council survey found a 39% approval rating from Trump’s economic policies. The same survey had the approval at 69% last year. [NBC News]

Police are looking for a woman who attacked a street vendor. Video from June 15 went viral over this week. It shows a woman attacking hot dog vendor in downtown Los Angeles. The food vendor’s son is now calling on the community to show up this Saturday to buy food from her and show their support.

Fox takes a cue from Telemundo. The network changed its FIFA World Cup break format. About a week ago, posts went viral criticizing Fox for airing commercials during the three-minute hydration breaks and praising Telemundo for letting viewers seeing the on-field action uninterrupted. Well, executives at the English-language network got the memo because Fox is now using a split-screen to air ads during these breaks. You definitely won’t see the ads go away. These mini breaks are estimated to bring in $250 million to $600 million for the network. [Los Angeles Times]

The largest Spanish-language shows in UK history are happening this weekend. Can you guess which artist is behind them? Bad Bunny, duh. About 100,000 people are expected at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this weekend. The number is impressive because it’s big, of course, but also when you consider unofficial estimates put the population of Latinos in the UK at 450,000. I say “unofficial” because the UK census doesn’t provide a category for Latino. [The Guardian]

Soju + micheladas, anyone? I made a video about Socheladas, a canned combo of Korean soju and Mexican micheladas. Some bars and restaurants were hyping up the drink ahead of the Mexico vs. South Korea match-up. Well, both countries are still in the World Cup, so if you’re looking for a World Cup drink, this might be it.

For the last few months, I’ve been sending out this newsletter twice a month.

Well, now… I’m launching a weekly version of this newsletter!

More stories, more reporting, more analysis and more rants. The weekly edition will be available for paying members only.

And I have a limited time offer for you: Sign up for an annual membership, and you’ll get 30% off the normal monthly price. That’s just $0.87 a week!

Don’t want to upgrade? No worries. Free members will continue to receive the newsletter twice a month at no cost.

Want to receive it four times a month? Your support not only gets you access to the weekly version of this newsletter. It also directly supports my journalism.

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

This week’s rant:

I really should stop calling this a rant, as I’m not angry about this: I’ve been seeing a lot of “first-generation personal finance creators.” These are people who are the first in their family to have white collar jobs. A lot of them are Latino. I think I’m going to do a story on this. If you have any you’ve seen that fit this bill, reply to this email with their handle!