There are now about 55 million Hispanics in the U.S. While publications targeting Latinos have come and gone – unfortunately many were victims of the recent economic downturn or could not find the necessary readership to boost their advertising budget – there are still plenty of magazines, journals and sites for and by Latinos, including some which are bilingual for those who also like to read en español. Since one size does not fit all, here’s our first list of six publications with their own unique style.
Latina Magazine has managed to survive while others have had to turn to web only or simply cease publication altogether. Latina Magazine started in 1996 and has continued to prove that a glossy lifestyle magazine for Hispanic women has its place among major media publications.
The magazine has an audience of approximately 3 million and was named Best Magazine by Advertising Age in 2000. It covers features, entertainment, music, food, lifestyle and fashion with a Latino slant. With only a few exceptions, prominent Latinas are usually featured on the cover.
This is a terrific literary publication that came out of the Acentos Bronx Poetry Showcase and The Acentos Foundation, which have both worked together to showcase poetry readings and writing workshops in the Bronx and beyond. This powerful literary journal publishes online four times a year.
It showcases fiction, articles, essays, poetry and interviews and artwork by established and emerging Latino writers. One of the things that makes this literary magazine unique is its openness to publish international work in English or Spanish or both, and even in the indigenous languages of Latin America.
Mexican-American author Dagoberto Gilb is the executive director of this literary magazine that is attached to the University of Houston at Victoria. The magazine features Latino artwork, stories and poetry.
Huizache publishes predominantly Latino writers including heavyweights such as Sandra Cisneros, Achy Obejas, Cristina García and Benjamin Alire Sáenz, among others. Although the publication is only a few years old, it is now being published once a year, and has a running news blog that’s definitely worth checking out.
Being a Latina mom has its own peculiarities, such as the heavy involvement of abuelas in child-rearing, or the quandary of having to choose a baby name that will be easy to pronounce in two languages. Latinamom.me, part of parenting and lifestyle site Mom.me and owned by Whalerock Industries, has been publishing parenting and Latino lifestyle content for three years now.
Here, moms will find the answers to bicultural issues, in articles penned by journalists like editor Maura Wall-Hernandez and posts by other Latina writers. Best of all, the site is bilingual.
Kweli is one of the few literary journals that reflects what true diversity looks like. Kweli also reaches beyond the pages of an online journal; it is a community that caters to multicultural writers and readers. This quarterly journal, started in 2009 also puts on an annual writers conference, professional development workshops and has a scholars program.
The pages of the online journal are a celebration of cultural kinship among people of color, including Latinos of all backgrounds, African-Americans and people from the Caribbean and beyond. Some of their high profile contributors include Cristina García and the Nigerian writer A. Igoni Barrett.
This multimedia news platform is based in Philadelphia and not only covers the Latino experience nationally, it advocates and covers the Latino experience with the confidence that many other publications don’t have. Their website is available in both English and Spanish.
But Al Día is more than a newspaper and a website. The media company is constantly pushing the boundaries of the role of traditional media by hosting panels and having political conversations, screening films, and presenting news about and for Latinos in this country.
