Posted inEntertainment

Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera will no longer return for ‘Scream 7’ after Palestine-Israel social media controversy

On Nov. 21 Spyglass Media made an announcement regarding the 33-year-old Mexican-American actress, stating that Barrera had been fired from the Scream sequel due to an Instagram post, which they had perceived as anti-Semitic. Less than a day later it was announced that Ortega would also not be returning for ‘Scream 7’ due to a “scheduling conflict.”

Fans quickly cast doubt on claims that Ortega’s departure was unrelated to Barrera’s removal from the series, and many applauded Ortega for leveraging her star power to support a fellow Latina. The two actresses played sisters in Scream 6, but are also known to be good friends in real life. Barrera and Ortega’s on-screen chemistry and popularity with audiences are largely credited with reviving the horror franchise. Scream 6 was considered a blockbuster success, grossing $108.2 million at the U.S. box office and $169 million worldwide.

Posted inOpinion

COLUMN: Healing my inner child with RBD concert

Si soy Rebelde! After 15-years, the iconic Mexican pop band RBD returned in late October to perform one last time in the city of Los Angeles for their Soy Rebelde Tour 2023. I was 10-years-old when RBD first performed in Los Angeles. I remember begging my parents to take me to that concert. Despite several of my requests to my parents, I was unable to attend the concert since I come from a low-income family. Trust me, I was heartbroken. Going to this concert as an adult was definitely an emotional roller coaster. I drove two hours from Bakersfield just to see them perform in LA. On my way there, I cried because I was in disbelief that my child’s dream was finally coming true. That night, when the band came out on stage, I didn’t know if I wanted to cry or jump out of happiness.

Posted inEntertainment

McDonald’s and Millennial Lotería celebrate Latino heritage 

This year, in celebration of Hispanic Heritage Month, McDonald’s and the Creative Director and founder of the famous game Millennial Lotería, Mike Alfaro, have partnered up to design a special McDonald’s themed edition of the iconic game Lotería, sometimes referred to as the ‘Mexican Bingo.’ With the representation of Latino heritage and culture in mind, McDonald’s contacted Alfaro to design the special edition of the game. Engaging with the large Latino community of Southern California by providing a familiar game in a familiar community hub to fuel Latino pride is one of McDonald’s main goals.

Posted inEntertainment

Rafael Agustín, CEO of the Latino Film Institute, on writer’s strike and his comedic memoir, Illegally Yours

It wasn’t until he was in high school, applying for his driver’s license and to colleges, that Rafael Agustín found out he was an undocumented immigrant. Moving from Guayaquil, Ecuador, to Walnut, California, at the age of seven, the now 42-year-old award-winning television writer (Jane the Virgin) and CEO of the Latino Film Institute (LFI) knew he and his parents were immigrants but was unaware of the illegality of his own status.

Posted inOpinion

COMMENTARY: Our Latina Beyoncé is Karol G

Karol G helps people in need, especially in Latin America. In 2018, she decided to have all her concert profits in Guatemala go to the people affected by the Fuego volcano eruption. Then in 2020, she helped families affected by COVID-19 in Colombia. And thanks to her Con Cora Foundation (which is short for “con corazón,” “with heart”), women from all over South America have been given opportunities otherwise not available to them.

Posted inEntertainment

Peso Pluma fans flocked to Inglewood to see the regional Mexican musical phenom

Peso Pluma, the musical artist from Jalisco, Mexico, has made significant waves in the genre of music known as Corridos Tumbados. The genre is an updated sound of traditional Mexican corridos and rancheras that sprinkles in references to contemporary youth culture. The singer’s rise in popularity in the U.S. has been meteoric, connecting with a new generation of crossover listeners. His new album, Génesis, debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200.

Posted inOpinion

COMMENTARY: As a Latina, why I never saw myself in Barbie

I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with Barbie. She was blonde, thin, tall, the Americanized standard of beauty. As a young woman growing up in the early 1970s, Barbie made me feel ugly. I was nothing like her idealized beauty as a Brown, curvy, petite woman. I kinda hated Barbie because I knew I would never look like her. It took me into my 20s to see in myself that Brown is beautiful too.

Posted inEntertainment

COMMENTARY: I’m a Virgo is for Latinos too

The issues that impact Black communities in cities like Oakland also impact Latino communities in several different ways. Both communities, which intersect, are affected by various intersecting issues in ways that other populations aren’t together. It’s also been proven that Latinos tend to support policies that support Black people in general. The way I’m A Virgo is able to dissect these trends while having Latinos in several pivotal scenes helps normalize what these forms of alliances and coalitions feel like.

Posted inEntrepreneur

Veronica Valencia-Hughes, Latina designer and mother of two, is the host of HGTV’s Revealed

Valencia-Hughes has garnered nearly 20 years of experience in the design world, spending much of that time running behind-the-scenes design teams for 600+ TV home renovation projects for HGTV, Netflix, ABC, NBC, Fox, CNBC and OWN. Additionally, after meeting her husband, Kristopher Hughes, the two of them launched their design studio, The Design Hunters, in 2013, which is a “full-service interior design, styling and creative development company based out of Los Angeles and New York City.