Latinos Are Here to Stay. Luckily, Our News Knows No Borders

News can be overwhelming. We feel it too. But not having the facts you need to make an informed decision can have devastating effects on our Democracy.

In just five states, there are 23 million immigrants eligible to vote in 2020. Meanwhile, the local newsrooms staff still don’t represent these figures and the decline in local news outlets makes it even harder for our communities to find news that speaks to us.

As Latinos, we have grown to accept the fact that news rarely focuses on the issues that matter to us most, like the economy and jobs, and healthcare, unless we are at the center of the controversy. Rarest of all: stories told by one of us.

Needless to say, we are not a monolith, even though we are often treated as one. We come from 33 different countries— all with different political histories and cultures, and we all still face different challenges every day.

With this in mind, we at The Americano took it upon ourselves to change the narrative surrounding Latino issues. We are here to fight misinformation and break stereotypes.

But how do we change our story?

By giving a voice to the many, rather than the few. By bringing one of the highest-ranking Latinas during the Obama administration to our newsroom to tell stories like this. Or to have award-winning reporters on the ground in the states with the highest concentration of Latinos, like Florida. Or through witty weekly video commentary created by our multi-talented Mexican video editor and host Marcelo Báez.

The Americano is a mindset, a dream, an attitude that LatinoAMERICANOS get.

Our local news approach to reporting ensures that our stories are accessible to every Latino, whether you live in Florida, Arizona or Wisconsin.

Latinos are here to stay. No doubt. As the population continues to grow steadily, the households are younger, more diverse, multigenerational, and more affluent than ever.

The 2018 mid-term election’s turnout is a great indicator of how engaged women, men, Millennials, and Gen-Zers are in politics. But even though Latinos as a whole reached an all-time high with 11.7 percent turnout, there are still about 18 million that chose not to vote.

Whether you are a recently-arrived Puerto Rican, or you were born here, or just became a citizen, when we unite and find commonalities, we are a force to be reckoned with.

But there’s still a lot of room for improvement when it comes to activating our voices and owning our political power. We need to ensure that our power translates to better lives—to a more equal playing field for all of us to achieve our dreams. THAT’S what success looks like for Latinos. And that translates into action, activism, and fulfillment.

Kind of like the American Dream, but simpler. Latinos want to be heard. We want to feel like an AMERICANO. And our news knows no borders.

Bienvenidos a casa.