The Latino Donor Collaborative's 2023 report also revealed that more and more Latin people are flocking to YouTube and TikTok instead of typical streaming services because of the Latin creators on those platforms.
On the big screen, Latin people saw a similar decrease in onscreen and offscreen participation between 2021 and 2022, only beginning to increase again this year. Latin leads made up 7.4 percent of starring roles in 2021, with 4.3 percent of co-leads, 6.9 percent of screenwriters and 6.9 percent of directors. In 2022, those numbers dropped to 5.1 percent leads, 2.6 percent of screenwriters and 2.9 percent of directors, while co-leads saw a minor bump from 4.3 percent to 4.5 percent.
“Latinos are loyal to a point, but when they see that there’s no authenticity, they don’t stay,” president and CEO of the Latino Donor Collaborative Ana Valdez tells“They need authentic content, and in order to have authentic content, you need creators of the content that are authentic. There’s such few directors. There’s such few writers, people behind the camera, the same as talent, are almost none. … We’re invisible.
Of the 987 shows that were produced and aired by August 2023, only 33 of them had a Latin actor in the lead role, according to the report, and of almost 10,000 episodes that aired on TV, only 188 were helmed by Latin directors. Streaming services, such as Netflix, Max, Disney+ and Hulu, struggled a bit as well but did better than most cable channels and broadcasters.
Disney+ saw some increases behind the camera with showrunners rising from zero to 3.3 percent and directors from zero to 4 percent; but its leads dropped from 11.1 percent to 6.7 percent, while co-leads remained the same. In its streaming films, Disney+ saw some growth in Latin leads, going from zero in 2022 to 5.3 percent in 2023; co-leads grew from 3.9 percent to 7.9 percent; and screenwriters and directors jumped from zero to 15.8 percent.
Valdez believes that unconscious bias toward Latin people from higher-ups at companies is likely part of why there may be some resistance to continue featuring Latin voices and stars. She explains that companies may feel like Latin people already make up 25 percent of audiences, so they don’t have to change anything.
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