From Margins to Mainstream: Leveraging Latinx Talent, Voices, and Stories in the Entertainment Industry to Embrace an Untapped Market’s Potential

Late-night Musings on the Hurdles Latinx Artists face in Pursuing Careers in the Entertainment Industry — And How We May Overcome Them

Despite benefiting financially from the Latinx community’s significant media consumption, the entertainment industry continues to lack adequate representation of Latinx individuals both on and off-screen.

This historical underrepresentation of the Hispanic and Latinx community within the United States goes back to the silent film era, when Latinx actors could not play Latinx characters, and only those who were White could secure a role — however stereotypical available roles were.

Today, the Latinx community faces similar — if not identical — challenges in the industry.

Despite making up over 25% of the United States population, Latinxs amount to 1.3% — 5.6% of actors, writers, and directors working in the industry, making representation among executives and other gatekeepers almost nonexistent.

Many suggest that one way to address Latinx underrepresentation in media is to increase the number of Latinx in key decision-making positions. Yet, Latinx underrepresentation is far more complex and tiered.

Before we can get Latinxs into leadership positions, it is crucial to facilitate access to professional and training opportunities, so a career in the performing arts becomes a feasible reality for our Hispanic and Latinx communities, rather than an uphill battle.

Early in their careers, many Latinx industry professionals must make a difficult decision: choosing between financial security and a career in the performing arts. As Latinxs graduate with higher than average student loan debt to make 73 cents for every dollar earned by a White individual, those who opt to pursue a career in theater and/or film may struggle to make ends meet while navigating unpaid or low-paying work opportunities in hopes to build a solid career in the entertainment industry.

The first step to resolving the Latinx underrepresentation in mainstream media is to address the economic barriers that Latinx individuals face while pursuing a career in the performing arts.

It is not enough for the industry to provide opportunities for Latinxs to enter and advance in the industry; these opportunities must also be economically feasible.

Conservatory training, internships, apprenticeships, and fellowships should, at a minimum, waive application and tuition fees, provide housing and insurance benefits, and offer a living stipend (especially for unpaid positions) to prevent Latinxs from taking on crippling debt that may deter them from pursuing a career in the industry.

By easing the financial burden and uncertainty that comes with a career in the extremely volatile gig economy and business that is the entertainment industry, we can ensure that financial barriers do not deter Latinxs from pursuing a profession in the performing arts.

Our financial freedom grants us the ability to be intentional with our time and actions, invest in our professional development, and have a fair shot at the industry — regardless of our economic background.

Without the burden of loan debt, we can afford to take risks and pursue opportunities that would have been otherwise impossible. This level of financial stability and flexibility is essential for all aspiring Latinx professionals, especially in an industry that is known for being highly volatile and difficult to break into.

Latinx’s access to training and professional opportunities should expand to include a diversified high school-level theater education, and accent training.

Together, these efforts have the potential to present the U.S. Latinxs in a more modern and contemporary manner.

By advocating for the inclusion of writing, design, and production disciplines — along with acting — in high school-level theater education, we can build a more inclusive and diverse pipeline of talent entering the industry.

This, along with expanding accent training to include different regional Spanish accents, can boost the accuracy of character portrayals, ensuring programming depicts Latinx and Hispanic communities in a humanizing manner.

With the U.S. Latinxs reaching 62.5 million and Spanish being spoken in 62% of households in the United States, Latinxs and Hispanics are an untapped growing market.

It is in the interest of the entertainment industry to uplift Latinx and Hispanic professionals.

We should employ predominantly Hispanic/Latinx casts, production teams, and crews, leveraging the racial, cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity of our communities to our advantage.

By creating more opportunities for Hispanic/Latinx individuals in the entertainment industry, the industry can better mirror the audience it serves and shape the cultural landscape for years to come.