A Few Sites to See for Latino News, Music, More
Although Latino consumers make up one of the fastest-growing groups of online users, U.S.-based Latino entertainment sites have been slow to develop on the Web. And strikingly few of them have received mainstream notice.
According to industry observers, the growth of Latino entertainment on the Web has been hampered by both a lack of support from advertisers and a lack of appealing online options to increase visitor traffic.
“Latinos are coming to the Web relatively late in the game,” said Abelardo de la Pena, founder and editor in chief of LatinoLA.com, a local online culture and entertainment guide. “However, Latinos are techno-optimists, searching for those sites that will compel us to come back, over and over.”
Just as other segments of the Internet have been affected by the tech market’s downturn, a number of Latino entertainment sites have suffered recent cutbacks or are in danger of closing down entirely. Most notably, Quepasa.com, a leading community and entertainment site, reduced its staff by approximately two-thirds Tuesday, despite a significant increase in registered users. Earlier this month, Urban Box Office Networks, which had acquired entertainment site Latinflava.com, laid off a majority of its staff and filed for bankruptcy.
The dozens of Latino entertainment sites struggling to make a name for themselves on the Net may be ahead of their time.
“There’s a timeline issue of two to three years, in terms of the advertising dollar catching up to the number of [Latino] consumers online,” said Gene Bryan, CEO of HispanicAd.com, an online trade publication for Latino advertising and media. “The pioneering era of the Hispanic market on the Web has not even begun.”
To Bryan, the increasing quality of Latino entertainment online is promising. “The presentation is far more advanced than Hispanic radio and TV programs, which have taken 20 years to achieve mainstream quality,” he said. “Many sites are delivering sharp content.”
It is impossible to predict which ones will survive, but here’s a look at some popular and up-and-coming Latino entertainment online:
* dvLatino (https://www.dvlatino.com). Officially launching in December, this Los Angeles-based site will offer Latino short films and animation. As a resource for Latino filmmakers, it will also provide newsletter and bulletin board services. The site is currently accepting submissions.
* ElMariachi.com (https://www.elmariachi.com). This comprehensive mariachi site has an extensive playlist of and lyrics for classic mariachi tunes, as well as sheet music for nearly two dozen songs. The site also has news and forums (including “Women in Mariachi” and “You Know You’re a Mariachi When . . .”). Best of all may be the Virtual Serenata feature that lets users send a message and mariachi song to friends and loved ones.
* Eritmo.com (https://www.eritmo.com). Available in Spanish and English, this flashy site provides specialized content for users from Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Puerto Rico, Spain, Venezuela and the East and West coasts of the United States. Offerings include music and video downloads and nine radio stations, including rock en espanol and tropical formats. News, including reviews and concert information, is available on portable devices.
* Hookt.com (https://www.hookt.com). Urban entertainment site Hookt.com will feature a series of live-action Webisodes created by JC Barros, a 29-year-old music video director and producer (Gloria Estefan, Enrique Iglesias). “Tha’ Shop,” an ensemble comedy set in a barbershop, is set to debut in January. Barros has also been tapped as an executive producer for a Latin portal to be launched by Hookt.com in 2001.
* LaMusica.com (https://www.lamusica.com). Available in Spanish and English, this site offers limited localized content for users from Miami, New York, Puerto Rico, San Antonio, Chicago, Los Angeles, Dallas and San Francisco. A subsidiary of the Spanish Broadcasting System, the site also provides news, concert and events listings and streaming Latin dance, free style and jazz-salsa shows, as well as Webcasts of events hosted by SBS radio stations, including local broadcaster KLAX-FM (97.9).
* Latinflava.com (https://www.latinflava.com). After the recent shake-up at parent company UBO, LatinFlava.com is striking out on its own. The New York-based site, currently powered by a staff of eight, will continue to provide profiles of DJs and hip-hop artists, fashion and clubs coverage and online old-school games, including Pacman.
* Latinola.com (https://www.latinola.com). A thorough guide to arts and cultural events in Los Angeles run by one-man team Abelardo de la Pena, this site provides a weekly events calendar and community postings, including robust job listings. Events and announcements are also available via e-mail.
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Michele Botwin can be reached at michele.botwin@latimes.com.
