At first look, the news is cause for celebration. After all, the underrepresentation of Latinos in American movies and on mainstream TV networks has been astonishing. While Latinos make up 16% of the U.S. population and number 50 million strong, only three Latinos star in the top 10 prime-time television network shows: Jennifer Lopez on American Idol, Christina Aguilera on Voice and Cote de Pablo on NCIS. And while Mexican actor Démian Bichir did earn an Oscar nomination for best actor, of the nine movies nominated for best picture, none starred a Latino or told a Latino story.
So, yes, Comcast's plans are encouraging. That's especially true because both new channels will be aimed at English-speaking Latinos — who, contrary to all the talk about undocumented Hispanics, are the ones driving population growth, with 25% of kids being born in the U.S. of Hispanic descent.
