I think I mentioned in a prior blog that I enjoyed the movie Crazy Rich Asians. It was a fun, feel-good, romantic comedy, and I must admit I like those movies a lot more than action films. Even though the movie is fictional, it helped perpetuate the image that Asians are a wealthy population. Conversely, most American films portray Latinos as either criminals or poor—so it’s not surprising that that many people perceive Latinos in that manner. The fact is there are as many Latino millionaires living in the United States as there are Asian millionaires. In cities like San Diego (my hometown) and Miami, luxury stores like Tiffany and Neiman Marcus employ large Spanish-speaking sales personnel to serve their core customers of wealthy Latinos. Altering these perceptions is one reason that we devote a substantial portion of the programming at L’ATTITUDE to the film and entertainment industry. Studies like the one done by USC and NALIP provide us with important data on the subject, but nothing beats public conversations with studio and media executives on the subject, such as Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO Tony Vinciquerra or WarnerMedia Chief Content Officer Kevin Reilly, as well as showcasing mainstream talent like Robert Rodriguez, Camila Mendes, Jay Hernandez, and Gabriel Luna: All of whom were on the main stage at L’ATTITUDE this year. Yes, I look forward to seeing a big budget film about wealthy Latinos living in America. C’mon, Lin-Manuel Miranda and Robert Rodriguez…Let’s make it happen.
“Boomerang” was a different kind of film. It was a movie about friendship, loyalty, and romance set in NYC at a medium-sized Black-led company that sold beauty products. Boomerang had an all-black cast and a plot that had nothing to do with being Black. While that was unheard of at the time, Murphy was such a big star that it didn’t seem like a big deal.
About a year ago, I was convinced by some of my closest friends that I should do a podcast. Today it seems like everyone has a podcast, and frankly, 99% of them aren’t very good. I wasn’t sure I could do much better, but I realized I do have some ideas that some people have found interesting in the past.
The decision to invite President Barack Obama to the NAHREP Policy Conference last Spring was a decision I made with the NAHREP National Board. Anytime we have a political figure of that stature at one of our events, we know it will stimulate a lot of buzz among our members and stakeholders.