From the court to the climate to the boardroom: building Latino legacies

Super Bowl stages, the best startup cities for Latinos, a Knick investing in new arenas, and new paths in climate action.

Hey my gente,

It’s been a while since I’ve sent a non-entertainment edition of the newsletter, and this one centers on something I keep coming back to: representation and power. The articles I’ve curated below show what it looks like when visibility becomes something lasting: on the biggest stages and screens, in arenas, at tech companies, and in cleaner air for our communities.

From Bad Bunny’s halftime show to basketball player Karl-Anthony Towns investing in youth programs in the Dominican Republic, and from Latinx founders growing new ventures to creators shaping their own platforms, these are examples of what it means to build and reinvest.

Con amor,
Elisabeth Rosario

Thanks for reading this issue. If you know someone who’d enjoy these stories, forward it to them. It helps this community grow. And if you’re a journalist with a relevant article I can amplify or there’s something you’d like to see included next time, just reply to this email. I read every note.

Here’s what caught my eye recently:

Representation & Power

• The Bulwark: Bad Bunny announced as the halftime show headliner for Super Bowl LX

  “He’s the first male Latino headliner, with the first fully Spanish halftime performance,” Julyssa Lopez told me. “That in itself feels like resistance…”

• TIME Magazine’s 2025 Latino Leaders list: 12 people making their mark on their fields, the U.S., and the world across everything from entertainment and activism to sports and space

• SB Nation: Knicks player Karl-Anthony Towns invests $3M into a new arena in his father’s Dominican hometown.

  Calling it the proudest moment of his life, Towns said he was overwhelmed by the chance to give back. Abinader praised the arena as “a beautiful design for the youth of Tamboril,” noting its role in tournaments and youth development. For Towns, it is a full-circle moment that ties together his Jersey upbringing, his Dominican heritage, and his present as a star in New York.

Entrepreneurship

• USA Today: Meet three Latinx entrepreneurs innovating in tech

• WalletHub’s list of the top cities for Hispanic entrepreneurs.

• Entrepreneur.com: Arturo Sneider Emigrated From Mexico and Used an Underrated Tactic to Build a Business Worth Over $1 Billion.

  Sneider has learned a lot over the last three decades in the real estate development business, and the first piece of advice he has for entrepreneurs hoping to find meaningful success in the industry is one he also had to take early on: don’t be afraid to engage with the naysayers.

Culture

• Axios: How Bay Area TikToker Miguel Mendoza built an unfiltered brand

• NBC: Telemundo Studios partnered with the University of Miami on a podcast incubator helping Latino students become professional content creators through podcasting

• Dominican actor and comedian Juan Bago recently launched “Cine Papis” with two friends. Every week they spotlight movies highlighting Latino and Hispanic talent (actors, writers, directors) and dive deep into the history, storyline, and cultural impact.

Climate & Environmental Justice

• The Guardian: US Latinos mobilize to monitor, and improve, local air quality: ‘We have to fix it’

• GreenLatinos: George Meléndez Wright was a wildlife biologist and the first Hispanic professional scientist in the National Park Service

  Only 21 when he was hired by Yosemite National Park, George was the first professional park service employee to bring focus to wildlife in the parks. His management plans led to novel policies in national park management, such as an end to bear-feeding attractions.

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