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Editor’s Note: Hey, all! If you have been following The Latino Newsleter’s startup journey recently, we have some big news to share. We are thrilled about this amazing development, and I would like to personally thank the Mellon Foundation for its support. This is a big next step for us! — JRV
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The Latino Newsletter Receives Six-Figure Grant to Expand San Juan Bureau and Launch AMERICAN COLONY Podcast
Seed funding from the nation's largest supporter of the arts and humanities will grow the nonprofit newsroom’s local reporting capacity and greenlight a bilingual series
BOSTON / SAN JUAN — Today, The Latino Newsletter announced a $300,000 grant from the Mellon Foundation to expand the organization’s San Juan bureau and produce American Colony, a bilingual podcast series about Puerto Rico’s long and fractured relationship with the United States.
“The Latino Newsletter was built so our communities aren’t a footnote to the story but set the terms of it,” said Julio Ricardo Varela, Founder and Publisher/Executive Director. “Puerto Rico has shaped me as a journalist and remains central to the work I do. The Mellon Foundation’s grant is transformational. It positions The Latino Newsletter for its next growth phase, and I am deeply grateful to Mellon for believing in our mission.”
Created by Varela and award-winning producer Joaquín Cotler, American Colony is now in pre-production as a nine-episode bilingual podcast that examines how more than 125 years of debate and history about Puerto Rico’s place within the United States continues to define the island today. Set to premiere in Summer 2026, the series will coincide with the U.S. Semiquincentennial.
Deputy editor Carlos Berríos Polanco leads the San Juan bureau, joined by award-winning journalist Susanne Ramírez de Arellano as columnist. The team will begin to produce at least one story each week for The Latino Newsletter directly from Puerto Rico. Reporting will run through the outlet’s newsletter-first platform and open syndication.
Too often, the lives of Puerto Rico’s 3.2 million people are only depicted as crisis headlines. The Mellon grant will help change that rhythm by supporting continuous, locally shaped reporting that connects policy to lived experience. It ensures Puerto Rican voices shape the national conversation, rather than be left out of it.
The Latino Newsletter recibe una subvención de seis cifras para ampliar su oficina en San Juan y lanzar AMERICAN COLONY
El financiamiento del mayor patrocinador de las artes y humanidades de EE.UU. ampliará la cobertura local en Puerto Rico y pondrá en marcha una serie bilingüe
BOSTON / SAN JUAN — The Latino Newsletter anunció hoy una subvención de $300,000 de la Fundación Mellon para ampliar su equipo en Puerto Rico y producir American Colony, una serie de audio bilingüe sobre la larga y compleja relación entre la isla y Estados Unidos.
“The Latino Newsletter nació para que nuestras comunidades no sean una nota al pie, sino que definan los términos”, dijo Julio Ricardo Varela, fundador y editor principal/director ejecutivo. “Puerto Rico me formó como periodista y sigue siendo central en mi trabajo. La subvención de la Fundación Mellon es transformadora. Posiciona a The Latino Newsletter para su próxima fase de crecimiento, y agradezco profundamente a Mellon por creer en nuestra misión”.
Creado por Varela y el productor premiado Joaquín Cotler, American Colony está en preproducción. Es una serie de audio bilingüe de nueve episodios que examina cómo más de 125 años de historia y debate sobre la relación de Puerto Rico con Estados Unidos siguen marcando el presente de la isla. Se estrenará en verano de 2026, durante el semiquingentenario de Estados Unidos.
El editor Carlos Berríos Polanco lidera el equipo de San Juan junto a la periodista premiada Susanne Ramírez de Arellano, quien se une como columnista. El equipo comenzará a publicar al menos una vez a la semana para The Latino Newsletter desde Puerto Rico, y su trabajo aparecerá en la plataforma principal del medio y en sindicación abierta.
Demasiadas veces, las vidas de los 3.2 millones de personas en Puerto Rico solo aparecen en titulares de crisis. La subvención de Mellon ayudará a cambiar ese ritmo al respaldar una cobertura constante y local que conecte las decisiones públicas con la vida de los puertorriqueños. Garantiza que las voces puertorriqueñas definan la conversación nacional, en lugar de quedar fuera de ella.
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About The Latino Newsletter
The Latino Newsletter is an independent, no-paywall, newsletter-first newsroom covering the issues shaping Latino life and influence in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Founded by award-winning journalist and media executive Julio Ricardo Varela, the Boston-based nonprofit outlet pairs proximity reporting with national relevance through premium daily coverage. Stories are distributed via newsletters, podcasts, social channels, and open syndication to outlets that seek to amplify Latino voices. The Latino Newsletter upholds rigorous editorial standards and is committed to delivering accessible, high-quality journalism. For partnership or funding opportunities, contact Christina Hernández at [email protected]. Subscribe at thelatinonewsletter.org or on LinkedIn.
Media Contact:
BA Snyder, [email protected]
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What We’re Reading
Chicago and ICE: From the Associated Press, “Storming an apartment complex by helicopter as families slept. Deploying chemical agents near a public school. Handcuffing a Chicago City Council member at a hospital. Activists, residents, and leaders say increasingly combative tactics used by federal immigration agents are sparking violence and fueling neighborhood tensions in the nation’s third-largest city.”
Julio Ricardo Varela is the founder of The Latino Newsletter. He is also its current part-time publisher and executive director. Email him here.
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