We Are a Hit on TikTok

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Julio Ricardo Varela
August 22, 2024

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Happy 4th Day of the DNC to our 655 subscribers!

Although I wish I were in Chicago, I am happy to report that we highlighted some strong Day 1 on-the-ground reporting by Hector Luis Alamo with contributions from Carlos Berríos Polanco. On Friday, we will be publishing Carlos’ deeply reported story about the Puerto Rico status debate playing out at the convention this week. And on Monday, we will share a DNC delegate diary about the week.

Today, though, I wanted to start with a big win for The Latino Newsletter.

This morning, I checked all our social profiles and woke up to this:

Two days ago, The Latino Newsletter had about 500 followers there.

The reason?

Two videos (the now-viral Puerto Rico DNC clip and the DNC speech by Carlos Eduardo Espina) have generated 260,000 views as I write this. I am sure by the time you read this, that number will just keep increasing.

Why does this matter? Because when it comes to starting up new outlets from scratch like The Latino Newsletter (it’s just been 13 weeks now), it’s all about growing the right way. Give us the yummy organic growth, be transparent to your community and keep posting consistently with voice, respect and purpose. Rinse and repeat.

The TikTok growth will change our initial strategy, and I will likely sharing a new welcome video to our new followers there to explain our mission. Yes, I will also ask for donations, but whether or not people give is not the issue. We just want to connect with our online communities. This is your newsroom. It will always be.

So yes, we will take the 1,921 TikTok followers, but The Latino Newsletter is also at the following places (as well as your inbox):

That’s over 4,000 followers, and that does not count the web traffic we are getting organically. I will share that data in the next week or two.

This is our social community so far and we keep growing daily. We also are answering as many comments and engaging as many followers as we can. (Am solo right now 🙂 ).

This is a win. I need to share it.

Ok, here is today’s post.

Several Latinas and Latinos Speak on Day 3 of DNC

Thanks to the volunteer work of my homie Jerónimo Saldaña, we were able to publish eight videos (8!) across all our platforms, featuring Latinas and Latinos speaking on Day 3 of the DNC.

But first, our standard disclaimer.

DISCLAIMER: We have access to the free livestream and are posting these videos to highlight Latino and Latina voices this week. This does not mean that we endorse at all the Democratic Party or its positions. We are independent journalists and sharing public information for our community, who is smart to make decisions for themselves. They always have been.

Rep. Verónica Escobar (TX)

María Teresa Kumar of Voto Latino

Carlos Eduardo Espina (You know, this guy)

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (NV)

Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar

Rep. Pete Aguilar (CA)

Aquilino Gonell (Jan.6 witness)

Olivia Troye (former Trump admin official)

Those are a lot of Latina and Latino speakers for one day, and it’s clear that Democrats in 2024 are trying to make the best case for why Latinas and Latinos should vote for them this year. I am not going to get into the complications here, since today’s post is about representation and featuring these voices, just like we did for Days 1 and 2 of the DNC, and also for the RNC.

I have written extensively about Democrats’s uneasy relationship with U.S. Latinos (stay tuned for another MSNBC column on Friday), but I also come from a place where we need to make sure these voices can be shared. We can debate them and discuss what they are saying or what they are avoiding here. That is what The Latino Newsletter is all about. I also feel strongly about it as well.

What We’re Reading

GoFundMe Now in Puerto Rico: It’s 2024 and this finally happened via an email (h/t @Carrasquillo): “We are very excited to announce that GoFundMe is now available to residents of Puerto Rico. That means everyone living in Puerto Rico can start fundraisers, give and receive donations, and withdraw funds quickly and securely on the most-loved fundraising platform.”

Kamala Harris and Latino Turnout: Reporting from Chicago this week, Geraldo Cadava dropped a great piece for The New Yorker about the Harris-Walz campaign and if it means Latinos will come out in 2024.

Can Kamala Harris’s Campaign Solve the Latino Turnout Problem?

For decades, Democrats have struggled to motivate communities that could guarantee them victories. Harris may have the best shot yet.

www.newyorker.com/news/the-lede/can-kamala-harriss-campaign-solve-the-latino-turnout-problem

Harris/Walz WhatsApp Latino Group Update: This is the udpate about this WhatsApp group.

About the Author

Julio Ricardo Varela is the founder and interim publisher of The Latino Newsletter.

Do you believe in creating new journalism lanes for Latinos and Latinas? Do you believe that U.S. mainstream outlets will never understand our community? Consider donating to The Latino Newsletter. Any little bit helps to keep this newsletter free and accessible to all. ¡Gracias mil!

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