Breaking the Cultural Barrier with Julio Ricardo Varela
“If you’re not advertising in the Latino space now... in twenty years you’re just not going to be relevant.”
- Julio Ricardo Valera
Growing up bilingual and bicultural in Puerto Rico and the Bronx, Julio Ricardo Valera didn’t see media that was made for him by people who looked like him.
Establishment media (and big advertisers) have long misunderstood that the Latino community is far from a monolith, and younger Latinos, like Valera, simply aren’t served by Univision alone. A Gen-X Harvard graduate, Valera’s desire for English-language Latino-focused media that catered to the younger generation of Latinos led him to create Latino Rebels in 2011.
From humble, authentic, and definitely rebellious beginnings, Latino Rebels grew to become one of the top U.S. Latino digital media sites in the world. Valera has spent years building out a deep portfolio of work to serve a community that’s starting to get the recognition it deserves. Valera co-hosts the hit podcast In the Thick (Who Oprah says is “The Best Spanish and Latino Podcasts for Learning—and Laughing”), hosts Latino Rebels Radio, he’s the Editorial Director for Futuro Media, and enjoys millions of downloads annually across all of his shows.
Valera’s ability to connect authentically with a bilingual, bicultural Latino audience is invaluable to advertisers. Instead of marketers lamenting that they can’t just translate their English ad into Spanish and call it a day, in Valera’s words, “You’ve got to look at the segmentation as a true opportunity.”
Because Valera has been able to build a loyal, underserved audience, that he can speak directly to through the audio medium, he can now definitively state “our demographic is exactly the kind of Latino demographic that you want to be looking for.” And it’s paying off. His shows have attracted big brands such as Progressive, Miller Light, Don Julio, and Oxford Road’s own Indeed.
Valera’s mission to authentically serve his community and spread joy is infectious. Click below to hear more from this true visionary.