Latest news with #BenDeJesus
Axios
5 days ago
- Entertainment
- Axios
John Leguizamo makes San Antonio stop in Latino-focused MSNBC show
"Leguizamo Does America" director Ben DeJesus tells Axios the show proves that telling Latinos ' stories doesn't just make audiences "feel good" — it's "good business." Why it matters: The first season of "Leguizamo Does America," which includes an episode about San Antonio, was the most viewed MSNBC original in over two years on Peacock. State of play: The road trip-style weekly MSNBC series follows host and executive producer John Leguizamo as he explores how Latinos are shaping history, culture and food in major U.S. cities. "For season two, I wanted to go deeper into America and put a magnifying glass on Latino exceptionalism, Latino ingenuity, and Latino genius," Leguizamo, who is of Puerto Rican and Colombian descent, said in a statement. The big picture: The economic power of U.S. Latinos surpassed $4 trillion in 2023, according to a UCLA and Cal Lutheran report published this year. "Latinos are over 60 million here in the United States," DeJesus says. "So we are the mainstream, right ... We have something to offer, and from a business point of view, we think it makes a lot of sense as well." Zoom in: In the show, Leguizamo, an Emmy-winning actor, visits the birthplace of sizzling fajitas with Democratic U.S. Rep. Joaquin Castro in San Antonio and trains with lucha libre wrestlers in Denver. He also toured Philadelphia, Phoenix, New Orleans and Raleigh with artists, chefs, activists and entertainers. What they're saying:"When we went to San Antonio, we went there really because it's considered the cradle of Mexican American culture," Leguizamo tells Axios. "We knew that the population was still predominantly influenced by Latino culture." What we're watching: The San Antonio episode, the last in the season, premieres at 8pm Sunday.
Axios
01-08-2025
- Entertainment
- Axios
"Leguizamo Does America" shows Latino stories drive audiences — and dollars
"Leguizamo Does America" director Ben DeJesus tells Axios the show proves that telling Latinos ' stories doesn't just make audiences "feel good" — it's "good business." Why it matters: The first season of "Leguizamo Does America" was the most viewed MSNBC original in over two years on Peacock. State of play: The road trip-style weekly MSNBC series follows host and executive producer John Leguizamo as he explores how Latinos are shaping history, culture and food in major U.S. cities. "For season two, I wanted to go deeper into America and put a magnifying glass on Latino exceptionalism, Latino ingenuity, and Latino genius," Leguizamo, who is of Puerto Rican and Colombian descent, said in a statement. The big picture: The economic power of U.S. Latinos surpassed $4 trillion in 2023, according to a UCLA and Cal Lutheran report published this year. "Latinos are over 60 million here in the United States," DeJesus says. "So we are the mainstream, right? We're not just trying to say, well, help us please. We have something to offer, and from a business point of view, we think it makes a lot of sense as well." Zoom in: In the show, Leguizamo, an Emmy-winning actor, visits the birthplace of sizzling fajitas with a congressman in San Antonio and trains with lucha libre wrestlers in Denver. He also toured Philadelphia, Phoenix, New Orleans and Raleigh with artists, chefs, activists and entertainers. What we're watching: The Raleigh episode premieres at 9pm ET Sunday, with new episodes airing through August. Each episode is available to stream on Peacock the day after airing on MSNBC.
