JULY 30 | LAS VEGAS--Ventura Distribution on Wednesday introduced a ballroom full of retail constituents to its new lineup of Latin-targeted labels with a Mariachi-serenaded breakfast.
What really opened eyes, however, was one statistic offered up by the supplier/distributor: that 38 million-plus Latinos in the U.S. spend $3.4 billion a year on entertainment.
"Cable TV and music have led a path to the Latin marketplace, and we believe its now time for video to go there too," said Ventura president Larry Hayes, who introducing the company's new in-house Latin label, Studio Latino, and its six studio partners: Cozumel Films, Desert Mountain Media, Excalibur Media Group, Rise Above Entertainment, Venevision International and another Ventura in-house label, StudioWorks.
"As recently as five years ago, Latinos had two choices for video: major-release titles dubbed in Spanish or low-end titles from Mexico," said Studio Latino VP Dan Malaguilla. "You've just witnessed the birth of 31 flavors in Latin entertainment."
Among the product showcased were Desert Mountain's Latin Cinema Collection, a series of critically acclaimed films; Cozumel's Classic Films Collection, with titles from the "golden age" of Mexican cinema ('30s and '40s) featuring such performers as Delores Del Rio; and StudioWorks kids titles such as Jaunito Jones (like Indiana Jones) and The Triplets (an animated fantasy adventure series for the 2-to-6 set).
As part of the powerful Cisneros Group media conglomerate, Venevision is set to plug its Ventura-distributed videos on the powerful Univision TV platform, according to Julio Noriega, film division manager for Venevision.
According to Studio Latino, 34% of Hispanic households own DVD players (compared to 33% for non-Hispanic homes), and one out of every eight people in the U.S. is of Latin origin.
"The bottom line of all these statistics is that Latinos have money and like to spend it on video," Malaguilla said.
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