The Latino Vibe Check: Gwenda Lupe Stefani, ICE Raids & Why They'll Never Put Out the Latino Fire

Hosts Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito run the Latino vibe check — inspired by a newsletter from their colleague Carlos De Loera asking a simple but loaded question: Is there any advantage to being Latino in the United States?   They start with the data. A Pew Research Center study found that one third of Latinos surveyed say their ethnicity has been a detriment to their lives — while nearly half say they remain deeply proud of who they are despite the obstacles. Fidel and Suzy break down what those numbers actually mean against the backdrop of ICE raids, the recent killings of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston and Juan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine at traffic stops, and a political climate that seems determined to remind Latinos that belonging here is never guaranteed.   Then the conversation shifts — because culture tells a different story. Bad Bunny won a Grammy. Karol G headlined Coachella. And people have been trying to swaggerjack Latino culture for decades. Enter: Gwenda Lupe Stefani, Drake's bachata era, Lana Del Rey's cubano aspirations, and Kacey Musgraves doing it right.   They also react to a congressional hearing in which a Texas representative called a Smithsonian gift shop's "Latina Power" merch "paraphernalia" — and Suzy explains, with great clarity and one reference to Michael Flatley Lord of the Dance, exactly why that comparison doesn't land. Plus: if the US Latino economy were its own country, it would be the fourth largest economy in the world.   And then, because this is De Los Podcast, they end on something that can't be legislated away.   Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro.   🎙 De Los Podcast drops new episodes every week on YouTube and all major podcast platforms. Subscribe so you never miss a conversation. From the Los Angeles Times and Sonoro comes the De Los Podcast — a weekly conversation where music, pop culture and Latinidad collide. Hosted by De Los editors Fidel Martínez and Suzy Exposito, the show pulls back the curtain on the stories, people and cultural moments shaping the Latino experience in the U.S. and beyond. Every episode is a front-row seat to conversations with the artists, actors, filmmakers and thinkers who are moving the culture forward — not just talking about it. Guests include Leslie Grace, Sen Dog of Cypress Hill, Xolo Maridueña, Fabrizio Guido, producer and singer Empress Of, among others. Think of it as the cultural conversation that major American media rarely makes room for — a space where Latinos get to talk, unfiltered, about what they create and who they are. Produced by Los Angeles Times, L.A. Times Studios, and Sonoro. New episodes every week — available on YouTube and all major podcasts.