BIENVENIDO

¡Saludos! Happy Friday, and welcome to the 54th edition of Comprende.

The 3 Core Stories:

• This week, we spotlight Andres Cohen, the Venezuelan founder behind FAMOSOS, the leading Latino and Hispanic influencer marketing platform that’s helping change how brands connect with our community.

• We dive into Bad Bunny’s long-awaited Tiny Desk performance, a stunning, intimate set that not only honors Puerto Rican music and culture, but calls out the lasting impact of colonization with bold clarity.

• Lastly, we celebrate a powerful milestone from The Latino Newsletter, which just launched its San Juan Bureau to deepen coverage from Puerto Rico and center stories from the island with the urgency they deserve.

So, grab your cafecito or cervecita (depending on where you are), settle in, and if you enjoy it, please forward the newsletter to friends or share it on social media! ☕️ 🍺

FAMOSOS, Founded by Andres Cohen, Is Changing How Brands Connect with Latinos

FAMOSOS, founded by Andres Cohen, is the #1 influencer marketing platform dedicated to helping brands reach and engage millions of Latino and Hispanic consumers. But it didn’t start this way.

Back in 2019, Andres, a Venezuelan entrepreneur based in Miami, was searching for the perfect gift for his dad. After receiving a birthday video from a friend through Cameo, he wanted to find something similar–but from a Latino celebrity his Venezuelan father would recognize.

Scrolling through Cameo, he barely found any relevant options. That’s when it clicked:

Why wasn’t there a platform dedicated to Latin American talent?

Cohen launched Famosos later that year, initially focusing on personalized celebrity video shoutouts. The idea took off. His first test, featuring a Venezuelan celebrity, sold out in just 10 hours. So? He went all in.

Famosos soft-launched with 67 celebrities on board, by mid-2021 had 1,800 celebrities and influencers, and within a few years, scaled to 40,000+ talents across Latin America and the U.S.

At first, Andres and the team were focused solely on these personal user experiences. But as Famosos grew, brands started reaching out. Companies wanted to collaborate with Latino influencers and creators to connect with the Hispanic and Latino market. The requests kept coming, and Cohen and his team saw a clear opportunity.

That’s when they launched FamososAds, a platform designed to help brands work with influencers in a structured and measurable way. As the business grew, it became clear that influencer marketing was where Famosos could have the biggest impact. Earlier this year in March, the company rebranded under a single unified brand–FAMOSOS–and is now fully focused on connecting brands with Latino talent at scale tor run end-to-end campaigns.

FAMOSOS has become the go-to partner for both industry giants and high-growth startups looking to connect with Latino audiences. From powering large-scale branding campaigns for TelevisaUnivision, The Latin Grammys, Mastercard, Starbucks, and VIX, to helping high-growth startups like Félix scale through influencer-driven user acquisition, the platform delivers measurable results at every level:

• Average: 5X+ earned media value

• 70%+ user acquisition from influencer content,

• and over 200M people reached in the past year.

What started as a personal search for Latino representation has grown into the leading influencer marketing platform for Hispanic and Latino audiences–proving that the right voices, amplified in the right way, can drive incredible impact.

Lastly, excited to share that after I interviewed Andres for comprende, he asked me to team up with FAMOSOS as a freelance Partnerships Manager. Our missions just clicked. We’re both all about uplifting and authentically representing Latinos. Now I’m helping brands connect with our community through the creators we already know and trust. If you're a brand that wants to really show up for Latinos, you know how to reach me.

Colonialism, Cuatros, and Culture: Bad Bunny’s Tiny Desk Makes a Statement

Bad Bunny’s long awaited NPR Tiny Desk performance wasn’t just a concert, it was a cultural statement. Backed by traditional Puerto Rican instruments like the cuatro and güicharo, Benito transformed the Washington, D.C. newsroom into a soulful celebration of Boricua pride. Each note, rhythm, and lyric served as a tribute to the resilience of Puerto Rican identity, shaped by history, joy, struggle, and above all, resistance.

Between songs, he shared a story about a man praising the band for keeping their culture alive “after over 100 years of colonization.” It was a bittersweet compliment, one that underscores the ongoing reality Puerto Ricans face as a U.S. colony. Still, Bad Bunny didn’t dwell in sorrow. Instead, he turned the moment into music, declaring with pride: “Yo soy de P f***** R!”*

Benito delivered stripped-down, deeply emotional renditions of songs “LA MUDANZA” and “LO QUE LE PASÓ A HAWAII,” touching on themes of gentrification, cultural erasure, and the fight to preserve Puerto Rico’s soul–especially poignant while singing in our nation’s capital. But as always, he did it with grace, rhythm, and joy. His magic isn’t just global fame, it’s intimacy, identity, and an unwavering love for the island he and many Boricuas (like me) call home.

A Bold Step Toward Centering Puerto Rican Stories: The Latino Newsletter Opens San Juan Bureau

Big news from The Latino Newsletter: they’re officially opening a bureau in San Juan, Puerto Rico–marking a major milestone in Latino-led independent journalism. Founder and editor Julio Ricardo Varela, whose connection to the island runs deep, calls this a longtime dream finally coming to life.

The new bureau launches with two powerhouse journalists: Susanne Ramirez de Arellano, a trailblazing voice in Puerto Rican media, and award-winning multimedia journalist Carlos Berríos Polanco.

Susanne, brings decades of bold, fearless reporting and a deep understanding of Puerto Rico’s media landscape, having worked for Univision Puerto Rico, ABC News, CNN International, the Associated Press, and others. Carlos, whose work has been featured everywhere from NBC News to Bad Bunny’s “El Apagón,” is one of the island’s most dynamic and sharp-eyed storytellers. Together, they'll elevate stories from the island with the nuance, depth, and urgency they deserve.

This move isn't just symbolic, it’s strategic. As Julio puts it, "This is exactly what I’ve always wanted to do out of Puerto Rico." With this expansion, The Latino Newsletter is doubling down on its commitment to tell our stories from the ground up by us, for us.

¡Pa’lante, San Juan!

How to Make: Venezuelan Cachapas

Sweet, golden, and filled with melty cheese, cachapas are a beloved Venezuelan comfort food that brings together the heart of home cooking with the joy of street food.

Ingredients (Makes 4–6 cachapas):

• 2 cups corn kernels (fresh or frozen, thawed)

• 1/4 cup milk (or more, depending on texture)

• 1 tablespoon sugar (optional, for a sweeter touch)

• 2 tablespoons cornmeal (or masa harina, to help bind)

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• 1 tablespoon melted butter or neutral oil (plus more for cooking)

• Queso de mano or fresh mozzarella (for filling)

Instructions:

1. Blend the batter:

   In a blender or food processor, combine the corn, milk, sugar, cornmeal, salt, and melted butter. Blend until you get a thick, slightly chunky batter—think pancake-like, but with texture.

2. Preheat your pan:

   Heat a non-stick or lightly greased skillet over medium heat.

3. Cook the cachapas:

   Pour about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of batter into the pan and spread into a circle (about 5–6 inches). Cook for 3–4 minutes per side, or until golden and set. Flip gently!

4. Add cheese:

   Once cooked, place a few slices of queso de mano or melty cheese on one half, fold the cachapa over, and let it warm just enough to get gooey inside.

5. Serve hot:

   Eat right away, optional additions include a dollop of butter, crema, or even shredded meat for a full meal.

In our last edition, we asked: What ‘famous’ freshwater creature is found in Lake Nicaragua?

The right answer was Bull Sharks

Lake Nicaragua is famously home to freshwater bull sharks, one of the few shark species that can survive in both salt and freshwater. These sharks have traveled up the San Juan River from the Caribbean Sea and adapted to life in the lake. Their presence has fascinated scientists for decades. The lake also hosts a variety of fish, including tarpon and cichlids. But it’s the sharks that have truly put it on the map!

Question: What is the name of the famous archaeological site known as the “Pompeii of the Americas”?

Reply with your guess! Answers will be revealed in the next newsletter!

Did you enjoy today’s Comprende newsletter? Please share it with family, friends, and other Latino business owners by forwarding this email or using the link below.

https://www.comp-rende.com/newsletter