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We produce daily coverage on pressing issues affecting Latino communities, from housing and healthcare to economic opportunities, and we are committed to delivering local news and fostering engagement in democracy. CALÓ News is more than a digital platform but a thriving community. Our regular Diálogos convenings, our weekly multimedia content including videos and podcasts as well as our interactive social media content are critical touchpoints for our stories to be told and elevated."
-arturo carmona, President/publisher
Our Journalist
Our Journalist
Esperanza guevara
Managing Director
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Earlier this year, Esperanza joined LMC as its Managing Director. In this role, she oversees the organization's operations, fundraising, and program development. Previously, Esperanza served as Deputy Director of Policy and Advocacy at the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights (CHIRLA). She has also worked for the offices of U.S. Congressman Jimmy Gomez, Tony Cárdenas, and worked on various electoral campaigns. Esperanza received a B.A. from Stanford University in Science, Technology, and Society and is also a 2012-2013 Congress-Bundestag Youth Exchange fellowship recipient.
General Manager, CALÓ News
Martin Albornoz
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Martin Albornoz was most recently General Manager of Brehm Communications, where he managed over 20 newspapers and websites across the Southwest. He was also publisher of several wine tourism magazines in Napa, Sonoma and the Central Coast. He has worked on the digital teams at the Orange County Register, Las Vegas Review Journal and Southland Publishing. He helped launch L.A. Forward, a pioneering public media website and was the co-founder and publisher of L.A. Alternative and the groundbreaking Frontera Magazine. Born in East L.A., raised in Southeast L.A. and learned punk rock in Hollywood.
Denise Florez
Editor
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Denise Florez is an award-winning bilingual journalist, writer and editor for CALÓ News. She covers entertainment, politics and everything in between. She previously worked at the Los Angeles Times for 11 years and the Press-Enterprise Spanish weekly La Prensa, now named Excélsior. Some of the projects Denise has worked on include digitizing the "Latinos" 1983 Pulitzer Prize-winning series on Southern California’s Latino community and she has also written children's stories for the Storypillar podcast.
Her work has appeared in Hoy Los Angeles, La Opinión, Rolling Stone Mexico, Al Borde Magazine, Revista Zin and was a collaborator in the Spanish book "Diccionario de Punk y Hardcore, España y Latino América."
Denise is a Mexico City native who moved to Los Angeles and received a degree in journalism from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at USC.
Staff Reporter
Brenda verano
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Brenda Fernanda Verano is a multimedia journalist from South Los Angeles. At CALÓ News, Verano covers social justice, health care, and education. She is a senior at California State University, Dominguez Hills, and Editor-in-Chief of the campus newspaper, The Bulletin. Verano is also an intern reporter for EdSource and a two-time award winner in the California College Media Association.
Michelle Zacarias
Local Reporting Fellow
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Michelle Zacarias is an award-winning journalist and Local News Reporter for CALÓ News. She teaches at USC’s Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism and currently resides in Southern California. Michelle is passionate about covering Latine/x issues, anti-racism movements, queer identities, marginalized communities and abolition. She has previously written for Teen Vogue, The Triibe, Latina Mag, People’s World, and more. In 2018, Michelle was awarded the Saul Miller Excellence in Journalism Award for her contributions to the field. She obtained her bachelor’s degree in English and Philosophy at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign and her Masters in Studies of Law at USC Gould School of Law.
Jacqueline García
Senior Reporter
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Jacqueline García is an award-winning journalist with over 14 years of experience covering issues ranging from immigration and politics to health and education. Most of her reporting has focused on issues affecting the Latino population. She graduated from Cal State Northridge with a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in Spanish language journalism. She recently received her master’s degree in communication management from USC, where she also taught journalism at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.
She is a board member of the California Chicano News Media Association (CCNMA) and a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ). She also volunteers as a judge with the Journalism Association of Community Colleges and the International Latino Book Awards. She previously worked at La Opinión newspaper, where she won four José Martí Awards from the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP) and in 2020 she won the Aplauso Award with the Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA).
Jacqueline is originally from Puebla, México and is a former DACA recipient.
Multimedia Journalist
amairani hernadez
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Amairani Hernandez is a native of Los Angeles and a graduate of the California State University of Los Angeles with a degree in Broadcast Journalism and Television and Film. She is a writer for CALÓ News and focuses on stories about Latinos, including social justice, art, health and culture.
Multimedia Journalist
Gisselle Palomera
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Gisselle Palomera (they/them) is the Local News Editor at Los Angeles Blade, Southern California's LGBTQ+ news source. In this position, they contribute LGBTQ+ Latinx content to Caló News. They are Mexican-Colombian and love to dance on skates at the beach.
Contributing Editor
Abelardo de la Peña Jr.
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Abelardo de la Peña Jr. is an award-winning journalist and contributing editor for CALÓ News. He has an extensive knowledge of and expertise in U.S. Latino and Latinx culture, community, and communications and is a trusted voice and resource in the greater Los Angeles Latino and Mexican American community on a wide range of interests and issues. As a bilingual and bicultural first generation Mexican-American, Abelardo has participated in, witnessed and documented U.S. Latino cultural activities, trends and behaviors for newspapers, magazines, internet sites, brands, agencies, and the public and private sector. He launched LatinoLA.com in July 1999 as a native user-generated website featuring personal perspectives on Latino arts, entertainment, culture and community in Southern California. It was acquired by the Latino Media Collaborative in 2021.
CALÓ News strives to provide interesting, insightful and in-depth reporting focused on Latino/a/x communities. The content is meant to engage our communities and empower them with information that will make their lives better. Our communities are filled with success stories. But those stories and issues are often neglected by mainstream media and we aim to fix that. Parity matters. We promise to seize the moment, elevate our collective communities and offer leadership in moral, political and economic challenges unique to us. We celebrate all cultures and peoples and we just want to make sure Latinos/as/x are not left out.
our promise
Join our membership drive and become a part of the movement shaping the future of Latino media. Memberships offer exclusive benefits at every level, from access to CALÓ News content and newsletters to special recognition and event perks. Your contribution fuels independent journalism, advocacy, and community-focused initiatives led by the Latino Media Collaborative.By becoming a member, you’re not just supporting vital storytelling—you’re helping empower voices, hold institutions accountable, and build a stronger, more inclusive media landscape for all. Together, we can amplify the stories that matter most.
your support
The Next Chapter for Latino Media: Expanding CALÓ News in the
Southwest
The Latino community in the southwestern US represents not only the largest ethnic group but also a vibrant and growing force shaping the region’s cultural, economic, and political landscape. However, despite their significant presence and influence, Latinos are underserved by a media ecosystem that lacks the resources, representation, and sustainability needed to fully empower this community. The Latino Media Collaborative (LMC) envisions a future where this gap is bridged—a future where Latino and community media thrive as pillars of democracy, fostering civic engagement, combating disinformation, and amplifying voices that have long been marginalized.
Since 2019, LMC has worked to elevate Latino and community media by building capacity, advocating for the sector, and leveraging its power to drive social change. Now, with the Southwest News Expansion Project, LMC is taking its mission to the next level. This initiative seeks to transform the region’s media landscape by investing in the sustainability and growth of Latino-owned and -operated news outlets - including its flagship news initiative, CALÓ News. Through strategic partnerships, innovative revenue models, and cutting-edge digital tools, the project will empower Latino news outlets to not only survive but thrive in the digital age.
editorial Policies
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We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization. Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions. We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations, coverage of specific topics and special projects. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates as a public trust, we do not pay certain taxes. We may receive funds from standard government programs offered to nonprofits or similar businesses. READ MORE +
Our news judgments are made independently – not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.We make public all revenue sources and donors who give $5,000 or more per year. As a news nonprofit, we avoid accepting charitable donations from anonymous sources, government entities, political parties, elected officials or candidates seeking public office. We will not accept donations from sources who, deemed by our board of directors, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.
We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Latino Media Collaborative:Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.
Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.
Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with Latino Media Collaborative Standards.
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We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization. Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions. We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations, coverage of specific topics and special projects. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates as a public trust, we do not pay certain taxes. We may receive funds from standard government programs offered to nonprofits or similar businesses. READ MORE +
Our news judgments are made independently – not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.We make public all revenue sources and donors who give $5,000 or more per year. As a news nonprofit, we avoid accepting charitable donations from anonymous sources, government entities, political parties, elected officials or candidates seeking public office. We will not accept donations from sources who, deemed by our board of directors, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.
We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Latino Media Collaborative:Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.
Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.
Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with Latino Media Collaborative Standards.