When new magazines debut in an era of print media collapse, especially among Latinos, it appears to stretch into lawn chairs on the Titanic deck.
Imagine my surprise when I found someone who breathed life a new life last month while grabbing breakfast at Pacoima’s Mexican restaurant.
But let’s start from the beginning.
For decades, El Aviso and El Clacificado promoted the war of Spanish newspapers in Southern California together, but were still apart.
The former was a glossy, free month focused on unpleasant entertainment stories. The naked bone was the latter, but it was the Latin version of the Penny Saber. The publication was rivals, as was George Clooney and Brad Pitt. Working class Latinos grabbed them in tandem from racks in laundromats, grocery stores and strip malls.
The two began in the 1980s and mastered the wave of American Spanish print media in the 1990s, overcame the digital media changes of the 2000s, and are as strong as they did last year. However, El Abysso has not been released since November. In January, the parent company declared Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
When El Aviso jumped out, Martha de la Torre and Joe Badame, the owners of El Clacificado’s couple, felt the opportunity.
Enter free, shiny Spanish monthly Vívela, literally translated as “live LA” in Spanish, but offers another meaning “live it.” It was the first magazine I looked at in a Mexican restaurant. I laughed at the boldness of Della Torre and Badame.
We met the couple at El Classicfeed’s two-storey headquarters in Norwalk. They sit at a modest desk on the other side of a large open newsroom. On the second floor, the company held community forums and concerts, but now there is a small, almost empty hall. The office vibe is out of the 1990s, with silhouettes of random celebrities like John Lennon and Juan Gabriel painted on the wall, along with assertions such as “diving deep commit and execution” where scuba divers perform their tasks.
“We’re going to stay in print as long as there’s demand,” Chipper de la Torre told me as we walked around the office. At that height, the El Classical Feed cycle is 500,000, making it the largest free Spanish language in the United States every week. Currently, it is 265,000. The parent company, which publishes other titles and helps Latino small business owners create websites and social media campaigns, generated revenue of $107 million last year, about 25% less than the best year of 2016.
“In the 90s, there were a lot of pedestrians everywhere we picked up El Classical Feed,” Badame said. Behind him was Pablo Scalperini, the managing editor of Vivera. “I don’t have it anymore.”
“But there are still a few,” added Della Torre.
El Classic Feed Office in Norwalk. The longtime Spanish monthly parent company launched a new lifestyle magazine, Vívela this year.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
We settled in the meeting room so the three of us were able to talk about Vivera’s vision and answer the most obvious questions.
why?
“This was not our plan,” admitted Della Torre. But after that [El Aviso] I’m bankrupt -“
“Why not?” Badame, 66, was inserted. He then smiled. “I love to be busy.”
“It’s not romantic or crazy,” replied de la Torre. “That makes sense.”
She said that the El Aviso advertisers asked them to do a similar publication when the words that it was below came up. “Readers don’t want to see it changed,” Badame said, so changing the format of Elle Classicfeed was out of the question. They have been together with Scalperini for 15 years, writing for the newspapers in his native Spanish country, and appointed him to quickly create something.
“We’re not a high-end publication, but whatever we did, we wanted to do it with our readers,” said the polite but passionate Scarperini (50).
“There used to be a weekly magazine in South Bay that my relatives could pick up just for sports,” replied De La Torre, a descent in Ecuador. “We want to do something like that. I don’t want to compete with the daily news. Let’s talk deeper.”
“We’re not doing this. “And I want to say it out loud, that we’re the only type of magazine left in town, and that’s sad.”
Jose Luis Benavides, professor of Cal State Northridge journalism, specializing in Spanish media, said the release of Vívela was “a “sign of hope” for Southland’s Latino-themed journalism.
“These people know where they need to be,” he said. “There’s an incredible need. It’s not a bad idea, it can be a success.”
Benavides added that if any media organization could remove LA’s new Spanish magazine, it would have been El Classical Feed, given the brand.
“This isn’t when you’re thinking about it, ‘Let’s start with the Legacy News Outlet from there,” he said. “It seems impossible, but obviously they found a niche.”
The first issue of Vívela looks like an El Aviso clone at first glance. The focus is on entertainment stories and health advice columns with horoscopes and crossword puzzles thrown in. However, unlike their later rivals, it also includes a good combination of LA-centric coverage, with no news releases spoofing journalism. Scarpellini has compiled a list of local events, locations to celebrate Valentine’s Day, commissioned new California law features, and became a Mexican restaurant mogul who became a dishwasher. He also contributed to an interview with Vivera’s first cover girl, Serena Gomez.
It’s a modest effort with just 44 pages. But in an age where most printed publications already predict the year they will be doing online, the birth of Vivera is nothing but a miracle.
Inside the office of El Classic Feeder in Norwalk.
(Christina House/Los Angeles Times)
“I didn’t just want Falandura. [showbiz] Article,” de la Torre said. “It’s not just general articles. Let’s talk more about LA, where we talk about Latino high school athletes at Garfield High. [East Los Angeles]? no one. “
Vivera begins small and has hopes to expand to 40,000 distribution and Santa Ana through the San Fernando Valley and southeastern La County. But it is already a financial success for the founder. They sell enough advertising to make the magazine profitable in 2025.
“I think I’ll have legs for the next two years,” Badame said. “I’ll understand after that.”
Scarpellini wants to hold a community event to introduce Vivera to its readers. Already, staff have met and gifted at Paramount Swap Meet.
“I don’t know how long we will last,” Scarperini added.
Della Torre looked at both and then looked at me.
“If that doesn’t make sense, it’s going to break my heart,” she replied with a touch of sadness. Then came my senses.
“And we cut it.”
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