From TIME · Ruairí Arrieta-Kenna · · 1m 20s
How TIME Picked the 2026 Latino Leaders
TIME's fourth annual Latino Leaders list hunts for range, not a single story of who Latinos are.
In brief
TIME's fourth annual Latino Leaders list hunts for range, not a single story of who Latinos are. The list is built around breadth on purpose, because a fifth of the country cannot be summed up by one kind of success story. Originally reported by TIME.
No box fits
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Actor Sofia Carson, one of the 2026 honorees, frames the community as something that resists a single description.
“In reality, we are a kaleidoscope of cultures, of talents, of thoughts, of passions”
A list since 2023
TIME started marking Hispanic Heritage Month four years ago by naming influential Latinos in the U.S. across entertainment, politics, business, sports and science.
A fifth of the country
Latinos make up 20 percent of the U.S. population, and their economic and cultural weight keeps growing. That scale shaped who made the cut.
Range was the point
Selections spanned Netflix stars like Carson, NBA champions like the Knicks' Jose Alvarado, fashion disrupter Marina Larroudé, chef Nelson German, and nonprofit founder Mónica Ramírez.
Heritage as fuel
Each honoree found a way to bring their background into their work, and rose higher because of it rather than in spite of it.
Lifting others too
Many on the list built their careers with an eye on opening doors behind them, reshaping their industries and the country along the way.
What it means
The list is built around breadth on purpose, because a fifth of the country cannot be summed up by one kind of success story.
