The first time I tuned in to watch Saturday Night Live was because Zac Efron was hosting. I remember sitting in front of the TV with my sister, our eyes glued to the screen, enamored with the former heartthrob and the iconic “I Am Your Mother” skit with Fred Armisen. For over 50 seasons, SNL has produced countless memorable moments and sketches. At the start of this current season, the show introduced another one with its parody of the iconic Univision variety show, Sábado Gigante.
The sketch, which saw Marcello Hernández playing Don Francisco, gave me and many other Latinos a dose of nostalgia and impressed me with how SNL recreated the hilarious and eccentric nature of the series I grew up watching with my family. But while it transported me back to my childhood, it also left me wondering: Throughout SNL’s history, how many Latinos have hosted, and how many have been cast members?
The number of Latino cast members on SNL is shockingly small – I’m talking “count on one hand” small. In the show’s entire history, only four Latinos have been cast members: Horatio Sanz (1998-2006), Fred Armisen (2002-2013), Melissa Villaseńor (2016-2022), and Marcello Hernández (2022-present). Seeing that number stunned me, and it followed me as I looked into the number of Latino hosts.
When I began researching, I naively believed I’d find a decent number of Latino hosts. I was optimistic. But that bubble quickly burst as I started counting – the number was just as small as the cast list.
SNL has been on the air for over 50 seasons, broadcasting 980 episodes. In this amount of time, the number of Latinos who have hosted currently stands at 25. This number may not seem small to some in this modern era, but it is, especially when broken down.
As reported by Morning Consult, the first Latino to host SNL was Desi Arnaz in 1976. The show would take fourteen years to invite its second, Jimmy Smits. This gap resurfaced when Cameron Diaz hosted for the first time in 1998 (she would go on to host three more times) and continued with future hosts.
It’s important to note that this analysis by Morning Consult lists Antonio Banderas (I’m hoping that his inclusion was an accident on their part, considering he’s from Spain) and that it ends with the start of season 44, which, by the way, featured zero Latino hosts. It wouldn’t be until season 45 that they would break their “streak,” bringing Jennifer Lopez to host for the third time. Regardless, the findings in their report on SNL’s diversity issue are glaring and disheartening. For instance, how is it possible that during the 2000s, for almost every season, only one Latino was invited to host? Could they seriously not find any others? Or were they just lazy?
Aside from this report’s authors, a lot of people have been highlighting SNL’s diversity problem for years.
In 2016, a study by IndieWire found that more than 90% of SNL’s hosts were white. Just a few years earlier, in 2013, the show faced backlash after hiring six white actors during the off-season – marking the sixth consecutive year without a Black female cast member. This controversy was further fueled by an interview Kenan Thompson had given earlier that year, which sparked strong reactions (he later clarified his comments on Jemele Hill Is Unbothered in 2021). How did SNL respond to the criticism? By poking fun at themselves, an approach that received mixed reactions.
I believe in giving credit where credit is due, and when it comes to SNL’s work on diversity, I give them minimal credit. Yes, the show has worked to diversify its cast over the years, but they still have a lot of work to do, including for Latinos. DEI efforts are currently under attack with companies like Target making headlines last month for ending its Racial Equity Action and Change program. And, recently, NPR reported that at least a dozen companies (e.g., Pepsi, Disney, GM, etc.) reduced or removed altogether any references to DEI in their 2024 annual reports to investors.
So, as SNL goes on to celebrate its 50th anniversary in just a few days, I have one request for the future: Give Latinos more opportunities to be in front of and behind the camera, especially in the writers’ room – because we are bursting with incredible ideas. We’re creative, intelligent, and witty. The Sábado Gigante sketch, which they have done a second time, is a prime example. And if you’re stuck on who to invite to host, instead of bringing Alec Baldwin for the 18th time, might I suggest inviting Latinos such as Harvey Guillén, Melissa Barerra, Rachel Zegler, Xolo Marideuña, Colman Domingo, America Ferrera, and Liza Colón-Zayas? Because they’re more than capable of hosting the show and delivering the iconic line, “Live from New York, it’s Saturday Night!”
