The Congressional Hispanic Caucus campaign arm debuted a new YouTube channel with content in Spanish and English on the country's top political and economic issues aimed primarily at a young Latino audience.

The venture is financed by the Caucus campaign group, the “Bold PAC”, and it counts on Los Angeles-born actress and comedian Gabriela Fresquez hosting the series’ English language videos. 

The YouTube channel “Ya Tu Sabes” is part of a broader campaign dubbed “Our Lucha” intended to combat disinformation while energizing Latino voters to head to the polls.

“In the introduction video, Fresquez makes comedic references to a host of clichés about the U.S. Hispanic community, like the excessive use of Vick’s VapoRub, lighting votive candles – ‘la velita’ – and an unseen character, ‘Tío Jorge’, who is ‘still waiting for the Moderna vaccine to turn me into a lizard person’. The tongue-in-cheek references are politically relevant as Republicans and Democrats compete to demonstrate deeper cultural competency to Hispanic constituencies ahead of the midterm elections”, according to The Hill.

In addition to the English-language videos starring Fresquez, the series feature original content in Spanish to broaden the reach among Latino audiences. The YouTube video, which premiered in Spanish, analyzes the actress’s first video about the economy and inflation through a comic interaction between two characters. There is also the following description also in Spanish: “In this Ya Tu Sabes episode, we'll deal with some of the things that hit our bank accounts the hardest: gas and rent. You'll learn how state governors could work to help lower gas prices, or how other states are working to solve the rental and affordable housing crisis”.

The Bold PAC Chair Rep. Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) said “The effort to educate and engage the Latino community is ours – it’s our community and it’s our fight. Our Lucha is about our comunidad. It’s about our commitment to advocate for ourselves and to do it by amplifying diverse voices from within with early investments and tactics that will actually resonate with Latinos”.

There is also concern about focusing on Spanish-language politics in southwestern states by the Bold PAC targeting midterm elections in November, where participation among Latino communities along the border could help decide some races for the House.

As The Hill notes, “The Spanish-language focus on those southwestern states is key to Bold PAC’s strategy for the midterms, where turnout among Hispanic communities along the border could help decide a handful of House races. And targeting younger Latinos with political content wrapped in entertainment reflects community-specific media consumption patterns, particularly the widespread use of YouTube and messaging app WhatsApp as key platforms. […] The project serves as a sort of signal marker that Bold PAC and its allies are setting for other groups in the Democratic Party, following significant tension as many Hispanic Democrats have accused other party structures of making late, insufficient or culturally incompetent investments in the community”.

“While Our Lucha started in earnest this cycle, it builds on over 20 years of us leading the charge to mobilize Latinos. This work has always been led by Hispanics, from Members of Congress and candidates to political operatives. Fighting for more diverse representation is what BOLD PAC does, and it’s something we will keep doing for decades to come”, said Gallego to The Hill.