10 Latino Memes That Are Funny Because They’re True

woman looking at her cell phone screen and laughing
Luz Media

Sometimes, you just need a good laugh and Latino memes definitely deliver. It’s safe to say that Latinos’ sense of humor is unmatched and we come up with great memes, especially if they’re based on relatable experiences. If you need a good dose of serotonin or are looking for memes to share in your family/friends group chats, here are 10 Latino memes that are funny because they’re true:


Not enough tortillas

Latino meme about running out of tortillas

Whether you’re of Mexican descent or a Latino who loves good Mexican food, you already know there’s never enough tortillas. You could be enjoying a burrito bowl, fajitas, huevos rancheros, or any other dish and the moment you run out of tortillas, the sadness just hits and “cries in Spanish” encompasses it perfectly. The good news is there are usually more tortillas around, so this isn’t an insurmountable issue.

The joy of bakery smells

Latino meme about entering the panader\u00eda

It’s a truth universally accepted by Latinos that the smells that hit your nostrils when you enter a panadería (bakery) must be inhaled. We think it’s hard to find a person who doesn’t love the smell of freshly baked bread and other delicious treats. Not enjoying it to the fullest is just depriving yourself of one of life’s small joys.

Chisme is life

Latino meme about enjoying a family chisme

Whether you’re sitting with your family or your friends when the chisme (gossip) starts pouring, very few Latinos can help themselves from listening in. It doesn’t matter if you know the people involved or not, being there for the tea spill is always entertaining. When you were young, it was particularly great because it made you feel so grown up to hear what the tías (aunts) were up to.

Saving every plastic bag

Latino meme about saving every plastic bag

Latinos have been practicing the sustainable habit of keeping every single plastic bag for reuse since time immemorial. We’re pretty sure almost every Latino household has a plastic bag full of plastic bags stored somewhere, and they come in quite handy. Mostly, they’re reused as trash bags, but they also make good shower caps. If you’re a Latina, you know that plastic bags are very useful when you’re doing hair hydration treatments at home and you don’t want to waste money on shower caps that will stretch after you use them twice.

La Rosa de Guadalupe effect

Latino meme about La Rosa de Guadalupe effect

“La Rosa de Guadalupe” is a Mexican catholic anthology series where each episode explores themes like addiction, domestic abuse, violence, bullying, and more. The Virgin of Guadalupe always intervenes and there’s always a lesson to each story. It’s a moralist, low-budget show, but Mexican kids and Latinos overall grew up watching it in the late 2000s because it’s so bad, it’s good. However, our parents definitely took it seriously. Whenever a kid got in trouble in “La Rosa de Guadalupe” for disobeying their parents or doing something they weren’t supposed to, Latina moms would go “You see?! This is what I tell you!” We’ve all been there.

Being able to handle your spice

Latino meme about being able to handle your spice

One thing about Latinos is that they know how to handle their spice, so if you have white friends who aren’t used to the Latino fire, you’ve been in this situation. It feels like a superpower and it’s always kind of funny. Of course, not every Latino loves spice or can handle it well, but for those who do, this meme is as real as it gets.

No sleepover for Latino kids

Meme about the common practice of Latino parents not allowing their children to attend sleepovers.

Whether you were born in the U.S. or your parents immigrated when you were young, you likely experienced a few cultural shocks. For one, there’s no way your Latino parents let you go to any sleepovers. Sleeping in a house full of strangers? Out of the question. While American parents are perfectly okay with that and sleepovers are a quintessential experience for American kids, Latino parents trust no one with their offspring.

Flip flops mean a whole other thing to Latinos

Meme about how  flip flops mean a whole other thing to Latinos

Flip flops may be “indispensable beach accessories” to every other person, but to Latino kids, they mean something different. As the meme says, they’re “attack of defense weapons” when you’re dealing with siblings or bugs, but when that chancleta was in mom’s hand, things got serious real quick. It was either a warning sign to behave or it was flying directly at your head if mom was on her last nerve. Either way, you knew you made a mistake!

The holy trinity of Latino health

Meme about the holy trinity of Latino health

While not having insurance is a serious issue among Latinos in the U.S. and not a laughing matter, this particular meme is impossible not to laugh at because it’s true! We grew up thinking that VapoRub, Sprite, and a good chicken or beef soup could cure anything. Honestly, it’s pretty effective when you have the flu. It’s also effective when you’re hungover (minus the VapoRub in that case), so this trio is not without its merits. It’s not as good as insurance, though, that’s for certain.

Switching to Spanish means things got real

Latino Meme about how switching to Spanish means things got real

Again, it’s funny because it’s true! When your family switches to Spanish, you know that the argument went from calm and collected to fully emotional. English is not enough to express the breadth of Latinos’ emotions sometimes, especially when they have a point to prove. When the switch happens, it’s definitely when the fun begins if you’re a spectator just enjoying the chisme. It’s not as fun if you’re involved in the argument…

This Viral Video Game Is Changing the Face of Voter Outreach

In 2024, voting campaigns have evolved greatly, to say the least. Creativity is now the name of the game and tongue-in-cheek humor is expertly leveraged to drive action. One example of that is Bop the Bigot, a revival of a viral game created in 2016 by Bazta Arpaio, an Arizona activist group, as part of a campaign to unseat Maricopa County’s Sheriff Joe Arpaio. Arpaio lost his re-election to Paul Penzone that year.

The game has now been updated for the current election cycle and relaunched by On Point Studios, with new features added to enable players to find out what’s on their ballot, confirm voter status, and register to vote.

Much like its former 2016 version, the game allows users to take out their political frustrations by virtually “bopping” GOP candidates in the head. It’s very similar to whack-a-mole, except the mole is replaced by former President Donald Trump, Ohio’s Senator J. D. Vance, and Kevin Roberts, President of the Heritage Foundation, which is spearheading Project 2025.

cartoon renditions of Donald Trump and J.D. Vance around a Bop the Bigot logoPromotional image provided by On Point Studios.

B. Loewe, Director of On Point Studios, came up with the concept for this game when working as the Communications Director at Bazta Arpaio in 2016, and is the executive producer of this revamped version. In the first version of the game, Bop the Bigot players used a chancla (flip flop) to “bop” the characters, tapping into Latino culture by leaning on the childhood experience of being set right by a flying chancla from a fed-up mother or grandmother.

This year, the chancla is replaced by a more current element, a green coconut, referencing Kamala Harris’ coconut tree meme. There are also side characters like “the couch,” cat ladies, and more coconuts. All references to jokes about Vice-Presidential candidate Vance, or insults Vance has made about women on the campaign trail.

Another new addition is that Harris’ laugh is immortalized as the game-over sound effect, an unexpected detail that adds even more humor and levity to the game.

cartoon renditions of Donald Trump, Kevin Roberts, and J.D. Vance around a Bop the Bigot logoPromotional image provided by On Point Studios.

Bop the Bigot, which is playable on desktop and mobile, is intended not just as a way to vent political frustrations, but also as a tool for activism and securing voter engagement.

For example, the game supports the work of Mexican Neidi Dominguez Zamorano, Founding Executive Director of the non-profit organization Organized Power in Numbers by using the “game over” screen to prompt players to donate to it and support their efforts.

Organized Power in Numbers is focused on empowering workers in the South and Southwest of the U.S. through collective action and comprehensive campaigns. Their mission is to create a large-scale movement that challenges the status quo and advocates for workers' rights, and racial and economic justice.

Currently, Dominguez Zamorano is leading worker outreach to 2 million working-class voters in the South and Southwest through doorknocking, texting, and calls with the help of local groups in North Carolina, Arizona, New Mexico, and more.

“We have been blown away by the enthusiastic reception for the video game. We knew we wanted to be part of its creative approach because our movement needs more fun and laughter. We need more ways to connect with nuestra gente so we can feel joy among all the absurdity we witness every day,” Dominguez Zamorano shared with Luz Media via email.

“Our people are gente trabajadora and we deserve to feel uplifted even in our toughest moments. We are deeply involved in the South and Southwest so we know what’s at stake in this election and we’re happy this can be a resource to mobilize, raise spirits, and get out the vote," she concluded.

Dominguez Zamorano is a committed activist for immigrants and workers' rights, known for her strategist skills and expertise. She played a key role in the campaign to win DACA and has also held roles in major campaigns, including as Deputy National States Director for Bernie Sanders' 2020 presidential campaign. In addition to her work with Organized Power in Numbers, Dominguez Zamorano is serving as a Senior Advisor to Mijente’s Fuera Trump Initiative.

Grassroots efforts like these have taken on new life in 2024, with Bop the Bigot adding to the larger, ongoing fight against political apathy and disinformation. Just as it did during the 2016 race, the video game uses humor to soften the serious task at hand—getting people to the polls.

"We want the game to be a fun and comical outlet for anyone who’s been insulted, frustrated, or harmed by Trump in the past and everyone who is ready to move forward as a country after election day," explained Loewe in a press release. "The proposals in Project 2025 and the beliefs of Trump and Vance aren’t just weird, they’re truly harmful. We wanted to give people a humorous and peaceful way to smack down their racism and sexism. We hope it makes people laugh and also feel empowered and motivated to get to the polls on or before election day."

With a mix of satire, sharp political critique, and nostalgia, the game is a call to action. The upcoming election, which is getting closer by the minute, has sparked fierce activism and creative yet grounded initiatives like these aim to ensure voters are engaged, especially young Latinos and disenfranchised groups.

hands holding up yellow protest signs that say Hands Off Our Bodies
Photo Credit: Gayatri Malhotra via Unsplash

Originally published in Common Dreams. Reprinted with permission.

The Latino electorate will prove decisive in securing reproductive freedom and abortion access through ballot measures around the country, particularly in states where Latinos are a significant portion of the electorate.

In November, abortion rights measures will appear on ballots across ten states, including Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, and New York, where Latinos make up a significant portion of the electorate. For decades, pundits and politicians have recycled long-held misconceptions about Latino voters and abortion access, citing our conservative and religious beliefs.

Anti-abortion extremists have long fueled these misconceptions through misinformation and disinformation campaigns targeting Latino communities with egregious lies and inflammatory rhetoric about abortion. Yet, polling, focus groups, and direct interactions with Latino communities have debunked these outdated tropes.

The Latino electorate will prove decisive in securing reproductive freedom and abortion access through ballot measures around the country, particularly in states where Latinos are a significant portion of the electorate.

For Latinos, the freedom to decide, a pillar of our American democracy, is critical. Meanwhile, Latinos are being hit directly with anti-abortion efforts that take away that freedom such as the six-week abortion ban put into effect by the Florida Supreme Court and the 1864 abortion ban upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court. In the wake of the Dobbs decision, people of color and Latinas have felt the impact of a lack of abortion access, an element of basic healthcare.

A 2023 report by the National Partnership for Women and Families estimated that nearly 6.5 million Latinas, or 42% of all Latinas of reproductive age in the country, live in a state that either had or was likely to ban abortion. Ironically, it will be abortion access and anti-choice efforts to restrict freedom of choice that will mobilize Latino voters this election.

In a poll conducted by three national reproductive justice organizations, 87% of Latinas named abortion and women’s rights as one of their top priorities as they head to the polls. Another battleground poll conducted by Somos PAC and BSP Research found that 61% of Latino registered voters expressed a more positive/favorable view of Kamala Harris after hearing that she will protect abortion rights, versus only 19% of Latinos who said they had a more negative view of Harris after hearing that.

In key states to secure the White House and both chambers, Latinos make up large chunks of the electorate: Arizona (25%), Colorado (15%), Florida (20%), Nevada (20%), and New York (12%). In the face of unprecedented attacks on basic healthcare access and targeted attempts by extremists to mislead and divide our community on this issue, this November Latinos will be key deciders on abortion access across the country.

Mari Urbina, Managing Director of Indivisible, Battleground Arizona Lead and former Harry Reid advisor.

Héctor Sánchez Barba is president and CEO of Mi Familia Vota (MFV).