Glossy Latino-oriented magazine Tu Ciudad folds

"It was meant to be a magazine for 'your city' -- Tu Ciudad. But in the end, the glossy lifestyle publication aimed at affluent, assimilated Latinos failed to find a home in the region's turbulent media landscape," writes Augustin Gurza of the L.A. Times.

"After more than three years serving as a guide for the city's best mojitos, taco stands and cultural trendsetters, Tu Ciudad magazine abruptly shut down this week. The bimonthly leaves behind a stunned staff of eight, thousands of disappointed readers and millions in losses for Indianapolis-based parent company Emmis Communications, which also publishes Los Angeles magazine."

The demise marks the end of a bold experiment in targeting -- and capitalizing on -- an enormous but elusive demographic. The readers of Tu Ciudad are the children and grandchildren of immigrants who still feel connected to their cultural roots, no matter how thoroughly they blend into the urban mainstream. The quandary in reaching them arises from the very thing that defines them as a group, their bicultural identity.

The question remains: Do they need a specialty magazine to appeal to their Latino side?

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City