This month's cover celebrates the 2023 New Year, as well as showcases that our publication Latino Lubbock Magazine is celebrating 17 years since our inception! Latino Lubbock was founded by our publisher Christy Martinez-Garcia, who explained it is a passion project. She started it upon her return from working in Washington, D.C. to provide Lubbock news from a Latino perspective, adding that Hispanics make up 37% of Lubbock's population and that now more than ever Latino Lubbock is necessary. It is also distributed in 23 rural communities and some distribution points in Midland & Odessa. Latino Lubbock Magazine remains a free publication thanks to advertisers. Martinez-Garcia said that she uses the publication as a tool to connect the public to resources, news, and tools of empowerment, as well as share stories of the Hispanic community.