LA COLUMNA DE MARTÍN LAZO CUEVAS

Binational Bilingual Editorial Column
By Martín Lazo Cuevas
Editor in Chief of Voz de Aztlán: Roots and Rebirth
Consejo Mayor de Comunidades Mexicanas

Deep in Silicon Valley, where the Santa Cruz Mountains rise like a green crest along the western edge, there is a quiet, elegant and seemingly modest town called Los Gatos, California. Few people, even in the U.S., know that this is the world headquarters of Netflix, one of the most influential entertainment platforms on the planet. And even fewer ask themselves: Where does the signal we receive come from? Where is it created, managed, and sent from?

Netflix—the media giant reshaping global storytelling—has its home base in this picturesque town that once housed Ohlone indigenous peoples, later became a Mexican land grant, and eventually a bustling railroad-and-orchard town. Los Gatos—named for the wild cats that roamed the area—is now a global communications hub.

But what does that mean? What are the implications of the fact that the algorithms deciding what stories the world consumes are born in this calm, tree-lined setting?

It means that power no longer resides only in global capitals. It means that the crafting of universal narratives can come from a place known more for hiking trails and artisan bakeries than for red carpets or studios. Los Gatos is not just a quaint California town. It’s a global node.

From the hills where the Ohlone once gathered acorns, to the eco-designed offices where executives decide the future of content across continents, there is a thread of continuity—and we should pay attention. Because each Netflix stream that reaches a home carries with it symbolic, ideological, and cultural weight.

Who tells the stories? Which ones get told? What languages are heard and which are silenced? These are essential questions for a conscious, global audience.

It’s ironic—or perhaps poetic—that in the same region where the town of Alma was submerged by the Lexington Reservoir in the 1950s to quench the thirst of a growing valley, today we see a digital flood of images, emotions, and narratives emerging. From the waters that erased a town, to the data streams shaping a generation—Los Gatos has witnessed how memory, history, and power are intertwined.

So, next time you log into Netflix—from Mexico City to Mumbai—pause a moment. Think of Los Gatos. Ask yourself: Where does this stream come from, and what does it carry with it? And what role do I play in this global web of culture and consumption?