Mala reported last week on a new men’s magazine — a “Maxim for Latinos” — called Fuego. Back in November, I applauded the publisher’s decision to serve a market that had been flatly ignored for so long. But in the blink of an eye, the fuego has been extinguished:

Fuego magazine, Harris Publications Inc.’s first foray into the Hispanic marketplace, has folded after less than one year.

A call left late Thursday at Harris was not returned.

Does this speak to sad state of print in the days of the internet, a real lack of interest on the part of the target community or editorial differences drama?

…trouble seemed to follow the start-up. Founding Editor in Chief Vee Bravo left the magazine before the second issue was published. According to sources, the original focus of the magazine had changed, with more emphasis on pictorials featuring scantily clad Latinas. The last issue, Winter 2006, features Brazilian actress Ana Carolina da Fonseca accompanied by the tagline “Hotter Than Ever!”

And no one was interested in that? What’s going on?

It’s funny that in my November post the editor of Fuego said

“Sometimes the impression is that all these magazines are all raunchy and ghetto,” Triviño says, “but they are well-written with good information.”

And the cover of the last issue sports the words, as Mala’s post showed, “Bottoms Up! Ana Carolina Tops You Off!” and “Telemundo’s Good Girl Goes Bad”. True irony, indeed.

Via / Marketing y Medios