¡Hola! is a weekly Spanish-language magazine specializing in celebrity news, published in Spain and widely available in Latin America in local editions. The title means "Hello!" in English and it is the parent magazine of the English language Hello!.

It was founded in Barcelona on September 2, 1944 by Antonio Sánchez Gómez, who continued to run the magazine until his death in the 70s. He employed mainly relatives and to this day ¡Hola! remains a predominantly family run organisation, with Gómez's wife still stepping in to provide layout for important royal wedding spreads.

Initially designed as a family magazine, Gómez soon realised the potential for profit in the women's industry and initially focused on the doings of royalty, as well as offering a self help section. Today, its function is primarily as a gossip magazine, although the Spanish version still relies heavily on royalty for their gossip, whilst the English and Latin American versions focus more on Hollywood.

The combined readership of ¡Hola! and its various sistership magazines is more than a million a week, a large growth from the original 4,000 copies which sold in its first week of production back in 1944.

Sources

• Magazines that Make History - Oliva and Angoletti.

External links

• Official website