What are we talking about when we refer to Latin American communication studies in Western academic circles? Do we mean knowledge produced in Latin America, by Latin Americans, for Latin America? Is it those canonical studies written by Latin American scholars, translated to English up to the 1990s and widely circulated in the US & Europe? Do we mean theory-built based on the investigation of Latin American specificities, regardless of where/how the knowledge is produced/put into use? Is there a distinct Latin American epistemology pertaining to the study of communication? Drawing on lessons learnt in the making of the Special Issue of Communication Theory (Volume 28 Issue 2) released in May 2018, we'll be discussing these issues.