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Sofia Vergara is probably the most recognizable Hispanic actress working in English-language television. She is one of the stars of “Modern Family,” among the highest-rated scripted shows on network television, and she has parlayed her celebrity into commercials for brands like Pepsi and Cover Girl.

Despite her popularity, “Modern Family” is not a hit with Hispanic viewers. Out of its overall viewership of 12.9 million, “Modern Family” drew an average of only about 798,000 Hispanic viewers in the season. That audience accounts for only about 6 percent of the show’s viewers — less than half of what you might expect given the 48 million Hispanic television viewers that Nielsen measures. READ MORE

Overcrowded emergency rooms can be fatal for Latinos and other minorities living in populated neighborhoods, suggests a study published in the journal Health Affairs.

Because minorities — Hispanics in particular — have low rates of health insurance, the emergency room has become a primary resource for medical care regardless of the severity of the medical issue. The process crowds emergency rooms and in turn emergency services become scarce, resulting in ambulance diversion, says study author Renee Y. Hsia, MD, assistant professor of emergency medicine at University of California, San Francisco. Ambulance diversion refers to a process in which an ambulance is turned away from a hospital, and redirected to the nearest one instead, because they cannot take any more emergency patients. READ MORE

These days a celebrity’s social media presence can go a long way and Shakira, Selena Gomez and Crisitiano Ronaldo are all aware of this as the three Latinos have topped Forbes Social Networking Superstars.

The list includes Barbados vixen and pop singer Rihanna, who came in first place, along with Mother monster Lady Gaga in second place and Gomez’s boyfriend Justin Bieber in fourth.

Shakira earned the sixth slot. The Colombian singer, who is rumored to be pregnant with soccer star Gerard Piqué’s baby, has a solid Twitter following of 17.6 million and 52.5 million ‘friends’ on Facebook.

Trailing behind Shakira is Piqué’s teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who was the only athlete to make the top 10 Social Networking Superstars List.

Ronaldo has 12 million Twitter followers and has 47.5 million ‘friends’ on Facebook. According to Forbes, Ronaldo is the most popular athlete on social media. The Portuguese soccer player often takes time to thank his fans for their support and his gratitude for being able to play soccer professionally. READ MORE

A quarter century ago, Fox figured there was room for more than just three big TV networks. It created Fox Broadcasting, which would redefine television with shows such as "Married ... With Children," "The Simpsons," "24" and "American Idol."

Now, Fox is hoping to stage an encore.

Rupert Murdoch's company on Monday unveiled MundoFox, a new Spanish-language broadcast network. A joint venture with Colombian powerhouse RCN Television Group, the network will challenge the Spanish-language media dominance of entrenched rivals Univision Communications and Telemundo.

"It is a fascinating move, and it has the potential to really make an impact," said Diana Bald, a senior vice president at advertising firm ID Media.

Fox and RCN have chipped in an estimated $100 million to hire staff, develop programming and launch the service. The network and its national news team will be based in Los Angeles, unlike Univision and Telemundo, which both operate from Miami.

Fox is banking on the L.A. location to give MundoFox a competitive edge by absorbing the region's Mexican-American culture. Two-thirds of Latinos in the U.S. are of Mexican heritage.

"The key for them is to become a disruptive force rather than be a me-too player," Bald said.

That's precisely the plan, said Hernan Lopez, chief executive of the Fox International Channels division. READ MORE

So you grew up watching Elmo, Cookie Monster and Big Bird, and now you want to be friends with Rosita, Luis and Maria.

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If you are a bilingual actor or actress between the ages of 18 and 25, this may be the chance of a lifetime: "Sesame Street" is looking for a new Hispanic character.

The producers of "Sesame Street" told The Associated Press that they are holding an open casting call on Monday, August 20 at Manhattan's Roseland Ballroom for a recurring character to join the "'Sesame Street' family."

"We hope many people show up. We know the Latino community is full of talented people," said Rocio Galarza, senior director of content planning, design and outreach for Sesame Workshop, the non-profit organization behind "Sesame Street."

Although it's too early to talk about the specifics of the new character — which would depend on the chosen actor or actress' background — Galarza said they are looking for someone capable of singing and improvising in both English and Spanish and with a good sense of humor.

"Sesame Street" debuted in 1969 and has added versions in countries like Israel, Nigeria, Germany and Mexico, where "Plaza Sésamo" is produced. The series has always tried to adapt to the realities of the changing American population, which has seen a sharp increase in Hispanics in the last decades. READ MORE

In a large epidemiologic study, researchers at UCLA’s Jonsson Cancer Center found that babies of U.S.-born Latinas are at higher risk for retinoblastoma — a malignant tumor of the retina which typically occurs before the age of 6 — than children of Mexico-born mothers.

The study, which focused on infants born in California, also found that children of older fathers and those born to women with sexually transmitted diseases were at greater risk for the disease, as were children from multiple-birth pregnancies, which may indicate an increased risk from in vitro fertilization. Those findings confirmed the results of several smaller studies.

The research team used data from the California Cancer Registry and examined all retinoblastoma cases reported from 1988 to 2007, said Julia Heck, first author of the study and an assistant researcher at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. Using California data allowed the researchers to cull information from a large and diverse population that included many Latinas.

The study appears in the early online edition of the journal Cancer Causes and Control. READ MORE

When many of us think of starting a business, we think of a long road ahead, a lot of sacrifice, and of course – the burning question – how to secure access to capital.

Every start up business requires seed money – some more than others. Interestingly enough, leveraging digital media to start an online business may be more affordable than one may think and I’m pleased to see that Latinas are jumping onboard this bandwagon early.

We already have several examples of Latina entrepreneurs that are really making a difference with their online businesses. Marie Forleo probably knows this better than anyone as a Latina businesswoman dedicated to helping other Latinas start online businesses through her digital platform Rich, Happy and Hot B-School. According to Forleo: “In a few short years, I’ve been able to build a multimillion dollar business that reaches women in 188 countries all around the world with nothing more than a laptop, a dream, and a desire to make a difference.” Through her online business, Forleo offers a “6 Pillar Map” program that seeks to help women worldwide build a digital media brand and successful online business. READ MORE

There’s enormous and warranted attention in news reports this morning to Ted Cruz’s apparent double-digit victory over the Texas lieutenant governor, David Dewhurst, in that state’s Republican primary for a U.S. Senate seat. It was a headlines-grabbing, come-from-behind trouncing, and the reports focus specifically, and rightly, on what it says about the continued potency of the Tea Party and the lure of a certain sort of purism in the Republican Party, whose establishment seems unable to beat back and control insurgents from the right.

Here’s Erik Eckholm’s analysis, in his story this morning for The Times: “Mr. Cruz, 41, is the latest conservative rebel to bring down an established party leader, tapping into frustration within the Republican ranks nationwide. These dissident triumphs include, in this year’s primaries, the defeat of Senator Richard G. Lugar of Indiana by Richard E. Mourdock and Deb Fischer’s win over a veteran Republican for the Senate nomination in Nebraska.”

And here’s David Catanese, in Politico: “Cruz’s double-digit victory in a megastate ushers in what Tea Party members hope will be a new phase in which no amount of money, name ID or establishment support is immune to the burgeoning movement.” READ MORE

Everyone knows that yellow and blue make green ... but what do Latino and non-Latino make? For starters, it's causing a new dynamic called interculturization—the interaction and marriage of different cultures.

Hispanic Group claims that the Latino craze that has been sweeping the nation for the past decade is causing this phenomenon, which is having a dramatic impact on American culture with all things Hispanic exploding in the mainstream. Non-Latinos living in predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods—like Miami, Los Angeles and New York—are just as likely as their Hispanic counterparts to know how to dance salsa and where to eat the best ceviche. With Spanish being the top foreign language being taught in schools, the Latino culture is undoubtedly leaving a profound imprint on society.

"When two cultures collide and co-exist, they breathe life into a new fusion known as interculturization," said Jose Luis Valderrama, President and founder of Hispanic Group. "That's how one of the most popular festivities in the U.S.—St. Patrick's Day—was born and now we all wear green on March 17."

If Latinos were hot before, 2012 can easily be classified as the year that Latinos were on fire: launch of English-language news outlets focusing on Latino news, William Levy dominating on Dancing with the Stars, Sofia Vergara as the new spokesperson for Diet Pepsi and even Usher singing Bachata. There is no doubt that Hispanics are passionate about their food, music, fashion and television. So whether marketers like it or not, they've learned to embrace Latino culture, not as a passing phase but as a permanent fixture in American life. And those who have are cashing in on the Latino purchasing power. READ MORE

The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) released two reports regarding diversity in federal employment that should not escape notice in the Federal Eye.

The reports on Hispanics and people with disabilities, released in late July, show noteworthy increases in employment, particularly among Latinos in the Senior Executive Service.

The percentage of new SES hires who are Hispanic jumped to 5.4 percent in fiscal 2011, from 2.7 percent the year before, a significant increase. The increase in federal Latino employment overall was insignificant, from 8 percent in 2010 to 8.1 percent last year.

“A 0.1 percent increase in Hispanic employment in the federal workforce in four years is not change to brag about,” said Jorge E. Ponce, co-president of the Council of Federal EEO & Civil Rights Executives. “Nevertheless, I'm glad of the Hispanic increase at the SES ranks. While the numeric increase in Hispanics in the SES ranks is small, it is progress in the right direction.” READ MORE

Unlike other U.S. wars, the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have relied on a relatively small number of volunteers deployed multiple times. This combination puts an extreme mental toll on the women and men who serve and has put a spotlight on the increase in post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, cases among service members. The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs recently reported that 15 percent of veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq currently suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.

The situation is even more severe for Latino veterans. There are more than 1.2 million Hispanic veterans and the Department of Veterans Affairs reports that 39 percent of Hispanic veterans suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder—a condition they will have to cope with for the rest of their lives. Despite this prevalence, however, the needs of Latino veterans are often overlooked. With more and more Latinos serving in the military, it is important that we understand the circumstances confronting this population so we can better support every veteran. READ MORE

Eight summers ago, a fresh faced politician took to the podium for a keynote address at the Democratic convention that launched him onto the national stage and a path to the White House.

Among the viewers of then Sen. Barack Obama's national debut was Julian Castro, now mayor of San Antonio, who will follow in Obama’s footsteps as keynote speaker at the Democratic convention this year in Charlotte.

In picking Castro, Democrats are acknowledging the power of the Latino vote in the 2012 race for the White House and the changing demographics across the country. In attempting to fill Obama’s shoes, Castro, 37, is set to raise his national profile and lay the foundation for possible statewide or national ambitions.

“He could be the first Latino President or Vice President and it would be reasonable to suggest that Julian would be well positioned to be the Democratic nominee for Texas Governor, ” said Walter Clark Wilson a professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. “Right now he is doing everything right to set up these kinds of situations for the future.” READ MORE

Joseph DeLaGarza has joined the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC) as a Senior Business Counselor primarily assigned to work with the Minority Business Development Agency / Chicago Minority Business Center that IHCC operates in partnership with the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council (CMSDC). In this role, he will assist Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) with the following:

- obtain certification as an MBE
- promote and connect them to Fortune 500 companies and other large corporations
- help them create and implement business growth strategies
- provide them with general business and financial consulting

Mr. DeLaGarza has had a passion for working with and assisting entrepreneurs to grow or start their companies since 2001. Joseph's extensive experience across various segments has equipped him with a unique ability to comprehend and assist with a variety of business challenges and derive solutions. His prior positions include: Vice President of Client Relations at Quantum Capital Investments; Director of the Small Business Development Center at the University of Illinois at Chicago; and Business Development Manager at the Eighteenth Street Development Corporation.

Joseph received his Bachelor of Science in Finance at DePaul University and completed his Master's in Business Administration (MBA) in International Business and Entrepreneurship at the University of Illinois at Chicago.

If you think your business can benefit from Joseph’s services or other IHCC programs, please call them at 312-425-9500 or visit their website at www.ihccbusiness.net

Nearly 150 years ago, St. Scholastica Academy opened its doors to educate German immigrants.

This September, the school will once again be a place of learning for immigrant children when the United Neighborhood Organization moves in and welcomes an anticipated 570 Latino immigrant students.

St. Scholastica announced Sunday that UNO signed on to lease most of the Rogers Park campus and open a new charter school Sept. 4. UNO is a Chicago-based organization focused on helping Latino children and families successfully assimilate to American culture. UNO currently runs 11 charter schools across the city, with about 5,500 total students enrolled. READ MORE

According to a recent AARP report, middle-aged and older Hispanics are having the hardest time coping with the Great Recession. About one in five of them have delayed retirement, and one in 10 have taken on a second job.

As the huge baby boom generation—78 million people in the United States born from 1946 through 196, about 10 percent of them Latino—reaches age 65, many aging Hispanics are continuing to work because they need the income. But others keep active willingly and like to inspire people in their communities.

One is Julia Lucila Portugal de Baker, or Lucy Baker as her students know her at the Center for Employment Training (CET) sewing shop in San José, Calif.

Most of Baker’s students—ages 10 to 60--are Mexican women. Baker, who came to California from Bolivia over 45 years ago, worked in the garment industry. Today, she is not only transmitting her sewing expertise to her students, but also her entrepreneurial spirit.

“I want each one of my students to start their business. Two of them have already started,” she said. “They can open an alteration business; that could be a highly profitable business.” READ MORE

The first thing you might notice when walking into Mi Pueblo Mexican Bakery is the aroma of freshly baked breads and burritos.

The next thing: laughter or friendly conversation coming from the store’s dining area, where friends gather for lunch or a quick snack after work.

On a recent Friday, two Spanish-speaking men sat at a table eating their lunch and laughing, while a woman ordered her meal in English and customers from various backgrounds shopped the market.

While Mi Pueblo sells a variety of Mexican foods, you’ll find this Twin Falls store has become a gathering place for many cultures. You’ll likely see longtime Magic Valley residents, Russians, Bhutanese and any number of other immigrant groups shopping or eating here for one of at least three reasons, said manager Aaron Nieto: because they like the food, come to share a meal with friends, or are trying to find ingredients similar to their own culture’s.

“We get a lot of Asians who come in,” he said. “We carry rare spices, so a lot of Bosnians and Russians will come in. They’re trying to bring back some of their culture. We get a lot of refugees, some from Ethiopia.”

Mi Pueblo, owned by Nieto and his family, has been doing business in their 11,000-square-foot store near Filer Avenue and Washington Street North since 2007. Before that, they owned a 700-square-foot store downtown Twin Falls, he said. The family also operates stores in Bellevue, Buhl and Jerome.

Though the economy has sometimes slowed business, Nieto said, Mi Pueblo still retains a following of returning and new customers.

Twin Falls resident Rick Dykes, who was at the store July 13 looking for a spice, is one of them.

“If anyone has it, it’ll be Mi Pueblo,” he said. READ MORE

As Mitt Romney heads off on his "Earning His Foreign Policy Chops" tour (Hit the Olympics opening. Check. Shake hands in Poland. Check. Look serious and concerned in Israel. Check.), the real election battle is in cyberspace. Especially the one aimed at young Latinos.

If you've been hit with loads of texts; your inbox has offers for T-shirts or dinner with Candidate X; and every time you open Facebook there, on the side is, a presidential-looking picture of a Candidate inviting you to "like" him; you must be Hispanic. And, most likely, a young one.

Candidate Barack Obama proved it back in 2008 -- if you want my vote, follow me on Twitter. His use of social media proved the power of social media and stunned the pols who still thought a glossy flyer in your mailbox and a robo-call from a Hollywood celeb was cutting edge. READ MORE

When many of us think of starting a business, we think of a long road ahead, a lot of sacrifice, and of course – the burning question – how to secure access to capital.

Every start up business requires seed money – some more than others. Interestingly enough, leveraging digital media to start an online business may be more affordable than one may think and I’m pleased to see that Latinas are jumping onboard this bandwagon early.

We already have several examples of Latina entrepreneurs that are really making a difference with their online businesses. Marie Forleo probably knows this better than anyone as a Latina businesswoman dedicated to helping other Latinas start online businesses through her digital platform Rich, Happy and Hot B-School. According to Forleo: “In a few short years, I’ve been able to build a multimillion dollar business that reaches women in 188 countries all around the world with nothing more than a laptop, a dream, and a desire to make a difference.” Through her online business, Forleo offers a “6 Pillar Map” program that seeks to help women worldwide build a digital media brand and successful online business. READ MORE

Policymakers and education leaders laud students who finish their college degrees within the four-year ideal. But Mario Escalera, a University of Texas at San Antonio student, will be glad to earn his bachelor's in about twice that — especially if it means he can avoid student loan debt.

The first-generation college student, who was raised on the Southeast Side by grandparents from Mexico, said his family instilled in him a strong fear of borrowing money.

“Because they had no credit, they never saw loans as an option,” said Escalera, 27. “It was always working hard for your money, saving it and buying what you wanted in cash.”

His trepidation, which has persisted even though he has worked at a bank during much of his post-secondary schooling, is similar to that of many Hispanic students, according to national research and observers at several Texas schools.

And if college costs continue to rise, fear of borrowing could form a barrier to higher education for the city's and state's burgeoning Hispanic population.

Experts and financial aid directors say students and their families struggling to pay for college through other means may need to walk the tightrope of student loans — finding a balance between borrowing amounts they can't repay and shunning loans entirely. READ MORE

Hernan Lopez doesn’t look like a guy who produces telenovelas, the soap operas that dominate the airwaves throughout Latin America. He looks like a guy who stars in them. With his wavy black hair, firm jawline and velvety Argentinean accent, it’s easy to picture him galloping home on a white horse to rescue his childhood sweetheart from losing the family hacienda to a corrupt patrón.

But Lopez has a different quest ahead of him. As CEO of Fox International Channels he’s the point person and prime mover behind News Corp.’s effort to capture an outsize slice of a $1 trillion pie: the surging U.S. Hispanic market. READ MORE