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The race to the White House is now available in Spanish, and it’s no surprise.

With Latinos projected to be nearly a third of the U.S. population by 2050 and already making up a crucial voting bloc in battleground states from Florida to Nevada, the campaigns of Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama have gained a Spanish accent.

Romney’s son Craig, for example, has become his father’s personal translator, explaining in skillful Spanish in targeted TV ads that his dad is a man “con grandes convicciones,” or “with strong beliefs.” He will fight “para encaminar nuestro pais y crear empleos,” or “to guide our country and create jobs,” Craig Romney says.

The Obama campaign has recycled its 2008 campaign slogan, “Si, se puede,” or “Yes, we can,” for this year’s run. The catchphrase has special meaning as the motto of the late Cesar Chavez and the United Farmworker’s Union and has become a ubiquitous staple of the president’s attempts to identify with and retain the Latino support he received the last time he ran. READ MORE

Latina women make 62 cents for every dollar made by an average white male, according to the Department of Labor. This is one of the biggest factors limiting women from obtaining economic security for themselves and their families, according to a new Center for American Progress report. Adriana Kugler, chief economist to U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solís, says this is a loss not just for women, but for their families.

“Due to the wage gap, the average lifetime loss in salary for an American woman is $400,000, but for a Latina, the number goes up to $800,000,” says Dr. Kugler, a Colombian-American who is the first Latina Chief Economist at the Department of Labor. “Imagine what a Latina can do with that amount – buy a home, pay for children’s colleges – it’ s an impressive number.”

Four in ten working Latinas are now breadwinners in their families, double the rate since 1975. Economists such as Kugler worry that lower salaries due to the wage gap are a contributing factor in the high rates of poverty among Latino families. One quarter of Hispanic households are poor, and 33 percent of Latino children live in poverty. READ MORE

The war among U.S. media giants out to conquer their share of the rich $1 trillion Hispanic market is getting fierce.

"We think the established Spanish-language networks today are trapped in the same formula that ABC, CBS and NBC were 25 years ago," the CEO of Fox International Channels, Hernan Lopez, told Forbes magazine.

Forbes talked to Lopez on the occasion of this month's launch of the Spanish-language channel MondoFox, News Corp.'s new national Spanish-language broadcast television channel.

With MundoFox, Rupert Murdoch's media empire joins the battle to win Latino viewers already being fought by other media in this country like Disney and Comcast.

In the United States, according to the 2010 Census, there are 52 million Hispanics and by 2050 they are expected to number some 133 million, or one-third of the population. READ MORE

AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing has released its third study in its Revenue Growth series revealing a positive connection between corporate Hispanic marketing and revenue growth specific for the Technology, Telecommunications and Entertainment categories. In fact, the data showed that Hispanic allocation alone explains about 30 percent of change in topline revenue growth among manufacturers of consumer hardware, software, content, and connectivity providers.

While other factors, such as product innovation, user experience, brand equity, price and distribution, among others, are at play, the AHAA study found that for every one point increase in Hispanic marketing focus yielded a boost of about two-thirds of a point in average annual growth. In other words, if a company were to allocate 10 percent of ad resources to Hispanic media over five years, an average increase of 6.8 percent in organic revenue would be expected.

One unexpected finding was that for the tech sector, an average investment of six percent in Hispanic is yielding 30 percent of the corporate growth.

"This is a compelling figure because it means that Hispanics are primary drivers of growth among technology companies, and there is still a huge growth opportunity ahead as Hispanics continue to lead adoption and usage – think about the growth potential if technology companies were to increase that figure to 10 or even 15 percent," said Roberto Orci, chair of AHAA and CEO of Acento Advertising. "Brand loyalties are increasingly at stake as Hispanics dominate segment growth. In fact, many brands may be falling short of their optimal revenue generation while opening the door to their competitors who boast higher allocation figures and cohesive Hispanic-centric strategies." READ MORE

The Maryland Public Service Commission met on Tuesday (July 17) with Verizon and several other companies to discuss supplier diversity initiatives statewide. The following statement should be attributed to Karen I. Campbell, Verizon's Mid-Atlantic vice president of state government affairs:

"At Verizon, diversity is as much about good business practice as it is the right thing to do. And we're proud to be recognized as a company that sets the standard in American business when it comes to supplier diversity.

"Verizon serves some of the country's most diverse markets. So, diversity always has been a part of our culture and an integral part of our business strategy. Verizon depends on the unique talents and experiences of all our employees and suppliers to maintain our premier network and best meet our many customers' needs.

"Verizon has long operated a successful and robust supplier diversity program in Maryland and around the country. And we first formally stated our commitment in a voluntary memorandum of understanding with the Maryland Public Service Commission more than 17 years ago. No other Maryland telecommunications company had made that commitment.

"In addition, Verizon actively and voluntarily participated in the commission's working group to develop cooperatively the current memorandum to replace our earlier one – despite the notable absence of most of our competitors from this process." READ MORE

Hispanic women are less likely than their non-Hispanic peers to attend college, reports Deseret News. When they do attend, Latinas are more likely to drop out than women of other ethnicities. However, according to Dr. Josie Tinajero, assistant professor at University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP), who witnessed the Latina student shortage during her own college years, Hispanic mothers have a huge impact on this process.

“The most important role models for young girls, especially in the Hispanic community, is found with the family system,” explained Tinajero. READ MORE

Both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are battling for the Hispanic vote and taking that fight to the airwaves. A few hours after the Romney campaign released a new Spanish language ad, the pro-Obama super PAC, Priorities USA, partnered with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and have released three new ads today, a total of nine so far.

This is all on the same day a new Quinnipiac University poll found the president leading Romney among Hispanic voters, 59 percent to 30 percent.

The three pro-Obama ads will start running on Thursday in Colorado, Nevada and Florida, and all begin with Romney’s own words. In the one set to run in Colorado, Romney’s famous “I’m not concerned about the very poor” line starts the ad and then goes to different Hispanic voters talking to the camera.

“He’s a person without feelings who doesn’t care about people whether they be Hispanic, Latino, white, who are below him,” one older man says in Spanish to the camera. READ MORE

In the battle for the soccer mamis, let’s just say Tuesday was a gooooooooooal for the Obama campaign. But perhaps not so great for the mamis.

'Soccer mamis' could affect general election

The president’s campaign offered up Michelle Obama to talk to CNN contributor Maria Cardona. It was live streamed on Mamiverse, a blog for Latinas and their families. The blog is where Cardona and I, along with others, contribute various perspectives.

Since Latinos represent 55% of overall U.S. population growth, and their children account for nearly a quarter of new births, the Latina mama is the go-to gal for influencing Latino voters. Just ask anyone in Latino marketing or politics. Or just turn on Spanish language television, where mamis are targeted relentlessly because of their influence on everything from family decisions on health care to the type of breakfast cereal to purchase.

“Latinas are the ones that drive their home economy, what gets purchased, what schools their kids go to, what churches to go to,” said Elaine de Valle, who edits a portal for English-dominant Hispanics called Voxxi. “While it may be portrayed on film as a patriarchal society, it’s a matriarchal society ... they’re looked at because of the influence they have with their family, friends and neighbors. Women share more than men, they talk about it … they share with their families.” READ MORE

It’s no secret young people live on their cell or smart phones, but for Latino youth –that rings even truer. A new report written by Mobile Future and the Hispanic institute underlines young Hispanics and new generations of Americans spend heavily on mobile broadband technology – $17.6 billion on mobile devices and more than $500 million on mobile apps in 2012.

The report Hispanic Broadband Access: Making the Most of the Mobile, Connected Future notes that the legal immigration of people from all over Latin America has actually been a significant factor in American Hispanics’ embrace of mobile broadband.

As it turns out in many developing nations, infrastructure problems actually limit the ability for landlines to be used, as a result home internet is not common. This has actually fostered more creativity in how people engage with the internet. As a result accessing the internet using cell phones is actually much more popular. When legal Hispanic migrants arrive in the United States they do so having grown up accessing the internet on their mobile phones. Transitioning to smart phones and other similar devices is actually easier for this population of immigrants. According to the report this partly explains why immigrants are more likely to have mobile phones even if they have relatively lower incomes than the average U.S. resident. READ MORE

Banking giant Wells Fargo will pay at least $175 million to settle accusations that it was in violation of fair-lending laws when it discriminated against Latinos and African-Americans borrowers.

Wells Fargo, the nation's largest residential home mortgage originator, allegedly engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Latinos borrowers from 2004 through 2009.

At a news conference, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said the bank's discriminatory lending practices resulted in more than 34,000 African-American and Hispanic borrowers in 36 states and the District of Columbia paying higher rates for loans solely because of the color of their skin.

Cole said that with the settlement, the second largest of its kind in history, the government will ensure that borrowers hit hard by the housing crisis will have an opportunity to access homeownership.

The bank will pay $125 million in compensation for borrowers who were steered into subprime mortgages or who paid higher fees and rates than white borrowers because of their race or national origin rather than because of differences in credit-worthiness. READ MORE

A fire at a private, liberal arts college in Washington state has left school officials scrambling to ensure academics aren't adversely affected and grateful that more wasn't lost for the largely Latino and Native American students who make up the school's student body.

Heritage University serves a unique mission in central Washington's Yakima Valley, an agricultural belt home to thousands of acres of wine grapes, tree fruit and row crops: Two-thirds of its 1,200 students are Hispanic or Native American and most are the first members of their families to attend college.

"This place is special," longtime English teacher Janet Castilleja said as she looked at the remains of Petrie Hall, built in 1926 as an elementary school before becoming the university's first building and home to a cafeteria, bookstore, classrooms and computer servers. "It's pretty hard — kind of like losing an old friend."

The Yakima Valley has long been the center of Washington's fruit bowl, with miles of orchards devoted to apples, cherries, pears and other tree fruit. Vineyard plantings have increased right along with wine production — Washington is the nation's No. 2 producer of premium wine behind California — and hops and mint fields surround the school. READ MORE

“This is a missed opportunity to work with a key organization that is connected to Latino voters from across the country,” NCLR President and CEO Janet Murguía told VOXXI Monday. “But even if he wasn’t going to come here, we would’ve really welcomed putting forth his positions on some of these issues [important to Latinos] and clarifying his positions.”

The 2012 NCLR Annual Conference in Las Vegas attracted 5,000 Latino leaders, community activists and elected officials. The event began July 7 and wraps up July 10, with a speech from Vice President Joe Biden on the behalf of President Barack Obama, who will not be attending the conference. Obama has attended the conference twice in the past – once in 2008 when he was running for president and again 2011. READ MORE

Despite the growth in their population, Latinos are underrepresented in important posts in the Chicago, Cook County and Illinois governments, according to an analysis published Monday by the Chicago Sun-Times.

"We're extremely disappointed," Sylvia Puente, executive director of the Chicago-based Latino Policy Forum, told the newspaper.

The analysis found that of the 30 top officials named by Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in his first 14 months in office, just three were Hispanics and five were African Americans.

Municipal departments headed by white appointees manage nearly 80 percent of the city's 2012 operating budget of more than $3 billion, the Sun-Times said. READ MORE

The Partnership at Drugfree.org Launches New Spanish-Language Tools for Parents as Substance Abuse Among Latino Youth Remains Higher Than Other Ethnic Groups~

The Partnership at Drugfree.org today announced the launch of new tools for Hispanic parents and families, accessible at "HablaConTusHijos," a free, bilingual (Spanish/English) online resource to help Hispanic parents who are struggling to address drug and alcohol abuse by their children. Recognizing the urgent need within the Latino community for these kinds of comprehensive tools, The Partnership at Drugfree.org created "HablaConTusHijos" to provide effective, yet easy-to-use, resources equipping Hispanic parents and grandparents to take action in preventing teen substance abuse. This new web resource was made possible with major support from MetLife Foundation.

Grounded in research, the new "HablaConTusHijos" provides science-based guidance to parents and caregivers, helping them prevent their child from using drugs or alcohol and take effective action if a child is using drugs or drinking. Clear, understandable content is brought to life with customized checklists, how-to guides and powerful videos featuring Hispanic parents and experts discussing various aspects of substance abuse and addiction for those who are at different stages in raising their children.

The website features practical advice from experts and other parents, including the "Six Components of Effective Parenting," (Seis Practicas De Crianza) a tool developed as part of the Parents Translational Research Center - a joint venture of The Partnership at Drugfree.org and the Treatment Research Institute, funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse. READ MORE

Multipronged Campaign to Promote America's National Parks Among Latino Audiences Beginning at the National Council of La Raza's Annual Conference in Las Vegas

Today, the National Park Foundation's (NPF) American Latino Heritage Fund (ALHF) announced a series of prominent efforts to improve the representation of Latino heritage in, visitors to, and long-term stewardship of America's national parks. Beginning this week, ALHF will kick-off a series of aggressive social media efforts, education grants and collaborations with civic groups representing Latino communities including the National Council of La Raza Annual Conference in Las Vegas.

While the Latino community accounts for approximately 54% of the American population, Latinos represent less than 13% of national park visitors. Together, the American Latino Heritage Fund along with the National Park Service are working to preserve and celebrate the cultural, economic and civic contributions of Latinos to the American story as told through the national parks system.

"The mission of NPF's American Latino Heritage Fund is focused on telling a more inclusive story of the American experience," said Neil Mulholland, President and CEO of the National Park Foundation. "Only by reflecting the true diversity of American history will we succeed in fostering future generations' visitation to our country's natural, cultural and historic treasures." READ MORE

As we talk about Latino or Hispanic politics in this election year, most automatically draw a link between this particular racial-ethnic identification and a liberal political orientation. A Latino social policy agenda is generally assumed to reside within a liberal New Deal framework. Latinos in general may be socially conservative on a number of issues, but the majority support an activist government, are willing to pay more taxes for increased services, and support government expansion of the social safety net and affirmative action programs. The fact that President Obama has, according to the polls, the support of roughly two-thirds of Latino voters, reflects a real political connection, not just superior campaigning.

The 2003 fight over the very conservative Miguel Estrada's confirmation as a federal appeals court judge was controversial because it gave rise to the question: Who is a Latino or Hispanic?

Representing what was then the Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund (PRLDEF) -- now named LatinoJustice PRLDEF -- I was caught in the middle of the controversy, summed up by Byron York in his February 6, 2003 National Review Online article, "Dems to Miguel Estrada: You're Not Hispanic Enough": READ MORE

This week, the National Council of La Raza is hosting its annual conference in Las Vegas. The group is the biggest kid on the Hispanic block. Starting with George H.W. Bush, every Democrat and Republican president and nominee has addressed the conference. This year, neither Barack Obama nor Mitt Romney is doing so.

This is surprising in a year when plenty has been said about the importance of the Latino vote. Romney needs to do better than John McCain did in 2008. Obama needs to recapture Latino lightning in a bottle. He needs a wide margin of victory among Latinos and a high voter turnout.

Vice President Joe Biden is scheduled to speak at this week's conference. The National Council of La Raza won't get the top dog. It will get the attack dog. You can send a No. 2 to burials and weddings of foreign leaders and to conferences you don't want to attend.

It's hard to express disappointment about merely getting the U.S. vice president to show up. Romney doesn't have a running mate. His campaign sent former Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez as a surrogate. The National Council of La Raza said the agenda was full and didn't give him a speaking slot. READ MORE

A new study indicates that teen pregnancy has dropped significantly for Latinas living in the U.S., a group of young women who have had the highest rates of pregnancy in the past decade. Some experts say increased access to contraception and healthcare may have played a role in the shift.

The study, conducted by the Center for Disease Control (CDC) and released last week, showed that teen pregnancy rates are down more than 30-percent in the Latino community. Young Latinas in their twenties are postponing pregnancy longer than they had in years past, the study says. In addition, the study concludes that the number of women having children in their late thirties and early forties has increased by 65 percent in just two decades.

CNN reported in 2009 that 53 percent of Latinas got pregnant in their teens -- about twice the national average. And in 2007, CDC studies indicated that the birth rate among non-Hispanic whites ages 15 to 19 was 27.2 per 1,000, but 81.7 per 1,000 for Latinas in the same age group. But now, teen pregnancy rates have hit their lowest point since 1976, according to the latest study from the agency. READ MORE

David Castillo has seen the city change over the past decade. As president of the Greater Oklahoma City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, what census data shows in numbers, Castillo sees on the streets of the city and the businesses flourishing there.

“The growth is continuing and will continue for a long time,” Castillo said.

Along SW 29 and other main thoroughfares on the city's south side, mom-and-pop Hispanic businesses are thriving — restaurants, automotive repair shops, markets and barbershops. Castillo said that in 2008 there were 150 members of the chamber. Today, there are nearly 400.

Why OKC is attractive

According to U.S. Census Bureau data, the Hispanic community in Oklahoma City grew 95 percent between 2000 and 2010 to just more than 110,000. The Hispanic population in Edmond boomed by 120 percent from about 1,900 in 2000 to over 4,100 in 2010. To the south, Moore's Hispanic population grew 134 percent over the same time period to 4,900. Norman's 10-year growth rate was 90 percent to about 7,100. READ MORE