Blog

We don't know who Mitt Romney will pick as his vice presidential nominee. But let's assume for a moment that it's U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. Would having the first Hispanic on a presidential ticket be a proud historical moment for Hispanics, or would it be an insult?

David Axelrod, President Barack Obama's top campaign strategist, said to Univision that putting Rubio on the ticket would be "an insult to the Hispanic community ... if Gov. [Mitt] Romney thinks that's sort of a get-out-of-jail-free card for all of the things and the positions that he's taken."

My first thought was, "Who made Axelrod the barometer for the entire Hispanic community?" It is disrespectful for Axelrod to tell a community, to which he doesn't belong, how we would feel. Frankly, I find that insulting. READ MORE

Latino foster families are scarce in many parts of Ohio and Michigan. Lucas County Children Services (LCCS), for example, is seeking Latino families to join its legion of host families for foster children—families like Lorenzo and Katrina Flores, now on their second round of caring for children who were abused or neglected.

“There are a lot of kids out there, they just don’t have family,” said Lorenzo, the production manager at a local company that makes fishing lures. “I think that’s terrible. Hopefully we can help them out.”

“We feel the same way about it,” said Katrina, as she gently held a two-month-old sleeping baby the couple now is fostering. “If we can make a little bit of a difference, I think that’s valuable.”

The couple also runs their own photography and portrait business out of their home, giving them added flexibility to be foster parents. The Flores family has two young boys of their own—five-year old Corvin and Lucien, age 6—but recently had as many as eight children living with them—all eight years old and younger.

“It was fun. It was chaotic. It was noisy,” said Lorenzo with a smile. “There was always something going on. Someone’s always smiling. Of course, that means someone’s also crying. It’s all part of raising children. READ MORE

As we approach the second half of 2012, we’ve been looking at how consumers are feeling about their lives. What excites them, what they’re afraid of and what they think about the whirlwind political environment that ceaselessly dominates the conversation in America – be it mainstream news media, the blogosphere or social engagement.

Against this backdrop, we asked Hispanics and non-Hispanics across a variety of geographies and segments: Republicans, Democrats and Independents; gender and age cohorts; influencers and non-influencers alike, how they felt about these and other subjects.

Some of the things we learned were surprising, such as that for all the chatter among the pundits, people across the gamut felt that things like immigration were a non-issue in their lives. Based on our findings, here are five things that every marketer who engages Hispanic audiences (which means everyone) should know – and importantly, how to act upon it to win for your business. READ MORE

When it comes to reaching the growing US Hispanic market, there's a new reality settling in. From the boardroom to the C-suite, companies are starting to wake up to the notion that Latinos are here to stay, that we're big in numbers, that we're brand loyal, and that we have mucho dinero to spend.

Hispanic buying power will reach $1.5 trillion by 2015. This number is thrilling. Think of this: if the US Hispanic community were a world economy, we would be the 14th largest, ahead of Turkey, Australia, and Argentina, to name a few. At a time when we have surpassed the 50 million-plus mark, developing culturally relevant marketing strategies and messaging have become paramount to reaching the coveted Latino consumer.

The truth is that the younger generations of Hispanics, whether born in the US or in Latin America, are prouder than ever to celebrate their heritage. Meaning, they (or better yet, “we”) have become much more comfortable with the concept that as Hispanics we are still Americans, but with a twist, with an extra dose of sabor. An imaginary cultural boundary has been crossed, and we live as comfortably in the general market world as we do in that of our parents and grandparents. This is the new cross-cultural reality. READ MORE

In advance of California’s Republican primary tomorrow, here are 10 important facts about immigrants and people of color in the state that display their significant economic, cultural, and electoral power.

1. Communities of color are driving California’s population growth. The Hispanic share of California’s population grew from just over 25 percent in 1990 to almost 38 percent in 2010, while the Asian* share of the population grew from 9.2 percent to 13.1 percent. While the United States will no longer have a clear racial or ethnic majority by the year 2050, California reached this milestone more than a decade ago, in 2000.

2. Voters of color make up a large share of California’s electorate. In 2008 Hispanic voters in California comprised over 21.4 percent of all California voters. The Asian voters in the state made up nearly 9.7 percent of state voters and the African American vote comprised nearly 7.7 percent in that year.

3. Close to half of immigrants in California are naturalized citizens—meaning that they are eligible to vote. In 2010 46 percent of California’s immigrants (4.6 million people) were naturalized U.S. citizens, up from 31.2 percent in 1990. And California has millions of potential voters that could play a decisive role in the upcoming election. There are over 2 million eligible but unregistered Latino voters in the state, and almost 2.4 million legal permanent residents who are eligible to become citizens and vote, a substantial number of potential new voters. READ MORE

The growing influence of Hispanics in Nevada’s business community is clear.

Since 1990, the state’s Latino population has more than doubled, from 10.4 percent to 26.6 percent. More than three-quarters of a million Latinos now live in Nevada.

The growth of the demographic has translated into more Latino business ownership. Hispanics own 8 percent of the state’s companies, and their 18,000 businesses generate $3.2 billion in sales and receipts. They employ tens of thousands of workers.

VEGAS INC sat down to speak with 10 of the most influential Latinos in Las Vegas’ business community. Influence comes in a lot of forms, and the people on our list have demonstrated it in various ways. Whether it is advancing an industry, training business leaders of the future or sponsoring community events, these 10 individuals affect how Nevadans live. READ MORE

The wave is young, eligible Hispanic voters--more than 50,000 Latinos turn 18 years old each month in the United States, according to Rep. Charlie Gonzalez, a Democrat from Texas and chair of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus. And 47 percent of the under-18 U.S. population is Latino, so that's a trend that will only continue, he said during a recent Capitol Hill press conference kicking off a voter registration effort, Voto Latino, aimed at young Hispanics.

Actress America Ferrera, of television's Ugly Betty and star of the movie Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, is partnering with the group and others for the America4America campaign. On Thursday, she detailed how the new voters would change the status quo.

"I've been on the ground in Alabama and in Arizona where laws are pushing our communities into the shadows. Campaigns are marginalizing us, leading many Americans feeling demoralized and defeated," she said. "[This] is a campaign to empower every single American voter with a truth about their own goal in our democracy. That's a role that is a right that is invaluable and it is a right that I'm fighting to protect and to promote."

As a 9-year-old growing up in Los Angeles, Ferrera said she has a distinct memory of her mother pulling her aside before she went to school one day. READ MORE

Buying a home has long been a way for immigrant groups to signal that they have “made it.”
For Hispanic Americans, a mega-boom in homeownership is revving up.

With U.S. Census data reporting that more than half of all infants born in the United States last year were minorities or multiracial, with whites having 1.1 births for every death and Hispanics counting 8.9 births for every death, it stands to reason that the profile of home buyers is also undergoing a change that may accelerate in years to come. The folks at Movoto.com, a full service real estate brokerage based in San Mateo, CA, decided to figure out just how much.

Using data on the race/ethnicity of first time and repeat home buyers from the National Association of Realtor’s annual “Profile of Buyers and Sellers,” on its blog Movoto.com noted that whites accounted for about 85 percent of home purchases.

Last year, the other 15 percent of buyers included six percent Black/African-Americans, six percent Hispanic/Latino home buyers and four percent Asians or Pacific Islanders, with other ethnicities/races comprising up to two percent. READ MORE

In our recent poll on what it means to be sick in America, one ethnic group stands out as having special problems – Hispanic Americans.

The national survey, conducted by NPR with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Harvard School of Public Health, sheds new light on Hispanics' health issues. It runs counter to the widespread impression that African-Americans are worst-off when it comes to the cost and quality of health care.

Take the pocketbook issue. When we asked about the burden of out-of-pocket costs – the medical bills not covered by insurance or any government program — 42 percent of Hispanics say this is a "very serious" problem for them.

That's more than twice the proportion of non-Hispanic whites with recent illness who say so, and 8 percentage points higher than African-Americans.

Robert Blendon of Harvard, who helped design the poll, says Hispanics "are more likely to be uninsured or have insurance with big holes in it than African-Americans."

That may be, he says, because Hispanics are more likely to live in rural areas or in cities where fewer supports are available for uninsured or poorly insured people. "A lot of Hispanics work for small businesses with terrible insurance or none at all," Blendon notes. READ MORE

If Rosetta Stone hasn’t taught you que from quien, maybe a passion for pepperoni will do the trick.

Texas-based chain Pizza Patrón, which has locations in Las Vegas and has traditionally marketed to Hispanics, is offering a free, large pepperoni pizza to anyone who orders in Spanish between 5 and 8 p.m. on June 5. And, while pizza may hardly seem a topic that courts controversy, as USA Today reported last week, the campaign has drawn critics from all sides.

“Maybe they thought it was a cute thing to do, but I think it’s discrimination,” Marcela Gomez, president of Hispanic Marketing Group in Nashville, told the paper.

“It seems to punish people who can’t speak Spanish, and I resent that,” said Peter Thomas, chairman of the Conservative Caucus.

Pizza Patrón regularly targets Hispanics with promotions, and in 2007 the chain started accepting pesos, a move that also drew criticism, although it continues to accept the Mexican currency today. Eduardo Gonzalez, an owner of Pizza Patrón stores in Las Vegas, said the company was simply trying to thank its customers and have some fun. He said everyone was welcome to come in for the deal, and “una pizza, por favor” is all that’s needed to cash in on the free pie. In fact, Pizza Patrón is only giving away large pepperoni pizzas, so ordering should be easy, no matter how well you speak Spanish. READ MORE

The first Latino president of the United States already has been born.

Henry Cisneros, the former San Antonio mayor who was secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in the Clinton administration, made the suggestion three years ago in an interview with the Spanish-language news service EFE.

"I don't know if he or she's in elementary school or in law school or is already elected ... to public office, but I believe that that person is already alive, and we're 20 years or less away from having a Latino or Latina president," said Cisneros, whose own path to higher office may have been derailed by personal scandal and who today is executive chairman of CityView, an urban development investment firm.

When the day comes that Cisneros predicted, the man or woman behind the resolute desk in the Oval Office will represent an ever-increasing segment of the population. Latinos (or Hispanics, the official government term) made up 15.5% of the U.S. population in 2010, but by 2050 they're projected to approach 25% of the population.

The American, the online magazine of the American Enterprise Institute, calls the Hispanic electorate a "sleeping giant" yet to wake. READ MORE

Sketching impressive contributions to society in intensely personal terms, President Barack Obama presented the Medal of Freedom to more than a dozen political and cultural greats Tuesday, including farmworker union trailblazer Dolores Huerta.

Other honorees included rocker Bob Dylan, astronaut John Glenn and novelist Toni Morrison.

In awarding the nation's highest civilian honor to 13 recipients, living and dead, the president took note of the overflow crowd in the East Room and said it was "a testament to how cool this group is. Everybody wanted to check 'em out."

Huerta is co-founder of the National Farmworkers Association, which later became the United Farm Workers of America. Obama recalled reading about Huerta when he was starting out as a community organizer.

Obama spoke of his personal connection to a number of this year's recipients, calling them "my heroes individually." READ MORE

Future physician Maria Garcia-Jimenez was planning a nutrition class for at-risk Latina teens when it became clear, in discussions with her community partner, that the girls had other, equally pressing needs. Which is how García, 23 at the time, found herself designing an eight-week sex-education workshop.

Health was Garcia’s area of expertise — she’s a medical and masters-degree student, after all, in the UC Berkeley-UC San Francisco Joint Medical Program (JMP). Yet it felt like a tall order — earning the girls’ trust, keeping them engaged, being “science-y and factual” on delicate topics like contraception and sexually transmitted infections, all without imposing her own moral values.

“I was pretty anxious,” Garcia says of her mindset as she overhauled her plans.

On a hunch, she decided to rely largely on peer teaching. In one workshop, for instance, the girls worked in groups to identify pros and cons of different contraceptive options, then presented their findings to one another — a great way, it turned out, “to address their true interests and questions, and have more material actually stick.” READ MORE

A social media-based group of Latinos is getting serious about influencing politics, online and off. Latinos in Social Media (LATISM) will hold a tech conference at Google's New York offices in June, and will give the White House a town hall style forum at its annual conference in October.

"It's the epicenter for all the Latinos in social media," said Elianne Ramos, vice-chair, marketing for the group [photo left], describing the LATISM 2012 conference to be held in Houston, Texas.

The three-year-old organization, which has 150,000 U.S. members, also plans to host John Berry, director of the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, during one of LATISM's weekly Twitter chats to discuss federal opportunities for Latinos. Weekly chats focus on subjects like the economy and jobs, the environment, and cultural issues.

And the group recently held an event for Latina bloggers in Washington, D.C. that included a briefing at the White House.

"It's time for Latinos to become more active in the civic life of the United States," Ramos told ClickZ News during an April interview.

The White House's director of social media was at LATISM's annual conference last year, she said. Ramos stressed that LATISM is non-partisan and doesn't accept money from political entities. The main goal of the group's government interactions is to help people register to vote and give members a platform to communicate messages important to Latinos directly to the government. READ MORE

Latina mommy bloggers are gaining clout across South Florida, reflecting an explosion in Hispanic buying power and the vital role of women in household purchasing decisions.

Hundreds of Hispanic moms now write blogs in English, Spanish or both, exploring such topics as family and children, food and recipes, immigration, fashion, coupons and deals. Some have made the blogs their jobs, making money through ads or often from companies whose products they discuss.

West Palm Beach resident Denisse Icaza, 26, writes ahorrosparamama.com, or Savings for Mama, a site that helps save money through coupons and other deals. The Florida Atlantic University graduate started the blog in her spare time in 2009 when she saw few sites with information on deals in Spanish.

Now, Icaza has more than 4,000 subscribers to her blog and more than 3,000 fans on her Facebook page. READ MORE

Eva Longoria actually tried to defend a series she had agreed to co-produce about Latinas cast as housekeepers. But in the process, the Hispanic television star came across as, well, desperate.

The program — “Devious Maids,” which was set to debut this fall on ABC — was, if you'll excuse the expression, the brainchild of Marc Cherry. One would expect more from the creator of the hit show “Desperate Housewives,” which starred Longoria and recently wrapped up its final season.

Casting Latinas as maids isn't much of a stretch creatively. In fact, Lupe Ontiveros, a Mexican American actress from an earlier generation, estimates that she has played a maid on screen as many as 300 times.

Fortunately, ABC decided not to pick up the series.

Based on the popular Mexican telenovela “The Disorderly Maids of the Neighborhood,” it would have revolved around four women who worked as maids in Beverly Hills.

When critics sounded off, Longoria got defensive.

“They are the leads of the show, and they are playing maids, which is a realistic reflection of our society today in America,” she told the Huffington Post. “When we get any sort of backlash for — ‘Oh, they're playing the stereotypical maids' — my immediate response is, ‘So you're telling me those stories aren't worth telling, that those people are lesser than, that their stories aren't worth exploring, that they have no complexity in their life because they're a maid?'” READ MORE

In the most predictable demographic revolution ever, the Census Bureau reported that nonwhite babies now make up a majority of all births.

This shift was inevitable as long as the basic architecture of the 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act remained in place. It ended the old system of per-country quotas and -- together with subsequent liberalizations -- unleashed a flood of immigration from Latin America and Asia. So long as about a million new immigrants entered the country every year, a demographic transformation was ensured as a matter of mathematics.

By 2010, the immigrant population was 40 million, following the highest decade in immigration in our history. According to the Center for Immigration Studies, the immigrant population had doubled since 1990, nearly tripled since 1980, and quadrupled since 1970. Hispanics went from about 4 percent of the population in the mid-1960s to 16 percent in 2010.

Ted Kennedy and other architects of the 1965 law predicted that nothing much would come of the law's changes. "Our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually," Kennedy insisted, and "the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset." Forty-five years later, Hispanics are roughly 26 percent of all births, blacks 15 percent, and Asians 4 percent.

These categories aren't quite as clear-cut as advertised. About half of Hispanics identify their race as white on the census, a phenomenon that was neglected until the New York Times started calling George Zimmerman a "white Hispanic," apparently on grounds that an unambiguously Hispanic man couldn't possibly be involved in a racially charged shooting of a young black man. READ MORE

Hispanic voters are a crucial constituency in the presidential election, but reaching young Hispanics will require new tactics – and some experts say mobile-phone outreach will be key.

There are more than 21 million eligible Hispanic voters – and more than 30 percent of them are 18 to 30 years old. About 50,000 Hispanics reach the voting age of 18 each month.

But Hispanic voters under 30 have the lowest turnout of any group: Only 41 percent of them voted in 2008.

Young voters and Hispanic voters are far more likely to use their phones to go online than older generations are, so campaigns that use mobile technology are most likely to reach young Hispanics, according to Peter Levine, the director of the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement.

That’s because a mobile phone and an app are personalized and engaging – a far cry from a robocall or a TV ad. Young voters are deeply skeptical of one-for-all marketing and respond best to one-on-one, Hispanic-to-Hispanic marketing, according to research by Levine’s group.

It’s “particularly effective in overcoming issues of trust and motivation that would otherwise be in the way of voting,” Levine said.

Alex Velasco, a 26-year-old first-generation Mexican-American, said Levine’s assessments were right on.

“It’s really easy to reach me on my phone because I have it with me all the time – when I’m on the train, when I’m walking,” Velasco said. “If you send me something political (on my phone), I would be way more likely to read it because it is so easy.” READ MORE

Chicago’s population is more than one-third Latino, but you’d have never known it by looking at the protesters who marched against NATO last weekend.

I covered most of the events held by the anti-NATO demonstrators, from the People’s Summit on the South Side to the die-in at Boeing on Monday, and I was hard-pressed to find a Latino to talk to about why he or she was protesting.

Even at an immigration rally, only about 50 Latino activists marched from Little Village to the Immigration Court Building on Van Buren. There, they joined a group of mostly white young activists from Occupy Chicago to demonstrate against deportations.

I found a more diverse crowd at the nurses’ rally at Daley Center Plaza on Friday. The nurses stole the anti-NATO show wearing Robin Hood costumes and dancing to the Beatles. More importantly, they sent a clear message that the United States should impose a tax on finance house trades to help pay for health care for all those people hurt by the economic crisis that, the nurses say, the banks and financial institutions created.

I found Omara Chiardello, a nurse from California, who captured in a few words what a lot of Americans are going through.

“Many of my patients have to decide between buying food for their children or their medicine,” she said. READ MORE

Spanish or English – Espanol o Ingles?

To reach young Hispanic voters, most politicians and organizations have taken a bilingual approach, to varying degrees.

But most young Hispanics lead English-dominant lives, raising the question of whether the Spanish-language campaign communication still is necessary.

“What both Romney and Obama need to start doing to the Latino community – they need to start talking to them in English,” said Maria Teresa Kumar, the executive director of Voto Latino, a nonpartisan voter-registration organization. “The best way to get their votes is to talk to them in an acculturated tone.”

Voto Latino’s website, Facebook page and Twitter feed are all in English.

But President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, as well as the national Republican and Democratic parties, use varying degrees of Spanish communication.

The Obama campaign launched Latinos for Obama, a predominately English site, but the main website also can be viewed in Spanish. The campaign sends tweets and news releases in both languages.

Campaign officials say they recognize that many young Hispanics speak English, but that doesn’t mean that Spanish isn’t still an important way to reach Hispanic voters.

“Spanish-language news consumption among Hispanic families is huge,” said Gabriela Domenzain, the director of Hispanic media for the Obama campaign. “If it’s not the young Hispanic who is watching, it’s maybe grandparents or the parents.” READ MORE