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Two-thirds of Hispanic business owners said they started their firms to better their lives, provide for their families, according to new survey.

Hispanic Americans believe business ownership is the key to harnessing the much- sought-after "American Dream."

More than any other segment of the population, Hispanic Americans view entrepreneurship as a way to pursue the American Dream, take control of their lives and support their families.

That's the finding of new research that reveals about two-thirds of Hispanic business owners (versus only 36 percent of the general business-owning population) said they started their businesses to pursue the dream of bettering their lives and providing for their families.

And these business owners are planning on keeping it in the family. While 54 percent of the general population of business owners plans to pass their businesses on to their children, 70 percent of Hispanic business owners plan to do so. READ MORE

While most of Washington was embroiled in the debt-ceiling drama last month, about 160 Hispanic leaders from across the country filed into the White House one day, largely unnoticed.

For two days, they enjoyed full access to top presidential advisers, Cabinet members and administration officials from across the government. Before the participants left town, they received a glossy 33-page booklet detailing talking points to be shared back home — 1.9 million Hispanics kept out of poverty by the stimulus, $808 million in loans last year to Hispanic small businesses, and an extra $1 billion directed to colleges with large numbers of Hispanic students, to name a few.

The event was part of broader efforts by the White House and Obama’s reelection campaign to rekindle excitement among Hispanic voters, many of whom have turned their backs on the president amid disappointment over his immigration policies. Key to the strategy is shifting voters’ attention beyond the caustic immigration debate with data-driven appeals that show progress in other areas, while arguing that Obama is better on immigration than any of his potential Republican foes. READ MORE

American Honda Motor Co. Inc. (NYSE:HMC) and the Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) Friday awarded eight outstanding Latino undergraduate students a scholarship based on their academic success and interest in a career in the automotive industry. One of the eight scholars has also accepted internship positions at Honda operations in the U.S. The $50,000 scholarship fund for the 2011-12 academic year marks the latest step in a partnership between HSF and Honda that began in 2003.

Each winning student received a scholarship award and eligibility to participate in Honda’s summer immersion/internship program. Additionally, this year’s winners were invited to get an inside look into Honda’s Manufacturing and Research and Development operations in Ohio. The students will also have an opportunity to meet and interact with top Honda executives to discuss the future of the industry. In order to be considered, students were required to have declared their major in the areas of business administration, chemical, electrical, industrial, or mechanical engineering, and maintain at least a 3.0 GPA. Selections were also based on students’ demonstrated knowledge of the auto industry. This year’s winners are:

•Claudia Morales, DePaul University – Business Administration
•Dustin Gallegos, University of Illinois – Electrical Engineering
•Elizabeth Santos, Kettering University – Industrial Engineering
•Francisco Michaud, Drexel University – Accounting/Business Administration
•Henri Idrovo, Illinois Institute of Technology – Electrical Engineering
•Kenneth Castaneda, Yale University – Mechanical Engineering
•Nicholas Diaz, Ohio State University – Business Administration
•Tanya Miracle, University of Akron – Chemical Engineering
“On behalf of Honda, I’d like to congratulate the eight outstanding students who have received this award,” said Marc Burt, senior manager, Office of Inclusion and Diversity at American Honda. “We hope these scholarships will help reduce the financial strain of pursuing higher education and allow these talented scholars to focus on their academic pursuits.”

"Honda’s partnership with HSF demonstrates its commitment to improving access to higher education for Latino students,” said Frank D. Alvarez, President & CEO of the Hispanic Scholarship Fund. “We appreciate Honda’s willingness to invest in Hispanic youth through HSF and join us in our work to give more Hispanics the opportunity to pursue their dreams of earning a college degree.”

For more information about Honda’s partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund, please visit at www.HSF.net.

About Honda

Honda is the world’s largest engine maker, producing a vast array of products, including automobiles, motorcycles, power equipment and, soon, jet aircraft – all designed to advance mobility and improve the lives of people through continued innovations in technology and design. Based on its belief in The Power of Dreams and in the ability of individuals to create a new and better future for society, Honda supports a variety of initiatives aimed at advancing education and creating experiences of discovery that help young people see and achieve their own dreams. Honda’s partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund is one of many programs that demonstrate Honda’s commitment to the Latino community and to helping young people access The Power of Dreams.

About Hispanic Scholarship Fund

Founded in 1975, the Hispanic Scholarship Fund believes that the country prospers when all Americans have access to the opportunities a college education can afford. As the nation’s leading Hispanic higher education fund, HSF works to address the barriers that keep many Latinos from earning a college degree. HSF has awarded over $330 million in scholarships over the past 36 years and has supported a broad range of outreach and education programs to help students and their families navigate collegiate life, from gaining admission and securing financial aid to finding employment after graduation. HSF envisions a future where every Latino household will have at least one college graduate, creating an enduring impact on the college outlook of Latino families nationwide, and strengthening the American economy for generations to come. READ MORE

New U.S. census figures herald a future where Spanish is more likely to be heard inside classrooms and everything from politics to fashion and food will be executed with a Latin flair.

After a steady increase of Latinos in the area due to births and immigration, one out of every three children under 5 in Cook County now come from a Latino ethnic background, according to the recently released data.

In Chicago, more than 40 percent of children younger than 5 are Latino. In more than 30 suburbs including Carpentersville and Franklin Park, more than half of preschool-age children are Latino. In a few communities such as Cicero and Melrose Park, more than 80 percent are Latino.

What that means for the area depends on how well local schools and other community institutions can absorb one of the country's fastest-growing Latino populations, experts said.

School districts that have seen dramatic increases of Latino students during the last decade have sought to keep up with the population surge through dual-language programs and workshops for parents and teachers.

"Our goal is not to teach children English, per se," said Carol Crum, who oversees early childhood education in School District 130 in south suburban Cook County, a district where more than half of the student population is Latino. "That can be controversial. But it's about us building a strong language foundation and a pre-academic readiness for our children whatever their home language is."

In parts of Chicago and suburban communities where Latino enclaves have formed, the demand for such services often exceeds the capacity to supply them, studies show.

That has particularly been the case with early childhood education programs, which in Latino neighborhoods have seen longer waitlists as more young Latino families try to enroll their children in preschool.

A partial consequence: About 35 percent of Latino 4-year-olds in Illinois are enrolled in preschool, compared with 66 percent of white children and 54 percent of African-American children, according to a University of California at Berkeley report published last fall. READ MORE

Seven in 10 American adults online are using video sharing sites such as YouTube, with minority users leading the way, according to a report by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.

And much of the video streaming is being done on mobile devices, according to a separate study, which reported that YouTube was the most popular mobile Internet service. YouTube accounted for 22 percent of mobile data bandwidth usage and 52 percent of total video streaming in the first half of the year, according to broadband consulting firm Allot Communications.

The findings raise fresh questions about how how video-hungry consumers will be affected by data caps and how carriers will be able to handle the explosion of traffic on their networks. We wrote Monday about Netflix’s concerns about data caps, or metered billing, which are being introduced by a growing number of fixed-wire and wireless Internet service providers.

Americans are creating, sharing and viewing video online more than ever, Pew reported in a study released Tuesday. The percentage of American adults online using video-sharing sites such as YouTube or Vimeo increased to 71 percent in May 2011 from 66 percent the year before.

Blacks and Hispanics were the most active video consumers online — with 76 percent of African Americans and 81 percent of Hispanics saying they used video-sharing sites.

Household income level didn’t have much effect on video sharing: 71 percent of users with annual incomes less than $30,000 said they use the services, along with 81 percent of users with incomes above $75,000 a year. READ MORE

Homecoming at Houston’s Lee High School is a social highlight of the year -- much like everywhere else in football-crazed Texas. Except here, the sport is soccer, both boys’ and girls’ teams play, and it’s held in February instead of the fall.

The school, which had few Hispanic students when it opened in 1962 as Robert E. Lee High School, halted football in 2000 because of waning interest, said Steve Amstutz, Lee’s principal for 10 years before leaving last year. Lee restarted a team in 2010, though soccer -- futbol in Spanish -- is the dominant sport among a student body of 2,000 that’s now about 75 percent Hispanic, he said.

“Lee is truly a reflection of U.S. immigration policy,” said Amstutz, who now leads a nonprofit that sends low-income students to elite summer camps and programs.

While open immigration stances have drawn fire in Texas and other states, the transformation of the school reflects a national shift that’s likely to redefine the way Americans view Hispanics, whose importance as workers and consumers will grow as the society ages, said Jose Legaspi, whose Legaspi Co. in Montebello, California, owns nine shopping centers.

“The business community has realized for a long time that Hispanics are a young demographic force that is a positive for the U.S.,” said Legaspi, who has developed Hispanic-oriented properties for 32 years. “That’s the reality. We deal with it, and we move on.” READ MORE

Hispanics are poorer—much poorer—thanks in part to the recession that took jobs and homes, according to a Pew Hispanic poll. The study, which analyzed 2010 census numbers, reveals that the median wealth of Latino households plummeted 66 percent from 2005 to 2009, the biggest drop of any racial or ethnic group. Asians’ dropped 54 percent and African Americans’ wealth dropped by 53 percent. Whites’ wealth fell by just 16 percent. The precipitous declines constitute the biggest wealth disparities recorded since the Census Bureau began collecting the figures 25 years ago. The biggest reason for the Hispanic figures: the housing market bust, in which many Latinos, whose median net worth was due to home equity in 2005 by almost two thirds, lost their homes. READ MORE

As someone who worked on the State Farm account for a few years, I view the company’s latest concept with more than a casual interest. The company with the familiar “Like a good neighbor…” jingle is about to launch an entirely new retail idea smack dab in the middle of my neighborhood in Lakeview. And at least at a first glance, I think they’re on to something good that more in the insurance industry might want to take a closer look at doing themselves.

State Farm Next Door opens August 1st and the concept is a more open, casual community space that offers free Wi-Fi and coffee (via its Next Door Cafe) as well as personalized coaching/small group classes on financial matters that range from paying off student loans to learning how to budget your finances.

This may not seem like a huge departure from the typical agent office, but it is. Here’s why. For a long time, State Farm talked about the fact that their agents live in the same community as their customers. Which is normal. But even though you can continuously say, “We live where you live,” there’s nothing quite like actually demonstrating it visibly by being more of a central hub.

Plus, there will be no actual insurance sold at State Farm Next Door so they aren’t cannibalizing their own agents’ efforts by selling policies here. There will be financial consultants and all the services at Next Door are free. Personally, I think the latter part of that sentence is important for bringing down some barriers among younger people who would normally walk on by because they don’t see the point in planning when they don’t even have the funds to pay for ongoing classes.

Stepping out of the “Auto/Home/Life” rate rut.

Let’s be honest. You first walk into or call State Farm, Allstate, Farmer’s, etc. because you have a need for auto, home or life insurance. You need to get covered, you compare rates, you buy. You don’t like your rate after a while? You look around, you compare again, you buy.

Fighting a branding battle based on rates doesn’t benefit State Farm. I never thought it has. It’s territory that Geico and Progressive have owned quite well for years. Even when State Farm talks about the dangers of “cut-rate car insurance,” they’re still planting the seed of shopping based on rates and playing into the hands of their competitors.READ MORE

New polling figures show that Hispanics age 18–29 prefer spending cuts to more taxes as a primary solution to solving the federal debt crisis. Generation Opportunity, a nonprofit organization that educates, engages and mobilizes young people in the political process, released the figures Monday.

In the April the polling Company/WomenTrend poll, Hispanic young adults said they prefer “reducing federal spending” by 69 percent, compared with 27 percent who would rather “raise taxes on individuals” in order to balance the budget, a nearly three-to-one ratio.

The majority of young Hispanics polled, 56 percent, also agreed with the statement that “if taxes on business profits were reduced, companies would be more likely to hire.”

“Young Americans in every community across the nation have been negatively impacted by unemployment and the lack of opportunity, especially within the Hispanic community,” said Paul T. Conway, president of Generation Opportunity and a former Chief of Staff of the United States Department of Labor. “They know the solution to recovery is not more federal spending, taxes and interference with those who have the courage and resources to create jobs.” READ MORE

The White House hosted yet another inconsequential Latino summit last week, with dozens of community leaders from across the country. The purpose of this Hispanic Policy Conference, according to White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz, was “more for us to listen and not for us to talk.” But what are they going to hear that they don’t already know about what Latinos expect from President Barack Obama?

This conclave was more about politics than substance. As the president formally kicks off his reelection campaign, he has begun a well-coordinated effort to reconnect with Latinos — after paying little attention to them since he took office.


This meeting was the latest installment in a series of events, speeches and visits orchestrated by the White House to show the president remains committed to the Latino community.

Not surprisingly, the White House ensures that these events generate as much Spanish-language media coverage as possible. To its credit, the administration understands the power of the Spanish language media. Latinos, even those whose primary language is English, listen to radio and TV broadcasts in Spanish.

The artfulness of this strategy became clear in April, when Obama held a meeting to discuss immigration with leading Spanish TV and radio personalities and other Latino luminaries. White House guests included the actress Eva Longoria of “Desperate Housewives,” Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo, the host of the No. 1 show in Hispanic radio, and the celebrated Don Francisco, host of the variety show “Sabado Gigante” on Univision.

It’s questionable that these celebrities can move Congress to address this issue. But they are influential with their respective audiences. Indeed, some told their fans about the honor of being invited to this “important” summit — as well as their respect for the president. READ MORE

Mobile is the fastest-growing platform in the world. In the U.S., for example, there are more than 290 million mobile subscribers. And this growth is not only about penetration. It's reshaping the way consumers use their devices. The mobile industry estimates that, by the end of this year, almost 90 percent of all new phones sold in America will be smartphones.

In that same direction, according to Google, mobile web traffic will surpass PC traffic in 2013. It's clear that, for marketers, mobile marketing represents a powerful tool whose role needs to be redefined.

Digital Divide or Digital Conquest?

In the past months, many experts have been talking about a digital divide among Latinos. The notion that many Latinos are using their mobile device as the main, and many times only, way of accessing the Internet created a lot of reactions. Some say that this audience is losing a bigger, more complex experience by browsing the web via mobile instead of a regular PC.

When you analyze the smartphone penetration, almost half of Latinos own a smartphone, a much higher percentage than the general population. Important to note, 65 percent of Latinos use their handset as their primary access to the Internet. Even for its original purpose, talking, 60 percent of Latinos use their mobile phone as their primary phone service. Jokes aside, Latinos have a love affair with their mobile phones: 75 percent of adult Hispanics sleep with their phone.

If we go back to Google's projection on how the web is becoming mobile, it seems to me, more than a digital divide, Latinos are leading (or conquering) this new trend. READ MORE

Among Latinos living in the United States, acculturation is associated with sunscreen use, but not with use of sun-protective clothing.

According to background information to a report in the July issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, DNA damage and skin cancer are an important health issue for U.S. Latinos. Their annual age-adjusted incidence of melanoma is 4.5 per 100,000, which represents an increase of 28.6 percent since 1992. Further, when melanoma is diagnosed, it tends to be thicker among Latinos than among non-Latino white individuals. Acculturation, defined as use of the English language and length of residence in the United States, may affect this population's efforts to avoid sun-related health problems, note the authors: "Acculturated Latinos might have increased exposure to sun safety information via health care access, education, and expanded social networks but display decreased engagement in some sun-safe behaviors."

Valentina A. Andreeva, Ph.D., from the University of Paris XIII in Bobigny, France, who conducted research at the University of Southern California, and colleagues examined cross-sectional data from the National Cancer Institute's 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey. Four-hundred ninety-six Latino respondents answered questions about sun-safe behaviors: wearing sunscreen, long-sleeved shirts and long pants and staying in shade when outside for at least one hour on warm, sunny days. Acculturation was determined by preferred language for the interview, perceived comfort with the English language and, for foreign-born respondents, age at U.S. arrival and duration of U.S. residence. Researchers also asked about health care access, educational level and social support from community organizations, family or friends, neighbors and religious institutions. The study focused on mediated associations. READ MORE

The remaking of the New York Red Bulls gathers speed. That is to say it gets faster, but it is difficult to work out whether this headlong rush for change has any direction to it.

Any intelligent direction, I mean. There are various possibilities, none of which exactly recommends itself as an example of brilliant planning.

There is, for a start the possibility that the Bulls management has decided that Americans don’t know anything about soccer, that all the soccer wisdom in the world resides in Europe, and in Northern Europe at that. So, at the beginning of the season (Feb. 28) we saw the sudden (significantly, that word crops up repeatedly) firing of assistant coach Richie Williams, along with goalkeeper coach Des McAleenan (an American resident at least since 1988). The reasons? The Bulls had “decided to go a different direction with our coaching staff” said general manager Erik Soler. A standard PR banality that could mean anything, an empty, almost insulting evasion in place of an explanation. Around the same time another longtime American employee, Jeff Agoos -- the team’s Sporting Director -- also left the club.

Something similar has happened within the past week, with the news that two more longtime Red Bull employees, Ernesto Motta and Robert Sierra, have been -- suddenly -- “let go.” Motta and Sierra were the Latino, Spanish-speaking arm of the club, the link with the local Hispanic communities.

This move, we are told, is part of a “reorganization within the club.” Evidently, a reorganization that downgrades the importance of Hispanic fans. That does not come as a surprise. If Hispanic fans meant anything at all to the club, that would be reflected in on the field.

It is not. Ever since the arrival of the Swede Hans Backe the club has been moving steadily away from Hispanic players, from any sign of Hispanic influence. At the press conference introducing Backe, I asked whether his arrival meant -- along with the presence of Soler, who is Norwegian -- that we would now have a Scandinavian, even Norwegian style team? As I recall, my question was framed in a way that left no doubt that I considered such a possibility to be a disaster. Soler answered, denying such a happening, indeed, scoffing at the idea.

Well, now. We have Soler and Backe. We have Backe’s assistant Jans Halvor Halvorsen, a Norwegian, who replaced Goran Aral, a Swede. On the field, we have the Estonian Joel Lindpere, the Finn Teemu Tainio, and the Norwegian Jan Gunnar Solli. Recently joined by the German goalkeeper Frank Rost. READ MORE

This has been a very intense week for social media marketing. First, Google announces its second attempt in social media by launching Google+ in a direct effort to take on Facebook. Then, MySpace is sold and will be relaunched with Justin Timberlake as creative consultant. It's clear that everyone wants a piece of the pie of this fast-growing social networking market.

With a Little Help From My Friends

In their attempts to compete versus Facebook, both Google+ and MySpace could also use some help. And Latina moms can be very helpful.

Consider the following facts:

•Hispanic moms are one of the fastest growing demographics online.
•Eighty-two percent of mid- and high-acculturated Latino moms are online.
•Virtually 100 percent of Hispanic moms online are engaged in social networking.
•Eighty-four percent of Hispanic moms are on Facebook.
•Their presence in MySpace is 40 percent higher than white moms (29 percent reach).
These moms rely on family and peer advice, and social networks let them extend their circle of trust. Sixty-eight percent trust word-of-mouth conversations related to brands and marketing activities.

And that's exactly one of the key components that Google can leverage to benefit from this specific segment. Google+ offers Circles, which helps compartmentalize all the people in your life. Google argues that putting everyone under the "friends" label can hurt the ability to share (it can be sloppy and insensitive, according to the search giant). READ MORE

White House representatives were visiting New York on Friday as part of an initiative to improve education for Hispanic students, who make up close to 22 percent of the nation's public school population.

"We're in crisis in the Latino community in terms of education," Jose Rico, deputy director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, told Efe.

Rico accompanied the executive director of the program, Juan Sepulveda, on a visit to four New York schools.

Recent studies indicate that even though Latino students have boosted their academic achievements over the last 10 years, they are still the farthest behind compared with other ethnic groups.

Only half of Latinos who start high school graduate on schedule and of those, only about half are prepared for college.

According to Rico, one of the reasons Latinos fall behind academically is the fact that they usually go to the poorest schools with the fewest resources.

He also said that young people don't have leaders, people that push them to continue their studies and help them understand the university system and the scholarships available, and who give them the support they need to meet their academic challenges.

"We know that only about 13 percent of Latino adults have a college or university diploma. It's the biggest minority but young people don't have anyone to guide them into the university system and give them the emotional and social support they need," Rico said. READ MORE

It’s no secret that Facebook has been mostly white since its inception. The social media site was founded at Harvard University and quickly expanded to other Ivy League schools across the nation, places that aren’t exactly known to be beacons of racial diversity. Until recently.

“Latino Facebook users grew 167 percent compared to 21 percent among non-Hispanics from April 2010 to April 2011 according to comScore,” said Juan Proaño, President of Plus Three, a web design and technology company that works with organizations to promote social change. They recently conducted a survey of social networking sites to determine the growth for Latinos.

Like many of their white counterparts, “Latinos are using Facebook to stay connected with family and friends and to stay connected with their identity,” Proaño said in a press release.

Plus Three also surveyed the top 1,000 Facebook fan pages and found 32 Latinos celebrities among the top 1,000. Only three Latinos broke into the top 100. Shakira was the top Latina celebrity with 35 million fans and ranked number eight on the overall list followed by Selena Gomez at number thirty-five and Enrique Iglesias at number forty-eight.

These demographic changes online can have lasting affects on social networking sites, and can even make sites more racially segregated.

danah boyd, Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research and a fellow at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, studies social networking sites and other intersections between technology and society. She was one of the first to point out segregation in online social networks: READ MORE

Plus Three recently conducted a survey of social networking sites to determine the growth of this valuable media tool for Latinos. Among the more interesting findings, actress and singer Selena Gomez has passed a significant milestone on Facebook by surpassing Barack Obama with 22.5 million fans. A total of 32 Latino celebrities are among the top 1,000 Facebook fan pages, the survey finds.

"Latino Facebook users grew 167% compared to 21% among non-Hispanics from April 2010 to April 2011 according to comScore," said Juan Proano, President, Plus Three. " Latinos are using Facebook to stay connected with family and friends and to stay connected with their identity. Any organization that wants to stay in touch with a Latino audience will need to focus its outreach on using Facebook and social media in order to stay relevant today".

The triple digit growth provides the strongest indicator yet that Latinos are rapidly adopting Facebook and social media to connect with family and friends but also to advance common interests, issues, grassroots movements and social causes.

Plus Three surveyed the top 1,000 Facebook fan pages and found 32 Latino celebrities among the top 1,000. Only three Latinos broke into the top 100. Shakira was the top Latina celebrity with 35 million fans and ranked number eight on the overall list followed by Selena Gomez at number thirty-five and Enrique Iglesias at number forty-eight.

The Latinos with at least 2 million Facebook fans are mostly singers, athletes, and comedians. Athletes from the World Cup and Reggaeton artists dominated the list. Latino celebrities on the list include Daddy Yankee, Don Omar, Lionel Messi, Ricardo Kaka, George Lopez, Jennifer Lopez, Christina Aguilera, Ricky Martin, and Carlos Santana. READ MORE

The United States is walking a path to greater diversity. And younger people are leading the way.

For the first time in national history, the majority of young people in two states -- California and New Mexico -- now identify as Hispanic, according to census data released this year.

In eight additional states -- Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Maryland and Hawaii -- white children are in the minority compared with peers from other racial and ethnic groups combined, according to data analyzed by William Frey at the Brookings Institution.

The number of white children in the United States actually shrank by 4.3 million kids from 2000 to 2010, according to the analysis.

Meanwhile, the number of Hispanic and Asian children grew by a total of 5.5 million. Hispanics made up the bulk of this growth.

"Were it not for Hispanics, the nation's child population would have declined," Frey writes in his report, titled "America's Diverse Future."

The trend is expected to continue, with changes first hitting people younger than 18, then spreading as generations age.

The U.S. Census Bureau, which has been releasing data about the makeup of the nation following its 2010 count, estimates America's young people will become "minority white" in 2023.

About two decades later, in 2042, the same will be true for adults. READ MORE

We conducted an interview with Larry Upton, Founder and President of Edioma, a provider of mobile phone and Internet-based language instruction products designed to help companies communicate more effectively with customers, employees and partners. Edioma’s clients include 7-Eleven.
Portada: How does Edioma teach major brands to learn the Spanish-language and cater to Hispanic customers?
Larry Upton: “As you may already know, US Hispanics are the fastest growing retail customer segment for many large CPG's (Consumer Packaged Goods Companies). However, traditional out-of-home marketing programs (e.g., print, broadcast, online) don't effectively target Spanish-dominant consumers. The resulting "language differences" often lead to a cross-cultural communications gap:

• Most 1st generation, Spanish-speaking customers don't read US publications (e.g., USA Today, WSJ, NYT) and often prefer Spanish-language programming (e.g., Univision, Telemundo) to traditional broadcast TV.

• English speaking service staffs often encounter problems communicating and doing business with Spanish speaking customers, not only from a language perspective, but likewise from a lack of "cultural understanding," i.e., the highly familiar, word-of-mouth based reference shared among Hispanics. Typically, the Hispanic consumer enters the US retailer hoping to be greeted, informed, and sold to based on a recommendation from a trusted friend/family member... not simply from an ad touting the virtues of one product/service over another. READ MORE