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Hispanic Heritage Month begins Sept. 15 and runs through Oct. 15, giving business journalists ample time to focus business features on consumers, business owners, workers and investors in the local Hispanic communities.

According to this (PDF) U.S. Census Bureau briefing paper from May 2011, about 50 million of the 308 million Americans counted in the 2010 census identified themselves as Hispanic. And the Hispanic population represented more than half of the total growth in the U.S. between 2000 and 2010, the bureau reported. The Census Bureau’s “Hispanic Origin” portal gives additional information including a definition of the term, and of course not long ago the bureau reported that Hispanic-owned businesses are proliferating at double the average rate.

For additional demographic data and issues coverage, don’t miss the Pew Hispanic Center by the Pew Research Center. It includes state and county data sets on the Hispanic population among a wealth of other resources.

Business and entrepreneur profiles would be a lively and informative way to mark the month. HispanicBusiness.com, a publishing company, is an excellent resource. For example, you can scan its list of the 100 Fastest-growing Hispanic companies and perhaps turn up some likely subjects in your area. LatinBusinessToday is another interesting online resource.

The United States Hispanic Chamber of Commerce and member groups at the state level can likely connect you with companies, and of course as lobbying groups are a source of information on legislation of interest to Hispanic business owners. Many other professional and business groups are out there; Google for the niche that interest you, like the National Hispanic Business Women Association or the Hispanic IT Executive Council, which advances the Hispanic role in the information technology sector. READ MORE

If you grew up in a bilingual Hispanic household, listening to the Democratic and Republican conventions may have sounded a lot like home.

It's no coincidence that both parties highlighted politicians like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro.

Rubio, whose parents are from Cuba, introduced Mitt Romney at the Republican convention; Castro, whose grandmother immigrated from Mexico, became the first Latino to give the Democrats' keynote address.

Their speeches, while delivered in English, included some Spanish. Even Mitt Romney's son Craig opened his speech in Spanish, a language he learned while working as a Mormon missionary.

In this year's presidential election, Latinos are a major voting bloc — and Spanish is getting its close-up.

"As a Latina mom of two children I'm raising bilingual, it's a great way of showing them why they need to continue speaking Spanish," writes Roxana Soto, author of the book Bilingual is Better, in an email interview with NPR. READ MORE

While attending the Republican National Convention, I received several emails and messages asking why, as Hispanic, I am a Republican. This question puzzles me a bit, because there is some implied assumption that if you’re Hispanic, by default you are expected to be a Democrat.

However, it seems to me that because of the values in the Hispanic community, it would seem only logical that Hispanics should actually be more aligned with the Republican Party than they would with the Democratic Party. President Ronald Reagan would say, "Hispanics are Republicans, they just don’t realize it yet."

I am a Republican because I believe in conservative values and principles — values such as faith, family and country; principles such as fiscal discipline, limited government and personal responsibility.

I believe most Hispanics also believe in these values. Hispanics overwhelming support the right to life, traditional marriage and parents’ choice in education. They have the highest enlistment rate in the military among ethnic groups.

Hispanics also believe in the principles of hard work and self-sufficiency, not wanting a handout, but a hand up, hoping that their children can realize the American dream. For the most part, Hispanics are not waiting for government to do for them what they can do for themselves. Hispanic entrepreneurs are the fastest-growing segment of small business ownership.

Democrats talk about immigration as though it were the only, or the most important issue, for Hispanic families, when poll after poll shows that immigrations ranks consistently fifth or sixth in level importance behind such issues as jobs, the economy, education and health care. Hispanic issues are not much different than the issues that concern other Americans.

It was the Republican Reagan who brought about the last substantial immigration reform. It was also President George W. Bush and Sen. John McCain, both Republicans, who proposed the last major effort to address this issue.

President Obama talks a good talk and promised to submit an immigration bill in his first 90 days in office, yet it has been over 900 days and he has done nothing to address this issue, despite having two years of overwhelming Democratic majorities in the Congress. In his first three and a half years in office, he was responsible for more deportations than any other president. READ MORE

San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro received a lot of praise following his keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention Tuesday. But he also sparked some criticism, particularly about his Spanish speaking skills.

While the Mexican-American mayor has admitted he "doesn't really speak Spanish," he did utter one phrase in Spanish during his DNC keynote address: “Que Dios los bendiga," meaning "May God bless you." The Daily Caller criticized Castro's use of a language he does not fully know, writing he "played up his Mexican heritage by speaking a few lines in Spanish."

The harsh critique of a Latino politician exploiting his roots by speaking Spanish -- what many believe to be a required language for Hispanics -- alludes to an ongoing debate in the Latino community: Is a Latino really Latino if they don't speak Spanish?

For Castro, who was born and raised in San Antonio, learning English, and not Spanish, growing up is not particularly unusual. Though his mother, Rosie Castro, taught herself to read and write in Spanish, she rarely spoke the language at home with Castro and his twin brother Joaquin, opting for English instead. In school, Castro studied Latin and Japanese. READ MORE

Four years ago, President Obama promised immigration reform in his first year, but he never delivered. This time around, the Latino vote - so crucial to Obama's chances for re-election - seemed to be fading.

Democrats weren't afraid that Latinos would vote for GOP nominee Mitt Romney. They were worried Latinos wouldn't vote at all.

Those worries are starting to dissipate, Latinos at the Democratic National Convention said this week, particularly since Obama signed an executive order in June that would defer deportation for young people who entered the United States illegally as children, if they met requirements.

The move would affect an estimated 1.7 million people, roughly a quarter of whom live in California. Still, some Latino leaders wonder if Obama's move was too little too late.

"It depends on how much work we do," said pioneering farmworkers organizer Dolores Huerta, a delegate from Bakersfield. "But it's looking up a little." READ MORE

Julian Castro, the mayor of San Antonio, Texas, has the role of keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention tonight. He has an even more important function: validator.

Castro, 37, a Stanford University and Harvard Law School graduate who is the first Hispanic convention keynoter, was re- elected last year to a second term with 82 percent of the vote in a city of 1.36 million people -- 63.2 percent of whom are Latino, according to the census.

“The main takeaway is, in order for Obama to win, Latinos have to vote,” said Paul Lopez, 34, a Denver city councilman who attended a Hispanic convention caucus session yesterday with Barack Obama’s campaign and party officials ahead of the convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The urgency surrounding the Hispanic vote is heightened in part because Obama is losing ground among working-class white men, those without college degrees. Hispanics may account for 8.9 percent of the U.S. electorate in November, up from 7.4 percent in 2008, according to a report last month by the Center for Immigration Studies, a Washington-based research institute. The group also projected turnout among eligible Hispanic voters at 52.7 percent, up from 49.9 percent four years ago.

Latinos could comprise 14 percent to 18 percent of the electorate in the battleground states of Colorado, Florida and Nevada, said Juan Sepulveda, senior adviser for Hispanic affairs for the Democratic National Committee.

Both parties have sought to showcase Latinos during their conventions. READ MORE

Illinois Republican Party co-chair Gabriela Wyatt knows the importance of attracting Latino voters in November. She also knows it's an uphill climb for the GOP to make inroads with the nation's fastest-growing demographic.

Some polls show Latino voters favoring President Barack Obama 2-1 over Republican nominee Mitt Romney. Wyatt, a Mexican-born resident of Aurora, said Romney is saddled with years of Hispanic perceptions of Republicans.

"I think the problems are bigger than just Mitt Romney. In general, it is the Republican Party," said Wyatt, who has been vice president of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly of Illinois. "For years, Hispanics have been supporting Democrats at all levels. And Democrats have been reaching out more to Hispanics than Republicans. That's one of the facts."

To counter that, the GOP is using its big stage this week to push back against the perception that Hispanics are at odds with the party's platform. Prime-time presenters at the convention have worked Spanish phrases into their speeches. The governor of Puerto Rico popped into the Illinois delegation's morning meeting. And Republican Latino politicians have addressed convention delegates.

On Tuesday night at the made-for-TV event at the Tampa Bay Times Forum, U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz of Texas told hundreds of delegates from around the country about his father, who emigrated from Cuba. Speaking in Spanish, Cruz said his dad came to the U.S. with nothing except heart.

Later, Luce Vela, the first lady of Puerto Rico, introduced herself to the crowd as "a very proud Latina and a die-hard Republican" while setting the stage for the speech by Ann Romney, Mitt Romney's wife. The next morning, Vela's husband, Puerto Rico Gov. Luis Fortuno, drew applause from Illinois Republicans at their daily breakfast when he described his efforts to balance the commonwealth's budget.

Nationwide delegates also heard testimony Tuesday night by a Hispanic business owner who decried Obama's fiscal policies. And Cher Valenzuela, a candidate for Delaware lieutenant governor, talked to the crowd about her husband, Eli, a second-generation Mexican-American. READ MORE

It's risky to eat pizza every day of your life, and riskier still to attempt to make a living on selling pizza every day to those who scarf it down. Especially in Chicago. Deep-dish, thin crust or whatever, it's not exactly like selling one kind of pizza is going to guarantee you anything in this market, and especially in this economy. So, it's pretty bold of the Dallas-based pizza company Pizza Patrón to make its entrance into our city in September.

It's hard to make a dent here in a town so saturated with tomato sauce, dough and cheese, but as the accent over the "o" in the name indicates, it's not your typical pizza parlor. Pizza Patrón distinguishes itself by focusing on the Hispanic market, which is why 2313 Cicero Ave. in west suburban Cicero is its first location here. And just because you might not have heard of Pizza Patrón doesn't mean it's new to the biz: The chain has roughly 100 restaurants in seven states, and is continuing to grow.

To find out more about Patrón, I gave Brand Director Andrew Gamm a jingle. READ MORE

Businesses are turning to social media and other mobile platforms to tap into the Washington, D.C., metropolitan region's $20.1 billion Hispanic buying market.

Executives with many of these business flocked to the 11th annual Maryland Hispanic Business Conference on Tuesday at the Montgomery County Conference Center in North Bethesda, where they learned about this and other topics essential for their growth.

"These events are crucial because the Latino community needs more of a push toward business development," said Axel Martinez, a Web developer for Image Concept Services in Rockville. Martinez said he was at the conference to learn what people are asking about social media and advertising.

Social media are especially vital in reaching Washington’s Hispanic market, 87 percent of which owns a cell phone, with 57.3 percent owning smartphones, said Francisco Vega, president and CEO of VegaPages in Vienna, Va. That’s more than the 44.7 percent of smartphone owners in the general market. READ MORE

When broadcast television and Internet data streams out of the Democratic National Convention this week, Louis Romero will be “feeling really good” about his company, Network Cabling Systems in Charlotte. That’s because the $8 million, 55-employee venture spent two months this year upgrading cable systems at one of the convention’s venues to accommodate coverage. “When we look at our president and the other political figures, we’ll know we had something to do with that,” says Romero, 50.

As a Hispanic entrepreneur, Romero has “just as much opportunity as any other business does,” and has faced obstacles with cash flow and administration, similar to many business owners. His goal this year is to “grow organically and smart” and draw up a succession plan for his 22-year-old venture.

Hispanic entrepreneurs opened twice as many businesses as the national average in the 2000s, according to U.S. Census data. But a new study shows that Hispanic employers are outperformed by white employers, generating lower revenue and employing fewer workers over time. Nearly half employ one to four workers; even after 16 years in business, 66 percent report fewer than 10 employees, according to the University of Texas at Austin’s Bureau of Business Research study (PDF). READ MORE

Heart disease is the number one killer of American women. Heart disease is a group of diseases of the heart and the blood vessel system in the heart. Coronary artery disease, the most common type, affects the blood vessels of the heart. It can cause angina (an-JEYE-nuh) or a heart attack.

Angina is a pain in the chest that happens when the heart does not get enough blood. It may feel like a pressing or squeezing pain, often in the chest, but sometimes in the shoulders, arms, neck, jaw, or back. Having angina means you're more likely to have a heart attack. A heart attack happens when a clot mostly or completely blocks blood flow to the heart muscle.

Signs of a heart attack:

- Chest discomfort — pressure, squeezing, or pain

- Shortness of breath

- Discomfort in the upper body — arms, shoulder, neck, back

- Nausea, vomiting, dizziness, lightheadedness, sweating

Women can also have less common symptoms, including: READ MORE

U.S. Senate hopeful Ted Cruz, basking in the national spotlight since defeating Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, appealed directly to Hispanics and portrayed his smashing primary victory as part of a “great awakening” of American voters during a prime-time speech at the Republican National Convention Tuesday night.

Cruz, who has said he's not a fluent Spanish speaker, ably dropped a little of his Cuban father’s native language into his remarks and made the case that President Obama was playing racial politics. He seemed confident on stage as he spoke, pacing back and forth as enthusiastic members of the Texas delegation cheered and waved their white cowboy hats at all the right times.

“Unfortunately, President Obama’s campaign is trying to divide America — separating us all into groups,” Cruz said, “telling seniors that Medicare will be taken away; Hispanics, that we’re not welcome here; and sending the vice president to preach a message of division. It’s tragic, how far we’ve come from hope and change.” READ MORE

When Dora Herrera, 55, was about 12 or 13 years old, she was no longer allowed to play sports. “My parents told me it was inappropriate for a young lady to be out and about. Once puberty set in, I had to grow up and be a lady.” Though she enjoyed playing roller derby, boxing, and baseball with the neighborhood children, she had to stay inside her home. READ MORE

Perhaps the most befuddling aspect of the 2012 presidential election is the idea advanced by political prognosticators and analysts that Hispanic Americans will be voting en bloc for President Obama without a second thought. As a proud member of the Latino community in America, this prediction frustrates me just as much as it perplexes me.

In recent decades, Hispanics have become some of the most successful small-business owners in the country. According to a recent article in Caribbean Business, the number of Latino-owned businesses in the United States has skyrocketed in recent years. As recently as 2007, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses is 22.4 percent in Florida, 20.7 percent in Texas and 16.5 percent in California. READ MORE

Grab an extra-large shopping cart, push it into the supermarket, and immediately, you hear the Spanish music wafting from the overhead system. To your left, the smell of just-made fajitas, papas and frijoles emanates from the quick-service restaurant where the line is 10 deep at the counter.

As you look to your right, the scent of fresh-baked pan dulce arrives just before white frosting-covered tres leches and mounds of fresh produce come into view. A man chooses a few sweet treats from the fresh bakery, then places them ever so carefully in his cart, as if arranging crown jewels.

Bienvenidos a Cardenas supermercado. It's not your average Food King.

GROWING TREND

Las Vegas has seen rapid growth and sweeping changes in grocery stores catering to Hispanic tastes. Once-strong chains have exited neighborhoods, new ones have moved in and others have quietly and slowly grown, all because of the ebbs and flows a recession produces. READ MORE

Latinas around the world are wielding more power than ever before: eight of the 100 most powerful women in the world are Latina. And their numbers are on the rise. Four of the list’s 16 newcomers are Latina women: Maria das Gracas Silva Foster of Brazil’s Petrobras and celebrities Jennifer Lopez, Shakira and Sofia Vergara. Latina celebs have proven themselves to be at the top of the game both in superstar power (JLo topped the 2012 FORBES’s Celebrity 100) and earnings (Vergara is the highest paid actress on television).

The women of Latin America are showing their political power as well, with Dilma Rouseff, Brazil’s president, and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, the president of Argentina, making the list at No. 3 and 16, respectively. READ MORE

Illinois – Taking steps to fulfill their commitment to reach out to the Hispanic community in support of Republican principles, The Illinois Republican National Hispanic Assembly (RNHA) has launched a new website – www.illinoisrnha.org – and formed a new DuPage County chapter.

A meeting to create a DuPage County RNHA chapter was held on August 21st at the DuPage County GOP Headquarters in Wheaton. The group will be approved once all requirements are submitted and a vote of the RNHA Executive Committee takes place.

Steve Orlando, Chairman of the Illinois RNHA, is pleased with the progress of the Illinois charter; “In the month that we’ve been active, the RNHA is already taking steps to building new chapters and engaging more Hispanics in supporting the Republican platform. This is a very encouraging sign. Hispanics are ready to start getting involved more, and we’re here to show them that they have a home, and a voice, within the Republican Party.”

The ILRNHA shows no signs of slowing down in the coming months. “We’re in the process of creating more county chapters to add to the four that we already have active, and we’re providing our chapters with new ideas on how to grow their respective membership rosters. Soon, we’ll be running Saturday phone banks in Palos Park during September and October,” states Orlando, “We’re keeping very busy.”

Currently, the four active RNHA Chapters include Cook, Will, Kane, and DuPage counties, and are each working with candidates and elected officials in their counties and districts to reach out to the Hispanic community. These four counties are home to some of the largest Hispanic populations in Illinois.

Press Release - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Veronica Vera
PHONE: 312.287.9291
EMAIL: three13pr@aol.com

August 26, 2012

###

The mission of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly is to build a membership organization to foster the principles of the Republican Party in the Hispanic community; provide Hispanic Americans with a forum to play an influential role in local, state, and national Party activities; increase the number of Hispanic Republican elected officials; and create and maintain a network of Hispanic Republican leaders.
Paid for by the Republican National Hispanic Assembly. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate committee.

Join us at this special celebration of Pilsen's arts community that will also support the 10th anniversary edition of Pilsen Open Studios. 

Pilsen Open Studios is an annual art walk independently produced by local artists and volunteers, that is also one of the premier events of the citywide Chicago Artists Month. It will be the weekend of October 20-21, 2012, taking place in various locations along Pilsen’s 18th Street Corridor.

For the 10th edition, there are special events to commemorate our 10th Anniv

Hispanic-owned businesses are a growing piece of the Texas economy, but they still lag behind mainstream businesses in revenue, employment and payroll size, according to a new University of Texas survey.

The report, titled "The Survey of Hispanic Businesses with Paid Employees in Texas," was directed by the Bureau of Business Research of the IC2 Institute at The University of Texas at Austin. It surveyed more than 3,500 Hispanic-owned businesses last year in Texas. The survey is being released to the public today.

Hispanic-owned businesses grew by more than 40 percent in Texas from 2002-2007, from 319,340 to 447,589, according to the report, which cited a 2007 Census study, the latest numbers that were available.

Those businesses accounted for more than 20 percent of all state firms, second to non-Hispanic white-owned companies, which were 62 percent of all the business in Texas.

But, as with national trends, Hispanic-owned businesses lagged behind their mainstream counterparts in several areas, including average gross receipts (about $138,287 compared to $546,228 for mainstream employer firms), average payroll (about $240,518 compared to $473,134) and average employment (9.6 employees for Hispanic firms vs. 13.5 employees for mainstream firms). READ MORE

Hispanic population growth and improved high school completion rates helped Latino young people become the largest minority group on college campuses and a fourth of the public school population last year, according to a Pew Hispanic report released Monday.

The center's analysis of Census data shows more than 2 million Hispanics ages 18 to 24 were enrolled in college last year, making up a record 16.5 percent share of enrollments in that age group at two-year and four-year universities.

Simultaneously, for the first time, one fourth of the pre-K through 12th grade population was Latino, the center said.

The Hispanic share of the public school population had been inching up as the enrollments of children in pre-K and kindergarten reached one quarter Hispanic over the past six years.

The elementary school population also became one quarter Hispanic last year, nudging the overall pre-K through 12th grade to about one quarter Hispanic last year, up from 23.3 in 2010.

Mark Lopez, associate director of the Pew Hispanic Center, said in the next few years the high school population will also reach that mark.

Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States numbering about 52 million last year, according to the Census. Lopez said the rapid growth in the population has contributed to the increased numbers of Latinos in college, along with higher high school completion rates. READ MORE