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Hispanics and Latin Americans are Not the Same

By Juan Tornoe

For practical reasons, let’s begin defining the term Latino or Hispanic, which at the end of the day identify the same group of people. Latinos/Hispanics are those individuals living in the U.S. that somewhere in their past have roots South of the Rio Grande or the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. All the latter can be described as Latin American.

Immediately you can begin to notice the distinction. The primary difference between Hispanics and Latin Americans is where they live.

Continue reading this article @ JuanTornoe.com

U.S. Unauthorized Immigration Flows Are Down Sharply Since Mid-Decade

September 1, 2010
by Jeffrey Passel and D'Vera Cohn

The annual inflow of unauthorized immigrants to the United States was nearly two-thirds smaller in the March 2007 to March 2009 period than it had been from March 2000 to March 2005, according to new estimates by the Pew Hispanic Center.

This sharp decline has contributed to an overall reduction of 8% in the number of unauthorized immigrants currently living in the U.S.-to 11.1 million in March 2009 from a peak of 12 million in March 2007, according to the estimates. The decrease represents the first significant reversal in the growth of this population over the past two decades.

These new Pew Hispanic Center estimates rely on data mainly from the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey and decennial census. The unauthorized immigrant population is estimated using the widely accepted residual method, in which a demographic estimate of the legal foreign-born population is subtracted from the total foreign-born population. The difference provides the basis for estimating the size and characteristics of the unauthorized immigrant population.

The Pew Hispanic Center's analysis also finds that the most marked decline in the population of unauthorized immigrants has been among those who come from Latin American countries other than Mexico. From 2007 to 2009, the size of this group from the Caribbean, Central America and South America decreased 22%.

The recent decrease in the unauthorized population has been especially notable along the nation's Southeast coast and in its Mountain West, according to the new estimates. The number of unauthorized immigrants in Florida, Nevada and Virginia shrank from 2008 to 2009. Other states may have had declines, but they fell within the margin of error for these estimates.

Not counting Florida and Virginia, the unauthorized immigrant population also declined in the area encompassing the rest of the South Atlantic division that extends between Delaware and Georgia. In addition to the decline in Nevada, three other Mountain states-Arizona, Colorado and Utah-experienced a decrease in their combined unauthorized immigrant population from 2008 to 2009.

Click here to download the complete report.

Source: Pew Hispanic Center

Immigration flip-flop decided GOP primary in Florida, Latina consultant says

Aug 25, 2010
by Kathy Kiely

Republican party stalwart Bill McCollum lost Tuesday's GOP gubernatorial primary in Florida because Hispanic Republicans stayed home after he pandered to the party's right wing on immigration, a state GOP strategist just said.

"It's not what (Hispanics) did against Bill McCollum; it's what they didn't do for Bill McCollum," Ana Navarro said of the veteran pol's loss to mega-wealthy newcomer Rick Scott.

Navarro who has advised leading Republicans such as former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Sen. John McCain, said McCollum alienated many of his key Hispanic supporters when he hustled out proposed legislation that would crack down on illegal immigration two weeks before the election.

"He antagonized some of his top Hispanic advisers, his Hispanic voters and his Hispanic surrogates," she said, "And the backlash was perhaps much larger than what he envisioned."

McCollum had criticized an Arizona law that authorizes law enforcement officials to demand ID papers of people they suspect of being an illegal immigrant. At an Aug. 12 news conference, however, he unveiled legislation that he said would be even tougher.

Navarro spoke on a conference call sponsored by America's Voice, a group that supports comprehensive immigration reform (translation: a bill that includes a chance at citizenship for illegal immigrants).

A Hispanic voting expert on the call, Fernand Amandi of the Florida-based public opinion firm Bendixen & Amandi, agreed with Navarro's assessment of Hispanic disenchantment. Turnout in heavily Cuban-American Miami-Dade County was less than 17% Tuesday, compared with 21% statewide, Amandi said.

Navarro was sharply critical of Scott's tone on immigration, blaming him for making the hot-button Arizona law an issue in the Florida race because he "saw it as an effective way to corner Bill McCollum."

What will the Sunshine State's Hispanic Republicans do in the fall campaign?

"I have no idea," Navarro said. "A lot of us on the Republican side are asking ourselves, 'What now?'"

Source: USA Today

The New [Multicultural] Brand Marketing = Content Online

August 26, 2010
by Joe Kutchera

Imagine moving to China for a career opportunity and taking your first trip to the grocery store to buy food. What do these packages say? How can I find the ingredients that I want to make the food that I know? Which brand is best? The bottom line: what do you recognize in the store? Nothing! It's all in Chinese.

Ursula Mejia-Melgar, the multicultural marketing manager at General Mills, makes that analogy when she describes what the members of her target audience -- Spanish-dominant Latina moms -- experience when they go to the store for the first time in the United States. They move to the U.S. for a better life and look for tools to educate themselves about how to manage their new lives here.

Que Rica Vida, General Mills' Spanish-language website, aims to serve its audience as a trusted friend and resource by providing culturally relevant content that can help moms adjust to their new lives. The site aims to empower Latina moms by providing them with information about raising their children, tending to their illnesses and preventing them, making sure they don't fall behind in school and cooking for their families.

The section on recipes and ingredients provides tips and tools about how to be a better shopper. General Mills works with content partners like Dr. Aliza, who offer health advice on the site. General Mills produces content in Spanish because Spanish-dominant Latina moms have different needs, wants, desires, and family values, and a company's marketing materials ought to reflect that.

Other leading CPG companies have launched extensive content websites in Spanish such as Comida Kraft, P&G's Pampers Village, SC Johnson's Right @ Home, and Unilever's Vive Mejor. Instead of being hard sales pitches, the websites feature helpful, culturally relevant content. Their sites serve as focus groups in real time, using analytics tools to measure what consumers find helpful.

So, what content should your brand develop and how do you test new content ideas for your web sites? What partners do you work with to test ideas first before associating them with your brand online?

Massimo Martinotti, the founder of boutique production agency Mia Films in Miami, often beta-tests niche content ideas on his video blog, Facebook, and Twitter to see what does and doesn't resonate with consumers in online communities. He does this in preparation for developing content ideas for his clients.

For example, he launched a number of talk-show format videos where a host and an expert discuss the "tecnicas del beso," or the techniques of a good kiss. Within months, the community grew to over 30,000 users and today the content has become self-sustaining where users contribute subdued (not risqué) photos and videos of couples kissing. Both women and men participate and the community sure would lend itself to a marketing campaign for a gum product.

Once he develops niche content ideas, he strives to tell synergistic stories for marketers that cannot squeeze into a single medium but rather evolve across multiple platforms in which converging stories can live and grow.

"The user's experience unfolds across as many media as possible and every single platform makes idiosyncratic and distinctive contributions to the story," says Martinotti. "A story will possibly start with a short webisode. However, for users to understand it, they will eventually have to follow the characters of the story on Twitter, join a group on Facebook or Flickr, visit a channel on YouTube or Vimeo, receive or send SMS texts or MMS, participate in a forum or a chat, play a game or an alternate reality game (ARG), attend an event, and so forth."

What is your process for testing online content ideas? And who do you partner with to evaluate ideas going forward?

Source: Media Post

Latino Groups Push Immigration Reform

August 25, 2010
By Tricia Miller

Latino voters made a difference in yesterday's Arizona and Florida primaries, advocates for comprehensive immigration told reporters today.

Arturo Vargas, director of the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials and Republican strategist Ana Navarro pointed to low turnout among Hispanic Republicans in Miami-Dade County as part of the reason Bill McCollum lost the Republican gubernatorial primary. His shift to the right on immigration reform late in the primary season alienated Hispanic supporters, they said, and those voters didn't show up at the polls.

"The lesson to be learned from yesterday's primary in Florida is that a Republican candidate can't win without Hispanic Republicans," Navarro said.

Lynn Tramonte, deputy director at the immigration reform group America's Voice, explained that there are two storylines surrounding Latino voters and immigration in 2010. The first is of Republicans who are forced to move right on immigration in primary battles, she said, and the second is of Arizona's "papers please" law, which she said is extremely unpopular among Latino voters.

The conversation built on a study America's Voice released earlier this month that showed a growing Latino base trending toward Democrats. About 10 million Latinos voted in the 2008 presidential election, about 2.5 million more than voted in 2004, the study reported, adding that registration and turnout among Latinos also ballooned between 2000 and 2008.

"Latinos have been trending Democratic for years, but the Democratic Party does not necessarily hold a lock on these voters," the report said.

Speakers on a conference call with reporters also relied on a June poll NALEO commissioned that found immigration is the top issue among Latino voters in California, Colorado, Florida and Texas.

More than a quarter of respondents listed it as their primary concern.

The poll sampled opinions of 1600 Latino voters, 400 in each of those four states. It was conducted by Dr. Ricardo Ramirez, assistant professor of political science at the University of Southern California, and Latino Research and Communications.

Source: CQ Politics

MEET MACHETE - on September 3rd only in theatres

Directors: Robert Rodriguez, Ethan Maniquis

Written by: Robert Rodriguez

Producers: Robert Rodriguez, Rich Schwartz, Aaron Kaufman, Iliana Nikolic, Elizabeth Avellán

Cast: Danny Trejo, Robert De Niro, Jessica Alba, Michelle Rodriguez, Lindsay Lohan, Steven Seagal, Cheech Marin, Don Johnson

Official website: www.vivamachete.com

He looked like just another day laborer from the streets, and the perfect fall guy for a crooked political assassination.  But he turned out to be MACHETE, a legendary ex-Federale with a deadly attitude and the skills to match.

Left for dead after clashing with notorious Mexican drug kingpin Torrez, Machete has escaped to Texas, looking to disappear and forget his tragic past. But what he finds is a web of corruption and deceit thatleaves a bullet in a senator and Machete a wanted man.

Machete sets out to clear his name and expose a deep conspiracy.  But standing in his way are Booth, a ruthless businessman with an endless payroll of killers; Von, a twisted border vigilante leading a small army; and Sartana, a beautiful immigrations officer torn between enforcing the law and doing what is right.
Helping Machete even the odds are Luz, a sexy taco-truck lady with a rebellious spirit and revolutionary heart, and Padre, a priest who’s good with blessings, but better with guns.

Carving a path of bullets, blood, and broken hearts, Machete’s quest ultimately leads him back to Torrez for an epic battle of revenge and redemption.
Or as Machete puts it: “They just f****d with the wrong Mexican.”

Challenge of caring for an aging Latino population

August 24, 2010
By Jacqueline L. Angel

Longevity is clearly a blessing, but it presents the elderly and their children with practical problems. Preparing for a time when our parents are not able to get around as well as they used to is more important today than it has ever been.

People of all ethnicities are living longer than ever, and Latinos are part of that trend. Life is much different for Latino families than it was at the beginning of the 20th century, and that change forges a basic question: Who will care for elderly parents?

Old age for Latinos traditionally has been a different experience than it is for other groups. The model of extended families living together or in close proximity, with grandparents helping to care for their children's children and then being taken care of themselves as they needed assistance in old age, is still the desired model for Hispanics. Family is central to Latino cultural identity, and although grown children might wish to keep their elders at home, this might not always be possible.

The personal and financial burdens of caring for those with severe health and mobility problems are daunting, and institutionalized care for the elderly has become the norm in Mexico and the United States.

Not so long ago, developing countries like Mexico were faced primarily with health and social issues related to large populations of young people, while wealthy countries like the United States faced falling birth rates and the decline in the working-age population. Over the coming three decades, countries such as Brazil, Chile and Mexico will see the oldest part of their population at least double. This new demographic will have a significant effect on those countries' health care systems.

In the United States, meanwhile, demographers note that the Hispanic population is growing five to six times faster than the general population, making this the nation's largest ethnic group. By the middle of the next century, the nation's Hispanic population is expected to reach almost 100 million (24.5 percent of the total population).

Because the aging population of those of Mexican ancestry is poised in particular to explode in coming years, policymakers in the U.S. as well as the rest of the Americas are becoming increasingly aware of the burgeoning health care needs of older people and the costs associated with those needs.

The new federal health care law in the United States has clearly changed the financing landscape, but how it will directly affect older Americans and minorities, including the Mexican-origin population, is unknown. While it represents the only realistic means of covering any substantial fraction of those who lack health and/or long-term care insurance, there are numerous uncertainties about the specifics of the new program for younger and older Americans alike. Other factors will affect the lives of Mexican-origin families and individuals as they face the burdens of decline in health status and caring for children and the elderly simultaneously.

The desire to preserve Latino family structures and traditions is part of a cultural identity that has strong emotional meaning, and this factor has to be considered in any discussion of future approaches to care for the elderly.

As Latinos find it necessary to juggle work and children, can these traditions of family caring for older parents survive? Is the traditional desire to care for our aging parents in our home matched by the ability to do so?

To address these critical issues, scientists will engage in a forum for leading thinkers on Latino health and aging at the University of Texas. The conference aims to provide much-needed information for researchers and policy makers to improve the health and long-term care of older Latinos in the United States and in Mexico.

The findings will inform our understanding of the institutional and social factors influencing long-term care costs, an issue that affects all of us. The forum also will give us new insights in areas where health and social service coordination is needed for Hispanic families and other vulnerable populations.

Fortunately, the celebration of Hispanic heritage, culture and contributions next month is a good occasion to begin a conversation and reflection on this looming problem.

Angel is a professor of public affairs and sociology at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Her most recent book, co-authored by husband Ronald Angel, is ‘Hispanic Families at Risk: The New Economy, Work, and the Welfare State.'

Source: Austin American-Statestan

Minorities most active on mobile phones

August 24, 2010
By Gautham Nagesh

African-Americans and Hispanics talk and text on mobile phones significantly more than their white counterparts, according to the Nielsen Company.

The results correlate with an earlier Pew survey that found minorities are more likely to use their smartphones to access the Web than whites. The latest data shows minorities are generally more likely to use mobile devices to communicate, meaning any proposals targeting wireless communications may disproportionately affect black and Hispanic Americans.

African-Americans talk on their cell phones an average of 1,300 minutes per month, more than twice the 647 minutes averaged by whites. Hispanics were next, at 826 minutes per month, followed by Asians and Pacific Islanders at 692 minutes per month. Blacks and Hispanics were also the most like to send and receive text messages, averaging 780 and 767 per month respectively.

When it comes to texting, race or ethnicity takes a back seat to age. Teenagers average a whopping 2,779 text messages a month, while 18- to 24-year-olds send or receive 1,299 on average. People between the ages of 25 and 35 average just under 600 text messages per month. The variance among age groups for voice minutes used was significantly less.

Nielsen also found that women talk on their mobile phones 22 percent more on average than men and send or receive 601 monthly text messages versus 447 for the average American male. The results were calculated by Nielsen using the mobile phone bills of 60,000 subscribers between April 2009 and March 2010.


Source: The Hill

The Immigration Debate in Houston

August 25, 2010
by: Katelyn Rhodes

In a city where approximately 42% of the population is Hispanic, it is not surprising that immigration is one of the most heated political issues facing Houston. With bills being passed in other states, such as Arizona's SB 1070, which allows officers to request papers proving citizenship from people of Hispanic descent, the Hispanic community has a right to be concerned. In fact, it seems that this mentality has already started to seep into the Texas legislature. According to an article on NBC from the Associated Press, Representative Debbie Riddle of Tomball (Northwest Houston) has already informed her constituents that she will be proposing a law similar to that of Arizona's in the upcoming January session. As a person of Hispanic descent who was born and raised here in Houston, I feel that to be required to keep papers on hand proving my citizenship, would be a violation of my rights as an American.

Houstonians against racial profiling

It is no secret that to target people based solely on their race, profiling, is extremely unethical. It is also no secret that laws in Texas are lacking in protecting people from this injustice. The Hispanic community is not the only community to fall victim to racial profiling. African Americans and more recently, the Arabic and Middle Eastern community have been victims of racial profiling, as well. The community of Houston needs to come together and stand up for the rights of our fellow Houstonians. In an article from the Associated Press, Peter Johnson, of the Peter Johnson Institute for Non-Violence put his own spin on a famous quote, "What I say to the African-American community: If they come in the morning for brown-skinned people, and we remain silent, they may come in the evening for us." I believe this is the sentiment all Houstonians should feel towards our larger, shared community.

Are you Native American? No? Then you are an immigrant, too.

One of the biggest problems I have with the mentality against recent immigrants to the United States is that it is a hypocritical one. The only community of people who are native to America, is in fact, the Native Americans. If these political figures who are trying to implement such harsh legislature against recent immigrants thought about it, they would realize that their families migrated to America at some point, as well. America has always proclaimed to be a haven for the persecuted. Isn't that what it says on the Statue of Liberty? "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free." My family came from Cuba 30 years ago and I can't imagine what it would have been like for our family had we been deported or unable to gain citizenship. America has proclaimed to be a melting pot for people of all races, yet American has a history of persecuting those very immigrants: The Irish, Japanese-Americans in the wake of Pearl Harbor, Middle Easterners in the wake of September 11th, etc. Now is the time to break free of that mind set and create a path for all those who seek it to be able to gain citizenship to this great country! We can start right here in Houston.


Source: Associated Content

Republican AND Latino?

August 23, 2010
By Laura Cueva

Republican Latino.

The two almost seem to combat one another, yet there’s a growing population of right-wing Latinos in elected office and in the general population. Though the majority of Latinos in the country describe themselves as democrats, republican Latino numbers are on the rise. How can this be, when being republican seems so at odds with minority and immigrant rights?

This debate hit the limelight recently when Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was quoted saying he didn’t know how anyone of Hispanic heritage could be a republican.

Many republican Latinos were up in arms about his derogatory messages, including President of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly Ruben Estrada, who had this to say:

“I am appalled and insulted with such a question from the US Senate Leader Harry Reid. I can only attribute the question as a sign of desperation! He realizes that Hispanic Americans are a significant major electorate who are no longer guaranteed to the Democratic party, and are not only Republicans, but Conservatives, and yes, Tea Party members.”

Even so, I agree with Senator Reid.

That’s not to say that Latinos are incapable of advancement. His question may have been poorly framed; it caused insinuations about Latinos and the infamous democratic “hand-outs,” but I understand where he’s coming from.

I’ve often struggled to see why any Latino would choose to join a party that’s notorious for its fight against Latinos and other minorities.  On issues concerning immigrants, ranging from immigration reform and healthcare reform to the Dream Act and federal assistance programs, the opposition on the right has been harsh.

But the reason for the rise in Republican Latino numbers has to do primarily with the overall growth of Latinos in the nation, rather than immigrant- or minority-specific platforms.  As more Latinos become citizens, more of them are becoming Republican, more of them are affluent, and more of them agree with some basic conservative values, including a Catholic-driven pro-life stance, support of tax cuts for the rich, and opposition to stem cell research.

“It’s a demographic inevitability,” said Andres Ramirez of NDN, a Washington think tank formerly known as the New Democrat Network, to Slate Magazine. “There's going to be more Hispanics who engage simply because more are coming into the system.”

There’s also a rise in the number of Republican Latino leaders in elected office. Susana Martinez, who is running in New Mexico, stands a good chance of becoming the first female Hispanic governor in history – and an instant GOP spokeswoman. Then there’s Marco Rubio of the Tea Party in Florida, and Brian Sandoval, who began campaigning on Spanish television in Nevada and whose followers shout “Si, si, Sandoval!” despite his not speaking Spanish.

Still, immigration reform is the hot topic among Latinos of both parties, and given the conservative view of most Republicans on the issue, few Latinos will vote Republican if it means immigrant rights will disappear.

Once the GOP realizes the importance of the Latino electorate, they may start to change their tune. One can only hope.

Source: Neon Tommy