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Will MySpace Kill MySpace Latino?

July 2, 2009
By Jennifer Martinez

As MySpace struggles to regain ground it’s lost to Facebook and sort out its revenue woes, executive departures from MySpace Latino, a combination Spanish-English site targeted at U.S.-based Latinos that launched a little over a year ago, indicate it may be on the chopping block. MySpace Latino’s VP of Hispanic sales and strategy, Manny Miravete, has left the company, and the site’s managing director, Victor Kong, has reportedly left as well. The site itself hasn’t been refreshed in over a week amid a wave of layoffs at MySpace’s U.S. and international offices.

When asked if it planned to shut down MySpace Latino, the company sent us this statement (bolded emphasis ours) via email:

    “The MySpace Latino community will remain live and not shut down. We are restructuring and evaluating how Latin will be featured on our site as we know the importance of the genre. Before the launch of MySpace Latino, we frequently featured Latin artists, promotions, and events on MySpace Music and will continue to do so.”

The News Corp-owned social networking site created MySpace Latino to target its growing population of U.S.-based Latino users and make it easier for big-name corporations such as McDonald’s and Toyota to advertise to them. Nearly 14 percent of MySpace’s U.S. users are Latino, compared to just 5 percent of Facebook’s, according to Quantcast.

Source: Salon.com

Grocers meeting needs of Hispanic shoppers

July 02, 2009
By Rob Earnshaw

Joining a national trend, local grocers are expanding their offerings to cater to the Hispanic market.

Over the past two years Wiseway Super Food Center Inc. remodeled its Hobart location and converted its store in Merrillville to a PayLow.

"We have increased the amount of Hispanic foods in the aisles," Wiseway Vice President Michael Zaucha said. "What we did was open up some lines of food we did not previously carry, like La Preferida, El Milagro and Nuevo Leon. We have availabilities of all these companies so if a customer requests a special item we by all means can get it for them."

Strack & Van Til has a dozen locations in Northwest Indiana, all of which have a Hispanic section -- some larger than others depending on the Hispanic population of that community.

"We recognize the needs of the communities we serve," said Mike Nisevich, buyer for Strack & Van Til. "East Chicago is one of our smaller stores, but we've definitely increased the Hispanic item selection in that store."

Jewel-Osco approaches its growing Hispanic shopping base with a variety of in-language communication materials from monthly circulars to seasonal mailers.

Its ethnic marketing department continually meets with store directors to ensure the stores are merchandised correctly, showcasing dedicated Latino endcaps and eye-catching displays throughout the store.

"Jewel-Osco has recognized the importance and significance of the growing Latino community," said Jim Seidler, Jewel-Osco/SUPERVALU category manager. "We have taken a targeted approach to advertise our efforts by showcasing the most relevant products in the most relevant areas, always with a strong focus on the utmost in freshness, quality and overall value."

Alicia Perez, of East Chicago, said most local stores carry a wide range of Hispanic food and she only goes to specialty grocers "if they have a sale." She also said more non-Hispanics are stopping her in the aisles asking about items like husks for making tamales.

Nisevich has also recognized the desire for Hispanic ingredients from the entire population.

"With many Americans tightening their belts during these tougher economic times they are eating at home more often," he said. "They might be seeing a dish on the food channel network or a recipe in the magazine and they're looking for those ingredients at their local grocery stores."

But some shoppers prefer Mexican grocers. Pamela Ruiz Janiszewski, of Calumet City, buys Mexican groceries from La Balanza in Lansing. Janiszewski said a regular store doesn't have the variety of a Mexican grocer.

"If you walk into a Mexican store, you find everything you need and everything is fresh," she said. "I've bought things from a grocery store and tortillas were moldy or chips were stale. I prefer a Mexican store when I need the Mexican ingredients for cooking."

Source: The Times

NASA Astronaut Starts Agency's First Bilingual Twitter

July 2, 2009
Source: NASA
 
NASA astronaut Jose Hernandez, set to fly aboard space shuttle Discovery in August, is providing insights about his training on Twitter in both English and Spanish. It will be the agency's first bilingual Twitter.

Hernandez, who considers Stockton, Calif., his hometown, grew up in a migrant farming family, travelling each year between Mexico and California. He did not learn English until the age of 12.

Hernandez, whose Twitter account is astro_jose, can be followed at:

http://www.twitter.com/astro_jose

"I was inspired to pursue a dream to one day work in space while listening to the radio news about space exploration while working in the fields of northern California," Hernandez said. "I hope to spread that excitement about space, science and engineering and inspire others to follow their dreams by sharing my activities and interacting with my followers on Twitter."

Selected as an astronaut by NASA in May 2004, Hernandez will make his first spaceflight on the STS-128 shuttle mission that will continue assembly of the International Space Station. During the mission, he will oversee the transfer of supplies and equipment between the shuttle and station, assist with robotics operations and serve as a flight engineer in the shuttle cockpit during launch and landing. It will be the first shuttle mission to feature two Latino astronauts. Danny Olivas, who also is of Mexican descent, is among Hernandez's six crewmates.

For Hernandez's complete biography, visit:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/hernandez-jm.html

Americans Ponder Role of Spanish Language

July 01, 2009
Source: Angus Reid Global Monitor

Few adults in the United States believe Spanish should have a more prominent role in their country’s life, according to a poll by Angus Reid Strategies. 43 per cent of respondents believe Spanish should be taught as a second language in U.S. primary and high schools, and only 28 per cent would consent to Spanish becoming the country’s second official language.

In all, 30 American states have passed legislation that makes English their official language. Puerto Rico is the only U.S. territory that is officially English and Spanish bilingual. Spanish is spoken by about 12 per cent of U.S. residents, which means the U.S. houses the fifth largest Spanish-speaking population in the world after Mexico, Spain, Argentina and Colombia.

In February, Republican Iowa congressman Steve King introduced the English Language Unity Act of 2009, which seeks to establish English as the official language of the U.S. The bill would mandate the federal government to conduct business in English without placing restrictions on languages spoken or on the private sector.

Unilever Expands Multi-Brand Initiative, ViveMejor® to serve as an all-encompassing lifestyle resource for Latinas

July 1, 2009
Press Release

Unilever’s ViveMejor® (Live Better) multi-brand initiative is back in its third year with an unprecedented and unique approach. ViveMejor speaks directly to the personal care and cooking needs of Hispanic women by offering an array of resources via expert advice and valuable coupons from quality brands they trust.

Beauty expert and hair stylist to top Latino celebrities, Leonardo Rocco, is back with the latest trends from the world of beauty and fashion, eager to help Latinas look and feel good using trusted brands like Caress®, Degree®, Dove®, Pond’s® and Suave®. To champion Unilever’s food solutions, this year ViveMejor welcomes renowned chef and author of “Fresh Mexico”, Marcela Valladolid. New to the program, Marcela is thrilled to share her delicious recipes and useful cooking tips to help ease the lives of busy Latinas, featuring trusted brands like Hellmann’s® and Best Foods®, Knorr®, Lipton® and Ragú®.

“Unilever continues to look for innovative ways to deliver on the promise of our vitality mission to help our consumers look good, feel good, and get more out of life,” explained March Shaw, Integrated Marketing Director, Unilever U.S. “Our 2009 ViveMejor campaign is a testament of our commitment to offer Latinas practical solutions that will help them simplify their daily routine so they can do the things that matter to them the most.”

The landmark ViveMejor program combines Unilever’s award-winning beauty and food campaigns Pasa La Belleza (Spread the Beauty) and Desafío del Sabor (The Flavor Challenge). This year’s program features new talent and an array of consumer touch points including national television integrations on popular Univision morning and evening shows, public relations outreach, print advertorials in favorite Hispanic magazines, direct mail as well as engaging retail events in the top Hispanic cities across the country.

Furthermore, as part of Unilever’s pledge to sustainability, all content from the ViveMejor magazine is now housed online at ViveMejor.com. The newly revamped website has been designed to enhance the consumer’s online experience through a fresh easy-to-use layout that allows quick access to delicious recipes, cooking video demonstrations, the latest beauty tips, as well as high value coupons. Best of all, Latinas can view the calendar of events scheduled across the U.S. where they will have the opportunity to receive free in-person beauty consultations and cooking tips from Rocco and Valladolid.

Through ViveMejor Hispanic women will have, within easy reach, a suite of offerings that speak to their family’s food and their personal care needs. The expanded holistic program will engage Latinas with relevant tips, trusted advice and valuable coupons offered during their shopping experience, through creative television integrations and content delivered in their preferred media. For more information, please visit www.vivemejor.com.

New Republican group woos Latinos

July 1, 2009
By Chris Echegaray

A new Republican group is eyeing Tennessee's growing number of Latino voters, attempting to organize them in time for the 2010 gubernatorial election.

The Tennessee Republican National Hispanic Assembly formed in April, said Raul Lopez, the group's Cuban-American chairman, and its membership stands at 40. But the figure he's looking at is 52,000 — an estimate of potential Latino voters next year.

"Remember, Gov. Bredesen only won by 40,000 votes (in his first election), and Sen. Corker only won by 50,000 votes," he said. "So more and more statewide elections will come down to the only untapped political market: the Hispanic vote."

Leaders of the state's Latino Democratic organization — formed four years ago — say that they welcome the attention paid to voters, but that right-leaning politicos have alienated many on the topic of immigration.

"They have hard work ahead," said Fabian Bedne, an Argentine-American and president of the Middle Tennessee Hispanic Democrats.

He pointed to radio talk-show host Phil Valentine's place as guest speaker at a GOP recruiting event in South Nashville on Saturday.

A handful of Latinos mingled with state and local lawmakers, eating a buffet of Mexican food in the darkly lit Ibiza nightclub, nestled in a strip mall with a Laundromat next door.

"Illegal aliens make Hispanics in general look bad," and possibly bring diseases or terrorist connections, Valentine told the crowd.

No single issue rules

The immigration debate has been controversial, Lopez said, but not as important as other issues because of the diversity among Latinos. The U.S. holds varying immigration policies toward their home countries.

Two groups hold a unique status: Puerto Ricans are born U.S. citizens, while, under the "wet foot, dry foot" policy, Cubans receive legal resident status if they can evade the Coast Guard and touch American soil. The first group trends Democratic, the second, Republican.

Some Latinos are invited to the U.S. either as refugees or under the Temporary Protected Status program because of discord and violence in their home nations.

A limited number of Mexicans, the largest group of Latinos in Tennessee, are granted legal entrance to the U.S. each year.

Their voting patterns differ widely based on geography and economic status.

Efforts to explore how each group votes have been going on for years in traditionally Latino-heavy states such as Florida and California.

Those who are beginning the task in Tennessee should understand there isn't a single issue that will woo Latino votes, experts say.

What ultimately matters is what issues are at play during elections and how individual Latinos relate to those, said Efrén Pérez, a political science professor at Vanderbilt University. "But that doesn't do justice to the complexity of Latinos, or any other voter, for that matter," he said.

But stances on immigration could sway Tennessee Latinos, Pérez said, and the Republican Party would gain from putting out a detailed policy statement instead of only working on image.

"Whatever gains they make could be undone when someone says, 'These are the guys that want to build the fence,' " he said.

Latino voters multiply

An estimated 10 million to 11 million Latinos nationwide voted for president in 2008, making it the largest turnout of Latino voters in history.

Sixty-seven percent of them voted for Barack Obama, according to the Pew Hispanic Center, a nonpartisan research organization.

That's compared with the 7.6 million Latinos who voted in the November 2004 elections, according to census data.

In Tennessee, an estimated 9,000 Latinos voted in 2006, according to the latest data from the Migration Policy Institute.

"I think it will be quite a while before they have a presence and population like they do in other states," said Jeffrey Passel, a senior demographer with the Pew Hispanic Center. "But if they tend to be more present in certain places and are eligible to vote, they can make a difference in localities."

Carmen Hudgins, who is of Mexican descent, attended the GOP event at Ibiza. She explained her choice of party by quoting President Ronald Reagan: "Latinos are Republicans. They just don't know it."

Reagan was referring to the social conservatism and faith that drew her — as with many Latinos — to the Republican Party.

"My father, our family, didn't believe in handouts," Hudgins said. "My parents are from Mexico, and we were raised with values to work hard. When I decided to come to the event, I hoped to see other people like me."

Source: The Tennessean

Bloomberg's Spanish Lessons Pay Off

July 1, 2009
By Elizabeth Benjamin

Mayor Bloomberg's campaign today announced two endorsements that highlight his ongoing efforts to woo Hispanic New Yorkers - an ever-growing and increasingly significant voting bloc.

The mayor was endorsed by Impacto Latin News, a weekly newspaper with a circulation of 57,000 that is one of the nation's longest-running independently owned Hispanic papers.

This isn't Bloomberg's first endorsement by a Spanish-language paper, (others came from El Especialito and El Especial), but it is the first one to cite his (rather halting) attempts at being bilingual as a reason to back him, saying:

    "His commitment to the Hispanic community is so strong that he is even learning how to speak Spanish."


The editorial also touts "tremendous strides in the education front," adding: "He restructured the control over education to have direct influence over this entity."

The timing of that statement is a little off, given that the mayor no longer has direct control over the public school system, thanks to the deadlocked state Senate.

So far, Bloomberg has won endorsements from the editorial pages of the EcuaTimes, The New York Page, Irish Voice, The Queens Courier and the New York Community Times, which means Bradley Tusk is more than halfway to his goal.

A May Marist poll showed Bloomberg leading his likely Democratic opponent, Comptroller Bill Thompson, 51-33, with 13 percent of voters unsure who they would support.

Fifty percent of Latino voters said they would choose Bloomberg, compared to 30 percent for Thompson.

Team Bloomberg also released the following video (in both English and Spanish) of Alfred Placeres, president of the New York State Federation of Hispanic Chambers of Commerce, endorsing the mayor and touting how he has "really turned the city around."

Source: NY Daily News

Latina Farmworkers Launch Radio Show

Jul 01, 2009
Via EFE-La Prensa Florida

Two Latina farmworkers have launched a Spanish-language radio program called "Conscience Radio" to empower their community, reports La Prensa Florida. Silvia Perez and Nelly Rodriguez, the two women spearheading the show in southwest Florida, volunteer at the studio every day after finishing their field work. They say they want to be "the voices of the community,” and to motivate other farmworkers to learn how to use computers and improve the community’s overall access to information and education. The radio program, which broadcasts out of the Coalition of Immokalee Workers' (CIW) community center, and features daily news, music, community and educational messages, can be heard on 107.9 FM.

Source: New America Media

U.S. soccer 'needs Hispanic talent' to succeed

July 1, 2009
By Timothy Abraham

The United States almost provided one of football's biggest upsets when they were narrowly beaten by Brazil in the final of the Confederations Cup in South Africa.

 Goals from Clint Dempsey and captain Landon Donovan had given the U.S. a 2-0 lead at half-time, before Luis Fabiano struck twice after the break and Lucio headed home the winner six minutes before the final whistle to give Brazil the title.

While the presence of the U.S. in the final reflects the significant progress made since the country hosted the World Cup in 1994, it will undoubtedly raise expectation levels for the 2010 World Cup.

Central to this is whether the current crop of players in coach Bob Bradley's squad possess the credentials to make the next step and become serious challengers to the European and South American elite.

World Soccer magazine columnist and U.S. Soccer expert Paul Gardner felt that while the exploits of the national team were impressive, the country is still some way short of fulfilling their potential on the world stage.

 "The way the tournament went it really opened up for the U.S. and certainly the progress made is there for all to see, particularly in the victory over Spain who had been on an good run up until that point," Gardner told CNN.

"Undoubtedly things have moved on a great deal since the World Cup was staged here in 1994, but if you look at the bigger picture there is perhaps a slight sense of underachievement because of the huge resources available.

"In terms of organization, facilities and sheer participation numbers the U.S. has massive potential which has not quite yet been matched by what has happened at national level."

Does the Hispanic community hold the key for the future of U.S. football? Sound Off here.

Crucially Gardner believes that for the U.S. to shake the tag of nearly men there must be a stronger emphasis placed on tapping into the abundance of talent provided within the country's Hispanic population.

"The experience that players have gained from playing in Europe has improved the players and Bob Bradley has molded a side which can hold it's own against some of the bigger nations," Gardner explained.

"But for the U.S. to become a real force then it must begin to tap into the quality of talent available in the Hispanic community which can be nurtured to take the game to the next level.

"The Major Soccer League has yet to really embrace this idea and I think that needs to change in the first instance to enable the development of players capable of winning matches at the very top.

 "MLS side Houston Dynamo is a case in point. Something like 50 percent of their support is Hispanic, 90 percent of their youth talent is Hispanic but have only have a few Hispanic players in the team.

"And that extends to the national team. The composition of the side at the moment is very much the team that Bob Bradley and Bruce Arena built and they -- like a number of MLS coaches -- have gone for players they can trust and rely on.

"The Hispanic players have the game in their blood and their skill and technical levels need to be embraced rather than maybe having a dependence on players who fit a specific system."

For Gardner, at least, it seems that development of the Hispanic talent must therefore become a keystone policy for the U.S. Soccer Federation to put them into the bracket of serious World Cup contenders in years to come.

But what of their chances at next year's World Cup in South Africa?

He added: "The U.S. should not get carried way with their performance at the Confederations Cup and the players should not look beyond getting past the group stages in South Africa.

"A good run in Japan and South Korea in 2002 was followed by elimination before the knockout phase in Germany 2006 so they need to be cautious.

"Winning the World Cup will probably be beyond the U.S. next year. Bradley will make them a difficult team to beat, and I don't think anyone will get an easy game against them so it will be interesting to see how they do."

Source: CNN