In 1971, President Richard Nixon said: “Latin America doesn’t matter. People don’t give a damn about Latin America.” He may have been right then, but not now.

Both the United States and Brazil are continental in size, and the rest of the Western Hemisphere consists of countries and colonies where people speak Spanish, French, Creole, Dutch, Papiamento, English, Portuguese, or an indigenous Indian language.

In the United States, there are states as different as tiny New Hampshire and huge California. In Latin America, there are lands as different as Indian and mestizo Guatemala and lily-white Argentina. Argentina has always been an enigma. Its people are so white and European that they joke that they are really Italians who speak Spanish but would like to be Germans or Englishmen. READ MORE AT AMERICAN THINKER

Reaching Hispanics in the United States presents challenges and opportunities that are not present when marketing to or communicating with a Latin American audience. There is a wide range of levels of acculturation in the US Hispanic population, ranging from immigrants who have just arrived in the country and can’t speak English, to people who are third, fourth, and beyond generations and speak English far better than Spanish—or who may not speak Spanish at all—yet are of Latino descent.

With that in mind, here are five important keys to successful US Hispanic content marketing: READ MORE AT CONTENT STANDARD

The prevailing wisdom is that investment in the Hispanic market is a growth move by marketers looking to increase their revenue and market share. However, I have quietly noticed a trend during the last few years that leads me to question the motives behind these investments. Has increased Hispanic market investment been a defensive move?

If you look closely at the brands and industries that are spending the most and increasing their investment against the Hispanic market, they have something in common: Many of them are facing significant challenges in the form of:

• Changing consumer preferences — towards healthier, natural, local and artisanal products READ MORE AT MEDIAPOST

I remember the day I told my parents I was pregnant. It was 1997, the fall of my junior year of high school. We had immigrated to the U.S. from Mexico a little over a decade earlier. We — my parents, my siblings and I (plus some extended family) — lived in a cramped two-bedroom apartment outside of Los Angeles. My parents worked at a bungee cord factory.

When I broke the news, my mother, who has a second grade education, wept. “I thought you wanted to go college,” my father said softly. “What about your education?”

All along, college had been my plan. I took many AP courses, was ranked second in a class of more than 700, and my SAT scores were high. At that moment, though, college seemed a distant dream. READ MORE AT 90.9WBUR

For many businesses to continue to grow and thrive, it takes more than just excellent products and services. It takes building awareness and a loyal customer base. It also requires patience and resilience to make it through the difficult times. And it takes building a community of partners, contacts and allies for continued success.

There is no substitute for a great network, even as our definition of what makes a network becomes more elastic as our preferred ways of connecting and sharing information evolve over time and in response to new technology (Twitter follower? Facebook Friend? LinkedIn Connection?). Here are our 5 favorite tips for networking better this year to help you build that community.

1. Attend Events Across Industries

If you are looking to build a network in your local business community, don’t limit yourself to events related to your specific business type or industry. READ MORE AT BUSINESS2COMMUNITY

It is no secret that Hispanics and African Americans are continuously missing in tech companies, especially in Silicon Valley, which is home to some of the world’s most powerful tech companies.

Google is looking to change that with a new pilot program called CODE2040 in three cities, Chicago, Austin and Durham, N.C.

The San Francisco nonprofit will give minority entrepreneurs in each city a one-year stipend, free office space, a trip to Google headquarters in Mountain View, mentoring from entrepreneurs through Google For Entrepreneurs and Code2040’s network and support from CODE2040 on building their diversity programs, according to USA Today. READ MORE AT VOXXI

Nearly three-quarters of all Hispanics (74 percent) say they feel better positioned financially than they were three years ago, and that may be better prepared for potential financial crises.

So reports Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company (MassMutual) in a new report, "Financial Resiliency,” which examines perceptions Hispanics have of their finances today as compared to the past and how prepared they are for emergencies. READ MORE AT LIFEHEALTHPRO

Hispanics are the only major U.S. race or ethnic group whose employment level has returned to pre-recession levels, The New York Times reports. The report notes that employment among Hispanics increased 5 percent over the last year, a surge driven in part by the recovering construction industry.

"The construction industry as a whole gained over half a million jobs (in 2014), about 20 percent of all the jobs created in the United States economy," the report states. READ MORE AT NOLA.COM

March typically marks the beginning of the spring-cleaning season, when we start to shake off the winter doldrums, open up the windows and roll up our sleeves to scrub away the dirt and cobwebs.

But cleaning house right now may not only be good for your abode—it could also prove beneficial to your career.

And it looks like a lot of us could use a little "spring forward" when it comes to our professional lives.

According to recent Gallup research, 2014 was a bit of a ho-hum career year: Slightly less than a third of U.S. working adults surveyed said they felt engaged at their jobs. READ MORE AT FAST COMPANY

Your network is useful to you at different stages in your working life so it’s vital that you find time to keep nurturing it. If you neglect your network when you think you don’t need it, it will neglect you when you need it most.

Everyone hates that one person in their network who only gets in touch when they need something. Here’s why you need to continuously nurture your network.

1. Networks grow in value

Your network is an asset that’s constantly increasing in value. As you grow older and wiser so do your contacts. You want to be able to tap into that collective maturity and wisdom at any time. READ MORE AT RECRUITER

“The single biggest problem in communication is the illusion that it is has taken place,” said the famous playwright George Bernard Shaw. Although many U.S. retailers believe they are communicating their message to the American people, there is one community they all too often miss -- the country’s Hispanic community -- and that’s too bad.

One good reason is the numbers: One merely has to look at them to grasp the gravity of this lapse. Some 56 percent of the growth in the U.S. population over the last decade has come from the Hispanic community, according to the Pew Research Center. READ MORE AT ENTREPRENEUR

Are leaders born or made? This is a debate as timeless as the question “Which came first: the chicken or the egg?”

Some people think leaders are born—they naturally possess the social intelligence and charisma that motivates others to work together. Others believe that leaders are made—they build their skills with practice, experience and mentoring.

So which is it—born or made? READ MORE AT FORBES

The boating industry wants to see more Hispanics enjoying the waterways.

Boat manufacturers, dealers and suppliers know their future depends on boosting business among the country's largest minority group, at 17 percent of the population. By 2050, Latinos will double in number to 106 million, or nearly 27 percent of U.S. residents, the census projects.

Yet today, Hispanics go boating — whether owning, renting or chartering — proportionally less than other groups. For power-boats, just 4.9 percent of Latinos nationwide go, compared with 7.5 percent of all others, according to research from the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation of Arlington, Va. READ MORE AT THE SUN SENTINEL

In three terms representing Colorado in Congress, John Salazar got used to angry voters calling him a Mexican and not a proper American. During fights over the Obamacare health-insurance law, a constituent told him to “go back where you came from”. The attacks were misplaced. Mr Salazar is proud of his Hispanic heritage, but he comes from a place with deeper American roots than the United States. One of his ancestors, Juan de Oñate y Salazar, co-founded the city of Santa Fe in New Mexico. That was in 1598, some 250 years before it became American territory (and the best part of a decade before English merchant-adventurers splashed ashore at Jamestown, Virginia). A laconic man in denims and cowboy hat, Mr Salazar is a fifth-generation Colorado rancher, farming the same corner of the San Luis valley that his great-grandfather settled 150 years ago, just when Mexico ceded the territory to America. As families like the Salazars put it, they never crossed the border, the border crossed them. READ MORE AT THE ECONOMIST

The Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC) is welcoming their newest edition to their team Roberto Escalante. He will be taking on the position of IHCC’s-”Chief Operating Officer.” Roberto is incredibly knowledgeable and will contribute his business expertise to his new role.

Escalante has been serving as a Director of the USDOTs Great Lakes Region Small Business Transportation Resource Center, for the last 5 years. Prior to joining the Chamber, Escalante has spent over 20 years in a variety of corporate management positions all around the U.S. READ MORE AT NEGOCIOS NOW WEBSITE

Last week, Governor Bruce Rauner appointed Arabel Alva Rosales to the Chicago Transit Authority’s Board of Directors. Rosales is the President & CEO of AAR & Assocs., Ltd., an IHCC Executive Member. She also serves on IHCC’s Board of Directors. We are very excited to see Arabel in another prominent leadership position in the community. Check out the excerpt from the Office of the Governor’s announcement.

“Governor Bruce Rauner has selected Arabel Alva Rosales to the Chicago Transit Authority Board of Directors. She is an entrepreneur, a leader in the Hispanic community and has 15 years of state government experience.

Currently, Rosales is the president and CEO of A. Alva Rosales & Associates, which is a technology firm specializing in project management, technology-based marketing and developing technology infrastructure. READ MORE AT ILLINOIS HISPANIC CHAMBER OF COMMERCE WEBSITE

With more than a decade of experience leading entrepreneurs in diversity and inclusion markets, Gerardo Rodriguez has championed tasks to instill sound teaming ventures, develop strategic business alliances, and ensure all small diverse businesses benefit from diversity programs within major corporations and government agencies.

During his tenure as a professional business advisor at the Chicago Urban League and Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Gerardo successfully assisted businesses in obtaining more than $100 million in contracts awarded, creating more than 150 jobs and retaining 300 positions. This represents an increased number of successful and sustainable suppliers for government agencies and private corporations, resulting in greater competition, higher quality goods and a more diverse supply chain for our ever growing economy. READ MORE AT GLCHAMBER.ORG

From 1980 until 2010, while the Latino population in the United States was skyrocketing, the number of Latino physicians, per capita, dropped precipitously, according to a new national study.

The nation’s Latino population rose 243 percent between 1980 and 2010, the study of detailed census data found. During that same period, the number of Latino medical doctors per 100,000 Latino residents declined 22 percent, creating a shortage of physicians with many of the language and cultural skills needed to serve the Spanish-speaking community.

In 1980, the country had 135 Latino physicians for every 100,000 Latinos in the country, but 30 years later, that figure had fallen to 105 per 100,000. At the same time, the national rate of non-Hispanic white doctors increased from 211 for every 100,000 non-Hispanic whites to 315. READ MORE AT ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL

Latinos have been getting hired for new jobs at a faster pace than any other group according to job figures released earlier this month. The increase in employment is largely driven by two components: a construction boom in states like Texas, lower rates of immigration from places like Mexico. The rate of retiring of Anglo baby boomers is also helping out.

However the most noticeable driver is the million or so new jobs created in the building industry which led to some 315,000 new construction jobs in the United States going to a Hispanic employee. READ MORE AT LA VOZ DE HOUSTON

The cultural demographic shift in the United States is about the workplace and marketplace telling us it’s becoming less about the business defining the individual and more about the individual defining the business. This is exactly what Hispanics are awakening corporations to, as they begin to recognize that young professionals entering the workforce are in search of the right career and employer who will allow them to be their most authentic selves.

This equally holds true to those Hispanic professionals who have been battling the gulf between assimilation and authenticity for years – and are now ready to advance as 21st century leaders by allowing the influence of their cultural values to empower the natural ways they think, act and are motivated to perform at work. READ MORE AT FORBES