NPR has recently started a new series called "2 Languages, Many Voices: Latinos In The U.S." Pop culture will be one of many elements the series examines, as it does in a timeline out today, From Ricky Ricardo To Dora: Latinos On Television. While that's a more comprehensive look at everyone from Freddie Prinze to Sofia Vergara, in this short essay, Luis Clemens reflects on why hearing Spanish spoken on television made an impression on him as a kid in Miami. Stay tuned for more from this series.

I remember being wowed the first time I heard Spanish spoken on English-language television. It was a 1970s re-run of an I Love Lucy episode. I do not remember what was said. Just that Ricky Ricardo said it en español. And I remember how it made me feel — wondrous, proud, confused.

I was confused because it was disorienting to hear Spanish used on English-language television. As a Cuban-American kid growing up in Miami, I watched English and Spanish-language television but the two languages didn't overlap on-screen. There was the local newscast and then there was el noticiero local; each in a separate tongue and each with a different worldview. READ MORE

Finally, an advisory commission that can compete on Dancing With the Stars.

President Obama has appointed Colombian-born pop sensation Shakira to his Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for Hispanics.

Known as an accomplished collaborator -- her artistic accomplices include Beyonce and Wyclef Jean -- she will now be set to work making sweet educational policy music with the likes of Montgomery County Councilwoman Nancy Navarro and Arizona local school district superintendent Kent Scribner.

In naming Shakira, the White House cited her record founding a group, the Barefoot Foundation, which operates schools in Latin America and South Africa, as well as her work with the World Bank on educational programs. READ MORE

The Warriors Running Group was started by Joseph N Sobus to bring people of different backgrounds who shared a common passion for running. The Warriors is a free running group that promotes healthy living, supports various charities and local businesses. This is the first running group to represent the Latino community and the Pilsen community in the 2011 Chicago Marathon.

There has been many inspiring moments for this season ranging from seeing our members on the Marathon’s billboards to having everyone in the group reaching their goals. Collectively, we have raised thousands of dollars for charities like Children’s Memorial, Back on Your Feet, Special Olympics and Susan Komen foundation. The thing that we are most proud of this season we have created a group with no hidden agendas other than to help others to reach their goals.

Next season, we will be breaking our group into two different teams: one that will be focusing on the Chicago Marathon and the other that will training for the Men’s Health Urbanathon.

We would like to thank our sponsors but most of all Second Federal Saving Bank for creating our team uniform. The Warriors would like to invite everyone to cheer us on at the finish line and join us next season.

Learn more about the Warriors Running Group and join them for a run! Click here to visit the facebook group.

Watch Warriors Running Group Bank of America Marathon video:

The proportion of U.S. Hispanics with college degrees in 2009 was 19.2 percent, far lower than the 41.1 percent figure for the population as a whole, which indicates an alarming lack of progress.

The situation is shown in detail by The College Completion Agenda Progress Report 2011: Latino Edition, released Friday in Miami by the College Board Advocacy & Policy Center.

The report shows that a very limited proportion of Latinos go to college and even fewer earn degrees.

All that in spite of the fact that young Hispanics make up the largest minority group in K-12 schools and is the fastest-growing student segment, according to the College Board, which represents more than 5,000 universities in the United States.

"It's a very worrying situation, very serious, but it can be fixed" because the reason for it all is the lack of information among Hispanic families, Dr. Eduardo J. Padron, president of Miami-Dade College where the report was presented, told Efe.

"College completion is a national imperative," he said. "It is the key to improving our nation's economy. Each additional person with a college credential has a significant multiplier effect on the economy."

Latino families "have to make getting a college education for their children a priority, not buying a new car or making a trip to Africa," he said.

But the way things stand, he said, only a small number of Hispanic high school graduates go to college, and a large number of those "often drop out for a lack of funds and their need to get a job." READ MORE

Luis Reyes has been a keen observer of the Latino community over the last five decades. At the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College, he has conducted considerable research, but he has never witnessed anything like what he sees now.

"The Latino population has dispersed throughout the city," says Reyes.

Even though the number of Hispanics fell for the first time in Manhattan, the 2010 U.S. Census shows there are 2.3 million Latinos in the city, surging 8.1 percent from 10 years ago.

The Hispanic community now makes up 28.6 percent of the city's population, compared to whites who are 33.3 percent, blacks who are 22.8 percent and Asians who are 12.6 percent.

With a jump in the Dominican population, the Bronx for the first time is a majority Latino borough, at 53.5 percent.

Queens is 27.5 percent Latino, Manhattan is 25.4 percent Latino, Brooklyn is 20 percent Latino and Staten Island is now up to 17.3 percent Latino.

Reyes emigrated to the Bronx from Puerto Rico back in 1946, when he was just a toddler. He says while the numbers change, many problems remain the same.

"For 50 years, an ongoing problem was a high dropout rate and low graduation rate," says Reyes.

But even he could not have predicted not just the widespread of the Hispanic population or its diversity.

The latest census shows the city's 723,621 Puerto Ricans make up the largest group of Hispanics in the city.

The count also recorded 576,701 Dominicans, 343,468 South Americans, 319,263 Mexicans and 151,378 Central Americans.

The figures impress Luis Miranda, the founder and former president of the Hispanic Federation, an organization of social service agencies that tries to pick up where government falls off. READ MORE

To provide additional information and entertainment services to the Hispanic community, Verizon today launched two bilingual social media properties, each of them in English and Spanish, on Facebook and Twitter.

The Facebook fan page Somos Verizon FiOS (We Are Verizon FiOS) and the Twitter site @SomosFiOS (We Are FiOS) will engage Verizon's Hispanic audience by providing a forum for emerging technology that also offers the best in culturally relevant entertainment content and online community connections. The bilingual properties are only part of the story. The remaining story will be crafted by the fans and followers of Verizon FiOS service.

FiOS is Verizon's all-fiber-optic-based combination of home phone, the nation's fastest Internet and crystal-clear TV services. Somos Verizon FiOS and @SomosFiOS complement the FiOS bicultural website, www.EnciendeteFiOS.com , an informational site with versions in English and Spanish that users can easily toggle between.

"Our Facebook and Twitter pages are venues where Hispanics can learn, inform and share their opinions about technology and discuss how it is shaping the future of the things they feel most passionate about," said Orlando Zambrano, Verizon multicultural marketing manager. "We aim to fulfill our community's need to know about the latest and greatest trends of the future by preparing, empowering and inspiring them to learn, create and share their own vision."

Somos Verizon FiOS will kick off with a promotion in partnership with HBO Latino. People who become fans of the Facebook page can register in a sweepstakes for a VIP trip to Los Angeles and dinner with Ana de la Reguera, star of the HBO Latino series "Capadocia." Fans of Somos Verizon FiOS will be treated to regular content updates, promotions, customer support links, special offers and an interactive tab called MontajeFiOS, where fans can upload their photos into a mosaic and share with friends. A partnership with the Hispanic Scholarship Fund will provide educational and informational subject matter to inform users about college funding, educational opportunities and success stories.

On Oct. 11, @SomosFiOS will host its first of many Twitter parties to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. Attendees will discuss a variety of topics regarding culture, icons and lifestyle. There will be a chance for participants to win tech gadgets and gift cards, and five winners will be chosen.

"When reaching out to Hispanics, it's not only about language, it's about the overall experience," said Zambrano. "Verizon maintains a large presence in the Hispanic sphere, as many Hispanics crave technology, entertainment and community involvement - three big pillars for Somos Verizon FiOS and @SomosFiOS. We will continue to foster two-way dialogue between the brand and our Hispanic consumers through social media tools that allow customers to engage with FiOS on their own terms."

To experience these new Hispanic social media platforms firsthand, and to become a fan of the new Facebook page, visit www.facebook.com/SomosVerizonFiOS , and follow Verizon FiOS at www.twitter.com/SomosFiOS. READ MORE

Hispanic children are now the largest group of kids in poverty, marking the first time in U.S. history that poor white children are outnumbered by another race or ethnicity, the Pew Hispanic Center said in a report released on Wednesday.

There were 6.1 million Hispanic children living in poverty in 2010. More than two-thirds of them were born to immigrant parents, although the vast majority of the kids were born in the U.S.

Last year, 37.7 percent of children in poverty were Latino, 30.5 percent were white, and 26.6 percent were black, according to the study. Hispanics make up less than a quarter of children in the United States.

Rapid population growth, high birth rates, and deteriorating economic conditions among Latinos are responsible for the disproportionate percentage of Hispanic kids in poverty, the report said.

The Great Recession of 2007-2009 had a huge impact on the country’s Hispanic population. The unemployment rate among Latinos is 11.1 percent, higher than the national unemployment rate of 9.1 percent. Hispanics’ household wealth fell more sharply than that of black or white households between 2005 and 2009.

While there are a record number of Latino children in poverty, black children have the nation’s highest poverty rate, the report noted. Nearly 40 percent of black children lived in poverty in 2010, compared with 35 percent of Latino children and 12.4 percent of white children. Latino children, however, have seen the steepest increase in poverty rates since 2007. READ MORE

Photographer and filmmaker Timothy Greenfield-Sanders won acclaim three years ago after he directed the The Black List, a series of documentaries featuring prominent African-American leaders.

Now the legendary filmmaker from Miami is tackling Latinos in a new film and multi-media exhibit called The Latino List.

Music sensation Gloria Estefan, Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor and TV star Eva Longoria are among the 25 Latinos featured in the exhibit and documentary, which premieres on HBO Sept. 29 and on HBO Latino Sept. 28.

A photo and video exhibit of the same name is on display until Dec. 11th at the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

Greenfield-Sanders said he tried to include Latinos from all ethnic and professional backgrounds, including authors, politicians and astronauts, as well as big-name artists like America Ferrera. READ MORE

National Hispanic Heritage Month kicked off Sept. 15 and continues through Oct. 15, and perhaps nowhere else in the nation is this heritage displayed more proudly and reverently than New Mexico.

But we as New Mexicans can do more.

As President Barack Obama noted in a Sept. 15 proclamation of the month from the White House, "Hispanics have always been integral to our national story. America is a richer and more vibrant country because of the contributions of Hispanics, and during National Hispanic Heritage Month, we celebrate the immeasurable impact they have made on our nation."

The president also mentioned in the proclamation that "Our country thrives on the diversity and ingenuity of all our people," and the Land of Enchantment reflects that.

I grew up in Santa Fe in the mid-1950s and 1960s, and the city was very unlike what it is today. It was not yet a premier tourist destination or world-class art and culture center; it was pretty insular. Through the eyes of a child, it was a quiet, racially homogenous town.

When I arrived as a student at New Mexico State University in 1969, a whole new world opened up. It looked like the United Nations to me. People of every race, background and religion were next to me in class and in the dormitories. Even Hispanics from other parts of New Mexico arrived with different views and a life different from my own.

We know about ethnic and cultural diversity, but we also should consider diversity of thought, ideas and heart. If universities are a modern crossroads of diverse people, ideas and thought, then we should be creating an environment that challenges and transforms the hearts, minds and actions of its members. Without diversity the university does not reflect, or relate to, society at large.

I commend NMSU president Barbara Couture for recognizing diversity as a key to success, to "strengthen our commitment to diversity of faculty, staff and students, anchoring our path to excellence in an unwavering commitment to access and tolerance." NMSU has risen to the challenge of meeting -- and exceeding -- this goal. READ MORE

Long recognizing the opportunities that exist with the burgeoning Hispanic market, State Farm continues to over-index when it comes to ad expenditures against Latinos.
State Farm advertising director Ed Gold, pointing out that 4,500 of the insurance company's 18,000 agent offices nationwide are bilingual, said "we didn't need the 2000 or the 2010 Census to tell us that the Hispanic market is growing. Our agents have been telling us they need Hispanic marketing materials to sell their products."

To that end, Gold, speaking during a keynote interview during B&C/ Multichannel News's ninth annual Hispanic Television Summit here Tuesday morning, said that State Farm budgets about 20% of its ad expenditures toward the U.S. Latino market. Multichannel News editor in chief Mark Robichaux, who conducted the interview, pointed out that while Hispanics represent 16% of the U.S. population, only 4.5% of marketers' ad dollars target this growing group.

Gold, who noted that State Farm ran its first commercial aimed at Hispanics in 1996, said the insurer still sees great growth opportunities within this ethnic segment overall, and particularly those among the 18-to-29 set, who upon moving out of their parents' abodes, are making their first decisions about auto and rental insurance.

"There is a lot of generation to generation" business in the insurance world, "but if we don't get them now, we may never get them," he said, adding that much of State Farm's ad activity against young Hispanic adults is cross-cultural.

With people willing to shop insurance by price and Geico and Progressive engaging in aggressive campaigns thereunto, State Farm and All State have also lifted their spending. All told, insurance category spending jumped 16.2% to some $3.4 billion in 2010, with TV accounting for over three-fourths of that outlay.
Relative to auto insurance spending aimed at Hispanics, Gold said State Farm is the overall sector leader. Last year, overall Hispanic TV ad spending by the auto insurance category reached $198 million, a 21.3% drive from $163 million the prior year, which was down 8.8% from $179 million in 2008. During a post-presentation interview, Gold said State Farm accounts for close to 50% of sector spending here.
During his keynote, Gold said that Hispanic market has a passion for sports, notably soccer. "The World Cup may be a big deal for the general market, but it's a huge deal for Hispanics. For them, it's not just the U.S. team," he said. READ MORE

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

The "Latin doll" stereotype is getting a makeover, and although stilettos might be part of the new outfit, the smartphone and laptop are essential items.

The digital Latina is taking social media by storm, over-indexing other demographic groups in the growth and use of social media, from twitter to social network sites. Around 2009, the blogosphere witnessed an explosion of Latina bloggers. Today, Blogs by Latina, a blog directory, has over 1,600 entries, since launching in 2009.

This proliferation of Latina blogs makes total sense. Historically, Latinas have been silenced by circumstances or lack of a socialcultural podium. Who she is and what she wants have been defined by caricature archetypes constructed by traditional mass media. She has no diversity on television and print, often existing as either a sexy, loud and passionate girl or an older, submissive, heavy-accented woman.

But the emergence of social media has offered fertile grounds to Latina women craving to self-express and redefine her image. It's become an effective platform to amplify her voice, thoughts, opinions and views. She's creating her own content and writing her own story. Through blogging and online publishing, she's producing a collective of digital voices that is honest, real, smart and empowering. The result? An illumination of the pluralistic identify of Latinas. 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

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

President Obama addressed the National Council of La Raza, the nation’s largest Hispanic civil rights organization in a visit Monday that underscored the growing importance of a voting demographic that at one time felt ignored.

In his speech, Obama acknowledged that the recent recession hurt Hispanic communities more than many others and asked for patience.

“I don't need to tell you Latino unemployment is painfully high. And there’s no doubt that this economy has not recovered as fast as it needs to. The truth is it’s going to take more time.”

Hispanic Republicans say that patience with the president and the Democratic Party is wearing thin.

“The unemployment rate among Hispanics right now is at 11.6 percent,” the Republican National Committee’s Victoria Martinez points out. “This is considerably higher than the national unemployment rate, which just recently ticked up to 9.2 percent. Hispanic voters are very aware. They want to see President Obama start to support policies that are going to spur job creation, that are going to get them back to work.”

Hispanics turned out in big numbers for Obama in the 2008 election. But in the 2010 elections, many of them stayed home, and many of those who showed up at the polls voted for Republicans.

“Every single freshman Hispanic member of Congress elected in 2010 was a Republican,” Martinez says. “Now this was in great part because the Republican message is obviously resonating within these communities.”

This month, the RNC released an English-language TV ad along with Spanish-language radio ads aimed directly at Hispanics in Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico. Around the same time, Karl Rove’s Crossroads America also released a Spanish-language TV ad. READ MORE