Hispanics are poorer—much poorer—thanks in part to the recession that took jobs and homes, according to a Pew Hispanic poll. The study, which analyzed 2010 census numbers, reveals that the median wealth of Latino households plummeted 66 percent from 2005 to 2009, the biggest drop of any racial or ethnic group. Asians’ dropped 54 percent and African Americans’ wealth dropped by 53 percent. Whites’ wealth fell by just 16 percent. The precipitous declines constitute the biggest wealth disparities recorded since the Census Bureau began collecting the figures 25 years ago. The biggest reason for the Hispanic figures: the housing market bust, in which many Latinos, whose median net worth was due to home equity in 2005 by almost two thirds, lost their homes. READ MORE

As someone who worked on the State Farm account for a few years, I view the company’s latest concept with more than a casual interest. The company with the familiar “Like a good neighbor…” jingle is about to launch an entirely new retail idea smack dab in the middle of my neighborhood in Lakeview. And at least at a first glance, I think they’re on to something good that more in the insurance industry might want to take a closer look at doing themselves.

State Farm Next Door opens August 1st and the concept is a more open, casual community space that offers free Wi-Fi and coffee (via its Next Door Cafe) as well as personalized coaching/small group classes on financial matters that range from paying off student loans to learning how to budget your finances.

This may not seem like a huge departure from the typical agent office, but it is. Here’s why. For a long time, State Farm talked about the fact that their agents live in the same community as their customers. Which is normal. But even though you can continuously say, “We live where you live,” there’s nothing quite like actually demonstrating it visibly by being more of a central hub.

Plus, there will be no actual insurance sold at State Farm Next Door so they aren’t cannibalizing their own agents’ efforts by selling policies here. There will be financial consultants and all the services at Next Door are free. Personally, I think the latter part of that sentence is important for bringing down some barriers among younger people who would normally walk on by because they don’t see the point in planning when they don’t even have the funds to pay for ongoing classes.

Stepping out of the “Auto/Home/Life” rate rut.

Let’s be honest. You first walk into or call State Farm, Allstate, Farmer’s, etc. because you have a need for auto, home or life insurance. You need to get covered, you compare rates, you buy. You don’t like your rate after a while? You look around, you compare again, you buy.

Fighting a branding battle based on rates doesn’t benefit State Farm. I never thought it has. It’s territory that Geico and Progressive have owned quite well for years. Even when State Farm talks about the dangers of “cut-rate car insurance,” they’re still planting the seed of shopping based on rates and playing into the hands of their competitors.READ MORE

New polling figures show that Hispanics age 18–29 prefer spending cuts to more taxes as a primary solution to solving the federal debt crisis. Generation Opportunity, a nonprofit organization that educates, engages and mobilizes young people in the political process, released the figures Monday.

In the April the polling Company/WomenTrend poll, Hispanic young adults said they prefer “reducing federal spending” by 69 percent, compared with 27 percent who would rather “raise taxes on individuals” in order to balance the budget, a nearly three-to-one ratio.

The majority of young Hispanics polled, 56 percent, also agreed with the statement that “if taxes on business profits were reduced, companies would be more likely to hire.”

“Young Americans in every community across the nation have been negatively impacted by unemployment and the lack of opportunity, especially within the Hispanic community,” said Paul T. Conway, president of Generation Opportunity and a former Chief of Staff of the United States Department of Labor. “They know the solution to recovery is not more federal spending, taxes and interference with those who have the courage and resources to create jobs.” READ MORE

The White House hosted yet another inconsequential Latino summit last week, with dozens of community leaders from across the country. The purpose of this Hispanic Policy Conference, according to White House Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Cecilia Muñoz, was “more for us to listen and not for us to talk.” But what are they going to hear that they don’t already know about what Latinos expect from President Barack Obama?

This conclave was more about politics than substance. As the president formally kicks off his reelection campaign, he has begun a well-coordinated effort to reconnect with Latinos — after paying little attention to them since he took office.


This meeting was the latest installment in a series of events, speeches and visits orchestrated by the White House to show the president remains committed to the Latino community.

Not surprisingly, the White House ensures that these events generate as much Spanish-language media coverage as possible. To its credit, the administration understands the power of the Spanish language media. Latinos, even those whose primary language is English, listen to radio and TV broadcasts in Spanish.

The artfulness of this strategy became clear in April, when Obama held a meeting to discuss immigration with leading Spanish TV and radio personalities and other Latino luminaries. White House guests included the actress Eva Longoria of “Desperate Housewives,” Eddie “Piolin” Sotelo, the host of the No. 1 show in Hispanic radio, and the celebrated Don Francisco, host of the variety show “Sabado Gigante” on Univision.

It’s questionable that these celebrities can move Congress to address this issue. But they are influential with their respective audiences. Indeed, some told their fans about the honor of being invited to this “important” summit — as well as their respect for the president. READ MORE

Among Latinos living in the United States, acculturation is associated with sunscreen use, but not with use of sun-protective clothing.

According to background information to a report in the July issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals, DNA damage and skin cancer are an important health issue for U.S. Latinos. Their annual age-adjusted incidence of melanoma is 4.5 per 100,000, which represents an increase of 28.6 percent since 1992. Further, when melanoma is diagnosed, it tends to be thicker among Latinos than among non-Latino white individuals. Acculturation, defined as use of the English language and length of residence in the United States, may affect this population's efforts to avoid sun-related health problems, note the authors: "Acculturated Latinos might have increased exposure to sun safety information via health care access, education, and expanded social networks but display decreased engagement in some sun-safe behaviors."

Valentina A. Andreeva, Ph.D., from the University of Paris XIII in Bobigny, France, who conducted research at the University of Southern California, and colleagues examined cross-sectional data from the National Cancer Institute's 2005 Health Information National Trends Survey. Four-hundred ninety-six Latino respondents answered questions about sun-safe behaviors: wearing sunscreen, long-sleeved shirts and long pants and staying in shade when outside for at least one hour on warm, sunny days. Acculturation was determined by preferred language for the interview, perceived comfort with the English language and, for foreign-born respondents, age at U.S. arrival and duration of U.S. residence. Researchers also asked about health care access, educational level and social support from community organizations, family or friends, neighbors and religious institutions. The study focused on mediated associations. READ MORE

Mobile is the fastest-growing platform in the world. In the U.S., for example, there are more than 290 million mobile subscribers. And this growth is not only about penetration. It's reshaping the way consumers use their devices. The mobile industry estimates that, by the end of this year, almost 90 percent of all new phones sold in America will be smartphones.

In that same direction, according to Google, mobile web traffic will surpass PC traffic in 2013. It's clear that, for marketers, mobile marketing represents a powerful tool whose role needs to be redefined.

Digital Divide or Digital Conquest?

In the past months, many experts have been talking about a digital divide among Latinos. The notion that many Latinos are using their mobile device as the main, and many times only, way of accessing the Internet created a lot of reactions. Some say that this audience is losing a bigger, more complex experience by browsing the web via mobile instead of a regular PC.

When you analyze the smartphone penetration, almost half of Latinos own a smartphone, a much higher percentage than the general population. Important to note, 65 percent of Latinos use their handset as their primary access to the Internet. Even for its original purpose, talking, 60 percent of Latinos use their mobile phone as their primary phone service. Jokes aside, Latinos have a love affair with their mobile phones: 75 percent of adult Hispanics sleep with their phone.

If we go back to Google's projection on how the web is becoming mobile, it seems to me, more than a digital divide, Latinos are leading (or conquering) this new trend. READ MORE

The remaking of the New York Red Bulls gathers speed. That is to say it gets faster, but it is difficult to work out whether this headlong rush for change has any direction to it.

Any intelligent direction, I mean. There are various possibilities, none of which exactly recommends itself as an example of brilliant planning.

There is, for a start the possibility that the Bulls management has decided that Americans don’t know anything about soccer, that all the soccer wisdom in the world resides in Europe, and in Northern Europe at that. So, at the beginning of the season (Feb. 28) we saw the sudden (significantly, that word crops up repeatedly) firing of assistant coach Richie Williams, along with goalkeeper coach Des McAleenan (an American resident at least since 1988). The reasons? The Bulls had “decided to go a different direction with our coaching staff” said general manager Erik Soler. A standard PR banality that could mean anything, an empty, almost insulting evasion in place of an explanation. Around the same time another longtime American employee, Jeff Agoos -- the team’s Sporting Director -- also left the club.

Something similar has happened within the past week, with the news that two more longtime Red Bull employees, Ernesto Motta and Robert Sierra, have been -- suddenly -- “let go.” Motta and Sierra were the Latino, Spanish-speaking arm of the club, the link with the local Hispanic communities.

This move, we are told, is part of a “reorganization within the club.” Evidently, a reorganization that downgrades the importance of Hispanic fans. That does not come as a surprise. If Hispanic fans meant anything at all to the club, that would be reflected in on the field.

It is not. Ever since the arrival of the Swede Hans Backe the club has been moving steadily away from Hispanic players, from any sign of Hispanic influence. At the press conference introducing Backe, I asked whether his arrival meant -- along with the presence of Soler, who is Norwegian -- that we would now have a Scandinavian, even Norwegian style team? As I recall, my question was framed in a way that left no doubt that I considered such a possibility to be a disaster. Soler answered, denying such a happening, indeed, scoffing at the idea.

Well, now. We have Soler and Backe. We have Backe’s assistant Jans Halvor Halvorsen, a Norwegian, who replaced Goran Aral, a Swede. On the field, we have the Estonian Joel Lindpere, the Finn Teemu Tainio, and the Norwegian Jan Gunnar Solli. Recently joined by the German goalkeeper Frank Rost. READ MORE

This has been a very intense week for social media marketing. First, Google announces its second attempt in social media by launching Google+ in a direct effort to take on Facebook. Then, MySpace is sold and will be relaunched with Justin Timberlake as creative consultant. It's clear that everyone wants a piece of the pie of this fast-growing social networking market.

With a Little Help From My Friends

In their attempts to compete versus Facebook, both Google+ and MySpace could also use some help. And Latina moms can be very helpful.

Consider the following facts:

•Hispanic moms are one of the fastest growing demographics online.
•Eighty-two percent of mid- and high-acculturated Latino moms are online.
•Virtually 100 percent of Hispanic moms online are engaged in social networking.
•Eighty-four percent of Hispanic moms are on Facebook.
•Their presence in MySpace is 40 percent higher than white moms (29 percent reach).
These moms rely on family and peer advice, and social networks let them extend their circle of trust. Sixty-eight percent trust word-of-mouth conversations related to brands and marketing activities.

And that's exactly one of the key components that Google can leverage to benefit from this specific segment. Google+ offers Circles, which helps compartmentalize all the people in your life. Google argues that putting everyone under the "friends" label can hurt the ability to share (it can be sloppy and insensitive, according to the search giant). READ MORE

White House representatives were visiting New York on Friday as part of an initiative to improve education for Hispanic students, who make up close to 22 percent of the nation's public school population.

"We're in crisis in the Latino community in terms of education," Jose Rico, deputy director of the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, told Efe.

Rico accompanied the executive director of the program, Juan Sepulveda, on a visit to four New York schools.

Recent studies indicate that even though Latino students have boosted their academic achievements over the last 10 years, they are still the farthest behind compared with other ethnic groups.

Only half of Latinos who start high school graduate on schedule and of those, only about half are prepared for college.

According to Rico, one of the reasons Latinos fall behind academically is the fact that they usually go to the poorest schools with the fewest resources.

He also said that young people don't have leaders, people that push them to continue their studies and help them understand the university system and the scholarships available, and who give them the support they need to meet their academic challenges.

"We know that only about 13 percent of Latino adults have a college or university diploma. It's the biggest minority but young people don't have anyone to guide them into the university system and give them the emotional and social support they need," Rico said. READ MORE

It’s no secret that Facebook has been mostly white since its inception. The social media site was founded at Harvard University and quickly expanded to other Ivy League schools across the nation, places that aren’t exactly known to be beacons of racial diversity. Until recently.

“Latino Facebook users grew 167 percent compared to 21 percent among non-Hispanics from April 2010 to April 2011 according to comScore,” said Juan Proaño, President of Plus Three, a web design and technology company that works with organizations to promote social change. They recently conducted a survey of social networking sites to determine the growth for Latinos.

Like many of their white counterparts, “Latinos are using Facebook to stay connected with family and friends and to stay connected with their identity,” Proaño said in a press release.

Plus Three also surveyed the top 1,000 Facebook fan pages and found 32 Latinos celebrities among the top 1,000. Only three Latinos broke into the top 100. Shakira was the top Latina celebrity with 35 million fans and ranked number eight on the overall list followed by Selena Gomez at number thirty-five and Enrique Iglesias at number forty-eight.

These demographic changes online can have lasting affects on social networking sites, and can even make sites more racially segregated.

danah boyd, Senior Researcher at Microsoft Research and a fellow at Harvard Law School’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society, studies social networking sites and other intersections between technology and society. She was one of the first to point out segregation in online social networks: READ MORE

The United States is walking a path to greater diversity. And younger people are leading the way.

For the first time in national history, the majority of young people in two states -- California and New Mexico -- now identify as Hispanic, according to census data released this year.

In eight additional states -- Nevada, Arizona, Texas, Mississippi, Georgia, Florida, Maryland and Hawaii -- white children are in the minority compared with peers from other racial and ethnic groups combined, according to data analyzed by William Frey at the Brookings Institution.

The number of white children in the United States actually shrank by 4.3 million kids from 2000 to 2010, according to the analysis.

Meanwhile, the number of Hispanic and Asian children grew by a total of 5.5 million. Hispanics made up the bulk of this growth.

"Were it not for Hispanics, the nation's child population would have declined," Frey writes in his report, titled "America's Diverse Future."

The trend is expected to continue, with changes first hitting people younger than 18, then spreading as generations age.

The U.S. Census Bureau, which has been releasing data about the makeup of the nation following its 2010 count, estimates America's young people will become "minority white" in 2023.

About two decades later, in 2042, the same will be true for adults. READ MORE

We conducted an interview with Larry Upton, Founder and President of Edioma, a provider of mobile phone and Internet-based language instruction products designed to help companies communicate more effectively with customers, employees and partners. Edioma’s clients include 7-Eleven.
Portada: How does Edioma teach major brands to learn the Spanish-language and cater to Hispanic customers?
Larry Upton: “As you may already know, US Hispanics are the fastest growing retail customer segment for many large CPG's (Consumer Packaged Goods Companies). However, traditional out-of-home marketing programs (e.g., print, broadcast, online) don't effectively target Spanish-dominant consumers. The resulting "language differences" often lead to a cross-cultural communications gap:

• Most 1st generation, Spanish-speaking customers don't read US publications (e.g., USA Today, WSJ, NYT) and often prefer Spanish-language programming (e.g., Univision, Telemundo) to traditional broadcast TV.

• English speaking service staffs often encounter problems communicating and doing business with Spanish speaking customers, not only from a language perspective, but likewise from a lack of "cultural understanding," i.e., the highly familiar, word-of-mouth based reference shared among Hispanics. Typically, the Hispanic consumer enters the US retailer hoping to be greeted, informed, and sold to based on a recommendation from a trusted friend/family member... not simply from an ad touting the virtues of one product/service over another. READ MORE

The world's brewing giants, struggling to eke out growth in the sluggish U.S. market, are stepping up their courtship of the country's Hispanics.

This summer, MillerCoors is rolling out bilingual packaging in the U.S., adding Spanish to the cartons that hold bottles or cans of its Coors Light and Miller Lite brands. It is also sponsoring a Mexican soccer league.

Anheuser-Busch InBev NV, which says its Bud Light and Budweiser are the top-selling brews among Hispanics in the U.S., is increasing its spending on ads in Spanish-language media. And it has struck a deal for Bud Light to sponsor Cuban-American rapper Pitbull's fall concert tour.

Meanwhile, companies like Heineken NV and Crown Imports LLC, which import popular Mexican lagers, are churning out new ads they hope will extend their brands' appeal to a broader Hispanic market.

The scramble comes as the U.S. beer industry appears to be headed for a third-straight year of declining sales volume, in part because high unemployment has damped the spending power of its core customers—men ages 21 to 34.

But the rivalry also reflects the long-term importance of Hispanic consumers. By 2030, Hispanics will account for 23% of the nation's legal-drinking-age population, up from 16% in 2010, according to U.S. Census Bureau forecasts. According to surveys by Crown Imports—whose brands include Corona Extra, the top-selling imported beer in the U.S.—Hispanics also tend to consume more beer on occasions when they drink than do non-Hispanics.

The main challenge brewers will face in wooing Hispanics is creating ads that feel authentic to them, says Juan Tornoe, a partner with Cultural Strategies Inc., an Austin, Texas, firm that specializes in multicultural marketing. The quality of beer ads aimed at Hispanics has varied widely over the years, he says. READ MORE

"Cowboys & Aliens," co-produced and co-written by Roberto Orci, will be the closing night gala presentation on July 25 at the 15th Los Angeles Latino Film Festival.
Universal releases pic wide on July 29.

"By showcasing 'Cowboys & Aliens,' we celebrate the accomplishments of our talent," said Marlene Dermer, the fest's executive director and programmer. "Roberto has become one of the most influential Latinos in Hollywood today."

Fest goes back to its original venue, the Egyptian Theater in Hollywood, where it will kick off Sunday.

Selection of 76 features, docus and shorts from 14 countries includes Gabriela Tagliavini's femme comedy "Without Men," starring Eva Longoria and Christian Slater, as part of the Maya Indie Film Series."Escribeme postales a Copacabana," by Bolvian helmer Thomas Kronthaler, and Cuban doc "Los 100 sones Cubanos," by Edesio Alejandro and Ruben Consuegra, will world preem at the fest, which also has six U.S. debuts.

Highlights include Gonzalo Justiniano's "Have You Seen Lupita?" toplined by Cristian de la Fuente. READ MORE

Just as the Tea Party drew heavily on a public backlash against government spending, another new political movement — the Tequila Party — aims to use the latest crackdown on illegal immigration to motivate Latinos to vote in 2012.

Arizona Republican DeeDee Garcia Blase formed the National Tequila Party Movement as an answer to a Tea Party influence she blames for increased political opposition to immigration.

The group has no aspirations to become a third political party. Its focus will be registering as many of the nation's 21 million voting-age Latinos as it can, targeting young voters in presidential battleground states.

Unlike the Tea Party groups, which have generally aligned with Republicans, the Tequila Party pledges no allegiance to either major party. Blase has dropped her affiliation as a lifelong Republican — and plans to resign as president of Somos Republicans — to protest the Republican-led immigration enforcement law passed in her home state of Arizona. The Tequila Party held its launch party in Tucson last month.

"It's been very, very frustrating. I'm embarrassed for the state of Arizona and the Republican Party there," Blase says. "I'm a Republican, but I'm a reasonable Republican." READ MORE

America's pastime, Latino at heartMLB has seen a remarkable rise in players from Latin America over the past two decades Eddie Perez arrived in the United States at age 17, bright-eyed and excited, thoughts of baseball greatness on his mind.

An incredible opportunity lay ahead of the youngster from Venezuela. He was a teenager with a professional contract with the Atlanta Braves — a storied franchise in the greatest baseball league on the planet. The Braves thought enough of his skills as a catcher to invite him to spring camp, and he had every intention of making a good first impression.

But as he walked through the airport and listened to all the unfamiliar words being spoken by the strange faces around him, he started to wonder: Now what?

Where do I go? Are they coming to pick me up? If not, how do I get out of this airport? How do I find my team?

Possessing no answers to the questions swirling in his head, Perez waited.

And as the noon sun moved through the sky and finally disappeared below the horizon, he sat in the airport, waiting for the ride that wasn’t coming.

It was 12 hours before Perez found help — a Spanish-speaking Samaritan who called him a cab — and the young catcher was finally able to embark on what would become an 11-year playing career.

“That was scary, it was bad,” recalls Perez, now the 43-year-old bullpen coach for the Braves. “I never told that story to my parents until later in the year because I didn’t want them to feel bad.” READ MORE

Bizantinismo...B-i-z-a-n-t-i-n-i-s-m-o...Bizantinismo!

That was the word that won it all for Evelyn Juárez, a seventh grade girl from Santa Cruz N.M. who won the first national Spanish spelling bee Saturday.

Juárez, of Carlos F. Vigil Middle School, won by correctly spelling the Spanish word "bizantinismo," which means excess luxury.

The runner-up German Rojero, of Los Lunas Middle School, misspelled "kanindeyuense," someone from a Paraguayan territory.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that the two each spelled about 20 words correctly to defeat nine other students, who hailed from as far away as Oregon and Texas though most were from New Mexico.


“We’re celebrating the multilingualism of America,” said Daniel Ward, editor of Language Magazine, one of the event’s sponsors, in a statement. “We’re recognizing that, like most of the world’s other children, [our kids will] need more than one language to succeed in our global village.”

By the numbers, Latinos would seem to have a leg up in this challenge: According to the Pew Hispanic Center, 33 percent of Latino households speak English and Spanish equally, and 17 percent are majority Spanish-language.

The inaugural bee was organized by the Alliance for Multilingual Multicultural Education (AMME) and the New Mexico Association for Bilingual Education (NMABE), and is modeled on the latter’s 15-year-old annual state Spanish Spelling Bee: Participants will be asked to spell out loud words randomly chosen from a list that had been provided to them beforehand.

From a linguistics standpoint, there’s been some snarking that the Spanish bee might be easier than the English one, since Spanish orthography is in general considered simpler. “In Spanish, every letter has a unique associated phoneme, so with very few exceptions, words are written exactly as they sound,” wrote the BBC. READ MORE

If you’ve come from Mexico to Palo Alto, Calif. and you work the night shift cleaning buildings at Stanford University, you might be surprised to learn that Stanford students are building a business to help you save money and plan for the future.
That’s the idea behind Juntos Finanzas, a start-up that began at the Stanford d.school. Juntos’ founder Ben Knelman was accepted to Stanford’s Launchpad and used the 10 week class to develop Juntos.

The year before, in another class, Knelman and some teammates had interviewed janitors who worked the night shift at Stanford and began hearing the same stories about money again and again: “I try to save all the time, but no matter how hard I try, nothing ever seems to change.”

The students proposed a simple experiment — try writing down your weekly cash outlays on a piece of paper. That simple experience of tracking expenditures ended up helping the janitors much more than they ever expected.

One of them learned that he was spending $200 a month on his children’s cell phone bills. Changing his plan saved him $70 a month, and inspired him to look for similar ways to save money on cable bills and car insurance.

Janitors using the tools told the Juntos team, “I have never felt this kind of control.. This is the first time, at the end of a week, I don’t feel anxiety about my money.” Knelman decided to launch a startup that would give more people that feeling. READ MORE

From July 1 through August 31, teens across the United States will have the chance to enter to win the Quince of their dreams as part of Verizon’s My Fabulous Quince contest. Eligible teens from 13 participating cities and surrounding areas (Los Angeles, San Diego, Fresno, El Paso, San Antonio, Houston, Dallas, Tampa, Miami, Albuquerque, Secaucus, Chicago and Washington, D.C.) can participate by submitting an essay online or at Verizon Wireless My Fabulous Quince expos. For details, visit: http://www.myfabulousquince.com. Thirteen winners will receive an all-expenses-paid Quince, as well as a college scholarship and Verizon products.

“At Verizon, we recognize that our customers celebrate different types of traditions. The Quince tradition marks a coming of age milestone for a young lady and has long been celebrated by Latino families across the United States. Although generally celebrated for girls, there are more 15-year-old boys celebrating this cultural event,” said Elva Lima, executive director of community relations and multicultural communications at Verizon Wireless. “This contest will give a young lady or man the Quince of their dreams. We encourage teens of all backgrounds to join us by participating in My Fabulous Quince.” READ MORE