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Eight summers ago, a fresh faced politician took to the podium for a keynote address at the Democratic convention that launched him onto the national stage and a path to the White House.

Among the viewers of then Sen. Barack Obama's national debut was Julian Castro, now mayor of San Antonio, who will follow in Obama’s footsteps as keynote speaker at the Democratic convention this year in Charlotte.

In picking Castro, Democrats are acknowledging the power of the Latino vote in the 2012 race for t

Joseph DeLaGarza has joined the Illinois Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (IHCC) as a Senior Business Counselor primarily assigned to work with the Minority Business Development Agency / Chicago Minority Business Center that IHCC operates in partnership with the Chicago Minority Supplier Development Council (CMSDC). In this role, he will assist Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) with the following:

- obtain certification as an MBE
- promote and connect them to Fortune 500 companies and other large

Nearly 150 years ago, St. Scholastica Academy opened its doors to educate German immigrants.

This September, the school will once again be a place of learning for immigrant children when the United Neighborhood Organization moves in and welcomes an anticipated 570 Latino immigrant students.

St. Scholastica announced Sunday that UNO signed on to lease most of the Rogers Park campus and open a new charter school Sept. 4. UNO is a Chicago-based organization focused on helping Latino children and fa

According to a recent AARP report, middle-aged and older Hispanics are having the hardest time coping with the Great Recession. About one in five of them have delayed retirement, and one in 10 have taken on a second job.

As the huge baby boom generation—78 million people in the United States born from 1946 through 196, about 10 percent of them Latino—reaches age 65, many aging Hispanics are continuing to work because they need the income. But others keep active willingly and like to inspire peop

The first thing you might notice when walking into Mi Pueblo Mexican Bakery is the aroma of freshly baked breads and burritos.

The next thing: laughter or friendly conversation coming from the store’s dining area, where friends gather for lunch or a quick snack after work.

On a recent Friday, two Spanish-speaking men sat at a table eating their lunch and laughing, while a woman ordered her meal in English and customers from various backgrounds shopped the market.

While Mi Pueblo sells a variety

As Mitt Romney heads off on his "Earning His Foreign Policy Chops" tour (Hit the Olympics opening. Check. Shake hands in Poland. Check. Look serious and concerned in Israel. Check.), the real election battle is in cyberspace. Especially the one aimed at young Latinos.

If you've been hit with loads of texts; your inbox has offers for T-shirts or dinner with Candidate X; and every time you open Facebook there, on the side is, a presidential-looking picture of a Candidate inviting you to "like" him

When many of us think of starting a business, we think of a long road ahead, a lot of sacrifice, and of course – the burning question – how to secure access to capital.

Every start up business requires seed money – some more than others. Interestingly enough, leveraging digital media to start an online business may be more affordable than one may think and I’m pleased to see that Latinas are jumping onboard this bandwagon early.

We already have several examples of Latina entrepreneurs that are r

Policymakers and education leaders laud students who finish their college degrees within the four-year ideal. But Mario Escalera, a University of Texas at San Antonio student, will be glad to earn his bachelor's in about twice that — especially if it means he can avoid student loan debt.

The first-generation college student, who was raised on the Southeast Side by grandparents from Mexico, said his family instilled in him a strong fear of borrowing money.

“Because they had no credit, they never

Hernan Lopez doesn’t look like a guy who produces telenovelas, the soap operas that dominate the airwaves throughout Latin America. He looks like a guy who stars in them. With his wavy black hair, firm jawline and velvety Argentinean accent, it’s easy to picture him galloping home on a white horse to rescue his childhood sweetheart from losing the family hacienda to a corrupt patrón.

But Lopez has a different quest ahead of him. As CEO of Fox International Channels he’s the point person and prim

The race to the White House is now available in Spanish, and it’s no surprise.

With Latinos projected to be nearly a third of the U.S. population by 2050 and already making up a crucial voting bloc in battleground states from Florida to Nevada, the campaigns of Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama have gained a Spanish accent.

Romney’s son Craig, for example, has become his father’s personal translator, explaining in skillful Spanish in targeted TV ads that his dad is a man “con grandes convic

Latina women make 62 cents for every dollar made by an average white male, according to the Department of Labor. This is one of the biggest factors limiting women from obtaining economic security for themselves and their families, according to a new Center for American Progress report. Adriana Kugler, chief economist to U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solís, says this is a loss not just for women, but for their families.

“Due to the wage gap, the average lifetime loss in salary for an American woman

The war among U.S. media giants out to conquer their share of the rich $1 trillion Hispanic market is getting fierce.

"We think the established Spanish-language networks today are trapped in the same formula that ABC, CBS and NBC were 25 years ago," the CEO of Fox International Channels, Hernan Lopez, told Forbes magazine.

Forbes talked to Lopez on the occasion of this month's launch of the Spanish-language channel MondoFox, News Corp.'s new national Spanish-language broadcast television channel

AHAA: The Voice of Hispanic Marketing has released its third study in its Revenue Growth series revealing a positive connection between corporate Hispanic marketing and revenue growth specific for the Technology, Telecommunications and Entertainment categories. In fact, the data showed that Hispanic allocation alone explains about 30 percent of change in topline revenue growth among manufacturers of consumer hardware, software, content, and connectivity providers.

While other factors, such as pr

The Maryland Public Service Commission met on Tuesday (July 17) with Verizon and several other companies to discuss supplier diversity initiatives statewide. The following statement should be attributed to Karen I. Campbell, Verizon's Mid-Atlantic vice president of state government affairs:

"At Verizon, diversity is as much about good business practice as it is the right thing to do. And we're proud to be recognized as a company that sets the standard in American business when it comes to suppli

Hispanic women are less likely than their non-Hispanic peers to attend college, reports Deseret News. When they do attend, Latinas are more likely to drop out than women of other ethnicities. However, according to Dr. Josie Tinajero, assistant professor at University of Texas, El Paso (UTEP), who witnessed the Latina student shortage during her own college years, Hispanic mothers have a huge impact on this process.

“The most important role models for young girls, especially in the Hispanic commu

Both Mitt Romney and Barack Obama are battling for the Hispanic vote and taking that fight to the airwaves. A few hours after the Romney campaign released a new Spanish language ad, the pro-Obama super PAC, Priorities USA, partnered with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and have released three new ads today, a total of nine so far.

This is all on the same day a new Quinnipiac University poll found the president leading Romney among Hispanic voters, 59 percent to 30 percent.

The t

In the battle for the soccer mamis, let’s just say Tuesday was a gooooooooooal for the Obama campaign. But perhaps not so great for the mamis.

'Soccer mamis' could affect general election

The president’s campaign offered up Michelle Obama to talk to CNN contributor Maria Cardona. It was live streamed on Mamiverse, a blog for Latinas and their families. The blog is where Cardona and I, along with others, contribute various perspectives.

Since Latinos represent 55% of overall U.S. population growt

It’s no secret young people live on their cell or smart phones, but for Latino youth –that rings even truer. A new report written by Mobile Future and the Hispanic institute underlines young Hispanics and new generations of Americans spend heavily on mobile broadband technology – $17.6 billion on mobile devices and more than $500 million on mobile apps in 2012.

The report Hispanic Broadband Access: Making the Most of the Mobile, Connected Future notes that the legal immigration of people from al

Banking giant Wells Fargo will pay at least $175 million to settle accusations that it was in violation of fair-lending laws when it discriminated against Latinos and African-Americans borrowers.

Wells Fargo, the nation's largest residential home mortgage originator, allegedly engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination against qualified African-American and Latinos borrowers from 2004 through 2009.

At a news conference, Deputy Attorney General James Cole said the bank's discriminatory le