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Here's a mystery.

According to the 2010 Census, of the 308.7 million people in the United States, 16% are of Hispanic or Latino origin. Hispanics accounted for 29% of the population in the West.

Hispanic spending power was estimated at $1.2 trillion last year by HispanTelligence, and by the end of this year, Hispanic spending power is expected to be more than 15% of total spending for the entire U.S. -- not including undocumented immigrants, according to the International Franchise Association.

When an executive producer for Sofia the First: Once Upon a Princess said that Sofia is Disney’s first Latina princess, he was, unbeknownst to him, setting in motion a multi-layered discussion on Latina identity, what constitutes “Latina looks” and a crush of celebration and criticism.

As the story took on a life of its own, Disney felt they had to come out with a statement clarifying what their make-believe princess is — and isn’t. The end result is that Sofia is not actually Latina.

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Latinos in higher education; we’re finally making it happen. The image that comes to mind is of Edward James Olmos in Stand and Deliver, grinning from ear to ear, fist-pumping with one arm in the air. According to the Pew Hispanic Center, Latinos are now, for the first time, the largest minority group among the nation’s four-year college and university students. And for the first time, Hispanics also made up one-quarter (25.2%) of all 18 to 24-year-old students enrolled in two-year colleges.

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As our country celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month, it’s not difficult to find areas where this nation continues to benefit from the significant contributions of the Hispanic immigrants who’ve come to our shores.

Just last week, Americans witnessed Venezuelan-born Miguel Cabrera capture baseball’s Triple Crown, becoming only the 15th Major League Baseball player to ever do so. A few days later, President Obama dedicated the Cesar E. Chavez National Memorial, honoring the Mexican-American labor le

America’s Latinos are among the most active users of mobile communications among all demographic groups in the United States, according to the report, "Hispanic Broadband Access: Making the Most of the Mobile, Connected Future" [PDF]. In fact, the report by the Hispanic Institute and Mobile Future revealed that 50.5 million Hispanics living in the U.S. today are increasingly turning primarily to mobile broadband, rather than using wired connections as their main avenue to the Internet.

As presid

"Teresa Rey is one of the millions of mothers across the nation who carefully watched the first presidential debate of 2012. It is fair to say that Rey felt frustrated with the moderator’s lack of questions around family economic-security issues.

Questions about unfair wages for mothers, the high price of childcare and the lack of paid leave to care for children and the elderly were left off the table. The moderator also failed to ask the candidates about the contributions of immigrant families

Enrollment has risen at many public colleges and universities across Massachusetts, fueled in large part by an ­increase in Latino students and older students, according to a new state analysis.

The number of undergraduates on public campuses is increas­ing even as the state’s high school population is slowly declining.

“The data tell an important story, namely that many of our campuses continue to see remark­able growth while also serving as critical gateways for underserved populations,” Richa

September 15th marked the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month. With a population that has reached over 50 million, Hispanics are the fastest growing class of citizens in the United States. Accordingly, they also represent the most significant growth pattern of small business owners in the country. Hispanic-owned businesses comprised 59.8 % of all businesses in El Paso, followed by San Antonio, (39.4%), Houston (23.3%), Albuquerque, N.M. (23.1%) and Los Angeles (21%).

A 2010 survey of business o

Karen Mills, chief administrator with the Small Business Administration, said on Tuesday that a new pilot program by the SBA and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce will help connect local lenders with Hispanic business owners.

Combining resources will generate new opportunities for Hispanic entrepreneurs, as well as “drive competitiveness and innovation, and strengthen our economic recovery and growth,” Mills said in a statement.

Latinos can visit offices in Texas, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, Fl

A recent Pew Hispanic Center report on trends in Latino voter participation counts a record 24 million Latinos as eligible to vote in November’s presidential election (11 percent of all potential voters). It also finds that Latinos are particularly important in several battleground states. Their rising numbers and geographic concentration suggest that how and if Latinos vote on November 6 could determine the race.

While a large voting bloc for several election cycles now, Latinos have yet to ful

Telemundo Media announced today it named Chris McDonnell to President and General Manager, Telemundo Chicago WSNS. The announcement was made by Manuel Abud, President, Telemundo Station Group, to whom McDonnell will report.

In this role, McDonnell will be responsible for the strategic and operational leadership of WSNS. He will direct and manage all aspects of the station operations, including news, sales, promotions, engineering, finance, human resources and community relations. In addition, he

Opponents of Walmart’s planned Neighborhood Market in downtown Los Angeles are trying desperately to paint a portrait of David versus Goliath – mom-and-pop shops against Walmart.

But when it comes to economic growth, small businesses and large companies actually support each other. Indeed, the entrance of a large retailer like Walmart into a new marketplace is the key to helping many local vendors to grow.

As a former U.S. Small Business Administrator, I advocated for the small businesses that a

Many Californians have been struggling with rising gas prices this week, but Latinos especially are feeling the pain at the pump.

Gasoline prices reached up to $5 per gallon on Monday, after a week of soaring gasoline prices. According to the AAA Daily Fuel Gauge Report, which tracks gas prices from the Oil Price Information Service, the cost of fuel is reaching record-breaking levels.

Although the record-setting prices have begun to ease, the cost of the gas prices is still at unprecedented lev

A new TV network joint venture between ABC News and Univision News, targeting the young and fast-growing Hispanic market in the United States, will begin broadcasting out of Miami in late summer of 2013, company officials announced on Wednesday.

The two companies are investing $275 million in the new English-language news and lifestyle network, which will create about 350 jobs, Cesar Conde, president of Univision Networks, told a luncheon of Miami business leaders also attended by Florida Gov. R

In a movie career spanning more than 20 years, Benicio del Toro has won an Oscar for Traffic, been nominated again for 21 Grams and starred in Che, The Usual Suspects, and The Wolfman.

But the Puerto Rican-born, Pennsylvania-raised star believes Latino actors are still being typecast in Hollywood.

''It's a little bit better than when I first started … but, yeah, we're still typecast,'' he says during a visit to Sydney to launch the Oliver Stone crime thriller Savages.

''But there's more Latino f

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the Hispanic demographic represents a full 16% of the total U.S. population, and is growing more than three times the rate of other ethnic groups. For retailers, it’s a consumer segment that presents tremendous opportunities in the area of health and wellness.

Hispanic consumers need some guidance. Statistics compiled by The NPD Group for its new benchmark It’s Mealtime with U.S. Hispanics study found that more than 70% of Spanish language-dominant adults are

In October we celebrate the National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Are there any reasons to observe it? The answer is a definitive “yes.”

Since 1990, the death rate from breast cancer has been declining. The research, funded mostly by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), have improved our understanding of breast cancer and have produced more effective treatments.

The outlook for U.S. Hispanic women is mixed. Although Hispanics are less likely to develop breast cancer than non-Hispanic white wom

The U.S. unemployment rate for Latinos fell to 9.9 percent in September, the lowest jobless rate in nearly four years, and the lowest level since President Barack Obama first took office.

Latino unemployment has hit a 45 month low as September marks the first time the Latino jobless rate has fallen below 10 percent since December of 2008, when it was 9.4 percent.

The number of unemployed Hispanics has dropped by nearly 20 percent since the number of unemployed Latinos hit its peak at over 3 mill

As we celebrate the final week of Hispanic Heritage Month, the American Latino Heritage Fund (ALHF) of the National Park Foundation, the official charity of America's national parks, today proudly joined the President of the United States Barack Obama, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar and National Park Service Director Jon Jarvis, in establishing the Cesar E. Chavez National Monument as an official park of the National Park System. Located within the property known as Nuestra Senora Reina d

Steep declines in Hispanic birth rates and a new low in teen births, according to a new government report released Wednesday.

U.S. births fell for the fourth year in a row, with experts calling it more proof that the weak economy has continued to dampen enthusiasm for having children.

Hispanics have been disproportionately affected by the flagging economy, experts say, and teen birth rates have been falling for 20 years.

But there may be a silver lining: The decline in 2011 was just 1 percent —