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Hispanics used to come to Houston with a dream of starting their own businesses. Today they come with the dream of expanding existing ventures by setting up shop in one of the country’s fastest-growing business meccas.

Indeed, the Hispanic business community is on a new fast track, fueled by sophisticated immigrants from Latin America who are banking that Houston’s thriving community is a good fit for their companies.

Between 2002 and 2007, the number of Hispanic-owned businesses in the Houston

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(Chicago, January 19, 2012) Daniella Guzman is joining NBC 5 Chicago as co-anchor of NBC 5’s weekday morning newscasts starting in March, the station announced today.

“We are pleased to add Daniella to our news team,” said Frank Whittaker, Station Manager and Vice President of News for NBC 5 Chicago. “She will bring a fresh and new perspective to our morning team. I know our viewers will enjoy getting to know her.”

Guzman comes to NBC 5 News from KPRC-TV in Houston where she ha

by Lena Arnold

Copyright 2012

While shopping in the store the other day, I ran into an old friend. After talking for a few minutes I noticed my kids growing restless. “Hold on just a few more minutes, and then we will be on our way to the bookstore.” This sentence was met with squeals of joy and excitement. Their joy did not go unnoticed by my friend.

“What is that about?” She asked. “How did you do that? I have never seen kids get so excited about going to the bookstore? My kids would look at me l

Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Mississippi, and other states have recently enacted measures calling for stricter enforcement of existing immigration laws. Some of these measures even aim to deny birthright citizenship to U.S.-born children of illegal immigrants. These initiatives, overwhelmingly supported by Republicans, drive Hispanics to vote increasingly for the Democratic Party.

The laws come as a reaction against profound changes in the U.S. population. According to U.S. Census projections, fro

Alejandra Abad likes to read fairy tales, dance along to her favorite artist, Selena Gomez, and practice cheerleading.

But every Sunday after the Spanish Mass at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Alejandra, 9, joins a handful of boys bouncing around the courtyard outside. Wearing neckerchiefs and navy shirts, these Cub Scouts eagerly await their weekly meeting.

Although Alejandra’s brother Luis is a Cub Scout, she doesn’t attend the meetings to observe like the other sisters. She is the lone female

Terry J. Lundgren, Macy’s (M) chief executive officer, has research showing that more than half the people in the biggest Macy’s urban markets—including New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago—are Hispanic, African-American, and Asian. The chain already uses various tactics to woo minority shoppers, such as its deal to sell an exclusive line from rapper-turned-clothier Sean “Diddy” Combs. Coveting a deeper relationship with minority customers, Lundgren decided to seek out mom-and-pop retailers alrea

The White House said Tuesday that Cecilia Muñoz, who has led its efforts to overhaul immigration laws, had been named director of the Domestic Policy Council, making her one of President Obama’s chief advisers on a broad swath of issues, including education and gay rights.

Ms. Muñoz, the highest-ranking Hispanic in the White House, had served as director of intergovernmental affairs. She replaces Melody Barnes, who left this month. Her promotion is notable because it comes at the start of an el

The Republican Party is beefing up its minority outreach nationwide and preparing to put its rising Latino stars on the campaign trail amid concerns that tough immigration rhetoric in the presidential primary is taking on an increasingly anti-Hispanic tone.

But immigrant-rights groups and some political watchers say the damage may be irreversible. They argue that the GOP has severely hampered itself as it looks to woo the critical Latino voting bloc that could decide who wins key states like Ne

It's Sunday morning and evangelical churches are packed.

Pastors are preaching, Bibles are being read and churchgoers are singing.

In Spanish.

While the Catholic church is still the principal religion for Latinos, a growing number are bucking tradition and moving toward evangelism -- particularly among the younger generation.

"My mother is so Catholic," said Jose Rosales, 55. "She tripped out when she found out. She and my aunt said, 'Oh, great; now you're a Hallelujah.'"

About 23 percent, or 9.

AT&T has received the highest rating for all telecommunication firms on the 2011 Hispanic Association on Corporate Responsibility's Corporate Inclusion Index (HACR CII). AT&T was one of only two companies to achieve a 95 rating, the highest in the 2011 HACR CII. The HACR CII rates Hispanic inclusion by Fortune 100 companies and its corporate partners in the areas of workforce, procurement, philanthropy, and governance.

"AT&T continues to demonstrate its commitment to diversity with policies that

It is a known fact that there are more female voters during Presidential primary elections than male. The National Tequila party movement is female led and we intend on appealing to compassionate female voters throughout the country and to open minded college students in an effort to sway public opinion in support of humane and compassionate views with regard to the DREAM Act, legal immigration that would benefit the American economy.

As a female leader, I have discovered several male writers, p

It’s time to recognize the talent pool we have right here in America, putting an end to minority statistics that may soon be more fairytale than truth. Especially in Florida where the Hispanic population is outperforming other states in college degree attainment levels.
Florida’s business schools, particularly Miami-Dade College, are being recognized nationally for their cutting-edge programs and for graduating among the highest numbers of Hispanics. Not only are these Hispanics brushing up on t

On Friday, most in the Spanish speaking world marks Three Kings Day, an ancient celebration that commemorates the visit of Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar to the baby Jesus in Bethlehem.

Each country in Latin America has its particular customs, many of which have been transported — and somewhat adapted — to Latino homes across New York. Dominican and Puerto Rican children leave dry grass for the camels under their beds; in Argentina and Mexico, they leave their shoes — with grass or a letter — ou

The number of Latinos who own and operate small businesses in Minnesota is booming. This state-wide trend is spreading to Moorhead.

Express Janitorial Services owner Jesus Gutierrez is making sure Fargo's Family Healthcare is squeaky clean.

Jesus Gutierrez – Express Janitorial Services: "I want to provide to my family whatever they need."

Gutierrez is pretty busy. He's got accounts all over the F-M area, including Moorhead's Menards.

Jesus Gutierrez: "I was an employee a couple years ago, and I

A new survey says that Hispanic spending on mobile devices over the holidays may have reached up to $5 billion.

Zpryme Research and Consulting surveyed over 500 Latinos on their mood as consumers and intentions to spend money during the holidays and overwhelmingly found a desire to spend.

One out of four Hispanics intended to spend $251 to $1,000 on mobile devices and Latinos surveyed as the most likely to buy tablet devices (19 percent) and smartphones (19 percent).

Ariel Coro, founder of TuTec

We have good news for tens of millions of Spanish-speaking Americans. For years, Social Security has been at the forefront of providing online services for Americans, and we’ve provided a wealth of information in Spanish. Now, you can do even more with the expanded suite of services offered in Spanish at www.segurosocial.gov.

The most exciting enhancement: you can now apply online for both Social Security retirement benefits and Medicare in Spanish!

If you are ready to apply for Social Security

While there can be debate about what it means, the unassailable fact is that Latino -owned businesses in the United States are growing at a blistering pace — in fact more than twice the national average. This trend has been sustained for at least the last decade and manifests itself both in the growing number and size of Latino- owned businesses. During the latest 5-year period for which information is available from the census bureau, Latino owned business’ revenue jumped by an astonishing 55%

2011 is almost gone. For Latinos in the United States, it was primarily a year to forget.

Life hasn't been good, and Hispanics have suffered the same fate as the much of the general population: persistent unemployment, political uncertainty and a deep sense of dejection. But as a group, their fate was worse: according to the Department of Labor, last month, when the national unemployment rate was 8.3 percent, for Latinos it reached 11.4 percent.

Among veterans returning from Iraq unemployment re

Obviously Janice Min, editorial director of The Hollywood Reporter (THR), never got the memo. My memo, that is. The one I wrote to Xana Antunes, editor of Crain’s New York Business, after the magazine published its list of “50 Most Powerful Women in New York” and only featured a total of three non-white women and not one single Latina.

The current THR “Women in Entertainment: The Power 100” lists a wonderful group of accomplished women of which a total of nine are non-white, including two Latin

As Yolanda Martinez-Schneider made her way through the Spanish-labeled aisles of El Ahorro grocery store on Monday afternoon, she filled her basket with ingredients for some of her favorite meals.

With celery and oregano for her chicken and dumplings, a can of fruit cocktail for a healthy yet tasty snack, crushed red pepper and a pig's head for her tamales, Martinez's shopping cart looked like that of a growing number of U.S. consumers - a mixture of both traditional American and ethnic foods.

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