In hyphenated America, where people insist on using ethnic labels such as “Mexican-American” or “Cuban-American,” for many the question arises, “What am I?” as in, “Am I Mexican, American, Chicana, Latina, Hispanic or all of the above?”
People ask, “Where are you from?” And when you say, “New York” or “Idaho,” they insist, “No, but where are you really from?” — meaning, why are your eyes so dark or your skin so (pick one) brown, black, cinnamon, white, tan?
Michelle Herrera Mulligan and Robyn Moreno have collected 20 true stories about growing up Latina in “Border-Line Personalities“, comprised by essays organized into sections about family, love, identity and work. What holds them together is that little hyphen that connects “Latin” with “America” and signifies a whole new world.
In an article by Sergio Bustos and Pamela Brogan for The Springfield News-Leader on August 26th, we are introduced into two interesting viewpoints regarding the Latino vote:
1) It is not only the Hispanics themselves that politicians should be going after with the “Hispanic” issues, it’s also all those who relate and care for them and are not necessarily Hispanic themselves.
2) The highly Latino-populated states are pretty much claimed by one of the parties; only a few of the “battleground” states have more than 9% of their population made up of Hispanics.
This article is departure from what is usually covered through this weblog, but it was kind of interesting to notice that all the hoopla about the Hispanic vote could be just that. I am curious to see how things transpire on Election Day.
Hispanics may soon become the forgotten voters of the 2004 presidential campaign.
That’s because the race to the White House has boiled down to 20 so-called battleground states, including Missouri, where Hispanic voters are few and far between.
The 13,000 Hispanics in Missouri who voted in the 2000 presidential race accounted for just 1 percent of all state residents who voted in the election. White voters, by contrast, accounted for almost 88 percent of those who cast ballots. President Bush beat Democratic candidate Al Gore by 78,786 votes in Missouri.
“Our numbers may be small but our votes are very important,” said Yolanda Lorge, president of Grupo Latinoamericano in Springfield, a nonpartisan community group that helps Hispanics with issues like voter registration, immigration and education.
“It’s not just the Hispanic vote we are talking about, but other Americans who care about Hispanics, like husbands and wives, employers and neighbors,” she said.
ChicagoBusiness.com’s Julie Jargon reported on August 30, 2004 that the food giant wants a bigger slice of this growing market. Read along; there are some good moves Kraft is making (like introducing manchego cheese), there are some through which they are simply stereotyping Latinos as a whole (their “Fiesta” Fuity Pebbles, basically the same deal as Fruity Pebbles plus a “fiesta” box design).
Kraft Foods Inc. is looking to Mexico for products that might appeal to Hispanic consumers in the U.S.
In March 2002, the Northfield food company introduced a mayonnaise with lime juice, and in October 2002 debuted manchego cheese, two items popular in Mexico. It also started importing cookies made in Mexico by its Nabisco unit in March 2003. More recently, it added the word “fiesta” to its Fruity Pebbles cereal and slapped Spanish subtitles on packaging for Kool-Aid and Capri Sun beverages and Oscar Mayer meats.
Kraft has long advertised on Hispanic media in the U.S., but has been slower to adapt its product lines to the particular tastes of the country’s fastest-growing ethnic group. Hispanics currently comprise 14% of this country’s population and are expected to make up 24% by 2050, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
“This is a real growth opportunity for Kraft and an area we can’t ignore,” says Liz Perez Angeles, Kraft’s associate director of Hispanic marketing.
Jesse J. Smith reported on 8/22/04 for the Daily Freeman (Kingston, NY) on the realities many Hispanics are living in the U.S. Independently of your point of view regarding immigration issues, these persons are in your city and in some way or another they will interact with you and/or your business. Walk for a while in their shoes and try to understand, and empathize with, their experiences. If you are going to market to Latinos, you and your staff should be ready for the moment they walk through the door (real or virtual); don’t be condescending and/or ignorant about what makes them tick. You don’t need to do it perfectly; just showing that you genuinely care and are trying will make a big difference. Keep in mind that what you are about to read applies to a good percentage of first generation Latinos, for 2nd generation on, their realities are different in many ways (yet similar in others).
In the 10 years between the 1990 and 2000, the Latino population of Ulster County jumped from 6,832 to 10,941, making Spanish speakers the largest ethnic minority in the county.
The influx of Hispanics has impacted everything from health care to banking and created an increasing awareness among businesses, government agencies and social service providers about the importance of providing new services and outreach programs for what traditionally has been a silent, and sometimes overlooked, population.
The emerging Latino population “has really brought a lot of color to Kingston and Ulster County in general,” said Salvador Altamirano-Segura, a case management specialist with Family of Woodstock who works with Spanish speakers.
“When I first came here (from Mexico) 14 years ago, there were barely any Spanish-speaking people. You would hardly ever meet anybody from Mexico,” Altamirano-Segura said. “Now, wherever you go, you see them around.”
But while the local Latino population has increased dramatically in recent years, local government, schools and businesses are struggling to keep up. The Kingston police department, for example, has just one Spanish-speaking officer.
Service Partner to Provide Customized Packages of Autos Info, Research, and Purchasing Tools
AOL is on the right track if they keep finding reliable companies to partner with to service Hispanics. They need to deliver real value (the difference between the perceived price and the sticker price) to all those Latinos being introduced to the web through AOL Latino and their low-cost PC so that when the 1-year commitment with AOL ends, they feel satisfied enough to not consider changing internet service providers. Stay “connected”.
HISPANIC PR WIRE Aug. 17, 2004
AOL Latino and Autobytel Inc., a leading automotive marketing services company, announced their partnership to launch a new channel called Automóviles (Automobiles). This new Spanish language autos channel, developed to provide AOL Latino members with comprehensive car search and comparison tools, includes expert automotive content, dynamic data and tools, and the ability to submit an online request to buy from a local Autobytel dealer.
According to the most recent AOL/Roper ASW U.S. Hispanic Cyberstudy released this Spring, online Hispanic consumers are purchasing new cars at four times the rate of the general population. The study also finds that 46% of online Hispanics are using the Internet to design and customize their car of choice, as well as locate a dealer for that car. Also, about 48% of online Hispanics have bought a new car within the last three years.
August 25, 2004 – AIM Tell-A-Vision and Maxima’s Productions, producers of the series “Urban Latino TV” announced the Miami premiere of “Sonidos -Volume 5: The Award Winners Special” this Sunday, August 29th at 11:00AM on WFOR CBS-4.This full hour, Latin music special profiles award winning Latin artists, featuring exclusive interviews and footage from the world’s hottest Latino musicians including Mexican rocker Julieta Venegas, Chilean rock band La Ley, Latin pop heartthrob Luis Fonsi, and many more.
“Sonidos” will air in homes across the country on over 40 English-language broadcast TV stations during the months of August and September.
Earlier this month (Aug. 9, 2004) I found this story in the Holland Sentinel, depicting the variety of genres within the Latino music scene. Specially when focusing in young Hispanics, a majority of them 2nd generation, traditional media’s definitions of “Latin” formats is way too broad and does not encompass the richness of sounds and rhythms available out there. LAMC is a great place to start getting acquainted with all the soon-to-be-mainstream sounds listened today by progressive Latinos.
The biggest names in Latin music may come from the well-defined worlds of polished pop, tropical salsa, or the accordion-infused rhythms of Mexican regional.
But when it comes to young Latinos, the diverse genre of Latin Alternative is hitting the mark. Even though it still has trouble penetrating the radio waves, the edgy sounds of Spanish rock, electronica, hip-hop and ska are filling concert halls.
Organizers of the Latin Alternative Music Conference say faulty research and reliance on established artists has many record labels and marketing companies overlooking not just a hot trend, but some great music.
“Latinos are many different things. That’s why it’s so hard to talk to us, and to market to us,” says Tomas Cookman, music promoter and co-founder of the conference, known as the LAMC, which is in its fifth year.
“Mexicans are Mexicans. Colombians are Colombian. And yes, there are certain issues that unite us. … Latin alternative has wide appeal.”
Latin rock “is growing and we must continue to go for it, and continue taking advantage of this opportunity that Spanish is a language that today, in the whole world, has an important position,” says Leila Cobo, who is Latin America/Miami bureau chief for Billboard Magazine.
The LAMC, however, is not limited to purely Spanish-language artists.
Salomon said, “… there is nothing new under the sun” (Ecclesiastes 1:9). It would seem as if I carefully planned to have this and the story posted prior to it appear next to each other. An unsatisfied need, a creative solution, a good partnership; the conversion of all these leads to success. The truth is that it was pure coincidence to have them side by side. I did not notice the deep similarities until I carefully read this article. Still, decided to move forward with this post in order to make this point: It is not rocket science; it is about finding a felt need, coming up with a way to satisfy it (and being consistently good at it), having the staying power (mentally and financially) to get through the lean, start up times, and reach as many people as possible with a RELEVANT message.
Read this article, by Alexandra Navarro Clifton, published a couple weeks ago (August 10, 2004) at HispanicBusiness.com:
When soccer superstar Enzo Francescoli first came to the United States after retiring six years ago, he flipped through his television channels for news about his beloved sport. He found bits and pieces of information with more emphasis on Europe than Latin America.
But he and his Uruguayan business partners saw an opportunity: Giving fans in the United States a 24-hour soccer channel with a variety of matches, news and original programming.
“Soccer is not only part of the history of so many Latin Americans and Europeans,” said Francescoli. “It’s a sport that has exploded in the U.S. and now, so many Americans want to know more about soccer.”
Nearly two years and 5 million viewers later, GolTV has become one of the most popular channels on the Dish Network satellite system.
The Miami-based channel airs its own soccer news updates and reports from soccer matches around the world. Programming is in Spanish, but GolTV provides real-time English translation through the SAP option on most television sets.
This I do call a product for Latinas. Born out of an unsatisfied personal need and the creativity to fulfill it, it resonated with enough people than its creator launched a business out of it… Zalia Cosmetics identified a niche market and it is claiming it its own; yes, not all Hispanics have a dark complexion but I am quite sure enough of them do to make this line successful. Also partnering with an already popular brand, chain store, and beauty line, Victoria’s Secret Beauty, was a very clever move, immediately obtaining path dominance, great “shelve space” if you may, that otherwise would have been much costlier to obtain.
Ahead, the story by Miami Herald’s Christina Hoag (8/17/04)…
Finding cosmetics to suit her olive skin was never easy for Mónica Ramírez, but since she was a makeup artist, she mixed her own colors, then started doing the same for friends and fashion model clients.
Now Ramírez has taken her custom-made makeup to the next level: She has turned it into a business aiming at Hispanic women who, like this daughter of Peruvian immigrants, can never seem to find the right-toned makeup.
Called Zalia Cosmetics, the line of 110 products is was rolled out August 18 in Miami, one of four major Hispanic markets across the country where it will be available in Victoria’s Secret Beauty shops. Until now, it’s only been sold in New York and New Jersey at three shops dubbed Zalia BeautiLounges.
Both Ramírez and Victoria’s Secret Beauty expect there’ll be plenty of demand nationwide.
”I’ve found a lot of other Latinas with the same problem of finding makeup,” said Ramírez, who’s from New York. “Women were telling me it’s about time people were thinking about our needs.”
Victoria’s Secret Beauty plans to test Zalia Cosmetics in New York, Dallas and Los Angeles, as well as Miami. If it’s successful, it will expand distribution, said Chief Marketing Officer Sherry Baker.
”The possibilities that a Latina-inspired line offers us is a great point of difference for Victoria’s Secret Beauty,” Baker said. “It adds even more choice to the current color lines.”
Zalia’s national launch comes as many marketers are trying to lure Hispanic consumers with products advertised as tailor-made for them.
This report from The Media Audit, via Radio Ink (8/25/04) presents the facts about the growth of the Latino population “from sea to shining sea”, not only the usual States and cities that have long been thought as heavily populated by Hispanics. Read along; it is very interesting…
In 1998, 47.8 percent of adult Hispanics in the 85 metro markets surveyed regularly by The Media Audit lived in Los Angeles, New York and Miami. By 2003, that percentage had dropped to 41.2. During that same time period the total adult Hispanic population in the 85 metro markets was increasing from 14.4 million to 18.6 million. Approximately 70 percent of that growth (4.3 million) was located in metropolitan areas other than Los Angeles, New York and Miami.
“Hispanics are moving beyond the border states and the traditional metro immigrant centers,” says Bob Jordan, president of International Demographics, Inc., which produces The Media Audit. Although not a national survey, The Media Audit’s aggregate numbers generally track national findings. The aggregate adult population of the 80 plus markets surveyed in 2003 was 128.9 million. The Media Audit focuses exclusively on adults (age 18 plus) in each market.
According to The Media Audit, in 1998 there were 21 metro markets with more than 100,000 Hispanic adults; by 2003 the 21 had become 28. During the same period the number of metro markets with more than 20,000 but less than 100,000 Hispanic adults climbed from 24 to 32.
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