¿Hablas Español? - BBC Mundo team sets out on a US road-trip raising Hispanic issues, speaking only Spanish

Posted on: March 24th, 2008
Filed Under: [ Hispanic News ] [ Media ] [ Press Releases ]
Tags: BBC Mundo, blog, family, impremedia, latin america, Mexico, newspaper, Spanish-language
Knowledge is Power!

The BBC’s Spanish multimedia service, BBC Mundo, is launching the second part of its US Hispanic initiative ¿Hablas Español?, as part of its coverage of the US election campaign. During a three-week road-trip which starts in Seattle, Washington, on Friday 28 March, the BBC Mundo team will travel across the northern part of the US, discussing key issues affecting the Hispanic communities, while speaking only Spanish.

BBC Mundo correspondents, Jose Baig and Carlos Ceresole, will document their entire experience via daily blogs, videos and pictures which will feature on the new US Hispanic page, Mundo USA on the BBC’s award-winning website bbcmundo.com. The journey, which will end on Monday 14 April in Washington DC, will explore the Hispanic community’s attitudes on a range of issues taking centre stage during the election year.

Jose Baig, Hispanic Affairs Correspondent, BBC Mundo, said: “¿Hablas Español? is a classic example of BBC journalism - unbiased reporting and in-depth analysis of issues that affect our audiences.

“In the beginning of our ¿Hablas Español? project, in 2007, we focused on the impact of the Spanish language on the everyday life of Hispanic Americans - from the differences in dialect, to how Spanish-speakers get by in an English-speaking country, to how English-speakers react in areas with a strong Hispanic presence.

“While we will further explore language issues, during this year’s tour we will focus primarily on the forthcoming elections, asking the Hispanic community what they consider key to this election. The resulting emails, videos and letters will be captured on a special segment on bbcmundo.com, called Dear Presidente, and will be delivered to the presidential candidates - and to the White House, in a big bag labelled ‘For the next presidente of the USA - Do not open until January 20, 2009′.”

Starting in Seattle, WA, ¿Hablas Español? will make stops at Pasco, WA; Boise, ID; Salt Lake City, UT; Rawlins, WY; Denver, CO; North Platte, NE; Lincoln, NE; Montezuma, IA; Chicago, IL; Detroit, MI; Pittsburgh, PA; New York, NY; ending in Washington, DC. The ¿Hablas Español? 2007 itinerary covered southern US states: Florida, Alabama, Texas, Louisiana, Arizona, New Mexico and California.

In addition to reporting on¿Hablas Español?, the Mundo USA index on bbcmundo.com will offer a targeted look at the issues affecting the community, providing news that is both local and national in scope. To deliver this output, bbcmundo.com capitalizes on an online content agreement with ImpreMedia, the largest publisher of Spanish-language newspapers in the US.

Julia Zapata, Head, BBC Mundo, said: “The launch of the Mundo USA index on our website reflects the growing political and economic weight of US Hispanics. A diverse and vibrant community, it maintains very close links with Latin America, through family ties, culture and its contribution to the economy of the region. Mundo USA will provide a first-class news service to and about this community - through its news, interactivity, audio and video output.”

BBC Mundo will extend its existing dialogue with and about US Hispanics by engaging with audiences via various social networking websites. For more information, visit bbcmundo.com. “*