Latinas

Members of the only Latino women’s Republican group in the area gathered Wednesday for a lesson on media coverage and political spin, as they push for Republican candidate support this election year.

On the group’s agenda is promoting Republicans for office, including Sen. John McCain of Arizona for president and Stockton City Council District 4 candidate Diana Lowery.

“We need to know how to answer media questions the best way we know how,” said Carol Trujillo-Hadley, founder of Latinas United Republican Women Federated.”*

MensajeTV, the nation’s first provider of interactive Internet television expressly for Latina women, is gearing up to launch a broadband channel and social networking site in July 2008. MensajeTV will provide today’s aspiring Latina woman with endless hours of video, audio and textual information designed to enhance her busy life. Programming includes scheduled and on-demand Christian and Catholic-based content as well as shows about family, health, nutrition, exercise, beauty, parenting, cooking, heritage and much more.

“The Latino population is increasingly large and diverse, and the media directed to Hispanics can no longer be one size/offering fits all. MensajeTV is a major leap forward in the diversity of options available to Latina audiences,” says Dr. Federico Subervi, member of MensajeTV’s Advisory Council and leading expert in Latinos and the media in the United States. In a recent Latino study published by AOL, Spanish respondents stated that they consume two-thirds of their on-line content in English due to the lack of Spanish-language options. Additionally, the study confirmed that on-line U.S. Hispanics regularly combine TV and Internet to enrich their media experience and would like to see more on-line options in Spanish.

“MensajeTV caters to specific interests previously not easily or at all available via the small screen. The topics and issues covered by MensajeTV reflect the values of this population, which will no longer have to compromise its core culture as it seeks how to best modernize and adapt to the American society at large,” he says. Today, MensajeTV is comprised of three different channels that focus on different areas of the viewer’s life: Mensaje Divino, Mensaje Cocina y Cultura and Mensaje Salud. Each channel is geared towards filling a void for the availability of Spanish-language content on the web and focuses on elements which are the bedrocks of a Latina woman’s influence: faith, lifestyle and well-being.

Mensaje Divino is a tapestry of spiritually based organizations, offering charismatic sermons, daily devotionals, inspirational messages, Spanish Christian music, family forums and youth ministry activities. Mensaje Cocina y Cultura features a veritable feast of Latino chefs who provide thoughtful instruction, expert tips and easy-to-download recipes and ingredient lists to IPTV set top boxes, PC’s and mobile phones as well as the vibrancy of Latino culture by offering engaging programming on parenting, home and decorating, crafts, gardening, holiday ideas, travel and more.

Hispanic viewers have a keen interest in health issues, and Mensaje Salud provides a portal for U.S. Hispanic audiences that gives them access the latest news concerning their health and nutrition. Through a special partnership with UnBuenDoctor.com, Mensaje Salud allows users to access thousands of articles that pertain to their well being and is available in Spanish whenever they need it. “We realize how important is to have access to useful information regarding health and nutrition. Our community is lagging behind when it comes to these services. UnBuenDoctor.com is proud to partner with MensajeTV to expand the reach of this information which will, hopefully, help to mitigate the health information gap in a culturally sensitive environment,” says Founder of UnBuenDoctor.com, Carlos Mauricio Olea.

About MensajeTV

MensajeTV is an on-line television network serving the U.S. Latina community, delivering high-quality, bilingual video content for a burgeoning Spanish-speaking audience. A beta site was launched in December 2007. Under its flagship network MensajeTV is developing four channels — Mensaje Cocina, Mensaje Cultura, Mensaje Divino and Mensaje Salud. Today we combine Cocina and Cultura as one. MensajeTV is a subsidiary of Corporate Broadcast Company, Inc.

Media Contact:
Sonia Diaz
Chispa Communications
Sonia.Diaz@chispa-communications.com
305-457-8404″*

Unlike the rest of her high-fashion associates, Venezuelan supermodel Patricia Velasquez isn’t spending the springtime under a barrage of hairstylists and stylist fittings.

Instead, she is at the helm of the Wayuu Taya Foundation, a nongovernmental, nonprofit organization that since 2002 has worked to improve the living and educational standards of Latin America’s poorest indigenous people.”*

A White Marsh Japanese restaurant and sushi bar will pay $80,000 to settle a discrimination lawsuit claiming Hispanic women were harassed there.

Kobe Steak House agreed to pay the women after the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission filed a lawsuit accusing workers of making unwelcome sexual advances toward several women, the federal agency said Tuesday.”*

Mills College will present its 120th Commencement on Saturday, May 17, 2008 with an address given by award-winning actress Rita Moreno. During the ceremony, honorary doctorates will be conferred upon Moreno, Renel Brooks-Moon, a Mills alumna (Class of 1981) who is the public address announcer for the San Francisco Giants, and Glenn Voyles, a Mills Trustee and investment management expert.

Mills’ graduating class includes 245 undergraduate women and 220 graduate women and men, as well as students receiving certificates and credentials in a variety of fields. The College’s 120th graduation begins at 9:45 am on the campus’ Toyon Meadow.

Rita Moreno is an extraordinary actress with more than six decades of achievement including appearances in nearly 50 films. Born Rosita Dolores Alverío in Humacao, Puerto Rico, Moreno began her acting career with a Broadway debut in Skydrift at the age of 13. She has crossed racial barriers ever since as a singer, dancer, and actress.

She is renowned for her performance as Anita in the film version of West Side Story, for which she won the Academy Award for best supporting actress in 1961. Moreno was the first actress and the first Hispanic to win an Oscar, an Emmy, a Tony, and a Grammy.

Renel Brooks-Moon is a pioneering sports announcer and media personality who has broken through formidable gender and racial barriers throughout her multifaceted career.

The only female public address announcer in major league baseball, the exuberant Brooks-Moon is known as “the voice of the San Francisco Giants” at AT&T Park. This year marks her ninth season with the Giants. The Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown recognized Brooks-Moon as the first female announcer of a championship game in professional sports for her role in the 2002 World Series.

Completing more than two decades as a Bay Area radio personality, she is the host of the “Renel in the Morning Show” on KISS FM 98.1. Brooks-Moon has also been an entertainment reporter for CBS TV 5 since 1998.

Glenn Voyles is an expert in investment markets with more than four decades of experience in his field. During his career, he provided three investment management firms with executive leadership: Loomis, Sayles & Company (vice president, 2003-07), Jurika & Voyles (chair, 1981-2003), and Scudder, Stevens & Clark (vice president, 1965-1981).

Voyles has been a vital member of the Mills College community since 1996, serving as a Trustee, mentor, advisor, fundraiser, and donor. A four-term member of the Mills College Board of Trustees, he is instrumental in stewarding Mills resources to ensure the College’s vibrant future.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering a dynamic progressive education that fosters leadership, social responsibility, and creativity to approximately 900 undergraduate women and 500 graduate women and men. Since 2000, applications to Mills College have more than doubled. The College ranks as one of the top colleges in the West by U.S. News & World Report and one of the Best 366 Colleges by the Princeton Review. For more information, visit http://www.mills.edu/.”*

You can walk to the U.S. border, Francelia Menchaca’s immigration lawyer advised her, but don’t put your fingers through its fence. It may hinder her immigration paperwork, the lawyer said.

But when, after a year apart, Menchaca’s mother arrived in her flowered straw hat here Saturday and put her small, wrinkled hands up to the cast-iron gate, Menchaca reached out and touched them.

“Were you anxious to touch my hand?” Menchaca asked in Spanish. Tears stood on her lashes.”*

Roselyn Sánchez is planning all the details for her wedding to actor Eric Winter, which is set for November in Puerto Rico, as reported by Puerto Rican newspaper El Nuevo Día. “*

Denisse Oller returns to Hispanic television this upcoming Wednesday, May 14th. The former newscast anchor and 5 time Emmy winner, is slated to appear weekly in her new television segment on Telemundo/Channel 47. “*

The Cuban national judo team returned home Monday without one of its stars, whose weekend disappearance fueled speculation that she is defecting.

Yurisel Laborde, a two-time world champion and 2004 Olympic bronze medalist, was not with the team Monday when its flight left Miami International Airport. She has not been seen since disappearing Sunday after competing in the Pan American Judo Championships.”*

What do we make of this? That some myths and definitions about the Hispanic community in the U.S. are not holding up, and that assumptions about the future of immigration from Mexico should be reconsidered.

The most prevalent myth holds that the growth of the Latino community in the United States is driven by immigration. That’s partially true. The new, complete truth is that U.S. Latino population growth is now mostly homegrown, red-blooded, apple pie (or empanada de camote) American.”*

Most Popular Female DJ in the San Francisco Bay Area Moves to Los Angeles’ Leading Mexican Regional Station KLAX 97.9 FM La Raza -

Spanish Broadcasting System (SBS) (NASDAQ: SBSA) announced today that on May 12, “El Show de La Bronca,” hosted by Silvia Del Valle, the San Francisco Bay area’s most popular female DJ, will begin airing her show from KLAX 97.9 FM La Raza the leading Mexican regional format station in Los Angeles. The program, which will air Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, will also be simulcast on San Francisco’s KRZZ 93.3 FM La Raza and Miami’s WRAZ 106.3 FM La Raza.

Born and raised in Chihuahua, Mexico, La Bronca has a unique energy that is known as “Throwing Tanga,” and characterized by her energetic, urban, Spanish twang, making her La Raza’s number one female personality.

Her arrival means that “Lupita Del Castillo” will now be on the air from 7:00 PM to 12:00 AM on “La Raza 97.9.”

Do not miss “El Show De La Bronca,” every Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM on KLAX 97.9 FM La Raza - a Spanish Broadcasting System radio station in Los Angeles.”

Five Latina political scientists, all of them trailblazers in their own field, profile Latina women who were the first to hold key elected and appointed positions in Texas in the recently published book “Políticas” (University of Texas Press, $19.95 paperback).

The book originated in 1998 when the authors participated in a women’s study panel at the University of Texas at San Antonio.”*

As Dallas City Council member Elba García considers a run for county Commissioners Court after her final term ends next year, her likely opponent envisions a spirited race because of their shared political credentials.

If she runs, Dr. García would face Kenneth Mayfield, the incumbent in District 4.

Dr. García could become the first Hispanic to hold that office if elected in 2010.”*

Utah Democrats named Josie Valdez as their choice for lieutenant governor on Saturday, even before casting their ballots for the party’s nominee for governor.

Valdez, the former assistant director of the Small Business Administration Office in Salt Lake City, was nominated by gubernatorial candidate Bob Springmeyer after he told delegates he was the “good jobs, good education, good health, clean air and clean water candidate for governor.”"*

Although Mother’s Day officially takes place the second Sunday of May in the United States, for Mexicans and Mexican-Americans living here, the celebration comes earlier.

No matter what day of the week it falls on, May 10 is the day that mothers in Mexico — and on this side of the border by people of Mexican descent— are feted.

Today, the day will be marked with a walk for peace in East Salinas and a gala dinner in Monterey, in addition to dozens of flower and plush-toy vendors scattered all over the county.”*

After much success at the WWD MAGIC Fashion and Apparel Expo in February, Colombian jean manufacturers, Michael Braden and Juliana Ramirez of Fiorana Inc., have finally launched fiorana.com. The bilingual e-commerce site is the exclusive home of Fiorana’s denim collection for Latinas, and it couldn’t come at a better time.

Research done by the Pew Hispanic Center earlier this year indicates that 78 percent of English-dominant Hispanics and 76 percent of bilingual Hispanics are currently surfing the web, which makes Fiorana.com the perfect one-stop shop for today’s fashionable Latina. “*

Ersi Arvizu was on vacation in Hawaii a few years ago when she heard that some guy named Ry Cooder was looking for her. She got the news from colleagues who knew her from her long-gone glory days as lead singer of El Chicano, the 1970s East Los Angeles band famous for her version of the classic old bolero “Sabor a Mi.”

No way, shot back Arvizu, who had long before moved to Arizona. Besides, she was “fit to be tied,” she said, over a money dispute involving a previous El Chicano comeback concert. She was in no mood to get back in the business.

Her colleagues insisted this was the chance of a lifetime. How many veteranos wouldn’t want to work with the producer who had turned a bunch of aging, forgotten Cuban musicians into the international superstars called the Buena Vista Social Club?”*

So did you know this? If you didn’t, perhaps you could send it to someone you know to help spread the knowledge and please tell them about HispanicTips.

View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

So did you know this? If you didn’t, perhaps you could send it to someone you know to help spread the knowledge and please tell them about HispanicTips.

View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

So did you know this? If you didn’t, perhaps you could send it to someone you know to help spread the knowledge and please tell them about HispanicTips.

View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

So did you know this? If you didn’t, perhaps you could send it to someone you know to help spread the knowledge and please tell them about HispanicTips.

View more “Did You Know?” facts in our “Did You Know?” section

There are 30.1 million Hispanic adults in the United States and 14.4 million of them–or 48%–are women, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates. This fact sheet describes the demographic, employment and income characteristics of Hispanic women in the U.S. using data from the 2007 Current Population Survey and the 2006 American Community Survey. The findings reveal striking differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic women, and native-born and immigrant Hispanic women from different countries of origin. “*

Dayanara Torres stars in the music video “Beautiful Now” by American singer and musician Alex Woodard, who serenades mothers just in time for Mother’s Day! The former Miss Universe appears with her two children: 7-year-old Cristian and 4-year-old Ryan. The 33-year-old Puerto Rican beauty is featured along with model Cindy Margolis and actresses Jodi Fung, Alison Sweeney and McKenzie Westmore, who also appear with their kids. “*

A jury verdict in favor of the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and farm worker Olivia Tamayo has been affirmed by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in a sexual harassment and reprisal lawsuit against Coalinga, California-based Harris Farms, the EEOC announced April 25, 2008. Harris Farms is one of the largest integrated farming operations in the Central San Joaquin Valley.

At trial, a jury found Harris Farms liable for sexual harassment, retaliation and constructive discharge. Tamayo was awarded over $1,000,000, including attorney’s fees for her private lawyer, on her federal and state law discrimination claims.”*

The voice of 10th grader Selena Gómez multiplies itself in the current box-office blockuster “Dr. Seuss’ Horton Hears a Who,” starring Jim Carrey and Steve Carell.

The animation movie features a big hearted elephant that protects a microscopic community of ants (the Whos) from his neighbors.

Carell plays the “Mayor of Whoville,” and Gómez is the voice of his daughters — 90 of them.”*