News (Noticias) Tagged ‘family’

Brothers Ismael, Luis and Edwin Valeriano are U.S. citizens, but their lives have been upended by the arrest of their father as part of an escalating crackdown on illegal immigrants.

In March, the boys’ 38-year-old father, Ismael Valeriano, a single parent from Mexico City, was detained for being in the country illegally after Phoenix police arrested him on a misdemeanor DUI warrant. “*

With federal authorities stepping up raids and local police joining enforcement efforts, illegal immigrants and their advocates say that preparing for possible deportation is becoming a common feature of life in their underground world.

They are designating who should take custody of their children, indicating what should be done with cars and homes, ensuring that relatives have power of attorney to access bank accounts and key documents, and memorizing phone numbers they might need to call from jail. Some are sending their U.S.-born children for visits to their home countries so they could adapt more easily if the family is suddenly forced to move back. “*

El Centro, which offers support services to Latino families, was recently named winner of the 2008 National Council of La Raza/Annie E. Casey Foundation Family Strengthening Award for the positive impact the José Martí center has had on Latino families.

“It’s been a big help,” Victoria’s mother, Cecilia Martinez, said in Spanish through a translator. She was one of four parents who provided testimonials about the day-care center to the National Council of La Raza, the largest Hispanic civil-rights group in the United States.”*

The Mexican American Political Association (MAPA) and the Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana join the call of other conveners, co-conveners, and endorsers to welcome you to the Third Annual National Latino Congreso. Please look at our website now at - www.latinocongreso.orgSince 2006, the National Latino Congreso has brought together Latinos from all walks of life - from grassroots community members to national elected officials - to create a united independent Latino agenda on a variety of issues.

Help us welcome Senator Barack Obama on Friday, July 18, 2008 at the Bonaventure Hotel for dinner, and engage him on the issues that are important to our community. https://latinocongreso.org/registration.php.

Join us in engaging Senator John McCain in a discussion on the war, the environment, immigration reform, the use of torture, global warming, and other issues on Friday, July 18, 2008 at the Bonaventure Hotel for lunch. https://latinocongreso.org/registration.php.

The Congreso first broke new ground in 2006 with delegates from 20 states creating a platform of 70 resolutions. In 2007, delegates from 300 endorsing organizations and individuals from 15 states passed 98 additional resolutions.

The resulting 168 resolutions, created by Congreso delegates from over 500 organizations, encompass traditional issues such as educational reform and immigrant rights as well as issues of growing concern for Latinos nationwide - public health, urban greening, foreign policy, climate change, and much more.

Make no mistake about it - the pressing and urgent task before us collectively is to register to vote millions of new Latino voters, encourage those already registered to get involved in electoral campaigns, and mobilize our collective voter strength in the millions to make use of the vote on Election Day in November.

There is a role for every member of the family. Those too young to vote or those who haven’t obtained citizenship status are important players in this campaign. They can make the difference in the mass mobilization of our community to march in the streets and march to the ballot box. This year we must move and act as one united family, and leave no one behind.

We welcome you to join MAPA or Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana and become a delegate or observer as we prepare our multiple delegations to attend and participate in all the town-hall discussions, debates, votes, and exchanges.

Join the many organizations that are conveners, co- conveners, and endorsers to the National Latino Congreso - www.latinocongreso.org.

Willie C. Velasquez Institute

League of United Latin American Citizens

Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund

National Day Labor Organizing Network

Southwest Voter Registration and Education Project

National Alliance of Latin American and Carribean Communities

Hispanic Federation

Mexican American Political Association

Hermandad Mexicana Latinoamericana

National Hispanic Environmental Council

You and your organization can also become an endorser to the Congreso. Join us today in forging the broadest unity between Latino organizations in the United States.

Si Se Puede,

Nativo V. Lopez

National President

www.latinocongreso.org

https://latinocongreso.org/registration.php

The 14th annual Día de la Familia is the biggest Latino music festival in Salinas, said Tony Valencia, promotions director for sponsoring radio station 99.5 KLOK-FM.

The family-oriented event will bring acts including Graciela Beltran, Los Dareyes de la Sierra, Los Rieleros del Norte, Exterminador, Banda el Limon and Julio Chaides from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday at the Sports Complex, 1034 N. Main St., Salinas.”*

The Cincinnati chapter of the National Society of Hispanic MBAs has today announced that Best Upon Request CEO Tillie Hidalgo Lima will be speaking at the upcoming installment of its Power Breakfast speaker series on Thursday, June 26 at The Banker’s Club downtown.

• Cine en el Parque 2008/Film in the Park Summer Series - June 25 - August 27, 2008
• Latino Theatre Festival/Festival De Teatro Latino - August 8 - 24, 2008
• 2008 Hispanic Business Expo - Thursday, August 14, 2008
• Feria del Libro Chicago 2008 - August 14 - 17, 2008
• 2008 International Chicago Tango Fest - August 21 - 24, 2008
• 2^nd Annual Sabor Latino Gala - Friday, August 22, 2008
• 4^th Annual Vive La Hispanidad - Friday, October 10, 2008
• Chicago Latino Fashion Week 2008 - October 27 - November 2, 2008

“*

The story about the charred body of a 14-year-old boy found in the desert by Native Americans got to her the most.

A grandmother herself, the thought that the teenage Mexican boy died in such a horrible way attempting to cross the United States border on foot was too much for Gail Creath of Lake Forest.

“They’ll never know what happened to him,” Creath said of the boy’s family. Creath spoke from her home earlier this month, four days after she and her husband Jim returned home from a week-long trip that took them one of the trails illegal immigrants traverse in the hope to enter the U.S. “*

“Mendes is still in the throes of a love affair with perhaps his country’s most important export…There are few musicians as gifted as pianist-arranger Mendes in creating fusions that resonate with popular taste and retain a high level of artistry… Mendes is back with ‘Encanto (Enchantment),’ another creative and contemporary reworking of the classics of Brazilian popular music…Mendes delves deeper into the canon, resurrecting such tunes as “Waters of March,” “Agua de Beber” and Burt Bacharach’s bossa foray “The Look of Love.”… Mendes turns some of Antonio Carlos Jobim’s lesser-known gems - “Dreamer” and “Lugar Comum” - into entirely new delights…The album’s most memorable track, and strongest hit single, is Fergie’s house-ish treatment of “The Look of Love,”…But Carlinhos Brown’s “Odo-Ya,” along with “Funky Bahia,” importantly casts a spotlight on Brazil’s northeastern region and its rootsier, percussion-oriented samba.” –NEWSDAY (Sunday, 6/15)

On The Strength Of Early Critical Praise And High Visibility At Starbucks Stores Across The Country, The Brazilian Legend’s Quintessential Summer Album Will Bow At #1 On Billboard’s “Top Contemporary Jazz” Chart

“Legendary musician Sergio Mendes [releases] a new album of samba-style classics and new funk —Following the success of his 2006 album ‘Timeless’, Mendes [returns with] an even fresher sound.” – Associated Press

“modern Brazilian jazz-fusion with an array of excellent musicians…

Fergie, doing ‘The Look of Love’ is [a] career highlight”- All Music

“Encanto gives us the best of both hemispheres.”- Village Voice

“4 ½ Stars… an album that features one terrific international artist after another.”- About.com

“Encanto is a true meeting of the cool-cat minds…the LP hits enviable high-water marks” –cnet

“Music as sunny, colorful and sexy as the album cover… overflowing with happy, richly arranged tunes that will enlighten your summer” – La Onda Tropical

“the Brazilian legend teams with another lineup of superb guests, and the results are transcendent… ‘Encanto’ sparkles with samba rhythms spiced with hip-hop grooves and shimmery pop melodies.” – Performing Songwriter

Look For Sergio Mendes To Launch A String Of Summer Concert Dates This Week, Highlighted By A Return Headlining Appearance At Carnegie Hall For The JVC Jazz Festival

Jun 20 - Atlantic City, NJ - House of Blues                   Jun 25 - Somerville, MA - Somerville Theatre

Jun 21 - New York, NY - Carnegie Hall                      Jun 27 - Syracuse, NY - Syracuse Jazz Festival

Jun 22 - Bridgeport, CT - Klein Memorial Auditorium Jun 28 - Toronto, ON - Music Hall

Jun 23 - Philadelphia, PA - World Café Live                 Jul 01 - Vienna, VA - The Filene Center

See The Video For First Single Funky Bahia At: http://youtube.com/watch?v=pTHNH6VSmCk

Or See Press EPK & More At: http://sergiomendesmusic.com/

The Board of the Indiana State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (ISHCC) named Wilson “Wil” Reyes as the new President of the non-profit organization at their May 22nd Board of Director’s meeting.

“I am confident that Wil will do a magnificent job in leading the ISHCC to much higher places than it’s seen before. He not only brings his business experience and acumen to the ISHCC, but his passion for excellence and the heart for our community”.

Wilson Elias Reyes (Wil) was born in the Dominican Republic in 1968. His family immigrated to the Bronx, New York when he was five months old in December of that same year. He lived in New York until he was twelve years old then moved to Florida. He spent his formidable years in Orlando, Florida and joined the United States Army where he served proudly for four years. Wil is also a Persian Gulf War veteran.

Wil graduated from Indiana University with degrees in Speech Communication, English and Spanish. He also studied abroad in Sheffield, England where he received a Combined Studies/Business Degree at Sheffield-Hallam University. He also owns Bullseye Business Furniture and Kingdom Church Furniture and is part owner of several other ventures.

“I have a passion for the Hispanic/Latino community,” said Wil Reyes, new president of the ISHCC. “As President of the ISHCC, I plan to advance Hispanic business opportunities statewide.”

Wil Reyes now lives in Indianapolis, Indiana. He is married to Stephanie. They have two beautiful children, Sterling Victoria who is three and Lincoln Elisha who is one year old.

About the ISHCC
The Indiana State Hispanic Chamber of Commerce (ISHCC) is a 501 c6 non-profit organization engaged in the improvement and advancement of the business conditions of its membership. The ISHCC was formed in 2001 to fulfill its mission of identifying and serving the growing needs of Hispanic and minority small businesses by:

providing service to members, promoting membership growth, facilitating economic development of its membership and advocating on behalf of the overall Hispanic community on issues of relevance.

For more information visit www.ishcc.org“

First Single “El Presente” Notches A Fourth Consecutive Week At #1 in Mexico, And Leaps Into The Top-20 At Radio in The United States

“[Julieta Venegas: MTV Unplugged] is magical…To enjoy Julieta Venegas, one must truly listen to and see this new CD and DVD…Julieta took the acoustic concept to another level. Not only was she accompanied by virtuoso musicians, but she created a musical world were she reinvented her own songs, innovated sounds and brought magic to the stage with her collaborations”- La Opinion-La Vibra COVER (translated)

To Celebrate The Release Of Her Already Critically Praised Unplugged CD & DVD, Julieta Venegas Was In New York To Tape MTV Tr3’s MiTRL and To Meet Fans At An In-store While The Complete Unplugged Performance Was Seen Above On A Giant Times Square Video Screen

Tune-In To MTV Tr3s At 4:00PM (ET) on Thursday, June 19^th To See Julieta On MiTRL

“For her [Unplugged], the smart, lyrical singer-songwriter made sure to never zap any energy from her thoughtful, spirited and sometimes offbeat brand of Latin pop and rock with a Mexican twist. [Venegas] gathered a studio full of great artists – including guests Gustavo Santaolalla, Marisa Monte and La Mala Rodríguez – then comfortably refashioned staples as well as four fresh tracks. There’s no pigeonholing her. “El Presente,” one of the new tunes, [is] breezy, up-tempo and perfect for radio… then she throws in “Algún Día,” a delightful tuba- and banjo-fueled jaunt” - Dallas Morning News

“[Julieta Venegas: MTV Unplugged finds] Venegas armed with the best musicians and collaborators who she could find from all corners of the planet.” – People en Espanol

Julieta Venegas with MiTRL host Carlos Santos at MTV’s Times Square Studio – Credit: Brian Appio/ mtvtr3s.com

Spanish Harlem’s Own

Zon del Barrio

opens for Puerto Rico’s

Friday, June 20, 2008
5 - 11 p.m.
Columbus, Ohio
Downtown  Genoa Park
Food- Marketplace – Dance
For ticket information: 614.645.3800

Tickets are also available at all Ticketmaster outlets and www.ticketmaster.com. To purchase tickets by phone, please call (614) 431-3600 or (614) 469-0939. Additional service fees apply to tickets purchased through Ticketmaster or by phone.

Guests are encouraged to bring blankets for lawn seating. Coolers, chairs, tents, pets, and umbrellas are not permitted.
* Friday admission is FREE for children 10 and under

If rain location is necessary, the concert will be moved to the
Palace Theater (34 W. Broad Street). Palace Theater will also be general admission seating.

New York, NY –June 18, 2008 – Hispanic Magazine calls “Spanish Harlem’s Zon del Barrio, an outfit steeped in nostalgia while exploding into the future.”  Featuring Fania All Star legend, Yomo Toro and Cortijo alum, singer/songwriter Sammy Ayala, ZDB brings it’s foot-stomping Latin dance drive from the streets of Spanish Harlem to Global Stages. Zon del Barrio’s debut CD, Cortijo’s Tribe / La Tribu de Cortijo, has been rated among the top ten of 2007 by Radio France, Venezuela’s El Magazine de la Salsa, Cali, Colombia and South Florida’s radio stations.

A high octane dance band, Zon del Barrio is an innovative and dynamic New York Latin music band that brings the dance music from the streets of Latin New York to the stage.  From the plena (popular during the turn of the last century) to the saucy strains of salsa amid the back beat of reggaeton laced with jazz, Zon del Barrio brings the beat of the streets to the hearts of dancers everywhere.

An intergenerational band whose members range from 16 to 75, Zon del Barrio was founded and is led by Latin music historian, writer, composer and musician Aurora Flores with musical director David Fernandez. Zon del Barrio’s Cortijo’s Tribe: La Tribu de Cortijo features two masters of Afro-Puerto Rican music, Yomo Toro, the King of the cuatro (the national 10-stringed guitar of the island) and an original member of Cortijo y Su Combo: Sammy Ayala.

Zon del Barrio is a play on words for the musical genre of “son” found in all the “barrio zon”es of Latino communities world wide. Bringing dance style classic Afro-Antillian music from the barrios, Zon del Barrio bring its energizing, foot stomping, funk based classic salsa (Afro-Cuban), plena, bomba & boogalu to their “live” performances.

“Representin’ on 5″ Aurora & Zon del Barrio were the houseband for the National Puerto Rican Day Parade on Sunday, June 8th where the band’s music was showcased to millions of New Yorkers and over the television and airwaves.

YouTube - Cortijo’s Tribe, Zon del Barrio, Sammy Ayala en Carnaval
Zon del Barrio pays tribute to Cortijo & Maelo in this concert featuring Sammy Ayala In this finale, Zon del Barrio .

MySpaceTV Videos: Carnaval w/Zon del Barrio: Severa by Zon del Barrio
Carnaval w/Zon del Barrio: Severa by Zon del Barrio Watch it on MySpace Videos.

Upcoming Performances:

Sunday, June 29th: Zon del Barrio will be taking the mainstage of the Boston Puerto Rican Day Parade in Franklin Park, Massachusettes where they will be joined by Sammy Ayala, Yomo Toro and 20 dancers from Danza Fiesta’s theatrical dance troupe.

Visit our websites at: www.zondelbarrio.com
Where History Becomes Music &
oldskool gets a new beat

www.youtube.com/aurorazdb

Until recently, the map showing control of key drug cartel hot spots in Mexico was something like the red states and the blue states in the U.S. Now, everything is up for grabs as three powerful wings of once rival trafficking groups fuse into a “megacartel,” unleashing an unprecedented blood bath, according to U.S. officials and analysts.

Hit men for the paramilitary Zetas based along the Mexico-Texas border appear to have cut a deal with both the Beltrán Leyva family in the northern state of Sinaloa and Vicente Carrillo Fuentes in Ciudad Juárez to work as paid mercenaries.

Underscoring the Zetas’ role is their trademark brutality in an ongoing war that’s claimed more than 1,600 lives so far this year, including more than 450 in Ciudad Juárez, across the border from El Paso. Overall, the killings are up nearly 30 percent over a year ago.”*

Two-year-old Martin, a young Guatemalan, was found abandoned in an Frankfort, Indiana Wal-Mart store on Friday, June 13.

In the note found with Martin, his mother states that the young family arrived a year ago from Guatemala. It wasn’t long afterwards that her husband left her. According to the letter written in Spanish, the mother doesn’t have the means to buy her son food or provide a roof over his head.

So, she did what has been done by millions of women around the world since the beginning of time, or at least as far back as Moses, she left him at a place she knew to be relatively safe. Where there were people, fellow mothers, who would find him, protect him and help him.”*

This sweet and spicy dish is inspired by a fruit salad Kelley’s family found in Morelia, Mexico.”*

Murano brings a unique perspective to A&M.

As a child, she fled Cuba and settled in Miami. She was the first in her family to attend college.

She then became an associate professor at Texas A&M.

In 2001, she was tapped by the U.S. Department of Agriculture to become the highest-ranking food safety official in U.S. government and presided over the first case of mad cow disease.”*

TRPI has released a report entitled: African American and Latino Enrollment Trends among Medicine, Law, Business, and Public Affairs Graduate Programs. The purpose of the report is to provide an analysis of the fields of medicine, business, law, and public affairs, and to present other relevant data pertaining to African American and Latino students in graduate education. The first section provides an overview of action policy and court cases. The second analyzes the relationship between affirmative action and nationwide enrollment trends of African American and Latino students in the four selected professional programs indicated.

Discovery:

• There have been significant improvements since the 1970s in high school graduation rates of African American and Latino students. Despite this, a low rate of African American and Latino high school alumni restricts the pool for medicine, business, law and public affairs students, because these disciplines require a bachelor’s degree.
• Multiple reasons and processes account for an underrepresentation of African American and Latino students in certain graduate programs, including factors stemming from affirmative action policy and court cases that have resulted from it.
• Institutional enrollment data from a significant number of schools need to be more transparent and more available so that the results of data analysis can be made public.
• Latino and African American applicants do not often have a lineage rooted in education from elite institutions, reducing their access to these gateways in fields of law, medicine, business and public affairs. (Half of the country’s business leaders come from elite schools, which comprise .5% of the nation’s colleges.)

National Enrollment Trends:

• The elimination of affirmative action has sharply decreased the number of underrepresented students enrolling in medical schools. African American applicants who applied to the top 10 public and private medical schools declined by 25%, from 5,379 in 1995 to 4,033 in 2001. Latino applicants to the same schools decreased 38.6%, from 2,769 in 1995 to 1,700 in 2001. Together, African American and Latino enrollment in the nation’s top 10 public and private medical schools declined by 11.2% and 27.2% respectively.
• From fall 1995 to fall 2006, the number of admitted African American and Latino students in University of California’s three law schools declined by 28% under California’s anti-affirmative action movement.
• Over the past nine years, there has been an increase in undergraduate business degrees awarded to African American and Latino students. These degrees rose from 9% of total degrees in the US in 1995-1996, to 15% in the 2003-2004 academic year. However, it should be noted that this statistic is not in keeping with growth of the African American and Latino population in the U.S., currently at 25%.
• MBA degrees for African Americans and Latinos are increasing faster than that of other master’s degrees (though it is also not in keeping with growth of the African American and Latino population in the U.S.).
• Public affairs master’s degrees train students for careers in government, business, media, nonprofit organizations, NGOs and other international organizations. M.A.s in underrepresented groups have increased from 18% in 1996 to 25% in 2004 (though the numbers are inconsistent with the growth of the African American and Latino populations in the U.S.).

Going further, TRPI’s Professor President Harry P. Pachon said, “It is not a question of affirmative action, it is a question of realizing the full intellectual potential of minority students in these programs.”

Download this report from Publications page under the education header at www.TRPI.org.

The report was prepared by Rodolfo de la Garza, and Sepehr Hejazi Moghadam, from the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute office at Columbia University.

Special thanks to the Ford Foundation who made this project possible.

Siempre Mujer magazine announced today that it will increase its frequency from six to eight times a year by 2010. The increase will come gradually, with the magazine splitting its October/November issue in 2009 and its April/May issue in 2010.

This month, Siempre Mujer also launches a partnership with Americatel, the first regional telecommunications carrier for Latin America and the Caribbean, for special subscription offers with the purchase of select monthly calling plans to Mexico. Americatel generates more than 100,000 new Hispanic customers with their monthly plans each year.

“Our growth reflects the overall growth of Hispanic women in this country,” commented Ruth Gaviria, executive director of Meredith Hispanic Ventures. “Few magazines have our depth of penetration against its target audience and that will only grow as we increase our rate base to 450,000 next year, add issues and reach more Hispanic women with creative and targeted partnerships.”

About Americatel
Born of NAFTA, Americatel is the first regional telecommunications carrier focused on the needs of multinational companies operating in Latin America and the Caribbean regions. Founded in 1993 as a dial-around long-distance provider, the company expanded in 1998 to offer residential domestic and international long-distance services throughout the continental United States, targeting primarily Hispanic customers.

About Siempre Mujer
Launched in September 2005, Siempre Mujer is a Spanish-language lifestyle and service publication for Hispanic women living in the United States. Published by Meredith Corporation (NYSE: MDP), Siempre Mujer helps women navigate a new American culture by covering the worlds of: fashion and beauty; food and entertaining; family and parenting; culture and entertainment; relationships and self-development; health and fitness; and finance. The bi-monthly national magazine has a rate base of 375,000, which will jump to 450,000 in 2009. “*

The family’s experience reflects a greater dynamic in Northwest Arkansas, state health officials said. As the region’s Hispanic population swells, the migration of new residents isn’t reflected in its nursing population.

That’s why education directors with the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences invited Berumen, a ninth-grader at Springdale’s Central Junior High School, and a dozen other Hispanic junior high school students from Northwest Arkansas to five days of seminars, tours and hands-on lessons related to careers in medical fields this week.

The Northwest Arkansas program, called CHAMPS or Community Health Applied to Medical Public Services, is one of six in the state.”*

Continental Airlines (NYSE: CAL) and the National Association of Hispanic Publications (NAHP) announced that Carlos Blanco, 18, of Houston, Texas, has won the “Destino: Latinoamerica” (”Destination: Latin America”) essay contest for Hispanic high school students.

Blanco, a May 2008 graduate of YES Prep School — Southeast in Houston, highlighted the influence of Latin America on his own life in his winning essay, “The Manifestation of Culture.”

“I love our music, our food, our films and our unspoken bond that unites us,” Blanco wrote. “Our united passion is what inspires me to live on as a young Latino destined to change the world.”

Blanco, the son of Bernardo Blanco, originally from Panama, and Rosantina Blanco, who is Mexican American, won six Continental Airlines tickets to travel anywhere in the U.S. where Continental flies. In addition, his essay will be posted on the NAHP website, nahp.org, as well as published in many NAHP member newspapers around the U.S.

“Part of being Latino comes from family relationships. I chose this topic because my family gave me my roots and my culture,” Blanco said when he learned he had won. “My family has definitely played a great influence on who I am, and the culture plays a role in who we are as a community.”

“The judges had a difficult choice to make this year because the essays we received were especially heartfelt,” said Maria Cristina Osorio, Manager, Public Relations, Latin America and U.S. Hispanic, Continental Airlines. “Carlos just seemed to sum up the essence of Latin American culture with such pride and feeling.”

Blanco, who will attend Columbia University in New York next fall, plans to major in education and journalism. Active in the community, Blanco is working this summer with the Houston Votes organization that encourages Latino voter participation, as well as volunteering with the Latino Learning Center.

“The NAHP is committed to encouraging student expression through programs such as ’Destino: Latinoamerica,’” said Clara Padilla, president, NAHP. “We are pleased to join Continental in providing a way to let heritage and stories of Latin America’s impact on U.S. life be heard.”

This was the second year for the “Destino” contest. Essay entries had to focus on some aspect of the influence of Latin America on U.S. life. Judges from Continental and the NAHP evaluated the essays for clarity of expression and originality.

Latin America and the Caribbean account for more than half of Continental Airlines’ international destinations. Continental offers service to 76 destinations in 23 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, including nonstop service to 31 destinations in Mexico — more than any other airline. Continental also offers nonstop service to more Central American cities (10) than any other U.S. airline and serves nine South American destinations.

Continental offers a number of Spanish-language services, including bilingual flight attendants on many flights to Latin America; and bilingual airport personnel, reservations agents and signage. Spanish-language functions on the continental.com Web site include flight booking, check-in, seat selection, flight and gate information, and OnePass frequent flyer program enrollment. Passengers also may make reservations in Spanish at 1-800-537-9222. For more information, visit www.continental.com (www.continental.com/espanol) .

The National Association of Hispanic Publications, Inc. (NAHP, Inc.) is a nonprofit trade advocacy organization representing the leading Hispanic publications serving 41 markets in 39 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, with a combined circulation of over 14 million. NAHP was founded in 1982 as a nonpartisan and nonprofit organization (501-c-6) to promote Hispanic publications.”

Seccion Amarilla announced today the launch of their newly redesigned web portal www.seccionamarilla.com along with the start of their advertising campaign; tailored to promote the site to the U.S. Hispanic community.

(Logo: www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080616/CLM106LOGO )

“Seccionamarilla.com is a technologically advanced search website that offers users the unique advantage of a City Guide section; providing news about Latino’s home countries, their local weather, entertainment, job opportunities and more,” said Juan Reffreger, CEO of Seccion Amarilla. “We are thrilled to be the only yellow pages company that currently delivers relevant content to Hispanic consumers.”

The site is being promoted with an aggressive media campaign designed to reach the Hispanic market and potential clients throughout the U.S. It leverages network and cable television, local radio, print, online, sports activities and grassroots events. The campaign begins on June 15 and will run till the end of the year.

The creative concept focuses around family values and position Seccion Amarilla as part of one’s family. Hispanics look towards their families for information that will help them thrive. Therefore, Seccion Amarilla aims to be part of the Hispanic family; informing them in their language and providing all necessary tools for success. The campaign demonstrates various situations where Latinos are faced with challenges and consult seccionamarilla.com to overcome their obstacles. “In order to succeed, one must be well informed,” states the voice over.

“By understanding the needs and key principals of our target market, Seccion Amarilla has succeeded in creating its own brand image; setting itself apart from competitors while establishing a unique bond with the U.S. Hispanic,” says Miguel Capriles, National Marketing Manager, Seccion Amarilla. “We are proud to have captured the spirit of the community and present it in a way which embraces all aspect of our business.”

About Seccion Amarilla

Seccion Amarilla is the leading Hispanic directory today, and has been Mexico’s yellow pages company for over 114 years. Seccion Amarilla prints over 90 directories that correspond to 90 different cities in more than 30 states reaching over 15 million of Hispanics. And now it leads the way to reaching these communities online.

“*

Ms. Lovato grew up in Texas, competing in beauty pageants, taking acting, music and singing lessons and landing her first television role on the children’s show “Barney & Friends” when she was eight.

For Ms. Lovato and her family, the desire to get into the Disney empire was as great as the company’s desire to find new talent. “Take it from someone who tried for eight years to make it, once you get in you’re thankful,” says Dianna De La Garza, Ms. Lovato’s mother.

For her part, Ms. Lovato expresses some surprise that she has ended up as a player in Disney’s talent pool. But she insists that the media company allows its actors to flourish as individuals. “Disney has an image that’s not the reality,” she says. “Artists aren’t as manufactured as they appear.”"*

With the focus now squarely on the general election, the pressure intensifies to work those pieces of the demographic pie that could mean The White House. Among the tastier slices? U.S. Latino voters.

Ten years ago, at just under 11% of the U.S. population, the U.S. Hispanic market began drawing interest in earnest, some pointing to untapped spending, others to the potential for playing a decisive role in an election. Even so, efforts have been piecemeal and adjunct. Today, at just over 15% of the population and growing, campaigns are finally getting game, dedicating larger budgets and integrating efforts earlier. More important than the percentage of the U.S. population that is Latino is the percentage of the voting public they represent in many key states as demonstrated in the recent Democratic primary contests.

In Texas, Latino participation went from 24% in 2004 to 32% this year. In California, where roughly a third of the population is Latino, 1.2 million Latinos voted – the highest total of any state – representing a whopping 29% of the total vote. This is a dramatic increase from the 2004 primaries where Latinos accounted for just 16% of the total vote. According to studies by the Pew Hispanic Center, Latinos’ stake of the Democratic primary vote increased significantly since 2004 in 15 other states, including Arizona, Nevada, New Jersey and New Mexico.

What could be bringing Latino voters out in such record numbers? It could be the record amounts being spent on Spanish and English language ads targeting Latinos; however, the proportion of dollars spent to the relative increase in voter turnout doesn’t support this idea.

And although more attention than ever is focused on the Latino electorate, media still struggles with how to characterize Latino voters and campaigns how to decisively galvanize their support.

Why should this group be so hard to get a handle on?

Perhaps it’s because the descriptor “Latino” tends to be erroneously interpreted as meaning this is a homogeneous group or, at least as an electorate, a group that shares the same general cluster of characteristics somewhat discrete from other groups. In my experience when there is some acknowledgement of heterogeneity it is typically in terms of different levels of “acculturation,” a concept I heartily dissuade clients and all comers alike to discard as virtually useless.

The problem with applying the term “acculturation” to the U.S. Latino experience is that there is no specific definition, only the vague inference that people progress along an implicitly linear continuum of mainstream American-ness going from “Less American” to “More American” until they are “fully acculturated.”

But more or less American than whom or what? A flourishing advertising and marketing industry spends tens of millions of dollars each year carefully dissecting and targeting all different kinds of Americans.

Going back to the homogeneity assumption, when it comes to trying to differentiate Latinos as a group from other groups, the temptation is to focus on cultural differences such as the much-touted family-centric ethos. I contend this is not relevant when addressing Latinos as voters. Instead, I believe the focus needs to be on characteristics that correlate highly with being a U.S. Latino and are shared in common with other groups in order to understand their needs and draw support.

The average U.S. Latino has more children, earns less money and has a lower level of educational achievement than the average American. For Spanish language dominant Americans (22% of eligible Latino voters), the language barrier means there are fewer resources available to them, resulting in frustration and alienation. They feel no one understands the special challenges they face in raising their family in today’s society. Interestingly, in focus groups I’ve found these same feelings voiced by single mothers.

The lower paying jobs U.S. Latinos tend to hold typically don’t offer health insurance, further threatening the tentative foothold many have on economic survival – a worry they have in common with more and more Americans as the ranks of the middle class continue to shrink. Latinos also represent an unusually high proportion of family members serving in the Iraq war – a burden they share with low income Americans of all races and ethnicities.

The key to appealing to Latinos in this election year is understanding that they represent the hardest hit of the hardest hit in the current economic downturn and have the most to lose as the war grinds on in Iraq. Hillary Clinton’s relative success with Latino voters had nothing to do with Black-Brown tensions undermining Obama and everything to do with her campaign focus on the needs of working class people and the Bill Clinton legacy of a strong economy.

And while historically Latinos have leaned towards the Democratic Party, examination of Latino voter behavior over the last few elections suggests neither Democrats nor Republicans can count on party line support. In 2004 George Bush drew more than 40% of the Latino vote, and I would contend this was in large part due to his ability to appeal to the working class. And while the 2006 mid-term elections showed an overall decrease in Latino support of Republican Congressional and gubernatorial candidates and an overall increase in support of Democrats, Latinos split their ballots voting in record numbers for certain Republicans.

So why are Latinos turning out in record numbers to vote? Because not since the 1960s has so much been at stake for the lowest on the economic totem pole. The economy and the war have only worsened in the last two years. While these are important issues for everyone, for working class families their very survival hangs in the balance.

To carry the Latino vote in this election, the focus is simple… think “hardest hit of the hardest hit.” McCain has a good start in this direction. His Spanish language ads are direct and to the point, saying, “When it comes to filling up our shopping carts or gas tanks, we aren’t Democrats or Republicans. We’re Latinos suffering in this together…” and promising (however vague) solutions to these economic woes.

While Obama’s Latino-focused ads are hip, catchy and even moving (reggaeton beats to chants promising “Hope has arrived”), they do not address important needs or propose a plan of action. As Reina, an anonymous Latina in Los Angeles commented in response to seeing these ads, “It’s upbeat, but does he get how bad things are? Can he handle the challenges? What has he ever done?”

As Obama heads into the final months of the general election, if he wishes to garner the coveted Latino vote, he will have to present the answer to an even more important question: what will he do for Hispanics, the people on the front lines of our floundering economy.

Ines Poza, Ph.D., is the owner of Poza Consulting Services, a market research firm based in Santa Monica, CA providing research and strategic planning for media and consumer goods targeting general market and Latino audiences in the U.S. and