FH Hispania Plaza

Happy Presidents (and Hispanic Elected Officials) Day

Today we celebrate the birthdays of two important American presidents, Lincoln and Washington.  And while there hasn’t been a Hispanic to serve in the Oval Office – yet – there have been a number of Hispanic cabinet members and presidential advisors, including Alberto Gonzales, Attorney General (Bush), Carlos Gutierrez, Secretary of Commerce (Bush), Mel Martinez, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Bush), Federico Pena, Secretary of Energy (Clinton) and Henry Cisneros, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (Clinton).

There are also thousands of Hispanic elected officials who serve our country at the state, county and local levels every day.  According to the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials, today there are more than 6,000 Hispanics serving in elected or appointed office across all levels of government.

Grammys Gloss Over Latinos

Where is Ricky Martin when you need him?  That’s what I kept asking myself while watching the Grammy Awards telecast last night.

In celebration of the awards’ 50th anniversary, the show featured performances spanning different genres (a classical violinist played with the Foo Fighters) and generations (Beyoncé joined Tina Turner for an electrifying dance number), yet was disappointingly light on Latino musicians and celebrities, with presenters Juanes, George Lopez and Roselyn Sanchez notable exceptions.

As noted previously on this blog, U.S. Latinos have made immense contributions to the U.S. music scene, with salsa and reggaeton two of the strongest examples of Latino music forms that have influenced pop culture in the last 50 years.

And on this year’s list of nominees, Latino musicians and artists were well represented in many categories, including: best duo (Shakira and Beyonce), best comedy album (George Lopez), best female pop artists (Christina Aguilera), best picture score (Gustavo Santaolalla for Babel), as well as in the eight categories now devoted to Latin music (click here to see the winners).

So why weren’t there more Latinos on stage last night?  I would have loved to see Santana jamming with Brad Paisley, Shakira singing with Sheryl Crow and Daddy Yankee dropping rhymes with Kanye – as I’m guessing the rest of this country’s fastest-growing demographic might have, too.

A Woman on a Mission

This week we continue with our series of posts about influential Latinos doing some unique, innovative and meaningful work related to marketing, public relations and connecting to the Latino experience and identity in the U.S.  Community relations is a fundamental piece to truly penetrate the hearts and minds of this audience.  Today, it is a pleasure to bring you a brief profile on Las Comadres, a Latina social networking phenomenon, based on conversations with La Comadre Mayor and the woman who powers the network: Nora de Hoyos Comstock.

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By all accounts, Nora de Hoyos Comstock is a friend, an ear, a shoulder and support to her Comadres: even when they amount to 10,000 women all over the country.  The social networking phenomenon called Las Comadres began seven years ago in Austin out of a need and desire to connect with other Latinas.  The goal, in Nora's own words was to "celebrate and preserve culture and pride in who we are and to share information and open doors for each other".  Nora's labor of love took root in knowing that if she had an interest in connecting to other women in that way, the need was very likely to be reciprocated by women in cities all over the U.S.  And so began the word of mouth. And the email list.  Because Las Comadres contact each other online, share information, refer each other to jobs: "I could not do this work if it were not for the Internet," Nora says.

Today, Las Comadres boasts 10,000 women of Latino origins, many Compadres (or men who have joined the group by association), located in more than 50 cities and connected via email and monthly Comadrazos, potlucks were members can grow their relationships. And members come from all walks of life but are mostly accomplished, professional women with cultural commonalities.

In the next couple of years, Nora envisions a lot of growth.  She knows many more Latinas are looking for a community and she hopes to connect 1 million women -- that's her goal.  Her focus will expand to include a leadership-building environment, providing a forum for authors, a connection between entrepreneurs, friends, trusted advice, resources and overall, the same connection based on camaraderie that has spurred the growth of the group today.

Nora and the board of Las Comadres welcome working with community-oriented projects, providing education and even access to her members for the right information.  They are selective and protective of this network that's grown under Nora's leadership, but is fueled by the passion and energy of many comadres. 

The email list always has room for more names.  And with Latinas leading in small businesses and the home, we know there is a large universe of women likely to gravitate to a place that offers 'comunidad'.

As marketers we know just how important word of mouth, community leaders, Latinas and community influencers are to the segment-- Las Comadres is the perfect combination of these elements.  Even more so when considering many members are bilingual/bicultural Latinas often a difficult to target through traditional means.

Latino Entrepreneurs and Professionals

RedEye, a Chicago Tribune publication, earlier this week published a cover story titled “This is Latino Chicago,” a thorough, by-the-numbers snapshot of the impact Latinos have made on our city.  “Latinos have driven Chicago’s population growth, stirred changes in the city’s neighborhoods, redirected marketing campaigns and changed the face of the city's schools,” stated the article.

As a lifelong Chicagoan, I have witnessed these changes myself and seen the impact in different facets of my own life, including the workplace.

When I started out in PR, I was often the only Latino account person.  Today, in our Chicago office, we have grown to five Latino account staff members - all young, highly-educated Latinas.  This is important to acknowledge because as more Latinos enter the workforce they will increasingly make their mark on the workplace and the economy.

For example, the number of Latinos in management and professional occupations is increasing.  In addition, Hispanic business ownership is growing three times as fast as the national average.  Given the example of my own office, it should come as no surprise that more and more Hispanic business owners are women.

Research shows that diversity is good for the economy.  A survey by the Society for Human Resource Management and Fortune magazine showed that 79 percent of HR professionals at Fortune 1,000 companies believe that diversity improves corporate culture and 52 percent believe it improves client relations.

Statistics aside, one of the most exciting things for me about the rise of Latinos entrepreneurs and professionals is the collaborative way we help each other to achieve success.

Arturo Rico, a construction company owner in North Carolina, told CNN that he encourages his employees to learn what they can from him, so that they can one day go into business for themselves.  And here in Chicago, the Chicago Latino Network connects Hispanic professionals for networking and social events.  Stories like this exist across the country and additional proof is the growing number of local Hispanic business chambers in the US Hispanic Chamber of Commerce network.

Marketers interested in reaching Hispanic influencers should pay close attention to the millions of business owners and professionals among us.

Adiós Kansas

**From Monica Talan**

On Saturday I received an alert from the National Council of La Raza stating that the organization has decided to move its 2009 convention from Kansas City because the Mayor decided to appoint an active member of the Minuteman Civil Defense Corps to a city commission.  For anyone not familiar with the size of the convention, this might not seem like a big deal. Except NCLR was expected to generate $5.5 million in revenue  to the city.  And they may set in motion a chain of events, since the NAACP is supposed to host its convention there in 2010 and is also looking at moving it because of this issue. The  NAACP weeklong conference in 2010 could bring in $9 million. All in all, this could cost Kansas more than $14 million in new revenue over a two-year period. 

So who is this city commissioner? She is a 73-year-old grandmother who joined the Minuteman group because of the government’s lack of attention to the immigration issue. Again, some might say NCLR and NAACP are exaggerating, but as groups like NCLR have no other ways to make their voices heard, just like the city commissioner did and therefore joined Minuteman group, they need to make these tough decisions to show the economic impact of the immigration debate. Conventions are big business. As cities look at being selected for convention sites, and as companies and organizations look for best sites, a new issue might be on their list for consideration if they want Hispanic participation.

Hollywood Latinas: From Invisible to Influential

I recently learned that Kat Von D, one of the top female tattoo artists in the world and star of TLC’s Miami Ink and now L.A. Ink, is Hispanic.  Born in Mexico to Argentine parents, Kat moved to the U.S. years ago.

She sports large tattoos of legendary Mexican actresses Maria Victoria and Elsa Aguirre on her shins and occasionally peppers her language (on-air) with Spanish words and phrases.  From what I can tell, she strongly identifies with her Latino heritage but isn’t wholly defined by it.  A go-to tattoo artist for Hollywood’s A-list, Kat is seen (by most of the world) first as an artist then as a Latina.

There once was a time when Latina actresses wouldn’t dare admit that they were Latina.  Early film roles, such as the sexy Latina spitfire or exotic home wrecker, reinforced ugly stereotypes and limited talented actresses from finding non-ethnic parts.  The only way around this was to suppress your Latina roots.  Screen siren Rita Hayworth is probably the best example of this unfortunate reality.

Times have certainly changed.

Matters of Faith

Hispanics Catholics are like a two-sided coin.

On the one hand, Hispanics make up a large part of the U.S. Catholic church.  More than a third of Catholics in this country are Hispanic, and as immigration from Latin America increases, so too will the number of new U.S. Catholics.

On the other hand, Hispanic Catholics are leaving the church in steady numbers.  According to The Center for the Study of Latino Religion at the University of Notre Dame, around 70 percent of U.S. Latinos today identify themselves as Catholic, compared to 90 percent 30 years ago.

Many are leaving to join evangelical and Pentecostal churches.  In fact, one of the Christian movement’s brightest stars is Hispanic.  Erwin McManus of the hip, multicultural Mosaic ministry in Los Angeles, number 12 on Church Report magazine’s list of the 50 Most influential Christians in America, originally hails from El Salvador.

Those Hispanics that remain Catholic are infusing a unique blend of culture and charisma into the Church.  In San Pablo, Calif., the Hip Kidz rap group, comprised of local at-risk Latino youth, rap about the Virgen de Guadalupe.  And across the country, more than half of Hispanic Catholics describe themselves as charismatic (meaning they engage in spiritual practices such as hand clapping and speaking in tongues), compared with only an eighth of non-Hispanic Catholics.

So why is this important for marketers?

A Spanish Blog, a Trusted DJ, a Historical Event

Those who closely follow what makes the Hispanic community cohere know this to be a truth: Spanish-language radio exerts a powerful influence over the Spanish-dominant Hispanic community.  They spend more time with this media than with any other.  It is on while they work, while they drive, while they play.  It mobilizes them to act, to learn more, to speak out, to have fun. 

But the Hispanic community is so dynamic and diverse that, once in a while, its use of media defies all that we know to be a truth intuitively and numerically.  It has been widely reported, documented and discussed that Hispanics lag behind other groups when it comes to web usage. According to a recent report by the Pew Hispanic Center, Mexicans, the largest group of Hispanic in the U.S., are among the least likely to go online: 52% of Latinos of Mexican descent uses the internet. The report also points that socioeconomic, education and English-fluency factors play a significant role in explaining why Hispanics lag behind in web use.  On the other hand, we know that Hispanics who do go online and speak Spanish, prefer Spanish-language websites. 

Stats aside, the web can be in large part attributed with organizing and mobilizing Hispanics in the single most historical debate about immigration.

Recently, DJ Piolin—the voice of radio for million of Hispanics across the country-- validated this truth beyond any doubt.  In the airwaves for years, each morning Piolin brings cheer, laughter, rising to Hispanics from many walks of life who laugh easily from culturally charged jokes in Spanish, who know the stars of Mexican regional and other very Spanish-dominant genres.  And you have to trust a person who makes you laugh and still brings about a sense of community—laughing together.