FH Hispania Plaza

Our Nation Makes History

 

Yesterday was a day for the books.  The 44th president elect took office.  He's the first black man to run the nation.  He also is an agent of change.  No wonder millions took to the national mall to celebrate him and with him, and no wonder so many influential groups, luminaries, celebrities and media flocked to fete the occasion in due measure. The Latino community was no exception.

Our colleague Marieli Colon-Padilla was there, in D.C., at the center of the action and tells us that there were more than 10 celebrations put together by Latino groups to celebrate the inauguration.  NCLR and other influential groups hosted  the most notable event: the star-studded Latino Inaugural Gala. Latino entertainers Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony said “presente” at the Hispanic inauguration pre-celebration at Union Station. Other entertainers at the event included Puerto Rican singer Luis Fonsi, Mexican singer Lila Downs, Colombian singer Shakira, comedian George Lopez, actress Rosie Perez, actor Edward James Olmos, Chiefs’ tight end Tony Gonzalez, telenovela actress Angelica Vale, and others. Members of Congress filtered in and mixed in with the crowd and the stars.

They also held a Latino State of the Union meeting alongside MALDEF and LULAC, and, as expected, immigration reform figured at the top of the list. Immigration remains a highly divisive political issue, particularly since concerns about terrorism amplified the debate about border security in recent years. The issue was presented as a topic separate from border discussions and presented as an issue of national interest defined by cooperation, rather than confrontation, with Mexico and Latin America.

But we can say now Latinos have “friends in high places” in the Obama administration, like the Interior secretary designate, Ken Salazar; the Labor secretary designate, Hilda Solis; and the White House’s director of intergovernmental affairs, Cecilia Muñoz, formerly a vice president of the National Council de la Raza.

Overall it was clear that the Latino vote is too important to be ignored.

Around Hispanic networks and Hispanic print, the media turned its focus to the story of the day.  All the leading correspondents reported from the nation's capital. Impremedia did a terrific job with photos and coverage on the site (check out their El Cambio section),  Univision reported live from DC from the swearing in ceremony, even during "Despierta America" and then worked out a deal with Comcast to offer the coverage available on-demand post the event, Telemundo also did a great job of covering the event.

And as the day gets documented and added to the U.S. history book, one Latina will always be close to Michelle Obama on the day she became First Lady: Cubana Isabel Toledo.  She designed the dress and coat that Mrs. Obama wore as she stood next to the man who today begins a new chapter for our nation.

Hispanic Media Reports on Election Night

After nearly two years of campaigning, the U.S. has a new president and his name is Barack Obama.  Last night as media reported on the news, the Hispanic electorate was often mentioned, and Obama’s capture of nearly two-thirds of the Hispanic vote was heralded as one of the election’s many historic firsts.

Today we reprise the way Hispanic media reported on the news with field reports from FH Hispania team members in major markets across the U.S.

It is also important to note that most Spanish-language news outlets also heavily reported on the tragic death in Mexico City yesterday of Mexico’s Interior Minister, Juan Camilo Mouriño, which was announced as the polls were closing.

Atlanta

Mundo Hispánico, the leading Hispanic paper in the state, highlighted President-elect Obama’s win as “Barack Obama, a New Era Begins.”  It also featured facts about Latinos and Election Day. 

 

McCain's Last Lap/E-Day is Finally Here

On Sunday night, John McCain made a campaign stop in Florida-- Coral Gables to be more precise-- for a midnight rally with staunch supporters. Coral Gables has a very active and engaged Cuban community that has long been a bastion for the Republican Party. A week before, Palin sat down with Pedro Sevcec for a one-on-one interview on Telemundo. On Oct. 22, Jorge Ramos also had a turn at an exclusive interview with the proposed Republican VP. To read the transcript in English, click here.  McCain also has been interviewed on the network.

For comparisons sake following Marisa's post yesterday, a search for "Latinos con McCain" turned up around 400 results on Google, while "Latinos for McCain" shows about 11,200.  Wonder if acculturated voters are more of the target for the GOP?

Daddy Yankee and Eduardo Versategui are two of the Hispanic celebs who have come out publicly endorsing McCain.  FYI-- Hispanics make up 30 percent of Arizona's population-- the fourth largest percentage behind New Mexico, California and Texas.

With 9 million plus votes at stake, the Latino vote has been heavily courted by both parties' candidates-- through ads, interviews, online and activist groups.  As of yesterday, polls are giving the majority of the Latino vote to Obama, but many still seem to be undecided just hours before voting ends. 

Obama's Last Stretch*

Tomorrow is not only Election Day, but the night of the big Obama rally here in Chicago.  His campaign has arranged for a huge election watch party in Grant Park, and while 65,000 people hold tickets, the Mayor estimates up to a million people will attend to see Obama either win or lose the big race.

Because Obama lives in Chicago and will be putting the city on the international stage, the rally is big news here and Obamamania is at fever pitch.

Another city enamored by the senator from Illinois is the city of Obama, Japan, of which some residents have shot their own music video to show their support for the candidate.

In the spirit of this really fun, Japenese music – and I guess even politics – knows-no-language-barriers video, I decided to do a quick online scan to see if members of the Latino community are expressing their support for Obama in creative ways … and we most certainly are.**

13 Days to Go: Hispanic Press Readies for The Last Leg

There is no escaping election coverage at this stage.  Flip channels and you see the McCain/Obama analysis on all networks, cable, even SNL.  But what about Hispanic media?  At the start of the race, immigration was a critical point of attention.  Now, the economy is center stage based on the unique and extraordinary developments of the last few weeks (in development for much longer, but memory is short).  Regardless, the contest is still a focus for Hispanic media.   Even though we don't have as many opinion and analysis programs in Spanish, Spanish dominant viewers can turn to Univision and Telemundo or their Spanish-language newspaper of choice for the latest news.

Candidates are amping up campaigns and media are too.  Obama took a full page in Sunday's edition of El Nuevo Herald-- with Florida being a key state and all.  Ads aside, some media also have elected to show their endorsements very prominently.  Such is the case of El Diario La Prensa (part of Impremedia) which devoted their first page on October 17 to Obama, the same day the LA Times backed him.   Univision continues with its heavy online coverage.

Jorge Ramos, the Hispanic media's Tom Brokaw who looks a lot like Anderson Cooper, has stated that these are "life or death elections." He developed a column posted yesterday on Univision.com with some notes for voters to consider before making their decision on the 4th. La Opinion, one of the leading Hispanic newspapers, has long-time political reporter Maribel Hastings on the campaign trail. This just to cite some examples.

Nobody can argue the fact that this year's vote is historic for many reasons: the capitalist system has been dealing with the worst blows to its foundation, and regardless of who wins, either an African American or a woman AND the oldest presidential candidate will take the White House.

Voter registration is an at all time high.  Of the record number of registered voters, this year 9 million will be Hispanic. And all will be affected by the decisions of whoever wins-- immigration included or not.

McCain, Obama Address Major Hispanic Conferences

In what continues to be a year of firsts in election history, both presidential candidates yesterday addressed attendees at the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) annual conference taking place in DC this week.  Hillary Clinton, along with other influential government officials, also will address the crowd later this week.  McCain spoke during a diversity luncheon, while Obama led an open dialogue session: and each touched on immigration as they seek to solidify the support from the Latino vote. The importance of the Latino vote has been well documented and reported since this election cycle began. This link to NPR provides a library of recent stories that document how the battle for the Hispanic vote is continuing to heat up.  With voters preoccupied about the economy and how it is personally affecting them, candidates are amping up their campaigns and seeking opportunities to be closer to potential poll goers.

On Castro's Resignation Day

Fidel Castro has made some major headlines in his lifetime, some by his own design and many others by the impact of his actions. During the last couple of years, those headlines have turned to documenting his demise, including some proclaiming his impending death, his transfer of power to brother Raul Castro and his outings after his closely-watched and long road to recovery from the illness that has spun change in Cuba.  Today, the world is abuzz with the anti-climatic news that he has resigned as president.  To many Cubans, that only means the succession plan of positioning Raul is now complete.

Hispanic and general market media have prominently covered the news today, with lead stories in the online sites of La Opinion, El Nuevo Herald, El Diario La Prensa, and on portals Terra.com, Univision.com, MSN Latino, in addition to coverage on leading general market media.  In this era of multimedia, galleries documenting Castro's life are prominently featured alongside extensive coverage of what the news means for Cuba, expert commentary and forums, and media have flocked to the microcosms that is Little Havana to get the reaction of the Miami Cuban community. 

A Tejano Kind of Primary

If California serves as example, Hispanic voters will play a crucial role in Texas when the state holds its primary next month.

On the Republican side, McCain has set out to win back the many Texan Latinos who voted for Bush in ’04 but have since turned away because of the party’s immigration stand. 

On the Democratic side, it seems Obama is gaining ground and Hillary’s so called Hispanic “firewall” is looking more like a “fire-fence,” as documented by the Houston Chronicle based on IVR polls.

Super Martes

Everyone caught Super Tuesday fever. The high stakes race, the unprecedented turnout and the issues on the table have voters engaged, passionate and tuned in to the news. In the closely contested Democratic race, Hispanics appear to have played a determining role in swinging the California vote in Hillary Clinton’s favor, although about half of Hispanic voters in Illinois supported Obama. With Texas as the largest state still up for grabs, don’t be surprised to see an all out battle for its sizable Latino voting bloc. On the Republican side, John McCain’s more moderate stance on immigration reform may have also helped him gain the plurality of the Hispanic Republican vote yesterday (33% in California and 62% in Arizona according to CNN polling).  How did Hispanic media cover the news?  Read on:

 

Rumbo a las elecciones

While the importance of Latino voters to the elections has been widely reported, one group you don’t seem to hear much about is young Latino voters, many of whom are voting for the first time.

A few organizations, including youth-oriented TV networks, are embarking on efforts to change that by getting young Latinos registered and engaged in the decision process.  For example, last year Telemundo and mun2 jointly launched the “Vota por tu futuro” or Vote 4 UR Future initiative.

Another organization looking to attract the attention of this segment is Voto Latino, co-founded by the actress Rosario Dawson and Maria Teresa Petersen, who see Latino voters between the ages of 18 and 34 as “the ones that will make the difference [in this election].” 

In 2006, Voto Latino released a series of bilingual PSAs, in partnership with Telemundo and mun2, featuring such celebrities as Cameron Diaz, Nina Sky, Chingo Bling, Don Dinero and Jeremias.

This week they followed up on their creative celebrity-driven spots with the release of the “La pasión de la decisión,” a four-part telenovela broadcasting on Voto Latino and YouTube and aimed at encouraging young Latinos to register and vote.

Using celebrities is a powerful way to reach teens and young adults, so it makes sense that “La pasión de la decisión,” features major Latino stars in front of and behind the camera, including Wilmer Valderrama, Tony Plana, Mayte Garcia, and of course, Rosario Dawson. 

The first episode is absolutely hilarious and a smart play on the beloved telenovela genre, featuring a wedding proposal, a love triangle, a medical tragedy and sibling rivalry – all in under four minutes.  Of course, there’s also a register to vote message woven into the plotline, but I won’t reveal how that happens.  You’ll have to see it for yourself, and watch for the final three episodes.