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Helping Businesses and Advertising Agencies craft messages that will resonate with the Latino Community.

Hispanics and the Economic Downturn: Housing Woes and Remittance CutsYesterday

January 8, 2009
by Mark Hugo Lopez, Gretchen Livingston, and Rakesh Kochhar

Like the U.S. population as a whole, Latinos are feeling the sting of the economic downturn. Almost one-in-ten (9%) Latino homeowners say they missed a mortgage payment or were unable to make a full payment and 3% say they received a foreclosure notice in the past year, according to a new national survey of 1,540 Latino adults conducted by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. Moreover, more than six-in-ten (62%) Latino homeowners say there have been foreclosures in their neighborhood over the past year, and 36% say they are worried that their own home may go into foreclosure. This figure rises to 53% among foreign-born Latino homeowners.
 

The survey also finds that the economic downturn has had an impact on the amount of money that Latinos sent to relatives or others in their country of origin in the past year. Among Hispanic immigrants who sent remittances in the last two years, more than seven-in-ten (71%) say they sent less in 2008 than in the prior year.
 
Latinos hold a more negative

Students film close-up portraits of LatinosYesterday

January 8, 2009
By Leah Rae

With the premiere of three short films tonight, a group of college students will present close-up portraits of Latino immigrants in Westchester.

The minidocumentaries "Ana," "Marco" and "Martha" will debut in a free screening at the Jacob Burns Film Center. They are the work of nine students from World Crew '08, a summer program that is part of the center's growing educational component.

    

The character Ana is a Chilean-born social worker who tries to organize housekeepers in Sleepy Hollow. Marco is an Ecuadorean landscape contractor in Ossining and Martha is a senior at Fox Lane High School whose family came from Mexico.

"We try to explore what's behind the stereotypes of Latinos in our community," said Susan Todd, a documentary filmmaker and World Crew's director. The first round of World Crew students went to Uganda in 2007 and produced the film "Shooting for Peace," documenting the struggles of daily life there. Last year's group turned an eye on something closer to home, though international in scope. The stories reflect the modern realities of immigration.

"Here the struggle for citizenship is just so extreme and ongoing. It think it gives rise to a different perspective on what an immigrant is," Todd said. "I think the films show real human struggle and emotion and commitment to trying to make a better life. And I thin

Avoid Subtle Stereotypes To Maintain Campaign EffectivenessYesterday

January 8, 2009
by Patricia Graham and Jannet Torres

Many people can tell you that the U.S. is now the fourth-largest Spanish speaking country in the world -- with Hispanics accounting for 15% of the population. But, for our money, the more insightful statistic is that Latino population growth in the new century has come more from the existing population than from new international migration.

This means that, when marketers talk about "U.S. Latinos," they cannot simply fall back on images of first-generation, Spanish-speaking immigrants. The Hispanic population in the U.S. is assimilating and transforming much faster than the speed of stereotypes, acquiring complexity as it blends old and new.

But assumptions still have a habit of rearing their ugly heads when marketers and researchers are planning their Hispanic work, from strategy to surveys to advertising execution. Even subtle stereotypes can undermine the effectiveness of your efforts, and create a negative reputation for your company in this all-important community.

During this time of economic contraction, firms that can see beyond stereotypes have a chance to identify anew who and where the profitable Hispanic customers are -- and

Hispania Capital Partners Completes Initial Closings of Over $105 Million on Its Second Hispanic Focused FundYesterday

January 8, 2009
Via PRNewswire

Hispania Capital Partners, LLC (HCP) launched its second fund, Hispania Private Equity II, L.P. (Fund II), on October 15, 2008 and held a subsequent closing representing aggregate committed capital of over $105 million. HCP is targeting $150 million to $200 million for Fund II.

Following the success of its predecessor fund, Fund II will make growth equity and buyout investments in strategically positioned lower-middle market companies predominantly engaged in providing goods and services to the rapidly growing Hispanic demographic in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. Fund II is designed to invest in companies with compelling value propositions, proven management teams, positive cash flow, and annual revenues in excess of $10 million. Fund II will invest up to approximately $20 million per platform investment.

Returning investors to Fund II include Verizon's Pension Fund, the Municipal Employees' Annuity & Benefit Fund of Chicago and the Public School Teachers' Pension & Retirement Fund of Chicago. In addition, new fund of funds investors to Fund II inc

A Stronger Sense of Hispanic Pride and UnityYesterday

January 8, 2009
By Dr. Felipe Korzenny

I think that we, Hispanics, Latinos, or whatever label we are assigned, those of us with roots in Latin America, are strengthening our sense of common identity in the United States.  A sense of identity based on pride.  What we have in common appears to be overshadowing what makes us different.  Our heritage from Latin America has a common influence from Spain, a common language, and beliefs in the supernatural that shape how we look at the world.  Now, in the United States our heritage is being further shaped by the "American" experience.  Being of Latin American origin in the United States promotes a unique way of looking at the world. 

We have found commonality in the being different, immigrant backgrounds, pride in art, music, literature, food, architecture, and, perhaps more importantly, a subjective perception of the world that runs as a common theme in our sense of identity.  The largest immigration of Hispanics to the United States was in the past 30 years.  We grew from 10 million in 1980 to about 50 million in 2009.  Most likely, this growth will continue but now fueled by children born in the United States, and not so much by immigration.  Many contend that eventually we will just melt like everyone else has done in the past.  I believe that our numbers, our culture, and our sense of difference will keep us distinct to a larger ex