Cuban Bloggers: The Next Revolution

Here is a great article from my friend Henry on Yoanie Sanchez, a Cuban blogger that just won the Ortega & Gassett prize for Digital Journalism.

NPR also did a story on Yoanie, listen to the report here.

read more | digg story

Hispanic Museum keeps advancing

We first blogged about this over a year, but it seems the National Museum of the American Latino has come one step closer to reality. By a vote of 291-117 the House approved legislation that will create a commission to study the feasibility of building such a facility.

The measure was also included in a bill on natural resources that the Senate passed 91 to 4, last month. It authorizes creation of a bipartisan 23-member commission that will spend $3.2 million over two years to come up with recommendations and sponsor a conference where interested individuals or groups can submit ideas and develop a fundraising plan.

We will continue to follow the story.

45.5 Million and Counting

The U.S Census Bureau reported today that the U.S. Hispanic population has reached 45.5 million, making up now more that 15% of the country’s population. The Hispanic population grew by 1.4 million people for the year ending July 31, 2007. We are also seeing the growth coming increasingly from birth’s rather than immigration, with 62% of the increase between 2006 – 2007 coming from births.

Hispanic growth was also responsible for 50% of the U.S. population growth between 2000 – 2007. Sixteen states now have Hispanic populations exceeding 500,000 with California (13.2 million), Texas (8.6 million) and Florida (3.8 million) leading the way.

Release and tables here. (when posted by the Census looks like the gave some exclusives)

Latino Identity

Here is an article from an interview I did with the Brandenton Herald on Latino Identity on behalf of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA).

Read the full article here.

Does your…Nathan’s serve Ropa Vieja?

Here is a picture of the Nathan’s Restaurant inside the Wal-Mart in Hialeah Gardens, FL. As you can see Nathan’s is proud of its heritage since 1916, where it began as a nickel hot dog stand in Coney Island, NY. Here in this 95%+ Hispanic area the have tweaked the menu just a bit. They even list it in English, just in case.

Hispanic Population to triple by 2050

The Pew Research Center released new population projections for the United Sates today. The U.S. population will grow to 438 million in 2050, from 296 million in 2005 if current trends continue. Of that increase 82% will be due to immigration and U.S. born descendants of immigrants.

The Hispanic population will triple in size and account for most of the nation’s population growth between 2005 and 2050. Hispanics will compose 29% of the population versus 14% in 2005. The full report is available here.

Hispanic Population up 31% in Washington state

According to The Carsey Institute, between 2000 and 2006 the Hispanic population in Washington grew by 31.4%, about four times faster than the 8.5% population growth of the state. The study also highlights the move from urban to rural communities especially in the northwest, with about 80,000 living in Washington’s rural towns.

The states with the largest number of Hispanics living in rural areas include Texas, New Mexico, North Carolina, Arizona, Colorado, Florida and Arizona with more than 100,000 living outside of cities. The study shows that northern states are quickly gaining on the South, with Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Michigan, Illinois and Georgia all having more than 50,000 living in rural areas. Hispanic media is also taking notice with a Univision station in Seattle and an Azteca America station in Redmond.

Hispanics represented on NBC’s Celebrity Apprentice

In the Celebrity version of NBC’s The Apprentice there is adequate Hispanic representation on both the men’s and ladies’ teams. Hispanic TV Executive Nely Galan and Tito Ortiz of Ultimate Fighting Challenge Fame add a Hispanic taste to the show.
The women’s team actually picked a Spanish word for their team name, Empresario, which means businessperson. I had not seen the Apprentice in a while, but Gene Simmons attracted me to the celebrity version of the show. We’ll keep tabs on the Hispanics and when they get fired!

Three Kings Day Gets More Play

Retailers are taking note of the Hispanic Holiday of Three King’s Day celebrated on January 6th as a way of extending the holiday season and reaching out to Latinos. This holiday commemorates the Ephiphany or the visit of Jesus by the Three Wise Men.

The holiday is celebrated in Puerto Rico, Spain, Mexico and many Latin American countries. I remember when I handled the Marshall’s account in the mid nineties, we had marketing activities scheduled around Three King’s Day but only for the stores in Puerto Rico. On the island it is a big deal and supported by practically all retailers. The main story today is the holiday coming to the mainland United States. Wal-Mart began promoting the tradition in a big way last year and is expanding this year. K-mart is also planning activities around the holiday. With retailers like Wal-Mart jumping in, I am sure we will see others joining the fray. After all an extension of the holiday season by two weeks will be welcomed by any retailers.

Hispanic voters to increase 23% from 2004

According to a new study by the Tomas Rivera Policy Institute, Hispanic voters will increase by 1.7 million or 23% from 2004. According to the study 9.3 million Hispanic voters will go to the polls in the 2008 presidential elections.

“As the U.S. Latino population surges, we are seeing increases in registration/voter turnout due to increased naturalization numbers by Latino immigrants beginning in the 1990s and Latino youth coming of voting age” said Harry Pachon, Ph.D., President of TRPI.

Obviously, the states with the largest Hispanic populations will be impacted the most by this increase. In California, for example, it takes a mere 3.1% of Hispanic voters to cause a 1% shift in election results. In Florida it takes 4.5% to cause the same 1% shift. Get more here.