Miami consultant touts power of Spanish language to reach Latinos

Posted by Elena del Valle on June 29, 2007

The Power of Business en Español cover

Photo: HarperCollins Publishers

Jose Cancela, a Miami businessman and marketing consultant, discusses his thoughts on the importance of marketing to Spanish-language consumers in the recently published title The Power of Business en Español: Seven Fundamental Keys to Unlocking the Potential of the Spanish-Language Hispanic Market (Rayo, $19.95). The 199-page book outlines the importance of becoming aware of and targeting Spanish speaking Latinos in the United States.

Cancela, owner of Hispanic USA Inc., outlines in seven chapters the concepts he believes will help marketers understand Latino consumers. He focuses on similarities between Latinos, the size, importance and location of the markets, Hispanics’ love for the United States, Latino voting power, religion, family values and buying power, and why he feels it’s essential to reach out to this market segment in Spanish.

He also discusses briefly the Latino baby boom, hypergrowth markets, Latino versus Anglo values, Spanish speaking population estimates, top 10 advertisers on Hispanic websites, favorite websites for Spanish language surfers, and businesses likely to grow among Latinos.

For his insights he relies on 25 years of experience working with Spanish dominant Latinos in the top 50 U.S. Hispanic markets; and on behalf of brands like Proctor & Gamble, Toyota, Verizon, Kellogg’s, Pepsi, ING, Group 1 Automotive, ABC Radio en Espanol, ESPN Deportes Radio, King World Productions and US Century Bank.

In 1979, Cancela began his career as a sales trainee at the Univision station in Miami, WLTV/Channel 23. He went on to run a TV station in Phoenix at the age of 27 and later managed station groups for the Univision and Telemundo television networks. Subsequently he launched a start up, National Hispanic Radio Network, and ran for mayor of Miami-Dade County.

Click here to purchase The Power of Business en Espanol

Discover how to reach Latinos in language today with

“Hispanic Market Translation Issues” audio recording

Presenter Martha E. Galindo

Translation company owner Martha E. Galindo explains

• Why it’s important to reach your clients in language 
• Ins and outs of translations issues
• How to select a translator
• What to expect
• How to save on translation costs
• Much more

Click here to purchase “Hispanic Market Translation Issues”

Listen to podcast interview with author Ernesto Caravantes about his book Clipping Their Own Wings

Posted by Elena del Valle on June 25, 2007

Ernesto Caravantes, author, Clipping Their Own Wings

Photos: Ernesto Caravantes

A podcast interview with Ernesto Caravantes, author, Clipping Their Own Wings is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, Ernesto discusses his book with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast. 

Ernesto Caravantes is a native Angeleno who grew up in Lakewood, California. He was the only son of Mexican immigrant parents who instilled a deep sense of wonder and pride in his Mexican roots and had a profound impact on the choices and accomplishments in his life. They emphasized the value of education in the United States for those who want the best life possible, even the American Dream.

As a boy he visited the meat markets of Los Angeles and saw firsthand how beleaguered and unassimilated the Hispanic population had become in California. Latino immigrants were living in Los Angeles as if they had never left their native country. They remained poor, uneducated, and laboring at menial low-wage jobs with a stubborn resistance to learn English.

Ernesto’s parents were bilingual and spoke Spanish at home until he reached the second grade. His teacher told his parents, “Teach this boy English or go back to Mexico.”  As a result his parents began a long crusade of English immersion. Although his early struggles to learn English as a first-grader along with subsequent remedial English classes, challenged his confidence they fueled a determination to succeed. As an adult, he expanded his skills, completing a Masters’ Degree in Counseling from the University of La Verne, hosting an educational cable television show, and becoming committed to lifelong learning. 

Buy your copy of Ernesto Caravante’s Clipping Their Own Wings

Click here to purchase Clipping Their Own Wings 

In Clipping Their Own Wings The Incompatibility between Latino Culture and American Education, Caravantes describes how the Latino culture itself is the culprit for Hispanic underachievement in the United States. He explains how Hispanics can advance themselves in society, without necessarily having to give up the beauty, spirit and lyricism that have given so much richness to Latin American culture.

To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Ernesto Caravantes,” click on the play button below or download the MP3 file to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home. To download it, click on the arrow of the recording you wish to copy and save it to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the June 2007 section of the podcast archive.

Target Latinos effectively by anticipating changes in the market with

“Hispanic Projections” audio recording

Presenter Roger Selbert, Ph.D.

Find out

Click here for details on “Hispanic Projections”

Latina discusses multicultural leadership issues in new book

Posted by Elena del Valle on June 15, 2007

Salsa, Soul and Spirit book cover

Photo: Berrett-Koehler

Juana Bordas, president, Mestiza Leadership International, has made a career out of leading and coaching future leaders. In her first book, Salsa, Soul, and Spirit: Leadership for a Multicultural Age (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, $17.95), a May 2007 title, she shares insights on multicultural leadership gained from interviews with national multicultural leaders and her career long experience.

In the 226-page paperback book, she describes eight core leadership principles she feels are common to Latino, African-American and American Indian cultures. She also discusses how incorporating these principles into mainstream leadership efforts will result in more effective and inclusive strategies than those commonly adopted. In addition to interviews with national multicultural leaders, the book includes historical background and the author’s reflections.

“The purpose of Salsa, Soul, and Spirit is two-fold. First to integrate the wisdom and experience of Latino, Black and American Indian communities into a new and more inclusive form of leadership for our country that is more suited to our multicultural age and global village,” said Bordas. “Second to find the common ground in the way communities of color exercise leadership which will cultivate a great unity and ability for them to work together more effectively.”

In the book, Bordas shares the insights gained from interviews with 11 American Indian, African American and Latino leaders. The American Indian leaders are Ada Deer, John Echohawk, LaDonna Harris, and Benny Shendo, Jr. The African American leaders are James Joseph, Ph.D., Lea Williams, Ed.D and Andrew Young.

The Latino leaders Anna Escobedo Cabral, Treasurer of the United States; Antonia Pantoja, Ph.D., Puerto Rican Civil Right Movement activist; Federico Peña, managing director, Vestar Capitol Partners; and Raul Yzaguirre, former president of the National Council of La Raza.

A Colorado resident and former U.S. Peach Corps volunteer, Bordas is a founder of Mi Casa Women’s Center and was the first president and chief executive officer of the National Hispana Leadership Institute. Bordas is a former faculty member of the Center for Creative Leadership, an international executive leadership program. She was initiated into the Colorado Women’s Hall of Fame and was recognized by the U.S. Peace Corps with the Franklin Miller Award for her dedication to advancing communities of color.

Click here to purchase Salsa, Soul, and Spirit 

Military spouse novel set in infamous Guantanamo Bay

Posted by Elena del Valle on May 25, 2007

The Ghosts of Guantanamo Bay book cover

Photo: Seacay Publishing

The United States Guantanamo Bay military base in Cuba is steeped in history, controversy and upheaval. It is known to most as a prison or detainment center, but for military families who live there, it’s home. According to the author of a new book, The Ghosts of Guantanamo Bay (Seacay Publishing, $14.95), beyond the prison guards and barbed wire fences, Guantanamo Bay and Cuba offer beautiful beaches, intriguing people, controversy, and deep, dark secrets yet to be revealed.

K.R. Jones, military spouse, former longtime Guantanamo Bay, Gitmo, resident and author of the new tell all book blends fact and fiction and promises readers a novel view of the infamous military base and country. Jones provides readers a walk in the shadows of actual Guantanamo residents. The focus is not about the prison camps. Instead she reveals a side of Gitmo and Cuba that most people will never know. She promises an all-access pass into the lives of the military families stationed at the base and the citizens who live there.
 
Jones was born and raised on Long Island, New York. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from Marymount College, Fordham University. She later pursued a Master’s degree in American Government from the University of West Florida.

Married to a military officer, Jones was stationed on various bases. During time spent at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, she taught 20th century politics at Coastal Carolina Community College. Jones is a resident of Stafford, Virginia.

Click here to purchase The Ghosts of Guantanamo Bay

Twenty one contributors examine New England’s Latino population

Posted by Elena del Valle on May 11, 2007

Latinos in New England book cover

Photo: Temple

Described as the first comprehensive look at the growing Latino presence in New England, Latinos in New England (Temple, $27.95), examines the impact one million Latinos have had on the region’s culture, politics, and economics. At the same time, the authors look at the effects of the locale on Latino residents, their lives, traditions, and institutions.

Twenty-one contributors dedicated 344 pages to exploring three broad areas: demographic trends, migration and community formation, and identity and politics. They peek at the Latino panorama through oral histories, case studies, ethnographic inquiries, focus group research, surveys, and statistical analyses.

The book also includes information about the “Dominicanization” of the Latino community in Waterbury, Connecticut; the immigration experiences of Brazilians in Massachusetts; the influence of Latinos on New England’s Catholic churches; and the development and growth of a Latino community in Providence, Rhode Island.

Contributors include: Amílcar Antonio Barreto, Yoel Camayd-Freixas, Jorge Capetillo-Ponce, José E. Cruz, Cileine de Lourenço, Ruth Glasser, Phillip J. Granberry, Megan Halloran, Deborah Pacini Hernandez, José Itzigsohn, Gerald Karush, Robert Kramer, Nelly Lejter, Enrico A. Marcelli, Angel A. Amy Moreno, Hosffman Ospino, Adrian D. Pantoja, C. Eduardo Siqueira, Michael E. Stone, and Miren Uriarte.

Book editor Andrés Torres is research associate of the Center for Puerto Rican Studies, Hunter College, City University of New York. Prior to the publication of the book, he was director of the Mauricio Gastón Institute for Latino Community Development and Public Policy at the University of Massachusetts. He is past president of the Puerto Rican Studies Association and is the author of The Puerto Rican Movement: Voices from the Diaspora.

Click here to purchase Latinos in New England

New book explores reason Latinos lag behind in educational achievement

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 27, 2007

Clipping Their Own Wings book cover

Photo: Ernesto Caravantes

Los Angeles, California – Author Ernesto Caravantes defies conventional wisdom, shattering notions that Latino underachievement is due exclusively to under funded schools and overcrowded classrooms, coupled with socioeconomic disadvantages common to Latinos in a new book, Clipping Their Own Wings (Hamilton Books, $22). Instead of focusing on outside factors, Caravantes tackles one of the nation’s most troubling trends and toughest social problems, Latino underachievement. He focuses on Latino culture as the root of the problem.

Although Latinos are the largest minority market in the United States, according to Caravantes, for the past 40 years, the average number of Hispanic high-school dropouts has been more than twice what it has been for African Americans. He believes this is the result of the identity politics of educators, policymakers and other influencers. In spite decision maker’s good intentions, their attempts to empower Latinos with Chicano studies and bilingual education have been unsuccessful. Caravantes argues that Latinos are contributing to their own oppression by stubbornly refusing to learn English and devaluing the importance of education.

“Hispanics are lagging behind as a result of ignorantly and stubbornly adhering to cultural aspects that do not place education at the top of its values hierarchy and instead, are clipping their own wings by refusing to assimilate into the American educational system,” said Caravantes. “Unless Latinos rethink these values and consider change, no amount of money, books or happy talk will make a dent in the problem.”

Caravantes, a native of Los Angeles, is the only son of Mexican immigrants. He is an instructor of culinary history and psychology at the California School of Culinary Arts, Pasadena, California. Prior to that, he was host of “Dialog,” a cable television talk show in Glendale, California. He received a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from California State University, Long Beach, California and a Master of Science degree in counseling from the University of La Verne.

  Click here to purchase Clipping Their Own Wings 

Academics review history, U.S. migration trends of Puerto Ricans in book

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 13, 2007

The Puerto Rican Diaspora book cover

Photo: Temple University Press

In The Puerto Rican Diaspora: Historical Perspectives, published September 2005, nine contributors, including the book’s two editors, set out to dispel two common misperceptions about Puerto Ricans in the United States; that the majority of Puerto Ricans live in New York City, and that they are recent arrivals to the United States. The price of the book is $22.95.

The 306-page soft bound book, published by Temple University Press, was selected 2006 Outstanding Academic Title by Choice magazine, a division of the American Library Association. In the 10-chapter book, the authors share eight stories of settlement and community building, and focus on the economic, political, social effects of the Puerto Rican migration from 1900 to the present.

According to the authors, Puerto Ricans arrived in Hawaii in 1900. They also established communities in the eastern seaboard with noticeable communities in New York City and Philadelphia in Pennsylvania. Following World War II, large Puerto Rican communities were established in the Midwest and New England.

The book was edited by Carmen Teresa Whalen and Víctor Vázquez-Hernández. In addition to the editors, Linda C. Delgado, The College of Mt. St. Vincent; Ruth Glasser, University of Connecticut; Iris O. López, City College of New York; Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, Hunter College; Eugenio “Gene” Rivera; Maura Toro-Morn, Illinois State University; and Olga Jiménez de Wagenheim, Rutgers University, Newark contributed chapters to the book.

Whalen is associate professor of history at Williams College and author of From Puerto Rico to Philadelphia: Puerto Rican Workers and Postwar Economies (Temple, 2001). Vázquez-Hernández is an adjunct orofessor of history who teaches Latin American studies, American studies and U.S. history.

Click here to purchase The Puerto Rican Diaspora 

Book celebrates Latino women achievers in New Mexico

Posted by Elena del Valle on April 6, 2007

Mujeres Valerosas book cover

Photo: Hispanic Women’s Council

Mujeres Valerosas, a 142-page documentary book published by the Hispanic Women’s Council, showcases the accomplishments of 79 contemporary Latina women leaders in New Mexico. All of the women in the book were nominated by their peers. Except for the book committee who selected the final nominations for publication, there were no judges.

The book was partially funded by major grants from the Center for Regional Studies, University of New Mexico and the New Mexico Women’s Foundation. The book, which includes 83 black and white photographs and a soft cover color illustration by Simone Debbas, costs $25.

Through essays, photos and short biographies, the women share life lessons and practical approaches to personal and professional success in Mujeres Valerosas. The idea behind the book was to highlight the many accomplishments and successes of the women who “improve the quality of life of others” by serving their community, growing a business or working to institute public policies. Their creativity and tenacity in overcoming obstacles and their ability to summon the strength and courage to move beyond setbacks are described as inspirational to readers.

The Hispanic Women’s Council is a non-profit organization founded in 1988 to promote, support and create opportunities for Hispanic women. The organization is based in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Hear from market researchers about the Latino family in

“Latino Family Dynamics” audio recording

 Brenda Hurley and Liria Barbosa

Click here to purchase a downloadable or CD audio recording with extended information on Latino Family Dynamics by Brenda Hurley and Liria Barbosa

New book presents provocative solution for Mexico, U.S. immigration problem

Posted by Elena del Valle on March 30, 2007

Opening the Borders book cover

Photo: Level 4 Press

About the only agreement in the vitriolic illegal immigration debate is that it’s one of America’s thorniest hot-button issues and will play a pivotal role in the 2008 presidential election. Politicians are tap-dancing around the topic and offering few practical solutions. Is there a logical and humane answer that benefits the United States and Mexico? Journalist Larry Blasko dives head-first into this raging controversy with a new 211-page hardcover book, Opening the Borders: Solving the Mexico/U.S. Immigration Problem For Our Sake and Mexico’s (Level 4 Press, $24.95). 
 
Research indicates there are between 10 and 12 million illegal Mexican immigrants in the United States. That enrages some Americans who feel their tax dollars are supporting illegal immigrants. Other Americans champion anyone’s right to find jobs and build better lives for their families. 

“You have one side shouting ‘Deport Them!’ and the other side shouting ‘Love Them!’” said Blasko. “But the reality is hand-wringing and finger-pointing solve nothing. A logical solution could be implemented by now with all the energy both sides have expended screaming for extreme measures.”
 
According to promotional materials, in Opening the Borders Blasko outlines the early, rocky relationship between the U.S. and Mexico. He then hones in on the immigration issue today, and reminds readers that America was founded by immigrants. 

By illustrating the impact illegal Mexican immigrants have on the U.S. economy, Blasko makes a case for hammering out an agreement between U.S. and Mexican leaders that would benefit both nations. He points to a speech by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg detailing the crucial role immigrant workers play in that city’s economy. 

Opening the Borders takes a close look at the argument that illegal immigrants are stealing jobs from law abiding Americans. “Let’s be realistic for just a minute,” said Blasko. “Sure, you can say that these low-paying jobs have been proliferated by illegal immigrants, but ask yourself, are there really millions of Americans lining up for these jobs?” 
 
Blasko served for more than three decades with The Associated Press as writer, editor, columnist and executive. He is the author of two other books, ABCs of Computing, a Plain-English Guide, and Vamp!

Hispanic Marketing and Public Relations Understanding and Targeting America’s Largest Minority book

“A must resource for practitioners/professionals expecting to reach US Hispanics; also valuable for college programs in marketing, public relations and communications. Highly recommended.”

 Choice magazine

Click here for more information and to buy your copy today!

New cookbook touts lighter side of Mexican cuisine

Posted by Elena del Valle on March 16, 2007

Mexican Light:Healthy Cuisine for Today’s Cook book cover

Photo: University of North Texas Press

A recently released cookbook, Mexican Light: Healthy Cuisine for Today’s Cook, focuses on preColumbian low in fat and high in fiber and vitamins diets of Mexico. The paperback book by Kris Rudolph was published by University of North Texas Press late last year and retails for $17.95. The recipes and text are included in Spanish on facing pages.

Rudolph is a native of Houston and owner of the restaurant El Buen Café in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, where she lives. She also offers culinary tours and teaches Mexican cooking classes, as well as a dancing and cooking workshop called “Salsa and Salsa.”

According to promotional materials, before the arrival of Columbus the people of Mexico ate corn, squash, tomatoes, beans, and lean meats and had a diet close to the recommendations for healthy eating of today. 

The book opens with a short introduction outlining the history of Mexican cooking, followed by an overview of healthy eating habits, a description of the most common ingredients, and a guide to planning for parties. Fifty recipes cover a number of topics such as appetizers and after-dinner refreshers including: Lime and Cilantro Soup, Shrimp Ceviche Salad, Chicken Poblano, Pork Loin with Mango-Chipolte Salsa, Mexican Beef Tips, and Fish Veracruz Style.

Each recipe also includes the number of calories, amounts of total fat and saturated fat, grams of carbohydrates, and amount of fiber. Rudolph suggests low-fat and low-carbohydrate alternatives, as well as ways to vary the spiciness.

“Latino Family Dynamics” audio recording

 Brenda Hurley and Liria Barbosa

Click here to purchase a downloadable or CD audio recording with extended information on Latino Family Dynamics by Brenda Hurley and Liria Barbosa