Posted by Elena del Valle on November 6, 2006
John Mayerhofer, founder and CEO, VoiceIndigo
Photo: VoiceIndigo
A podcast interview with John Mayerhofer, founder and CEO, VoiceIndigo is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, he discusses mobile phone audio products and the Hispanic market with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.
John has more than 15 years of experience in the software industry, including twelve years of experience in international general management, executive level sales management, and marketing roles dealing with emerging market software products and geographies. Prior to founding VoiceIndigo, John was vice president of Worldwide Sales at Westbridge Technology, a leading XML web services security infrastructure company, and a member of their founding management team. John’s focus during much of the 1990s was Internet electronic commerce.
Prior to Westbridge, John was vice President of International Operations for Comergent Technology, where he led their efforts to establish field operations in markets outside of North America. John was the founding member of BroadVision’s European executive management team where he started and managed various BroadVision businesses in Europe and the Middle East.
Prior to BroadVision, John managed Gain/Sybase’s interactive new media sales efforts in Europe and developed software as an engineer at Oracle Corporation. John is also co-founder of Clearport Technology Group; a non-profit organization that provides on-demand hosted application technology to socially oriented non-profits. John graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana with a Bachelors of Science in Chemical Engineering.
To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see the “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR John Mayerhofer” hit the play button or download it 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 to disk. The podcast will remain listed in the November 2006 section of the podcast.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on November 3, 2006
America 101 DVD cover
Photo: Fobia Films
Immigration has become one of those subjects people stay away from in order not cause conflict. Those who touch on the subject are ready for debate. They come prepared with statistics and family anecdotes, all politically correct of course. Not everyone has the boldness of comedian Carlos Mencia who will openly make fun of the process and the immigrants themselves. Mencia believes we take ourselves too seriously and we need to laugh more often, even at our own expense.
According to promotional materials, America 101, is on the same track as Mencia, although not as bold and not offensive. Rather than trying to drill the seriousness of the matter with lectures and statistics director Mark A. Russell chose laughter for his film. When speaking after a screening Russell described his strategy, “Most people would rather be tickled than hit over the head with facts.”
The film chronicles brothers Angel (Miguel Castro) and Carlos (Miguel Azurdia) taking a journey in order to reach the American Dream. In an effort to save the family business they leave Mexico. After a few comical events they find their way to Tucson, Arizona. Although they make it into the United States, an ironic twist causes them to make their way back to Mexico.
As the writer and director of the film Russell made it a point to not take away from the considerable danger undocumented immigrants face when crossing the border. America 101 is an effort to show the realness of the immigrant’s story without turning it into a documentary or a political statement.
The film has been shown throughout the country at various film festivals. It was an Audience Award Winner at the Golden Film Festival in Golden, Colorado. it is also available at retail and rental outlets. — Melissa Gonzalez
Posted by Elena del Valle on November 2, 2006
Happy Birthday Bear card cover
Photo: Lantigua Designs
Weston, Florida – Lantigua Designs, a Florida-based company specializing in Hispanic greeting cards, was chosen to participate in this year’s celebrity gift baskets for the 7th Annual Latin Grammy® Awards. The event, which will take place November 2 in New York City, will be televised on the Univision Network. Some of this year’s Latin Grammys nominees are Shakira, Chayanne, Ricardo Arjona and Fonseca.
“We are very honored to have been chosen for the Latin Grammy celebrity gift baskets,” said Liz Lantigua, creative director and founder of Lantigua Designs, Inc. “This is a great opportunity for all those in the Latin community to know about our products which are so unique and in tune with the Hispanic culture.”
The official talent gift basket will be given to presenters and performers at the Latin Grammy Gift Lounge backstage throughout rehearsals. The famous gift baskets are known to overflow with coveted items ranging from fashion and beauty to electronics and toys. They are chosen and prepared by Distinctive Assets, a company that creates gift baskets for Hollywood events.
Lantigua Designs was created in 2004 to offer Hispanic-themed, Spanish language and bilingual greeting cards that appeal to U.S. Hispanics. The line of cards available is: Birthdays; Dicho Cards based on popular Spanish sayings; All Occasion; Blank Note; Religious; Blank Note Cards such as: Latina and Loving It©, Cubanita That’s Me©, and Kids/Teens greeting cards and party invitations. Lantigua Designs’ cards are available in retail stores in South Florida, New York and Maryland.
Posted by Elena del Valle on November 1, 2006
10 International Latino Film Festival
Photos: International Latino Film Festival
The 10 annual International Latino Film Festival (ILFF) will take place in the San Francisco Bay area including San José, Mill Valley, Oakland, San Bruno, San Rafael, Larkspur, Berkeley and Redwood City November 3-19, 2006. Festival attendees will have an opportunity to see 85 films at seventeen venues during this year’s event.
Movies scheduled in this year’s Festival include “Ni muy, muy… ni tan, tan… simplemente Tin Tán,” “The Virgin of Juarez,” “Lalo Guerrero, the Original Chicano,” “Madeinusa,” “Maquiapolis, City of Factories,” “To the Other Side,” “American Visa,” “My Best Enemy,” “Loving Maradona,” “The Uncertain Guest,” “Till the Last Drink… My Heart” and “Sea of Dreams.” The movies are from Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Spain, and USA.
Samba School
Official Sponsors for the Festival include Dominican University of California, Macy’s, Castellano Family Foundation, Latino Leadership Council/City of Redwood City and Continental Airlines. Major sponsors are Visa, Wells Fargo, Union Bank, Don Julio, Prudential of California, Pru-Latino, JW Marriott and Mexicana Airlines. Supporting Foundations Sponsors are Grants for the Arts, James Irvine Foundation, Marin Community Foundation, Fullerton Family Foundation, County of Marin Board of Supervisors, Alexander M. and June L. Maisin Foundation of the Jewish Community Endowment Fund.
The ILFF began as a grassroots organization ten years ago, presenting 10 films at a single venue. The Festival showcases new international Latino cinema, encourages emerging talent and pays tribute to celebrated Latino actors, directors and producers. ILFF programs include documentaries about the Latino experience in the United States, the Jewish culture in the Hispanic world, Women & Film series and music, art and human rights themes.
The International Latino Film Festival was founded in 1997 by Sylvia Perel to benefit the San Francisco Bay Area by promoting cinematography of significant artistic merit created by, or about Latinos; and to celebrating cultural understanding through the art of film and filmmaking. The International Latino Film Festival began in Marin County with eight films over three days in one venue and has grown to 85 films over 16 days in 17 venues and nine cities across the Greater San Francisco Bay Area.
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 31, 2006
Fernando Espuelas, Voy CEO
Photo: Voy
New York, New York — To reach the highly desirable 16 million Hispanic Internet demographic Voy LLC launched a broadband network, Voy TV. It is promoted as the first broadband television network to combine programmed content with user-generated videos and sharing tools. On the launch date, the homepage is populated mainly by video content with a handful of Voy blogs and podcasts. According to promotional materials it is designed to be a next generation destination for Latinos seeking an “entertaining and social experience.”
The company uses broadband, wireless, television, film, music, and DVD tools to reach consumers and hopes this diversity will attract content creators and advertisers. Voy TV executives hope to attract its Voy Plaza base of 2.6 million. The company promises a combination of acquired original programming, licensed content and user-generated video; including thousands of videos arranged in an array of user-generated and premium channels where visitors can share video clips, create blogs and meet other Latinos.
“Voy was conceived as a brand, independent of any particular method of distribution, recognized for its ability to bring entertainment that resonates with the Latin mindset to audiences that are increasingly turning to digital media,” said Fernando Espuelas, founder and CEO of Voy. “Voy TV takes advantage of broadband distribution to reach this underserved audience and connect with millions of viewers hungry for relevant content and social networking.”
Select Voy premium channels include: Voy Filmmaker Showcase with short films, music videos and commercials made by Latinos or featuring Latinos; LatinEyes, a licensed broadcast magazine show, about Latin culture; Voy to Hollywood with celebrity interviews, and behind-the-scenes news on movies and shows that interest Latinos; LatinoCam, a weekly series, invites Voy members to be virtual reporters for news, current affairs and entertainment; Hola America!, a news magazine series about Latino personalities making an impact in the United States.
Voy, Spanish for “I go,” is a digital media company targeting English-speaking Latinos. The company was founded in 2003 and has offices in New York, Los Angeles, Miami and Buenos Aires.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on October 30, 2006
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Brothers Antonio and Noah Otalvaro from Barrio305.com
Photo: Barrio305.com
A podcast interview with Antonio Otalvaro, chief creative officer and producer, and Noah Otalvaro, who leads business development, information technology and marketing strategies of Barrio 305, is available on the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, they discuss reaching Latino youth online and with multimedia tools and Barrio 305 with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.
Antonio is a graduate of Pratt Institute in New York. Following his graduation he worked as a freelance editorial illustrator and as a creative assistant at McCann Erickson and DMB&B. His most notable work as an illustrator was a commission to showcase the Advertising Club of New York’s Andy Awards Annual in 1996. In that same period his work as a designer was also recognized when he was selected to participate in the Art Director’s Club first ever exhibition of “New York’s Most Wanted Young Gun’s” exhibit.
Following these accomplishments he was invited to contribute as a conceptual artist at Fabrica, the Benetton Think Tank in Italy. Antonio worked directly under Oliviero Toscani, the individual responsible for Benetton’s controversial campaigns throughout the 80s and 90s. While at Fabrica, Antonio developed communication strategies for entities such as Greenpeace and the United Nations. Next he became creative editor for Benetton’s Colors Magazine. Upon his return to the United States Antonio made the switch from print to digital media when he joined his brother at WallStreet Electronica to lead the design team and develop marketing strategies for the online broker dealer.
Noah is one of the founding members of WallStreet Electronica, a privately held online broker dealer that has been ranked among the top online brokers by Barron’s for the past ten years. He was reponsible for the development and implementation WallStreet Electronica’s IT infrastructure, managing the data center operations, network design and connectivity, and development of the firms proprietary online trading platform. He also led business development and marketing initiatives for WallStreet Electronica. Noah graduated from Boston College in 1991 with a degree in Psychology.
To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Antonio and Noah Otalvaro,” hit the play button or download it to your iPod or MP3 player to listen on the go, in your car or at home. You can also subscribe to the podcast by right clicking over the podcast box and selecting “copy shortcut” then inserting the URL address in the podcast section of your iTunes program listed under the “advanced” column. The podcast will remain listed in the October 2006 section of the podcast.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on October 27, 2006
“El Platanal” by Elizabeth Erazo Baez
Art: Elizabeth Erazo Baez
Six artists, from almost as many Latin countries, will display 29 works at a show called “Colors of Hispanic Heritage” from October through December 8, 2006. The exhibit can be seen at the Broward Community College administrative art space on the panoramic 12 floor of the Willis Holcombe Downtown Center in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Elizabeth Erazo Baez, a painter whose works will also be on display, will curate the show for the second year in a row. She has organized a mix of media, including photography and glass sculpture. The other exhibiting artists are Mirta Lopez, Lourdes Crosby, Mima Marin and Luis Matos, who hail from Puerto Rico, Cuba and the Dominican Republic.
The event is presented by the Broward Community College Board of Trustees, Viva Broward! and BCC President Dr. Larry Calderon. The artists are contributing several pieces for a silent auction that will be held for the benefit of ASPIRA, a nonprofit organization devoted to helping Latino youth.
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 26, 2006
Monica Gutierrez, experiential director, and Fede Duberti, account director, The Bravo Group
Photos: The Bravo Group
The Bravo Group, one of the leaders among the United States’ Hispanic integrated communications agency groups, reshaped its management team by hiring Federico Duberti as account director, Carla Tesak as creative director, and Monica Gutierrez as experiential director in the New York office.
“These talented individuals not only bring with them global, Hispanic and general market experience but a real appreciation and enthusiasm of the value that lies within the Hispanic community, which will help Bravo continue to build the creative, strategic planning and experiential product of the agency,” said Linda De Jesús-Cutler, COO and president of The Bravo Group.
Carla Tesak, The Bravo Group
Bravo’s new leaders have directed other top Hispanic agencies and won awards for their work. Duberti worked as an account director for Vitruvio/Leo Burnett in Madrid, as well as for Delvico Bates S.A. and VegaoImosponce/Lowe in Buenos Aires. He has been honored with several prizes in international advertising festivals, including gold medals in El Sol. Tesak previously worked at Young & Rubicam, where she worked on 17 global and domestic brands. Her credentials include several awards such as the gold and bronze medals from the Houston Art Director’s Club and a Silver Addy in 2006. Gutierrez held the position of creative director and producer of Experiential Marketing at Trixel Inc. She was also an independent journalist for Live Events Producer, Broadbang Inc, as well as a consultant for brand integration to interactive television.
The Bravo Group is a Young & Rubicam Brands company established in 1980. Bravo headquarters are in New York. The company has offices in San Francisco, Chicago, Miami and Irvine, California. — Sergio Carmona
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 25, 2006
Summit speakers Otilia Barrett, Nancy Lopez Pedrosa and Selma Bouhl
Photos: Geoscape International
Experts from leading marketing corporations and research firms will share insights with attendees on how they can better serve growing ethnic groups, including Hispanics, in this year’s Multicultural Intelligence Summit. Presented by Geoscape International, the event will be held at the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Miami, Florida from October 25-27 and will include keynote presentations, workshops, case studies, and entertainment. Ethnic marketing experts, mostly Geoscape staff, clients and partners, will discuss Hispanic, Asian, African American, Middle-Easterner, and Eastern European markets in the U.S. during the event.
“Participants are CEOs (chief executive officers) and vice presidents of marketing that want to understand and have major access and data,” said Smilka Valenzuela, director of the summit. “That way, they can do a benchmark on how many customers they have. For example, if a company comes and understands total population of Hispanics, then they can do a benchmark of analysis and that’s a benefit of data.”
Some of the experts will focus on reaching the ever-growing Hispanic market. Carl Kravetz, chairman of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies and chairman/chief strategic officer of cruz/kravetz:Ideas, will present the workshop “Hispanic in New Economy: Growing and Thriving” on October 26. He is expected to discuss the latest trends and issues in the market and present information and projections for 2007.
“Hispanics form about fifteen percent of the population,” said Valenzuela. “In terms of multicultural markets, the case studies deal more with Hispanic markets than Asians and African Americans due to the population [size].”
The case studies scheduled for discussion during the three-day summit are “Insurance and Financial Services,” presented by Selma Bouhl, marketing manager of Allstate Insurance; “Consumer Packaged Goods,” presented by Nancy Lopez Pedroza, Foreign Trade Brand marketing manager of Nestlé; “Telecommunications,” presented by Anderson Hernandez, sales director of Americate; and “Pharmaceutical and Health Care,” presented by Otilia Barrett, vice president of Latino Health Solutions, United Healthcare.
Additional experts giving presentations include Jo Muse, chairman/CEO of Muse Communications, Julia Huang, president of the Asian American Advertising Federation and CEO of InterTrend Communications, and Cesar Melgoza, CEO of Geoscape International. Other activities offered to attendees are yoga and live music, including a performance by Javier Garcia of Latin Fusion. –Sergio Carmona
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 24, 2006
Alex Garcia, Alberto Delgado, Eloy Salazar, Luis Diaz, Omar Rodriguez, Angela Gonzalez-Rowe, Orr Rivero, and Floyd Pitts at the Hilton HOAA check signing
Photo: Hilton
The Hilton Hotels Corporation became a Founding Corporate Partner of the Hispanic Hotel Owners Association (HHOA). Hilton provided the initial funds required for the association’s formation and preliminary development.
“From its inception, Hilton Hotels Corporation has been supportive of our vision,” said Angela Gonzalez-Rowe, president and founder of HHOA.
The Association was formed as a result of Hilton’s outreach seminar “Hospitality 101.” During the seminar, minority entrepreneurs were trained on the basics of hotel development.
“We are pleased to support HHOA on its mission and believe our involvement speaks volumes on our commitment to Diversity,” said Floyd Pitts, senior director of diversity programs for Hilton Hotel Corporation.
The association is one of the many minority based hotel industry organizations. Others such as the National Black Hotel Owners Operators and Developers (NABHOOD) and the Asian American Hotel Owners Association (AAHOA) have also received support from Hilton.
The non-profit organization is headquartered in Washington, DC. Its mission is to increase the number of Hispanic owned and operated hotels. In addition, HHOA representatives would like to see more executive level employment opportunities within the lodging industry. Hilton Hotels Corporation is a leading global hospitality company, with more than 2,800 hotels in 80 countries. – Melissa Gonzalez
