Posted by Elena del Valle on October 23, 2006
Pitbull
Photo: TVT Records
Cuban American rapper Armando Perez “Pitbull” takes on a political approach for his second studio album, “El Mariel,” scheduled for an October 31 release. According to promotional materials, in the new album he describes the image of Cuba and focuses on President George W. Bush’s war efforts. The album is a far cry from his previous work as the bilingual hip-hop artist tries to prove that his songs are more than just about getting dirty.
“They have this misconception,” said Pitbull, 25. “They’ll say, ‘He’s just this Latin rapper, he’s a reggaeton act, he’s crunk.’ They don’t know what to say about me. [After El Mariel] a lot of folks are gonna start saying, ‘You gotta watch out for that boy Pit.’”
“El Mariel” is named after the Cuban boatlift that relocated almost 125,000 Cubans to Miami, Florida. The album contains rap ballads and club bangers. Pitbull’s aim for the album is to educate his listeners regarding this event. The artist’s life parallels that of some of those who came in the 1980 boatlift.
“Some [Marielitos] yes were criminals, some came from a negative background, but you have those who became politicians, lawyers, judges, and doctors, you name it,” said Pit. “Now that I got my foot in the door it’s time to take opportunities like the Marielitos did.”
Pitbull was born to Cuban immigrants and was raised by a single mother in Miami who worked three jobs. His childhood consisted of frequent relocations and he wasn’t reacquainted with his father until he was 18. The two were on friendly terms until his father’s passing last year.
In 2005, Pitbull surpassed gold status for the sale of more than 500,000 copies of his debut album, “M.I.A.M.I.: Money Is A Major Issue,” released in the United States in 2004. Aside from the “El Mariel” album, the artist will debut his first full-length Spanish only album, “Armando,” in 2007. He is also scheduled perform at the Latin Grammy Street Party in New York, and will do the voice of one of the characters in the upcoming video game, “Scarface: The World Is Yours,” based on the 1983 film. — Sergio Carmona
To listen to “Ay Chico” from “El Mariel” click on the play button below.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on October 20, 2006
“The Latin Legends of Comedy” DVD cover
Photo: Fox Home Entertainment
Century City, California — Described in promotional materials as “wild, irreverent and totally uproarious,” three Latino comedians, Joey Vega, J.J. Ramirez and Angel Salazar appear in the soon to be released “The Latin Legends of Comedy” DVD on Key Video, a label of Fox Home Entertainment. “The Latin Legends of Comedy” will be available for $19.98 ($25.98 Canada).
“The Latin Legends of Comedy” was presented at the New York International Latino Film Festival, Chicago Latino Film Festival, Boston International Film Festival, Phoenix Film Festival and Palm Beach International Film Festival.
The DVD features uncensored performances by Vega, who has toured with Chris Rock and Marc Anthony; Salazar, seen on “In Living Color” and “Showtime At The Apollo;” and Ramirez, a regular on Comedy Central and Showtime.
Part stand-up comedy concert and part documentary, the recording showcases the struggles and successes of the first Latino comedians who, over twenty years, broke into and became pioneers of New York’s stand-up comedy scene. The comics have been friends from the beginning of their careers. The DVD is presented in widescreen and features English stereo sound and English and Spanish subtitles.
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 19, 2006
Jagdeep Wadhwani, advertising sales manager, GolTV
Photo: GolTV
GolTV recently hired Jagdeep Wadhwani as advertising sales manager, a graduate of Florida International University (FIU). He began his career as business development manager for the FIU Beacon Newspaper; where he was responsible for managing staff sales representatives and serving as the main liaison between the University and national advertisers.
Later he joined the Miami office of Corporación Interamericana de Entretenimiento (CIE), a live entertainment company with a focus on U.S. Hispanic and Latin American audiences. There Wadhwani fine tuned his skills by working on the implementation of sponsorships and advertising for events backed by recognized brands such as American Airlines, Burger King and Aguardiente Crystal.
His experience also includes work for Animus Group as an executive consultant focusing on client services for major initiatives into the U.S. Hispanic market and the ad sales operation for GolTV. Now in-house, his experience in the advertising and event marketing sectors may help clients interested in on-air and off-air capabilities. Wadhwani already has been instrumental in the acquisition of a number of GolTV advertisers including Terra Networks, Lay’s, Daimler Chrysler, Gatorade, Buena Vista Pictures, Lucas Oil, Western Union, and the Office of National Drug Control Policy.
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 18, 2006
By Carlos Pelay
President, Media Economics Group
Top 10 new brands, campaigns in Hispanic magazines
Advertising in Hispanic magazines in August totaled just over $22 million ($22.7m) – a 27.4 percent increase from the previous year. Ad pages were also up by 5.1 percent to 980.81 for the month of August.
Latina and People en Español both posted impressive year-over-year gains in both ad pages and dollars. At People en Español, ad pages were up by 60.1 percent and ad dollars rose by 78 percent. Latina’s ad pages rose by 82.6 percent and ad dollars soared by 89.3 percent.
While People en Español and Latina posted whopping increases in August, the year-to-date comparisons are lower – though still quite good. Through August, ad pages at Latina are up by 7.6 percent and ad dollars are up by 13.4 percent. At People en Español, ad pages are up by 20.1 percent and ad dollars by 32.6 percent.
In August, strong showings by the Personal Care Products ($4,843,177; +49.7 percent), Automotive ($3,748,802; +49.3 percent), and Health Care Products ($1,911,713, +78.6 percent) categories helped to boost overall results.
The strong showing by the Automotive category is especially promising given that weak spending in this category has dampened overall year-to-date ad spending in Hispanic magazines. On a YTD (year to date) basis (Jan-Aug), Automotive spending is still down by 2.7 percent from the previous year.
[A look at our Advance estimates for September suggests that auto spending will likely also post another strong year-over-year increase in September (our Advance estimates are based on a sample of the largest monthly Hispanic magazines). Our Advance estimates show a 14.6 percent increase in Auto spending in September, 2006 compared with previous year.]
Toyota led the Auto spending recovery in August with a year-over-year increase of $383,455 (+122 percent), followed by GM which increased spending in Hispanic magazines by $321,304 (+34 percent). Ford also increased spending significantly by $314,203 (+148 percent).
At the brand level, new campaigns for Volkswagen Jetta ($297,858) and the Toyota Camry SE ($270,674) led the category in spending. Campaigns for new auto brands such as the Jeep Compass ($224,199), Dodge Caliber ($197,473), and the Saturn Aura ($133,447) also helped to boost spending in the Auto category in August.
Besides YTD weakness in the Automotive category, closures of major titles like Shape en Español this year, and Cristina and Nuestra Gente in the latter part of 2005, have also hurt YTD comparisons. Through August, ad dollars are up by 16.5 percent while ad pages are down slightly (-1.6 percent).
August, 2006 Key Stats:
The August, 2006 update includes detailed advertising data for:
- 480 active brands
- 308 active advertisers
- 980.81 total ad pages (+5.1 percent from 2005)
- $22.7 million total ad$ (+27.4 percent from 2005)
Year-to-Date (Jan. – Aug., 2006) Key Stats:
- 1,753 active brands
- 1,016 active advertisers
- 7,368.16 total ad pages (-1.6% from ’05)
- $145.4 million total ad$ (+16.5% from ’05)
New advertising activity for August, 2006 includes 87 New brands/campaigns totaling 167.06 ad pages and $4.2 million in new spending; and 17 new advertisers (parent-company level) totaling 14.47 ad pages and $202,175 in new spending.
Carlos Pelay is founder and president of Media Economics Group, a research firm which provides advertising competitive intelligence services for the multicultural market.
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 17, 2006
William Ortiz, president, GlobalWorks Multicultural Division
Photo: William Ortiz
New York, New York — GlobalWorks Group LLC received four bronze Tellys for TV spots it created for Cablevision Systems Corp.’s digital services. The four 30-second spots target Hispanic and African-American consumers.
“We’re especially gratified to be among the circle of winners, given that our creative was judged in a competition that attracted entries from literally all over the world,” said William Ortiz, president, GlobalWorks Multicultural Division.
The Telly Awards competition attracts more than 12,000 entries annually, from all over the U.S. and many countries. The judges are advertising, production and other creative professionals, who are previous winners of Telly Awards.
“Soccer” was shot by Argentinean director Agustin Alberdi; the three African-American spots were directed by Scotty Bergstein. The spots were conceived and produced by GlobalWorks’ Hispanic and African-American creative teams, under the supervision of Caroline Fish and Takashi Omura, co-creative directors, and Anna Radzievsky, chief creative officer.
GlobalWorks is a New York-based advertising agency that delivers services for managing global brands. In addition to developing award-winning advertising campaigns across media and multicultural markets, GlobalWorks provides technology solutions to help marketers manage their brands worldwide. To view the winning spots, visit GlobalWorks.com
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 16, 2006
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Cesar Melgoza
Photo: Geoscape International, Inc.
A podcast interview with Cesar Melgoza, president and founder, Geoscape International, Inc., is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, Cesar discusses the 3rd Annual Multicultural Market Intelligence Summit with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.
Cesar has been an innovator in the development of market intelligence data, systems and analytic services. In 1995, he formed Geoscape International to focus on the application of marketing intelligence services, data and technology towards the multicultural and multinational markets. He has led growth at Geoscape by developing products and services that provide geo-demographic, marketing and media data, highly predictive database modeling, and information enhancement systems. Most recently, he launched the Geoscape Intelligence System (GIS) and the DirecTarget® system for database enrichment.
Cesar’s career is a blend of information technology and market research. While completing his undergraduate degree at the University of California, Santa Barbara he helped build computer hardware for Information Magnetics Corp. While earning his master’s degree in at the University of Texas at Austin, César was a research associate at one of the first Hispanic market research companies and also at the University’s Center for Mexican American Studies. His master’s professional report, published in 1986 and entitled Hispanics in the New Economy, utilized advanced statistical research techniques and was awarded special recognition by the university.
In the late 1980s, he developed and led desktop mapping and workgroup computing initiatives at Apple Computer in Cupertino, California. He went on to lead marketing and international business development at venture-funded Strategic Mapping, Inc. where he was instrumental in achieving annual revenue growth from $2 million to $35 million in four years. Born in Michoacán Mexico, Cesar grew up in California and has been a resident of various rural and urban population centers in the U.S.
To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Cesar Melgoza” click on 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 October 2006 section of the podcast archive.
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Posted by Elena del Valle on October 13, 2006
“Mona Lisa” and “Girl with Pearl Earring” by Juliana Martinez
Photos: Juliana Martinez
A Northeast Los Angeles art gallery, jFerrari, will feature works from several Latino artists in its upcoming exhibit, “Baile de las calaveras.” From October 21 to November 1, 2006 gallery visitors will be able to see paintings by Eduardo Bonilla, Juliana Martinez, Ernesto de la Loza, and Ricardo Duffy.
“A baile is a dance, and if you see a group of people dancing, they are dancing to the same music, but each has their own approach. That is very much what this show is like,” said gallery owner Jazmin Ferrari.
Eduardo Bonilla’s talent was discovered early in his childhood. He has already had 35 exhibits and ten solo shows. Bonilla portrays the journey of his life in his paintings. Juliana Martinez was also an artist since childhood. The Puerto Rican born artist has made California her home. Her focus is on enjoying the present. Unlike so many others in her field she does not focus on social commentary.
Ernesto de la Loza uses a canvas of a different scale. He is a muralist in the Los Angeles community. Since 1974 he’s poured his life into murals through out California. Ricardo Duffy’s approach is at the other end of the spectrum. With a mixture of dry humor and social commentary Duffy displays his version of present day life. — Melissa Gonzalez
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 12, 2006
U.S. voters by ethnic group
Chart: HispanicMPR.com
According to the latest Pew Hispanic Center updates, 17.2 million Hispanics or 8.6 percent of voters, will be eligible to vote in 2006. That represents an increase of 7 percent over the 2004 election when there were 16 million Hispanic voters representing 8.2 percent of eligible voters in the country.
Native born Hispanics represent 75 percent of Latino voters while foreign born naturalized Hispanics represent 25 percent. Second generation Latino voters exhibited the largest percentage growth, 46 percent, among Hispanic voters since 2004. At the same time Latino voters represent a smaller share of the overall Hispanic population than similar voting segments in other ethnic groups because so many Latinos are underage or adult noncitizens.
According to the Pew Hispanic Center only 39 percent of Latinos may vote while 77 percent of nonHispanic whites and 65 percent of nonHispanic blacks are eligible to vote. In other words, of 200 million eligible voters, 150.8 are nonHispanic white, 24.1 million are nonHispanic black, 17 million are Latino and 7.4 million are nonHispanic Asian. The Center estimates that between 10 million and 12.3 million Latinos will register to vote by November 2006.
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 11, 2006
By Patrick Osio, Jr.
Editor, HispanicVista.com
Patrick Osio, Jr., editor, HispanicVista.com
Phot: Patrick Osio, Jr.
International borders are not about political lines dividing countries. Borders are about people living across each other separated by a political line. When people divided by borders are of different cultures, speak different languages and there is significant economic disparity between them the differences often become political problems.
In the Western Hemisphere most border political problems do not start, or are sustained, due to language or cultural differences. These differences may exacerbate the problems. The roots of most political problems exist where there is an economic disparity between the two divided nations. The greater the disparity, the greater the political problems.
Click here to read the complete article.
Posted by Elena del Valle on October 10, 2006
Scenes from the public service announcement
Photos: Creative Marketing Partners
Miami, Florida – The statistics are staggering: Motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death in the United States for Hispanics between 34 and under according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). Organizers of a South Florida campaign to prevent drinking and driving, indicate that thirty percent of Americans will be involved in an alcohol-related crash in their lifetimes. Such accidents cause damages worth more than $50 billion a year according to a 2002 NHTSA study about the economic impact of crashes.
To counter this trend, a Miami car dealer, Esserman Nissan, donated $20,000 in production costs to develop a bilingual 30-second television public service announcement. The dealer’s advertising agency, Creative Marketing Partners (CMP), developed the campaign probono. The announcements began airing in South Florida stations the first week of October and will continue for a total of 12 weeks.
The spots have been airing in two Spanish language and three English language stations in Miami-Dade and Broward counties: WFOR (CBS), WTVJ (NBC), WSVN (Fox) in English and WLTV (Univision), WSCV (Telemundo) in Spanish.
After a decline of alcohol-impaired driving throughout most of the 1990s, a new study published in the May 2005 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, shows that driving while intoxicated has increased significantly and researchers believe it is linked to an increase in binge drinking.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) 2005 statistics indicate that alcohol-related deaths account for half of all Hispanic traffic-related fatalities. The Administration considers impaired driving a public health epidemic and places Hispanics at high risk.
In the spots, conceived and produced by CMP, two young men let the air out of the tire of a sporty Nissan parked outside a trendy nightclub. Minutes later, an obviously drunk driver stumbles to his car and realizes he cannot go anywhere because of the flat tire. The spot ends with the announcer saying: “Good friends will do anything to keep you from drinking and driving.”
The reaction from viewers has been extremely favorable, said Dick Assmar, vice-president of Esserman Nissan. “We did this because we are concerned by the fact that drunken driving statistics are on the rise. We are very pleased by the acceptance on the part of the media and the TV viewers.”
Esserman Nissan is a South Florida automobile dealer and the only recipient of Nissan’s Owner First Award of Excellence 5 years in a row. Creative Marketing Partners is a South Florida advertising agency that specializes in providing advertising and marketing services for automobile dealers, dealer advertising groups, and automobile manufacturers, as well as the real estate and health-care industries. To view the spots online visit: English version and Spanish version
