Posted by Elena del Valle on January 20, 2012
Los Kennedys, a miniseries with Spanish language voiceovers
Photos: Vme
Beginning at 10 p.m. January 30 Vme will air Los Kennedy, an eight-part Emmy award-winning miniseries, for the first time with Spanish-language voiceovers. The Kennedys series, starring Greg Kinnear, Katie Holmes, Barry Pepper and Tom Wilkinson, first aired in the United States in English last year on the ReelzChannel. The final 60-minute segment will air March 19, 2012.
Marian de la Fuente, Vme host and news anchor, will introduce the episodes, highlighting events of historic interest to the Spanish language preferring audience and speculating on how she believes the events depicted in the series may impact viewers lives today. Catherine Siachoque, a Colombian actress, lent her voice for the Spanish-language voice of Jackie Kennedy. Julio Bracho was the Spanish language voice of John F. Kennedy and Gabriela Vergara the voice of Marilyn Monroe.
“Jackie Kennedy” in Los Kennedys
Los Kennedy explores the events that shaped the infamous Kennedy dynasty from the 1930s to 1968, including the patriarchal attitudes and tactics of Joe Kennedy, John’s first run for Congress, the death of Joe Jr., Robert’s loyalty to John’s political career and John’s marriage to Jacqueline Bouvier, ending with the assassinations of John F. Kennedy in 1963 and Robert F. Kennedy in 1968.
The miniseries was produced by Muse Entertainment (Human Trafficking, Pillars of the Earth) and written by the producers and writers of 24, Steve Kronish and Joel Surnow. The Kennedys series met heavy resistance from the inception of the project and early scripts were criticized by former colleagues of President John F. Kennedy and some guardians of his legacy.
This year, according to Vme promotional materials, Los Kennedy has been nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Movies of the Week/Mini-Series by the American Society of Cinematographers, the 2012 Producers Guild Award. Jon Cassar, the director, was nominated for the Directors Guild Award.
Vme, a 24-hour Spanish language network partnered with public television stations, is available free over-the-air, and on basic digital cable nationally via satellite; in the basic and Hispanic packages of Dish Network and DirecTV and on Verizon FiOS and AT&T U-verse.
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 18, 2012
Loteria, a bilingual board game, will be available in the United States in Spring 2012
Photos:G.S. Schwartz & Co. Inc.
Techno Source, a division of LF Products, and FremantleMedia Enterprises (FME), the commercial and brand extension of FremantleMedia, expect to sell to Mexican Americans “hundreds of thousands of units a year” of Loteria, a $5.99 board game that is popular in Mexico. Loteria is Spanish for lottery.
Toward that end and assuming the country’s large Hispanic population will be interested in their new product last month they announced a licensing agreement whereby Techno Source will sell Loteria board games made in Shanghai, China in the United States. The game is expected to arrive at mass and specialty retailers in spring 2012.
Eric Levin, division head, Techno Source
“The primary market for Loteria is the Mexican-American population. It is such an iconic game that anyone with Mexican heritage knows and loves from childhood. Now they can easily buy Loteria for their families here in the USA and pass along this great tradition,” said Eric Levin, division head, Techno Source when asked about the target audience for Loteria. “Additionally, it is a great family game, appropriate for everyone ages 6 and up. It includes English and Spanish translations, so it’s easy for those who are fluent in either language and also a great teaching tool for those who wish to learn. Techno Source has been tracking the growth in the Hispanic population and hearing steady feedback from our retail partners that they are looking to better serve this population in their stores. This was a natural fit and is and great way to bring an extremely well known product to the US market.”
According to promotional materials, Loteria originated in Italy in the 1400s and was introduced to Mexico in 1769 where it became very popular. Loteria is a bingo style game of chance that uses colorful, iconic images of Mexican culture on playing cards instead of numbers on ping pong balls.
Naz Cuevas, senior manager, Consumer Products, FME
“We are excited to work with Techno Source to bring the Loteria family board game with its deep cultural roots and recognizable imagery to families in the U.S.” said Naz Cuevas, senior manager, Consumer Products, FME. “Their marketing expertise and vast distribution network will allow us to reach the young Hispanic market, the fastest growing segment in the U.S. with more than 44 million people, and also broaden the audience for this historic brand.”
Techno Source, a division of LF Products and part of Li & Fung Limited, is one of the fastest growing global toy companies. The Techno Source game portfolio includes 20Q, Tetris, Disney, Rubik’s, Nickelodeon, Bicycle (The United States Playing Card Company), Intellivision, Guess What I Am!, and Electronic Touch-Screen Sudoku.
FremantleMedia Enterprises is a full-service brand building company that specializes in rights management and exploitation across multiple platforms such as consumer products, sponsorships, interactive and mobile, and live events. FME’s portfolio of third-party brands includes Rebecca Bonbon, a girls fashion brand designed by Yuko Shimizu, the original creator of Hello Kitty; Endless Summer, a beach culture and lifestyle brand inspired by the 1964 cult classic film; Condè Nast lifestyle brands Self and Epicurious, and Bellator, a mixed martial arts fighting championship brand.
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 16, 2012
Roberto Perez, director, Hispanic Marketing, Comcast Cable
Photo: Comcast Cable
A podcast interview with Roberto Perez, director, Hispanic Marketing, Comcast Cable, is available in the Podcast Section of Hispanic Marketing & Public Relations, HispanicMPR.com. During the podcast, he discusses his company’s Hispanic market strategies with Elena del Valle, host of the HispanicMPR.com podcast.
Roberto responsible for developing and executing marketing initiatives aimed at attracting and retaining Hispanic customers by maximizing internal sales channels and partner relationships to create complete end-to-end products and programming that resonate with and better serve this audience.
He also oversees Comcast’s On Demand platform En Español and provides marketing strategy for xfinityTV.com/latinoTV, the company’s Spanish language online entertainment portal. Prior to joining Comcast in 2010, Roberto served as manager of Multicultural Strategy for Cox Communications and before that he was project manager for the Mexican-American Business Chamber in Atlanta.
To listen to the interview, scroll down until you see “Podcast” on the right hand side, then select “HMPR Roberto Perez” 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 January 2012 section of the podcast archive.
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 13, 2012
Violencia Doméstica book cover
Photos: Concordia Publishing House
In past years, nearly one in four adult women and one in nine men in the United States have reported experiencing intimate partner violence (IPV) at some point in their lives; among Hispanics 20.5 percent of women and 15.5 percent of men suffer partner violence; and 85 percent of domestic violence victims are women and 25 percent of women who attempt to escape from batters are murdered, according to Intimate Partner Violence, Bureau of Justice Statistics Crime Data Brief 2003 and CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey 2005.
Between 1995 and 2008, while Celso William Chignoli was senior pastor of Scruggs Memorial United Methodist Church and senior pastor of the United Methodist Church of the New Community he established La Clinica, a health program that provided medical, dental, psychological, and social work services free of charge to 1,200 patients a month. Eighty-five percent of those were migrant or undocumented workers who could not afford to pay for their health care.
Among the patients there were people who exhibited complications associated with domestic violence, both victims and victimizers. This led him to research the topic and offer specialized courses for pastoral care and counseling in the summer class programs at Perkins School of Theology, Concordia Seminary and elsewhere.
He wrote about the subject initially for seminarians, pastors and church ministries. Then he directed his attention to victims in Spanish in Violencia doméstica: Detección, prevención, y ayuda (Editorial Concordia,$8.99), to help them gain insights to overcome this situation without serious problems. He also directed the 126-page softcover book to pastors and future pastors believing that if they understand domestic violence they can be prepared, prepare their congregation, and have the option to establish a restorative ministry.
The statistics are daunting: 75 percent of fatalities occur when a victim announces she or he will leave or end the relationship. Chignoli believes it is better to leave without an explanation, and learn to heal.
Celso William Chignoli, author, Violencia Doméstica
Domestic violence is taboo within Hispanic households and other groups, according to the author, because it is “rooted in anger and the lack of ability to manage that anger.” The presence of aggression, violence and sexual abuse in the media; the fact that in the majority of Latin American and Spain there are no protective laws and have not developed a sense of respect towards women, according to him, are other contributing factors. Discrimination, he says, is also common, although 17 percent of domestic violence victims are men. Often, according to him, Hispanic women cling to chauvinist customs and when a woman does not submit to her partner’s needs, it can escalate to death.
According to Chignoli a large percentage of Hispanics do not have access to a computer and do not have education or resources in Spanish; and Latino communities in the United States may feel “disconnected to reality because of the lack of solidarity and participation in education campaigns regarding mutual respect in relationships.” He believes by speaking out against domestic violence, creating awareness, and taking action people can fight domestic violence.
Chignoli studied medicine at the Universidad Nacional de Cordoba in Argentina and received his graduate degree in divinity from Eden Theological Seminary in Saint Louis, Missouri. Editorial Concordia, the Spanish division of Concordia Publishing House is a not-for-profit publishing company and the publisher of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.
Click to buy Violencia Domestica
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Filed Under: Books
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 11, 2012
By Alex Zylberglait
Vice president, Investments
Miami office of Marcus & Millichap
Alex Zylberglait, vice president, Investments, Marcus & Millichap
Photo: Alex Zylberglait
A 1031 exchange, otherwise known as a tax deferred exchange is a simple strategy and method for selling one property, that’s qualified, and then proceeding with an acquisition of another property (also qualified) within a specific time frame. The logistics and process of selling a property and then buying another property are practically identical to any standardized sale and buying situation, a “1031 exchange” is unique because the entire transaction is treated as an exchange and not just as a simple sale. It is this difference between “exchanging” and not simply buying and selling which, in the end, allows the taxpayer(s) to qualify for a deferred gain treatment. So to say it in simple terms, sales are taxable with the IRS and 1031 exchanges are not. US CODE: Title 26, §1031. Exchange of Property Held for Productive Use or Investment.
Click here to read the complete article 1031 exchanges as a commercial real estate investment strategy
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 9, 2012
Top Social Media Countries – click to enlarge
In many countries social networking has become ubiquitous. The mode of communication has become an essential part of people’s daily lives. Traversing international boundaries social networking has turned into the most popular online activity, according to It’s A Social World Top 10 Need-to-Knows About Social Networking and Where It’s Headed, a December 2011 comScore report. ComScore tracks online behavior and usage.
In October 2011, comScore researchers estimate social networking accounted for 19 percent of people’s time online or nearly 1 in every 5 minutes spent online; and social media, they believe, reaches 82 percent of the world’s 1.2 billion internet population.
Where people used to send emails and use instant messaging software to communicate many now rely on social media, the report says. In the United States (98 percent) and Canada (94 percent) social media site penetration, comScore staff believe, is nearly pervasive. They also estimate 41 of the 43 markets individually reported by comScore exhibit a market penetration of 85 percent or more.
When the researchers examined total time spent online, Israel was the most active country, followed by Argentina, Russia, Turkey, Chile, Philippines, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela and Canada. People in the Asia Pacific region, particularly East Asian countries, spend the least amount of time on social networks, according to the comScore findings.
The report also indicates women spend more time social networking than men. For example, women in North America and Europe, spent an average of nearly two hours (30 percent) more than men on social networking sites in a month. Older adults, users 55 and older, are the fastest growing segment in social networking sites, says the report.
Facebook is the undisputed leader in most countries. In October, Facebook reached 55 percent of the world’s audience, accounting for about three in every four minutes people spent on social networking sites and one in every seven minutes they spent online per comScore data.
Microblogging, mainly Twitter, is booming worldwide. Twitter reaches one in ten internet users around the planet to rank among the top social networks. In the last year it grew 59 percent. While initially users in the United States drove social media and microblogging growth that is no longer true. Only 19.8 percent of Facebook users, 20 percent of Twitter fans, and 38.2 percent of LinkedIn users are in the United States.
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 6, 2012
The Nonprofit Organizational Culture Guide book cover
Photos: Josey-Bass, Greg Shaler, Paige Hull Teegarden, Paul Sturm
What people say and what they do are often in conflict and so it is with the organizations where they work and that they run. Companies and organizations, like people, may unwittingly send mixed messages. One organization may tout its democratic and equitable approach toward its members while exhibiting a clearly discriminating pattern of employment toward its staff, for example.
The often unwritten organizational culture sets the tone within an organization and dictates informally the direction it takes and its parameters. Each company or organization has its own unique culture. There is, according to some experts, no single culture that is the best for everyone. On the other hand, it is important when dealing with any organization or company to be aware of and understand its culture. And, for profit and nonprofit entities are different by their very nature.
Paige Hull Teegarden, M.P.P.
There are about two million nonprofit organizations employing as many as eleven million people in the country. Although many assumptions can be made about the characteristics of a nonprofit entity often there are no clear definitions about its organizational culture. In The Nonprofit Organizational Culture Guide Revealing the Hidden Truths that Impact Performance (Josey-Bass, $40), Paige Hull Teegarden, M.P.P., Denice Rothman Hinden, Ph.D., A.C.C., and Paul Sturm, M.P.A., M.S. outline their thoughts on the topic for an audience of nonprofit leaders, managers, educators, funders and anyone seeking to understand the nonprofit sector and its effectiveness. The book required seven years of work and two publishers (the first one went out of business before publishing the book) before becoming available in December 2010.
The authors believe understanding the culture of an organization is an ongoing process that may assist those who work in or interact with the organization to be effective in orienting new staff and board members, identify leaders, define the organization’s change parameters, develop matching strategies, communicate and market with success, and find appropriate restructuring or merger choices.
“There were three big challenges. One was our inability to get financial support early on to support our research. Folks just weren’t convinced that we could reveal something that you can’t see. The second challenge was losing our publisher just before the book was going into production. The third challenge was keeping up the energy of all three authors to get the book out after seven years of trials,” said Rothman Hinden in response to a question about the biggest challenges they faced.
“Building upon the previous research and literature about organizational culture in a way that would be useful to nonprofit organizations. Prior to our book, virtually all the work and references about organizational culture had been focused on for-profit corporations,” said Sturm in response to the same question.
Denice Rothman Hinden, Ph.D., A.C.C.
The 174-page softcover book is divided into five chapters: Nonprofit Culture, Six Examples of Nonprofit Culture in Action, Revealing Organizational Culture, Reflections on Organizational Culture, and Recommendations for Nonprofit Leaders and Capacity Builders; and three appendices: Sector Informants, Organizational Culture Diagnostic Tools and About Mind Maps and Mind Mapping.
The authors propose four phases toward revealing the organizational culture process: Preparing by establishing a basic understanding of the organization and its context; identifying the organization’s objectives by finding culture stories and understanding their meaning; studying how the organization’s culture may affect the organization in achieving its objectives and developing a plan of action; and examining the ways in which change takes place within the organization in order to implement a plan.
“The encouragement and feedback we’ve received from thought-leaders and others committed to enhancing the effectiveness of nonprofit organizations and the nonprofit sector,” said Sturm when asked about the most rewarding aspect of collaborating in the book.
“Most rewarding has been demonstrating to organization leaders that there is great value in paying attention to what you can’t easily see in organizations. The book is a call to action to leaders to think about organizational experiences in a different way, and to use what they learn to create more effective management and program strategies. Helping nonprofit organization leaders think intentionally about the hidden elements of organizational culture is an important new step for strengthening organization performance,” said Rothman Hinden.
Paul Sturm, M.P.A., M.S.
Hull Teegarden, president, Think Outside, is a systems thinker with more than 15 years of experience. Rothman Hinden*, president, Managance Consulting & Coaching, has more than 25 years of nonprofit management experience. Sturm, a 25-year specialist in nonprofit leadership development and capacity building, teaches at the University of Baltimore and the College of Notre Dame of Maryland.
* The author of this note and Denice Rothman Hinden have been friends for many years.
Click to buy The Nonprofit Organizational Culture Guide
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Filed Under: Books
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 4, 2012
Photo: Hulu Latino
Hulu, an online portal offering ad supported video content from NBC, Fox, ABC, CBS, and Nickelodeon among others, decided recently to target Spanish speakers in the United States with a new channel, Hulu Latino (hulu.com/latino). Content for the new portal, only available domestically, is provided and selected by eleven companies: Azteca America, Butaca, Caracol Televisión, Comarex, Estrella TV, Imagina US, Laguna Productions, Maya Entertainment, RCTV, Todobebe Inc, and Venevision.
Hulu staff hope to capture the under served market segments of the video watching Hispanic market. They believe that, based on Nielsen data, 78 percent of that segment is bilingual. A spokesperson explained by email that promotion of the new channel will be the responsibility of its content partners. She declined to identify Hulu audience numbers, the exact target audience for the new portal or the exact number of Spanish language videos on offer.
She responded by email saying “The portal launched with hundreds of hours of Spanish-language film and TV shows on Hulu and Hulu Plus;” and “Hulu does not break out specific viewership information, but what we can say is that we are very excited about the new audiences we expect to serve with this content.”
According to an article in the Los Angeles Times (Hulu launches Latino service with Spanish-language programming) December 13, 2011 there are five Hulu Latino sponsors, Corona, Modelo, Toyota, Pantene, and Volkswagen of America.
NBCUniversal (Comcast/General Electric), News Corporation, The Walt Disney Company and Providence Equity Partners (owner of Newport Television) own Hulu. Founded in March 2007, Hulu has offices in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Seattle, Tokyo and Beijing.
Posted by Elena del Valle on January 3, 2012
As we start another year we are thankful for the years passed and for you our readers and listeners of the HispanicMPR articles and podcast interviews.
We wish you a very healthy, happy and prosperous New Year!
Posted by Elena del Valle on December 16, 2011
Emanuel Andren’s Monte Enebro chocolate
Photo: Emanuel Andren, Mars, Elizabeth Arden, Edward Marc Chocolatier
More consumers (13 percent) regard cell phones as appropriate gifts for children ages 6 to 11, up from 4 percent earlier this year. About one in three (32 percent) shoppers expect stores to offer boxes although at the same time 21 percent of survey takers said they don’t bother with wrapping paper relying instead on gift bags. More than 20 percent prefer to browse the stores then shop online to save money. A similar number say they plan to reduce the number of people they gift. These estimates are based on the 25 Stocking Stuffers from Mintel, Holiday Shopping U.S. July 2011 and Seasonal Chocolate U.S. August 2011 Mintel survey reports.
On the positive front, 27 percent of survey respondents said that when they shop for the holidays, they often buy something for themselves. Christmas decorations and cards remain popular; 42 percent of survey takers said they bought Christmas decorations in the past year while 64 percent bought a Christmas card and 67 percent received one in the past year. Even pets were involved; 11 percent of respondents said pets sent a card or gift.
White Diamonds Elizabeth Taylor Holiday Gift Set, for those who wish to wear or gift the top selling celebrity fragrance
Many (29 percent) of domestic consumers said they bought someone a fragrance and 28 percent bought candles for Christmas. That’s not surprising since winter holidays have been the high season for fragrance sales in past years, according to Mintel.
Celebrity endorsed fragrances are among the most popular, according to a Forbes.com April 2011 article (Top-Selling Celebrity Perfumes by Dorothy Pomerantz). Elizabeth Arden sold $54 million worth of White Diamonds by Elizabeth Taylor in the United States last year. The perfume, according to the article, has been a favorite of the public since it was launched in 1991. Other notables peddling fragrances with success, includes Derek Jeter (Driven), Beyoncé (Heat), P. Diddy’s Sean John (Unforgivable), Sarah Jessica Parker (NYC), Jessica Simpson (Fancy) and Gwen Stefani (Harajuku Lovers).
MMs packaging for 2011 end of year holidays
Entertaining, vacations, cooking, chocolates and alcoholic beverages during the holidays remain popular; 18 percent of Mintel survey respondents said they “absolutely have to entertain guests for the holidays.” Almost one of every four Americans said they take time off for the end of year holidays, making Christmas like holidays the second most popular family vacation.
Absolut Miami, a passion fruit and orange blossom flavored vodka, was launched in time for the holidays
Winter holidays motivate 58 percent of Americans to cook gourmet or elaborate meals requiring three or more hours to prepare. Americans are most likely to buy alcoholic beverages for New Year’s Eve (37 percent) and Christmas (28 percent), according to survey responses.
In the last year, 61 percent of survey takers bought chocolate in seasonal packaging. Blacks and Hispanics, the two largest emerging markets, have the highest average spending on seasonal candy of any race or ethnicity. This may explain why “Christmas chocolate” sales are forecast to peak in 2011, surpassing $400 million in sales, an increase of 42 percent, according to Mintel researchers.
Chocolate sellers offer special products for the season. For example, Swedish gourmet chocolate maker Emanuel Andren announced a line of 2011 holiday gift guide specials including the Passion and Glamour chocolate collection. The collection retails at $69 (regular price $98) for a four four piece box and $230 (regular price $328) for the 16 piece box between November 1 to December 31, 2011. Made in Sweden, these chocolates are all individually handmade by Emanuel Andren himself, according to a press release.
“We have seen the demand grow for chocolates more than ever before. Right now instead of buying big luxury items people are able to spend a reasonable amount on chocolate and have a beautiful gift. We say that our chocolates are an affordable luxury,” said Chris Edwards, chief marketing and development officer, Edward Marc Chocolatier, a Pennsylvania based chocolate seller with brick and mortar and online shops.
Edward Marc Chocolatier Vanilla Salt Caramel
Edward Marc seasonal items such as Holiday Pops, Chocolate Santas and Pretzel Bites (broken pretzels pieces covered in milk, dark, white and peanut butter) are very popular in the company’s retails stores while the most popular gift item is the Tower of Sweets which includes Vanilla Salt Caramel or Pecan Caramel Terrapins, also the most popular year round. Most sales are in the retail stores, three in Pennsylvania and one in Virginia.
