08.21.05
Posted in News at 8:32 pm by Paloma Cruz
Spanish Language Here to Stay
Study Shows Spanish Speakers to Increase 45% in Coming Years
A landmark study titled: “The Future Use of The Spanish Language In The USA — Projected to 2015 & 2025″ just released by Hispanic U.S.A. Inc. reveals startling results about the dramatic continued growth of Spanish-speakers in America.
The study challenges the assumption that the use of Spanish will decrease in coming years as succeeding generations of Hispanics are born and grow up in this country. In fact, the study shows that the number of Spanish-dominant and bilingual Latinos will increase by 45 percent over the next two decades - adding 12.4 million Spanish-speakers to today’s population.
And it’s not just because of continuing immigration. Unlike other immigrant groups, even third-generation Hispanics - those born to Latino parents who themselves were born in the United States - will continue to speak Spanish in extraordinarily large numbers.
[snip]
Among its findings:
- By 2025, the number of Spanish-speaking Latinos in the United States will reach 40.2 million, up from 27.8 million today.
- Fully two-thirds of Hispanics, five and older, will speak Spanish 20 years from now.
- On average, 35 percent of third-generation Latinos in the United States speak Spanish.
- The 18-and-older Spanish-speaking population will increase by 53 percent, to 15.2 million by 2025.
- The key 18-to-49 year old demographic will grow by 7.5 million, and will include 59 percent of all the Spanish speakers.
[snip]
Unfortunately, this isn’t a trend that will be found in my family. My brother-in-law seems to take great delight in the fact that his children barely speak Spanish. And nothing I say or do, to him or my sister, seems to make a difference.
We live in Texas, which is now a minority majority state, and where the number of Spanish-speakers is increasing exponentially (it seems). At this point, not speaking Spanish is already a handicap in this state.
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Posted in News at 7:15 pm by Paloma Cruz
Growing Latino market drives targeted coffeehouse
Entrepreneurs are looking past mom-and-pop ethnic stores, building slicker franchises to meet demand
– by The Associated Press
The stainless steel counters and tidy shelves filled with bagged coffee beans at Panaderia Taza are standard coffeehouse decor, but the pastry case isn’t filled with muffins and scones.
It’s lined with conchas, Mexican sweet breads, and empanadas, triangle-shaped crust filled with fruit or custard. And the coffee is Mexican brand Cafe Combate.
Panaderia Taza is a coffeehouse targeted specifically at Hispanics, a market growing so rapidly here and elsewhere in the United States that the bakery’s owners plan to franchise it soon.
[snip]
I don’t know about a new trend, but I do know that one of my favorite things to do is to go to the local panadería to pick up a bag of sweet bread on Sunday morning. (Not that I can do that now.) Then I might go to the carnicería, because they have the best tamales, and get two dozen for my Dad.
Sundays are good.
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Posted in News at 3:03 pm by Paloma Cruz
English Enters Into Media for Latinos
– reported by Chicago Tribune
Eager to reach younger and more affluent U.S. Hispanics, advertisers, publishers and cable television networks are discovering it is best to speak to them in their own language - English.
Spanish may be the dominant language of Latinos, the fastest-growing ethnic group in the country. However, for bilingual, better-educated young Hispanics, English increasingly is the media language of choice.
In response, a new crop of English-language television networks, radio stations and magazines have emerged to offer fresh choices to “acculturated” Latinos, those who maintain their Latin roots but identify closely with the American mainstream.
[snip]
As I’ve written previously, advertisers have finally woken up to the fact that Hispanics actually have buying power. Now they’re realizing that we’re all different and they need to segment us differently. You can tell, by Spanish commercial on mainstream English channels, and English commercials on Spanish radio stations.
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Posted in News at 12:55 pm by Paloma Cruz
Latinos Say Rock Is More Than Just Reggaetón
– published by the New York Times
[snip] But last year, mainstream Latin media were suddenly smitten with a different alternative: reggaetón, the Puerto Rican twist on hip-hop and Jamaican dancehall.
[snip]
Latin alternative music has been gaining exposure on noncommercial radio, on programs like the Los Angeles television show LATV (online at www.latv.com) and on tour. “The Red Zone,” a popular Los Angles radio program featuring Latin rock, is going into nationwide syndication. Yet while commercial Latin media have occasionally embraced a rocker - like Juanes from Colombia, who has won Latin Grammy awards - as a pop star, until reggaetón arrived they had largely clung to longstanding genres like pop, salsa and Mexican regional music.
With its simple, danceable beat, and with songs and videos full of men bragging about sexy girls, reggaetón had been building an audience in the Caribbean for at least a decade, then suddenly exploded on Latin radio stations here. Last year, the Clear Channel chain and other radio-station owners introduced a new format called Hispanic Urban (often compressed to Hurban). The format has been taking over older Spanish-language stations, bringing in bilingual disc jockeys and playlists that prominently feature reggaetón, often alongside Latin pop and English-language hip-hop.
[snip]
For those of you paying attention, Clear Channel changed one of their long-standing hard rock stations (in Houston ) to Reggaetón last year. From what I can tell, the new station has a long following.
Time flies and things change…
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08.17.05
Posted in News at 10:13 pm by Paloma Cruz
Local activists hope to educate and unify the city’s day laborers
They are hitting streets to prepare for the Minutemen
– reported by the Houston Chronicle1
Activists circulated among day laborers near Shepherd on Friday, hoping to organize the workers before the arrival of the Minutemen in October.
The leaders said they plan to hold a meeting Aug. 27 to establish order among the city’s street labor markets, populated mostly by illegal immigrant workers.
[snip]
Some of the workers wanted to know what they could do if confronted by Minutemen.
“If they come to mistreat us, what happens?” asked David Jimenez, no relation to Maria Jimenez.
Maria Jimenez told him volunteers would be there to show them how to respond in a nonviolent way if confronted.
But other workers said they worry more about the police.
* * *
Reminders:
- Houston Chronicle links expire after a few days because they’re archived. If you want to access these articles after that, you either have to be a subscriber or go to the Houston Public Library and access the database using your Library Power Card.
Found via blogHOUSTON.
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08.15.05
Posted in News at 9:22 pm by Paloma Cruz
(See footnotes as indicated.)
One of the many topics that I’ve failed to comment about recently because of forced reduced posting is the situation in Nuevo Laredo. Here’s a collection of news, info and posts to get started:
- Houston’s Clear Thinkers has a very informative post about the troubles in Nuevo Laredo, centering on the recent closure of the U.S. Consulate.
- US closes Nuevo Laredo consulate after violent shootout. “The United States is closing its consulate in this violence-wracked border city for a week following a shootout in which assailants used machine guns, grenades and even a rocket launcher to attack a home, the U.S. Ambassador said Friday evening.”
- Nuevo Laredo attack claims policewoman. The law officer is 15th slain in the border city in ‘05.1 “De Leon is the 15th local law officer to be killed in Nuevo Laredo so far this year, including Police Chief Alejandro Dominguez, who was gunned down June 8 just seven hours after taking office.”
- Nuevo Laredo official, two others gunned down.1 “Gunmen in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico shot and killed a City Council member and two other people today while he was driving a pickup truck near city hall in the border community wracked by a drug-gang war.”
- FBI, Mexico mum on Laredo meeting on border.1 “The FBI met with Mexican authorities today across the border from the violence-ravaged Mexican city of Nuevo Laredo, but officials from both countries declined to comment on details of the meeting.”
* * *
Reminders:
- Houston Chronicle links expire after a few days because they’re archived. If you want to access these articles after that, you either have to be a subscriber or go to the Houston Public Library and access the database using your Library Power Card.
- KHOU CBS Channel 11 requires a registration.
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Posted in News at 9:08 pm by Paloma Cruz
(See footnotes as indicated.)
Here are some news, blog posts and discussions about the upcoming arrival of the Minutemen to Houston. I think I’ve made my position about this clear, but feel free to see what others are saying:
- blogHOUSTON has a running discussion off their post Red light cameras can help with Houston’s day laborer problem. As I’ve stated previously, I don’t usually agree with their opinions (as posted on that blog), but I do give them kudos for addressing the issues and providing research and backup to what they’ve posted. Even if you don’t agree with them, or if you do, it’s a good source of background info and alternate opinions on what’s going on in Houston.
- ACLU to monitor Minuteman project in Houston.2 “The ACLU is training dozens of people how to monitor the Minutemen.”
- War of words heats up at Minuteman session.1 LULAC leader confronts a corps member over the plans to videotape day-labor workers. “A four-day training session for members of the controversial Minuteman Civil Defense Corps turned heated Sunday when a LULAC leader confronted one of the group’s members.”
* * *
Reminders:
- Houston Chronicle links expire after a few days because they’re archived. If you want to access these articles after that, you either have to be a subscriber or go to the Houston Public Library and access the database using your Library Power Card.
- KHOU CBS Channel 11 requires a registration.
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08.13.05
Posted in General at 12:20 pm by Paloma Cruz
I found this little bit on Marketing to hispanics, a blog with this description: “The Hispanic population is now the largest minority in the US and is expected to grow twice as fast as any other segment in the next 20 years. For companies that are competing in the US, understanding Hispanics is a must in order for them to be able to persuade and convince this segment to buy or use their products or services.”
It is widely known that almost 60% of all Hispanics in the US come from Mexico so, segmenting by country of origin is the most common and easy way to segment this group. But, by segmenting Hispanics by country of origin, marketers might be missing the point that even those from the same country have very different cultural backgrounds and, thus, needs.
Thought I don’t know where he gets the 60% stat… ditto.
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Posted in News at 7:48 am by Paloma Cruz
This story struck a cord with me as I battle my back issues.
Hispanics Impacted More Severely By Joint Pain & Work Limitations.
– reported by HispanicAd
The rapidly growing U.S. Hispanic population and the disproportionate rate at which arthritis impacts this community indicate an imminent public health threat that could be limited with accurate information and action, according to the Arthritis Foundation.
According to recent estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly three million Hispanic adults in the U.S. report doctor-diagnosed arthritis, while millions more live with chronic joint symptoms but have not seen a doctor. The CDC study also revealed that, despite a lower population prevalence of arthritis, Hispanics with arthritis have more severe joint pain and a higher proportion of arthritis-attributed work limitations than non-Hispanics.
A recent survey published in The Journal of Pain showed that Hispanics are less likely to see a doctor for chronic pain than whites or blacks, with many citing a lack of health insurance as a major reason for avoiding treatment.
[snip]
Recognizing the need to reach Hispanics with accurate information about arthritis, the Arthritis Foundation announces the availability of Spanish-language resources, including a series of 16 brochures and information sheets about various forms of arthritis; an award-winning Web site, http://www.arthritis.org/espanol, with message boards and more than 100 pages of information; a toll-free Spanish-language help line (1-800-568-4045) with an option to speak live with someone in Spanish; and an e-mail help address, Ayuda@arthritis.org, where Hispanics can get a personalized response in Spanish to their questions about arthritis.
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Posted in News at 7:45 am by Paloma Cruz
Tour brings scholarship facts to local Latinos
Detroit stop of ‘Paying for College Tour’ pushes Hispanics to education by offsetting rising costs.
– reported by The Detroit News
Maria Carranza won’t pay a cent for tuition at Wayne State University this school year.
After hours of filling out applications, writing essays and hearing classmates say she couldn’t do it, the Detroit resident was able to secure enough scholarships and aid to pay for classes. There’s a scholarship for everyone, she says, from Latino women to left-handers.
[snip]
In the wake of tuition hikes ranging from 7 percent to 19 percent at all of Michigan’s public universities, the Sallie Mae Fund’s “Paying for College Tour” made a stop at Detroit’s Cesar Chavez Academy High School Monday to help local Latinos close the financial aid information gap that has restricted college attendance. The mobile bus tour gave Latino students and their families access to information on scholarships, grants, loans and federal aid in Spanish and English.
[snip]
According to a Sallie Mae Fund study, 43 percent of Latino young adults and 51 percent of Latino parents reported that they were not aware of a single source of college financial aid. The same study found that more than two-thirds of Latino families believe getting financial aid information before leaving high school was “very important” in their decision to attend college.
For those of you looking for scholarship ideas, here are a few places to start:
And that’s just the start!
(…reprint from stories from a teaching life…)
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