Archive for the ‘Generation Ñ’ Category
Latin Food = ‘Latin Lite’
Tamales, tortillas, gordillos, for example all use dough made from pure grounded corn. Now, that’s a relief from the common corn syrup and enriched flours used in ninety percent of our foods today.
Latin American foods revolve around vegetables, fishes, grains, meats and exotic fruits. Fast food restaurants have demoralized and commercialized the amazing healthy Latin dishes into heart attack inducing meals. Latin food cooked at home is in most instances, healthy.
By Lucía Tovar-Matthews and Chef Portillo
READ STORY IN THE AMERICANO
When many Americans think of Latin Cuisine, an image of a fat, stuffed, beef burrito or enchiladas plunged in red sauce and cream comes to mind, let’s not even mention how spicy it may be. So many diet watchers simply disregard Latin foods to stay slim and healthy, but little did they know that Latin cuisine goes so much further, and healthier, than the stereotypical greasy burrito.
Latin America as a whole is comprised of Central, South America, and various islands along their coasts. With such tropical weather, traditional meals incorporate the use of the variety in exotic fruits and vegetation. Countries next to bodies of water, such as Costa Rica, Cuba and Puerto Rico for instance, tend to have a higher intake of fish and legumes. Those with a lot of cattle, such as Brazil and Argentina, have a higher intake of red meat. However, when we think of “Latin Cuisine”, the type of food that comes to mind varies depending on where we live here in the United States. If you ask a citizen in California about Latin Cuisine, they will probably think of Mexican food, while someone from Florida would respond with Cuban food and equally someone from New York might respond with Puerto Rican foods. Let’s explore some of these little well-known Latin American dishes.
The island of Cuba commonly eats lean fish meats, topped along with sweet potatoes, yuca (a starchy potato-like root) and pineapples. A popular Cuban food is sofrito, a combination of green bell peppers, onions and garlic all sautéed in olive oil. Super healthy and simple. Although a Cuban diet cannot be complete without pork, fried bananas and starchy vegetables, all Cuban dishes incorporate the citrus tangy fruits of the Caribbean.
Puerto Rican cuisines have the influence of African, European and indigenous cultures due to its history of colonization. A country diverse in fruit and vegetables, their dishes are light, heart healthy and nutritious. Puerto Rican dishes revolve around plantains, a type of banana only edible if cooked, and other humid friendly vegetation. From crabmeat stew to empanadas, breaded beef, and alcapurrias, a combination of ground squash, plantain, and other tropical fruits alongside fried fishes and shellfish. Last, but not least, pork is one of the main attractions to Puerto Rican cuisine, popular to special events and holidays, Puerto Ricans love pork, from its white meat to actual blood ball sausages; pork is a symbol of festivities.
The classic burrito is not only the image of Latin cuisine, but also the image for all Mexican foods. Mexico’s dishes go way past the simple burrito, from the hundreds of spices to the creative use of corn, tortillas, red/green salsas and meats. Mexican cuisine has much to offer other than the stereotypical burrito and fajitas, and by the way, fajitas are not even Mexican, they were created here in the U.S. All authentic Mexican dishes revolve around corn and beans, made fresh without the use of unreadable, unknown chemical ingredients. Tamales, tortillas, gordillos, for example all use dough made from pure grounded corn. Now, that’s a relief from the common corn syrup and enriched flours used in ninety percent of our foods today. Even chocolate, the indigenous produce of Mexico was originally used by the Aztecs in ancient times.
Fast food restaurants have demoralized and commercialized these amazing healthy dishes into heart attack inducing meals. Latin American foods all revolve around vegetables, fishes, grains, meats and exotic fruits. There are so many dishes that are, in fact, healthy for you. Next time Latin American foods are brought to mind, think of the fruits, spices, grain, meats and the unique flavor behind these dishes rather than assuming everything is bathed and fried in oil. It is time to appreciate, and enjoy, the traditional and healthy forms of Latin cuisine dishes.
Nutritionist and “Latin Lite” chef, Denise Portillo and Lucía Tovar-Matthews, member of the San Diego Community College District board of directors have recently collaborated with TUCOCINA (www.tucocina.net ) for the launch of “La Salud en Tu Cocina,” an initiative developed by the kitchenware maker to encourage Hispanic families to come back around the dinner table. For more information, and to find out how to participate in the initiative, email mariana@dialogo.us.
Plug in the Hispanic Internet
Working models for communicating with Hispanics through online venues can guide businesses over the threshold into the new age of technological advancements and a way to connect to online Latino shoppers.
By Lucía Tovar-Matthews, for Latin Trends Magazine
I’ve seen it before and it still surprises me. The insights of an underdog open unexpected doors for Internet consumers and yank the rug right out from under the dominant providers of the day. Remember – AOL, Microsoft, MySpace, and Yahoo. Falling prey to their own complacency about a fast changing Internet culture these powerhouses failed to address the needs of their own audience. And in walked – Apple, Facebook, and Google – providing services that consumers didn’t even know they wanted. Well, you know the rest of the story … for now.
Online Latino Shopper
The Internet audience is changing – fast. More than many other groups, Hispanics go online to socialize, find good deals and purchase new products. Latinos are the fastest growing demographic on the Web, the heaviest users of wireless access to mobile phones and laptops, and 80 percent of Latinos socialize online.
According to Nielsen, Hispanic shoppers spent $125 billion on consumer packaged goods products last year. This shopping power will soon translate online, as the buying power of Hispanics in the U.S. and Caribbean will increase twice as fast as the U.S. general market in the next few years.
These factors create a lucrative opportunity for businesses that want a closer connection with online Latino shoppers.
Cultural Relevancy
Businesses targeting online Hispanic consumers should take into account specific cultural differences and ethnic preferences. For example, according to the Pew Hispanic Center’s National Survey of Latinos, more than half of Latinos ages 16 to 25 identify themselves first by their family’s country of origin, and an additional 20 percent generally use the terms “Hispanic” or “Latino” first when describing themselves. They are satisfied with their lives, optimistic about their futures and place a high value on education, hard work and career success. A valuable market indeed.
Digital Divide No Más
In walks CompraLatino. Founded in 2008 by online technology entrepreneur Eddie Batiz, this e-commerce company has strategically planted its Internet roots in the fertile soil of the online Latin shopping culture.
Batiz foresaw that Hispanic would consume more Internet than the general market. Through a partnership with Casiano Communications, they have built CompraCaribe (www.compracaribe.com), a uniquely Hispanic online marketplace forum where shoppers can find and purchase top-branded products and services from Latino Businesses.
Based in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Casiano Communications is the island’s number one media company online and in print. The company publishes several newspapers and magazines, which are distributed throughout the Caribbean, United States and in twenty other countries.
Batiz has formed the leading edge of the next wave through cyberspace by addressing an underserved and fast growing online community.
Casiano and Eddie Batiz’ CompraLatino did not need to wait for the release of the Census data to understand that the Internet is important in Hispanics’ daily lives. This year, 29.6 million Hispanics—nearly 60% of the Hispanic population—will go online at least once a month. By 2014, 39.2 million Hispanics will be online.
“Mercado Central Meets Amazon.com”
CompraCabibe.com focuses even more on simplifying and enhancing the user’s shopping experience by offering a bilingual market populated with personalized e-stores that sell products and services from brands.
Based on the “Mercado Central” Hispanic shopping tradition, CompraCaribe’s Latino-focused marketplace helps businesses find customers and each other. The bilingual online community offers businesses a way to sell worldwide and offers an easy creation of business directories and online stores.
More businesses are incorporating online communities within their corporate strategy. As these arenas increasingly become a fundamental component for professional success, businesses should look to experts like Eddie Batiz on the forefront of this industry to understand the extent of the benefits e-commerce tactics have to offer.
Batiz created the first live cyber recruitment platform for the U.S. Navy and quadrupled their online recruiting efforts. The chat technology that he developed and implemented is so popular with the armed forces that the Marines, Army and Air force soon added their own online recruitment platform. This technology attracted the attention of companies such as 1-800-Mattress, which generated over $7 million in sales the first year, the fastest growing sales channel in the 30-year history of the company.
A Brave New Web
Eddie Batiz pioneering development of the Latin E-Commerce Internet and to create the largest Hispanic online market place on the Web earned him national recognition. He was selected businessperson of the year in 2008 for the California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the largest Hispanic chamber in the U.S. representing over 600,000 businesses in the state of California.
Recognized as one of the Latin Internet’s e-commerce pioneers by business groups and media across the nation, Batiz has been at the forefront of online communities and e-commerce.
Entrepreneurs such as Eddie Batiz have been aware of the vitality of communicating with Latinos through technology for years. He has built his career around empowering people through technology, and information particularly among Hispanics.
Online Hispanic shoppers will continue to be an important part of the economic system. Latinos’ affinity for technologies that ease communicating across geographic boundaries, allow interaction, build communities for like-minded individuals will affect the way businesses approach e-commerce.
Experts such as Eddie Batiz with established working models for communicating with Hispanics through technologies, such as CompraCaribe, can guide the business world over the threshold into the new age of technological advancements and a way to connect to online Latino shoppers.
Lucía Tovar-Matthews is a Board Member for the San Diego Community College District Oversight Committee and the Executive Director at DIÁLOGO, an award-winning public relations firm that focuses on the U.S. Hispanic and Latin American markets.
Latinos of Mexican Descent Score Big with the NFL
Texas will host Super Bowl XLV, the most watched event in American sports as the AFC and NFC go head-to-head for the right to hoist the Lombardi Trophy and make an unprecedented attempt to appeal to Americans of Mexican descent.
Written by Richie and Lucia Matthews for Poder Hispanic Magazine
Cowboy Stadium will host Super Bowl XLV, the first time that the Super Bowl will be held in the Dallas–Fort Worth area and only the third time it will be held in Texas. The game, to be played on February 6, 2011, will pit the champions of the AFC and the NFC and for marketers focused on U.S. Hispanics of Mexican descent, the game pits professional football against fútbol.
More and more NFL teams are courting the lucrative Latino market in attempt to tap into an aggressive fan base ready to shell out consumer dollars. The NFL’s strategic positioning and marketing efforts for this season’s big game will allow them to do just that.
In October 2005, the NFL played its first regular-season game outside the United States. It drew over 100,000 people in Mexico City. Over the last four years, the NFL has aggressively sought to connect with U.S. Latinos of Mexican descent, a fan base that is large and growing at rapid pitch. The 2010 season saw one of the most aggressive positioning strategies by NFL members as more than half of the teams celebrated Mexican Hispanic Heritage events at various stadiums.
News Media heavyweights also invested big in Hispanic markets in 2010, and followed the NFL’s culturally relevant approach to reaching and activating Mexican Latinos. In celebration of last year’s Hispanic Heritage Month, ESPN Deportes launched Fanático Latino, an integrated marketing campaign honoring the character and diversity of the Latino Sports Fans. Univision Interactive Media and the NFL also went on the offense by jointly launching NFL.Com/Español Site. In September 2010, professional football, not fútbol, delivered two of the most-watched season opening games among Hispanics. That week’s top English-language program among Hispanics was NBC’s September 12 “Sunday Night Football” game between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins.
Almost every U.S. professional sports league has joined the mad dash to reach Mexican Latino populations. Whereas traditionally boxing and soccer thrived on Latino fandom, other leagues are now vying for a chunk of the pie. The NBA launched large-scale marketing efforts including Spanish-language radio broadcasts and team websites and community-engaging events. The MLB, NHL and even NASCAR have similar campaigns underway.
According to the Nielsen Company, Hispanic NFL viewership has skyrocketed, up over 12 percent from last season. Ratings are up over that same time period too, by 7 percent, the media ratings company said. This is up from last year’s Super Bowl between, which averaged 7.8 million Latino viewers in the U.S., and a huge increase from the 2003 season’s average of 780,000 Hispanic viewers per regular season game. Increased growth is especially critical in the down economy that has forced the NFL to downsize its workforce.
The NFL vamped its push towards U.S. Hispanics in recent years. Marketing, advertising and sponsorship dollars as well as innovative grassroots initiatives have all been cultivated with the new target demographic in mind.
Dallas offers a definitive Mexican Latino flair to this year’s Super Bowl. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the U.S. population now stands at 308,745,538, up just 9.7 percent over the last decade – the slowest growth rate since the Great Depression. However, Texas grew more than twice as fast as the nation, thanks largely to a surge among Mexican Hispanics. Dallas has the fifth largest U.S. Hispanic population that are from Mexican decent and over 1.5 million Mexicans in the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex are the third largest foreign born Mexican population in the U.S. per Metropolitan Statistical Areas.
On one level, the choice to host the game in Dallas is rational–the weather is ideal, the atmosphere is fun and the tourist industry can accommodate the crowd. On another and most likely more influential level, the choice is strategic. What better way to captivate the Mexican Hispanic market than to bring the game to the famed Latino football hotspot.
The big push towards Hispanic consumers is in part due to the quality of fanship they offer. Latinos tend to be ardent fans with strong home team convictions. Simply look at the level of dedication Hispanics have for their beloved fútbol teams and it is easy to understand what has U.S. professional sports leagues salivating.
High levels of extreme fandom coupled with abundant consumer dollars have motivated sports leagues to seriously re-evaluate their efforts towards the Hispanic population.
Super Bowl XLV will showcase a full on attempt to captivate Hispanic audiences. The NFL is pushing its NFLHispanic.com website even more than ever. This site is designed as a tool to attract potential marketers to buy into their 360-degree platform approach to reach the Hispanic demographic. This approach allows brands to reach the segment at every angle from television, online, radio, print, calendar events to grass-roots efforts. Viewers can expect a markedly overt Hispanic overtone for this year’s championship game.
The key to success when communicating with Hispanics is to appeal to the segment through dialogue rather than target them using a monologue. Messaging should resonate with the diverse peoples who identify as being Hispanic in order to truly grab their attention. According to Nielson, last year’s Super Bowl ranks as the most-watched American television program ever with an average audience of 106.5 million viewers. NFLHispanic.com states over 3 million more Hispanics on average watched last year’s Super Bowl XLIV than the World Cup Final. Perhaps the league already has the field of cultural marketing figured out.
Generation Ñ, The New General Market
The U.S. Hispanic market has reached a tipping point. Current trends suggest expanding influence will blur the lines and Hispanic and general markets will collide. The resulting merger will reveal a new, younger American consumer market with a heightened element of Latino flair.
By Richie and Lucía Matthews, PODER Hispanic Magazine
Approximately one in six Americans is of Hispanic descent or origin. More than half are under the age of 26 and by 2020, the number of Hispanic teens is expected to increase by 62 percent as compared to 10 percent growth in the number of teens overall. Hispanic youth are a powerful consumer force underlining the Latino presence in general consumer market culture. Typically English speaking, or at English preferred, socially connected and heavy technology users, Latino teens, “Generation Ñ” are leading the way in general market infiltration.
However, one of the most startling facts is that for the first time, Hispanic births have surpassed the total number of Anglo births in many counties across the nation. The future of the general market may be upon us.
To keep up with the Hispanic baby boom, more businesses are courting young, tech savvy Hispanic consumers; incorporating online communities and social networks within their corporate marketing strategy. As these domains increasingly become a fundamental component for professional success, local companies are looking to experts on the forefront of this industry to understand the extent of the benefits Web 2.0 tactics have to offer.
Technology and innovation have been driving forces for increased inter-connectivity. Many young, socially connected Hispanics are on the forefront of this new society. Their affinity for Internet technologies will advance Latinos as business strategies are increasingly built within online models.
The growing impact of the Hispanic community online is an area requiring enhanced corporate attention. U.S. Hispanic purchasing power is projected to reach as much as $1.3 trillion by 2015. During the past decade, the rate of growth was more than two times the overall national rate. That is a rate worth targeting. The considerably young, up-and-coming Hispanic population has been dubbed media mavens for their avid technology and internet usage and thus can be successfully reached through online strategies.
Some entrepreneurs and consumer brands have been aware of the vitality of communicating with Latinos through technology for years. In June, Sprint rolled out EVO, the First 4G phone in the U.S. To lead this consumer technology race, Sprint has coupled the power of crowd sourcing and social media with Hispanic kids. Sprint is co-opting Latino youth to help propel EVO’s brand message. Sprint’s EVO efforts began with young Hispanic consumers by initiating interaction with their product. Since EVO’s HD video allows consumers to capture and share live video via the Facebook, YouTube and Twitter, social media maven took to the product immediately as ambassadors to other Generation Ñ influencers. By sourcing and leveraging young Latino consumers Sprint received better insight into the culturally relevant nuances ofGeneration Ñ and the overall Hispanic consumer segment.
Entrepreneur Eddie Batiz has built his career around empowering young people through media, technology, and information particularly among Hispanics. Through www.compralatino.com Batiz is tapping into the online retail market among Hispanic consumers by using a “Amazon meets Mercado Central” model. The Compralatino model is transparent and empowering for many of its users. Batiz has been at the forefront of online communities and social networks by not manipulating or degrading his customer’s conversation. His users receive positive word-of-mouth around their brand through a viral loop model: turning selected consumers into spontaneous carriers of the message.
Hispanics will continue to be a critical part of the U.S. economic system. This segment’s affinity for technologies that ease communicating across geographic boundaries, allow interaction, build communities for like-minded individuals and provide entertainment will affect the way companies approach business.
Marketers with established working models for communicating with Hispanics through technologies can guide the corporate world over the threshold into the new age of technological advancements.
Those who have a stake in understanding the U.S. market should pay enhanced attention to the nuances and complexities of the Latino population. U.S. Hispanics assimilate while maintaining strong ties to cultural traditions and value systems. The resulting assimilated segment is permeating boundaries and forever changing the American consumer market.
Through the Lens of the Mujer
By Lucía Matthews and Alice Gomez, for PODER Hispanic Magazine.
An old African proverb posits that ‘until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunter’. In other words, historical accounts benefit the storyteller. History has by in large been reported from the male perspective thus illuminating the world from a man’s view. Women have traditionally experienced less access to mainstream representations. Latinas and other minorities are sometimes faced with additional prejudice. In the past their stories were rarely given a voice.
Through the efforts of countless individuals significant headway has been made towards recognizing the significance of female societal contributions. As women’s voice gains increased status, film provides a forum through which it can be transmitted. Recent strides by female filmmakers may lead the way in redirecting the U.S. storyline to include the women’s viewpoint.
The National Women’s History Project (NWHP) is one of the many organizations taking charge of advancing the women’s movement. It serves as a catalyst for promoting the recognition of women’s achievements in all facets of life- science, community, government, literature, art, sports, medicine, etc.
The NWHP has designated March as Women’s History Month. The focus of this year’s 30th anniversary of Women’s History Month is ‘Writing Women Back into History’. Understanding our past is a vital component to a healthy understanding of who we are. An adequate presence in history facilitates an enhanced sense of self worth. To honor the theme the organization developed a nation-wide program highlighting outstanding women and their achievements.
According to the NWHP, when the effort began in the eighties less than 3% of the content of teacher training textbooks mentioned the contributions of women and when included, women were usually written in as mere footnotes. Women were deprived of female role models. Today the web contains millions of citations professing the accomplishments of women.
What better testament to the improved vocality of the female perspective than the evolution of women filmmakers- the ultimate storytellers. This year’s Oscar winner for Best Director went to Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker. She is the first woman to ever win this award. Only three women have ever even been nominated.
Many women in the industry understand the deep impact of this landmark event. Actress Yareli Arizmendi, of such films as Like Water for Chocolate and A Day Without a Mexican, acknowledges this accomplishment was a long time coming.
“Let us not forget that change doesn’t just happen, it needs to be imagined and worked” Arizmendi said. “The fact that Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director and Best Film was a natural evolution of what had been imagined and worked for the past centuries.”
The progression of the Latina perspective specifically is an important part of the U.S. narrative. The 2010 San Diego Latino Film Festival highlights the contributions of Latina film makers with the 17th annual Cine Mujer. Cine Mujer features six films, eight documentaries and over 30 short films by Latinas and the Latina experience. The event provides an opportunity for women filmmakers and audiences to share perspectives with one another.
The arts, such as film, have always led the way in progressive leaps for the marginalized. The industry itself has yet to create a level playing field for mainstream representations. Women seek alternative routes to ensure their voice is articulated and heard.
“Unfortunately the truth is that there are not that many women directing narrative films in Hollywood. There are, however, many women who work on documentaries, and there is a network of support from these women that is amazing” Laura Varela,
San Antonio-based documentary filmmaker and Cine Mujer participant, said. “Therefore, women, being as resilient as they are in general, and as filmmakers find ways to tell their stories without having to depend on a system which is not as open to them.”
Despite the developments made towards advancing female voice a gender gap remains. Women, especially minority women, are still a marginalized group with minimal admission to dominant discourse. As film and other creative industries continue to incorporate female viewpoints, societal understandings will increasingly reflect multiple understandings.
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