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WHO ARE THE TOP EIGHT LATINO CELEBRITIES OF 2012?

May 30, 2012 by 2 Comments

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

The list with The World’s Most Powerful Latino Celebrities:

1. Jennifer Lopez, Actress, Musician

2. Lionel Messi, Athlete

3. Cameron Diaz, Actress

4. Gisele Bundchen, Supermodel

5. Alex Rodriguez, Athlete

6. Sofia Vergara, Actress

7. Eva Longoria, Actress

8. Adriana Lima, Supermodel 

The story of population growth in the United States is a story about  Latinos reshaping our landscape. Over the past decade, they have  accounted for 56% of America’s growth, now reaching 16% of the  population, or more than 50 million citizens, even surpassing  African-Americans to become the country’s biggest minority group.  Latinos are certainly making their voices and preferences heard.
Such a phenomenon can also be seen in the showbiz world, as we’re  finally starting to see a positive shift in the portrayal of Latinos in  Hollywood. Cultural stereotypes are giving way to cultural authenticity.  As a result, New Generation Latinos, also known as NGLs, are making  waves and changing the conversation. They’re influencing traditional  media and making Latinos the biggest and fastest growing users of online  and interactive technology, mobile devices, and social media.
“Together, Latino celebrities have over 600 million followers on Facebook  and Twitter,” says Juan Proaño, the President and Co-Founder of Plus  Three, a social media and technology company for political and  non-profit organizations. “That is an extraordinary fan base that is  larger than the population of the United States, Spain, and Brazil  combined. With the celebrities adding at least ten thousand new  followers each day, the power of Latinos in social media is vast and  expanding.”
Latinos are now arguably the most important consumer group to  marketers and media companies. Their current buying power of $1  trillion is expected to hit $1.5 trillion in the next five years, according to a new Nielsen report. Mainstream  media is tapping in. ABC News and Univision News have recently  announced plans to launch a 24-hour channel targeting the Latino  audience. The as-yet unnamed, all-English channel will be the first of  its kind, ABC News President Ben Sherwood said in a letter to his staff.
And how about all the new stars being recruited to reach that audience. Eight of the members on Forbes’ recently released Celebrity 100 list are Latinos. Their combined earnings totaled $245 million, including the number one in the ranking, the omnipresent Jennifer Lopez. Born to Puerto Rican parents, Lopez jumped a surprising 50 places from last year’s list that measures power by earnings, media visibility and social media popularity.
A great deal of that plunge can be credited to Lopez’ acceptance  within the Latino community. In 2010, the singer landed a judge’s chair  on American Idol, one of the most popular shows among Latinos. The job  gave Lopez a platform to promote her music and turn her image around. In  the meantime, she also kept busy working on yet another talent  competition show, Univision’s Q’Viva: The Chosen, which was watched by  2.2 million viewers on its debut in January, according to Nielsen  estimates, giving the network a 37% increase in its time slot compared  to average viewership over the previous weeks.
Another case of success among Latinos is that of Colombian actress Sofia Vergara, who plays the loud wife with the tight tops and high heels on ABC‘s  top-rated sitcom Modern Family. Although feelings are mixed about  whether Vergara is a role model for Latino women or if she’s just  helping to perpetuate a stereotype, the truth is that you can’t escape  her these days. Besides her TV gig, Vergara can also be seen in ads for Diet Pepsi and Cover Girl cosmetics, not to mention her clothing line with KMart that earned the actress a seven-figure advance.
In America, as goes the culture, so goes the politics. Several reports have emerged on the importance of the minority vote for this year’s presidential election. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney was criticized by various media outlets and political pundits for failing to reach out Latino voters. Meanwhile President Barack Obama is supported by 69% of them, according to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Latinos have produced the world’s most powerful celebrity.

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Filed Under: FEATURED ENTERTAINMENT, LATINO ENTERTAINMENT Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

WHAT WILL VOTER TURNOUT BE LIKE IN 2012: HERE ARE THREE SCENARIOS

May 3, 2012 by 1 Comment

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Will strong turnout by minority voters lock up the November election for President Barack Obama? Or will the enthusiasm of the 2010 midterms carry over to boost white voter turnout, helping the Republican nominee? William H. Frey, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, examines that question in a new paper.

photo source: Dallas Observer blog

The minority vote in 2008 played a decisive role for Mr. Obama both nationally and in several key states. He lost the white vote but outperformed among all other races. In North Carolina, where Mr. Obama won by a mere 14,000 votes, African Americans accounted for nearly a quarter of the electorate, and 95% of them voted for Mr. Obama, according to exit polls. Minority voters also helped push Mr. Obama over the top in Indiana, Virginia and New Mexico, while expanding his margins in big states such as Ohio and Pennsylvania.

photo source: ThirdCoast Digest

Indeed in 2008, the paper notes, turnout by African Americans, Hispanics and Asian Americans was a few percentage points higher in each group than in 2004 (65% in 2008 vs. 60% in 2004; 50% vs. 47%; and 47% vs. 44% respectively for each group), while white turnout was one point less (66% vs. 67%).

Jae C. Hong AP Photo
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney speaks at the RNC State Chairman’s National Meeting in Scottsdale, Ariz., Friday, April 20, 2012.

Also, the margin of votes for the Democrats among minority groups, already sizable in 2004, expanded greatly in 2008. That is, more minorities were voting, and those votes were much more heavily Democratic. For white voters, which lean toward Republicans, the margin narrowed, but was still in the Republican column. In short, white turnout slumped, and whites who did vote voted less Republican than four years earlier.

photo source: AP

With this as background, Mr. Frey poses the question:
As we approach November, minorities will account for a slightly larger share of eligible voters than in 2008. At the same time, white support for the Republican candidate may be greater than in 2008. Which dynamic will prevail?

photo source Reuters

He has three scenarios:

Scenario A assumes that the 2008 turnout and voting patterns again apply to 2012 voters. If that occurs, Obama wins with 29 states and 358 electoral votes. (270 electoral votes are needed to win.)

Scenario B applies 2004 turnout and voting patterns to the 2012 population. In this scenario, Mr. Romney beats Mr. Obama, with 286 electoral votes in 30 states.

Scenario C assumes strong partisan participation for both whites and minorities in 2012. This scenario is perhaps the most likely of the  three, says Mr. Frey. In this scenario, whites in each state are assumed to have more enthusiasm for the GOP nominee (likely Mitt Romney) in 2012 than in 2008 (John McCain) and as a result will mimic their 2004 patterns. Meanwhile, minorities are presumed to follow their strong 2008 turnout and voting margins. In this scenario, Mr. Obama wins, narrowly, with 292 electoral votes spread among 24 states.

Read more: The Wall Street Journal

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WILL ATTACKS ON VOTING RIGHTS ACT ALSO MOBILIZE BLACK TURNOUT?

March 24, 2012 by 2 Comments

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

(Photo: Phelan Marc/BET)

Rep. Karen Bass (D-California) has an interesting theory about how to handle assaults on women’s health care issues and efforts to disenfranchise certain voters, as well as the personal and often racist attacks onPresident Obama. Use them as incentives, she said, to not only help him win re-election, but also so Democrats can regain control of the House and retain the Senate.

“We get real motivated when one of us is attacked,” Bass said during Tuesday’s Leading Women Definedluncheon.

Bass said that Republicans developed a “brilliant long-term strategy” that included regaining control of the House of Representatives and several state legislatures just in time for redistricting. But it may not work out as planned, Bass noted, because of the demographic shifts that have taken place and the growth of minority populations. She believes that’s why states are working to implement stricter voting rules that would make it difficult for many minorities to vote in 2012.

“The president has to be re-elected and we have to take back the House and keep the Senate. If we don’t do that then President Obama is going to be left in his last four years with a Republican-lite agenda because he’ll only have the power of the veto,” she said. “Given the way they’ve behaved over the past 15 months we can imagine what would happen in that second term.”

MSNBC contributor Joy-Ann Reid agreed that the GOP was attempting a long-term game, but said that they’re looking at a “long-term disaster” because by 2020, the electorate will be majority minority and the party still struggles to win minority support.

“They have to grow their Hispanic vote and other groups besides white males or they have to suppress the other team,” Reid said.

According to Bass, voter suppression is an issue that should motivate African-Americans to head to the polls this fall in droves.

READ MORE: BET NEWS

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“We can really use this. It generates emotion to know that they’ve gone so far to try to prevent Obama from being re-elected that they’ve turned back the clock on the civil rights agenda in terms of us being able to vote,” she said, adding that Democrats must use that as a catalyst and motivator to get African-Americans to turnout at the polls.

 

Filed Under: LATINO POLITICS Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

TOP 10 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW BEFORE ILLINOIS’ REPUBLICAN PRIMARY: STATE’S EMERGING COMMUNITIES OF COLOR & IMMIGRATION POLITICS

March 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment

 

THE HISPANIC BLOG IS THE LATEST HISPANIC NEWS BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

photo source AP/M. SPENCER GREENE Gov. Pat Quinn celebrates with students and supporters after signing the Illinois DREAM Act into law on August 1, 2011.

A Look at the State’s Emerging Communities of Color in Light of the Republican Primary

Illinois’s slow population growth over the last decade—3.3 percent, compared to a nationwide average of 9.7 percent—masks striking demographic changes in the state. While the white share of the population declined by 4.1 percent between 2000 and 2010, the state’s Hispanic, Asian American, Native American, Alaska Native, and mixed-race communities grew significantly. In 2010 Illinois had the fifth-largest Hispanic population in the country and the 10th-largest Hispanic share as a percent of the total population.

In light of the state’s primary tomorrow, here are some facts about how the state’s growing communities of color are changing Illinois’s economy and electorate.

1. Communities of color—particularly Latinos—drive Illinois’s population growth. The surging Hispanic population in particular propelled the state’s population increase. In 2010 Hispanics represented 15.8 percent of the state’s population, a growth rate of 32 percent over the decade. Hispanic population growth alone accounted for 89.5 percentof the state’s total growth from 2000 to 2009.

2. Children of color now make up close to half of the children in Illinois. In 2008 Illinois was 1 of 20 states in the nation with a child population that was more than 40 percent minority.

3. Communities of color are younger and represent the future of the state. In 2010 the median age of non-Hispanic whites in the state was 41.6 years. By comparison, Hispanics’ median age was only 26.3 years, while the median age of African Americans was32.7 years and Asians 34.6 years.

4. The increase in Illinois’s communities of color will soon translate into political power. In 2008 there were 749,000 eligible Hispanic voters in Illinois—the sixth-largesteligible Hispanic voter population in the nation. In that year the state had the 10th-largestHispanic voting share nationwide, with Hispanics comprising 8 percent of the total eligible voter population in the state. In the 2010 elections 658,000 African Americans, 241,000Hispanics, and 88,000 Asians voted in Illinois, and there is room for these numbers to grow. The pressure to turn numbers into political power will rise along with the number of eligible voters of color in the state.

5. In 2008 the support of Illinois’s voters of color helped then-Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) defeat Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in the state. Even though Sen. McCain won 57 percent of white voters, Sen. Obama won the state with 61.8 percent of the total vote in 2008. More than 1 million voters of color cast their ballots in Illinois in 2008—more than 25 percent of all votes cast. Exit polls suggest that 95 percent of African American voters, 67 percent of Hispanic voters, and 62 percent of Asian voters supported Sen. Obama at the polls.

6. Illinois is a standout state in protecting its foreign-born population. On May 5, 2011, Gov. Pat Quinn (D) announced that Illinois would not participate in the controversial Secure Communities program (where immigrants booked into a county jail in a participating jurisdiction have their fingerprints shared with Immigration and Customs Enforcement), because of concerns that the program was being used to racially profile Latinos and resulting in the deportation of immigrants not convicted of serious crimes. This action spurred other states, such as Massachusetts and New York, to drop the program as well.

7. Illinois passed a DREAM Act and stopped an Arizona-style anti-immigration law. The Illinois DREAM Act creates a privately funded “DREAM Fund,” giving undocumented immigrants access to much-needed financial aid to afford college, and putting them one step closer to reaching the American Dream. On the flip side, Illinois State Rep. Randy Ramey’s (R) Arizona-styled bill H.B. 1969—filed in February 2011—has not been able to make it out of committee.

8. Families of color in Illinois face significant economic hurdles. In 2010 the median household income for African Americans in the state was $32,866—just above 55 percent of the household income for whites. The median household income for Hispanic residents in Illinois that year was 76 percent of non-Hispanic white income.

9. Unemployment hits these communities harder than any other. In 2010, 22.6 percent of the African American civilian labor force over the age of 16 in Illinois was unemployed. This level was 2.4 times as high as the comparable unemployment rate of whites (9.2 percent). Hispanic unemployment in 2010 was also high, at 13.2 percent.

10. Nevertheless, communities of color contribute significantly to the state’s economy. Unauthorized immigrants paid $500 million in state and local taxes in 2010. In 2009 the purchasing power of Illinois Latinos totaled $43.6 billion. The same year Asian American buying power totaled $23.8 billion. The 56,567 Latino-owned businesses in the state made more than $10 billion in sales in 2007, the last year for which data are available, while the state’s 59,367 Asian-owned businesses generated more than $18 billion in sales.

READ MORE: CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS

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DID COMCAST CREATE A HISPANIC NETWORK?

February 21, 2012 by 6 Comments

THE HISPANIC BLOG BY JESSICA MARIE GUTIERREZ

Magic Johnson, Sean "Diddy" Combs and Robert Rodriguez are among the stars receiving their own channel from Comcast.

COMCAST ANNOUNCES NEW NETWORKS WITH MAGIC JOHNSON, SEAN

COMBS, ROBERT RODRIGUEZ

PHILADELPHIA, PA – February 21, 2012 – Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), one of the world’s leading media, entertainment and communications companies, today announced it has selected four new minority-owned independent networks to be broadly distributed on Comcast Cable systems between April 2012 and January 2014. After a thorough evaluation of more than 100 proposals, Comcast selected four networks ― two of which are majority African-American owned and two that are majority American Hispanic owned and operated and programmed in English.

“We are thrilled to work with such talented individuals to launch these new networks that will bring exciting and fresh content to consumers,” said David L. Cohen, Executive Vice President, Comcast Corporation. “Comcast is committed to delivering programming that reflects the interests of our customers, and we look forward to integrating these great networks into our rich programming line-up.”

African-American Category:

Photo: Magic Johnson. Credit: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times

· Aspire: Spearheaded by Entrepreneur and NBA Hall of Famer Earvin “Magic” Johnson, in partnership with GMC TV, Aspire is dedicated to delivering enlightening, entertaining and positive programming to African-Americans families, including movies, documentaries, short films, music, comedy, visual and performing arts, and faith and inspirational programs. Aspire will celebrate the successes, achievements and accomplishments of the African-American community and create new opportunities for the next generation of African-American visionaries. The network will launch by summer 2012.

“Aspire will be a network that encourages and challenges African-Americans to reach for their dreams and will appeal to all generations. Aspire will celebrate our heritage, our groundbreaking achievements and the fearless talent that has shaped American culture. I’m most excited about Aspire creating opportunities for the new voices, new visions and the next generation of storytellers,” said Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

Mario Anzuoni/Reuters Sean “Diddy” Combs at a concert.

· REVOLT: Proposed by superstar and entrepreneur Sean “Diddy” Combs and MTV veteran Andy Schuon, this network is designed to have programming inspired by music and pop culture, including music videos, live performances, music news, and interviews and will incorporate social media interaction for music artists and fans. The network has entered into an agreement to launch in 2013.

“REVOLT is the first channel created entirely from the ground up in this new era of social media” said Sean “Diddy” Combs. “We’re building this platform for artists to reach an extraordinary number of people in a completely different way. REVOLT will be live, like all great moments in television history. REVOLT will also be immediate, like today’s social networks. We know it was a highly competitive process and we want to thank Comcast for this opportunity to truly change television with REVOLT.”

Hispanic Category:

· El Rey: Proposed by legendary Hollywood director Robert Rodriguez and FactoryMade Ventures executives John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa, this network is designed to be an action-packed, general entertainment network in English for Latino and general audiences that includes a mix of reality, scripted and animated series, movies, documentaries, news, music, comedy, and sports programming. The El Rey network will include programming that features Hispanic producers, celebrities and public figures. The network has entered into an agreement to launch by January 2014.

“This partnership with Comcast signals an important moment for the Latino community in this country – we are passionate about creating a wildly entertaining destination that we can be proud of by appealing to both Latino and mass market audiences,” said Robert Rodriguez and CEO of FactoryMade Ventures John Fogelman. “We engineered El Rey to address a burgeoning opportunity to deliver unique, high-quality and compelling content to a hard-to-reach demographic and are excited to bring more opportunities to generations of talent, storytellers and dreamers through this special partnership.”

· BabyFirst Americas: Proposed by Spanish language television veteran Constantino “Said” Schwarz, this network is designed for infants, very young children, and their parents, and emphasizes the importance of early development of verbal, math and motor skills. The network has entered into an agreement to launch by April 2012.

“We are thrilled to partner with Comcast and commend them for recognizing the importance of quality education for young children,” remarked Constantino “Said” Schwarz, CEO and Chairman BabyFirst Americas. “BabyFirst Americas aims to bring the essential academic building blocks for Kindergarten readiness into the home, making it accessible for families all across the U.S.”

Comcast made a series of voluntary public interest commitments in connection with the NBCUniversal transaction, one of which is to launch 10 new independently owned and operated networks over the next eight years. Of the 10 networks, four will be majority African-American owned, two will be majority American Latino owned, two will be operated by American Latino programmers, and two will provide additional independent programming. Ultimately, each of the 10 networks will be added on select Comcast systems as part of the digital basic tier of service.

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powered by Influential Access – “Transforming the Ordinary to EXTRAordinary!” – CEO – Jessica Marie Gutierrez – Creator of The Hispanic Blog #thehispanicblog

Filed Under: LATINO ENTERTAINMENT Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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