LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: CALLING FOR “LIGHT SKINNED HISPANICS”

March 24, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 3 Comments

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

Casting call asking for “Caucasian or light skinned Hispanic” extras in New Mexico’s tourism campaign. (On Location Casting, Facebook Inc. / March 23, 2012)

New Mexico was planning to celebrate its statehood centennial by inviting tourists to come experience the state’s rich culture, take in its extraordinary views and have epic outdoor adventures.

But the Land of Enchantment‘s promotion hit a snag, raising questions about who exactly is being represented in the celebration — and reviving historical insecurities.

It all started when the New Mexico Department of Tourism began planning a $2-million marketing campaign to attract outsiders to the state, which had observed its statehood centennial Jan. 6.

The department had learned that the state ranked 38th in a poll ranking tourists’ preferred destinations — and wanted to do something about that.

“We really want to move that needle up,” said Veronica Valencia, director of marketing and communications for the department.

Focus groups in Chicago and Los Angeles assessed the public’s perception of New Mexico, and “the feedback was that it was a dry, barren wasteland with nothing to do,” Valencia said. “So [the state] set on a course to change this misconception.”

Austin, Texas-based marketing agency Vendor Inc. was hired in January to handle the campaign, titled “Adventures Steeped in Rich Culture.” The agency soon contracted with On Location Casting to assign roles in the ad, which was to be filmed in March.

Soon a casting call went out on Facebook seeking “Caucasian or light-skinned Hispanic” people.

The specificity of that call has caused quite a stir, prompting a critical editorial last week in the Santa Fe New Mexican and an even harsher reaction from the state’s Democratic Party chairman.

“Hearing that term brings to mind a vision of casting agents holding up paper bags next to people’s faces to ensure they can pass,” the New Mexican wrote. “We don’t know, of course, who made it into the shoot and how New Mexico will be presented to the world once the campaign is unveiled. But really, light-skinned only? What were they thinking?”

The request seemed ironically appropriate to at least one historian, who noted the territory’s long-ago efforts to attract more light-skinned residents.

“New Mexico’s population in the 1900 census was 70% Nuevomexicanos [today called Hispanic] and 7% American Indian. In the quest for statehood, each group followed many of their traditions in language, dress, religion… all of which alarmed a few hardcore opponents of statehood in the U.S. Congress,” David Holtby, a research scholar of regional studies at the University of New Mexico, wrote in an email to The Times.

Perhaps New Mexico could have been celebrating more than 100 years of statehood by now if it could have proved to Congress that a significant percentage of light-skinned people inhabited the area at the time.

Holtby added: “Now we have the newest ‘tourism message’ being revised to ‘lighten’ the color of people. This can be seen as an example of a throw-back to racial bias of a century ago.”

The hubbub, however, is all an unfortunate misconception, Valencia said.

“We were casting for the role of ‘tourist,’ ” she said. “It was never our intention to make any of this about race. It was more to focus on the experiences and adventures that someone could have in New Mexico rather than the background of the people having them.”

Valencia said the concept for the shoot came from a collaborative effort between the state, Vendor Inc. and On Location Casting, but the specific wording for the casting call was developed by people in the industry, she said.

Tina Kerr, a casting director for On Location Casting, said the request was filed by Vendor Inc. That company didn’t respond to repeated attempts for comment.

“We believe that people from all backgrounds visit New Mexico and it is not a place for any one type of visitor,” Valencia said.

The first ads will be launched April 16 in regional markets near New Mexico, and the state is developing more spots.

This time, Valencia said, industry standards will be shunned when casting the next adventurer.

WILL ATTACKS ON VOTING RIGHTS ACT ALSO MOBILIZE BLACK TURNOUT?

March 24, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 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.

LEARN A SECOND AND EVEN A THIRD LANGUAGE

March 24, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 1 Comment

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

It’s Politics: Dual-Language immersion program

With the rise of the global economy, school districts across the nation and plenty within the San Gabriel Valley have adopted dual-language immersion programs. The idea is simple: teach children a foreign language when their brains are still developing. From what experts in language development tell us, those dual-language learners will not only learn a second language, but will demonstrate an even greater mastery of their native tongue.

And it’s no surprise which languages are most popular with parents who choose to enroll their children in dual-language programs: Spanish and Mandarin (Chinese). The Latino population in the U.S. exploded in the last 20 years and it shows little signs of shrinking. Meanwhile, China has lent us enough money that it wouldn’t surprise anyone if the Yuan replaces the dollar as the world’s reserve currency. But what about teaching the children a third language? One that will benefit them every election cycle.

How about we teach the kids Politician Pig Latin? We have all heard Politician Pig Latin, the language of buzzwords, jargon and ambiguous phrases which politicians use during stump speeches and press conferences. It’s a language riddle with multi-syllabic words which say absolutely nothing. You have heard some of the words: “stakeholders,” “partners” “outreach” and “community buy-in.” The standards English definitions of these words don’t apply when translated from politician Pig Latin.

For example, “Stakeholder” is voting citizen who gave to the winning official’s campaign. A “Partner” is a local business person, and a voter, who gave enough money that when he or she calls, the elected official might pick up the phone. “Outreach” is a Facebook page or website enabled with a PayPal account. “Community buy-in” roughly translates into a meeting with the public scheduled at a time when those opposing the politician’s plan can’t show up. In newsrooms, we have seen the press releases written completely in Politician Pig Latin:

“I have long championed the need to balance our budget and pay down our debt, and will continue to do so,” wrote one local lawmaker in recent a press release.

Huh? The part about a “balanced budget”, clear. The part about “paying down our debt” , got it. But championed … what? Did this elected win some belt or a sports title? Merriam Webster defines championed as someone who “protects or fights for, as a champion.” The second definition is one who acts as a “militant supporter” for a cause. I doubt our elected leaders are “militant” supporters of anything. But the direct translation of “championed” from Politician Pig Latin to English is “one who barks really loud on the floor of a legislative body to pass a law, but achieves little actual success.”

Politician Pig Latin is not the hardest language to learn, but with all the things people are tasked with during the day – working, paying bills, raising children and picking those kids up from roller hockey – who has the time to learn another language as an adult? And I have yet to see a class in Politician Pig Latin at a local community college. Maybe it’s time we start equipping our children with the skills to decipher what our elected leaders are actually talking about. They might even grow up to make informed choices.

HISPANIC NETWORKS MADE $88 MILLION IN NEW BUSINESS LAST YEAR

March 24, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 5 Comments

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

The race is on to capture the U.S. Hispanic market, with mainstream networks and their Hispanic counterparts battling for primacy. The result is an increasing cross-pollination of programs and a proliferation of networks, with Fox, Lionsgate and NBCU among those joining Hispanic allies to find and produce content aimed at the largest and fastest-growing minority group in the U.S.

New Hispanic channels are emerging, some in Spanish, some in English, in a bid to appeal to a mix of generations and language preferences that can exist under one Latino roof: The latest census reveals that of the 50.5 million Hispanics in the U.S., 30% are Spanish-dominant while the rest are either English-speaking or bilingual.

Broadcast leader Univision is now the clear No. 5 broadcast network (behind the Big Four) while rival Telemundo has been picking up steam.

‘Q’Viva’

‘Sabado Gigante‘

‘La Reina del Sur‘

“The number of networks focused on the Spanish space has increased from around 12 in 2001 to 100 just a month ago,” says Univision networks prexy Cesar Conde, who points out that Univision alone will have a dozen networks by year’s end compared with three last year.

These include Univision’s upcoming news and sports pay TV nets in addition to the telenovela channel now on Dish Network plus the six TuTV pay TV channels, jointly owned with Televisa.

One of the most anticipated new players is MundoFox, a joint venture between Fox Intl. Channels (FIC) and Colombia’s RCN, due to launch in the fall. The new Spanish-lingo network will showcase edgier Colombian telenovelas and look to build on Fox’s success in inserting itself into a market. Meanwhile, Fox and Univision recently bowed Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony’s pan-American talent competish “Q’Viva! The Chosen,” while Fox’s “Family Guy” airs on Univision sibling web TeleFutura.

Elsewhere, sister networks NBC and Telemundo share talent and resources in the exec ranks as well as on-air.

In the 2011-12 upfront season, an estimated $88 million of new business came to Spanish-Language TV, with Telemundo taking more than half (55%) of the new business, according to Lauren Zalaznick, chairman of NBCUniversal entertainment, digital networks and integrated media.

GUTIERREZ (CREATOR OF THE HISPANIC BLOG) WITH CESAR CONDE PRESIDENT OF UNIVISION

“The reported 2011/2012 upfront numbers were $1.75 billion for Univision, and $400 million for Telemundo, up 20% from the 2010/2011 upfront,” says Antonio Ruiz, partner-communications planning at leading Hispanic ad agency, the Vidal Partnership. Telemundo and its youth-skewed bicultural cable sibling Mun2 delivered more than 20% growth year-to-year, marking their best upfront season ever.

“Our Hispanic strategy is not limited to Telemundo (or Mun2) alone,” says Zalaznick, who points out that NBCUniversal’s theme parks, studio, cable and broadcast networks, digital assets and Comcast’s leading position among cablers in the U.S. allows the company to collectively reach 93% of all Hispanics. She adds that landing the Spanish-language U.S. rights to World Cup Soccer matches in 2018 and 2022 would not have happened without the joint efforts of NBC Sports and Telemundo Deportes.

NBCU parent Comcast has begun to fulfill its pledge to launch 10 independently owned channels on its cable systems over the next eight years. Of these, four will have Hispanic ownership.

Leading the initial pack is young-male-skewed El Rey from Latino helmer Robert Rodriguez and partners John Fogelman and Cristina Patwa of FactoryMade Ventures.

“When Fogelman approached me with the idea for this channel, I immediately said yes,” says Rodriguez. He’s building soundstages on his 25-acre property in Austin for the English-language channel, which will include animation, music, reality, scripted shows, movies, docus and sports programming.

“The key is to make it universal; I want viewers to watch it because it’s cool, not Latino,” adds Rodriguez.

Another upcoming Latino-owned Comcast network is BabyFirst Americas from Spanish-lingo TV exec Constantino “Said” Schwarz, which is slated to launch by April.

Meanwhile, Lionsgate and Mexican partner Televisa have expanded their joint film venture, Pantelion Films, onto the smallscreen as well. (Over the March 16-18 weekend, Pantelion scored big at the B.O. with “Casa de mi Padre,” which nabbed $2.4 million on 382 screens.) The partnership will include English-lingo format adaptations of TV content from Televisa’s library, and the development of scripted and unscripted English-language original programming.

The companies have set up a hefty development fund to enable them to attract top showrunners and talent for an average output of six to eight projects a year, including the sitcom spinoff of Pantelion’s debut pic, “From Prada to Nada”; “Badlands,” a scripted drama at ABC based on Televisa hit telenovela “Soy tu Duena“; Televisa’s drama skein “Terminales” for ABC Family; and “Teresa,” based on another Televisa telenovela.

Univision, an erstwhile strictly Spanish-language network, recently began providing English close-captioning for its primetime block of telenovelas and other programs, including long-running variety show “Sabado Gigante.” The network is a ratings winner, especially among adults 18-34, where its season average is double struggling English-language broadcaster CW (1.6 vs. 0.8) and is now within shouting distance of ABC, CBS and NBC. (No. 2 Hispanic-language net Telemundo has been offering English closed captions in its primetime block since 2004.)

“Forty-two of the top 50 shows are already watched by bilinguals on Univision,” says Conde.

But U.S.-partnered players aren’t the only ones gearing up to deliver Latino shows to the U.S.: Venezuela’s RCTV, once the oldest and most dominant broadcaster in Venezuela until president Hugo Chavez shuttered it for allegedly inciting rebellion, revived its production capabilities in October, keenly aware of the growing interest in Latino-themed stories.

RCTV Intl. head Jorge Granier is opening a Los Angeles office and has been meeting with showrunners and talent agencies to package English-language versions of RCTV telenovelas selected from its trove of 300 titles.

Latin America’s wealth of talent, formats, stories and programming innovations has not been fully tapped in the U.S., says Joshua Mintz, exec VP of Telemundo Studios, which is churning out six to seven telenovelas a year, mainly in Miami. Mintz points to ABC’s hit adaptation of Colombia’s “Ugly Betty” and, most recently, Fox Television Studios plans for an English-lingo version of “La Reina del Sur,” Telemundo’s biggest hit telenovela.

“If the U.S. TV industry needs new stories to tell, it doesn’t need to look any further than Latin America,” Granier says.”

HOW WILL “OBAMACARE” AFFECT YOU: FIND OUT IN JUST MINUTES

March 22, 2012 by Jessica Marie Gutierrez 2 Comments

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

Ever wondered exactly what the Affordable Care Act is going to do for you?

On March 23rd, 2010 — President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in order to give nearly every American access to quality health care.

This blog is not stating if it is for it or against it rather we provide information and resources that will help you determine who is the best candidate for you. Check President Obama’s new health care app — and make sure to pass it on to everyone you know who’s asked what this law really means for them.

photo source: AP President Obama signs the Affordable Care Act

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LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: CALLING FOR “LIGHT SKINNED HISPANICS”

WILL ATTACKS ON VOTING RIGHTS ACT ALSO MOBILIZE BLACK TURNOUT?

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

LEARN A SECOND AND EVEN A THIRD LANGUAGE

It’s Politics: Dual-Language immersion program

“I have long championed the need to balance our budget and pay down our debt, and will continue to do so,” wrote one local lawmaker in recent a press release.

HISPANIC NETWORKS MADE $88 MILLION IN NEW BUSINESS LAST YEAR

“Forty-two of the top 50 shows are already watched by bilinguals on Univision,” says Conde.

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LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION: CALLING FOR “LIGHT SKINNED HISPANICS”

Share this:

WILL ATTACKS ON VOTING RIGHTS ACT ALSO MOBILIZE BLACK TURNOUT?

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

Share this:

LEARN A SECOND AND EVEN A THIRD LANGUAGE

It’s Politics: Dual-Language immersion program

“I have long championed the need to balance our budget and pay down our debt, and will continue to do so,” wrote one local lawmaker in recent a press release.

Share this:

HISPANIC NETWORKS MADE $88 MILLION IN NEW BUSINESS LAST YEAR

“Forty-two of the top 50 shows are already watched by bilinguals on Univision,” says Conde.

Share this:

HOW WILL “OBAMACARE” AFFECT YOU: FIND OUT IN JUST MINUTES

Ever wondered exactly what the Affordable Care Act is going to do for you?

On March 23rd, 2010 — President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act into law in order to give nearly every American access to quality health care.

CLICK ON THE BOX BELOW TO FIND OUT HOW YOU QUALIFY

Share this:

SUBSCRIBE TODAY

FWD.US

FIND OUT IF YOU ARE REGISTERED TO VOTE

REGISTER TO VOTE

STATE RESOURCES TO VOTE

INSCRIBASE A VOTAR