1	Panorama The headlines of Hispanidad. read more...
2	Dr. Eduardo Padrón Actions speak louder than words. read more...
3	Ask Julie Setting goals for a financial future. read more...

SPORTS
Éne-bé-a Plays Catch-up with Hispanic Audiences
The National Basketball Association has been making a full-court press this year to woo Latino fans, investing an estimated $7 million to $10 million in season-long marketing campaign to promote the éne-bé-a. While the NBA has reached out to the Hispanic community before, this is the league’s first comprehensive marketing campaign to capture the valuable Hispanic market, mirroring efforts already in place by the National Football League, Major League Baseball and Major League Soccer. Elements of the NBA campaign include TV spots featuring the Phoenix Suns’ Leandro Barbosa, among other players, on Hispanic networks such as Telemundo, Univision, Telefutura, and Discovery en Español. The league also has a deal in place with ESPN Deportes to telecast weekly NBA games in Spanish, which will include the Eastern Conference finals, and 11 NBA teams already feature live Spanish-language radio broadcasts of games. In addition, the league is posting content on Spanish-language social-networking sites such as Facebook and MiPagina, and has a new Spanish-language site, www.nba.com/enebea/
The NBA has six U.S.-born Latino players and 19 players from Spain and Latin America currently on 2009-2010 team rosters.

CULTURE
The Changing Face of Facebook
In the first study of the race and ethnicity of its U.S. users, Facebook found that Latinos have flocked to the social networking giant in recent years, illustrating the growing diversity of online users as the Internet matures. The study by Facebook estimated that 9 percent of the social network’s approximately
100 million U.S. members are Latino—more than triple the proportion from when
the site was launched in 2004. While Facebook’s Hispanic membership is growing, it is still below Latinos’ 15 percent share
of the U.S. population.

PUBLIC POLICY
March on Washington
A group of Latino college students is taking the term “March on Washington” quite literally, setting out by foot from Miami in a four-month trek on foot to the Capitol. The journey, dubbed the “Trail of Dreams,” is being undertaken as a demonstration in favor of comprehensive immigration reform and the DREAM Act that would allow undocumented students to continue their college education in the U.S. Along the way, the students have been greeted by jeering critics as well as warm supporters, who have offered them food and places to sleep, even if only on the floor of a church and community center. The participants, who hope to arrive in Washington, D.C. on May 1, have been blogging about the people they meet and what they have learned along the way. You can read about their experiences or make a donation at www.trail2010.org.

82
Number of millions the U.S. Census Bureau is expected to spend to encourage minority groups to participate in the 2010 Census
Source: Ad Age

Education
Setting High Goals
The number of Latino students taking the SAT has more than doubled in a decade, making Hispanic students the largest and fastest-growing minority group taking the test. More than 1.5 million students in the class of 2009 took the SAT, which is widely used for college admissions. Hispanic students accounted for 13.5 percent of last year’s test takers, or 206,584 participants, compared to 7.8 percent, or 94,677 students, 10 years ago. The College Board, which administers the test, also reports that Latino students are setting their goals high: More than a third reported that they aspire to a master’s degree, while nearly a quarter plan on a doctoral degree. As far as intended areas of study for Hispanics, health emerged as the top pick at 20 percent, with business second at 13 percent and engineering in third place at 8 percent.

28
Number of millions of dollars dedicated specifically to encourage Hispanic
audiences to fill out the Census form
Source: Ad Age

Youth
Straddling Two Worlds
Today’s Latino youths, be they first or second generation, have a strong sense of their Hispanic heritage. More than half of Latinos ages 16 to 25 in the U.S. identify themselves first by their family’s country of origin—be it Mexico, Cuba, the Dominican Republican, El Salvador or any of more than a dozen other Spanish-speaking countries. An additional 20 percent generally use the terms “Hispanic” or “Latino” first when describing themselves. Only one-in-four generally use the term “American” first, according to a survey by the Pew Hispanic Center. Among the U.S.-born children of immigrants, “American” is more commonly used as a term of self-identification but even so, just a third of these young second generation Latinos use American first, a reflection that they are still straddling two worlds.

59
Number of languages in which assistance is available to fill out the 2010 Census form.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau

"When we educate children, we empower societies, and right now Haiti needs all of our help."

Shakira, in that her Barefoot Foundation will partner with Architecture for Humanity to help build a new school in earthquake devastated Haiti. Hispanic stars have turned out to support relief efforts, raising more than $6 million in a five-hour, commercial-free telethon on Univision. —BusinessWeek

Beauty
Nip and Tuck, Multiplied
Tight economic times do not necessarily translate into loose bodies, at least for Hispanics. While the number of cosmetic surgery patients dipped 2 percent in 2008, procedures among Hispanics surged 18 percent, according to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons. Figures for 2009 have not yet been compiled, but Hispanics had nearly 1.3 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures in 2008, up 239 percent since 2000. Hispanics led all minority groups in the number of procedures performed in 2008, comprising more than 10 percent of the 12 million cosmetic plastic surgery procedures. The most commonly requested surgical cosmetic procedures were nose reshaping, breast augmentation and liposuction.

10
Number of questions on the 2010 Census form.
Source: Census Bureau

"I can’t imagine being anywhere else. I know I’ll be at these Olympics and I’ll start thinking about, ‘What if I did four more years?"

U.S. Winter Olympic Speed Skater Jennifer Rodriguez,the first Latina speedskating champion. The Miami native came out
of retirement to compete in her fourth winter Olympics in Vancouver.
—ESPN

ECONOMY
Setting Priorities
The Great Recession has taken a heavy toll on countless families, prompting many Hispanics to reassess what they consider necessities and what luxuries they won’t give up. A recent study by Chicago-based C&R Research found a majority of Hispanics, particularly the young, were unwilling to relinquish cell phones (69 percent), and 81 percent (notably Mexicans) couldn’t do without driving their cars. Paid television services remain important to 67 percent, mostly the older generation, and the home Internet connection, particularly among fluent bicultural Hispanics, is maintained by 65 percent. While nearly half of those polled said they were clipping coupons and buying clearance clothing, over three-fourths of Latinos are still spending on dining out or ordering in and going out for entertainment or to the movies, though with less frequency. And nearly three-fourths of the women in this sector haven’t let the downturn affect their purchasing of personal care products. “Hispanics are trying to make do—maybe better than make do—if they can without abandoning their favorite products, entertainment, restaurants, and services,” says Angelina Villarreal, a C&R vice president. “And it looks like they’re succeeding.”

Millenials
Young Latinos Come of Age in U.S.
Young Latinos are satisfied with their lives, optimistic about their futures and place a high value on education, hard work and career success. Yet they are much more likely than other American youths to drop out of school and to become teenage parents, according to a survey by the Pew Hispanic Research Center. They also are more likely to live in poverty and have high levels of exposure to gangs. Despite any hardships they face, Latinos believe in the rewards of hard work. More than 80 percent say that most people can get ahead in life if they work hard.

RECREATION
Making the World Safe for Soccer
As the rest of the country continues to catch the Latino passion for soccer, children are playing at an increasingly competitive level at an ever younger age. The growing popularity of soccer (known as football outside the U.S.) has translated into a greater number of injuries, as detailed in a new clinical report from the American Academy of Pediatrics. Injury rates are highest among younger, preadolescent players. Young females tend to suffer more knee-related injuries, compared to male soccer players who tend to have more ankle injuries. Concussions are also common in soccer, and females tend to have a slightly higher concussion risk than males. The risk of a head injury is comparable to other contact/collision sports.
Youth soccer is one of the most popular team sports in the world and is an effective form of exercise for many children, the report notes. But the authors suggest enforcing the rules of the game and discouraging overtly aggressive or dangerous play to reduce injuries, since many injuries result from unsafe play or conditions.