Spreading the Word
Miss Universe Zuleyka Rivera was named the International Ambassador of the Latino Commission on AIDS, just in time for what was the fourth National Latino AIDS Awareness Day in the U.S. and Puerto Rico on October 15. With Latinos constituting only 14 percent of the nation’s population, but more than 20 percent of the HIV/AIDS cases, Rivera will support local and international initiatives in the areas of prevention, health education and advocacy, to address this healthy emergency in Latino communities. Her efforts are expected to encourage Latinos to regularly test for HIV.

Third Time’s the Charm
MTV en Español—the 15-year-old all Spanish video juke box—was replaced by MTV Tr3s, (pronounced “em tee vee tres”), or MTV Three. The English/Spanish hybrid will feature Spanish-language television shows with English subtitles, VJs who speak Spanglish, a Latino-centric video playlist, plus original English-language programming targeting Latinos between the ages of 12 and 34. The new channel, say executives, hopes to reach 15 million households through cable, satellite and broadcast channels. MTV is banking on recent census figures which say that one in five Americans 34 and younger is Hispanic.

Toasting Top Brewery
The National Association of Hispanic Publications has honored Coors Brewing with a Presidential Award in recognition of the company’s Líderes advertising campaign featuring 20 Hispanic leaders in magazine ads throughout the nation. The campaign, to run through the fall, portrays the diverse demographics of U.S. Hispanics. The ad’s leaders are men and women, of various races and countries of origin—such as musical artist Willie Colon and Latina activist Alma Morales Riojas—who have overcome obstacles to spark social change, create opportunities, and have devoted their resources to advancing the Hispanic community’s goals.

Beautiful Ratings
ABC’s Ugly Betty, airing 8:00 p.m.—9:00 p.m. Thursdays opened as the most watched new television show of the fall season, beating all other networks. Placing second to CBS’s longer-running Survivor, Salma Hayek’s remake of the Colombian telenovela about an apparently unattractive young woman trying to succeed as an assistant at a high fashion magazine, drew over 16 million viewers and actually beat Survivor in terms of women viewers. For ABC, Ugly Betty attracted the network’s largest audience ever with a scripted program in the same time slot. It was also the network’s most watched program overall in 11 years, while in the adult 18 to 49 demographic it netted the most viewers in a program in 12 years.

“This month our nation recognizes what many of us in this room know from personal experience: The values of America’s Hispanic community are the same values that sustain our nation’s greatness: sacrifice, hard work, trust, personal initiative, and perseverance in the face of adversity.”
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales at the National Hispanic Heritage Month Program at the Library of Congress, Washington

“I believe the sport is diverse, and we’re trying hard, and it’s an honest effort. But the results aren’t there. But the results will be there with the Hispanic community. That’s a very loyal community, a very exciting community, and a community that really loves the automobile and auto racing.”
Roger Bear, veteran NASCAR public-relations exec on the future of the car sport.
Winston-Salem Journal, North Carolina

“There is something terribly wrong when women and minorities comprise such substantial parts of the U.S. population but own so few broadcast television stations.”
FCC Commissioner Michael Copps reacting to a recent study that revealed that, among other shortcomings in TV, while Hispanics make up 14 percent of the U.S. population, they only own 1.11 percent of the television stations. Washington, Daily Variety

“Giving state and local law enforcement new authority to enforce federal immigration statutes would instantly transform the close, cooperative relationship community leaders, especially Hispanic clergy, have with local police into an adversarial one.”
Rev. Luis Cortes, Washington Post

Funding the Future
The Hispanic Scholarship Fund (HSF) held its fifth annual Alumni Hall of Fame. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez was the keynote speaker at the Washington event. Five Latinos who have excelled in their fields were honored at the occasion. Representing achievements in the academic, public policy and social advocacy fields, they include activist Professor Aida L. Maisonet Giachello, neurosurgeon Dr. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa, Professor Jose Gomez, teacher Esmeralda Gutierrez-Saldana, and marketing exec Gabriel Esparza. HSF is the nation’s leading organization supporting higher education efforts for Hispanics.

Crossing the Line
The University of Michigan’s Student Assembly passed a resolution condemning the holding of “Illegal Immigrant Day” at the campus. The planned event, sponsored by the University of Michigan chapter of the far-right Young Americans for Freedom (YAF), includes a contest in which participants try to catch a volunteer dressed as an illegal immigrant for a chance at a $200 cash prize. The YAF says no ethnic group is implied in the game that raises awareness about illegal immigration. Last year, the Young Conservatives of Texas played the game at the University of North Texas.

Lifetime Leader
Teresa “Tere” Zubizarreta founder of Coral Gables, Florida-based Zubi Advertising, the largest independent Hispanic advertising agency in the nation, was honored by the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies (AHAA) with the group’s most prestigious award, the Eduardo Caballero Lifetime Achievement Award. The Cuban-born Zubizarreta came to the U.S. when she was 21 and in 1976 founded the trendsetting firm which today employs 115 people and whose clients include American Airlines and Ford Motor Co. The lifetime achievement award was granted at the AHAA’s semiannual conference in Miami.