Thoughts on Hispanic Heritage Month

This Macy's print ad stared at me as I sipped my morning coffee.

Today is September 15, official start of Hispanic Heritage Month, the most leveraged Hispanic targeted retail window, and, to a certain extent, the most misunderstood.

According to Wikipedia, Hispanic Heritage Month is the period to recognize the contributions of Hispanic Americans to the United States and to celebrate Hispanic heritage and culture. The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 18 and ending on October 15.

September 15 was chosen as the starting point for the celebration because it is the anniversary of independence of five Latin American countries: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua. They all declared independence in 1821. In addition, Mexico, Chile and Belize celebrate their independence days on September 16, September 18 and September 21, respectively." designating September 15 through October 15, as "Hispanic Heritage Month".

40 years ago, Hispanics in this country were encouraged to assimilate into the US mainstream. There is an entire generation of US born Hispanic adults, born between Presidents Johnson and Reagan, who chose to put aside their language and culture in order to fit in and belong. With hindsight, a presidential declaration of Hispanic Heritage seems like a token effort of the US government to acknowledge this new Latino demographic as part of the "melting pot" that this country used to be called. But we no longer melt and blend... we are agents of cultural change.

Today, September 16- Mexico's real independence day- is confused with Cinco de Mayo and Hispanic Heritage Month has become an opportunistic retail aperture for companies to show that they are "Hispanic friendly" and for bars to sell more tequila and Coronas.

For me, Hispanic heritage happens every day. Latinos don't need a governmental proclamation to remind themselves of what makes us special. We celebrate our values, food, music and cultural traditions every day. Our influence is now such, that maybe the real consumers of Hispanic Heritage promotions are not the Latinos that are targeted by marketing design, but Americans intrigued by this new Latino flavor and who want to catch a bit of that "enchanting" latin spirit (or Encanto Latino as per the Macy's ad and promotion).

Not that I have anything against celebrations that involve drinking tequila. Straight up and drunk slowly... like real Mexicans drink it. In September and May and all other months of the year.

Dedicated to Juan Martin del Potro's Grandparents

Today, a 2o year old Argentine- Juan Martin del Potro- defeated tennis god Roger Federer in a four hour, five set, US Open tennis classic. Just one day earlier, this young Hispanic also defeated Rafael Nadal, making his tournament run even more remarkable.

Addressing the fans in Spanish, he thanked his team, parents and coaches. He also thanked his grandparents.

Grandparents!

For many years, Hispanic creatives have had a conflicted relationship with our parents' parents. They represent much of what we mean about the importance of family among Hispanics. They are the seed of our traditions. Their stories of struggle and redemption shape much of our world view.

Many clients love to see babies and grandparents in their commercials. It is the easiest emotional connection to family, which is why try so hard not to use them that much in our creative executions.

But there was del Potro... the pony saluting the thoroughbred.. albeit it was not Roger he was saluting, it was the two generations before him that gave him the drive to succeed today. So here's to our grandparents... as long as we don't see them in our commercials just for the sake of proving how much we love our family.

The Power of the Univision Coffee Mug

When was the last time a Latino male to female Transsexual barista raved about any television network?

Lupe works at the Peet's next to my office where I get one of my many daily coffee fixes. My daily dialogues with her consisted of the typical "Good morning... I'll have a tall coffee, room for milk".

Until Univision changed the nature of our relationship.

One day, my coffee request was accompanied by the Univision mug pictured here...for me, swag from a recent meeting and my small contribution to carbon print reduction.

For Lupe, a connection. "Univision!" she exclaimed. "That's my network". The conversation then moved to her favorite novelas and her memories of sitting with her family around the television singing with Don Francisco.

Another cliche, I know. But it did happen.

Univision's ratings dominance may not be optimal for those of us who want more competitive options in our media buys... but you cannot deny the power of that brand among Hispanic women, men and transexual baristas.

And thanks to a silly Univision mug, Lupe and I have taken our relationship to a whole new level. Instead of coffee I can ask for it by its proper name:

"Un cafecito por favor"

"Felicidades" - The meaning of Judge Sotomayor

Rene is one of the parking attendants in our office building. We have become friendly over the years. I'm from Puerto Rico, He's from Cuba. We both share a common heritage and love to talk about our islands and our people. What follows is the exchange of our conversation this Friday morning, translated into English for the sake of mutual understanding:

Rene: Felicidades / Congratulations

Larissa: For What?

Rene: Judge Sonia Sotomayor

Larissa: Ahh yes... And why is that? (my inner focus group moderator has a curious habit of appearing in random conversations)

Rene: She is a Boricua, he says with pride (Boricua being slang for Puerto Ricans and those proud of their Puerto Rican descent... you know who they are...the ones who, one way or another, have some public display of the Puerto Rican flag somewhere in their house, car or body).

Larissa: And why is that important?

Rene: If a Boricua wins, we all win. The Cubans, the Dominicans, The Mexicans... all of us Latinos.

The learning here?

LATIN PRIDE- It's real. It crosses ethnicities. It unifies our immigrant experience. It can feel like a cliche sometimes, but there is a truth there. It can unite us... but as the FIFA World Cup will soon attest, never underestimate how deep the roots to our home countries matter, particularly in sports and beauty pageants.

And as for Judge Sotomayor? We should all feel proud. The idea of a Wise Latina US President is now a reality for one of those school kids listening to President Obama last Tuesday.

The Influence of the Hispanic Consumer has never been greater

For over 15 years, I have been actively involved with Hispanic consumers, advising Fortune 500 clients on how to effectively reach, connect and market to them. With this blog, I'm hoping to bring this "Latino" consumer that I know and love so much to life; to document the stories and anecdotes of the US Latinos I interact with every day and bring some new perspective about this market. I want to catch the buzz on the street and raise awareness of the things Latinos say in real life... outside of a focus group, ethnography or paid research.

I hope you enjoy reading these stories and look forward to your comments and shared stories about Latinos in this country.

Enjoy!

Larissa