Congreso organizing our youth

Earlier today I had the wonderful opportunity to speak to Congreso de Latinos Unidos' work-ready program students. The program gets high school students ready for the working world in a variety of ways. This year the program has two components; the students have to do a community garden as well as a newsletter about the same garden. Students will be interviewing people from the community and professionals in the gardening field.

I usually get a little nervous when giving a speech, especially with teenagers. You know sometimes the attention span of our youth can be a little low. However, when I do give presentations I like it to be informal and a conversation. If I do all the talking, then we won't learn anything. There were about 25 students and although I did see some "why is he talking" faces I was happier to see the one or two students ask questions. And they were really interested! You know as long as those two people got something out of what I talked about, I know I did something right. My basic message: Anything is possible and don't let the 'haters' tell you NO.

Lambda Pi Chi invades Philadelphia

Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc. ("Lambda Pi Chi”) announced that the location of its 2012 National Convention will be in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from August 3rd through 5th. To be honest this was not only shocking but I was happy to hear of a Latino Greek Lettered Organization (LGLO) choosing Philadelphia as their host city. It's not everyday you hear about an LGLO visiting la ciudad de amor fraternal. This year, Lambda Pi Chi will continue that legacy with its annual College Book Scholarship Program, among other initiatives. The scholarship program, which is part of Lambda Pi Chi’s Proyecto H.A.C.E.R. (Hermanas Advancing Career and Educational Resources), provides financial assistance to outstanding college-bound young women. 


The ironic part about this year's convention? Lambda Pi Chi has chosen my boss, Clara Rivas, as their keynote speaker. "Ms. Rivas’s passion for, and dedication to, the Latino community as well as her professional successes as a Latina in the challenging world of media, is inspiring," says Maria Diaz, National President of Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc. "We are confident that her experiences will personally resonate with our members and motivate them as they pursue their own professional and philanthropic endeavors.” Clara is the general manager at Telemundo Philadelphia and has spoken at several events in the area as well as won numerous awards. 


 To obtain more information about Lambda Pi Chi’s 2012 National Convention in Philadelphia, please visit: www.lambdapichi.org/Convention2012.

Philadelphia raises the Colombian flag

Photo courtesy Al Dia News

Last Friday, July 20 Colombia celebrated their independence. Countless cities held festivals but in Philadelphia, something new happened. Not only was their a Festival Latinoamericano: Independencia de Colombia, but City Hall raised the Colombian flag for the first time. Thanks to the social activist organization MIRA USA, this first time event took place.

For more photos from the flag raising ceremony visit Al Dia's flickr.com stream: http://www.flickr.com//photos/aldianews/sets/72157630673768084/show/

Meeting Telemundo celebrities

Last Thursday I had the pleasure of meeting José Díaz-Balart at an event I put together. Mr.Díaz-Balart is the national anchor for Noticiero Telemundo and Enfoque, Telemundo's weekend public affairs program. I normally don't get star struck but it is a bit nerve wrecking considering they are the "face" of Telemundo and I'm just a simple marketing and promotions guy. You never know when a talent/celebrity might not be pleased with something. However, for the past year all the Telemundo celebrities I have met are bien simpatico.Considering I'm always at work when I meet them, I have to be on my A game.

Over the course of two years I have met Dra. Ana Maria Polo, Penelope Menchaca, Maria Celeste, Carmen Dominicci, Gabriel Valenzuela and now Jose Diaz-Balart. Of course when I tell my mom she says, "Por favor mandame una foto," which I of course do. Mom is the typical Telemundo viewer. She actually has a whole row of photos displayed at her house include some autographed talent cards. I wonder who I will be able to meet next!

The Latino Heritage Fund road trip begins

Take five social media influences, give them a car and some awesome electronics with the one goal to capture Latino heritage and what do you get? You get the American Latino Heritage Fund road trip! Our northeast team already started their journey in Providence, RI. 

The five social media influencers include:

• Lance Rios of Being Latino: Rios (@BeingLatino) and his team from Being Latino will canvas the Northeast from New York City to Washington, D.C.  His adventures will be posted on www.BeingLatino.us.
• Alex de Carvalho of Social Media Club South Florida: de Carvalho (@AlexDC) will tour Texas, New Mexico and parts of Arizona.  He will be blogging at http://www.alexdc.org.
• Eva Smith of Latina Mom Bloggers/Tech.Food.Life Blog: Smith (@Eva_Smith) and her family will document the Southwest starting in San Diego, California and through Arizona and New Mexico.  Her travels will be documented on www.techfoodlife.com.
• Cristy Clavijo-Kish of Hispanicize/Los Tweens: Clavijo-Kish (@LatinoMarketing) and her family will explore the Mid-Atlantic Region.   Her road trip will be posted on www.LosTweens.com.
• Maria de los Angeles of Sex and the Beach: de los Angeles (@ViceQueenMaria) will be joined by north Florida Latina lifestyle blogger Babushka (@bbabushka) who will drive the entire state of Florida from Key West to Tallahassee.  De los Angeles will blog her adventures at http://sexandthebeach.blogspot.com/ while Babushka will document at her website http://bohemianbabushka.blogspot.com/.

To join in on the fun follow the hashtag #LatinoHeritage on Twitter. Maybe they'll stop by your city!

Celebrating the Hispanic Fiesta @ Penn's Landing

Is it me or do Latinos love free things? I know I've written about this topic before but I must say it never fails to amaze me. Whether in a torrential downpour or 100+ humidity weather, we will stand in line for our chance to win a t-shirt or other prize. This past weekend I worked the Telemundo Philadelphia booth at Concilio's 31st Annual Hispanic Fiesta and wow is all I have to say. Unfortunately I was unable to sit down and enjoy most of the performances, but it was great seeing all the people come to our booth and win prizes. The best is seeing children try their hardest and wearing our Olympic medals.

To win the medals attendees had to either play the bean bag toss, toss across or the kick and score. People had more fun with the bean bag toss for some reason. Either way, it was great seeing the reaction of everyone's face. And not to brag but honestly, our line had to be the longest from any booth. Was it the location? Brand? Prizes? The line did not stop from 2 p.m. until we closed. Unfortunately we had to close early because our prizes were all gone.

Nos vemos at the next festival!

Event: Festival Latinoamericano...Colombia!

Free festivals are a clear indication that the summer is here. I received word about a first ever Festival Latinoamericano: Independencia de Colombia in Philadelphia on Saturday, July 21st. The best part, the festival is actually in the neighborhood: La Fonda Colombiana, 108 W. Wyoming Avenue. Although it's a small parking lot, it's still good to see a festival in the neighborhood where people have access. Good food, music and lots of entertainment and giveaways; what more can you ask for?

Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans...oh my!

When it comes to the Hispanic population in the United States of America, a lot of factors come into play when deciding who has the most...I guess you can say "pull." By pull I mean everything from location, population, income and even education. According to the Pew Research Center, "Among the 50.7 million Hispanics in the United States, nearly two-thirds (65%), or 33 million, self-identify as being of Mexican origin." No other population comes close to this number.

When it comes to characteristics (2012), Ecuadorians have the highest median household income with $50k followed by Colombians with $49k. Dominicans come last with $36k. And as if anyone didn't know, Los Angeles, New York City and Miami are some of the top cities by Hispanic origin group. So what do all these numbers mean? Just that organizations may change their strategy locally and even nationally. "Let's target the Hispanic population in LA," or, "...the Puerto Rican population in Philadelphia," might be some of the comments you will here.