Greekster's 10th Anniversary

Guess what's coming back. Yep, Greekster's annual summer stroll show in NYC. What will be different? Well it is the 10 year anniversary; so I'm sure there are bound to be surprises...right? See you in June 2011 :)

Google loves the Latinos

I think America is starting to realize the power of the Latino. Google has just released a series of short videos dubbed “Google Hispanic Marketing Forum” touting the growth and strength of Hispanics online. This is not really a surprise since Google just hired Mark Lopez, former COO of Terra Networks, to lead their Hispanic market efforts, a first for the search giant.

According to MediaPost, "U.S. Hispanics are 58% more likely to click on search ads, compared with the general population...six out of 10 made a purchase in a store as a result of seeing online advertisements while researching products -- 22% more than the general population." Not sure about the statistics? Check out one of Google's videos stating what I like to call fun facts about Hispanics online. Enjoy!

The awesome side of Greek life - OPB Step/Stroll

You ever meet an organization which takes stepping and strolling to the next level? Well if you don't, meet Omega Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Founded in 1989, their stepping team was then formed in 1990. Since then they have won countless competitions/awards, performed at various Greek-related events and also promoted the "art of stepping" to the non-Greek community.

And now on to REMO who has created the community which promotes stepping to our youth. She's traveled all over the country teaching not only other Greeks but to everyone. She holds stepping workshops and teaches the importance of unity. Because Greek life is about UNITY after all right? I've worked with REMO on a couple of projects and let me tell you she means business; but she's also a fun person to work with. Intelligent. Fun. Excited. What more can you ask for? REMO, you are truly the awesome side of Greek life.

Here's a look at OPB's upcoming performances via their Bringing it Back Tour:

• Past performance: January 22nd - Artistic Confessions(A Remo Production) Nuyorican Poets Café, NY. Region 1: (Eastern NY)
• February 18th - Charleston Southern University Charleston, South Carolina
• March 5th - Triple S Baruch College, NY. Region 2: (Mid-Atlantic)
• April 20th - Artistic Confessions(A Remo Production) Johnson & Wales University, RI. Region 4: (New England) Sponsored by Alpha Epsilon Chapter

A selfless man

Because every now and then we need to remind ourselves that life is not easy. However, as long as there's someone by our side, we know we can make it through this crazy thing call la vida.

New LATISM logo and website

Latism has finally launched their brand new (BETA) website. The website will become the only online hub for the wildly popular LATISM hashtag on Twitter and Facebook community. Latism (Latinos in Social Media) is the largest organized group of Latino Twitteros, Facebookers, bloggers, PR professionals and so on. On the new website you'll be able to:

• List yourself and your business by using the site's new interactive directory
• Report on what's happening in your world right now by connecting your blog to your LATISM account and sharing them via social media platforms
• Find and be found by organizations and corporations interested in reaching out to Latinos
• Discover, connect with, and support other Latinos who share their interest by joining LATISM groups
• And more!

And how about their fancy new logo? I remembered a few months ago they sent out a survey with options. I think the new logo was my first or second choice. Either way, 2011 is bound to be great for Latism. Cheers. Looking forward to connecting with mi gente.

Hispanicize gets more interesting

Today the Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA), Hispanicize and the Hispanic PR blog unveiled the roster of Latino social media industry thought leaders, bloggers and sessions that will be featured at Hispanicize 2011. Speakers also include a number of PR professionals, marketers, Television industry leaders and a whole bunch of social media gurus.

To learn more about the sessions and the awesome speakers, visit Hispanicizeconference.com. My personal favorite is "Speed Dating: Latina and Latino Bloggers Meet the Brands and Agencies." I can only imagine the tweets from this session haha. I wonder if I can make the conference.

P.S. The conference will take place in Los Angeles, CA, April 6 - 8. See you there?

Video: Philly Te Ama and Guillermo Tellez

I'm a fan of mi cultura and recognizing those people doing their thing. That's why at work I came up with the idea to highlight ten (10) Philadlephia Latinos and ask them, "Why is Philadelphia a great place for you and other Latinos?" Today uwishunu launched the series starting with Square 1682's executive chef Guillermo Tellez.

I've eaten at his restaurant a few times and I must say it is delicious. Here what he has to say about Philadelphia as a dining destination and the local food scene. Enjoy! Stay hungry :).

Colombians galore in Philly

Sure Philadelphia is mostly full of Puerto Ricans, Mexicans, Dominicans and so on, but there are a good number of other Latino cultures in Philly. And now with the addition of two astounding Colombians in the Philadelphia Union, we're bound to show Philly what we're about. (By we I mean Colombianos). A few weeks ago the Philadelphia Union added Colombian internationals Faryd Mondragon and Carlos Valdes.

A Philly.com writer recently interviewed Univision 65's Julio Largo about the impact this will have on the city. Largo said:

• For the Colombian community, first of all, it’s an exciting moment. We now have four players on the Philadelphia Union. For us, it shows to the rest of Philadelphia that we are different, that we are a different community. We have excellent people visiting Philadelphia, working in Philadelphia. That is great.
  
  For the Philadelphia Union, it’s a great moment to have the economic part growing, and the players that they have right now are really exciting.

Hopefully the Union will have a better season this year. Let's cheer them and Philly sports for a great year!