The explosvive growth of the multicultural youth market is becoming more and more obvious...Caught up in the economic downturn these days? These are the times to invest in the future. - Via Dallas Morning News
In every major study in recent years, researchers have come back with the same prediction: Hispanics are expected to surpass all other ethnic and racial groups in population growth faster than you can say mañana .
About these videos: Via VBS.TV
When I called Miguel to see if he would let us visit him at his studio to shoot this episode of Art Talk! he told me that he didn't have one and instead we should just meet at a cantina to have some Negra Modelos and caballitos de Tequila. The place he suggested, Covadonga, is an old Spanish social club in Colonia Roma both he and I love, where old folks play dominos next to musicians, filmmakers, actors, and your standard drunks.
Miguel has worked in pretty much every medium known to art. He's done film, music videos, paintings, photographs, installations, books. He was the co-founder of La Panadería along with Yoshua Okon, an art space that opened in 1994 and was ground zero for fun and edgy art in Mexico throughout the 90s and early 00s. He also played in two legendary punk bands called Mazinger Z and Intestino Grueso. Every project he does is different from the last one, he takes risks, likes to break the rules, is incredibly prolific, and has a sense of humor. Some people have called him the enfant terrible of contemporary art in Mexico, but we prefer to think of him as its enfant excellente. He also directed music videos for two bands that we interviewed for Practice Space, Maria Daniela y Su Sonido Lasser and Silverio.
Part I.
Part II.
Part III.
The sets of waves keep coming onto the shores that action sports inhabit...
This another one of those kids that's going to resonate and connect with the larger Latino youth population. Talent pool is getting deeper, and will only continue progressing as the population numbers increase.
David Gonzalez has been making noise in the skate community for the past few years and his professional status as of April 2008 with Flip Skateboards has perpetuated his significance in skateboarding worldwide.
Press release - Via Transworld Business
Here's my quote of the day...its an opinion I share as well. K5 team rider Javier Silva
Introduce yourself.
Hola amigos my name is Javier Silva
How old are you? How old do you wanna be?
Uhhhhh let me think..................
Why are you a snowboarder?
Ummmmmmmm........... because it makes life better
About a month ago I posted about skateboarder Chaz Ortiz being added to the Zoo York team. Now its Silver Truck Co picking the kid up...He joins P-Rod, Drydek, Cerezini, and other top notch talent. Not bad for a 14 year old kid.
Notice that smile, it seems to denote confidence. I think this kid is going really make a mark on the skate scene...
The continuing evolution of snow sports in the urban environment...kind of amazing to think how much potential is really available.
SnowMagic® was awarded a contract by Cartoon Network Latin America to create and operate a snowtubing and snowplay park in Mexico City during July 2008. The New Jersey-based recreation company used one of its 50-ton SnowMagic® snowmaking systems to build a snow-arena which Cartoon Network Latin America used to provide a unique active outdoor experience for kids and families.
Via Transworld Biz
ABOVE: SOUTH CENTRAL TOUR (PART 2) from ABOVE on Vimeo.
"From time to time I like to take a break from being so serious and just mix things up and get loose! This abstract, and very fun style is a good example. The intense color combinations, shapes and loose free flowing lines make your eyes move around a lot and mix the colorful forms. -Mexico City, Mexico"
Description:
Es una ruta en el tiempo al ritmo del surfer, un grupo
heterogéneo de surfos viajando en un carro casa por Guatebuena,
explorando playa por playa. Una exploración desde la colindancia de los
faros con México hasta El Salvador. Finalmente encuentran un huracán en
el caribe y reciben una increíble lección sobre el sentimiento surfo.Peli 100% Guatemalteca, Estreno Diciembre 2008.
La Bloga has a great interview with writer Jack Lopez...Here is the full piece.
OLIVAS: Many people view surfing as a “white” sport. How do you respond to that view?
LOPEZ:
Are Hawai'ans white? The ones I’ve known aren’t that “white,” whatever
that means. I suppose the statement is a comment on the top surfers,
etc. Or possibly a comment upon who lives by the sea. In California
predominately affluent people live by the ocean because housing is so
expensive here. One doesn’t usually associate Latinos or blacks with
affluence. To 
get
on the WCT, the World Championship Tour, the contest circuit that Kelly
Slater has won eight titles on, is incredibly hard to do. The surfers
begin competitive surfing in elementary school, sometimes, and
certainly by middle school. The circuit is sanctioned by the NSSA, and
this is the domain of high school surfing. To be on the high school
surf team and surf every morning as your P.E. class is how a surfer
gets really good. Then he or she gets sponsored and goes to all kinds
of exotic places and surfs even better waves. There’s a whole
progression for surfers to get on the “Tour.” The process starts in
high school, as is the case for most athletes. The high schools in
Boyle Heights and San Bernardino don’t field high school surf teams.
Furthermore, I don’t see Latinos and blacks moving in large numbers to
Monarch Bay in south O.C. Until more people of color surf at an earlier
age, nothing will change.
Having said the above, I’d like to point out that Bobby Martinez and Timmy Reyes are on the world tour, ranked 8th and 13th respectively. Shea and Cory Lopez are well-known pros. And Gerry Lopez… Inkwell Surf and Sport is sponsoring black surfers to compete in contests. So things are changing, and, as it is with meaningful change, it will be slow.
One more thing. Surfing, at least in the water, was one of the few endeavors that I’ve done in which it didn’t matter what your race was; it only mattered what you could do while in h2o. On land, of course, things tend to be different.
Still thinking of ways to reach the U.S. Latino market? Wondering how you can do it in a mainstream manner? Well what about using social media marketing as a means to an end? Felipe Korzenny has written an excellent blog post about the subject...check it out here.
Social Media Marketing is particularly interesting in the case of Hispanics. After conducting several studies with different cultural groups online ( http://hmc.comm.fsu.edu/ ) we have discovered that Hispanics are particularly interested in new technology, having their own personal blogs and websites. This is likely due to the social nature of Hispanics who see Social Media as a way to keep in touch and maintain relationships. As these new technologies are important to Hispanics, Marketers and other entities who want to reach out to Hispanics online can set up their interactive sites in the multiple Social Media outlets available, and create buzz about something. Clearly, this has to be an attractive and useful site, but once a take-off point of interactivity has been reached, the site feeds itself and creates further enthusiasm about the brand, topic, product, etc.
One way to start a conversation around action sports and Latino youth...
Time to get your Spanish and Portuguese on...
Check out what Daisy Fuentes had to say in Fitness Magazine...
WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW THAT YOU COULDN’T DO WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?: “I can snowboard. I learned when I was 40. I’m very proud of that. It was something I just sort of said, I can do this. I put it off for a long time, I was going to Aspen a lot. I just thought, I don’t need to go up the mountain. Why can’t I do this? I thought I’m too old. I should have started doing this when I was 13 or 20. And I just went for it. When I started, my instructor was in his 50s, he’d always been a ski instructor and he only learned how to snowboard at 40 and now he’s an instructor. So I said I can totally do this.”
I've noticed the cross pollination of English and Spanish languages in marketing for quite some time. It was actually adidas' Jose+10 campaign during the 2006 World Cup that sparked my interest in starting Equipo Roca...These commercials aired on ABC.
The phenomenon continues to grow. Full Portada article here.
Popular sports shoemaker Nike has a similar element of Spanish-language messaging in their outdoor campaign promoting their new line f Basketball shoes. The executions show players jumping high over their opponents and slam-dunking the ball into the basket. Most of the ads are overlaid with text that reads “Mega-dunk” and other such things, but there is one showing a player jumping so high over his opponent that his mid-region is pressed right in his opponent’s face. The overlaid text reads, “No es bueno.” And right they are: Eso no es bueno...But is this approach the result of advertisers trying to get more bang for there buck by broadening the appeal of such ads or is it a reflection of how Hispanic culture and language is becoming ingrained in mass culture? The reality is probably a bit of both.
As Latin culture becomes increasingly absorbed into the “general market,” look for more cross-over efforts that seek to reach Latinos and non-Hispanics concurrently.
I've posted about Las Chulas: A Coming of Age Surf Documentary before, but after coming across a recent article decided to bring it up again. The content here has relevancy to what is going on in the U.S. youth market.
SYNOPSIS
Las Chulas is a character-driven documentary about coming of age and finding a place in the world.
The story follows the lives of three unique young girls living in present day El Salvador as they face the challenges of growing up in a country rife with gang violence, drugs, and poverty. Living in a small port city less than 30 miles from the capital, the girls discover surfing and with it, a newfound sense of their own potential and the possibilities of a life beyond the everyday despair that threatens to smother them. Learning to surf despite such seemingly overwhelming challenges as not even knowing how to swim, each of the girls lives fundamentally changes as surfing becomes more and more a part of their daily reality. For all three girls, surfing is an enormous part of their lives, but rather than circumscribing them, surfing opens the doors to even more audacious ambitions.
The reason why I bring up this project again is due the article titled 'For Latina teens, challenge is to get beyond statistics,' which comments on the pressure young Latina women have when it comes to a college education.
Like some of the other Latina teens at the annual event, Gabriela Cordova, Ofelia Salgado and Stacey Menjivar will be the first from their Salvadoran families to go to college.
Getting to that stage is not always easy, according to Latino youth counselors and mental health experts. To do so, the girls struggle with many of the pressures and temptations facing other teens.
Las Chulas is a story of that same struggle to succeed in life, and it offers a positive message that it is possible. Regardless of whether you live in Latin America or the United States. Its a film that has the ability to inspire and motivate other kids, which is especially important because these young people are the future of the world...
Its kids like Jorge Comelli that are going to help shape the future of not only skateboarding, but society as well. The great attitude will take him far. He represents all that is positive and hopeful about Gen Y.
P-Rod wins the the Maloof Cup and 100k...no big deal. Full Press Release
U.S. MEN’S PRO STREET CHAMPIONSHIP:
Sunday evening Finals included the final ten qualifying skaters. Skaters were scored on their skating during five ten-minute jam sessions. The lowest score was thrown out and the remaining four scores were averaged for an overall score. As the sun set on Costa Mesa, big names including Paul Rodriguez, Ryan Sheckler, Andrew Reynolds and Chris Cole fought it out for nearly sixty minutes of grueling competition.
1st – Paul Rodriguez $100,000 and Nixon watch worth $10,000
2nd — Nyjah Huston $40,000
3rd – Chris Cole $25,000
4th – Ryan Sheckler $15,000
5th – Darrell Stanton $6,250
6th — Jereme Rogers $5,000
7th – Terry Kennedy $4,000
8th – Andrew Reynolds $3,000
9th – Greg Lutzka $2,500
10th – Dennis Busenitz $2,000
11th – Adam Dyet $1,500
12th – Tommy Sandoval $1,250
13th – Billy Marks $1,000
14th – Kurtis Colamonico $1,000
15th – Sean Malto $1,000
16th – Bryan Herman $750
17th – Eric Koston $750
18th – Mike Carroll $750
19th – Jake Duncombe $500
20th – Sierra Fellers $500
I often hear the argument that snowboarding is too expense...therefore it's challenging to get more Hispanics on the hill. Well check out this tequila case study...full Adweek article.
Of course, Latinos aren't the only ones drinking tequila, but a burgeoning segment of affluent Latinos are buying lots of new things and marketers are responding. "Latinos buy more than beer and toilet paper," said Tom Maney, svp, ad sales for Fox Sports en Espanol. Maney should know. This year, the cable network has seen Volvo, among other luxe brands, buy time to try to reach the net's viewers, which include Latinos who boast an annual income of $60,000 or more.
You'll notice the author makes a point of mentioning it starts with the youth market.
The evolution of skateboarding has been greatly affected by this 'gentleman'...since the seventies, skating has been iinfluenced by many different walks of life.
Here is a clip of Caballero from Ban This that's pretty sweet...
We're only a year and half away from the next government census and already its starting to look like the predictions of Neil Howe and William Strauss in Millennials Rising are coming to fruition. Boomers are about to be overtaken in population size by the diverse Gen Y, and begin to take on the challenges that confront society. Change is in the air indeed...are you ready to move with it?
The marketing community, already dealing with a slumping economy and an increasingly consumer-controlled media marketplace, must confront another new reality: The face of the American consumer is changing dramatically.
Read full AdAge article.
