bloggedy blog: the personal weblog of a music lover and aging punk wannabe

:: Thursday, June 19, 2003 ::

We're Numero Uno! We're Numero Uno!
Pardon the exhibition of pocho pride here, but it's nice to be part of something that's Number One in this nation that measures everything by the "est" factor -- biggest, fastest, bestest, etc. 39 million make Hispanics largest U.S. minority group. There are 38.8 million Hispanics in the USA, according to the latest Census Bureau estimates released Wednesday. The figures, as of July 1, show a 9.8% increase since the Census was taken in April 2000. The Hispanic population's move to the majority minority position is "a symbolic milestone for a nation whose history has been dominated by black-white racial dynamics. Increased racial and ethnic diversity is adding a new dimension to everything from product marketing to political campaigning," writes USA Today reporter Haya El Nasser. Hispanics are also the largest minority group in baseball, and Alex Rodriguez, a Hispanic, is the game's highest-paid player. Unfortunately, as a group we have a loooong way to go before we reach even a fraction of that income level.

I don't know whether it's still true or not, but not too many years ago it was said that only one of every 20 Hispanics who enrolled in kindergarten would ever graduate with a bachelor's degree. That's a sad commentary about la raza.

But the Hispanic influence is being felt in many ways, as the USA Today report documents:

Nickelodeon's bilingual Dora the Explorer is the No. 2 pre-school show on commercial TV, leading Anglo as well as Hispanic tykes to sleep on Dora sheets that say Buenos noches. A fraction of the audience for George Lopez, one of ABC's top comedies last season, is Hispanic. And Fox, already the top major network among Hispanics, is adding two Hispanic family comedies this fall.

Hispanics represent 15% of movie-ticket sales, higher than their share of the population. The box-office careers of Cameron Diaz (Charlie's Angels), actress-singer Jennifer Lopez (Maid in Manhattan) and director Robert Rodriguez (Spy Kids) are evidence of Hispanics' broadening appeal. The 2002 Academy Awards celebrated the year of the Hispanic, after Latin artists and Hispanic-themed work collected 10 nominations, including six for a biography of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, played by Salma Hayek, a Mexican.

Latin radio stations account for 7%-8% of the radio audience, up from 5% five years ago, according to Airplay Monitor editor Sean Ross. More stations are sprouting in places outside Florida, Texas, California and New York. There's a Latin FM station in Raleigh, N.C.

The Latin explosion in mainstream pop music is evident in the success of Ricky Martin and Marc Anthony, who began their careers as Spanish-language singers. Colombian singer-songwriter Shakira and Jennifer Lopez are multi-platinum sellers.

Time Inc. launched People en Espanol in 1997. Circulation has since doubled to 414,000 to make it the top-selling Spanish-language magazine in the USA.

Hispanics are starring in sports they had never been associated with before. The National Hockey League has its first Hispanic, Scott Gomez of Alaska, rookie of the year three years ago. Last year, speedskaters Derek Parra and Jennifer Rodriguez became the first Hispanics to win Winter Olympic medals. Parra is Mexican-American, and Rodriguez is Cuban-American.

:: Andrew 07:45 + ::
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