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Inside Hispanic America

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by Claudia “Havi” Goffan

Winner of the Publisher’s Multicultural Award Category: Best Multicultural Awareness Article

What is life like in America for Hispanic Americans?  What are their thoughts and concerns about family, employment, education, religion, opportunities, and healthcare?  We asked Claudia Goffan, founder of Target Latino, an Atlanta based marketing and consulting firm specializing in the Hispanic market, to provide “The College World Reporter” readers with her own views from inside Hispanic America. Here is our interview:

Claudia "Havi" Goffan - Hispanic Marketing Expert and CEO of Target Latino

Claudia “Havi” Goffan – Hispanic Marketing Expert and CEO of Target Latino

Q.Could you give us an inside look at Hispanic or Latino life?

A. To fully understand the Hispanic market, you need to analyze it by country of origin, level of acculturation, age, sex, marital status and educational level. Although some generalizations can be made, they have to be understood as such and not as an answer to comprehending the culture.

Let’s talk about some of the generalizations about the Hispanic culture. The very first one that comes to mind is about family being the first priority, the children are celebrated and sheltered and the wife usually fulfills a domestic role. Hispanics have a long Roman Catholic tradition and this usually implies quite a fatalistic outlook where destiny is in the hands of God. Latin American educational system is based on emphasis on the theoretical, memorization and a rigid and very broad curriculum. It follows the French schooling system and it translates into people who are generalists and look at the big picture as opposed to specialists, like in the U.S. Hispanics are highly nationalistic, very proud of long history and traditions.

Hispanics have difficulty separating work and personal relationships and are sensitive to differences of opinion. Hispanics fear loss of face, especially publicly and shun confrontation, where truth is tempered by the need for diplomacy. Title and position are more important than money in the eyes of Hispanic society. Etiquette and manners are seen as a measure of breeding and it follows an “old world” formality. Dress and grooming are status symbols whereas in the U.S. appearance is secondary to performance. The aesthetic side of life is important even at work.

Q. Tell us about the purchasing power of the U.S. Hispanics?

A. According to the University of Georgia’s Selig Center for Economic Growth in 2004 the nation’s largest minority group controlled $686 billion in spending. The community’s purchasing power comprises the world’s ninth biggest economy and it’s larger than the GNP of Brazil, Spain or Mexico. Hispanic purchasing power is projected to reach as much as $1 trillion by next year (2010) being the main drivers of the surge in Hispanic consumer influence the increasing education levels, labor force composition, household characteristics and accumulation of wealth. The fastest-growing occupational categories for Hispanics are higher paying managerial and professional jobs.

Q. What about Hispanics’ Healthcare Access?

A. I will quote a new analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center that indicates that six-in-ten Hispanic adults living in the United States who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents lack health insurance. According to this same study, the share of uninsured among this group (60%) is much higher than the share of uninsured among Latino adults who are legal permanent residents or citizens (28%), or among the adult population of the United States (17%). Hispanic adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents tend to be younger and healthier than the adult U.S. population and are less likely than other groups to have a regular health care provider. Just 57% say there is a place they usually go when they are sick or need advice about their health, compared with 76% of Latino adults who are citizens or legal permanent residents and 83% of the adult U.S. population.

Overall, four-in-ten (41%) non-citizen, non-legal permanent resident Hispanics state that their usual provider is a community clinic or health center. These centers are designed primarily as “safety nets” for vulnerable populations and are funded by a variety of sources, including the federal government, state governments and private foundations, as well as reimbursements from patients, based upon a sliding scale (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 2008).

Six out of 10 Hispanics are U.S.-born - Inside Hispanic America

Six out of 10 Hispanics are U.S.-born – Inside Hispanic America

The study also reports that some 37% of Latino adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents have no usual health care provider. More than one-fourth (28%) of the people in this group indicate that financial limitations prevent them from having a usual provider – 17% report that their lack of insurance is the primary reason, while 12% cite high medical costs in general. However, a majority (56%) say they do not have a usual provider because they simply do not need one. An additional 5% state that difficulty in navigating the U.S. health care system prevents them from having a usual provider. According to Pew Hispanic Center estimates, 11.9 million undocumented immigrants were living in the U.S. in 2008. Three-quarters (76%) of these undocumented immigrants were Latinos.

Regarding health status, the study reports that the Latino population in the U.S. is relatively young, and Latino adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents are younger still. Some 43% of adult Latinos who are not citizens or legal permanent residents are younger than age 30, compared with 27% of Hispanic adults who are citizens or legal permanent residents and 22% of the adult U.S. population.  The youthfulness of this population contributes to its relative healthiness.

About the Hispanic experiences in the Health Care System, the Pew reports that three-fourths (76%) of Latino adults who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents report that the quality of medical care they received in the past year was excellent or good. This is similar to the proportion of adult Latino citizens and legal permanent residents (78%) who express satisfaction with their recent health care. However, when asked a separate question – whether they had received any poor medical treatment in the past five years – adult Latinos who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents are less likely (16%) to report any problems than are Latinos who are citizens or legal permanent residents (24%).

Among those Latinos who are neither citizens nor legal permanent residents who report receiving poor medical treatment in the past five years, a plurality (46%) state that they believed their accent or the way they spoke English contributed to that poor care. A similar share (43%) believed that their inability to pay for care contributed to their poor treatment. More than one-third (37%) felt that their race or ethnicity played a part in their poor care, and one-fourth (25%) attributed the unsatisfactory treatment to something in their medical history.

Q. What is the difference in viewpoint between young Hispanics or Latinos born and raised in the United States, and their older parents or grandparents who migrated to the U.S. from other countries?

A. The one difference that applies to all Latinos existent between non and semi-acculturated Hispanics and fully-acculturated or U.S. born Hispanics (young or old) is that whereas the non and semi-acculturated Latinos are trying to learn how to navigate the American culture, the U.S. born Hispanics or fully-acculturated know how to navigate the American culture and “learn” to navigate the Hispanic one from their family.

Q. Who are people on the rise in the Hispanic or Latino community that may become corporate leaders, or the next Sonia Sotomayor?

A. There are many Hispanics on the rise in every walk of life in the United States. Some people may not even notice of their Hispanic background because it usually comes to light when there are political issues at stake. For example, a currently retired doctor that was the Director of Cardiology of the St. Joseph’s Hospital in Atlanta was originally from Argentina. The creative that many years ago came up with the successful campaign for a drug that put the country to sleep is a Nuyorican (Puerto Rican born in New York).

Regarding known Latinos on the rise, you may want to keep an eye on Christine Arguello, Judge, U.S. District Court, Colorado; Emiliano Calemzuk, President, Fox Television Studios; Ignacia Moreno, Counsel, Corporate Environmental Programs, General Electric Company; Esther Salas, U.S. Magistrate Judge, District of New Jersey; Thomas Saenz, President and General Counsel, Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF); Hilda Solis, Secretary of Labor; Rosa Gumatatotao Rios, United States Treasurer; Elena Rios, President & CEO, National Hispanic Medical Foundation; Enrique Conterno; President, Eli Lilly, USA and Edward Chavez, Justice, the State of New Mexico Supreme Court, among many others.

Q. What should everyone know about Hispanics or Latinos?

A. The first thing that comes to mind is the very little known fact that 6 out of 10 Latinos are U.S. born.  The second one is that the younger the generation, the higher the percentage of Hispanics in it. It is imperative to understand the new U.S. demographics when developing business strategies, city planning, new products, etc.

About Claudia Goffan: Recognized as an expert in Latino Marketing by CNN en Español, Claudia has been featured in Adweek, Hispanic Business, Univision, Telemundo and other national and international media.

A native from Buenos Aires, Argentina, Claudia has been very influential in the Hispanic markets in the U.S. and Latin America – both from a business and a community standpoint – always with outstanding results. Claudia has contributed to companies such as, The Occasions Group, The Taylor Corporation, El Banco de Nuestra Comunidad (A division of SunTrust Bank), XEROX, AT&T, BellSouth, Citibank, Papa John’s, Liberty Mutual, British Telecom, Gold’s Gym, Sherwin Williams, and Verizon, among others.

A motivator, strategic and hands-on, innovative, creative and resourceful. It has been said that her humor and presence immediately captivate audiences. She has an MBA from the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina and from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), and more than 20 years specializing in Marketing and Strategic Planning both internationally and domestically. She is bilingual and bicultural in English and Spanish and fluent in Portuguese, French, and Italian.

About Target Latino: Target Latino was founded in 2003, with a vision unparalleled at the time – to show American companies the importance of the U.S. Hispanic market – not by preaching but by acting. Target Latino is a marketing consulting firm specializing in the Hispanic market and inbound strategies.  Target Latino has a long standing experience of driving results in tough economic times.  Target Latino is minority owned, and a percentage of its proceeds go to different charity causes.

So true. Great Quotes

Great quote

Aflac Launches ‘Soccer’ – Its 8th New Television Ad for 2009

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National Campaign Focuses on Family and Financial Security

Aflac launches TV commercial for Hispanics

Aflac launches TV commercial for Hispanics

Aflac today unveiled its eighth new television commercial of 2009, titled “Soccer.” This commercial showcases the Aflac Duck as the web-footed star of the team, who helps provide a solid defense against unexpected medical bills. “Soccer” will debut on August 24, running nationally on CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC, CNN, CNBC, Discover Channel, USA, Headline News and the History Channel.

Aflac Launches ‘Soccer’ – Its Eighth New Television Ad for 2009

“Soccer” presents two mothers, one of whom is using crutches, chatting about insurance while watching their kids play soccer. Soaring acrobatically in and out of frame, the Aflac Duck protects the mothers from harm while letting them know that it is Aflac that pays cash when someone is sick or hurt.

After bending one like Beckham to score a gravity-defying goal, the Aflac Duck celebrates with a victory dance while singing “Aflac, Aflac, Aflaaaac,” much to the surprise of one familiar fan.

“Aflac protects families during uncertain times and ‘Soccer’ drives that point home in a way that will resonate with consumers,” Jeff Charney, Aflac senior vice president and chief marketing officer (CMO) said. “We combined the classic family activity — the Saturday morning soccer game — with the Aflac Duck’s unmatched brand of humor, to effectively remind people that Aflac has you under our wing.”

This is the 46th commercial starring the Aflac Duck and marks the first time Aflac has introduced eight television ads in a single year. The corporate spokesduck is a well-known fundraiser for pediatric cancer-related causes and was named to the Advertising Walk of Fame in 2004. On January 1, 2010, the Aflac Duck will mark its 10th birthday as the company celebrates its 55th year serving American consumers.

Source: Aflac

Effort to Improve Diabetes Self Management and Care

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Community-based Approach Aims to Improve Diabetes Self Management and Care

AADE, Emory University and Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute Partner to Educate and Improve Access to Care for Atlanta-area Minorities with Diabetes

The American Association of Diabetes Educators (AADE) today announced the launch of an Atlanta-based program aimed at improving self-management of diabetes among minority populations. In partnership with Emory University’s Latino Diabetes Education Program and the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute, the program aims to advance diabetes education in Hispanic and African American populations and to improve clinical and behavioral outcomes. The announcement was made at the Association’s annual meeting.

The program will be offered in the Chamblee neighborhood, which is served by the North DeKalb Health Clinic. The clinic is part of the satellite neighborhood network of clinics of Grady Health System in the Metro Atlanta area. Emory’s Latino Diabetes Education Program is already serving the Latino community in this area, and will partner with Grady and AADE to implement this minority-specific model.

The “Increasing Access to Diabetes Self-Management Education as a Means of Decreasing Health Disparities in Minority Populations” project aims to:

  • Ensure high quality and culturally appropriate services for people with diabetes by involving different members of the disease management team including: physicians, educators, health promoters/community health workers and other health care professionals.
  • Teach the basics of diabetes self management to populations often lacking in education and community-focused support.
  • Build upon local program capacity to achieve desired clinical and behavioral outcomes.

Individuals from minority communities that participate in this program will receive support and tools that will empower them to:

  • Improve their health and clinical outcomes.
  • Change behaviors, set goals and gain problem solving and healthy coping skills.
  • Learn how to navigate the health care system to increase adherence to evidence-based guidelines and reduce high-cost emergency department utilization.

“This program is unique in that it promotes a team approach to diabetes care. Each member of the team — physician, diabetes educator and community health worker — supports and builds upon one another’s work,” said AADE President Marcia Draheim, RN, CDE. “Success will be measured by many factors including clinical improvements, behavioral outcomes, participation and patient satisfaction with the program.”

Emory University School of Medicine and Grady Health System have been serving Latinos with diabetes through the Emory Latino Diabetes Education Program. “The program started over three years ago and has reached more than 750 Latinos with diabetes and their families,” said Amparo Gonzalez, RN, CDE, director of the program. “This grant offers the opportunity to apply the successes and experiences that the Emory Latino Diabetes Education has had had with Latino community to the African American community.”

The program is sponsored through a grant from the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute.

Facts about Diabetes in Minority Populations

Diabetes disproportionately affects minority individuals, who comprise a significant segment of the U.S. population. For example, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, Latinos represent the United States’ largest minority group making up 14.8% of the population or 43 million people.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

  • Non-Hispanic whites: 14.9 million, or 9.8% of all non-Hispanic whites aged 20 years or older, have diabetes.
  • Non-Hispanic blacks: 3.7 million, or 14.7% of all non-Hispanic blacks aged 20 years or older, have diabetes.

Moreover, health disparities are increasing in the U.S. Individuals in African American and Hispanic neighborhoods, in particular, face many barriers to achieving successful self-management of their diabetes. These barriers are attributable to structural factors (e.g., lack of sidewalks or access to food stores with affordable produce) as well as the cultural, socio-economic, and literacy characteristics of the people living there.

About the AADE

Founded in 1973, AADE was created by and for diabetes educators. We are dedicated to providing our members with the tools, training and support necessary to help patients change their behavior and accomplish their diabetes self-management goals.

As a multidisciplinary professional association, AADE represents and supports the diabetes educator by providing members the resources to stay abreast of the current research, methods and trends in the field and by offering opportunities to network and collaborate with other healthcare professionals. AADE is continuously working towards our vision of successful self-management for all people with diabetes and related conditions.

About the Emory Latino Diabetes Education Program

The Emory Latino Diabetes Education Program is a non-profit program aimed to provide diabetes education and lifestyle intervention to Latinos in Georgia. The program began in December 2005 and was accredited by the American Association of Diabetes Educators in 2008. It is the first nationally accredited all-Spanish diabetes education program.

About the Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute

The Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute is a global initiative that provides health care professionals with access to the latest information and skills training to deliver quality care at the community level, and do so in a care model that facilitates early glucose control and appropriate follow-up. Johnson & Johnson Diabetes Institute aims to be a catalyst for diabetes innovation, improved care and better outcomes worldwide through educational programs.

Source: The American Association of Diabetes Educators

Publix tries to appeal to Hispanic market in Georgia

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Hispanic buying power in Georgia has grown by 1037% since 1990, No wonder Publix tries to appeal to Hispanic market in Georgia!

Norcross store gets makeover with focus on items from Mexico

“Do you have the sombrero? Has it arrived yet?”

It’s not the kind of question a grocery store manager overseeing the final details of a renovation would normally expect from a contractor. But for Marco Guillen, it’s just all in a day’s work.

Guillen is the point man on Publix Super Markets newest experiment — the first store outside of the company’s home turf in Florida designed to appeal to Hispanic shoppers.

The store, located in a heavily Hispanic neighborhood that Census records show is predominantly Mexican in origin, features bilingual signs and shelves stocked with more than 1,500 new Mexican and Central American items brought into the store in recent months.

Where Hispanic foods were once isolated in a single aisle, they’re now spread throughout the store. Dried guajillo chiles are piled up in a box in the produce section. Jarritos soft drinks take up shelf space near Coke and Pepsi products. Foca powder detergent is near the Tide. Colorful pinatas are scattered throughout.

“We really had to go out and challenge our suppliers to go out and get us items that are traditionally Mexican. Not Mexican-American, but Mexican,” said the company’s Atlanta spokeswoman, Brenda Reid.

The store also features a salsa bar, deli items meant to appeal to the Hispanic palate and an expanded number of Western Union terminals, popular with Hispanic immigrants sending money home. About half of its employees are bilingual, recruited from Publix stores all over metro Atlanta, Reid said.

The store has been slowly rolling out the changes for months. It formally debuts Thursday with a grand opening featuring a mariachi band and other festivities.

The effort is rooted in rising Hispanic buying power and increasing competition from ethnic groceries that cater to the fast-growing Hispanic and Asian communities, Reid said.

Hispanic buying power in Georgia has grown by 1037 percent since 1990, outstripping the 194 percent growth for the overall market by more than five times, according to the Selig Center for Economic Growth at the University of Georgia.

Hispanics now account for 5.1 percent of Georgia’s buying power and are projected to outpace the growth by all other ethnic groups, according to the center.

A spokesman for Kroger, metro Atlanta’s leading grocer, said his company hasn’t explicity labeled any one store to appeal to a specific demographic. But Glynn Jenkins said the company adjusts each store’s product mix to appeal to local tastes.

Publix tries to appeal to Hispanic market in Georgia

Guillen said the changes at his store have gone over well with both Hispanic and non-Hispanic customers. The store’s bright new color palette and the fact that the store only eliminated a handful of unpopular items to make way for its new Hispanic product mix continues to bring in customers of all stripes, he said.

Source: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution – Michael Pearson

State’s Hispanic electorate on the rise

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Georgia's Hispanic electorate on the rise

Georgia’s Hispanic electorate on the rise

During the last six years the number of Hispanic registered voters in Georgia has risen by more than 1,300 percent and Hispanics now comprise 3 percent of the state’s voters, a recent study found.

“Where we started with about 10,000 Latino registered voters back in January 2003, now we have 146,000 approximately,” said Jerry Gonzalez, executive director of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials and author of a report on Hispanic voter participation.

“I think voter turnout is a true indicator that there has been great success in encouraging the Latino community to vote,” he said. “In the majority of the jurisdictions across the state, Latino voter participation outpaced national rates in the general election.”

In Whitfield County, the number of registered Hispanic voters rose 331 percent between 2003 and 2009, the study showed. Whitfield now ranks sixth among Georgia’s 159 counties in the number of Hispanic registered voters in Georgia, with 3,015. The highest concentration of self-identified Hispanic registered voters is in Gwinnett County, with 15,593, according to the report.

But the growth of the Hispanic electorate will be gradual, said Dr. David Boyle, dean of the School of Social work at Dalton State College. He is a co-author of “Voices of the Nueva Frontera,” a book about Hispanic immigration to the Dalton area.

“Many of the community-based groups are working very hard with citizenship education, to encourage people to follow through and get their citizenship so they can vote, but it’s very slow,” he said. “There’s not going to be any huge leap or change, I don’t think any type of balance in terms of the electoral mix.”

America Gruner, founder of the Coalition of Latino Leaders in Dalton, said the study’s findings are a result of a long process.

“In 2006 CLILA found that, despite the hostile rhetoric (anti-immigration sentiment in some campaigns), many Latinos in the area were apathetic or felt discouraged because in their countries of origin the political decisions are not made democratically or corruption reigns,” she said.

The coalition started a voter education campaign alongside its registration efforts, she said.

Whitfield County Registrar Kay Staten said she has noticed more Hispanics registering to vote, but nothing too dramatic.

“We have a pretty large Hispanic community in Dalton, and the children who are growing up are getting closer to voting age, so it will probably rise some as they get older,” she said.

About 40 percent of the population in Dalton is Hispanic, according to Census 2000 figures.

Mr. Gonzalez said that despite their overall small numbers, Hispanic voters can make a difference in close elections. He said it’s important for candidates to start courting that vote.

“I think that particularly for the governor’s race in Georgia, it looks like it’s going to be a competitive race, both in the primary as well in the general election,” he said.

“It would make prudent sense for candidates to look at the Latino electorate as a viable force to be considered and courted, not as a campaign tactic to be used to bash immigrants,” he said.

BY THE NUMBERS

Self-identified Hispanic registered voters in Whitfield County:

* 699 — January, 2003

* 1,317 — December, 2004

* 1,907 — November, 2007

* 2,603 — October, 2008

* 3,015 — June, 2009

*331 percent — growth rate from January, 2003 to June, 2009

Source: Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials

CITIZENSHIP RECOGNITION

In a ceremony during the Fourth of July celebration in Dalton, Ga., 31 new citizens were recognized by Mayor David Pennington, Whitfield County Commission Chairman Mike Babb and other community leaders.
Source: Perla Trevizo