"Hispanics," "immigration" and "immigrants," whether "illegal" or not, have been hot topics during the presidential campaign. But these discussions have all missed the point: The United States isn't becoming a Hispanic nation; it always has been.
Whether Hispanics account for 15% or 16% of the population today is immaterial. Hispanic culture has been part of "America" longer than the United States has existed.
Spanish Shaped America
Understanding Hispanic heritage is key to understanding the roots of American culture, whether it is the dollar sign, cowboy icon, barbecue and mustangs or Texas chili -- which is as old as the Constitution.
Five states have Spanish names (Florida, California, Nevada, Colorado, Montana) and four more (Texas, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona) have Hispanicized native names. And it's no wonder: Until the mid-19th century, they were all part of New Spain, and then part of Mexico after independence, before the U.S. took them over.
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The Latino and Spanish speaking community in the U.S. is hard working, dedicated, loyal and honest. They often wind up with the jobs no one else wants or physically can do. Dangerous work environments can make this community more vulnerable to serious and even fatal work related accidents. Their lack of English skills may prevent them from heeding or understanding warnings and make them more susceptible to injury or trauma from defective products or medications. In these situations they need to know that they have may legal rights which might pay for their medical bills, pain and suffering.
It is interesting to note that many legal firms are purchasing keywords in Spanish to drive traffic to their personal injury, bankruptcy or criminal defense websites. It is perplexing that many of these legal websites have no Spanish content at all. This seems like a huge waste of time and money. Worse, it is insulting to Spanish speakers looking for and needing legal assistance. For instance, if a Spanish speaker types in "Abogado de Denver" (Denver Attorney) into Google because he is looking for legal assistance in the Denver area he will find pay per click advertisers whose websites have no Spanish.
U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis is “particularly concerned about our Hispanic workforce, as Latinos often work low-wage jobs and are more susceptible to injuries in the workplace than other workers.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) show the number of Hispanic workers who die on the job has risen as the overall number of workplace deaths has declined. According to the BLS, fatalities among foreign-born workers accounted for 74 percent of the fatalities among all Hispanic construction workers since it began collecting foreign-born information.
Business people are becoming aware of the potential the U.S. Latino community offers to them. Yet most non-Latino business men and woman do not speak Spanish or know much about Latino culture. Many may be hesitant to engage the Latino community in marketing and business strategies without some knowledge about them. They also want to be careful to reach out to them in culturally appropriate ways.
The U.S. Hispanic / Latino population grew by 50% last decade according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This is a powerful demographic shift touching every part of the U.S.; all 50 states were involved. For all of those want to cultivate the Latino market, the Hispanic market and the Spanish speaking market, there has never been a better time to 'get in the game'.
This chart summarizes & overviews the economic potential by creating a Latino, Hispanic marketing plan in the U.S.
Restaurants who are looking to attract Latino or Hispanic customers would be better off by providing food and service geared toward families especially those with young children. Remember Hispanics do things more as a family than non-Hispanics and they are a young demographic. They also have larger families.
Many attorneys ask me how they can effectively reach the local Hispanic, Latino and Spanish speaking community in Denver. The Denver Hispanic population is sizeable; 301,283 which ranks as the 17th largest city in terms of Hispanic population in the United States. Obviously this presents an opportunity for attorneys willing to pursue a market niche few attorneys are marketing to
The Unlimited Power in the Latino Community: Latino Spirit