April 1, 2008        www.LatinEPR.com      

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LATIN AMERICA - NEWS BRIEFS

 

Media and technology

 

Marketing to US Hispanics:  The Latest Insights

 

In time for the upcoming US presidential elections, Consorte Media, a leading online marketing firm targeting the Hispanic market, has released Conexion Consorte - insights into connecting with the Hispanic voter.  Despite their political target, these insights may prove just as helpful in running successful campaigns for companies at large as they are for political candidates.  Firstly, Consorte Media recommends staying away from assumptions or generalizations, and instead researching real-life online behavior.  As of today, one in ten Internet users is Hispanic.  Moreover, U.S. Hispanics spend more time online and on average view more pages than the U.S. general population, meaning that looking beyond big portals to actual habits and preferences can be very effective.  For example, 71% of Hispanic Internet users visit social networking sites, and 39% use the Internet to watch videos.  The firm also suggests using English-language messages that make cultural references rather than simply translating slogans into Spanish.   Another important thing to keep in mind is the massive influence of the youth market.  47% of Hispanic online users are less than 35, versus 34% of their non-Hispanic counterparts.  If these statistics show anything it is that success in capturing this market must involve abandoning stereotypes and taking on a targeted, multi-faceted approach.

 

Nielsen Establishes Hispanic Council

 

Earlier this year the Nielsen Media Company drew together industry, community, and business leaders from across the U.S. to form the Hispanic/Latino Advisory Council, an independent advisory group that will help inform and enhance the rating company’s efforts to accurately recruit, measure, and report on U.S. Hispanic TV households, according to Multichannel News.  Nielsen figures show that Hispanics remain the fastest-growing national segment of the population, with TV households increasing by 4.4% in 2007 over the previous year.  The advisory council is part of Nielsen’s larger initiative to better understand and incorporate the country’s diverse Hispanic communities, an initiative which also includes training of its bilingual field recruitment staff and translation of its materials for Hispanic television households.  Last year, Nielsen also joined forces with an academic team of Latino social scientists from the Hispanic research and policy organization, the William C. Velasquez Institute, to review and analyze all aspects of the Nielsen rating system.

 

Cuba Lifts Cell Phone Restrictions, DVDs Next

 

A little more than one month in power and Raul Castro seems to already be making good on his promise to lift the excess of prohibitions that have ruled the daily lives of Cubans for decades.  In a statement to the official newspaper Granma, the new Cuban president announced last week that Cubans would be allowed unrestricted access to mobile phones for the first time.  Although the new service must be paid in advance with foreign currency, most likely only helping wealthy Cubans in the beginning, the ruling is an important step towards freeing and expanding telecommunications on the greatly underconnected island nation.  The government has also announced that Cubans will soon be able to personally buy computers and DVD players, in addition to a wide range of other electrical appliances.  Tight restrictions remain in place on internet access and travel, but it appears the connectivity revolution is underway. 

 

Moreover, the new emphasis on personal freedom is extending to other areas.  Recently, the government lifted the ban on farmers buying their own supplies, meaning they will now have better control over their own agricultural production.  At the end of March, the government also lifted the ban on locals staying at tourist hotels.  Now, an emerging gay-rights campaign, spearheaded by Castro’s own daughter Mariela shows that things are indeed changing on the island.  Mariela Castro heads the National Center for Sex Education and is working on legislation that would instate some of Latin America’s most liberal gay and transsexual rights (BBC). 

 

TRAVEL

 

LatAM Tourism Development Predicted

 

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) expects Latin American tourism to generate US$240 billion in 2008, according to a recent Prensa Latina article.  The newly released WTTC report analyzed in the article also shows tourist demand for the region growing by 5.4% this year.  On the whole, the report forecasts healthy growth in Latin America’s tourism sector, even despite global economic difficulties, and estimates that revenues could reach an impressive US$340 billion by the next decade. 

 

Costa Rica’s ‘Alcatraz’ Opens Doors to Tourists

 

Costa Rica’s legendary San Lucas Prison, located on the island of San Lucas, is slated to become one of the country’s new popular tourist attractions, according to a report on CostaRicaPages.com.  The country’s Board of Tourism, along with local authorities, have decided to invest US$3 million to renovate this National Heritage Site, making it tourist-accessible with the addition of a museum, restaurants, shops, and a pier.  Although reservations persist about the future of the island’s surrounding ecosystem, which is currently a wildlife preserve, the attraction should give visitors an interesting look into an unexplored area of the nation’s past.  San Lucas Prison, also known as Ley 5469 was Costa Rica’s most dreaded prison from 1873 to 1991, feared for its conditions and likened to other famous prisons such as Alcatraz and the French Devil Island for its stealthy geographical location.

 

JetBlue Plans Brazilian Airline

 

Shares of Latin American airlines traded in the U.S. went up this past month after the announcement by JetBlue that it had plans to launch a new Brazilian carrier next year, Forbes reported.  The yet to be named airline will be based out of Sao Paulo and begin service to Brazil with a three plane-fleet which is intended to eventually expand to 76 and operate around the country. 

 

Pluna Airlines Revamps Fleet in 2008

 

Uruguayan airline Pluna intends to boast the region’s most modern fleet by the end of this year with the addition of fifteen Canadian Bombardier planes, Mercopress recently reported.  The fleet expansion of the now partly-privatized air carrier – it was under the control of Varig before the Brazilian airline’s collapse – has been made possible by a US$176 million government investment which seems to be paying off.  The Canadian aircrafts’ advanced design means greater fuel efficiency and lower prices, and flights to Spain are already fully booked for months in advance, heralding a new era in Pluna’s history.

 

Economy and Politics

 

Border Crisis in Andean Region Weakens

 

A week after a Colombian military attack on a FARC rebel camp located within Ecuador’s border aroused fears of war in the Andean region, Ecuador, Colombia, and Venezuela declared the border crisis over at the 20th Rio Group Summit in the Dominican Republic, according to the Xinhua News Agency.  Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who has been involved all spring in rebel negotiations, has since reopened Venezuela’s embassy in Colombia and allowed Colombian diplomats back into the country.  However, Ecuador’s relations with Colombia have not eased entirely, with Ecuador contending that Colombia is running a smear campaign against the country to justify the March 1st attack.  Colombian sources are currently linking the Ecuadorian killed at the camp to rebel activities.  It is difficult to imagine that these recent events will have any constructive effects on the ongoing hostage crisis, which seemed to be taking a positive turn in February.  On a brighter note, however, some 100,000 concert goers gathered below the Simon Bolivar Bridge linking Venezuela with Colombia, after the military tanks with which Venezuela threatened to line its borders after the attack never arrived.  The ‘Peace Without Borders’ concert was led by Colombian rock singer Juanes, and featured among others Spain’s Alejandro Sanz and Mexican mega-band Mana.

 

General Interest

 

Brazil Celebrates Bossa Nova’s 50th Anniversary

 

This past month marked the 50th anniversary since the world was first introduced to the uniquely Brazilian music stylings of the Bossa Nova, Xinhuanet recently reported.  The style, which differs from the more working class Samba with its languid rhythm and themes of love, beaches, and beautiful women, was first heard in the beachfront districts of Rio de Janeiro in 1958, and was later developed into an official ‘new beat’ by legendary guitarist Joao Gilberto.  His collaborator in the 1960s, Antonio Carlos Jobim, is credited with naming the style, but it was their 1969 sensation ‘Girl from Ipanema’, sung by Gilberto’s wife Astrud, which firmly established bossa nova on the international front.   To celebrate this Brazilian cultural treasure and the part it played in its history, the city of Rio de Janeiro recently organized a free concert on iconic Ipanema beach, bringing together noted veterans as well as the cutting-edge modernists who are keeping the flame of bossa nova alive.

 

Adios to Chiquita Bananas in Panama

 

Panamanian Agricultural Development Minister Guillermo Salaza and Labor Minister Edwin Salamin, among others, were on hand last month in the county’s western province of Chiriqui to celebrate the withdrawal of the Banana Transnational Company Chiquita Brand from the country, according to Prensa Latina.  The company’s Panama branch has officially been taken over by the government-supported Multiple Services Cooperative of Armuelles Port, which intends to help make massive social changes within the banana area and the lives of its workers.  The Chiquita Brand company originally operated under the name of the United Fruit Company and in its 80-year long presence in Panama held great sway over the nation’s political fortunes.   In fact, the practice of fruit businesses installing dictatorships to serve their own needs, particularly in Latin America, led to the coining of the term ‘banana republic’, at the start of the 20th century.  Panama’s excitement in the wake of Chiquita Brand’s withdrawal can come as no surprise then.  With fruit production under domestic control, the nation can once and for all shed the dreaded distinction of a ‘banana republic’, which it has not deserved for some time.

 

James Bond Tours Latin America

 

Panama and Chile are set to be among the stars of Quantum of Solace, the 22nd film in the James Bond series, NDTVMovies.com has reported. Producers chose the Latin American destinations as part of the film’s varied international settings, which also include Italy, Austria, and the London studios, and filming is currently concluding in the Central American capital, where director Marc Forster praised Panama City’s wonderful diversity.  Next stop is Chile’s Atacama Desert, the driest place on earth, where scenes will be filmed at the Paranal Astronomic Observatory, before crews move on to Antofagasta, the country’s fifth largest city.  A report by EFE indicates that local excitement is already brewing as the crew and international star Daniel Craig make their imminent descent on the city.  States the report, one woman in the area has even fixed up her home in the hopes the actor will stop and say hello.