A chonga is a woman of Hispanic origin (mostly Cuban), characterized by the utilization of excessive hair gel, usually leaving two strands of hair hanging while the rest is pulled back, especially seen accessorized with giant hoop earrings and necklaces with their names written on them. They can be seen wearing tight short shorts and anything that will provide the excessive exposure of cleavage (or booty), especially, but not limited to, tank-tops. Chongas generally have names rooted in the post-Castro era such as Marisleysis. Hialeah, Florida is chonga capital of the world; however, they are known to migrate. Chongas have a distinctive dialect involving both the Spanish and English languages, merging to create what we now know as our version of “Spanglish.”
DISCLAIMER: This is a WDW Press Release with my color commentary (ala Dave Barry) and 2 years worth of first hand knowledge working at WDW Marketing. Please know that I mean these things lovingly as I hold Disney to a different standard.
LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla., May 2 /PRNewswire/ — (if they are sending out a release to Latinos, why would then not use the “tilde”…hello!! I will fix it for them for them from here on out)Quinceanera parties, the traditional Latin coming-of-age celebrations, have arrived at Walt Disney World Resort.
From a fully customized celebration based on a family’s ideas to pre-designed, themed Quinceañera events that take away all the worry of planning, Disney is offering these tradition-steeped extravaganzas for girls turning age 15 — a passage from flat-soled shoes and dolls to high heels, elaborate gowns and young womanhood. (LOL Spaceship Earth sounds like a perfect setting for the “bird and the bees” conversation with Mama don’t you think? I can see Cubanitas - and I’m Cuban-American so I can- from nearby Miami wanting to come out of the fountains atop the Swan and Dolphin Hotels. After all, Latinas dream big.)
Tomorrow is May 5th, which to many Mexican-Americans commemorates the Battle of Puebla - the site where Mexican troops defeated the French army in 1862. Nothing really to celebrate since Mexicans celebrate “El Grito” - Mexican Independence Day on September 16th from Spain right?
Wrong, cinco de mayo has become big business for American companies especially in the general market. This Mexican holiday has joined the ranks of other “not-so-holidays” like St. Patrick’s Day and Fat Tuesday with American party-goers overindulging on Tex-Mex food and themed drinks. The holiday has become an urban legend of sorts which people celebrate, but don’t really know why. A great excuse to party. So again I ask the question…who is the party for?
‘La Fea’ Meets ‘Ugly Betty’ In The Month Of May.- A month-long parade of Spanish television stars on ABC’s “Ugly Betty” will culminate with the May 17th appearance of Angélica Vale - none other than the star of Univision’s “La Fea Más Bella.”
Vale’s presence in the season finale of “Ugly Betty” features the actress as Angélica, the assistant to Diane (played by Kristin Chenoweth). Angélica is an orthodontic technician who loves romantic comedies and becomes overly involved in her patients’ lives - including that of Betty (played by América Ferrera).
Other guest stars include telenovela star Cristian de la Fuente, appearing in tomorrow night’s episode.
A new report from Forrester Research reveals that 51% of U.S. Hispanics who use the internet prefer Spanish-language websites, while 23% are Spanish dependant. The Hispanic Consumer Technographics report also states that 49% of Hispanic adults are online at least monthly, up from 45% in 2005.
Tamara Barber, a researcher at Forrester Research, reported that device ownership is growing among Hispanics. This includes mobile devices like PDAs and ipods. I have found various pieces of research that back these findings that show Hispanic out-indexing the general market in instant messages, rich media consumption and use of multiple devices at once. Other results of her research include the following:
Hispanics are more likely to listen to Internet radio than general market consumers.
POV: I believe that this could be because Hispanics are springing up in remote markets with small Hispanic populations like NC, Seattle and Virginia. The Hispanic market is also more likely to want to listen to stations from back home. When I lived in Orlando, I got a kick from watching NBC-6, Univision 23 and listen to Y-100 (local affiliates and stations for you non-ad people)…and we’re not talking another country. Although Miami is technically another country.
MIAMI, Florida (AP) — Indie rocker Eric Monterrosa checks his ElHood.com Web page at least three times a day, answering fans, surfing for other new Latin artists and keeping in touch with friends from his native Colombia.ElHood is sort of a bilingual MySpace promoting the latest in Latin music, and for Miami-based Monterrosa, it has become a personal and professional lifeline. It is also the latest in a wave of Hispanic social-networking sites building links across the U.S., Latin America and Spain, all hoping to capture coveted advertising dollars.
“A lot of Latin artists are plugged in,” Monterrosa said. “So if you want to find them it’s easy. If you go to sites like MySpace, you have to go through all sorts of genres, types of music, and languages.”
About 56 percent of Hispanics in the United States use the Internet, compared with 71 percent of non-Hispanic whites and 60 percent of non-Hispanic blacks, according to the Pew Internet and American Life Project. But the number of Hispanics online jumps to 67 percent among 18- to 27-year-olds — the group most likely to visit social-networking sites and one coveted by advertisers.
The online gathering spots allow users to post profiles and keep in touch with friends, as well as expand their circle of acquaintances. Ads and partnerships that help spread new music keep the sites afloat.
ElHood’s easy-to-use tools make it a breeze for first-time surfers — artists and fans — who often mix Spanish and English in their profiles. Read the rest of this entry »
CHICAGO (AdAge.com) — The fast-growing audience of online Hispanics — and how to market to them — was the hot topic at the spring conference of the Association of Hispanic Advertising Agencies last week.
The number of Hispanics using broadband at home grew from 40% of online Hispanics to 61% last year, while their use of social network sites soared by more than 200%, researcher Tamara Barber from Forrester Research told the 500 people who attended the AHAA conference April 26-27.
Minutes online, page views
Last year, the total number of Hispanics online grew by 11% to 16.3 million, while the total number of minutes they spent online per month grew by 34% and total page views by 49%, said another panelist, Jack Flanagan, exec VP of ComScore Media Metrix.
And Google has finally discovered the U.S. Hispanic market. Sarah Carberry, a conference panelist and Google’s senior account executive-consumer packaged goods, now works part time on multicultural efforts and will become the company’s first multicultural manager later this year.
Ms. Carberry, who is Cuban-American, described a campaign supermarket chain Albertson’s did with Google for products for quinceañeras, the party traditionally held for a Hispanic girl when she turns 15. The campaign used keyword targeting and display ads to draw families planning quinceañeras to Albertson’s bakery, paper products and flower departments in heavily-Hispanic areas.
“We test both languages [Spanish and English], and we’re also testing Spanglish,” she said. Read the rest of this entry »
This blog was developed to discuss issues affecting Hispanic marketing today. It is also intended to offer a fresh perspective different from the scripted media coverage currently being offered in the industry.
