Spanish TV news expands as 2012 election nears

The change comes as the latest Census data shows Hispanics propelled more than half of the country's population growth over the last decade. 

By LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ, AP Hispanic Affairs Writer

MIAMI (AP) — Spanish-language television news is meeting a surge in Hispanic voting muscle and viewership with greatly expanded domestic coverage this year, just in time for the 2012 election season.

Industry experts say the growth could affect next year's election by increasing awareness of political issues among U.S. Spanish speakers and by encouraging more to vote in a population whose participation has lagged others. Members of bilingual households who prefer English are also expected to be influenced by the newscasts when they watch with parents and grandparents. The change comes as the latest Census data shows Hispanics propelled more than half of the country's population growth over the last decade.

"It's a cycle. You have a growing population that leads to more coverage, which forces more politicians to pay attention, and that leads to better, and more, news coverage and more engagement," said Alejandro Alvarado, head of Florida International University's Spanish-language Master's in Journalism program.

The nation's three top Spanish-language broadcast and cable networks are beefing up their election coverage and increasing get-out-the vote efforts. Of the nation's more than 20 million Hispanic citizens over 18, nearly half are bilingual and about a quarter are more comfortable in Spanish. Meanwhile, less than a third said they voted in 2010, according to Census data analyzed by the independent Pew Hispanic Center. Comparatively, nearly half of their white counterparts said they voted.

Still, the Pew study showed a record number of Hispanics voted in a non-presidential year, boosting their share of votes and showing their increasing political power. Latino turnout could be key in 2012 swing states like Florida, New Mexico, Nevada and Colorado.

Univision recently announced it plans to start a 24-hour cable news channel in 2012, along with several local newscasts. It's also created an investigative team and a news documentary division, while hiring reporters to cover the drug war, health care, Wall Street and the White House.

Its primary rival, NBC Universal's Telemundo says its local affiliates are adding 1,000 hours of local news content a year, as well as several all-news digital channels in key markets.

Univision and Telemundo's nightly newscasts, whose audiences are growing, drew a combined average of about 2.5 million viewers nightly last year according to Nielsen Co. That's small compared to the 23 million combined for the big three English-language network newscasts, but it's also a higher proportion of Hispanic households than the big three capture of the general audience.

On cable, CNN en Espanol, which has mostly catered to viewers in Latin America since its 1997 launch, revamped its domestic lineup last fall and added 14 reporters and anchors, several shows and a Miami studio.

Recognizing that many Latinos get their news from their mobile devices, all three networks are beefing up their online news departments.

Telemundo and Univision still fend off criticism for scantily clad women and violence in their non-news programming, but politicians are responding to the enhanced news coverage.

Univision, CNN en Espanol and Telemundo's weekend public affairs programs now regularly draw top leaders. Topics range from immigration to the disproportionate number of uninsured Hispanics. Earlier this year when President Barack Obama held a town hall on education, Univision was chosen for the first time as the network to air it.

It's not just about the big networks. In heavily Latino markets such as Miami and Los Angeles, independent local channels increasingly draw politicians and community leaders to their news talk shows.

For Nina Ocon, a 23-year-old public relations major at Florida International University, watching Spanish-language TV is partly about seeing news subjects who look and sound like her.

"In English, too often the Hispanic being interviewed is still the housekeeper," she said.

Although she mostly gets her news online in English, she watches local news in Spanish with her Nicaraguan mother and catches news about her stepfather's native Colombia from Latin American cable TV.

"I'll come and sit with them to watch the news. It's not so much a habit, it just happens," she said.

Spanish-language TV executives, and increasingly politicians and advertisers, are banking on attracting people like Ocon, who grew up on Spanish-language news but is now more comfortable in English.

Isaac Lee, the new head of Univision's news division, said the network is the choice of many bilingual viewers because they provide coverage through a Latino lens. He pointed to January's shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords as an example.

"The mainstream media focused on what happened to her. We covered that but focused on the fact that it was a Hispanic who saved her and what put him into a position to be able to do that," he said.

During the 2010 California governor debate sponsored by Univision, GOP candidate Meg Whitman was forced to defend her decision to fire her long-time illegal immigrant housekeeper after the woman turned to her for help with her legal status. The scandal had been brewing before the debate, but Univision's airing of Whitman's comments translated into Spanish helped solidify a shift among Hispanic voters to eventual victor and Democrat Jerry Brown, said Fernando Amandi, of the research and consulting firm Bendixen & Amandi, which focuses on the Hispanic market.

Most studies find that Hispanic voters rank jobs, health care and education above immigration as priorities. Yet Spanish-language news skews toward a viewership of newer arrivals who relate directly to the immigration story, which helps give the issue greater resonance in the broader Latino community.

Telemundo news Vice President Ramon Escobar, a former NBC news executive, is unapologetic about the emphasis on immigration. He acknowledges fixing the nation's current system is a complex task but describes the debate as "our generation's civil rights era."

Spanish-language newscasts have a responsibility to lead coverage on the treatment of immigrants, Escobar said. Telemundo anchors spent months in Phoenix around the time of Arizona's passage of its tough 2010 immigration law.

"Arizona was clearly a flashpoint in this country," he said Thursday during the annual conference of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists in central Florida. "And we were there from the beginning."

Escobar said the network plans add similar coverage in states that recently passed tough immigration laws like Utah, Georgia and Alabama.

As they expand, executives also face the growing challenge of holding onto second- and third- generation Hispanics who speak little or no Spanish. Language barriers are already beginning to break down as reporters do double-duty for CNN in English and Spanish and for NBC and Telemundo. Univision's news division now tweets in English.

Univision just created a graduate journalism fellowship at Columbia University in New York, while Telemundo created a journalism internship for Florida International students in Miami.

"Our emphasis is to have students be bilingual," Florida International's Alvarado said. "It's becoming a two-way conversation, with more journalists hopping back and forth — just like Hispanics do throughout the country."

Interview with award-winning Latina Poet/Author Lisa Alvarado

By NilkiBenitez

CHICAGO, Ill – Lisa Alvarado is an award winning journalist, author, and publisher, whose work has been internationally recognized.  Some of her work includes:  Raw Silk Suture, Sister Chicas, Derriva, Dark Water Speaking, and Housekeeper's Diary.  She is also an online publisher on La Bloga, and Blogcritics.org, which feature literary criticism, book reviews, interviews, and cultural commentary.  Ms. Alvarado’s awards include:  Hispanic Author of the Year, 2009 - State of Illinois, Mariposa International Award for Best First Novel in English (2nd Place), 2007 Latino Literacy Now, and is recipient of numerous nationally recognized scholarships and grants.

Publicist and journalist Nilki Benitez recently caught up to Ms. Alvarado and conducted the following audio interview:

Hollywood's premier Latino PR guru, Gabriel Reyes

From struggling actor to head of the most prominent and pioneering Hispanic/Latino PR firms in Hollywood, Gabriel Reyes found his true calling.
By Al Carlos Hernandez, Deputy Managing Editor, Herald de Paris

HOLLYWOOD - Reyes Entertainment is one of the most prominent and pioneering Hispanic/Latino driven public relations and marketing groups in the Country. The company is based in LA was founded by Hispanic/Latino public relations Guru, Gabriel Reyes.

Reyes started out as an actor but found his true calling in PR and marketing after a disastrous meeting with a casting agent back in the ’80s.

He said, “I remember having an epiphany one day: These casting directors sit in a room all day with a camera and see 200 to 300 guys for a 30-second commercial. I walked in and I realized that, as I was doing my audition, the casting director wasn’t even looking at me. She was having her lunch. I think that the issue is that American mainstream media doesn’t have any idea of who Hispanics really are. Hispanics ourselves have an image problem. So I thought that the way to do this is for me to get some kind of career in communications, so that I’m able to work on behalf of Hispanics.”

By 1997 Reyes was one of the leading publicists in Hollywood and a Hispanic-market expert. He founded Reyes Entertainment in an effort to offer clients bilingual, all-inclusive campaigns across Spanish and English-language markets.

Gabriel says, “The Reyes Entertainment mission: To transcend cultural and language barriers and secure maximum visibility and value for clients and projects.”

Reyes Entertainment’s list of clients includes the Disney-ABC Television Group, where Reyes designs Hispanic PR initiatives for programs such as George Lopez, Ugly Betty, Desperate Housewives, Lost, and Disney Channel programs High School Musical, Handy Manny, Johnny & The Sprites, and The Wizards of Waverly Place. Additionally, in 2007 Reyes Entertainment organized the first ever Hispanic Media Junket at Disney-ABC Television which was geared specifically to expose the company’s talent to Hispanic media.

Gabriel Reyes was named one of Hollywood’s “50 Most Influential Latinos” by The Hollywood Reporter and the company has received two Prism Awards for Excellence in Multicultural PR Campaigns, as well as five Marcom Awards for Excellence in Public Relations. One of his first clients was Latina Magazine where Reyes was the magazine’s publicist for five years and was responsible for landing Jennifer Lopez her very first magazine cover.

Other clients serviced by Reyes Entertainment are CBS Nickelodeon Networks, Telemundo Networks, Twentieth Century Fox Filmed Entertainment Fox Atomic, 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, Columbia Pictures as well as many independent film and video releases. This includes “The Other Conquest” whose executive producer was opera legend Plácido Domingo.

Reyes said he is doing his part to unmarginalize Latinos working in Hollywood and share their accomplishments with both Spanish and English language media.

Herald de Paris Deputy Managing editor, Dr. Al Carlos Hernandez , who teaches University Public Realtions management, was honored to speak with Reyes about post modern public relations.

AC: What, in your early years, attracted you to the entertainment business? How did your family react? Who was your greatest supporter?

GR: I was attracted to the arts from an early age but I did not decide to pursue a career in the Arts until I was in college. I believe I am an artist at heart and artistic pursuits make me the happiest. Like many Latinos, my parents were not keen on my pursuing a career in show business but they knew little of my life since I left home at 18 and they were not an obstacle to me. I’ve had great supporters later in my career but very few that I can remember as a kid or teenager. Growing up in South Texas in those days, a gay kid who liked music and dancing could expect to have very few friends or “supporters.”

AC: You were a professional dancer, do you still dance? Tell us about your drawing and painting. You also write under pseudonyms – what kind of writing do you like to do?

GR: I started dance classes while still in high school. I continued in college and performed in several classical ballets as well as Modern and Jazz concerts and musicals. When I lived in NYC, I had the life of a “hoofer,” going to dance class every day and auditioning for Broadway, off-Broadway and summer stock. I performed in several off-Broadway shows both as an actor and a dancer and I never wanted to do summer stock because I did not want to leave NYC. I still give myself a class at least three times a week consisting of a 10 min. warm up and 30 mins. of combinations across the floor. When I don’t dance, I do yoga or go running. My weight is my nemesis. I’ve always liked to write and consider myself a decent writer. I enjoy writing about the subtle “back stories” taking place behind our human and institutional facades. I enjoy the Sci Fi genre as a convention because when you take the action out of the known world, you are free to explore closely-held taboos that no one is allowed to speak of.

AC: Why did you give up performance and make the transition to the business side of things so early in your career?

GR: I gave up performing early in my career because I felt that being seen as a “Latino” actor was limiting and I decided to pursue a career communicating to American media the truth about who Latinos really are and especially our American-ness, which has always been and continues to be questioned in the national conversation. I guess I felt I had a “bigger” calling.

AC: As a former performer, does this help or hinder your relationship with the artists with whom you work?

GR: I find that being someone who knows what it feels to get onstage and perform is infinitely helpful to my relationships with artists I work with. It allows me to speak to them in the language of the craft and exercise an empathy that I don’t think they get from someone who’s never done it.

AC: Do you regret not continuing as a performer? PR people are often considered the wind beneath peoples wings and the real unsung heroes. Don’t you miss the adulation?

GR: Sometimes I regret not continuing as a performer but it’s never too late. I can still be a “hoofer” in my old age. And yes, I am and have been the wind beneath many peoples’ wings in my PR career but I think that’s what a good PR person does and so I don’t consider myself an unsung hero. I don’t miss the adulation because it doesn’t drive me. Helping others is what drives me and I daresay I get plenty of adulation for my work and what I accomplish in my career.

AC: Why public relations and not artist management and/or producing?

GR: Because I’m a good publicist and am very successful at it and I’m doing what I’m good at. Although, I don’t discount the other two.

AC: Who was your first big client? When was the moment you knew that your company was going to be successful?

GR: My first client was Nely Galan and her production company Galan Entertainment. She’s still one of my dearest friends and mentors to this day. And, of course, Latina Magazine. I’m proud to have been the magazine’s first publicist and continued on their masthead for over five years. Latina’s founder, Christy Haubegger, is one of my best friends in the world to this day.

AC: You were the one who helped put Jennifer Lopez on the map. What did you see in her that told you she would be big? Who is the next J-Lo?

GR: I met Jennifer Lopez back in the early 90’s when Galan Entertainment was developing an independent film and she was attached to it. I was first struck by her tenacity and strength of character as a rising young actress, navigating the world of show business. She was doing a summer series for CBS called “Second Chances.” Then, I saw her in Gregory Nava’s My Family/Mi Familia. Her performance was so intense and heartfelt and her face was a vision of loveliness up on the big screen. She has that sparkle in the eye that’s unmistakable star quality. When it came time to choose Latina Magazine’s first cover, I felt she was a clear stand out and I’m glad Christy and her editor agreed! It’s hard to say who is the next J-Lo because Jennifer is a triple-threat and veryfew stars have the ability to act, sing and dance very well like she does. I’d like to add that this year Jennifer’s career has hit a new apex with her appearance as a judge on American Idol. She has given America a chance to meet and know the real Jennifer and it been a great benefit for the show.

AC: You work on many platforms: film, TV shows, film festivals. Which platform do you like the most and which are the hardest to facilitate?

GR: Early on in my career, I decided that I wouldn’t be limited to one category but would try to master several in the entertainment and media spaces. Each one is a world unto itself and each discipline has its own set of dedicated media so it’s important to go wide as well as deep. I love all media and don’t have a favorite platform. Although the internet’s versatility and accessibility is undeniably a strong contender. I would say they are all difficult to facilitate because of our relentlessly competitive 24/7 news cycle, which often rewards sensationalism over substance with plenty of air time. As publicists, we are always looking for that link between the news of the day and the client we are promoting.

AC: Early in your career you made the decision to specialize in Latino/Hispanic markets. Why? How has this US based market changed over the years? Good/Bad?

GR: I chose to specialize in the U.S. Latino markets because Latinos were being grossly underserved by mainstream media. Even today, the national conversation is generally negative towards Hispanics and rampant with the stereotypes pushed by media and entertainment. I would say that while there are many more Latinos working in entertainment and media, our image in the national consciousness is more negative today than even a decade ago.

AC: You have always campaigned for changing the way Hollywood views Latinos and for the integration of Hispanics into main steam media. How has that changed over the last 15 years? What needs to happen to make things equitable?

GR: I’ve been working in the Hispanic media and entertainment space for over 15 years. Whereas we’ve seen much more integration of Hispanics into mainstream media, I find that we are still absent from much of the national conversation and when most Americans do think of Hispanics; it is not in a favorable light. As an example: At last year’s Rally to Restore Sanity, Jon Stewart, the darling of political correctness and someone who should know better, opened his speech by noting that the audience “looks like America: 75% white, 20% black and 5% other.” I’m sure he had heard about Latinos being the largest and fastest-growing “minority” group in the U.S., he just forgot, you see. Latinos just were not on his mind, even when talking about the make up of the U.S. population. Invisible.

AC: How did it feel to be considered one of Hollywood’s most influential Hispanics?

GR: It felt great to be chosen one of Hollywood’s most influential Hispanics and I’m grateful to those who consider it so. I also know that, like everything else, it is just for the moment and tomorrow someone else will have that honor. It’s all good.

AC: How has new media, especially the social networks, changed the way public relations is handled? According to Mark Levine there are only two speeds: Fast and Dead. What do you think?

GR: It is true that technology and the advent of social media have changed the practicing of public relations but even before this phenomenon, our growing 24/7 news cycle demands content and it is up to publicists to “think on their feet” to take advantage of every conceivable opportunity to gain awareness for our clients. I also think that competition for attention leads many to playing loose with facts and serve up misinformation.

AC: What is a typical day like for you? Why do you have offices in several states?

GR: On a typical day, I start out by answering emails and updating social media pages. I check in with clients on the day’s projects and progress and follow through on phone calls. I usually have a business lunch and a yoga or dance class break. I spend my afternoons returning phone calls, emails, talking with clients, journalists and attending to the business of the day. On evenings when I don’t have a business dinner or an event, I wind up my day with a light dinner and catching up on readings or doing a bit of writing, drawing or painting.

AC: Do you think that by specializing in Latino/Hispanic media it has limited you or has excluded you from more mainstream projects? Have you, like many actors, been typecast?

GR: In some instances I’ve been typecast as a “Latino” publicist and many have thought that, because I’m Latino and speak Spanish, I only deal with Spanish-language media. That’s a misconception. The most important reason I started my business is to tell our story into the mainstream media world. However, this is the pervasive mindset that still exists today: People think that because we clamor for our place in the sun, Latinos want to be separated as a group, but just the opposite is true. We clamor for a place in the sun, ALONGSIDE the rest of Americans and NOT separate.

AC: What are some of the positive signs Hollywood is showing Hispanic talent? What are some of the lingering negatives?

GR: Almost everyone in Hollywood now knows about the Hispanic market and wants to get into it but there are not enough Latino writers so that the Latino characters in sitcoms especially, can go beyond stereotypical. More advances have been made in dramas than in comedies where your biggest Latino stereotypes are still alive and well.

AC: What are some of your goals for your company? What would you say is your biggest success to date?

GR: My goals for my company are:
1. We want to be around for many more years to come;
2. Secure more Fortune 500 brands as clients;
3. Expand our social media and online communications platforms;
4. Do more business with Latin American brands who want to enter the U.S.Hispanic space and vice-versa.

The biggest success for Reyes Entertainment to date has been our longevity and reputation for excellent work. We are pioneers in this space and were here before the term “Latino” or “Hispanic” was commonly in use and consider our efforts key in the development of the market.

AC: Tell us about your teaching responsibility at UT at Austin? How do you view the post modern student when it comes to their understanding of public relations?

GR: In the Spring of 2011, I taught at a course at The University of Texas at Austin entitled “Integrated Communications in Latino Entertainment.” The course was meant to teach students PR and communications skills, promoting Latino entertainments towards both English and Spanish media. The post modern student is wired for technology and also has a very short attention span. I also notice that women outnumber men in areas of university life these days.

AC: What kinds of things are you working on and what kinds of things would you like to do?

GR: Currently, we are gearing up for the launch of mun2’s new reality series “Beauties & The Boss.” We are also looking forward to the 12th Annual NY Intl. Latino Film Festival. Reyes Entertainment is the festivals agency of record for four years running. This year, the festival takes place Aug. 16-21. We also promote the amazing programming on PBS, as well as work Hispanic media for WWE and consult with Warner Bros. Pictures on the production of press assets for their films.

AC: What kind of advice would you give someone who wants to go into public relations?

GR: My advice for someone entering the PR field:
1. Learn to write a compelling story/press release;
2. Be a media junkie and know what everyone’s doing on their show, column or byline.
3. Learn how to pitch your story via phone in 10 seconds or less.
4. Learn to write a great email pitch.
5. Learn the art of writing an effective email Subject Line
6. Learn tact and manners.
7. Immerse yourself in your clients’ world. Be one of them.
8. Know why you are doing this.

AC: What are some of the things, both personally and professionally, on your “Bucket List” that you have yet to achieve?

GR: My personal and professional bucket list:
1. Spend a month travelling through Asia, Africa and Latin America;
2. Teach more young people the art of PR and Hispanic Market;
3. Produce a hit series and/or a hit film.

Check out; http://reyesentertainment.com/

Why Latinos love facebook

We Latinos tend to highly value ties that bind - familial or social - and Facebook is a great facilitator.
By Ruth Manuel-Logan

We Latinos are enjoying a sizzling connection with Facebook. Our Latino population is no longer underrepresented in the U.S. Companies, over the last few years, have sat up and taken huge notice of the largest minority in the U.S. and who will have a major influence on the country as a whole in the coming years.

In the Latino community, Facebook has acted as a unifier of sorts between people of Spanish descent, who typically tend to have family members more geographically dispersed.

We Latinos tend to highly value ties that bind — familial or social –and Facebook is a great facilitator of banter, and also allows for the sharing of precious photos and video that are near and dear.

According to ComScore, Facebook user growth amongst Latinos is stupefying: From April 2010 to April 2011, usage grew 167 percent (versus 21 percent for non-Hispanics). Facebook has a 70 percent penetration rate among Latinos online versus 72 percent for the general population.

Why are we Latinos flocking to the ever-popular friends connection site?
 
We Are Passionate About Our Feelings

We Latinos love status updating and commenting with a no-holds barred ‘tude. We call it as we see it, with a hands-on-hips way of letting you know, exactly what we think. Since we are very gregarious, Facebook tends to bring out our social butterfly side to the fullest extent. We also don’t mind getting personal and even sharing nitty-gritty intimate details, moreso than other users.
 
We Have Found Our Online Niche

The bridge from the U.S. to Latin America is now Facebook. Four Latin American countries – Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and Peru — are among the top 10 countries in the world in terms of Facebook user growth. For those who have recently arrived in this country, they aren’t really far from home because Facebook keeps them in constant touch with their homeland’s goings-on.
 
Hablamos Spanglish

Surprisingly, English speaking Latinos rule on Facebook. As a matter of fact, 50.6 percent of Latinos on Facebook are English-preferred, although when researchers checked the conversations on walls, Spanish was also peppered greatly into the mix.
 
The Weaker Sex

English-preferred males are growing by leaps and bounds on Facebook, si, si. But the website’s penetration and use amongst both sexes and segments is ever-increasing.

Readers, what percentage of your Facebook friends are Latino, like me?

Top ten ways Tower of Power is getting ready for County Fair gigs

TOP Ten ways Tower of Power is getting ready for County Fair gigs
By Al Carlos
www.Horndrivenradio.com

10.The pig races is not what you think, if you are from Oakland.

9. Eating fried baloney in order to develop a corn dog tolerance.

8. Pat Rains is text messaging bearded lady so there are no conflicting dates.

7. Work on super secret 5 Alarm Oakland Chili recipes, guaranteed to make you move a colon, to enter into competition.

6. Remember, Carnival rides are not Ex Girlfriends.

5. Sensitivity training for newer players who may fear Carney's.

4. New contracts without a “cash or cattle” provision as payment.

3. Remembering that 4 H doesn’t mean; Ho’s, Harleys, Harlots, and Herbs.

2. Remind Tom there is a $10,000 putting contest at the Alameda Fair.

1. Procuring Industrial strength bald head sun block lotion.

Wine industry aims to attract more Latinos

Research shows wine consumption among Latinos has increased dramatically over the past five years.

By GOSIA WOZNIACKA, Associated Press

Amelia Ceja, Ceja Wines

SAN FRANCISCO, CA -- Every night at dinnertime, Jose Placencia clinks a glass of wine with his wife or friends. He loves the taste, the socializing that unfurls and how wine brings out or calms the flavors of Mexican food.

Wine was never on the menu when Placencia grew up in California's Central Valley, where his Mexican-born parents picked crops, including grapes. Today, at Placencia's ranch in the Sierra foothills and in the homes of other area Latinos, wine bottles line up next to plates of quesadillas and carne asada.

"When I was growing up, wine was nonexistent for Latinos," Placencia said. "Now I see it's much more popular. Latinos of my generation have wine on a regular basis and make it a staple of their meals."

Research shows wine consumption among Latinos has increased dramatically over the past five years _ much faster than for non-Latinos. The number of glasses of wine consumed by Hispanics per month climbed by nearly 50 percent between 2005 and 2010, while for non-Hispanics the increase was a more modest 16 percent, according to a study by consumer research firm Experian Simmons.

As Latino consumers are uncorking reds and whites, the wine industry is trying to attract more of America's largest ethnic group. Several winemakers are running media campaigns aimed at Latinos. And the wine trade association in California's agricultural heartland is focusing its upcoming wine tasting and competition on them.

Part of what's pushing the increase in consumption is sheer demographics. Hispanics accounted for more than half of the U.S. population increase over the last decade. The other factor: a socioeconomic and cultural shift among the more established Latino generations.

"As the tastes of the Latino consumers get to be a little more acculturated, as their palates change, as they become more affluent and educated, they are turning to wine," said John Hernandez, executive director of the Fresno-based Central California Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Hernandez, a third generation Mexican-American, sees fellow Latinos _ who make up 50 percent of Fresno County's population _ enjoying wine at dinner parties, networking events, wine tastings and family barbeques.

"We've gone from wine pickers to wine drinkers," Hernandez said.

Placencia, who was born in the small farm town of Cutler and picked grapes as a child, wasn't exposed to wine until he moved to San Francisco to attend college. There he met people who introduced him to the Napa and Sonoma valleys. Placencia attended vineyard and cellar tours, talked with winemakers and "fell in love" with wine. He even convinced his parents to try it.

The switch was easier, he said, because wine matches perfectly with Hispanic cuisine. Family favorites include enchiladas suizas with green sauce paired with a Viognier; crispy tostadas with ground beef and salsa with a Chardonnay; or carne asada ranchera style with a Serat or a Zinfandel.

"Add a little chopped cabbage and cilantro on top of the beef and it goes excellent with the Serat, it just melts on your teeth," Placencia said.

Despite the growth, industry experts say the Hispanic market is largely untapped.

"We really have not done a good job of translating our product to that demographic," said Peter Vallis, executive director of the Fresno-based San Joaquin Valley Wine Growers Association. "Given the growth of the Hispanic segment of the market, it seems apropos that we find out what these folks want to drink."

Vallis' group _ which represents over half of California's wine industry _ has teamed up with the Hispanic Chamber to put together a panel of Latino judges to help select California's best wines. The results, Vallis said, will help the industry group better promote wine to that ethnic group.

"We want Latinos to have wine with their burrito," Vallis said.

Some wine makers are already working on that.

Napa Valley-based Beringer Vineyards launched a campaign that includes Spanish-language TV spots and educational programs on Latino television networks in Southern California, sampling events and Spanish-language displays in Latino supermarkets and national chains with a large Hispanic customer base.

"Hispanics are one of the fastest growing segments of wine drinkers, so we wanted to introduce our big iconic wine to them," said Francesca Schuler, Beringer's chief marketing officer.

The company didn't just translate its materials into Spanish, Schuler said. Instead, it tailored its message to revolve around family traditions, an integral part of Latino culture.

After a successful pilot this winter _ sales in some stores outperformed the general market, Schuler said _ Beringer plans to launch the same campaign this spring in California and, later this year, in Texas and New York.

Banfi Vintners, an Italian winemaker that exports wine to the U.S., has put up Spanish-language billboards and in-store displays in southern Texas. The campaign was spurred by growth in the largely Hispanic market around Dallas-Fort Worth metro area, said Charles Dellavecchia, director of the Banfi Vintners European Wines Portfolio.

It resulted in a double digit percentage increase in sales and will be expanded to additional markets, he said.

The biggest outreach to Latino wine consumers has come from Latino vintners, said Sandra Gonzales, founder of Vino con Vida (Wine with Life), a Sacramento-based wine education company. Latino winemakers are tapping their neighbors and families, she said, connecting with Latino organizations and educating Latinos about wine.

"Latino wine consumers are taking pride in seeking out Latino wine makers," Gonzales said. "They feel they know their story because it's like their own family history, the immigrant story they can relate to."

Mainstream wine companies have to work harder to make the connection, Gonzales said, including addressing concerns of labor standards, pesticides and wages for farmworkers _ issues from which some Latino wine consumers are removed only by a generation or two. Highlighting Latinos' contribution to the wine industry is also key.

"If it weren't for Latinos," Gonzales said, "would there be a wine industry?"