Largest event for Hispanic marketing

Top Hispanic brand advertisers, case studies and research highlight ambitious Hispanic advertising track of Hispanicize 2012

MIAMI, FL -- Some of the nation's most respected leaders from Hispanic brands, research and advertising agencies will present at Hispanicize 2012 ( http://www.HispanicizeEvent.com ) as part of the event's sweeping Hispanic advertising and integrated marketing agenda unveiled today.

Now in its third year, Hispanicize 2012 (April 10-13 in Miami) is the annual event focused on Latino trends and trendsetters in social media, marketing, entertainment, and media.

"Our Hispanic advertising sessions track is completely brand, research and trends-centric because that's what brands want," said Manny Ruiz, Hispanicize 2012 organizer and creative director. "With today's announcement Hispanicize 2012 now becomes the first event ever to unite an agenda focused on every single discipline of Hispanic marketing: advertising, social media, PR, bloggers, digital and media."

"This Hispanic advertising track offers brands the latest best practices, data and actionable insights they need to succeed in 2012 and beyond," said Gustavo Razzetti, Chief Strategy & Engagement Officer at Grupo Gallegos and chair of the advertising committee of the Hispanicize 2012 advisory board.

To underscore the event's focus on trends and research, Hispanicize 2012 has partnered with the U.S. Census Bureau. The Census Bureau will showcase research and analysis during various sessions related to advertising to Latinas, youth and the Digital Divide, among others.

Hispanicize 2012's roster of presenters currently features senior Hispanic brand marketers and non profit organizations from Unilever, Disney, State Farm, BlackBerry, Google, Dunkin Donuts, Suave, Clorox, General Motors, RadioShack, UnitedHealthcare, Walmart, Sprint, McDonald's, Diageo, Ford, LiveStrong, the March of Dimes and the United Farmworkers, among others.

Altogether more than 110 speakers will present more than 65 sessions at Hispanicize 2012, including social media and filmmaking, which are about to be announced. (See most recent list of speakers here).

Among this year's advertising-related sessions are:

·      The U.S. Census 2012 Update: An In-Depth Look at the Latest Numbers and Their Implications

·      The Power of Musica: An Inside Look at BlackBerry's Innovative Q'Viva Platform and What We Can Learn About Effectively Marketing to Latinos through Music

·      Why Not Do It For Real? Reality Advertising and the Latino Consumer

·      CASE STUDY: State Farm and Alma DDB Hispanic Advertising Campaign

·      For the Brand's Greater Good: Best Practices for Productive and Positive Agency Collaboration

·      Innovative, Digital and Influential: The New Face and Growing Pace of New Generation Latinos

·      Digital Exito 3.0: Great Digital Case Studies from the Hispanic Portals

·      Overcoming the Mariachi Band Syndrome: How Young Creatives are Moving Boldly Beyond Latino Stereotypes

·      Break On Through to the Latino Side: Selling Breakthrough Latino Creative

·      All Shapes y Sizes: Overcoming the Challenges of Targeting Bicultural Consumers

Now in its third year, Hispanicize 2012 (#HISPZ12) is the annual event focused on Latino trends and trendsetters in social media, entertainment, marketing and media. The event is a partnership of the Hispanic Public Relations Association (HPRA), Hispanicize and the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

Hispanicize 2012 brings brands, media, marketers, celebrities, filmmakers, innovators and bloggers together in a unique creative environment focused on ideas and best practices. The conference is a launch pad for creative endeavors, new products, technologies, marketing campaigns, films, books and more targeting Latinos.

Hispanicize 2012 will be held at the gorgeous JW Marriott Marquis Hotel Miami, April 10-13, 2012.

Hispanic roles at Cannes Film Festival

"It's ok to be a Hispanic, even if you are a cat," Salma Hayek.

By Associated Press (May 11, 2011)

CANNES, France - Getting older in Hollywood and being Hispanic there are no longer the limitations they once were, say Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek.

After all, they wonder, when have Hispanic actors ever landed such big feline roles as the leads in the animated adventure "Puss in Boots"?

."When I started out, Hispanic roles were very limited," Hayek said Wednesday at the Cannes Film Festival, where she and Banderas joined DreamWorks Animation overseers to show off footage of "Puss in Boots," a "Shrek" spinoff coming this November. "Roles were very limited. There were one or two kinds of characters you used to do. Now we get to play the cats! It's OK to be a Hispanic, even if you are a cat."

"Cats were British, normally," Banderas added at a question-and-answer session alongside Hayek after the footage screened.

"I feel very proud, actually," Banderas said of his role in expanding the types of parts open to Hispanic performers. "I never pretended when I first went to Hollywood to be a guy from Oklahoma. I am what I am. And fortunately, the Spanish community in the United States has grown in the last 22 years that I have been there. There has been an explosion in Hollywood, which is a reflection of the society in which we live."

After the footage showed, Banderas and Hayek headed to a pier along the Mediterranean beach, where they posed for photos on a giant pair of boots bearing the movie's title.

Banderas reprises his voice role from the last three "Shrek" films, providing the voice of Puss in Boots, the tiny cat with the big heart, big ideas and bigger ego.

A prequel chronicling Puss' adventures before meeting ogre Shrek, the movie has the cat as an outlaw, looking to pull off a big score.

But his scheme is interrupted by another calculating cat, Kitty Softpaws (voiced by Hayek), who is in league with Puss' pal-turned-foe Humpty Dumpty (Zach Galifianakis), as they try to swipe the magic beans of the "Jack and the Beanstalk" fairy tale from beastly bandits Jack and Jill (Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris).

Age is another Hollywood barrier Banderas and Hayek feel they have skirted.

Banderas proudly called out his age, 50, while Hayek, 44, said this is the best time in her career, with four movies in the works this year and the work more enjoyable than ever.

"What makes you feel old is when you are not excited about life. You are not excited anymore about what you do, and you cannot do it as well," Hayek said. "I do feel my body beginning to - like, I need glasses now when I read my scripts. I wear them, but I'm happy to wear them and happy that I still get to read my scripts.

"So it's not been so bad. They scared me. They told me, 'Forget it. At 30, it's over for you.' And it has not been the case. It feels great to age in Hollywood."