A Note from our President (Spring 2001)
By Elena Del Valle - LNA Worldwide Communications

Dear HMCA members and friends:
This last census has left nearly everyone, especially the census takers, surprised. Hispanics are now the largest minority in the country and a major economic force of the future. And, it’s not just because they are over 10 percent of the U.S. population. Numbers reflect only part of what’s relevant. Let’s look at the local situation. A spearhead of major socioeconomic trends, Florida paints an advance picture of the national portrait. By looking at what’s happening in Florida we can get an idea of what might happen nationally in the short term. Those of you who attended ¿Que Pasa Broward? heard about the changes in that county from panelists Sun Sentinel Senior Sales Manager Maria Angel and Latin Chamber of Commerce President Frank Vargas. You could feel the enthusiasm at the meeting. We had four media representatives, the first Hispanic Broward county commissioner Diana Wasserman-Rubin, representatives from several chambers of commerce and the Fort Lauderdale’s visitor’s bureau, and a number of high caliber business people.

As many of you may have seen in the media reports recently, it’s not just in Broward. Hispanic communities are growing countrywide. The signs are everywhere. On English language television you hear Hispanic music in the background. I don’t remember ever hearing as much in past years. Hispanic themed fast food restaurants like a newly begun churro chain, Pollo Tropical and a number of others are thriving. Hispanic television is expanding. So is Hispanic radio: There are 663 Spanish language radio stations in the U.S.; up from 362 less than a decade ago. There is also an increasing number of Spanish language or Hispanic oriented publications in the country such as the newly established Cronos in Broward.

The changes in Broward county have left many of us amazed. There are many more Hispanics in west Broward than there were 10 years ago, and they are affluent Hispanics who are sought after by marketers. The Hispanic community is organized and dynamic. As the third city in Hispanic population and first in Hispanic revenue in the country, Miami has for years been a Hispanic stronghold. Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach (there have been some dramatic changes there as well) counties are becoming a combined area with a growing Hispanic puissance. More than ever South Florida is poised to become an increasingly important epicenter and point of departure for Hispanic and hemispheric trade.