CHOOSING THE RIGHT "CHILE CON CARNE" OR "SALSA"

By: Héctor Héreter, independent public relations/affairs consultant with an extensive experience in global affairs, particularly those concerning Latin America and the U.S. Hispanic market

"Let’s translate it and be done with it", said a Marketing VP during a long and exhausting strategy meeting about launching a new advertising/public relations campaign in 23 Latin American countries. That executive didn’t last long in that position.

Sensitivity, I think, is the most important element in any advertising/ marketing/ public relations effort conducted by any big corporation trying to seduce the United States’ Spanish speaking population or those living in Latin America.

Let’s start by the word “Hispanic.” This word poorly describes a group of people whose only common trait is their language, but with huge historical and cultural differences. If you travel from North to South, starting in Mexico and ending in the Patagonia, you will not hear anyone describing himself as "Hispanic". You will hear "I am Venezuelan, Colombian, Argentinean or Chilean" as you travel from country to country. One word of advice: never address a Chilean as Argentinean, a Colombian as a Venezuelan, a Cuban as a Mexican or a Puerto Rican as a Dominican - they will be very much offended.

Furthermore, the word has a strong colonial reference to Spain, and it would be the same as if Latinos referred to Americans as English. But I think that for now we have to settle for this word or the other alternative, Latino. More than a melting pot, "Hispanics" are a salad made up by many fresh vegetables which, although sharing the same pot, preserve their very own identity and substance. So when choosing the right American dressing, South American salsa, Caribbean "mojito" or Mexican "chile con carne" to spruce it up, you must bear in mind those differences.

Well-established "Hispanic-Latino" corporations in the United States also face big challenges in reaching the different segments comprising the 38.8 million Spanish-speaking people living in the U.S. mainland. Univision’s morning program "Despierta América", an equivalent of "Good Morning America", goes to great length to please each and every sector. They tailor their segments depending on the regions they want to reach: if Miami, mostly Cuban or Caribbean; West Coast, Mexican or Central American; and the North East, Puerto Rican or Dominican Republic. They even have a list of words that may be acceptable in one place and have a horrible connotation in other, so they must be avoided at all times by their commentators.

Although marketing figures and research are a big help, understanding the U.S. Hispanic population goes beyond the data. Like any other culture – whether African American, Anglo American or Latin American – they respond to specific icons and messages. When designing a strategy you must be aware of the intangibles that must be included. The public relations specialist must therefore become an integral part of that strategy.

At the end of every Cultural Sensitivity Training I perform for top executives who are being appointed to a Latin American country, I suggest reading the works of renowned authors such as Rómulo Gallegos, René Márquez, Gabriel García Márquez, Mario Vargas Llosa, Carlos Fuentes and Octavio Paz. After navigating through these books the reader develops a natural instinct for choosing the right salsa or "chile con carne". By the same token we "Hispanics" should read Mark Twain, Edgar Allan Poe, William Faulkner, John Dos Passos or Ernest Hemingway to develop a feel for mainstream America, so we won’t confuse pancakes with tortillas and end up sprinkling them with "pico de gallo".