Equipo Roca

Skate Video - Ordem e Progresso

Time to get your Spanish and Portuguese on...

Fitness Magazine: Daisy Fuentes Interview

Check out what Daisy Fuentes had to say in Fitness Magazine...

WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW THAT YOU COULDN’T DO WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER?: “I can snowboard. I learned when I was 40. I’m very proud of that. It was something I just sort of said, I can do this. I put it off for a long time, I was going to Aspen a lot. I just thought, I don’t need to go up the mountain. Why can’t I do this? I thought I’m too old. I should have started doing this when I was 13 or 20. And I just went for it. When I started, my instructor was in his 50s, he’d always been a ski instructor and he only learned how to snowboard at 40 and now he’s an instructor. So I said I can totally do this.”

Cross-Pollination of Language

I've noticed the cross pollination of English and Spanish languages in marketing for quite some time. It was actually adidas' Jose+10 campaign during the 2006 World Cup that sparked my interest in starting Equipo Roca...These commercials aired on ABC.

The phenomenon continues to grow. Full Portada article here.

Popular sports shoemaker Nike has a similar element of Spanish-language messaging in their outdoor campaign promoting their new line f Basketball shoes. The executions show players jumping high over their opponents and slam-dunking the ball into the basket. Most of the ads are overlaid with text that reads “Mega-dunk” and other such things, but there is one showing a player jumping so high over his opponent that his mid-region is pressed right in his opponent’s face. The overlaid text reads, “No es bueno.” And right they are: Eso no es bueno...

 

But is this approach the result of advertisers trying to get more bang for there buck by broadening the appeal of such ads or is it a reflection of how Hispanic culture and language is becoming ingrained in mass culture? The reality is probably a bit of both.
As Latin culture becomes increasingly absorbed into the “general market,” look for more cross-over efforts that seek to reach Latinos and non-Hispanics concurrently.

Finding Cultural Relevancy in Las Chulas

I've posted about Las Chulas: A Coming of Age Surf Documentary before, but after coming across a recent article decided to bring it up again. The content here  has relevancy to what is going on in the U.S. youth market.

SYNOPSIS
Las Chulas is a character-driven documentary about coming of age and finding a place in the world.

The story follows the lives of three unique young girls living in present day El Salvador as they face the challenges of growing up in a country rife with gang violence, drugs, and poverty. Living in a small port city less than 30 miles from the capital, the girls discover surfing and with it, a newfound sense of their own potential and the possibilities of a life beyond the everyday despair that threatens to smother them. Learning to surf despite such seemingly overwhelming challenges as not even knowing how to swim, each of the girls lives fundamentally changes as surfing becomes more and more a part of their daily reality. For all three girls, surfing is an enormous part of their lives, but rather than circumscribing them, surfing opens the doors to even more audacious ambitions.

The reason why I bring up this project again is due the article titled 'For Latina teens, challenge is to get beyond statistics,' which comments on the pressure young Latina women have when it comes to a college education.

Like some of the other Latina teens at the annual event, Gabriela Cordova, Ofelia Salgado and Stacey Menjivar will be the first from their Salvadoran families to go to college.

Getting to that stage is not always easy, according to Latino youth counselors and mental health experts. To do so, the girls struggle with many of the pressures and temptations facing other teens.

Las Chulas is a story of that same struggle to succeed in life, and it offers a positive message that it is possible. Regardless of whether you live in Latin America or the United States. Its a film that has the ability to inspire and motivate other kids, which is especially important because these young people are the future of the world...

Funner Films Snowboard Chile June 2008

Latin Athlete - Jorge Comelli

Its kids like Jorge Comelli that are going to help shape the future of not only skateboarding, but society as well. The great attitude will take him far. He represents all that is positive and hopeful about Gen Y.

Maloof Cup=100k for Street Skater Paul Rodriguez

P-Rod wins the the Maloof Cup and 100k...no big deal. Full Press Release

U.S. MEN’S PRO STREET CHAMPIONSHIP:

Sunday evening Finals included the final ten qualifying skaters. Skaters were scored on their skating during five ten-minute jam sessions.  The lowest score was thrown out and the remaining four scores were averaged for an overall score.  As the sun set on Costa Mesa, big names including Paul Rodriguez, Ryan Sheckler, Andrew Reynolds and Chris Cole fought it out for nearly sixty minutes of grueling competition.

1st – Paul Rodriguez $100,000 and Nixon watch worth $10,000
2nd — Nyjah Huston $40,000
3rd – Chris Cole $25,000
4th – Ryan Sheckler $15,000
5th – Darrell Stanton $6,250
6th — Jereme Rogers $5,000
7th – Terry Kennedy $4,000
8th – Andrew Reynolds $3,000
9th – Greg Lutzka $2,500
10th – Dennis Busenitz $2,000
11th – Adam Dyet $1,500
12th – Tommy Sandoval $1,250
13th – Billy Marks $1,000
14th – Kurtis Colamonico $1,000
15th – Sean Malto $1,000
16th – Bryan Herman $750
17th – Eric Koston $750
18th – Mike Carroll $750
19th – Jake Duncombe $500
20th – Sierra Fellers $500

Affluent in Spanish

I often hear the argument that snowboarding is too expense...therefore it's challenging to get more Hispanics on the hill. Well check out this tequila case study...full Adweek article.

Of course, Latinos aren't the only ones drinking tequila, but a burgeoning segment of affluent Latinos are buying lots of new things and marketers are responding. "Latinos buy more than beer and toilet paper," said Tom Maney, svp, ad sales for Fox Sports en Espanol. Maney should know. This year, the cable network has seen Volvo, among other luxe brands, buy time to try to reach the net's viewers, which include Latinos who boast an annual income of $60,000 or more.

You'll notice the author makes a point of mentioning it starts with the youth market.

Latin Athlete: Steve Caballero

The evolution of skateboarding has been greatly affected by this 'gentleman'...since the seventies, skating has been iinfluenced by many different walks of life.

Here is a clip of Caballero from Ban This that's pretty sweet...

Face of American Consumer Changing Dramatically

We're only a year and half away from the next government census and already its starting to look like the predictions of Neil Howe and William Strauss in Millennials Rising are coming to fruition. Boomers are about to be overtaken in population size by the diverse Gen Y, and begin to take on the challenges that confront society. Change is in the air indeed...are you ready to move with it?

The marketing community, already dealing with a slumping economy and an increasingly consumer-controlled media marketplace, must confront another new reality: The face of the American consumer is changing dramatically.

Read full AdAge article.

New Show - Brazilian Street Artists Os Gemeos (The Twins)

Delving deeper into Reef's history...

Here is an interesting piece of information I discovered today related to Fernando Aguerre's story behind the founding of Reef. It shows how action sports (surfing) can shape people and inspire them to create change in society. The "Dirty War" years in Argentina was a time of turmoil...wonder if Reef would have been the same without the experience?

1976: Un año en la mili (servicio militar). Me di cuenta que no quería nada que ver con regimenes militares, ni con obediencia a gente sin razones. Dictadura Militar, derriba gobierno civil, incluyendo gobierno de la ciudad de Mar del Plata.
1977: Intendente Militar de Mar del Plata prohíbe el surf. Fernando dirige un grupo para hacer lobby contra esta ley ridícula.

Yes I put the Spanish in there on purpose...translation tool.

Branding 3.0

I recently came across the semantic blog...a really cool feature is the seamless code switching capabilities the site possesses- español. Ah, you Europeans, so clever...