Welcome to La Política’s blog, Platicando. La Política (Spanish for politics) is a weekly electronic publication dedicated to covering Latino political marketing and Hispanic voters. And Platicando is Spanish for chatting. Here I gather, share and discuss news about Hispanic voters.
La Política, the newsletter, will launch on November 5th. You can review our prototype in its entirety here or piecemeal in various posts below.
Bienvenidos.
Latino political marketing is not a new phenomenon. The first-known Spanish-language presidential campaign ad on television dates back to 1960 when Jacqueline Kennedy recorded a spot touting her husband’s presidential bid. In the sixty second, black-and-white commercial, Jackie´s Spanish is somewhat hesitant but easily understood. The production values are weak but the message is a clear and strong appeal to Hispanic voters.
Here is the literal transcript of her comments in Spanish (including the errors) followed by a figurative translation to English.
“Queridos amigos, les habla la esposa del senador John F. Kennedy candidato a la presidencia de los Estados Unidos. En estos tiempos de tanto peligro cuando la paz mundial se ve amenazada por el comunismo es necesario tener en la Casa Blanca un líder capaz de guiar nuestros destinos con una mano firme. Mi esposo siempre vigilara los intereses de todos los sectores de nuestra sociedad que necesitan la protección del gobierno humanitario. Para el futuro de nuestros niños y para lograr un mundo donde exista la paz verdadera votan ustedes para el partido demócrata el día 8 de noviembre.
“¡Que Viva Kennedy!”
“Dear friends, I am the wife of Senator John F. Kennedy candidate for the presidency of the United States. In these times of great danger when world peace is threatened by Communism we need a firm hand in the White House, a leader capable of guiding our destinies. My husband will watch out for the interests of all the sectors of society that need the protection of a humanitarian government. For the future of our children and in order to achieve world peace, please vote for the Democratic Party on November 8th.
“Long Live Kennedy!”
El Diario/La Prensa (New York), El Nuevo Herald (Miami) and La Opinión (Los Angeles) regularly break news and provide in-depth coverage of their respective Latino communities. They are influential among Spanish-speakers but largely ignored by others. I will write up a daily summary of the most important political stories and commentary in each of these papers as well as Al Día (Dallas) and Hoy (Chicago). The idea is to provide a service similar to that of Slate’s Today’s Papers but focused on the Spanish-language press.
Here’s the first installment:
La Opinión’s DC-based correspondent provides an update on the push by various Latino organizations and members of Congress to naturalize one million legal Hispanic residents. According to the report, the drive (called “Ya es hora, Ciudadanía”, which literally means “It is time, Citizenship” but figuratively is more akin to an impatient “It is about time, Citizenship”) started in Los Angeles in January and since spread to twenty cities. William Ramos, director of the DC office of the National Association of Latino Elected Officials, is quoted in the piece as saying there was a 71% increase nationwide in citizenship applications from January to July 2006 to the same period this year. No absolute number of applications is cited.
The “Ya es hora” campaign includes Spanish-language media giant Univision and ImpreMedia, which owns both La Opinión and El Diario/La Prensa. La Opinión, unlike most major English-language dailies, provides almost daily coverage of labor issues. Today, the paper reports on claims of discrimination and the ongoing strike by members of the California Federation of Interpreters-Communications Workers of America who work in the Los Angeles Superior Court. Also today, there is a preview piece about a planned mid-October march by hotel housekeepers and a story about a strike by nurses at the Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center.
Mexico’s ruling party, the Partido Acción Nacional, intends to hold its first congress in the United States this coming Sunday. Party president Manuel Espino and former Mexican president Vicente Fox will address the gathering in Lynwood. Panistas from around the US are reportedly expected to attend.
Al Día reports Mayor Herbert Gears of Irving, Texas received some five hundred calls yesterday of which he claims three fourths were in support of his city’s 24/7 Criminal Alien Program. CAP involves Irving police arresting individuals and then checking their immigration status. Those who are not legal residents get deported. Many of the arrests involve individuals caught driving a car without a license. (In Texas, you have to be a legal resident in order to obtain a driver’s license.)
The program prompted a protest at city hall this past Wednesday and there are accusations of illegal abuses by the Irving police. Activists asked members of the community to call the mayor’s office and request a stop to the program of deportations initiated last year. They didn’t get what they asked for. Under CAP, the “Mayor estimates some 300 people in Irving are being turned over each month – more than in any other city in the nation.”
The Illinois state government and the Department of Homeland Security are facing off over a pilot program that allegedly enables employers to verify the legal eligibility of their employees. I say allegedly because there are many questions about the Department’s technical capacity to do just that. DHS is suing the state government and demanding the court revoke legislation, which prohibits Illinois businesses from enrolling in the voluntary DHS pilot program. The article quotes a DHS spokeswoman as saying they are “absolutely sure” of the precision of their database.
The website is apparently down. I will update as soon as I can enter the site.
El Nuevo Herald may have the most curious story of the bunch today with its lede article about an engrossing custody battle involving a Cuban campesino, a prominent Cuban exile couple and a five year old girl caught in the middle. You can read about it here in English in The Miami Herald, which may well provide more coverage of Hispanics than any other major metropolitan newspaper in the US.
