By Elia Esparza (LatinHeat)

It’s official: For the first time inAmerican Idol history, in it’s 11th season, a Latina Jessica Sanchez (Mexican-Philippine) makes it into the finale. The 16-year old, San Diego native will be the youngest Idol if she wins, and the first Latina. It’s looking good!Joshua Ledet was eliminated leaving 21-year old Phillip Phillips to compete against Sanchez. Music producer Jimmy Lovine, the contestants’ mentor throughout the series says, “She’s got it,” and predicts she will sing on the Grammys one day.
After weeks of performing on the American Idol stage, the two remaining finalists will perform live Tuesday in front of a theater audience of more than 7000, as well as millions of viewers watching at home. Then on Wednesday night, at the end of a two-hour music celebration,American Idol host Ryan Seacrest will announce the next American Idol. Global superstar “Rihanna” will perform at the finale as well as many other surprise performances, duets, etc.

Jessica Sanchez has been a favorite since her first audition, so it came as no surprise that the judges used their only “save” when she was shockingly eliminated several weeks ago. The elimination was a wake-up call for her fans who rallied behind her and pumped up their voting campaign.  San Diego is still sore over Adam Lambert not winning, so this wake up call really got the community united to vote.

When Seacrest announced the first finalist and said “Jessica Sanchez” the cameras moved to judge Jennifer Lopez —  the superstar was jubilant unable to hide her pleasure and relief.

Sanchez won the full support of judge Steven Tyler after she sang a flawless Mariah Carey hitMy All, and Aerosmith’s I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing. Her incredible voice has caught the attention of Tommy Mottola who has publicly complimented her. Guess Ms. Sanchez reminds him and others of a young Mariah and Celine Dion… that’s how good she is!

The diminutive Sanchez was the first to make it through to next week’s finale. She has been consistent every week, delivering impeccable, superb and amazing performances that have left the judges and America bowled over, bringing everyone to their feet. America has voted and she is now on her way to the final stage of the competition.

Sanchez is the daughter of Gilbert and Editha Sanchez and has lived in Chula Vista, California all of her life. Her father, a Mexican-American is a U.S. Navy veteran who fought in the Iraq War, and served in Afghanistan. Her mother is Filipino American. A deeply spiritual young lady, Sanchez carries a rosary everywhere and quietly prays before every performance.

Will she become the next American Idol?! Will she become the first Latina to win American Idol?! Will she be the “last one standing” like American Idol judge Steven Tyler commented on Wednesday night?!

Audiences have overwhelmingly lent their support by cheering Sanchez on and voting. The Latino community especially has been actively participating in making sure she makes it to the finals.  However, Sanchez not only has the support here in the U.S., she also seems to have the whole country of the Philippines behind her.  They all have collectively rallied behind this Latina sensation and tuned-in to vote her every week.  With this kind of support she just might  have an edge over Phillip Phillips.

FOX will host the series’ two-night grand finale from the Nokia Theatre L.A. LIVE Tuesday, May 22 (8:00-9:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) and Wednesday, May 23 (8:00-10:07 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed).

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From CineMovie.TV

Eugenio Derbez is the indisputable king of comedy in Mexico, but the crossover star of GIRL IN PROGRESS and “¡Rob!” admits he hasn’t quite conquered the comedy in the English-language.

The Mexican transplant recently sat down with CineMovie for a candid interview about his Hollywood career and his new film with Eva Mendes GIRL IN PROGRESS.  During the Spanish interview, Derbez discussed why the English language is holding back his comedic transition . “English is the most difficult thing to conquer. The acting is lost in translation,” according to Derbez.

Known for his physical comedies and dozens of characters from his shows down South, Derbez says he’s found it difficult to capture the “essence” of his Spanish persona in English. The son of the famous actress Sylvia Derbez has had success in the United States with small roles in Hollywood films such as Adam Sandler‘s Jack & Jill, Beverly Hills Chihuahua, and on television starring on Rob Schneider CBS’s comedy “¡Rob!.” Luckily for him, his dramatic turn in GIRL IN PROGRESS didn’t require him to bring “the funny” to the role of his character Mission Impossible (except maybe the name only). The dramedy by La Misma Luna’s Patricia Riggen called for the Mexican native to play a more serious role in his second language.

Derbez jokes his biggest challenge on the film was getting to know and act opposite Eva Mendez, an actress he described as a strong (“fierce”), imposing figure. Due to the small budget and short production time Eugenio didn’t get the chance to break the ice with the GIRL IN PROGRESS, star before shooting, and instead had to take a crash course in creating chemistry with the Hollywood actress.

Eva Mendes’ GIRL IN PROGRESS Music Video

The comedian/actor tells us he rehearses his lines in English repeatedly in order to get the right tone. For the television series on CBS, Derbez works extra hard to nail the comedy for his character on  “¡Rob!.”  After wrapping up production on the set of “¡Rob!,” he stays behind on set to study his lines late into the night. Using a recorder, he reads his lines and plays them back with the goal of of capturing his style of comedy. It often backfires when he returns to the set a few hours later in the morning to discover the script was changed. He says that’s the worst moment of his day.

When it comes to improvising, he hasn’t mastered the technique for his American roles. According to the Mexican actor, he describes the process as troublesome (“le cuesta”) and finds it difficult to improvise a scene or line in English.  Derbez added he’s not comfortable with the English language to feel free to come up with “stuff” on the spot yet.  However, the challenge is overcoming those limitations.

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From LatinHeat.com

Burbank, CA – ABC Studios announced the August/September home entertainment debuts of eight of their TV series.  Six out of their eight series DVD releases feature Latinos in starring or co-starring roles.  Diversity at ABC/Disney is alive and well.

Complete season releases begin on August 21 with the debut of the entire first season of ABC’s addicting and star-studded new series Revenge, which stars half-Costa Rican Madeline Stowe asVictoria Grayson, the glamorous and powerful matriarch of the Grayson family.  The complete first season of enchanting breakout hit Once Upon A Time starringLana Parrilla as the evil character Emma Swan releases August 28, on both DVD and Blu-rayTM.

The network’s fall slate of TV-on-DVD releases continues with much-loved series Grey’s Anatomy with Sara Ramirez as Dr. Callie Torres arriving on DVD on September 4.  Witty crime drama and fan-favorite Castle, (co-starring Jon Huertas) along with the popular drama Private Practice (Benjamin Bratt in 2011-2012 season) make their DVD bow September 11, 2012.  Riveting dramas ‘Body of Proof’ and Army Wives’ head into homes on DVD, September 18.

Rounding out this fantastic fall line-up is the final season of beloved Desperate Housewives,which made Eva Longoria a household name in America and internationally. releasing the series’ complete eight and final season AND a special ‘Complete Collection’ allowing fans to own every episode and exciting bonus feature ever released in the series, in a premium collectible package and with an exclusive bonus disc that contains even more great castinterviews and behind the scenes from the final season, on September 25.

Each of these DVD releases allows fans the chance to relive all their favorite moments uninterrupted, catch up on missed episodes and reflect on the fact that Latinos are now part of the picture on TV in a major way — at least at ABC.

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In Demographic Watershed for U.S., Newborns Among Non-Hispanic Whites Are Surpassed by Others

By CONOR DOUGHERTY and MIRIAM JORDAN (Wall Street Journal)

For the first time in U.S. history, whites of European ancestry account for less than half of newborn children, marking a demographic tipping point that is already changing the nation’s politics, economy and workforce.

Among the roughly four million children born in the U.S. between July 2010 and July 2011, 50.4% belonged to a racial or ethnic group that in previous generations would have classified them as minorities, up from 48.6% in the same period two years earlier, the Census Bureau said Thursday. That was the first 12-month stretch in which non-Hispanic white children accounted for less than half the country’s births.

William H. Frey, a demographer at the Brookings Institution, says African-Americans are the largest minority among adults over 50. But for anyone younger—including the newborns forming America’s first “majority minority” generation—Hispanics are the second-largest population group after whites of European descent.

“It’s a major turning point for American society,” he said. “We’re moving from a largely white and black population to one which is much more diverse and is a big contrast from what most baby boomers grew up with.”

Thursday’s census data also show that immigration isn’t the main driving force behind America’s growing diversity. In fact, the shift has as much to do with the aging white population as the growth in other groups. The total number of births declined between July 2010 and July 2011, compared with the same period two years earlier. But among all ethnic groups, non-Hispanic whites saw births decline just over 10%, more than any other group.

Overall, the white population is barely above the point where births exceed deaths. Last year 1,025 non-Hispanic white children were born for every 1,000 who died, compared with a ratio of 3,940 births to 1,000 deaths for all other ethnic groups, according to Kenneth Johnson, senior demographer at the University of New Hampshire’s Carsey Institute.

Data for 2010 show Hispanic women give birth to 2.4 babies on average, compared with 1.8 babies for non-Hispanic whites, according to the Pew Hispanic Center. But the rapid growth of the Hispanic population isn’t just due to higher birthrates: Minority women also are younger on average, so more of them are in childbearing years.

The growing diversity has spurred debate—and concerns about issues such as immigration and affirmative action in education. For the economy, the rapidly growing nonwhite population gives America a significant workforce advantage over other developed countries. In Japan and parts of Europe, the total population is shrinking as deaths outnumber births. The U.S. is on track to avoid that fate thanks to a higher birthrate as well as immigration.

Few places illustrate this better than America’s heartland, where many rural areas are locked in a cycle of “natural decrease,” which happens when more people die than are born. But in pockets of Kansas, Iowa and Nebraska, Hispanics are reviving small towns that would otherwise be in decline.

In Nebraska, the Latino population jumped 77% between 2000 and 2010, when the state’s population overall grew 7%. In 1990, 11.5% of the population under the age of 5 consisted of minorities. In the ’90s, most of the growth in the Hispanic population was due to in-migration, but today births are the driving force, said David Drozd, research coordinator at the Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Nebraska in Omaha. In-migration refers to people moving into a place from other countries and states, rather than people born to those already there.

Schuyler, Neb., a rural town of 6,211 settled by Irish and German immigrants, is now 65% Hispanic, up from 41% in 2000 and just 4% in 1990. Many Hispanics work at the local meatpacking plant, the largest employer. Others run mom-and-popshops or restaurants on downtown’s B Street, where storefronts had stood vacant for years. On a recent spring day, mothers pushing strollers were ubiquitous, said city administrator Mary Peschel, whose office faces the street.

Not far from Schuyler, at Columbus Community Hospital, between half and 60% of the babies born in the past two years were Hispanic, according to head nurse Diane Ward. “Twenty years ago, a Hispanic baby was rare. Now it’s the norm,” she said. The hospital has interpreters around the clock, Ms. Ward said, but demand has eased as more Mexican and Guatemalan immigrants learn English.

The school district has grown 1,800 students from 1,300 in the last decade, largely because of the Hispanic influx. About 90% of the students in the building that houses kindergarten to third graders are Hispanic, said Superintendent Robin Stevens, and six of every 10 students in Schuyler’s public high school are Hispanic.

Before November’s balloting, county officials have hired a Spanish-speaking election coordinator and recruited Spanish-speaking poll workers for precincts with large Latino populations.

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Ten years ago, the Billboard Latin Music Awards were dominated artists that were ‘imported’ to the United States. This year, Bronx-born bachata star Prince Royce took home Artist of the Year and other bicultural acts such as Romeo Santos, Pitbull and Enrique Iglesias racked up key nominations, making it clear that Latin music tastes have evolved – and a new generation of U.S.-born artists and music fans are redefining the genre of this generation.

The mix of American and Latin sounds coming out of the US isn’t exactly new: Tito Puente in the 50s, Joe Cuba in the 60s, Santana’s in the 70s, Miami Sound Machine’s in the 80s and Ricky Martin in the 90s.

But what’s tipped the balance toward biculturalism is the major demographic change that’s occurred over the last decade. Today, 65% of Hispanics in their 30s are foreign-born*. Their musical histories are deeply rooted in their home countries, with Spanish as the primary language. In contrast, 59% of Hispanic Millennials (18-29) are US born. They grew up hearing their parents’ favorite songs from back home, as well as Lady Gaga, Jay-Z and the Foo Fighters – paving the way for the blend of languages and musical styles that we’re experiencing today.

Being part of a generation known for multi-tasking – moving from screen to screen, audio to instant messaging – has also influenced Hispanic Millennials’ eclectic tastes, which can go from Flo Rida one moment to Aventura the next.

With acts like Wisin y Yandel and Enrique Iglesias playing major U.S. arenas, general market music labels are aware of the power of this audience – which has opened up the door to collaborations between Latin and non-Latin artists to broaden commercial appeal.

Most recently, former Aventura front man Romeo Santos partnered with Usher on “Promise,” the first release of his debut solo album. In this bachata duet, Santos croons in Spanish and Usher in English, opening up their fan bases to new sounds. Pitbull is particularly known for taking advantage of the audience-expanding possibilities that collaboration can offer, partnering with Ne-Yo to add R&B smoothness to “Give Me Everything” and Marc Anthony for “Rain Over Me,” singing almost entirely in English. Pitbull recently confirmed in an interview that he chooses his lyrics wisely so they can be translated easily and gain maximum duo-play on English and Spanish radio.

Another cultural phenomenon that’s impacted the Latin music scene is the concept of digital music discovery and sharing, which now allows acts that would never have made it past the gatekeepers a few years back, to get noticed and played. Hispanic Millennials are known for being digitally savvy and active social networkers. What their friends listen to is probably the main driver of how they hear and consume music, so a Facebook post can be an influential endorsement that has the potential to make something obscure go viral.

Ten years ago, the top Latino acts were imports from Spain, Mexico, Colombia and Latin America. Now, the trend is reversing… the US is becoming an exporter of Latino talent to the rest of the world. Wisin y Yandel, Pitbull, Aventura and Prince Royce are becoming household names outside of the US. Between the recent shift among young Hispanics from mostly foreign-born to mostly U.S.-born, the growing cachet of cross-cultural mixing, and the rising influence of online music sharing, Hispanic Millennials are changing the sound not just of Latin music — but American music as well.

* Experian Simmons Fall 2011 NHCS (12-month); base = Hispanics, question = “Were you born in the United States?”

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By Tim Molloy, TheWrap

Hispanic millennials are nearly 66 percent more likely to connect via mobile than non-Hispanic whites. And they are nearly twice as likely to own a tablet such as an iPad. Online, Hispanic millennials are just as likely as other millennials to be heavy Facebook users but they are almost twice as likely to use YouTube.

When Millennial Latinos read magazines or visit websites, English predominates even more. They are more likely to read English-language magazines alone then they are to look into a combination of English and Spanish magazines (28% vs. 21%). When going online, 18- to 29-year-old Latinos are even more likely to choose to visit English-language websites alone rather than both English- and Spanish-language sites (38% vs. 25%).

Still, Hispanic millennials are maintaining close ties with their cultural heritage. The Pew Hispanic found that among the U.S.-born children of Hispanic immigrants, country of origin is still important. As far as self-identification, 33 percent of second generation Latinos use American first, 21 percent refer to themselves first by the terms Hispanic or Latino, and 41 percent refer to themselves first by the country of origin of their parents.

While Hispanic millennials may want to make it on their own, they are more likely to still be living in their parents’ home. More millennials are doing this due to the economy and delayed marriage and children trends. But Latinos are “the” most likely to live in a multi-generation home.

As a result, marketers in both the Latino and youth markets have had to revamp their marketing strategies about how to reach this key demographic.

CLICK HERE for specially priced $449 tickets available ONLY in the month of May.

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MTV Música y Más and MTV Latin America announce the network’s third co-production in the novela format with the new psychological suspense thriller “Ultimo Año”; and teams up with Population Media Center (PMC) to integrate social consciousness into the scripts & creative of the new multiplatform property. First-ever initiative will unite researchers and writers to deliver engaging content with measureable results under new PMC methodology. Through the use of entertainment-education programming, characters will be developed to evolve into role models for the audience, encouraging the adoption of healthier behaviors to benefit individuals and their societies. The 70-episode novela “Ultimo Año” will be produced by Argos Productions in Mexico.

“Ultimo Año” develops in the world of high school adolescence. Martin, an apparently ideal teenager, arrives at an elite school as part of a student exchange program. He lives with Benjamin, a popular kid who takes him under his wing and transforms him into his best friend. Both fall in love with the same girl. And mistrust develops, when a conniving Martin steals his friends, his popularity and his entire life. Faced with disbelief from family and friends, Benjamin begins to wage a solitary battle at unmasking the real Martin.

“Social responsibility is always at the forefront of our brand, and our content continues to serve as a credible and valuable space to engage, educate and help shift the mindset of today’s Hispanic Millennials,” commented Charlie Singer, SVP of Content and Creative for Tr3s. “We’re excited to introduce this innovative series at our Upfront this year, and look forward to magnetizing new and existing advertisers with the new series.”

“We are very excited to announce our latest production, ‘Ultimo Año’ and our partnership with PMC,” commented Fernando Gaston, SVP of Production & Programming for MTV Latin America. “This new production, our third in the novela genre, will further complement our slate of premium content and reinforces our commitment of bringing entertaining programming, compelling storylines and social consciousness to our viewers.”

“PMC brings forth an extensive amount of research on issues affecting today’s youth and having them work closely with our creative teams is an excellent way to weave these topics into our storylines. I am certain that their expertise coupled with our creative vision will deliver an entertaining, yet compelling story that will open up a dialogue on various topics affecting our viewers,” commented Mario Cader-Frech, VP of Public Affairs for Tr3s & MTV Latin America.

“The MTV brands have been leaders in developing cutting edge content for young adults throughout the world, a demographic that is becoming harder and harder to reach. By joining forces to develop this new novela, we have created a unique model that uses strong audience research to develop highly entertaining and engaging content with social and health messages that is also commercially viable. Even more, this programming provides an opportunity for advertisers to connect their marketing goals to their social responsibility vision. ‘Ultimo Año’ is filled with suspense, mystery, drama, and most importantly stories of love and relationships – a combination that will surely win over audiences and have a tremendous impact,” commented Katie Elmore, Vice President of Communications and Programs for PMC.

The Sabido methodology was developed in the 1970s by Mexican TV producer, Miguel Sabido, who created eight hit telenovelas that had an incredible social impact on the country. PMC has since adapted and replicated the methodology he developed in more than 27 countries around the world. The characters in “Ultimo Año” are developed based on the realities facing youth today. PMC has put together a Program Advisory Board that has helped to identify sexual health issues affecting youth, in an effort to integrate influential messaging into the dialogue and creative of the brand’s third co-production in the novela format. The issues that will be addressed include contraception, reproductive health options, peer-pressure, HIV/AIDS and STDs, gender equality, cyberbullying, and education, amongst others.

The multi-platform initiative will utilize blogs, social networks, and other transmedia extensions to stimulate discussions with the audience for quantitative and qualitative measurement. These informal discussions will be analyzed by Tr3s, MTV Latin America, and PMC to gain a deeper understanding of how the audience is relating and reacting to the storylines within the productions.

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