Saturday, March 26, 2011

Latinos Account for More Than Half of Nation's Growth in Past Decade

Census 2010: 50.5 Million Hispanics

The 2010 Census counted 50.5 million Hispanics in the United States, making up 16.3% of the total population. The nation's Latino population, which was 35.3 million in 2000, grew 43% over the decade. The Hispanic population also accounted for most of the nation's growth----56%----from 2000 to 2010.
Among children ages 17 and younger, there were 17.1 million Latinos, or 23.1% of this age group, according to an analysis by the Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center. The number of Latino children grew 39% over the decade. In 2000, there were 12.3 million Hispanic children, who were 17.1% of the population under age 18.
Although the numerical growth of the Hispanic population since 2000----more than 15 million----surpassed the totals for the previous two decades, the growth rate of 43% was somewhat slower than previous decades. Growth rates topped 50% in the 1980s (53%) and 1990s (58%).
Geographically, most Hispanics still live in nine states that have large, long-standing Latino communities----Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York and Texas----but the share living in other states has been growing. In 2010, 76% of Latinos lived in these nine states, compared with 81% in 2000 and 86% in 1990. (In 2000, 50% of Hispanics lived in California and Texas alone. In 2010, that share was 46%.) Despite the pattern of dispersion, however, there are more Latinos living in Los Angeles County (4.7 million) than in any state except California and Texas.
The states with the largest percent growth in their Hispanic populations include nine where the Latino population more than doubled, including a swath in the southeast United States----Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Tennessee and South Carolina. The Hispanic population also more than doubled in Maryland and South Dakota.
The report includes state rankings and totals for the size, share and percent growth of the overall Hispanic population and the population of Hispanic children under age 18. Also available on the Pew Hispanic Center's website are Excel files containing Hispanic and non-Hispanic population totals in each of the nation's states.
The report, "Hispanics Account for More Than Half of Nation's Growth in the Past Decade," authored by Jeffrey Passel, Senior Demographer, Pew Hispanic Center, D'Vera Cohn, Senior Writer, Pew Research Center, and Mark Hugo Lopez, Associate Director, Pew Hispanic Center, is available at the Pew Hispanic Center's website, www.pewhispanic.org.
The Pew Hispanic Center, a project of the Pew Research Center, is a nonpartisan, non-advocacy research organization based in Washington, D.C. and is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.

source: Pew Hispanic

Thursday, March 17, 2011

On St. Patrick's Day

(photo by Clarisel Gonzalez)

I have always been drawn to St. Patrick's Day. I love all the green and the spirit of the Irish on this day. To view more photos of the parade, go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/clarisel/sets/72157627127185414/with/5536664694/

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Fundraising Dinner With Roberto Alomar

In the mailbox

An appeal for help: On April 3rd, 2011 Latino Sports will award our newest Hall Of Fame baseball player, Roberto Alomar with the "Boricua Pride Award" for becoming the 3rd Puerto Rican & 10th Latino to be inducted into the most prestigious baseball museum, The Hall of Fame (HOF). The event is also a fundraiser to rent buses to take kids from the South Bronx to a once in a lifetime experience to Cooperstown, NY on July 24th, 2011 to watch Roberto Alomar get inducted into this prestigious hall and to tour the HOF something that none of these children would ever get a chance to do.

If you know of anyone that might be interested in sponsoring, purchasing a table, or tickets, Please let me know ASAP, or pass this information on to them.

The 2010 statistics on the Latino youth, particularly the Puerto Rican youth in the South Bronx is enough to make everyone with a conscious do anything to try and help rescue our youth from this desperate situation.

Un fuerte abrazo,

Julio

Information will soon be posted on www.latinosports.com. To contact Julio Pabon, e-mail latsports(at)aol.com.

Friday, March 04, 2011

Puerto Rico Governor Signs New Film Tax Incentive Bill

Good to know that Puerto Rico is becoming a more significant player in the world of film and production. I hope more Puerto Rican filmmakers, actors and production crew members will be able to benefit.

Here's the press release:

Program Provides Additional Tax Credits, Expands List of Eligible Projects and Creates Infrastructure Incentives

The Governor of Puerto Rico, Luis G. Fortuño, today signed into law the Economic Incentives for the Development of the Puerto Rico Film Industry Act, a bill that is designed to make Puerto Rico’s current production incentives among the most attractive in the industry, as well as promote the development of state-of-the-art media infrastructure, including high-capacity studios. It also designates the media industry as one of the core sectors of the Governor’s ambitious economic development platform.
Under the new law, the government of Puerto Rico has created a series of new incentives and expanded current ones. They include expanded lists of eligible projects, higher caps on existing incentives and new incentives for the development and operation of production facilities on the Island. The new law will be overseen by the Department of Economic Development and Commerce and the Puerto Rico Film Commission.
“Puerto Rico already offers some of the most aggressive tax incentives in the world, making the Island an important center for a number of industries, from biosciences to aerospace. This ambitious bill will place the media industry on an equal footing with others, both with regard to production and the development and operation of related infrastructure,” said Secretary of Economic Development and Commerce, José Ramón Pérez-Riera. “Puerto Rico is known for its variety of locations that can substitute for almost anywhere in the world. It also has U.S. trained crews, artistic talent and state-of- the-art equipment.”
Among the highlights of the new law:
The legislation expands the list of eligible projects to include feature and short films, documentaries, television programs, including series in episodes, miniseries and pilots, music videos, commercials, videogames, recorded live events and original sound track and dubbing recordings. The minimum spending requirements for all eligible projects have been simplified, and the amount has been reduced to $100,000 in payments to residents of Puerto Rico. There is an exception for short films, which will be subjected to a $50,000 minimum requirement. Principal photography requirements are eliminated.
The legislation expands the current 40 percent production tax credit on payments to Puerto Rico residents to include payments to non-resident talent, subject to a reduced 20 percent rate.
The legislation also raises the annual cap on tax credits from $15 million to $50 million on payments to Puerto Rico residents and may be expanded up to $350 million. Credits generated by payments to non-resident talent are not capped. There are no individual or per project caps.
Complementing and enhancing Puerto Rico’s production offering, the legislation provides incentives for the development, construction and operation of state-of-the-art production facilities. The legislation raises the existing infrastructure tax credit to 25 percent on all costs related to the development or expansion of studios, laboratories and other related facilities. It also offers favorable tax treatment to studio operators and related businesses including a fixed income tax rate of between 4 percent and 10 percent, as well as a 90 percent to 100 percent exemption on all other state and local taxes.
Over 60 productions have taken advantage of Puerto Rico’s current incentive program, including Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean 4,” Universal Picture’s “Fast 5” and Warner Brothers’ “The Losers,” in addition to a variety of independent films such as “The Rum Diary,” starring Johnny Depp, “The Men Who Stare at Goats,” starring George Clooney and “Che”, starring Puerto Rican-born actor Benicio Del Toro.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

Calendar - DIGITAL DIASPORA FAMILY REUNION - Harlem Stage

Calendar - DIGITAL DIASPORA FAMILY REUNION - Harlem Stage

Boricuas, check your photo archives to be part of this digital diaspora photo and history project in Harlem.

Harlem Stage will host Harris' latest creation, Digital Diaspora Family Reunion - a new participatory multimedia initiative where audiences bring history to life through their photographic images and stories. Bring your photo albums, pictures and mementos to Harlem Stage on February 23nd through 25th and share your family stories as part of the DDFR ROADSHOW.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

My Journey to Love~

Puerto Rico Sun welcomes guest bloggers. Here's a journal entry by Alicia Anabel Santos about her journey, writer life and love.

My Journey to Love~
Alicia Anabel Santos

Good morning its 8am in Argentina, 6am in New York…. and my body has not adjusted to the time yet. The journey has been incredible so far.
Today, I am thinking about what Paulo Coelho calls, “ones personal legend.” When one goes in search of his personal legend the universe conspires in helping him attain it… The idea that we all must go in search of our personal legends…
For me... My personal legend is my writer’s life… from the moment I claimed the title “I AM A WRITER,” to where I am today…. Quitting my very secure job at McGraw-Hill and traveling all across Latin America studying and filming the African Diaspora in Spanish speaking nations.
I have put my personal writer’s journey to the side to work on this project… dedicating my life to this amazing project… AFROLATINOS: The Untaught Story www.afrolatinos.tv. What I have learned is that much of my journey and discovering my personal legend has been about SERVICE….
Serving the community
Serving women
Serving young girls
I am here to serve! Whether that is thru the truth, whether that is thru acts of love, whether that is thru sharing very difficult examples of moments in my life… I am here to SERVE as an example to my daughter and all those I meet on this beautiful journey.
Part of my journey has been to understand that unexpected things will and do enter our lives that we believe are here to take us off our journey – but what I understand is that all obstacles are part of the journey and are here to serve a lesson.
Afrolatinos came after I published my first feature article in Urban Latino magazine – what a blessing.
When it arrived… I stopped writing my historical fiction novel… it was put on hold… the amazing thing was that every country I intended to write about in my novel... I ACTUALLY have had the opportunity to visit during filming the documentary.
AMAZING!!!!
Coincidence?
I don’t believe in coincidences.
I know that everything happens for a reason.
In between filming I decided I wanted to write a play. Which I completed in some insane amount of time… I finished a first draft in February 2010 which I put to the side after working on it a few weeks… I picked it up again in April of the same year…I had the final draft completed in June 2010… my first play titled, I WAS BORN~
It was ON…………
Then something new appeared to me on this journey… it came from my character LIA from the play… Lia – who is really me…. Her story was one I was trying to ignore… I thought I could get away with writing a beautiful story of women I have met in the journey without really showing myself. I ignored Lia’s story… she wanted her story out! My story!!!
Which brings me to today - - I am being called to write my memoir… my story… that I have been writing since 2006 without my even knowing it.
And so, now I am going to sit and finish it… with your help~
Please check out my kickstarter page… if you aren’t able to help with a donation… its all good… your LOVE, support and prayers are ALL I need~ but do share it with the universe… all things are possible…
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/iwasborntheplay/finding-your-force-a-journey-to-love?ref=live
“What you still need to know is this: before a dream is realized, the Soul of the World tests everything that was learned along the way. It does this not because it is evil, but so that we can, in addition to realizing our dreams, master the lessons we’ve learned as we’ve moved toward that dream. That’s the point at which, as we say in the language of the desert, one ‘dies of thirst just when the palm trees have appeared on the horizon.’ Every search begins with beginner’s luck. And every search ends with the victor’s being severely tested.” From the Alchemist~
Thank you for helping me realize my personal legend~

Peace, light and LOVE~
Alicia

--
Alicia Anabel Santos is writer/co-producer of Creador Pictures, LLC.

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

To my PRSUN readers

PRSUN blog readers, I haven't forgotten you.

This year PRSUN has decided to become more involved in offline community events. Since October, I have been leading and organizing networking events as part of a group I started called The Bronx Entrepreneurs and Business Network. BEBN is an independent grassroots networking group for, by and about Bronx entrepreneurs. To find out more about our networking group, look for BEBN on Facebook or LinkedIn or follow @bxbiz on Twitter. Here is PRSUN's upcoming event.


This is a free event. If you are in the NYC area on Feb. 23rd, you are welcome to join us at this networking event for Bronx business professionals. To RSVP, go to http://bxbiznet.eventbrite.com.

As for PRSUN, join our business page on Facebook, our group on LinkedIn or follow @prsun at Twitter. For now, I am posting PRSUN updates there.

Thank you for your ongoing support.

Sunday, February 06, 2011

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Puerto Ricans in the US and the 2010 Census: 100 years and still counting ... a reflection

Commentary
By Victor Vázquez-Hernández

In the closing days of 2010, the U.S. Census Bureau began to release the data collected earlier this year. For Puerto Ricans in the Diaspora (US-based), the 2010 census has a particular historical meaning --- it marks the 100th anniversary since the first US Census, back in 1910, started counting Puerto Ricans as a separate group. It would be a good time for our community to take stock of where we are and how far we have come in one century. For the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights (NCPRR), which will be hosting its 9th National Puerto Rican Convention in Miami on October 7-9, 2011, these new data present us with the opportunity to put together a status report on Puerto Ricans in the U.S..

What will the data from the 2010 Census tell us? What long-term comparisons can we make about our presence in the US? Puerto Ricans were present in the US since before 1910, and have been here, in some cities in particular, for some five generations. What will the Census tell us about how we fare compared to other migrant/immigrant groups in the U.S.? These will be important questions to ponder as we struggle to make sense of the Census data and what it tells us about our communities stateside and, if recent data is any indication, the results of the 2010 Census are going to be a mix bag for us.

On the one hand, the data already released confirms what Angelo Falcón, President of the National Institute for Latino Policy told us back in 2004: there are now more Puerto Ricans living in the U.S. than on the Island. The Census also confirms that Puerto Rico lost 2% percent of its population since 2000, a significant loss. We know, at this point, that most of those who left the island have come to live in the U.S., mostly to other Puerto Rican communities. But, we can also see that the Census will confirm that the Puerto Rican Diaspora is, well, more diasporic, i.e., more dispersed. It now appears that Puerto Ricans have followed the general pattern in the U.S. of internal migration from the Northeast and Midwest to points South and Southwest. Florida is now clearly the state with the second largest Puerto Rican population in the country. In addition, states like Texas, Arizona, and California are now among the ten states with the largest Puerto Rican populations in the U.S.


In terms of socio-economic factors, the 2010 Census is likely to reflect some significant gains for Puerto Ricans but also some troubling areas as well. Among Puerto Ricans in the U.S., there are probably more college graduates than ever, more homeowners and more who have moved into middle-class status. But these trends are probably going to vary from region to region. For instance, in terms of education, recent studies conducted in Philadelphia and New York City have found that Puerto Rican youth are graduating high schools at a 50% rate. In those cities, Puerto Rican youth are being outperformed even by newer immigrant groups, namely Dominicans and Mexicans. And while Puerto Ricans made national news with the appointment of Sonia Sotomayor, a second-generation Puerto Rican from the Bronx to the US Supreme Court, and José Acaba, the first boricua astronaut in outer space, there are disproportionately more young Puerto Ricans incarcerated than in college.


So, while we have much to celebrate and contemplate after 100 years of Census data, it's time to take serious stock and determine where we go from here. For its part, the NCPRR will convene a working group to produce this status report and calls upon anyone interested in participating to contact us. We also invite everyone to attend the convention in Miami where the report will be made public and call upon our communities to engage in a conversation about ... "¿dónde estamos y hacia dónde vamos?" (Where are we and where are we heading?).


Let the conversation begin.


Victor Vázquez-Hernández, PhD is President of the National Congress for Puerto Rican Rights (NCPRR) and an Associate Professor of History at Miami Dade College. He is co-editor of The Puerto Rican Diaspora: Historical Perspectives (2005). Dr. Vázquez-Hernández can be reached at vvazquez(at)mdc.edu

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Have a Merry Christmas

Thank you Puerto Rico Sun readers, visitors, advertisers, supporters...Have a Merry Christmas. PRSUN is going on Christmas break.

(photo by Clarisel Gonzalez)

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Come join us at the Mott Haven slideATHON in the Bronx

Tomorrow I am participating in the Mott Haven slideATHON, a showcase of Bronx artists. I will share some of my Bronx images. I selected the photos to display with the feedback of my followers of my photo page at Facebook.

The slideATHON will be at the Bruckner Bar & Grill in the Bronx. Admission is free.

For more information about the show, go to http://motthavenartschool.com.

Hope to see you there.