Mi Vida as a Planner

My mom grew up in a 20-acre farmland in “Las Pampas de Argentina”, and she often tells me stories about how my grandfather dug his own water well to retrieve water for his family and the household. At barely 5 years old, my mom says she remembers pumping water to take inside for her baths. If you wanted water, she said, you had to work hard at getting it. Every drop mattered, nothing went to waste. In the face of California’s severe drought, it was alarming to see the latest survey findings by ThinkNow Research indicating that Latinos in California lag in awareness of drought mandated water reduction.   In our fourth year of a crippling drought, Governor Brown issued mandatory water cutback across the state that were put into effect on June 1, 2015. According to this survey, while 79% of Latinos have “heard” about the mandatory water reductions, only a mere 16% knew that the reduction in water use is by 25% for California cities. Latinos in the state are also “less likely...

Each year, the U.S. honors the contributions that Latinos have made in the U.S. during Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 th - October 15 th . This is a time for celebrating culture, art, music and achievements of Hispanics. Having worked in the Hispanic advertising industry for the last 15 years, Hispanic Heritage Month has always seemed more of a marketing strategy and a way for companies to use the celebration as a promotional vehicle for their products and services. While I think that it’s important that companies recognize and celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, especially since we are a significant force at 54 million and yield tremendous buying power at $1.2 trillion, I think it’s time Hispanic Heritage Month had a major overhaul and Latinos took over this commemoration. According to a study done by Nielsen, only 30% of Hispanics celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month. With Hispanic Heritage Month just around the corner, I think it’s important to acknowledge and co...