The crisis in the U.S. auto industry is among the many serious challenges facing Michigan’s economy. People are moving out of Michigan at a higher rate than any state in the nation, and at 8.5 percent Michigan has the highest average annual unemployment rate in the U.S.  Despite these trends, business in the state’s Hispanic community is flourishing.

Feet In Two Worlds‘ Martina Guzman reported on Detroit’s thriving Latino businesses in a piece that aired on WDET, Detroit Public Radio.

Guzman compared some Motown neighborhoods where “buildings designed by world famous architects” are “now abandoned” to the city’s Mexicantown where “historic buildings have been renovated. There are ethnic grocery stores, bakeries, restaurants, shops and a bustling main street.”

She added,

As the national economic crisis deepens and the state faces the loss of thousands more manufacturing jobs, Metro Detroit’s Latino business community may be a ray of hope on Michigan’s bleak economic landscape.

You can hear Martina’s piece by pressing play or you can visit WDET’s page here.

[audio:http://wdet.org/audio/articles/HispanicBiz.mp3]

“Millions of Latino voters…are being targeted like never before on the Web, in radio, television and print. Campaigns are hiring strategists, media consultants and recruiting Latinos for the ground war.”

Eleven million Latinos are expected to vote in this year’s presidential election (60% more than in the 2004 elections), and 3 million of them are young voters.

Many media outlets have focused on the emerging Latino vote; but most news coverage has lumped Latino voters of all ages and types together into one category.

In her radio feature that aired on August 18 on WNYC in New York, Feet in 2 Worlds journalist Martina Guzmán examines how the Presidential campaigns are increasingly tailoring their outreach to subsets of Latino voters: a large and diverse electorate that has displayed a spectrum of responses to the candidates’ multi-million dollar ad campaigns.

The Obama campaign has been heavily targeting young Latinos through social networking sites like MiGente – the Latino equivalent of FaceBook. One of the most popular links is a to a video called Podemos Con Obama.  According to the William C. Velasquez institute, 50 thousand young eligible Latinos turn 18 every month, and from 2000 to 2004 Latino youth turnout increased by 13 percent.

Although the numbers are high, some consultants argue that the youth vote is unreliable. “This country is changing and young Latino voters are very excited but historically we don’t know if they turnout,” said Republican strategists Leslie Sanchez. Meanwhile the McCain campaign is reaching out to other segments of the Hispanic community such as Latino military families. They are running a television ad called God’s Children in Colorado, New Mexico, and Nevada. That ad pays homage to Latino veterans and soldiers who are currently fighting in Iraq.

Guzmán reports on how the presidential candidates are crafting sophisticated messaging toward Latinos in the 2008 presidential election. Her story aired this morning during Morning Edition on WNYC, New York Public Radio. Click here to listen online.

Feet in Two Worlds reporter Martina Guzmán profiled Rashida Tlaib, a Palestinian-American candidate running for state representative in a primarily Latino district in southwest Detroit, for WDET, Detroit Public Radio.

Martina’s story aired yesterday. You can listen to it by pressing play here:

[audio:http://wdet.org/audio/articles/Tlaib.mp3]

This is the first collaboration between Feet in Two Worlds and WDET, our newest radio partner.

Hispanic women are emerging as a sought-after voting bloc in the 2008 campaign. Like soccer moms, blue-collar workers, and union members, Latinas are increasingly being courted by the Democratic presidential candidates. New York Senator Hillary Clinton, in particular, is making a significant effort to reach out to Latina voters, and a non-partisan group, the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, is conducting a voter registration drive aimed specifically at Latinas.

The growing importance of Hispanic women comes at a time when Latino voters – both men and women – have already demonstrated their pivotal role in primary elections in states including California, Texas, and New Mexico. Latinas are especially important because Hispanic women vote in greater numbers than Hispanic men and their decisions about which candidate to support have considerable influence among their family members, friends, and neighbors.

Feet in Two Worlds reporter Martina Guzmán recently visited Allentown, Pennsylvania, to report on grass-roots efforts to reach out to Latina voters before the Pennsylvania primary. In this Podcast Martina speaks with FI2W executive producer John Rudolph.

[audio:http://www.xrew.com/joceimgs/FI2W/fi2w_martina_0414.mp3]