Email this page
Print this page
del.icio.us
digg
yahoo!
CommentsArts and the Latino lifestyle
New report reveals insights, dispels myths about Valley Latinos and the arts
(page 1 of 2)
On the morning of June 18, administrators from most of the Valley’s major art organizations gathered at the
What these representatives from the Phoenix Theater,
Arts, Culture and the Latino Audience is one of the few in-depth studies in any
“Everyone knew the numbers (of Latino population and spending growth),” says Myra Millinger, president of the Maricopa County Partnership for Arts & Culture (MPAC), the organizers of the morning’s presentation.
“This growing and fundamental market continues to be of great interest to the region’s arts and culture community, but it remains one of the least understood. How to develop strategies to move from a market lost to a market opportunity is the impetus for this report.”
Arts, Culture and the Latino Audience is the result of a $150,000 study MPAC commissioned that surveyed 1,200 self-defined Latinos, either through phone interviews or in focus groups. The study was conducted by
The findings confirm what we Latinos have known all along: Latinos love the arts, and attend them with their children, or sometimes leave the kids at home for an adults arts night out. They also attend or have interest in a wide diversity of arts, and not only Hispanic culture.
The report also reveals that Spanish-speaking, bilingual and English-dominant Latinos spend $118 million annually on arts events. The analysis informs that amount has the potential to triple.
The Latino Audience provides insights and dispels myths about Latinos, defines barriers, displays dig-down analysis of the complex Latino market segments, and offers recommendations on how to market to Latinos in a culturally sensitive way.
What this unique study means to Latinos in the Valley is that mainstream arts groups like the Phoenix Symphony,
“It’s interesting how you need a formal presentation like this to open your eyes to the reality that’s all around you,” says Dan Schay, managing director of The Phoenix Theatre, of the revelations about Latinos and the arts. “The arts, which see themselves as social leaders, are sometimes a little bit behind everybody else in getting it.”
Schay says if used properly, this first-of-a-kind report could benefit the bottom line of organizations like his, and boost future growth.
Reader Comments:
Soy una latina viviendo en Phoenix Arizona he experimentado en carne propia las barreras del idioma y los problemas interculturales. Pienso que los latinos somos una fuerza en este pais y solamente unidos podremos progresar.
That is true, si no aprenden ingles, puede ser una barrera pero hay mucha gente que han aprendido ingles y son bilingue. Hay muchos anglo saxones que han aprendido espanol, por interes a la cultura.....Many have to learn English in order to communicate in this country, but at the same time many English speakers have had a desire to learn Spanish due to the proximity to Mexico and the cultural flavor here in Arizona. As a college English instructor, I found that students from foreign countries had a tremendous desire to learn English and succeeded. English is not an easy language by no means. Buena Suerte.