In a move to raise awareness of the 2010 Census and
underscore the growing influence of U.S. Latinos, bilingual cable network Mun2
has tapped a series of prominent Latinos to be featured on documentary series The New America.
The one-hour special, to air in English, will premiere April
17 at 3:30 p.m. Co-producer is Mimi
Valdes Ryan, editor in chief of Latina,
and Anjelah Johnson, an actor/comedian of Mexican and Native American descent,
will co-host.
The New America seeks
to highlight the changing face of the United
States, but it does so by letting Latinos do
it themselves through their own voices as entertainers, communicators, surgeons
or football players.
"We wanted to tell stories of Latinos from all walks of life
and show our impact on society and culture," Jacqueline Hernandez, Telemundo's chief
operating officer, told Hispanic TV
Update. In addition to movie and television figures such as John Leguizamo,
Jencarlos Canela and Maria Celeste Arraras, the special will feature U.S.
Hispanics in the areas of sports, politics and food.
Also featured are Tony Gonzalez, tight end of the National
Football League's Atlanta Falcons, and American
Idol season-8 contestant Allison Iraheta. The idea, said Hernández, originated
during the client-development meetings Mun2 held around the 2010-11 upfronts
and is consistent with the channel's repositioning as "uniquely American."
This news special is the centerpiece of a longer multiplatform
campaign expected to extend to other properties. It is also part of Mun2's " 'You're
On' Experience," which encourages viewers to submit their own American stories
on holamun2.com/america.
In an unusual move for a top TV executive, Hernandez this month took the stage as moderator of a conversation with
writer/producer Franc Reyes and actor John Leguizamo. The candid and sometimes-heated
conversation took place at New York City's Harvard Club during the New
Generation Latino Consortium (NGLC) conference, a one-day event that gathered
Hispanic marketers, advertisers and media properties targeting so-called new-generation
Latinos -- bilingual, acculturated and ethnically aware Latinos who constitute
an important part of Mun2's audience. Mun2 was also a presenting sponsor of
NGLC.
Hernandez and Telemundo have been active promoters of the
U.S. Census. Current Census Bureau figures place the number of U.S. Hispanics
at 50 million (or 15% of the population), but that is expected to hit 30% in
2050.
