Yesterday, at the Arlington Neighborhood Day Parade, I got a taste of what the future will look like. In actuality, I got a taste of what the PRESENT looks like already -- can you say "Fiesta!?!" That's right, we're talking about hundreds of young, energetic Latino Americans marching in the parade, or should I say dancing in the parade, because that's what they really were doing. Beautiful costumes (can you say "velvet" and short skirts?), loud Spanish music, choreographed dance moves, lots of sweat in the sweltering heat, color color and more color, "bulls" and even "whips!" Nope, this is not your grandfather's neighborhood day parade...and I mean that in the best possible way!What was particularly interesting to me was the stylistic contrast between the Hispanics and the non-Hispanics. Let's sum up: Hispanics -- loads of fun, smiles, cheers, clapping, energy and excitement everytime they passed by. Non-Hispanics -- trudging along in the heat, no music, no costumes, no enthusiasm, no smiles, no cheers, BO-RING!
The boring non-Hispanics included, by the way, the Democratic and Republican political marchers, including some sorry contingents from the local House of Delegates races. I mean, if you're just going to look like you're on the Bataan Death March or the retreat from the Yalu River in the Korean War, why on earth bother to even show up? Do you really think this is going to impress anybody, especially after they've been entertained and awed by the Hispanics' talents and energy? Uh, don't think so.
The other thing that struck me yesterday was the physical distance -- some might call it "segregation" -- between the Latino/Hispanic marchers and the Anglos. I'm not saying this was intentional or anything, but I swear, there must have been a several minute gap between the Hispanics and the Anglos every single time. Also, the political marchers were 99.9% white people, the dancers 99.9% Hispanic. What on earth was THAT all about?
Well hello, hint to my fellow Democrats: sign up a bunch of Latinos, like the ones I saw yesterday, pronto! Encourage them, plead with them, even beg them to march with you, work with you, and become integral, critical parts of your campaigns. Reach out to them, tell them they are not just welcome but also needed and wanted BADLY. Of course, you should do this only if you really mean it. Also, you should do it if you want to: a) increase turnout in a community that hasn't traditionally voted; b) establish "brand loyalty" for the Democrats among this fast-growing segment of the population; c) infuse a jolt of energy and enthusiasm into Democratic politics; d) in general, tap into perhaps the fastest-growing community in Virginia, already over 5% of Virginia's population (and much higher here in northern Virginia); and e) win elections. Now why would you want to do any of THOSE things? Heh.
Here are just a few groups, most of whom marched/danced/partied yesterday in the Arlington parade, who you might want to consider contacting, ASAP:
Alma Boliviana - Caporales
Alma Boliviana - Tinkus
All County Spanish Chorus
Caporales "San Simon" Virginia USA
FFCC Raices De Bolivia
Fraternidad Caporales Santiago De Anzaldo
Fraternidad Cultural Pachamama
Fraternidad Embajadores del Folklore
Fraternindad Folklorica y Cultural Caporales San Simon
Hispanidades
LASA of Washington Lee High School
Virginia Coalition of Latino Agencies and Organizations
Having worked on the Hispanics for Clark/Hispanos con Clark effort, and having spoken extensively with Hispanics who specialize in marketing to Hispanics, I can tell you that to reach Hispanics/Latinos, you need to spend some time and energy, not just put a "About Candidate X en Espa?ol" page on your website and expect Hispanics to just show up and vote for you on election day. According to my Hispanic/Latino marketing friends, the keys are all the things that make this amazing culture unique and fun: music, food, dancing, soccer, fiesta!
Plan specific, Hispanic-oriented events, preferably in conjuntion with the organizations listed above (plus churches and others), advertise on radio and in Spanish language newspapers, print bumper stickers (I can attest that these are VERY popular based on my experiences as a volunteer in the Clark and Kerry campaigns) and other materials in Spanish (i.e., Tim Kaine's bio en Espa?ol), and develop a serious Hispanic outreach program -- led by Hispanics, needless to say -- on your campaign. Do NOT take these people's votes for granted, and do not, NOT, treat them as second-class citizens, which of course they aren't!
The bottom line is that we Democrats need the Hispanic community at least as much, probably a great deal more so, than they need us at this point. So, what are we waiting for? Let's get out there and court them, before a certain OTHER political party, and a certain other gubernatorial campaign, here in the Virginia grabs their votes away.
Why should Hispanics/Latinos support Tim Kaine? Because, as Aida Pachecho said at the first Richmond meeting of Latinos for Kaine the other day, as reported in the Richmond Times Dispatch," "Lo que es importante para la comunidad Latina, es honestidad, integridad, familia y fe, y pensamos que Tim Kaine representa todas estas cualidades" ("What is important for the Latino community is honesty, integrity, family and faith, and we think thatTim Kaine represents all those qualities").
Before Jerry Kilgore launches his own "Hispanics for Kilgore" effort this summer, we need a whole slew of "Latinos for Kaine" chapters cranking up, and we need a lot more Aida Pachechos to lead them. Let's get going -- vamanos! Frankly, there's no time to waste. Just keep reminding yourself, "Juntos, podemos hacerlo; juntos, podemos ganar en noviembre!" ("together, we can do it; together we can win in November!")