Diabetes, Latinos and the Supreme Court… who knew?

Readers: This post is contributed by Melissa Duque, Hispanic marketing intern at Conexión Marketing.

Opponents of Sonia Sotomayor have found another reason to not want her as the first Latina Supreme Court Judge: She has diabetes. In a world where we are constantly improving treatments for health problems, it’s interesting that people can find this as a deterrent.
If appointed Sonia Sotomayor wouldn’t just be the first Latina Supreme Court Judge, she would also be the first Diabetic Supreme Court Judge. The controversy between diabetes and Sotomayor and her ability to be a Supreme Court Justice has brought awareness to all those living with diabetes.

“Type 1 Diabetes is a disorder in which the immune system destroys the body’s insulin-producing beta cells,” according to the Seattle Times editorial Diabetes no reason to reject Sotomayor by Irl B. Hirsch and James S. Hirsch. “Improvements in care have sharply reduced the risk of complications.”

All this talk has to be more than just about the First Diabetic or Latina Supreme Court Judge. It needs to be about how diabetes affects Americans and how those with Type 1 diabetes are living with it.

According to Dr. Sonia Hernandez from Community Health Center of Snohomish County, anyone not of Anglo-American descent has a much higher propensity for diabetes. We need to look then at why Latinos and other ethnic groups have a higher susceptibility to the disease and what to do about it.

The silver lining to all this debate about Sotomayor and her diabetes is that diabetes is now on the forefront of people’s mind. Hopefully this increase in attention will help those who may not have had access or knowledge to be able to find the right tools in better understanding the disorder and how to treat it.

Ke Buena (1210 AM) radio will feature a show this Sunday discussing Latinos and Diabetes, the causes of the disorder, and how to take back control. The show is called Información es salud con Community Health Plan, and it airs 6:30 – 7 on Sunday evenings.

Join this Sunday as Dr. Hernandez discusses diabetes with Host Gigi Basaure.

Tonight on Ke Buena 6:30-7pm

Ke Buena (1210 AM) is airing a show this evening that will help Seattle-area Latinos better understand how to discuss their headaches with their doctors.

Considering that some people suffer headaches regularly--and most of us don't know how to express that pain to our doctors--this is an enlightening show that shares how different headaches can be, where the pain is coming from, and some tips on avoiding and alleviating them.

Tune in this evening, 6:30-7 to hear Host Gigi Basaure talk with Erica Eickoff, LMP and trained physical therapist.

This is a service brought by Community Health Plan in the interest of helping our Latino community better understand issues around health and safety, and helping improve the overall health of our community.

For more information about Community Health Plan, visit the organization's multilingual site.

*NEW* Spanish-Language Radio Health Show

This Sunday from 6:30-7pm, tune in to Ke Buena (1210AM) in the Seattle Metropolitan area for the debut of a new Spanish-language program called Información es Salud con Community Health Plan.

This show was created by Community Health Plan of Washington to inform and educate the Latino community on various topics by providing a Q&A format with health providers and educators.

The half-hour program will be hosted by Gigi Basaure, and this Sunday's show will feature interviews with Jorge Madrazo and Jackie Vasquez from Sea Mar Community Health Centers, as well as Adriana Flores as a spokesperson for the local chapter of American Diabetes Association. The topics will include diabetes and nutrition.

Tune in to this new show, and let us know your thoughts!

The Sounders FC put Seattle on the map!

The brand-new Sounders FC team starts its season one week from today!


Exciting stuff! At Market to the Max yesterday, we learned from keynote speaker Adrian Hanauer that the club executives had made group decisions on everything from uniform color (check out the "rave green"!), to sponsor (Microsoft XBOX 360), to a marching band (Drew Carey's idea), to the fact that this will be known as the high-tech soccer club.

The best part? The focus has truly been on getting world-class players on the field.

In fact, I asked Adrian at the event about all the soccer fans in this region who happen to be Latino. "There are about 100 Hispanic soccer teams in the Greater Seattle Area, and I know that Seattle Sounders had been reaching out to Latinos. How is Sounders FC accomplishing that?" I asked.

The answer really impressed me. Besides the fact that they're building a Spanish-language website, that they're working with community members, and the fact that I've seen their print ads etc etc, he added the following (not exactly verbatim):

"A lot of people approach us about this and suggest that, with all the Mexicans here, we should get a Mexican player on the team to draw in that segment. But we know that Latinos are sophisticated soccer fans, and what they want is quality players no matter where they're from. So we're not going to pander to them by including a Mexican player for the sake of including a Mexican player. We're assembling the very best team we can."

And because of that, 21K+ season tickets have already been sold (more than for the Mariners!), for a team that hasn't even played a true game together yet. But they've been busy at practice and are ready to show Seattle what the sport is really about: PASSION!

Check out their site!

OPPORTUNITIES

Ke Buena will be broadcasting every game en español on 1210AM, and KUNS, the local Univision affiliate, is kicking off its weekly Sounders FC en Acción 30-minute recap show. We've been hearing about terrific opportunities to reach Latino soccer fans in the region by partnering with both media outlets; let us know if you'd like to hear more!

Contact us at info@conexion-marketing.com or 206-621-2185

And speaking of local Hispanic media...

The latest NEWSFLASH is that Teresa Jones of KUNS sales fame is expanding into radio! She'll start her new radio show, Entre Nosotras Latinas, on Saturday, March 7. This just so happens to be International Women's Day (not a coincidence)!

Teresa is doing this program to educate, inform and inspire women.

The show will run on Ke Buena 1210AM 9-10am every Saturday, and Teresa's bringing in a former colleague from her Radio Sol days, Diana Elizabeth Fernandez, to spice things up!

Once it gets going, let us know what you think!

Hispanic Business: Salon Grand Opening

Caoba Salon is now open in the La Plaza Shopping Center in Kent at 23229 Pacific Highway S. (Pac. Highway S& Kent-Des Moines Rd). Phone is (206) 824-1434.

This is another venture by the team from Nuevodirectorio.com--Jaime Méndez (yes the Univisión newscaster/Ke Buena DJ!) and our friend Mauricio Ayón, as well as Jack Gamero, seasoned stylist.

Come and check out the new salon at its Grand Opening event this Saturday, January 10th from noon until around 7 pm. The Caoba Salon team invites you to come by (bring a guest!) and say "hello," have a drink and eat some hors d'oeuvres with them!

Enhorabuena, Mauricio, Jaime and Jack!

IT'S OFFICIAL - Ke Buena goes local!

THIS JUST IN: Jaime Méndez and Mario Rodriguez (aka Zuper Mario), both longtime on-air talent over at the former Radio Sol, have been snatched up by Bustos Media's Ke Buena station on 1210 AM. This marks the first local venture of Bustos Media in our market that I'm aware of, and I am glad to see they're stepping up to the challenge! For so long, these stations have delivered music--and audiences--but their true presence in our market was lacking. This will give their AM station a big boost.

So Jaime's beloved La Voz de Washington community program will resume on Ke Buena, M-F 3-4pm. Zuper Mario will bring back his show including music, entertainment and community interaction (including a unique brand of radio classifieds) from 4-8 each evening.

ON THAT NOTE: Rebecca Lambert of Bustos Media is looking to hire! They're looking for one or two new account executives to support what should be some serious interest from advertisers. Contact her if you'd like more info on this opportunity at rlambert@bustosmedia.com.

Jaime Méndez back on the radiowaves!

It's finally official--starting December 1st, Jaime Méndez will be making his debut on Ke Buena, where he's resuming his La Voz de Washington call-in show 3-4pm weekdays.

Jaime was a DJ with a longtime Radio Sol program until the recent makeover into El Rey, when several of the regulars were taken off the air. He continues as a newscaster on the local Univision affiliate KUNS Northwest news.

We're glad the local and very interactive show will have a place on the radiowaves once again. Following Jaime's show will be Zuper Mario, another unfortunate El Rey casualty. Glad to see you guys back in action!

Let me know if you have any questions about how to get on the air with Jaime or Zuper Mario.