Latinos Communications Bridges Language Gap

Marketing company seeks to link business to needs of Hispanic people

by Tracey Currey, Courier-Journal Editor

¿Adonde va una persona hispánica para la ayuda a comprar una casa, a encontrar un trabajo, o aún a comprar alimento – Latinos Communications.

If you can’t read this, you’re not alone – just as thousands of Hispanic people in the area can’t understand English well enough to do what that question asks – where to go for help to buy a house, find a job, or even find food.

The answer for many is a new business called Latinos Communications.

The brainchild of two friends, Camy Sorbello of Palmyra and Rudi Matic of Rochester, Latinos Communications started with the simple idea of connecting businesses and services to an ever-growing Hispanic population.  They found that they are the only marketing company of their kind in Western New York.

“We’re interested in social marketing,” Rudi said.  “We want to use marketing technology to improve society.”

In Wayne County alone, Camy said, there is an influx of some 6000 Spanish-speaking people during the height of the agricultural growing season.

“Many are coming and staying year-round in the county,” she said.  “They’re staying in the county with no urban center.”

“Hispanics are the ethnic population to watch,” she added.

Statistics show that in the Rochester area alone, the number of Spanish-speaking Americans is more than 60,000, up 20 times from the 1970s.  By the year 2050, it is projected that there will be more Hispanic Americans than European Americans.

Rudi compares the rising curve to the Baby Boom.  Speaking like a true marketing mogul, he believes that with current economic transition comes rising change.

“With one click, everything will be different,” he said.  “Spanish culture will be everywhere.”

Right now, he added, the average American of European descent is 39 years old.  By comparison, the average Hispanic American is 26.

“They come from a variety of countries, educational, financial and social backgrounds,” Rudi said.

Urban areas tend to draw people from Puerto Rico, Cuba, South America and the Dominican Republic.  Rural area are favored by those from Mexico and Central America.

With the shift in demographics come the need for goods and services catering to theat population.

Rudi, the son of immigrants, understands the difficulties people who don’t know the language face when they come to the United States. 

The brains behind the business and the marketing end of the new venture, Rudi says he can speak Yugoslavian and some german and Russian, but admits to knowing very little Spanish.

That’s where Camy comes in.

The granddaughter of Sicilian immigrants, she studied languages at the University of Rochester and is fluent in Spanish.

A proponent of aiding migrant farm workers for many years, Camy offers Latinos Communications the cultural and humanitarian aspects needed by those struggling to get by because of the language barrier.

“We have been pleasantly surprised by how well received this has been,” Rudi said.  “People are coming to us.  It’s a good sign.”

Recently, Eric Koesterich, owner of Browncroft Garage in Rochester, utilized Camy and Rudi’s services to create a bi-lingual web site at www.browncroftgarage.com for his customers. 

Latinos Communications has also offered their services pro bono to the Rochester Catholic Diocese’s Migrant Outreach Program.  Camy and Rudi are busy building the Church’s Web site that features bi-lingual information about the Hispanic community in the areas, as well as services catering to Hispanic people.

Their own web site, www.latinoscomm.com, offers services for businesses to reach Hispanic customers.

After startup last fall, Camy and Rudi attended the Rochester Hispanic Business Association Expo at the Convention Center.

“There was a lot of interest expressed by other Hispanic business people,” Camy said.  “And we networked with a variety of local Hispanic enterprises.”

They were also asked to speak about their new services at a marketing class at the Rochester Institute of Technology.

“We’ve gotten inquiries from other companies and have been linked through the Democrat & Chronicle web site to other web sites throughout the world,” Rudi said.  “With the internet, we are able to market across the world.” 

With their motto of “do well and do good,” the duo sees a bright future for their business venture together.

“There’s a lot of potential and little by way of competition in Upstate new York,” Rudi said.  “As our business expands, we hope it is seen as a model agency.  We’re a pioneer organization, and we want to be a good model for other organizations.“

Tracey Currey
Courier-Journal Editor

February 22, 2006