Population creates market

In 1998, when Douglas Neatrour started Radio Omega with his wife, Dalila, their broadcasts were limited to a four-block radius around each of the three transmitters they had in downtown Lebanon.

After the 2000 census numbers came out, Neatrour looked at the number of Hispanics and Latinos in Central Pennsylvania. "I was shocked at the tremendous increase of Latin people," he said. In 2001, Neatrour rented a frequency at WPDC 1600 AM, which allowed him to broadcast salsa, Latin pop and Peruvian pan flute music into Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties.

In Central Pennsylvania, the population of those of Hispanic or Latino origin almost doubled between 1990 and 2000, from 31,000 to 57,000 (See chart on page 16). Even without looking at the numbers, subtle signs of the growing Latin presence in the midstate can be seen - from ethnic restaurants to the Harrisburg Latin music festival to the annual Latin Pride parade in York. In the fall, York will host the first Miss Pennsylvania Latina contest.

Last week, the federal census released estimates confirming that the Hispanic-Latino population has become the dominant minority nationwide. The count for 2001 showed 37 million Hispanics, compared with 36.2 million blacks. In Pennsylvania, the cities have the largest Hispanic populations. But the fastest growing segments - are in Central Pennsylvania areas, such as Lancaster and York, and in the Lehigh Valley.

The reason for the increase in diversity is twofold, according to Latino community leaders and business people. Migrant workers are increasingly settling here instead of returning to their home countries after the harvests. And many Latin professionals are relocating here to get away from big-city traffic and crime.

Moreover, the Latino community is starting to establish itself in government, the community and in business. Benjamin Ramos (see sidebar) could become the first Latino cabinet member in Pennsylvania's history. In York, Carlos Lopez serves as superintendent of York City Schools. Jorge Hidalgo is general manager of vehicle operations for Harley-Davidson Motor Co. in York.

"You see the community maturing in the leadership role," said Daniel Betancourt, chairman of the Pennsylvania Latino Chamber of Commerce in Harrisburg. "Now a lot of individuals have access to resources they may or may not have been aware of."

The chamber has about 100 members statewide, including banks and insurance companies, such as Nationwide Mutual Insurance Co. and State Farm Insurance, that are targeting Latino markets. Membership also includes nonprofits and small businesses.

But the Latino community is still small enough to be overlooked by some businesses. Despite the growth of Latinos here, the community is too small for Radio Omega to get into the radio ratings race, and Neatrour said he is struggling. Neatrour said some businesses seek him out, but just as many don't see a need to spend money on direct advertising to the Latino community.

"They might feel that the market is important, but not that important," he said.

The term Hispanic refers to those who descend or are from Spain or a Spanishspeaking country. The term Latino more directly refers to those who descend or are from countries in Latin America, which includes Cuba, Puerto Rico and countries in Central and South America. Hispanics and Latinos can be any race.

Nationally, Hispanic/Latino-owned businesses employed more than 1.3 million people and generated $186 billion in revenue in 1997, which is 6 percent of all American businesses.

Elizabeth Santiago moved to Lancaster from Puerto Rico 20 years ago. Not only has she seen more people, but businesses seem keen on serving them. Automatic teller machines and phone books offer bilingual instructions. Signs on shops and business cards indicate whether employees can speak Spanish.

"Now you see more," said Santiago, whose family owns Santiago Auto Sales in Lancaster. "Everywhere you go you see they speak Spanish."

Latinos in larger areas, such as New York City and Philadelphia, have found that Central Pennsylvania offers a better quality of life and lower cost of living, said Abe Amoros, director of the department of community development for York city. The low cost of living means low rental rates for shops, which can be enticing to new business owners who don't have a lot of capital. "It's one of the things that we tout," he said.

But low overhead cannot overcome a lack of startup costs. Amoros said the city cannot offer much more than advice and counseling. "The interest has been very good, but in the actual opening up of storefronts, no," he said. "I am encouraged that we have a few college grads looking to open businesses."

Michael Hawthorne is one of those college graduates. He received a bachelor of fine arts in 1998 from Temple University and started a small publishing company in 1999 in York, where he spent most of his childhood. His mother, who is from Puerto Rico, had left New York City for a better life, he said.

Hawthorne worked out of his home, but he became more interested in doing illustrations for comic books. While he does free-lance illustrations, he is researching a business proposal to open a production house, which would do all of the illustration work in-house.

Hawthorne said he has not faced problems in opening his business. "I don't think I've ever come across anyone who has not wanted to work with me," he said.

Latin Voice, a community organization in York, recently won the opportunity to hold the first Miss Pennsylvania Latina contest in York this fall. In the past, contestants for the Miss Latina USA contest entered on their own, said Jeanette Torres, president of Latin Voice, which organizes the Latino parade and quarterly dances. It also is planning York's first Latino Music Festival for summer 2004.

Torres moved to York from a New York City suburb five years ago. She said she wanted to get away from traffic congestion and save money. "I think that's the trend," she said. "A lot of the Latinos that lived in the big cities are moving to the outskirts."

Several days a week the radio station at York College transforms into Radio Caliente and broadcasts Latin music. In Lancaster, the nonprofit Spanish-American Civic Association broadcasts Radio Central. But the only local commercial station that accepts paid advertising is Radio Omega in Lebanon, Neatrour said.

Neatrour is not Hispanic, but his wife is from Panama. He met Dalila when he was in the U.S. Army. Although Dalila works at Waypoint Bank full time, she helps Neatrour translate for the station. Neatrour, who once ran a mainstream station, said he has been surprised at how many businesses have sought him out to place ads, such as McDonald's, State Farm Insurance and Frederick Chevrolet. But some national ad agencies have passed when they found that the demographic here is not comparable to big cities.

"This is not Miami or New York yet," he said. "It's not really a must-buy."

Neatrour said he keeps his advertising rates low for those who aren't sure they want to take a gamble on the Latin market.

Still, he gets frustrated when he solicits businesses and they say they're not interested in reaching Latinos. He doesn't convince them otherwise.

"I just walk out and say, 'Have a nice life,' " he said.

Some Hispanic business people wonder if racism isn't an underlying issue, even if the prejudice isn't overt. Santiago Auto Sales opened 14 months ago and caters to customers with bad credit histories, said Elizabeth Santiago. She said she once ran an unsuccessful auto business, but she wouldn't elaborate. Still, she said she felt that banks took her ethnicity into account when considering her for a loan.

"It just gets to a point where they're pushing you away," she said. "You feel like, 'I can't do this, I can't.' "

Santiago's family eventually got loans and guidance from the Community First Fund, run by Betancourt of the Latino Chamber. Based in Lancaster, the nonprofit fund provides capital and technical assistance to low-income communities in Central Pennsylvania.

"You always get the help you need," Santiago said. "They're always there."

Attorney David Lopez said he didn't experience problems setting up the Law Offices of LopezNeuharth with colleague Aaron Neuharth in Carlisle in December. He did encounter racism when he was looking for an apartment after moving from California in 1996. He had no problems when he called landlords and said he was a law student at Dickinson College. But when he and his wife showed up, several landlords tried to discourage him from renting or directed them to a poor section in town.

"One lady spent 15 minutes telling us how bad the apartment was ... how none of the appliances worked," he said. "I was not the David they were expecting."

Lopez, who is fluent in Spanish, said he has just started advertising on Radio Omega and has gotten some Spanishspeaking clients. Since he moved to Central Pennsylvania, he has seen more Latinos in the area and more Latino-owned businesses, such as restaurants, he said. He said he still gets followed around stores and people sometimes assume he can't afford things. To fight the stereotypes, he said he is going to try to be active in the community. "I'm trying to change opinion and perceptions by being a good citizen," he said.

Population creates market

In 1998, when Douglas Neatrour started Radio Omega with his wife, Dalila, their broadcasts were limited to a four-block radius around each of the three transmitters they had in downtown Lebanon.

After the 2000 census numbers came out, Neatrour looked at the number of Hispanics and Latinos in Central Pennsylvania. "I was shocked at the tremendous increase of Latin people," he said. In 2001, Neatrour rented a frequency at WPDC 1600 AM, which allowed him to broadcast salsa, Latin pop and Peruvian pan flute music into Dauphin, Lancaster, Lebanon and York counties.

In Central Pennsylvania, the population of those of Hispanic or Latino origin almost doubled between 1990 and 2000, …