Latinos brace for a month of piñatas and plantains

I love September! and not because it is one of the most beautiful months weather-wise in New York City, but because it marks the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month, giving way to a wealth of Hispanic-targeted marketing initiatives and thus lots of fun stuff for bloggers to write about.

And while the official celebration hasn’t even started (Hispanic Heritage Month officially runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15) some just couldn’t wait.

Nescafé, for example, kicked off HHM on Sept. 8, with a special outdoor screening of Cantinflas classic El Padrecito in California. In Philadelphia, meanwhile, the local paper Evening Sun is getting ready for a blast this Saturday when it will celebrate its own Fiesta. “An assortment of Hispanic foods will be served, including roast pork, rice, beans, salsa and tortillas. Dominos Pizza will also be available,” the newspaper editors inform us.

Fox News, for its part, is preparing “Noche Buena en September,” its own take of the celebration, with a special appearance of Chef Don Clark, a.k.a. “The Ambassador of Plantains.”

And last but not least, the University of Central Florida this year is expanding its celebration of “Hispanic culture” by including two countries that were not represented last year: Mexico and Spain.

So fasten your seat belts. It’s going to be a chock full of marketing fun!