As close associations of Latino actor Danny Trejo, SA Studios offers viewers an intimate look into Danny Trejo. Often cast as a villain or a hard-nosed character, Trejo shows a much softer and compassionate side and stresses the importance of giving back.

Reminds me of something Paul Rodriguez (Sr.) stresses while discussing his son's role model status. He is in a position of being an influencer, which os what I think Danny Trejo is getting at in this clip.

A thought provoking keynote presentation by Ralph Santana CMO of Samsung at this years Ad Age Digital Conference...

Samsung's approach looks for the intersection of a brand's DNA with contemporary cultural trends and values so as to engender culturally relevant approaches. Such an idea, which Samsung calls "culture casting," need mass sensibility, so by utilizing a mix of media platforms, it's possible to begin to target specific audiences accordingly using relevant tools.

This "transmedia" approach gets interesting because it allows for the depth of storytelling to expand into various cultural trends, perhaps even those that we know little about.

If you are able, watch Mr. Santana's video presentation...

Not surprising to hear action sports athletes are signing social media contracts with their sponsors. Makes sense in so many ways.

More than ever, action-sports stars are seen as mediums to reach a coveted generation of consumers. "We want to get video that was shot with our product in as many different places and in front of as many different eyes as possible," said Dan Strickland, director of partnership marketing at Contour HD, a hands-free camera company. "Our athletes are our tools to do that."

Interestingly, looking at broader digital media trends it becomes more apparent that athletes speaking from a culturally relevant perspective are going to become hot commodities for youth brands looking to expand and grow globally.

As we move faster and faster into a world defined by social media interactions, it's worth knowing how Latinos use social media because it reveals a fundamental quality of this generation. Yes, we use Twitter, too, but in a different way. We're not selling a personal brand on reality TV but creating community.

Guess we can't forget the O.G. words of Jean-Jacques Rousseau with regards to The Social Contract.

The heart of the idea of the social contract may be stated simply: Each of us places his person and authority under the supreme direction of the general will, and the group receives each individual as an indivisible part of the whole...

The comments from three-time X Games champ in BMX Park, Daniel Dhers (Venezuela), seems to support the Rousseau statement.

I put my sponsors' products in my tweets once in a while, but I don't want it to look like I'm trying to sell something for somebody. It's more like, 'I'm having trouble staying awake -- good thing I got my Red Bull.

Brilliant! Hopefully most folks realize by now that the mobile technology and urban youth market go hand in hand by now. It's going to be interesting to see how much of an affect apps like TSO will have in growing action sports, in particular the snow and surf categories.

We’re setting the bar as high as we can by signing athletes like P Rod. Riders that aren’t just the best in the world, but that also really want to give hands-on, personal instruction to help riders at all levels progress.

Think about it. When you know little about something these days you seek out information via the Internet. A how-to video app has big implications. Masekela clearly recognizes the power of mobile...

We live in an era where every participant in action sports is used to having access to everything right at their fingertips. And that was the driving force behind the creation of TSO – 24/7 access to instruction from the best riders in the world, all in the palm of your hand.

It's been a long time coming. I've foreseen it for the last 4+ years...

MediaPost recently shared some predictions for 2011 for the U.S. Hispanic market. While none of them really surprised me, the 5th one made me smile.

#5 The Birth of the Hispanic Youth Market

This will be the toughest nut to crack for marketers and advertising professionals of all stripes -- general market, Hispanic, digital, direct response, social media and everything in between. Yet I see Hispanic youth as the biggest marketing opportunity to come out of 2011.

While some marketers may not know where to start. I do, and it begins with the kind of thinking that spawned the M.A.S. Report. Since 2006, Equipo Roca has maintained a sustained effort to use the action sports culture and lifestyle as a source of understanding the population shift affecting the urban youth market.

Charles Bethea of ESPN Action Sports wrote an editorial on the report, and you an see why I'm smiling at the last 2011 prediction.

The report concludes: "Even isolated from the pending results of the upcoming 2010 Census, these statistics already point towards an inevitable 'tipping point' on the horizon. Clearly, the next wave of growth for the snow sports category squarely hinges on demonstrating and growing the value and appeal of the sport to multicultural millennials."

Un vídeo sobre la experiencia de TWSnow en Chile…

Look for the full feature in the February issue.

Julian Arellano explains how Skateboarding is his Guerilla Lifestyle.

Not necessarily going to hear anything you haven't heard already...The difference is that Valdes shares a right here and now point of view - 2011. This is no longer discussion about what the future will look like, rather where the market is at today.

My one knock with Valdes presentation is the choice to highlight marketing efforts aimed at the less acculturated segment, it's especially puzzling considering she mentions the youth factor. I think it would have been more powerful had she ended the conversation around biculturals.

Again, a broader approach centered around biculturals are the case studies that need to be identified. Marketers need to be challenged to think differently about who their customer is right now. This is why the M.A.S. Report is a unique perspective in the urban & youth lifestyle segments. We wanted to bring an innovative approach lens to the idea of in culture marketing.

Podés ver el Mapa de Pistas Completo directamente haciendo un click en la imagen, o descargarlo haciendo click con el botón derecho del mouse y luego seleccionando "Guardar imagen como...".

Ésta es la montaña donde estaré hacendo snowboard por la próxima semana. El lugar me impresioné mucho. Tiene un poco de todo, el terreno es grande y el ambiente muy padre...

This is the mountain I'll be snowboarding at for the next week. The place has impressed me. It has a little of everything, the terrain is big and the atmosphere is cool...