MINNESOTA'S HISPANIC MARKET GROWS ALONG WITH POPULATION
by Art Hughes, Minnesota Public Radio

Estimates by the Minnesota demographer's office indicate a Latino population of 175,000 in the state, compared with a count of 143,000 by the U.S. Census four years ago. The growing Latino population is one of the reasons for Mexican President Vicente Fox's visit to Minnesota. As the Hispanic population grows, so does their economic power--estimated by marketing experts at more than $3 billion. New restaurants and service businesses catering to Mexican, Central American, Cuban and other Spanish-speaking residents continue to pop up all over the state. And there's also a growing number of firms hoping to teach other businesses how to tap into the Hispanic market.

Minneapolis, Minn. — With a head for numbers and fluency with both Spanish and English, Rudy Trujillo recognized the burgeoning Hispanic market early.

"I saw a need, that the Latino community was being underserved at that time," Trujillo said. "Being from Texas and being totally bilingual and bi-cultural I started the business."

Trujillo's Tax Service started 10 years ago when there were only four or five Latino owned businesses along Lake Street. Now, there are more than 300. Trujillo provides a wide variety of services the sum of which don't seem to have a parallel in the non-Hispanic world. In addition to preparing taxes, his staff facilitate real estate translations, process mortgage loans and provide Spanish translations for any document. The office buzzes with customers waiting under a large, bronze-framed painting of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Trujillo said the business future looks strong.

I don't think it's going to slow down," Trujillo predicted. "In fact I think it's going to go the other way. There will be more and more Latinos coming into the United States."

The University of Georgia's Selig Center for Economic Growth estimates the combined buying potential of Minnesota's Latinos at $3.1 billion. That's nearly $20,000 for every Hispanic man, woman and child. The center predicts the number will double in the next 10 years.

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