July 18, 2012
Heritage's Israel Ortega, right, leads Heritage's efforts to educate Hispanic Americans about the importance of conservative ideas.
Israel Ortega has made a career out of his two passions: promoting conservative ideas and celebrating his Hispanic heritage.
As The Heritage Foundation’s chief spokesman to Spanish-language news media, Ortega is involved with communicating The Heritage Foundation’s message to America’s fastest-growing minority.
“This is a very impressionable demographic,” says Ortega. “If we don’t reach out to them, they are likely to become open to bigger government. We must focus on this group to advance the conservative movement.”
He reaches out to Hispanic coalitions and members of Congress with Hispanic constituents to ensure that they have access to The Heritage Foundation’s information.
One way to do this is via the influential Spanish-language media, which can often be as biased as the English-language mainstream media. Ortega makes regular appearances on major Spanish radio and television outlets, including Univision, Telemundo, and CNN International. He has also discussed issues (in English) on Fox News and Fox Business.
Ortega also spearheaded development of Heritage Libertad, a website providing Spanish-language versions of Heritage research. Libertad is among the only online sources of conservative content in Spanish, offering a useful counterpoint to media bias on the web.
When traveling the nation to deliver lectures and speeches, Ortega especially enjoys connecting with Hispanics he meets. The American idea is universal, he says, and it’s important that the newest Americans understand conservative principles.
“It’s important to share with these people what makes our country so exceptional and how we can preserve this exceptionalism,” he concludes.
Patty Asplund - July 20, 2012
Fantastic! This is SO needed! I work with Hispanics as an interpreter, and know what they are hearing all the time–and it is not conservative in any way, shape or form. I’ll be getting onto the website mentioned in the article, so I can become familiar with the materials that are ‘out there’ for Hispanics.