Two For Tuesday: Oktoberfest with a Latin American Flair

As October enters the home stretch and Halloween pulls into view, we here at The San Jose Group hope that you’ve had the opportunity to drink plenty of beer in honor of that other beloved October tradition – the German beer celebration known as Oktoberfest, which originated in Munich. Throughout the month, bars, breweries, cities […]

Two for Tuesday: Consumer Goods You Didn’t Know Were Made in Latin America

“Made in China.” Sound all too familiar? China usually comes to mind when thinking of outsourced manufacturing. The Chinese manufacture and export everything from shoes to personal computers. However, Latin America is quickly becoming the next big market to watch out for, as their growing labor force is creating a booming industry in areas such as retail […]

Throwback Thursday: Why Brazil Speaks Portuguese

Even though Brazil is the largest country in South America (the continent where Spanish is the most common language), it is the only country in the continent where Portuguese is the national language. The explorations of Christopher Columbus did play a role in this language idiosyncrasy, but we can’t give Chris all of the credit. […]

Wisdom.Applied Wednesday: Sports in South America

Everybody knows that soccer, or better “futbol,” is the most popular sport in Latin America (and the world). About 3.2 billion people watched at least a minute of the World Cup in 2010. The truth is Latin Americans are fans of more than just soccer. Other common sports like baseball, basketball and volleyball are also very […]

Two for Tuesday: Two Stand-Out CPG Brands in Latin America

The average person uses Consumer Packaged Goods (CPGs) every day from food and beverages to clothing. But brands know all too well how easy consumers to switch between CPG brands; the CPG market is a highly saturated and competitive market. To stand out, brands must adapt to the ever-changing consumer landscape. For example, the middle class population of Latin America […]

Funny Friday: Fun Dinosaur Facts

A few weeks ago, a group of scientists in southern Brazil discovered a large number of fossil remains of a new dinosaur species. The newfound species has been given the name Caijuajara dobruskii and belonged to an order of winged creatures known as pterosaurs that lived about 100 million years ago. More informally, the new […]

Wisdom.Applied Wednesday: Brazil’s Economy 101

If you remember, the 2014 World Cup was held in Brazil earlier this summer, but did you know Brazil has the largest economy in Latin America and the seventh largest in the world? At least they do measured by their Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which according to the CIA’s World Factbook was $2.19 trillion USD in 2013. It’s […]

Trending News Monday: World Cup in the Record Books

Yesterday, Germany wrote their way into the history books, defeating Argentina in extra time. While LeBron James announced his decision to return to Cleveland, the Bulls welcomed Pau Gasol and Nike’s Jordan Brand tipped a hat to Derek Jeter, World Cup brand partners were happy to discover that the 2014 FIFA World Cup far surpassed any […]

Wisdom.Applied Wednesday: World Cup Under The Influence

Mostly every sports fanatic (21 and over that is) has experienced the bittersweet feeling of enjoying a cold, alcoholic beverage at their favorite sporting event; but for Brazilian soccer fans, this World Cup is the first time in eleven years they will be able to purchase alcohol in the stadiums and cheer on their national […]

Two for Tuesday: Technology in Latin America

If the World Cup is doing one thing outside the sports arena, it’s showing that the web is alive and well in South America. Latin America is one area that has seen tremendous growth in gaining access to the Internet. Most of this growth is through the increased reach of mobile phone technology. In 2012, 98% […]

Trending World Cup News Monday

While the Spurs may have cut the grudge-match NBA Finals short yesterday, defeating the Heat 104 to 87, the 2014 FIFA World Cup is just getting started. Group play is underway, with Groups G and H getting their first group games in over the next two days. Thus far, the tournament has spawned surprises both on […]

Throwback Thursday: World Cup Anthems

With Brazil and Croatia’s kickoff earlier today, the 2014 FIFA World Cup is officially underway. As I’m writing for a largely American audience, I’m just sensing a “why should I care” response—especially since baseball is in full swing and the NBA and Stanley Cup Finals are both well underway. In that light, let me just […]