Spanish-first community platform case study
Solano Hispano.
Information, resources and opportunities for Solano County's Spanish speakers, gathered in their own language.
In 2024, Citlalli Flores Zepeda launched Solano Hispano, her own platform, to connect and empower the Spanish-speaking community in Solano County. It isn't a client project. It's our approach to the Hispanic market, applied to our own work.
Reach a Spanish-speaking community
Tell us who you want to reach and what they need from you.
The gap it set out to close
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 31.8% of Solano County residents are Hispanic or Latino. Solano Hispano was inspired by the lack of access to information and resources in Spanish for that community.
Citlalli knows the county well: she started her business there in 2004 and served as President of the Solano Hispanic Chamber of Commerce from 2018 to 2019.
Her goal is bigger than a website: a future where every Spanish speaker in the United States becomes bilingual, self-sufficient and fully integrated into society. Solano Hispano is where it starts, close to home.
Built in Spanish first
Most organizations reach Spanish speakers by translating what they already have. Solano Hispano started the other way around: it was written in Spanish from the start.
Its resources are organized by need, not by agency, and around them sit the pieces that make a community feel alive, from news and events to a directory and Mass schedules in Spanish.
Its motto says what it's for: “Compartiendo tus logros, impulsando tus sueños.” Sharing your achievements, boosting your dreams.
What the platform brings together
A launch timed with Hispanic Heritage Month
Solano Hispano launched on September 15, 2024, the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, a fitting start for a platform that shares resources and celebrates achievements.
It also shows up in person. Its tent at a community celebration lists the topics it covers: news, education, business, health and sports.
What it shows about reaching the Hispanic market
Start with the audience
Begin with the questions Spanish speakers ask, not with documents waiting to be translated.
Organize by need
Name each resource after the help people want, in the words they use.
Celebrate, don't just inform
Achievements, events and culture sit next to the practical resources.
Be present in person
A tent at a community celebration builds a kind of trust a website alone can't.
These are the same principles behind our Hispanic Market Strategy and Community Outreach work for clients, from nonprofits to schools.