Census Uses Telenovela to Reach Hispanics

It may be the first plotline on a soap opera blessed by the United States government: Perla Beltrán, a character in the popular Spanish-language soap opera "Más Sabe el Diablo" ("The Devil Knows Best"), finds a way to turn her life around -- as a recruiter for the United States Census Bureau. It represents only one element of the government's yearlong effort to garner trust among Hispanics, an ethnic group that has been historically wary of the decennial census process. In addition to the typical public service announcements and advertisements, the Census Bureau is helping to compose a remarkable story line featuring the Perla Beltrán character on the telenovela, amid the genre's usual tales of sex scandals, unspeakable illnesses and implausible villains. The coordination between the Census Bureau and the "Diablo" producers at the Telemundo network also strikes some as an unusual intrusion by the government. Although a bureau staff member met with the writer of "Diablo" and provided props for the production, the network's president, Don Browne, said it maintained "total creative independence." Many Americans are unfamiliar with telenovelas like "Diablo," and most efforts to introduce them to English-speaking audiences have flopped. But among Spanish-speaking viewers, the five-nights-a-week dramas are enormously popular, making them a prime way to encourage Hispanics to be counted next year. The message is the same one Census Bureau officials are trying to emphasize at nearly every turn: Do not be afraid to be counted.