A happy niche

At 1-year mark, "Iguana Magazine" still tickles kids’ Spanish fancy
By Georgann Yara

When Christianne Meneses Jacobs found her dream of creating a Spanish children’s magazine could quickly become reality, she was happy. But it wasn’t exactly a laughing matter between herself and husband Marc.

More than a year of research culminated in a sample of Iguana Magazine in the summer of 2004. Although they brought it to trade shows in Arizona, Los Angeles and Miami, Fla., "just to test the market," the Jacobs remained grounded, and didn’t take their project too seriously.
More than 100 e-mails from people all over the world wanting to write for or subscribe to the magazine, however, changed that.

" We thought, wow, people really like this idea. This is real. This is not a joke anymore," Jacobs recalls with a laugh. Any doubts or private jesting about their ability to run a magazine disappeared with the support of strangers.

WIDESPREAD READERSHIP
Iguana Magazine celebrated it’s one-year anniversary last month. Jacobs has seen her subscription list grow from 50 to more than 650 paid subscribers from as far as Puerto Rico. The magazine ends up in mailboxes nationwide, from large cities to small towns like Walla Walla, Wash.

" It goes to places that I had no idea there was a big Latino population," she says.

With her husband as Iguana’s creative art director, the Scottsdale mother of two and Garfield Elementary School teacher has launched a publication that is geared toward children ages 7 to 12. It is available in both bookstores and classrooms.

Iguana was born not too long after the birth of her oldest daughter, now 4, as she started to embrace books. While there were children’s books translated into Spanish, Jacobs, a native of Nicaragua, was disappointed and frustrated over the lack of original children’s Spanish literature.
What’s that saying about necessity and invention?

" We looked at each other and said, ‘Hey, why don’t we create this magazine?’ Jacobs says.
With college degrees in government and international relations and filmmaking, respectively, Jacobs and her husband jumped into the project, although neither of them had experience in the publishing field.

" We learned by doing it," she says.

WORKING WITH EXPERTS
To ensure Iguana is pleasing its target audience, Jacobs runs each article by a children’s panel representing different age groups. The ones that get everyone’s seal of approval make it into the magazine. The magazine runs on the Jacobs’ personal savings account and revenue generated from subscription sales. Their research showed that the more respected children’s magazines do not have ads, so Iguana has no paid advertisements; Jacobs intends to keep it that way but would welcome a sponsor.

After one year, the magazine’s renewal rate is 90 percent. The typical subscriber is a parent who wants to read to their child in Spanish, or wants him or her to continue fluency - parents just like her.
" They have realized we live in a global economy, one in which keeping the language will benefit kids in the future. Jobs of the future will require bilingual skills," Jacobs said.

" It’s exciting to know people find it interesting and find it useful."

For information about Iguana, visit www.iguanamagazine.com or pick up a copy at Changing Hands Bookstore, 6428 S McClintock Drive, Tempe.

© 2006 Latino Perspectives Media, LLC. Impreso con autorización.

<regresar>