Freddie, Lenders to Launch Telenovela

Freddie Mac has announced the forthcoming telecast in Miami, Phoenix, and several Texas cities of Nuestro Barrio (Our Neighborhood), a homeownership-themed Spanish-language TV miniseries about Hispanic life in the United States.The 13-episode telenovela will "subtly" educate viewers on issues such as money management, credit, homeownership, and predatory lending, which are "played out against the traditional novela (soap opera) themes of romance, jealousy, greed, and conflict," Freddie Mac said. Collaborating with Freddie are Bank of America and Bank of Texas Mortgage, which will advertise on the series. The Community Reinvestment Association of North Carolina, a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization, produced Nuestro Barrio, and Freddie Mac funded the production. The series will be shown beginning Sept. 27 in Austin, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, San Antonio, and Phoenix; and Oct. 1 in Miami/Fort Lauderdale. "Educational telenovelas are a unique way to reach the growing Hispanic marketplace with accurate information and to help close the homeownership gap," said Paul Mullings, senior vice president of Freddie Mac. Freddie can be found online at http://www.freddiemac.com.