Hispanics colonized the New World, discovered Florida, fought for the United States in every major war, shaped cities like Miami and Los Angeles and have become a sought-after electorate. But no national museum exists to tell their story exclusively. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Miami, hopes that will change in a few years. She is the lead Republican sponsor of a bill recently passed by Congress that paves the way for the National Museum of the American Latino, the first of its kind. Rep. Xavier Becerra, D-Los Angeles, conceived the idea five years ago.

Hispanics are now the largest ethnic minority in the United States and during the past decade, U.S. Hispanic purchasing power has rapidly increased. This report takes an in depth look at how today's Hispanic Economy is transitioning into an economic power in the U.S. Click here for the executive summary and table of contents!

The Hispanic Business 500 have endured turbulent economic times before, but market conditions proved especially bearish for U.S. Hispanic companies in 2007. Revenues for this year's HB 500 slid backwards 0.6 percent to $36.1 billion. It is the first such dip since 2002, and only the third in the directory's 26-year history. It should come as no surprise that more than 41 percent of CEOs cited market conditions as the top barriers to growth in 2007.