PLAYBOY GOES SPANISH IN 20 U.S. MARKETS.

Byline: Enrique Rivero Daily News Staff Writer

Now Playboy speaks Spanish.

This month ``Playboy, Un Estilo De Vida'' hits newsstands in the 20 largest Latino markets across the nation. Far from being a mere translation of the hugely popular English-language men's magazine, the Spanish version will contain articles - and models - aimed to attract middle- to upper-class Latino readers in the United States.

It is essentially the same magazine as Playboy Mexico, published in that country for 20 years by Mexico City-based Editorial Caballero SA under an agreement with Playboy Enterprises Inc. Playboy, Un Estilo De Vida (or ``Playboy, A Lifestyle'') will be published in the United States by Pasadena-based Grupo Siete International Inc. under an arrangement with Editorial Caballero.

``The difference is that we have improved the quality of the magazine and we targeted it to Hispanics in general, with Hispanic issues,'' said Martha Alicia Paramo, director of operations for Grupo Siete. ``It's not at all a translation of the English version of Playboy. We will take any (of their) articles that are of interest to our readers, if there are any, and either translate them or edit them into Spanish.

``But our magazine is original.''

Editorial content will be the same in the Mexico and United States editions of Playboy, Un Estilo De Vida. Only the advertising will be different for each country's editions.

Though each issue of the publication must be OK'd by Playboy Enterprises, the publisher of the 3.1 million circulation Playboy will otherwise retain a hands-off policy, under the assumption that Grupo Siete knows what its readers want, said Bill Farley, director of communications with Playboy Enterprises in Los Angeles.

``What that audience looks for is different from what the mainstream Anglo reader looks for,'' Farley said.

According to Paramo, census figures show that about 44 percent of Latino households in the United States are middle-income homes, with annual incomes ranging from $30,000 to $120,000.

Close to 100,000 copies are being distributed in the 20 markets, with a concentration in the Los Angeles, Miami, Chicago, New York and Houston areas. The magazine has a cover price of $3.95; subscriptions cost $34.95 per year.

The goal is to reach 225,000 circulation in those markets, and plans are to eventually distribute the magazine in other parts of Latin America. ``Anywhere where we can publish it in Spanish,'' Paramo said.