<table> </table> Ever since their inception in 1996, the Wizards have tried to attract Kansas City&#8217;s Latino community to their games with varying degrees of success.</p><p>&#8220;I think it&#8217;s a process,&#8221; said Leo Prieto, the Wizards&#8217; director of Latino relations. &#8220;In the past (reaching out to the Latino community) was one of those things that was done every now and then.</p><p>&#8220;The difference now is, it&#8217;s a priority.&#8221;</p><p>The latest effort in that process occurred this week with what the Wizards called their first Latino barnstorming tour. Coach Curt Onalfo and four of his Spanish-speaking players, goalkeeper Kevin Hartman, Kurt Morsink, Roger Espinoza and Ivan Trujillo, spoke to fans, current or prospective, had pictures taken and signed autographs at three locations in the Latino community.</p><p>&#8220;I think this kind of thing is good,&#8221; Onalfo said. &#8220;Like anything, it&#8217;s a process. We need to continue building relationships, and then it&#8217;s up to us to put out a product that people want to come out and see.&#8221;</p><p>Onalfo and the players are hoping many of the Latinos they visited with Wednesday come to CommunityAmerica starting at 7 tonight, when the Wizards play host to Chivas USA, which is owned by Chivas de Guadalajara, one of the most popular clubs in Mexico.</p><p>The Wizards&#8217; success in attracting Latino soccer fans has been mixed.</p><p>The Wizards have played exhibitions against several Mexican club teams &#8212; from Veracruz in 1997 to Santos Laguna and Monarcas Morelia in 2002. None was made memorable by large crowds. A Champions&#8217; Cup match against Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa in 2005 drew just 1,207.</p><p>The fickle nature of the Latino soccer audience was personified by two recent Wizards home games. Attendance at a July 11 exhibition game against the Wizards&#8217; sister club, Atlas AC, was announced at 7,061.</p><p>But 16 days later, Latino fans flocked in droves to see the Chicago Fire, featuring Mexican superstar Cuauhtemoc Blanco, take on the Wizards. The game sold out early in the day, and many fans were turned away. During the game, dozens of fans could be seen standing on their cars in an adjacent parking lot, craning their necks to get a peek at Blanco.</p><p>As the Wizards barnstorming tour made its three stops, the inroads the team has made, and the remaining challenges, were visible.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">Guadalupe Center, 1-2:30 p.m.</span></strong></p><p>Hit the kids.</p><p>Not literally, of course, but any promotion of a professional sports team typically starts with the kids. Get them to relate to the players as heroes and idols, and they&#8217;re the first to run to their parents and say, &#8220;Take me to a game.&#8221;</p><p>The Wizards were a hit with a group of about 200 youths at the Guadalupe Center southwest of downtown. Especially Morsink, who spoke with the kids about the privileges of being bilingual, the importance of education, and even brought a couple of volunteers on stage to teach a couple soccer tricks.</p><p>&#8220;Every year, the Wizards have made greater and greater strides to get the Latino community involved,&#8221; said Ricky Olivares, youth development manager of the Alta Vista Charter School and Guadalupe Center, who lamented the fact that the club traded away its two Mexican-American players, Nick Garcia and Jos&#233; Burciaga Jr., during the offseason.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m glad to see them making strides but sad to see Nick and Jos&#233; go,&#8221; Olivares said.</p><p>Signing players like Argentinean star Claudio Lopez, who played part of his career with Mexican mega-club Club America, helps.