Hispanic, as used in the United States, is one of several terms used to categorize U.S. citizens, permanent residents and illegal aliens whose ancestry hails either from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America, or the original settlers of the traditionally Spanish-held Southwestern United States. The term is used as a broad form of classification in the U.S. census, local and federal employment, and numerous business market researches.
In Spain and Spanish-speaking Latin America, Hispano ("Hispanic") is ascribed as indicating a derivation from Spain, her people and culture. It follows the same style of use as Anglo indicates a derivation of England and the English, Hellenic of Greece and the Greeks, or Sino of China and the Chinese. Thus, the Spanish-American War in Spanish is known as "Guerra Hispano-Estadounidense", the "Spanish-German Treaty" as "Tratado Hispano-Alemán", "Spanish America" as Hispanoamérica, etc.
The term is not commonly employed as a generalized indicator of ancestry and/or ethnicity in either Spain or Spanish-speaking Latin America, however, this can be implied depending on the context. When used in this manner, in Spanish-speaking Latin America an Hispano is commonly regarded to be any person whose ancestry and practiced culture both stem, whether in whole or in part, from the people and culture of Spain, to the contrast of the non-Hispanic (non-Spanish descended) populations. In Latin America, when speaking of any given nation's Hispanic population, those who are implied include creoles, mestizos, and mulattos, but excludes indigenous Amerindians, the unmixed descendants of black African slaves, and other more recent non-Spanish immigrants which may now reside in Latin America. In this context, whether or not the excluded groups now use Spanish as their first and only language - as is the case with all blacks, most Amerindians and the great majority of immigrants - does not qualify for Hispanicity, since here the implication is based on more than just linguistic parameters. This use of the term is more so evident in addresses regarding affairs of indigenous and African-descended peoples made by government and minority agencies, where the creole, mestizo, and mulatto collective majority and their culture - which is accredited as the national identity - is distinguished as Hispanic for purposes of contrast to the plight of national minorities.
Although it is not a scientific ethnic indicator, it is used as such in the United States. It is believed to have come into mainstream prominence following its inclusion in a question in the 1980 U.S. Census, which asked people to voluntarily identify if they were of "Spanish/Hispanic origin or descent".
In the mass media and in law enforcement, as well as popular culture, "Hispanic" is often used to physically describe a subject's Race or appearance. In general, Hispanics are assumed to have traits such as dark hair and eyes, and olive or brown skin, and are viewed as physically intermediate between whites and Amerindians or blacks.
A very good example of classic Hispanic features are the Latin Asians or Filipinos, having brown and olive skin, Spanish speaking, and Latin in both culture and demeanor. The Americans through political machinations, military intervention, and, propaganda tried to eradicate Latin influence in Las Islas Filipinas (Philippine Islands) but failed. The Philippines (Filipinas) was a bastion of the Spanish Empire in the Far East, and it would be foolish to assume that more than three centuries of Spanish/Hispanic influence can be eradicated by the Americans in 45 years. At present there is a strong Hispanic orientation in Filipinas specially among the younger generations of Filipinos, rediscovering their Latin roots.To this day, Spanish, Hispanic, or, Latin influence is strong in Filipinas, and no one can refute the fact that Filipinas is a member of Union Latina (www.unilat.org) the international organisation for all Latin people.
Hispanics with mostly Caucasoid or Negroid features may not be recognized as such by many people, despite the ethnic and racial diversity of most Latin American populations. People of Spanish, Latin American, and, Latin Asian ancestry who do not "look Hispanic" may have their ethnic status questioned or even challenged by others.
In the United States, a great proportion of "Hispanics" identify as Mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian), regardless of national origin. This is partly because much of Latin America is of that mixed ancestry, and mestizos constitute majority populations in most Latin American countries. Many other Hispanics may be of unmixed Spanish ancestry, primarily those from Uruguay and Argentina, or mestizos of predominantly Spanish ancestry, not uncommon amongst Costa Ricans and Chileans. Some may also be of unmixed Native American ancestry, many of those from Bolivia, Guatemala, Peru - where they constitute majorities - and a considerable proportion of those from Mexico, while many Hispanics of Dominican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Colombian backgrounds may be Mulatto (mixed European and black African) or of unmixed black African ancestry. The presence of these mentioned races and race-mixes are not country-specific, since they can be found in every Latin American country, whether as larger of smaller proportions of their respective populations.
On occasion the demographics of certain nations may not mirror the demographics of their nationals in the United States. This is the case with Cuban Americans. Most Cuban Americans are of unmixed, or relatively unmixed, Spanish ancestry, despite Cuba being a mulatto/black majority country. The racial disparity between Cubans on the U.S. mainland and those on the island is caused largely by the fact that most emigrants with the means to flee communist Cuba belong to the upper and upper-middle classes; classes which have traditionally been predominantly white.
Additionally, a percentage of U.S. "Hispanics" may have no Spanish ancestry at all, and instead trace their ancestries from other European countries, the Middle East, or even East Asia. Examples of these would include Argentinian and Uruguayan-born Italians (around one third of their countries' populations); Colombian, Ecuadorian, and Mexican-born Lebanese; Cuban, Puerto Rican and Panamanian-born Chinese; Chilean and Paraguayan-born Germans; or Peruvian-born Japanese. However, when they migrate to the United States, the definition as most frequently advocated would consider them Hispanic.
See also: Asian Latino.
Previously Hispanics were commonly referred to as "Spanish-Americans", "Spanish-speaking Americans", and "Spanish-surnamed Americans". These terms, however, proved even more misleading or inaccurate since:
"Latin", when not refering directly and exclusively to the inhabitants of Ancient Rome, refers to any of the people related to, or descended from, the original Latin-speaking Romans, and includes all the Romance language-speaking European nationalities, or European Latin peoples (Portugal, Spain, France, Belgium Wallonia, Italy, Italian and French Switzerland, Romania, and Moldova), including their cultures, and their descendants worldwide. As it is patent, the main criterion here is a linguistic one, since all the nationalities and cultures do not constitute an homogenous entity.
"Hispanic", on the other hand, specifically refers to Spain, and to the Spanish-speaking nations of the Americas as cultural and demographic extensions of Spain.
Meanwhile, Latinos are only those from the countries of Latin America, whether Spanish or Portuguese-speaking, though in the latter case, not so frequently and with some ambiguities.
The confusion that arises is from the similarity between the words Latino and Latin, and between the concept of Hispanic and Latino. Latino is a shortened version of the Spanish noun latinoamericano and is used for the inhabitants of Latinoamérica (Latin America). In the Spanish language "Latín" (Latin) is the name of the language of the Romans, and as such is not confined solely to Hispanics and Latinos.
Thus, of a group consisting of a Brazilian, a Colombian, a Mexican, a Spaniard, and a Romanian; the Brazilian, Colombian, and Mexican would all be Latinos, but not the Spaniard or the Romanian, since neither Spain nor Romania are geographically situated in Latin America. Conversely, the Colombian, Mexican and Spaniard would all be Hispanics, but not the Brazilian or the Romanian, since Brazil was conquered and founded by the Portuguese, and neither Portugal or Romania are extensions of Spain. The one exception for a Brazilian to be considered Hispanic is if his ancestry was Spanish. Finally, all of the above nationalities would all be Latin, including the Romanian.
Along the same lines, one should note that the term Latino is never, or very rarely, applied to French-speaking Québécois of Canada or Haitians. The categories of "Latino" and "Hispanic" are used primarily in the United States to socially differentiate people. As social categories they are not mutually exclusive and without ambiguities and cannot be seen as independent of social discrimination (socio-economic, ethnic or racial).
Aside from "Hispanic", "Latino", and "Latin", other terms are used for more specific subsets of the Hispanic population. These terms often relate to specific countries of origin, such as "Mexican", "Mexican-American", "Cuban", "Puerto Rican" or "Dominican", etc. Other terms signify distinct cultural patterns among Hispanics which have emerged in what is now the United States, including "Chicano", "Tejano", "Nuyorican", etc.
Of the nations total Hispanic population, 49% lives in California or Texas. New Mexico is the state with the highest proportion of Hispanics, with 43% being of Hispanic-origin, followed by California and Texas, at 35 percent each. The Hispanic population of Los Angeles County, California - numbering over 4.6 million - is the largest of any county in the nation.
Sixty-four percent of the nation's Hispanic population are of Mexican background. Another approximately 10 percent are of Puerto Rican background, with about 3 percent each of Cuban, Salvadoran and Dominican origins. The remainder are of some other Central American, South American or other Hispanic or Latino origins.
A significant number of Hispanics are also Protestant, and several Protestant denominations (particularly Evangelical ones) have vigorously proselytized in Hispanic communities.
There are also Jewish Hispanics, of which most are the descendants of Ashkenazi Jews who migrated from Europe (German Jews, French Jews, Russian Jews, Austrian Jews, Polish Jews, etc.) to Latin America, particularly Argentina, in the 19th century and during and following WWII, and from there to the United States. Some Jewish Hispanics may also originate from the small communities of reconverted descendants of Anusim - those whose Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi Jewish ancestors long ago hid their Jewish ancestry and beliefs in fear of persecution by the Spanish Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition (in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America) - or the now Catholic-professing descendants of marranos and the Hispano crypto-Jews believed to exist in the once Spanish-held Southwestern United States and scattered through Latin America. (See also History of the Jews in Latin America and List of Latin American Jews.)
Among the Hispanic Catholics, most communities celebrate their homeland's patron saint, dedicating a day for this purpose with festivals and religious services. Some Hispanics syncretize Roman Catholicism and African or Native American rituals and beliefs. Such is the case of Santería in Cuba and Puerto Rico, which combines old African beliefs in the form of Roman Catholic saints and rituals; or Guadalupism (the devotion towards the Lady of Guadalupe) among Mexican Roman Catholics. This latter hybridizes Catholic rites for the virgin Mary with those venerating the Aztec goddess Tonantzin (earth goddess, mother of the gods and protector of humanity) and has all her attributes also endowed to the Lady of Guadalupe, whose Catholic shrine stands on the same sacred Aztec site that had previsously been dedicated to Tonatzín, on the hill of Tepeyac.
NOTE: There are growing numbers of "Hispanic" Muslims within the United States.
In the aspect of public television otherwise known as non-commerical television, there are organizations that advocate a greater degree of programming from a Hispanic-American perspective in public television. One of the most prominent of these groups is Latino Public Broadcasting which funds programs of educational and cultural significance to Hispanic-Americans. These LPB-funded projects are distributed to various public television stations throughout the United States.
The cuisine of Mexico can be heavily dependent on staples such as Maize, beans, chile peppers and is greatly indebted to the cuisine and diet of the Aztec and Maya. Cuba, on the other hand, may be dependent on starchy root vegetables, Plantain and Rice and is influenced by the flavours of Africa. The cuisine of Spain often mirrors the cuisines of its Mediterranean neighbours, and in addition to the abundance of olives, Olive oil, tomatoes, Seafood and meats, other foreign influences, such as the use of Saffron, were introduced during the Spice trade. Meanwhile, Argentina relies almost exclusively on red meats, consuming almost everything derived from Beef, and is heavily influenced by Italian cuisine. In Peruvian cuisine guinea pigs are popular as a source of meat (derived from the diet of the Inca) and staples indigenous to the region, such as maize and the myriad of Potato varieties, are the most utilised there. Rice also plays an important role in Peruvian cuisine.
This diversity in staples and cuisine is also evident in the differing regional cuisines within the national borders of the individual countries. Most groceries in heavily Hispanic areas carry a wide array of specialty Latin American products, in addition to the widely available brands of tortillas and Mexican style salsa.
While relatively unknown, there is a flag representing the countries of Hispanic America, its people, history and shared cultural legacy.
It was created in October of 1933 by Ángel Camblor, captain of the Uruguayan army. It was adopted by all the states of Latin America during La Conferencia Panamericana (The Pan-American Conference) held that same year in Montevideo, Uruguay.
The white background stands for peace, the Inti (sun god in Inca mythology) symbolizes the light shining on the American continent, and the three crosses represent Christopher Columbus' caravels (the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María ships used in his first voyage from Spain to the New World in 1492). The Lilac colour of the crosses evokes the Castilian banner.
In an alternate version, the countries are re-arranged, "Canadá" is removed (as the already mentioned "Norteamérica" implies both the United States and Canada), and "Santo Domingo" (i.e. Dominican Republic) is added instead.