Hispanic

For the Hispanic population of the United States, see Hispanic and Latino Americans. For other uses, see Hispanic (disambiguation).

Hispanic (Spanish: hispano, hispánico) is a term that historically denoted a relationship to the ancient Hispania (geographically coinciding with the Iberian Peninsula). During the modern era, it took on a more limited meaning, relating to the contemporary nation of Spain.

Still more recently, the term is used to describe the culture and people of countries formerly ruled by Spain, usually with a majority of the population having some ancestry of Spanish origin and speaking the Spanish language. These include Mexico, the majority of the Central and South American countries, and most of the Greater Antilles. There are also Spanish influences in the African nation of Equatorial Guinea, and the cultures of the former Spanish East Indies - the Philippines, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Terminology

Trajan was a Hispano-Roman Emperor, born in Hispania Baetica (modern-day Spain).

The term Hispanic is derived from Hispanicus, which derived from Hispania (Iberian Peninsula), both of them Latin terms. Hispania may in turn derive from Latin Hispanus , or from Greek Hispania and Hispanos , probably from Celtiberian or from Basque Ezpanna. The words Spain, Spanish, and Spaniard are of the same etymology as Hispanic, ultimately.

Hispanus was the Latin name given to a person from Hispania during Roman rule. In English, the term Hispano-Roman is sometimes used. The Hispano-Romans were composed of people from many different tribes. Some famous Hispani (plural of Hispanus) were Seneca the Elder, Seneca the Younger, Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, Martial, Prudentius, the Roman Emperors Trajan and Theodosius I, and also Magnus Maximus and Maximus of Hispania.

Here follows a comparison of several terms related to Hispanic:

• Hispano-Roman is used to refer to the culture and people of Hispania, ancestors of the Portuguese and Spanish peoples.
• Hispania was known as Iberia to the Greeks, while the native land of the Hispano-Romans later became a province of the Roman Empire and Al-Andalus during the Moorish Muslim period.
• Hispanic is used to refer to modern Spain, to the Spanish language, and to the Spanish-speaking nations of the world and particularly the Americas.
• Spanish is used to refer to both to the Spanish language itself and to the culture and the people of Spain.
• Spaniard is used to refer to the people of Spain.

Prior to the marriage of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1469, the four Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula, namely the Kingdom of Portugal, the Crown of Aragon, the Crown of Castile, and the Kingdom of Navarre, were collectively referred to as Hispania, the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula. This usage in the Middle Ages appears to have originated in Provençal, and appears to be first documented at the end of the 11th century. In the Council of Constance, the four kingdoms shared one vote.

Portugal adopted the word "Lusitanic", or "Lusitanian" to refer to its culture and people, in reference to the Lusitanians, one of the first Indo-European tribes to settle in Europe. From this tribe's name had derived the name of the Roman province of Lusitania, which was a part of Roman province of Hispania, and Lusitania remains Portugal's name in Latin.

The expansion of the Spanish Empire between 1492 and 1898 brought thousands of Spanish migrants to the conquered lands, creating a large settlement that stretches all over the world and producing several multiracial populations. The term Hispanic is sometimes applied to the populations of these places. This is not necessarily so for people of Portuguese ancestry. For instance, Portuguese Americans are not considered "Hispanic" by the United States Census Bureau.

Definitions in the United States

See also: Ethnic groups in the United States, History of Hispanic and Latino Americans, Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, and Hispanic/Latino naming dispute

The terms Hispanic and Latino tend to be used interchangeably in the United States for people with origins in Spanish–speaking countries. Latino, from American Spanish, is used in some cases as an abbreviation for latinoamericano or "Latin American". In other Hispanophone countries, Hispanic and Latino are not commonly used. The term "Latin American" was used for the first time in the nineteenth century when the French occupied Mexico (1862-1867) and wanted to be included in what is considered Spanish America. For that reason the French speaking people from Quebec (Canada) are consider Latin Americans but not "Hispanics".

The 1970 Census was the first time that a "Hispanic" identifier was used and data collected with the question. The definition of "Hispanic" has been modified in each successive census. The 2000 Census asked if the person was "Spanish/Hispanic/Latino".

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget currently defines "Hispanic or Latino" as "a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race". This definition excludes people of Portuguese origins, such as Portuguese Americans or Brazilian Americans. However, they are included in some government agencies' definitions. For example, the U.S. Department of Transportation defines Hispanic to include, "persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central or South American, or others Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin, regardless of race." This definition has been adopted by the Small Business Administration as well as many federal, state, and municipal agencies for the purposes of awarding government contracts to minority owned businesses. Still, other government agencies adopt definitions that exclude people from Spain, since there is a distinct ethnic difference (indigenous American or European American). Some others include people from Brazil, but not Spain or Portugal.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission encourages any individual who believes that he or she is Hispanic according to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget definition (any Spanish culture or origin) to self-identify as Hispanic. The United States Department of Labor - Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs encourages the same self-identification. As a result, any individual who traces his or her origins to part of the Spanish Empire may self-identify as Hispanic, because an employer may not override an individual's self-identifcation.

Hispanicization

Hispanicization is the process by which a place or a person absorbs characteristics of Hispanic society and culture. Modern hispanization of a place, namely in the United States, is illustrated by, but not limited to, Spanish language newspapers, radio stations, churches, restaurants, tortilla factories, panaderias (bakeries), taquerias (taco restaurants), specialty music stores, clothing stores, and nightclubs. Hispanization of a person is illustrated by, but not limited to, speaking Spanish, making and eating Latin food, listening to Spanish language music, dressing in Santa Fe style or other Hispanic styles, and participating in Hispanic festivals and holidays. Hispanization is the opposite of assimilation. Assimilation is the process by which a minority culture absorbs characteristics of the dominant society and culture. In the United States Anglo culture has long been the dominant culture and, historically, U.S. immigrants have assimilated by the third generation.

One of the reasons why the assimilation of Hispanics in the U.S. is not comparable to that of other cultural groups is that Hispanic and Latino Americans have been living in some parts of North America for centuries, in many cases well before the Anglo culture became dominant. For example, California, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico (1598), Arizona, Nevada and Florida have been home to Hispanic peoples since the 16th century, long before the U.S. gained independence from Great Britain. These and other Spanish-speaking territories were part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and later Mexico, before these regions joined or were taken by the United States in 1848. Some cities in the U.S. were founded by Spanish settlers in the 16th century, prior to the creation of the Thirteen Colonies. For example, San Miguel de Galdape, Pensacola and St. Augustine, Florida were founded in 1526, 1559 and 1565 respectively, Santa Fe, New Mexico was founded in 1604, and Albuquerque was established in 1660. Therefore, in some parts of the U.S., the Hispanic cultural legacy is older than the Anglo-Saxon origin. For this reason, many generations have largely maintained their cultural traditions and Spanish language.

Language retention is a common index to assimilation, and according to the 2000 census, about 75 percent of all Hispanics spoke Spanish in the home — even many Hispanics who can trace their ancestry to the original Spanish settlement of the U.S. Southwest between 1598 and 1769. Spanish language retention rates vary geographically; parts of Texas and New Mexico have language retention rates over 90 percent, whereas parts of Colorado and California have retention rates lower than 30 percent.

Hispanic retention rates are so high in parts of Texas and New Mexico and along the border because the percentage of Hispanics living there is also very high. Laredo, Texas; Chimayo, New Mexico; Nogales, Arizona and Coachella, California, for example, all have Hispanic populations greater than 90 percent. In these pockets, Hispanics have always been the majority population. These communities are known within the Hispanic community or Hispanidad, as "continuous communities" because Hispanics have continuously been the majority population since they were settled in the 16th or 17th centuries. Interestingly, Anglo Americans moving into these communities often Hispanicize, creating a situation where assimilation and Hispanization are one and the same.

Spanish-speaking countries and regions

Today, Spanish is among the most commonly spoken as first languages in the world. During the period of the Spanish Empire, between 1492 to 1898, many people migrated from Spain to the lands that had been conquered. The Spaniards brought with them their languages and culture, and in the process, created global empires with multiracial populations. The interracial marriages between peoples in the colonies led to the creation of the new mixed (mestizo) peoples in many countries. Genetically Spaniards are typically European and are believed to be the longest established populations in Europe; they also have traces of many peoples from the rest of Europe, the Near East and northern Africa. The Spanish heritage also includes an international community of Spanish-speakers, which are found in Spain, as well as throughout its former colonies in the continents and countries shown in the table below. |

Spanish speaking countries

Spanish identified as an official or de facto language. Note: Spanish is identified as a co-official language in Peru, Bolivia and Equatorial Guinea. See also: List of countries where Spanish is an official language.

Language and Ethnicities in Spanish Speaking Areas Around the World

Continent/Region	Country/Territory	Languages Spoken	Ethnic Groups	Picture	References
Europe	Spain	Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%, are official regionally. (Spanish is spoken by 100% of the population, over 100% indicates bilingual population).	Composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
North America	Mexico	Spanish 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; (Indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages) (2005)	Mestizo (European-Amerindian) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 22%, White 17%, other 1%
	United States	English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) (Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii). Note: While the U.S. is an English speaking country, the historical populations of Spanish-speakers in the American West/Southwest, and the large influx of immigrants from Spanish speaking countries in recent years has grown a population where 10% speak Spanish.	White 79.96%, Black 12.85%, Asian 4.43%, Amerindian and Alaska native 0.97%, native Hawaiian and other Pacific islander 0.18%, two or more races 1.61% (July 2007 estimate) Note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the U.S. Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the U.S. who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15.1% of the total U.S. population is Hispanic.
Central America	Belize	Spanish 43%, Creole 37%, Mayan dialects 7.8%, English 5.6% (official), German 3.2%, Garifuna 2%, other 1.5%	Mestizo 34%, Creole 25%, Spanish 15%, Maya 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 11% (2000 census)
	Costa Rica	Spanish (official), English	White 85%, Mestizo 10%, Black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%
	El Salvador	Spanish, Nahua (among some Amerindians)	Mestizo 90%, White 9%, Amerindian 1%
	Guatemala	Spanish 70%, Amerindian languages 30% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including Quiche, Cakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca).	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian-Spanish - in local Spanish called Ladino) and European 59.4%, K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9%, Q'eqchi 6.3%, other Mayan 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%, other 0.1% (2001 census)
	Honduras	Spanish, Amerindian dialects	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, Black 2%, White 1%	File:TEGUZ---Plaza-Central-450.jpg
	Nicaragua	Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, other 0.8% (1995 census) (English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast).	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 69%, White 17%, Black 9%, Amerindian 5%	File:Grana gF.JPG
	Panama	Spanish (official), English 14% (many Panamanians bilingual)	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, White 10%, Amerindian 6%
South America	Argentina	Spanish (official), Italian, English, German, French	White (mostly Spanish and Italian) 97%, Mestizo (mixed White and Amerindian ancestry), Amerindian, or other non-White groups 3%
	Bolivia	Spanish 60.7% (official), Quechua 21.2% (official), Aymara 14.6% (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census)	Quechua 30%, Mestizo (mixed White and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, White 15%
	Chile	Spanish (official), Mapudungun, German, English	White and White-Amerindian 95.4%, Mapuche 4%, other indigenous groups 0.6% (2002 census)
	Colombia	Spanish	Mestizo 58%, White 20%, Mulatto 14%, Black 4%, mixed Black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1%
	Ecuador	Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 65%, Amerindian 25%, Spanish and others 7%, Black 3%	File:Guayaquil 1.jpg
	Paraguay	Spanish (official), Guarani (official)	Mestizo (mixed Spanish and Amerindian) 95%, other 5%	File:CDE Vista Aerea.JPG
	Peru	Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages	Amerindian 45%, Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 37%, White 15%, Black, Japanese, Chinese, and other 3%
	Uruguay	Spanish, Portuñol, or Brazilero (Portuguese-Spanish mix on the Brazilian frontier)	White 88%, Mestizo 8%, Black 4%, Amerindian (practically nonexistent)
	Venezuela	Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects	Mestizos (mixed Amerindian and White), White, Africans and Amerindians.
Caribbean Islands	Cuba	Spanish	White 65.1%, Mulatto and Mestizo 24.8%, Black 10.1% (2002 census)	File:Capitolio and Grand Teatro de La Habana.jpg
	Dominican Republic	Spanish	mixed 73%, White 16%, Black 11%	File:Calle Colonial en Santo Domingo.jpg
	Puerto Rico (Territory of the U.S. with Commonwealth status)	Spanish, English	white (mostly Spanish origin) 76.2%, black 6.9%, Asian 0.3%, Amerindian 0.2%, mixed 4.4%, other 12% (2007)
Africa	Equatorial Guinea	Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) (1994 census) Note: Equatorial Guinea was the only Spanish colony in Sub-Saharan Africa.	Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 census)
Asia and Oceania	Easter Island Territory of Chile	Spanish (official), Rapanui	Rapanui
	Philippines, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia and Palau	Although the countries of the Philippines, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia and Palau have Spanish influences due to Spanish colonial rule, the population in these countries never spoke Spanish as their first language. These former Spanish territories no longer recognize Spanish as a major language. Following the Spanish-American War of 1898, the two official languages of the Philippines are Filipino (closely based on the dialect Tagalog) and English. Chavacano, a Spanish-based creole language is also spoken in the Philippines. The predominant languages used in Guam are English, Chamorro and Filipino. Also, in Guam -a U.S. territory- and the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth in political union with the U.S., a Malayo-Polynesian language called Chamorro is spoken, with numerous loanwords with Spanish etymological origins. However Chamorro is not a Spanish creole language. The top four languages used in the Northern Mariana Islands are Filipino, Chinese, Chamorro and English. Additionally, Micronesia's official language is English, although native languages, such as Chuukese, Kosraean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro and Kapingamarangi are also prominent. In Palau, Spanish is no longer used; instead, the people use their native languages, such as Palauan, Angaur, Sonsorolese and Tobian.	Asian, Pacific Islander, Mixed, and other
The CIA World Factbook is in the public domain. Accordingly, it may be copied freely without permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Music

Main articles: Music of Spain and Latin American music

Folk and popular dance and music also varies greatly among Hispanics. For instance, the music from Spain is a lot different from the Hispanic American, although there is a high grade of exchange between both continents. In addition, due to the high national development of the diverse nationalities and regions of Spain, there is a lot of music in the different languages of the Peninsula (Catalan and Basque, mainly). See, for instance, Music of Catalonia or Rock català.

On the other side of the ocean, Latin America is also home to a wide variety of music, even though "Latin" music is often erroneously thought of, as a single genre. Hispanic Caribbean music tends to favor complex polyrhythms of African origin. Mexican music shows combined influences of mostly Spanish and Native American origin, while traditional Northern Mexican music — norteño and banda — is more influenced by country-and-western music and the polka, brought by Central European settlers to Mexico. The music of Hispanic Americans — such as tejano music — has influences in rock, jazz, R&B, pop, and country music as well as traditional Mexican music such as Mariachi. Meanwhile, native Andean sounds and melodies are the backbone of Peruvian and Bolivian music, but also play a significant role in the popular music of most South American countries and are heavily incorporated into the folk music of Ecuador and Chile and the tunes of Colombia, and again in Chile where they play a fundamental role in the form of the greatly followed nueva canción. In U.S. communities of immigrants from these countries it is common to hear these styles. Latin pop, Rock en Español,|Latin hip-hop]], Salsa, Merengue, and Reggaeton styles tend to appeal to the broader Hispanic population, and varieties of Cuban music are popular with many Hispanics of all backgrounds.

Literature

Main article: Hispanic literature

There is no other culture in the Western World with such a variety and richness of literature and folklore as there is in the Hispanic World (Europe, Americas, Asia, Africa, including US Hispanics and Shephardic Jews from Eastern Mediterranean countries). There are thousands of writers from the Middle Ages to the present. Some of the most recognized writers are Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (Spain), , Lope de Vega (Spain), Calderón de la Barca (Spain), , Miguel de Unamuno (Spain), George Santayana (US), José Rizal (Philippines), José Martí (Cuba), Sabine Ulibarri (US), Federico García Lorca (Spain), Octavio Paz (Mexico), Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia), Horacio Quiroga (Uruguay), Rómulo Gallegos (Venezuela), Rubén Darío (Nicaragua), Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru), Giannina Braschi (Puerto Rico), Cristina Peri Rossi (Uruguay),Clarice Lispector (Brazil),Luisa Valenzuela (Argentina), Roberto Quesada (Honduras), Julio Cortázar (Argentina), Pablo Neruda (Chile), Gabriela Mistral (Chile), Jorge Luis Borges (Argentina), Pedro Henríquez Ureña (Dominican Republic),Carlos Fuentes (Mexico), Ernesto Sabato(Argentina) and Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel (Equatorial Guinea), amongst many others.

Religious diversity

With regard to religious affiliation among Hispanics, Christianity — specifically Roman Catholicism — is usually the first religious tradition that comes to mind. Indeed, the Spaniards took the Roman Catholic faith to Latin America, and Roman Catholicism continues to be the overwhelmingly predominant, but not the only, religious denomination amongst most Hispanics. A small but growing number of Hispanics belong to a Protestant denomination.

There are also Hispanic Jews, of which most are the descendants of Ashkenazi Jews who migrated from Europe (German Jews, Russian Jews, Polish Jews, etc.) to Latin America, particularly Argentina, Uruguay, Peru and Cuba (Argentina is host to the third largest Jewish population in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States and Canada) in the 19th century and during and following World War II. Many Hispanic Jews 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. The Spanish Inquisition led to a large number of forced conversions of Spanish Jews. Genetic studies on the (male) Y chromosome conducted by the University of Leeds in 2008 appear to support the idea that the number of forced conversions have been previously underestimated significantly. They have determined that the current population of Spain has ancestry through the male line that is at least 20% Jewish. This seems to imply there was much forced conversions than which was previously thought to be about 200,000. There are also 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. Additionally, there are Sephardic Jews who are descendants of those Jews who fled Spain to Turkey, Syria, and North Africa, some of whom have now migrated to Latin America, holding on to some Spanish/Sephardic customs, such as the Ladino language which mixes Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic and others, though written with Hebrew and Latin characters. Though, it should be noted, that Ladinos were also African slaves captive in Spain held prior to the colonial period in the Americas. (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, popular with Afro-Cubans and which combines old African beliefs in the form of Roman Catholic saints and rituals. Other syncretistic beliefs include Spiritism and Curanderismo.

While a tiny minority, there are some Latino Muslims in Latin America and the US.

In the United States some 70% of U.S. Hispanics report themselves Catholic, and 23% Protestant, with 6% having no affiliation. A minority among the Roman Catholics, about one in five, are charismatics. Among the Protestant, 85% are "Born-again Christians" and belong to Evangelical or Pentecostal churches. Among the smallest groups, less than 4%, are U.S. Hispanic Jews.

See also

• Afro-Latin American
• Aztec
• Black Hispanic and Latino Americans
• Hispanic/Latino naming dispute
• Criollo people
• Cuban-American lobby
• Flag of the Hispanic People
• Hispanic Heritage Sites (U.S. National Park Service)
• Hispanic influence on Filipino culture
• Hispanic Paradox
• Iberian
• Ibero-America

• Inca civilization
• Indigenous peoples
• Isleño
• Languages of Spain
• Hispanophone
• List of Hispanic and Latino Americans
• Maya civilization
• Maya peoples
• Panhispanism
• Spanish in the United States
• Hispanophobia
• White Hispanic and Latino Americans

References

• De la Garza, Rodolfo O., and Louis Desipio. Ethnic Ironies: Latino Politics in the 1992 Elections (1996)
• What is a Hispanic? Legal Definition vs. Racist Definition.Montalban-Anderssen. (1996)
• What is a Hispanic? Legal Definition vs. Racist Definition. Romero Anton Montalban-Anderssen. Large file with footnotes (1996)
• Price, M., Cooper, C., Competing Visions, Shifting Boundaries: The Construction of Latin America as a World Region

External links

• Hispanic Media
• Hispanic and Latino at Curlie
• HispanicTips: Hispanic & Latino News