Hispanic

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

Hispanic (Template:Lang-es) is a term that historically denoted relation 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 population of substantial Spanish heritage and speaking the Spanish language. These include Mexico and most Central and South American countries, most of the Greater Antilles, and the African nations of Equatorial Guinea and Western Sahara. There is also much Spanish influence in the cultures of the Asia-Pacific nations and territories of the Philippines, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands.

Terminology

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 (Spaniard), or from Greek Hispania (Spain) and Hispanos (Spanish, a Spaniard), probably from Celtiberian. 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, Lucan, 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 even later became known as Gothland to the Visigoths, and Al-Andalus to Muslim occupiers which heavily influenced the development of the Andalusian civilization.
• Hispanic is used to refer to modern Spain, to the Spanish language, and to the Spanish-speaking nations of 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 medieval times 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

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, "Latin American". In some Hispanophone countries, Hispanic and Latino are not commonly used.

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 and 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. Some others include people from Brazil, but not Spain or Portugal.

Further information: [[:Racial demographics of the United States and Race and ethnicity in the United States Census and History of Latinos and Hispanics in the United States]]

Hispanization

Hispanization 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, as well as Latin restaurants, tortilla factories, panaderias (bakeries), taquerias (taco restaurants) and 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. For example, by the third generation most Ukrainian-Americans have lost the ability to speak Ukrainian, make Ukrainian easter eggs, cook Ukrainian food, play Ukrainian music, or dance like a Cossack. A few immigrant groups to the U.S. have been slow to assimilate--Greeks, Chinese, and especially Hispanics.

One of the reasons why the assimilation of Hispanics in the U.S. is not comparable to that of other cultural groups is that Hispanics 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 17th century, even 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 17th century, prior to the creation of the Thirteen Colonies. For example, Pensacola and St. Augustine, Florida were founded in 1559 and 1565 respectively, Santa Fe, New Mexico was Founded in 1604, and Alburquerque, New Mexico 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 of U.S. Hispanics 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 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

During the Spanish colonial period between 1492 to 1898, many people migrated from Spain to the new lands they conquered. The Spaniards brought with them their language, culture and religion, seeking to assimilate the peoples they had conquered and enslaved, and in the process, created a large empire that spanned the globe while producing several multiracial populations. Unfortunately, they also brought disease and genocide to the indigenous populations; however, the diaspora of survivors are reflected through the descendants of those that were colonized by the Spanish, and in addition to the motherland of Spain, are found throughout their former colonies in the continents and countries shown in the table below.

Spanish speaking countries   Spanish identified as the sole official language, nationally   Spanish identified as a co-official language   Spanish identified as a signifigant language but not-official

Language and Ethnicities in Spanish Speaking Areas Around the World

Continent/Region	Country/Territory	Languages Spoken	Ethnic Groups	Picture	Statistics References
Europe	Spain	Spanish (official) 74%, Catalan 17%, Galician 7%, Basque 2%, are official regionally	composite of Mediterranean and Nordic types
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 (including mestizo) 94%, black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1%, other 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) Note: 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%; note - 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.	File:Panteon nacional.JPG
Caribbean Islands	Cuba	Spanish	white 65.1%, mulatto and mestizo 24.8%, black 10.1% (2002 census)
	Dominican Republic	Spanish	mixed 73%, white 16%, black 11%	File:Parque Colon1.jpg
	Puerto Rico (territory of the U.S. with commonwealth status)	Spanish, English	white (mostly Spanish origin) 80.5%, black 8%, Amerindian 0.4%, Asian 0.2%, mixed 4.2%, other 6.7% (2000 census)
North America	Mexico	Spanish 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; note - indigenous languages include various Mayan, Nahuatl, and other regional languages (2005)	mestizo (European-Amerindian) 60%, Amerindian or predominantly Amerindian 25%, White 14%, other 1%
	The United States	English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) Note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii. Note: While the U.S. is an English speaking country, the large influx of immigrants from Spanish speaking countries in recent years has grown a population where 10% speak Spanish. Although, it's too early to know what percentage of these Spanish speakers are legal residents or citizens as there has been an unprecedented rise in both legal and illegal migration into the United States where the Pew Hispanic Center estimates that the unauthorized population could be upwards of 12 million people as of March 2006 (where 78% were from Spanish speaking countries, 56% from Mexico and 22% from the rest of Latin America, primarily Central America). However, Spanish is not reflected in the common culture of the U.S. nor has it changed the status of English as a global language or the world's common business language.	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 US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (including persons of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15.1% of the total US population is Hispanic
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)
	Western Sahara	Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic Note: While Spain did have a colonial presence in Western Sahara, there seems to be an absence of any quality documentation online that a Spanish speaking population remains in this country despite a number of Wikipedia pages making such claims without any authentic citations.	Arab, Berber
	Morocco (northern coastal region)	Arabic (official), Berber dialects, French often the language of business, government, and diplomacy. Note: Spanish is probably minimal and not mentioned in the CIA World Factbook. "Spanish presence in Morocco...was short lived and left little visible imprint on Moroccan cultural life."	Arab-Berber 99.1%, other 0.7%, Jewish 0.2%
Asia and Oceania	Easter Island Territory of Chile	Spanish (official), Rapanui	Rapanui
	Note:	Although the Philippines, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, and Palau, have some Spanish elements in their culture and traditions due to 3 centuries of Spanish colonial rule, they are no longer Spanish speaking countries/territories. The two official languages of the Philippines are Tagalog and English with no significant percentage of a Spanish speaking population. Although, Chavacano, a Spanish Creole language spoken in the Philippines is spoken by more than 800,000 people, and is part of the Latin language family. In the case of Guam (a U.S. territory) and the Northern Mariana Islands (a commonwealth in political union with the U.S.), a native language called Chamorro is spoken, which numerous Spanish loanwords and words with Spanish etymological origins. However, unlike Chabacano, Chamorro is not a Spanish Creole. Chamorro is classified as part of the Malayo-Polynesian languages. It uses Spanish words in the style of Micronesian languages (eg: bumobola "playing ball" from bola "ball, play ball" with verbalizing infix -um- and reduplication of first syllable of root). Furthermore, the use of Chamorro is in decline by younger generations opting for English. The predominant languages used in Guam are English, Chamorro and Philippine languages. The top four languages used in the Northern Mariana Islands are Philippine languages, Chinese, Chamorro and English. Meanwhile, Micronesia's official language is English althought native languages such as Chuukese, Kosrean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro, Kapingamarangi are also prominent. Palau, on the other hand, no longer use Spanish and instead use their own language Palauan. Other native langages such as Anguar, Sonsoralese, and Tobi are also official. Of the non-native languages present in Palau, English and Japanese ar official while Philippine languages, Carolinian, and Chinese are used extensively.
	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 identities of Spain, there is a lot of music in the different languages the Peninsula (Catalan and Basque, mainly). See, for instance, Music of Catalonia or Rock català.

On the other side, Latin America is home to a wide variety of music, instead it's usual to speak about "Latin" music 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 US communities of immigrants from these countries it is common to hear these styles. Latin pop, Rock en Español, Latin hip-hop, Salsa, Freestyle/Dance, 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 a huge variety of literature from US Hispanics and the Hispanic countries. Of the most recognized writers are Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, Gabriel García Márquez, Romulo Gallegos, Rubén Darío, Mario Vargas Llosa, Giannina Braschi, Cristina Peri Rossi, Luisa Valenzuela, Julio Cortázar, Pablo Neruda, Jorge Luis Borges, and Ernesto Sabato, amongst 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. Some Hispanic Jews 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. 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 who 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 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 Hispanic 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 and U.S. Hispanic Muslims. Most U.S. Hispanic Muslims are recent converts.

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

See also

• Aztec
• Criollo
• Cuban-American lobby
• Afro-Latino
• Black Hispanic
• Famous Hispanic Americans
• Hispanicity
• Hispania
• Hispanic cultural legacy in the Philippines
• Hispanic culture
• Hispanic Paradox
• Hispanophone
• Iberian
• Ibero-America
• Inca
• Indigenous peoples

• Isleños
• Languages of Spain
• Latino
• List of United States cities with a majority Hispanic population
• Maya civilization
• Maya peoples
• Nationalities of Spain
• Spain
• Spaniards
• Spanish Empire
• Spanish in the United States
• Spanish language
• Spic
• White Hispanic
• Hispanic British

External links

• Information for Educators Serving Latinos
• Spanish Arts: Painting, Sculpture, Music, Architecture, Literature
• Centro Virtual Cervantes
• Biblioteca Virtual Cervantes
• Testament of Isabella of Castile
• Immigration, Hispanics and the curse of the Black Legend
• Hispanic Americans in the U.S. Army
• Famous Hispanics
• Hispanic Community in U.S. - Stats and Facts.
• PBS 'A Cultural Identity' Examines the creation of the Hispanic label by Richard Nixon.
• Los Angeles Times 'A Look Beyond The Label' Newspaper editorial criticizing the usage of the terms "Hispanic" and "Latino" as being oversimplifications of what is essentially a Mexican-dominant group, not all being Spanish speakers.
• Separated by a Common Language: The Strange Case of the White Hispanic A White Argentine questions the application of the Hispanic label to non-white Spanish speakers.
• The History of Immigration
• U.S. Hispanic Market in 2010
• Hispanic Business magazine
• Hispanic Market Advisors: English to Spanish Website Translations
• Hispanic Chamber of E-Commerce
• Hispanic Genealogy
• Hispanic Online Market
• Hispanic Market in the U.S.
• Marketing to US Hispanics and Latin America Conference
• Parchepinga - Non profit hispanic virtual community from Arizona
• HispanicSMB.com - Hispanic Business Portal
• Infolatam.com - Infolatam: Noticias y Análisis de América Latina - Website with daily information and analysis of Latinamerica
• Politicos Latinos Website listing the USA's major Latino/Hispanic Politicians
• Diario Las Americas Website for Miami's Original Hispanic Daily Newspaper
• Hispanic Digital Network The Nation's First Internet Advertising Network of U.S. Hispanic Newspapers, Magazines and Media Portals
• Hispanic PR Wire Leading News Distribution Service Reaching U.S. Hispanic Media and Opinion Leaders