Hispanic - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania

Hispania

Another theory holds that the name derives from Ezpanna, the Basque word for "border" or "edge", thus meaning the farthest area or place. Isidore of Sevilla considered Hispania derived from Hispalis....

, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

: Andorra

Andorra

Andorra , officially the Principality of Andorra , also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, , is a small landlocked country in southwestern Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe having an area of...

, Gibraltar

Gibraltar

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...

, Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

and Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of (usually) mixed race with a Spanish surname. As such, the term in contemporary North American culture has lost its association with Spain, and has become a general ethnic denotation associated primarily with Latin America. In these terms the North American culture is viewed by some as incorrect since the term Hispanic originated from the Roman Empire referring to Hispania and its celt and iberian inhabitants. Currently many federal and/or state agencies have made this distinction, and presently include peoples of Spain (Spanish) in classifing Hispanics. Although some from Spain may not wish to classify themselves as Hispanic, others do, and many seek to have federal and/or state agencies define Hispanics and their decedents under its original definition.

The english term hispanic is seen as a false cognate

False cognate

False cognates are pairs of words in the same or different languages that are similar in form and meaning but have different roots. That is, they appear to be, or are sometimes considered, cognates, when in fact they are not....

and should not be confounded with the spanish or portuguese term "hispano".

The term has also been used to denote the culture and people of Spanish colonization of the Americas countries formerly ruled by the Spanish Empire, usually with a majority Hispanophone

Hispanophone

Hispanophone or Hispanosphere denotes Spanish language speakers and the Spanish-speaking world. The word derives from the Latin political name of the Iberian Peninsula, Hispania, which comprised basically the territory of the modern states of Spain and Portugal.Hispanophones are estimated at...

population. Collectively known as Hispanic America

Hispanic America

Hispanic America or Spanish America is the region comprising the American countries inhabited by Spanish-speaking populations.These countries have significant commonalities with each other and with Spain, whose colonies they formerly were...

, this region includes Mexico

Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...

, the majority of the Central and South American countries, and the Spanish-speaking island-nations of the Caribbean.

"Hispanic" is also used by people in the United States who are of Hispanic American origin (Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins...

). Cultural elements (Spanish names, the Spanish language, Spanish customs, etc.) and people known as Hispanic can also be found in other areas that were formerly part of the Spanish Empire, such as in Africa or in the Spanish East Indies

Spanish East Indies

Spanish East Indies was a term used to describe Spanish territories in Asia-Pacific which lasted for three centuries . With the seat of government in Manila, the territory encompassed the Philippine Islands, Guam and the Mariana Islands, the Caroline Islands, and for a period of time, parts of...

Terminology

The term Hispanic is derived from Hispanicus, which derived from Hispania) Hispania may in turn derive from Latin Hispanus, or from Greek

Greek language

Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...

Ισπανία Hispania and Ισπανός Hispanos, probably from Celtiberian

Celtiberian language

Celtiberian is an extinct Indo-European language of the Celtic branch spoken by the Celtiberians in an area of the Iberian Peninsula lyingbetween the headwaters of the Duero, Tajo, Júcar and Turia rivers and the Ebro river...

or from Basque

Basque language

Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...

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

Hispania

during Roman rule

Roman Empire

The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

. In English, the term Hispano-Roman is sometimes used. The Hispano-Romans were composed of people from many different tribes

Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula

This is a list of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian peninsula .-Non-Indo-European:*Aquitanians**Aquitani**Autrigones - some consider them Celtic .**Caristii - some consider them Celtic ....

. Some famous Hispani (plural of Hispanus) were Seneca the Elder

Seneca the Elder

Lucius or Marcus Annaeus Seneca, known as Seneca the Elder and Seneca the Rhetorician , was a Roman rhetorician and writer, born of a wealthy equestrian family of Cordoba, Hispania...

, Seneca the Younger

Seneca the Younger

Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a Roman Stoic philosopher, statesman, dramatist, and in one work humorist, of the Silver Age of Latin literature. He was tutor and later advisor to emperor Nero...

, Marcus Annaeus Lucanus

Marcus Annaeus Lucanus

Marcus Annaeus Lucanus , better known in English as Lucan, was a Roman poet, born in Corduba , in the Hispania Baetica. Despite his short life, he is regarded as one of the outstanding figures of the Imperial Latin period...

, Martial

Martial

Marcus Valerius Martialis , was a Latin poet from Hispania best known for his twelve books of Epigrams, published in Rome between AD 86 and 103, during the reigns of the emperors Domitian, Nerva and Trajan...

, Prudentius

Prudentius

Aurelius Prudentius Clemens was a Roman Christian poet, born in the Roman province of Tarraconensis in 348. He probably died in Spain, as well, some time after 405, possibly around 413...

, the Roman Emperor

Roman Emperor

The Roman emperor was the ruler of the Roman State during the imperial period . The Romans had no single term for the office although at any given time, a given title was associated with the emperor...

s Trajan

Trajan

Trajan , was Roman Emperor from 98 to 117 AD. Born into a non-patrician family in the province of Hispania Baetica, in Spain Trajan rose to prominence during the reign of emperor Domitian. Serving as a legatus legionis in Hispania Tarraconensis, in Spain, in 89 Trajan supported the emperor against...

, Hadrian

Hadrian

Hadrian , was Roman Emperor from 117 to 138. He is best known for building Hadrian's Wall, which marked the northern limit of Roman Britain. In Rome, he re-built the Pantheon and constructed the Temple of Venus and Roma. In addition to being emperor, Hadrian was a humanist and was philhellene in...

and Theodosius I

Theodosius I

Theodosius I , also known as Theodosius the Great, was Roman Emperor from 379 to 395. Theodosius was the last emperor to rule over both the eastern and the western halves of the Roman Empire. During his reign, the Goths secured control of Illyricum after the Gothic War, establishing their homeland...

, and also Magnus Maximus

Magnus Maximus

Magnus Maximus , also known as Maximianus and Macsen Wledig in Welsh, was Western Roman Emperor from 383 to 388. As commander of Britain, he usurped the throne against Emperor Gratian in 383...

and Maximus of Hispania

Maximus of Hispania

Maximus, also called Maximus Tiranus, was Roman usurper in Hispania . He had been elected by general Gerontius, who might have been his father....

.

Here follows a comparison of several terms related to Hispanic:

Hispania was the name of the Iberian Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula
The Iberian Peninsula , sometimes called Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes the modern-day sovereign states of Spain, Portugal and Andorra, as well as the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar...

/Iberia from the 3rd century BC to the 8th AD, both as a Roman Empire
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....

province and immediately thereafter as the Latin name of the geographic location of Goth Land
Visigothic Kingdom
The Visigothic Kingdom was a kingdom which occupied southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to 8th century AD. One of the Germanic successor states to the Western Roman Empire, it was originally created by the settlement of the Visigoths under King Wallia in the province of...

, 5th–8th century AD.
Hispano-Roman is used to refer to the culture and people
Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula
This is a list of the Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian peninsula .-Non-Indo-European:*Aquitanians**Aquitani**Autrigones - some consider them Celtic .**Caristii - some consider them Celtic ....

of Hispania, ancestors of the Portuguese
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....

and Spanish people
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....

s.
Hispano-Celt / Hispano-Celtic are modern terms used to refer to the culture, language and people of the Celtic regions of the Iberian peninsula.
Hispano-Goth / Hispano-Gothic ares term used to refer to the culture, language and people of visigothic Iberian peninsula.

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
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...

.
Spanish is used to refer to the people, nationality, culture, language and other things of Spain.
Spaniard is used to refer to the people of Spain.
New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...

was the name of the Spanish territories in North America and in the Philippines
East Indies
East Indies is a term used by Europeans from the 16th century onwards to identify what is now known as Indian subcontinent or South Asia, Southeastern Asia, and the islands of Oceania, including the Malay Archipelago and the Philippines...

.

Hispania was the Roman name for the whole territory of the Iberian Peninsula

Iberian Peninsula

. Initially, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania Citerior

Hispania Citerior

During the Roman Republic, Hispania Citerior was a region of Hispania roughly occupying the northeastern coast and the Ebro Valley of what is now Spain. Hispania Ulterior was located west of Hispania Citerior—that is, farther away from Rome.-External links:*...

and Hispania Ulterior

Hispania Ulterior

During the Roman Republic, Hispania Ulterior was a region of Hispania roughly located in Baetica and in the Guadalquivir valley of modern Spain and extending to all of Lusitania and Gallaecia...

. In 27 b.C, Hispania Ulterior was divided into two new provinces, Hispania Baetica

Hispania Baetica

Hispania Baetica was one of three Imperial Roman provinces in Hispania, . Hispania Baetica was bordered to the west by Lusitania, and to the northeast by Hispania Tarraconensis. Baetica was part of Al-Andalus under the Moors in the 8th century and approximately corresponds to modern Andalucia...

and Hispania Lusitania, while Hispania Citerior was renamed Hispania Tarraconensis

Hispania Tarraconensis

Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. It encompassed much of the Mediterranean coast of Spain along with the central plateau. Southern Spain, the region now called Andalusia, was the province of Hispania Baetica...

. This division of Hispania explains the usage of the singular and plural forms (Spain, and The Spains) used to refer to the peninsula and its kingdoms in the Middle Ages.

The five Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula, namely the Kingdom of León

Kingdom of León

The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in AD 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León...

, the Kingdom of Portugal

Kingdom of Portugal

The Kingdom of Portugal was Portugal's general designation under the monarchy. The kingdom was located in the west of the Iberian Peninsula, Europe and existed from 1139 to 1910...

, the Kingdom of Aragon

Kingdom of Aragon

The Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain...

, the Kingdom of Castile

Kingdom of Castile

Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...

, and the Kingdom of Navarre

Kingdom of Navarre

The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....

, were collectively referred to "The Five kingdoms" - from the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula.

"There was a principle of equality among the Christian kingdoms, which respect one another mutually and on occasion agreed upon the portions of the Reconquest to be carried out. The five were Leon, Castile, Navarre, Aragon and Portugal. They were accepted as a whole, very unlikely any other kingdom across the Pyrenees, as equivalent to Spain. The Five Kingdoms was a name that meant the same as "all Spain", to the point that when the union of Castile had taken place and was irreversible, there was one kingdom less, the same expression continued to be used[…]".

The terms "Spain" and " the Spains" were not interchangeable.
Spain was a geographic territory home to several kingdoms (Christian and Muslim), with separate governments, laws, languages, religions, and costumes and was also the historical remnant of the Hispano-Gothic unity. Spain was not a political entity and should not be confounded with the nation-state of today. The term "The Spains" referred specifically to a collective of juridico-political units, that is, it first referred only to the Christian kingdoms, then to the different kingdoms ruled by the same king.

This revival of the old Roman name in the Middle Ages

Middle Ages

The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...

appears to have originated in Provençal

Provence

Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...

, and appears to be first documented at the end of the 11th century. In the Council of Constance

Council of Constance

The Council of Constance is the 15th ecumenical council recognized by the Roman Catholic Church, held from 1414 to 1418. The council ended the Three-Popes Controversy, by deposing or accepting the resignation of the remaining Papal claimants and electing Pope Martin V.The Council also condemned and...

, the five kingdoms shared one vote.

With the Decretos de Nueva Planta, Philip V

Philip V of Spain

Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...

started to organize the fusion of his kingdoms that until then were ruled as distinct and independet, but this unification process lacked a formal and juridic proclamation.

Although colloquially and literarilly the expression "King of Spain" or "King of the Spains" was already widespread, it did not refer to a unified nation-state. It was only in the constitution of 1812

Spanish Constitution of 1812

The Spanish Constitution of 1812 was promulgated 19 March 1812 by the Cádiz Cortes, the national legislative assembly of Spain, while in refuge from the Peninsular War...

that was adopted the name "Españas" (Spains) for the Spanish nation and the use of the title of "king of the Spains". The constitution of 1876

Spanish Constitution of 1978

-Structure of the State:The Constitution recognizes the existence of nationalities and regions . Preliminary Title As a result, Spain is now composed entirely of 17 Autonomous Communities and two autonomous cities with varying degrees of autonomy, to the extent that, even though the Constitution...

adopts for the first time the name "Spain" for the Spanish nation and from then on the kings would use the title of "king of Spain".

Portugal adopted the word "Lusitanic

Lusitanic

Lusitanic , from Latin Lusitanicus, adjective from Lusitania, the name of a Roman province in the Iberian Peninsula and one of the two official names for Portugal is a term used to categorize persons who share the linguistic and cultural traditions of the Portuguese.When the modern day country of...

" or "Lusitanian

Lusitanians

The Lusitanians were an Indo-European people living in the Western Iberian Peninsula long before it became the Roman province of Lusitania . They spoke the Lusitanian language which might have been Celtic. The modern Portuguese people see the Lusitanians as their ancestors...

" to refer to its culture and people, in reference to the Lusitanians

Lusitanians

, one of the first Indo-European

Proto-Indo-Europeans

The Proto-Indo-Europeans were the speakers of the Proto-Indo-European language , a reconstructed prehistoric language of Eurasia.Knowledge of them comes chiefly from the linguistic reconstruction, along with material evidence from archaeology and archaeogenetics...

tribes to settle in Europe. From this tribe's name had derived the name of the Roman province

Roman province

In Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...

of Lusitania

Lusitania

Lusitania or Hispania Lusitania was an ancient Roman province including approximately all of modern Portugal south of the Douro river and part of modern Spain . It was named after the Lusitani or Lusitanian people...

, which was a part of the Roman province of Hispania, and Lusitania remains Portugal's name in Latin.

The expansion of the Spanish Empire

Spanish Empire

The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....

between 1492 and 1898 brought thousands of Spanish migrants to the conquered lands, who established settlements, mainly in the Americas but also in other distant parts of the world, like in the Philippines being the lone Spanish territory in Asia, producing a number of multiracial populations. Today the term Hispanic is typically applied to the varied populations of these places, including those with insignificant or no Spanish ancestry.

Definitions in the United States

"Racial and ethnic nomenclature in the United States is dominated by the classification of the Office of Management and Budget, which was devised by a subcommittee of the Federal Interagency Committee on Education."

The term Hispanic, as mentioned by the Office of Management and Budget, is used in the United States for people with origins in Spanish-speaking countries, like Mexico, Costa Rica. Hispanic is not a race, as the Chilean Nobel Prize Gabriela Mistral once said, "mi patria es mi lengua" (My fatherland is my language). Latino, from American Spanish

American Spanish

Spanish language in the Americas, also known as American Spanish, refers to the Spanish spoken in the Americas, as opposed to European Spanish. Linguistically, this grouping is somewhat arbitrary, akin to having a term for "overseas British" encompassing variants spoken in the US, Canada, India,...

, is used in some cases as an abbreviation for latino americano or "Latin American" and tends to be used interchangeably with Hispanic in the United States, despite the fact these two words are not synonyms.
In other Hispanophone

Hispanophone

countries, Hispanic and Latino are not commonly used. The term "Latin America" was used for the first time in the nineteenth century when the French occupied Mexico (1862–1867), leading to the Second Mexican Empire

Second Mexican Empire

The Second Mexican Empire was the name of Mexico under the regime established from 1864 to 1867. It was created by Napoleon III of France, who attempted to use the Mexican adventure to recapture some of the grandeur of earlier Napoleonic times...

, and wanted to be included in what was considered Spanish America.
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

Latino

The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

" as "a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race". The U.S. Department of Transportation

United States Department of Transportation

The United States Department of Transportation is a federal Cabinet department of the United States government concerned with transportation. It was established by an act of Congress on October 15, 1966, and began operation on April 1, 1967...

defines Hispanic to include, "persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central or South American, or others SPANISH culture or origin, regardless of race." This definition has been adopted by the Small Business Administration

Small Business Administration

The Small Business Administration is a United States government agency that provides support to entrepreneurs and small businesses. The mission of the Small Business Administration is "to maintain and strengthen the nation's economy by enabling the establishment and viability of small businesses...

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 and Portugal, 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

Equal Employment Opportunity Commission

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is an independent federal law enforcement agency that enforces laws against workplace discrimination. The EEOC investigates discrimination complaints based on an individual's race, color, national origin, religion, sex, age, perceived intelligence,...

encourages any individual who believes that he or she is Hispanic to self-identify as Hispanic. The United States Department of Labor

United States Department of Labor

The United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...

- Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs

The Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs is part of the U.S. Department of Labor. OFCCP is responsible for ensuring that employers doing business with the Federal government comply with the laws and regulations requiring nondiscrimination...

encourages the same self-identification. As a result, any individual who traces his or her origins to part of the Spanish or Portuguese Empire (Hispania) may self-identify as Hispanic, because an employer may not override an individual's self-identification.

Hispanicization

Hispanicisation or Hispanisation refers to the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by Hispanic culture or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-Hispanic becomes Hispanic...

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, might be illustrated by Spanish language media and businesses. Hispanization of a person might be illustrated by speaking Spanish, making and eating Latin food, listening to Spanish language music, dressing in Hispanic styles or participating in Hispanic festivals and holidays - Hispanization of those outside the Hispanic community as opposed to assimilation

Cultural assimilation

Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...

of Hispanics into theirs.

One reason Hispanic advocates claim the assimilation of Hispanics in the U.S. is not comparable to that of other cultural groups is that Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic and Latino Americans

have been living in parts of North America for centuries, in many cases well before the English-speaking culture became dominant. For example, California

California

California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, Colorado

Colorado

Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...

, New Mexico

New Mexico

New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...

(1598), Arizona

Arizona

Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...

, Nevada

Nevada

Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

and Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

have been home to Spanish-speaker people since the 16th century, long before the U.S. gained independence from Great Britain

Kingdom of Great Britain

The former Kingdom of Great Britain, sometimes described as the 'United Kingdom of Great Britain', That the Two Kingdoms of Scotland and England, shall upon the 1st May next ensuing the date hereof, and forever after, be United into One Kingdom by the Name of GREAT BRITAIN. was a sovereign...

. These and other Spanish-speaking territories were part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and later Mexico

Mexico

(with exception of Florida and Puerto Rico), 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

Thirteen Colonies

The Thirteen Colonies were English and later British colonies established on the Atlantic coast of North America between 1607 and 1733. They declared their independence in the American Revolution and formed the United States of America...

. For example, San Miguel de Galdape, Pensacola

Pensacola, Florida

Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle and the county seat of Escambia County, Florida, United States of America. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 56,255 and as of 2009, the estimated population was 53,752...

and St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine, Florida

St. Augustine is a city in the northeast section of Florida and the county seat of St. Johns County, Florida, United States. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorer and admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, it is the oldest continuously occupied European-established city and port in the continental United...

were founded in 1526, 1559 and 1565 respectively, Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe, New Mexico

Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...

was founded in 1604, and Albuquerque

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...

was established in 1660, In the case of St. Agustine Florida it was founded by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés

Pedro Menéndez de Avilés was a Spanish admiral and explorer, best remembered for founding St. Augustine, Florida in 1565. This was the first successful Spanish foothold in La Florida and remained the most significant city in the region for several hundred years. St...

. Therefore, in many parts of the U.S., the Hispanic cultural legacy predates British influence. For this reason, according to Hispanic advocates, many generations have largely maintained their cultural traditions and Spanish language

Spanish language

Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...

. However, Spanish-speaking persons in the above-listed areas amounted to only a few thousand people when they became part of the United States; a large majority of current Hispanic residents are descended from Hispanics who entered the United States in the mid-to-late 20th and early 21st centuries. In that sense, the early influence of Spain in the United States, and Spanish speakers, was not unlike the Netherlands and France who also had colonial holdings in what later became the United States.

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. Spanish language retention rates vary geographically; parts of Texas and New Mexico have language retention rates over 90 percent, whereas in parts of Colorado and California, retention rates are lower than 30 percent. The degree of retention of Spanish as the native language is based on recent arrival from countries where Spanish is spoken. As is true of other immigrants, those who were born in other countries still speak their native language. Later generations are increasingly less likely to speak the language spoken in the country of their ancestors, as is true of other immigrant groups.

Spanish-speaking countries and regions

Spanish-speaking countries Hispanophone Hispanophone or Hispanosphere denotes Spanish language speakers and the Spanish-speaking world. The word derives from the Latin political name of the Iberian Peninsula, Hispania, which comprised basically the territory of the modern states of Spain and Portugal.Hispanophones are estimated at...

Today, Spanish is among the most commonly spoken first languages of the world. During the period of the Spanish Empire

Spanish Empire

from 1492 and 1898, many people migrated from Spain to the conquered lands. The Spaniards brought with them the Castillian language and culture, and in this process that lasted several centuries

Spanish colonization of the Americas

Colonial expansion under the Spanish Empire was initiated by the Spanish conquistadores and developed by the Monarchy of Spain through its administrators and missionaries. The motivations for colonial expansion were trade and the spread of the Christian faith through indigenous conversions...

, created a global empire with a diverse population. Miscegenation

Miscegenation

Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....

between peoples in the colonies led to the creation of the new mixed peoples, chiefly half-caste

Mestizo

Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...

and mulatto

Mulatto

Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black...

s, in many countries. Culturally, Spaniards are typically European and are believed to be the longest continuously established population in Europe; they also have small traces of many peoples from the rest of Europe, the Near East and the Mediterranean areas of northern Africa. The Hispanic countries, including Spain, are also inhabited by peoples of non-Spanish ancestry, to widely varying extents.

Language and ethnicities in Spanish-speaking areas around the world

Continent/Region	Country/Territory	Languages Spoken	Ethnic Groups
Europe	Spain	Spanish (official) 89%, Catalan Catalan language Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island... 9%, Galician Galician language Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and... 5%, Basque Basque language Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories... 1%, are official regionally. (Spanish is spoken by 100% of the population, over 100% indicates bilingual population).	88.0% Spanish Spanish people The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history.... , 12.0% others (Romanian, British British people The British are citizens of the United Kingdom, of the Isle of Man, any of the Channel Islands, or of any of the British overseas territories, and their descendants... , Moroccan Moroccan people The Moroccan people are a people that share a common Moroccan culture, ancestry and speak the Moroccan variant of the Arabic language or a Berber language as a mother tongue.... , Latin American Latin Americans Latin Americans are the citizens of the Latin American countries and dependencies. Latin American countries are multi-ethnic, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds. As a result, some Latin Americans don't take their nationality as an ethnicity, but identify themselves with... , German) (2009) (See: Spanish people Spanish people The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history.... )
North America	Mexico Mexico The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...	Spanish 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; (Indigenous languages include Mayan languages Mayan languages The Mayan languages form a language family spoken in Mesoamerica and northern Central America. Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 million indigenous Maya, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize and Honduras... , Nahuatl Nahuatl Nahuatl is thought to mean "a good, clear sound" This language name has several spellings, among them náhuatl , Naoatl, Nauatl, Nahuatl, Nawatl. In a back formation from the name of the language, the ethnic group of Nahuatl speakers are called Nahua... , and other) (2005)	Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... (European-Amerindian) 60-70%, Amerindian (or predominantly Amerindian) 12-18%, White White Mexican Mexicans of European descent, often called "güeros" or blancos in Mexican Spanish, are generally those of light skin and predominantly European features which are most often associated with Mexico's upper and middle socioeconomic classes... (or predominantly White) 9-17%, other (including Black Afro-Mexican People of African descent in Mexico is a term mainly used outside of Mexico to identify Mexicans of predominantly African ancestry. Now largely assimilated into the general population, Afro Mexicans historically have been located in certain communities, most notably in two coastal areas of Guerrero... minority) 1% (See: Mexican people Mexican people Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity.... )
North America	United States	English 80.0%, Spanish 12.4%, other Indo-European 3.7%, Asian and Pacific Islander languages 3.0%, other 0.9% (2009 census) (Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii). (Note: The U.S. is a predominantly English-speaking country. As is true of many immigrant families, the immigrants often speak Spanish and some English, while their children are fluent English speakers because they were born and educated in the U.S. Some retain their Spanish language as is true of other immigrant families. The recent influx of large numbers of immigrants from Spanish speaking countries into the U.S. has meant that the number of Spanish speaking U.S. residents has increased, but the children speaking English as is true of the historic U.S. immigrant experience, continues. Migration from Hispanic countries has increased the Spanish speaking population in the United States. Of those who speak Spanish in the United States, three quarters speak English well or very well.	White White American White Americans are people of the United States who are considered or consider themselves White. The United States Census Bureau defines White people as those "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa... 79.96%, Black African American African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States... 12.85%, Asian Asian American Asian Americans are Americans of Asian descent. The U.S. Census Bureau definition of Asians as "Asian” refers to a person having origins in any of the original peoples of the Far East, Southeast Asia, or the Indian subcontinent, including, for example, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan,... 4.43%, Amerindian Native Americans in the United States Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as... and Alaska Native 0.97%, Native Hawaiian and other Pacific islanders 0.18%, two or more races 1.61% (July 2007 estimate) (Note: a separate listing for Hispanics Hispanic and Latino Americans Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins... 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) and of Spanish descent living in the U.S. who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.); about 15-16% of the total U.S. population is Hispanic, not including estimates about alien residents).
Central America Central America Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...	Belize Belize Belize is a constitutional monarchy and the northernmost country in Central America. Belize has a diverse society, comprising many cultures and languages. Even though Kriol and Spanish are spoken among the population, Belize is the only country in Central America where English is the official...	Spanish 43%, Belizean Creole 37%, Mayan dialects Mayan languages The Mayan languages form a language family spoken in Mesoamerica and northern Central America. Mayan languages are spoken by at least 6 million indigenous Maya, primarily in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize and Honduras... 7.8%, English 5.6% (official), German German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... 3.2%, Garifuna Garifuna language Garifuna is an Arawakan language spoken in Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize by the Garifuna people. The language is also spoken to a lesser extent in Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast. Historically it was referred to as Carib or Black Carib and Igñeri by Europeans. Garifuna has a vocabulary split between... 2%, other 1.5%	Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... 34%, Kriol Belizean Kriol people The Belizean Creoles, locally known as Kriols, are Creole descendants of English and Scottish log cutters, as well as Black African slaves brought to Belize. Other small minorities include Creoles and the Miskito from Nicaragua, Jamaicans, and other West Indians who assisted in the logging... 25%, Spanish 15%, Maya peoples Maya peoples The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term... 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 11% (2000 census) (See:Belizean people Belizean people Belizeans are people originating in the Central American nation of Belize whether they live there or in the Belizean diaspora.-Diaspora:About one out of every three Belizeans now lives overseas and outside of Belize; the majority have migrated to Anglophone countries, especially the United States,... )
	Costa Rica Costa Rica Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....	Spanish (official)	(White including Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... ) 94%, Black Afro-Costa Rican Afro-Costa Ricans are Costa Ricans of recent African ancestry; they have had a great impact on Costa Rican culture. Concentrated in Limón Province, Afro-Costa Ricans the descendants of Jamaican and other British West Indians who immigrated in the nineteenth century for work on the Atlantic... 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1% Other 1%
	El Salvador El Salvador El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...	Castilian (official)	Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... 86%, White 12%, Amerindian 1%
	Guatemala Guatemala Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...	Spanish 70%, Amerindian languages 30% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including K'iche K'iche' language The K’iche’ language is a part of the Mayan language family. It is spoken by many K'iche' people in the central highlands of Guatemala. With close to a million speakers , it is the second-most widely spoken language in the country after Spanish... , Kakchiquel Kaqchikel language The Kaqchikel, or Kaqchiquel, language is an indigenous Mesoamerican language and a member of the Quichean–Mamean branch of the Mayan languages family. It is spoken by the indigenous Kaqchikel people in central Guatemala... , Kekchi, Mam Mam language Mam is a Mayan language with almost 480,000 speakers as of 2002, spoken in the Mexican state of Chiapas and the Guatemalan departments of Quetzaltenango, Huehuetenango and San Marcos.... , Garifuna Garifuna language Garifuna is an Arawakan language spoken in Honduras, Guatemala, and Belize by the Garifuna people. The language is also spoken to a lesser extent in Nicaragua's Mosquito Coast. Historically it was referred to as Carib or Black Carib and Igñeri by Europeans. Garifuna has a vocabulary split between... , and Xinca Xinca language The Xinca language is a Mesoamerican language spoken by the indigenous Xinca people from communities in the southern portion of Guatemala, near its border with El Salvador and in the mountainous region to the north... ).	Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... (in local Spanish called Ladino) and White 59.4%, K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam Mam people The Mam are a Native American people in the western highlands of Guatemala and in south-western Mexico.Most Mam live in Guatemala, in the departments of Huehuetenango, San Marcos, and Quetzaltenango... 7.9%, Q'eqchi Q'eqchi' people Q'eqchi are one of the Maya peoples in Guatemala and Belize, whose indigenous language is also called Q'eqchi'.... 6.3%, other Maya peoples Maya peoples The Maya people constitute a diverse range of the Native American people of southern Mexico and northern Central America. The overarching term "Maya" is a collective designation to include the peoples of the region who share some degree of cultural and linguistic heritage; however, the term... 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%, other 0.1% (2001 census)
	Honduras Honduras Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...	Spanish, various Amerindian languages	Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, Black Afro-Latin American An Afro-Latin American is a Latin American person of at least partial Black African ancestry; the term may also refer to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to emanate from this community... 2%, White 1%
	Nicaragua Nicaragua Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...	Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito Miskito language Miskito is a Misumalpan language spoken by the Miskito people in northeastern Nicaragua, especially in the North Atlantic Autonomous Region, and in eastern Honduras.... 1.7%, others 0.8% (1995 census) (English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast).	Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... (mixed Amerindian and European) 69%, White 17%, Black Afro-Latin American An Afro-Latin American is a Latin American person of at least partial Black African ancestry; the term may also refer to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to emanate from this community... 9%, Amerindian 5%
	Panama Panama Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...	Spanish (official), English 14% (bilingual)	Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... (mixed Amerindian and European) 70%, Amerindian and mixed (West Indian) 14%, White 10%, Amerindian 6%
South America	Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...	Spanish (official), other European and Amerindian languages	European Argentine Argentines of European descent Argentine people of European descent belongs to several communities that has migrated to Argentina from Europe, contributing to the country's cultural and demographic variety... 86% (mostly from Spanish and Italian ancestries), Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... , Amerindian and other non-European or non-White groups (including Arab Arab Argentine An Arab Argentine is an Argentine citizen or resident alien whose ancestry traces back to any of various waves of immigrants, largely of Arab cultural and linguistic heritage and/or identity, originating mainly from what is now Lebanon and Syria but also there are some individuals from the... , East Asian Asian Argentine An Asian-Argentine is defined as an Argentine of Asian ancestry, either born within Argentina, or born elsewhere and later to become a citizen or resident of Argentina. Asian-Argentines settled in Argentina in large numbers during several waves of immigration in the twentieth century... , and Black Afro Argentine The black population resulting from the slave trade during the centuries of Spanish domination of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata had a major role in Argentine history... minorities) 14% (See: Argentinian people)
	Bolivia Bolivia Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...	Spanish 60.7% (official), Quechua 21.2% (official), Aymara Aymara language Aymara is an Aymaran language spoken by the Aymara people of the Andes. It is one of only a handful of Native American languages with over three million speakers. Aymara, along with Quechua and Spanish, is an official language of Peru and Bolivia... 14.6% (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census)	Quechua 30%, Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... (mixed White and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, White 15%, Black Afro Bolivian Afro Bolivians are Bolivians of African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Bolivia thought to emanate from this community. The term can refer to the combining of African and other cultural elements found in Bolivian society such as religion, music, language, the arts, and class... minority.
	Chile Chile Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...	Spanish (official), Mapudungun Mapudungun The Mapuche language, Mapudungun is a language isolate spoken in south-central Chile and west central Argentina by the Mapuche people. It is also spelled Mapuzugun and sometimes called Mapudungu or Araucanian... , other European languages	White 52,7%, Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... 44,1%, Amerindian Indigenous peoples in Chile Indigenous peoples in Chile form about 4.6% of the total population .The Mapuches, from the south, accounted for approximately 85 percent of this number... 3,2% (See: Chilean people Chilean people Chilean people, or simply Chileans, are the native citizens and long-term immigrants of Chile. Chileans are mainly of Spanish and Amerindian descent, with small but significant traces of 19th and 20th century European immigrant origin... )
	Colombia Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...	Spanish (official)	Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... 58%, White White Colombian White Colombians are the Colombian descendants of European and Middle Eastern peoples. Colombia does not query for race in its census, but according to external sources, whites make up 20% to 25% of Colombia's population... 20%, Mulatto Mulatto Mulatto denotes a person with one white parent and one black parent, or more broadly, a person of mixed black and white ancestry. Contemporary usage of the term varies greatly, and the broader sense of the term makes its application rather subjective, as not all people of mixed white and black... 14%, Black Afro-Colombian Afro Colombians refers to Colombians of African ancestry, and the great impact they have had on Colombian culture. Notable Afro-Colombians include Colombian scientists like Raul Cuero, writers like Manuel Zapata Olivella and politicians:... 4%, mixed Black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian Indigenous peoples in Colombia The indigenous peoples in Colombia comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country's present territory prior to its discovery by Europeans around 1500.-Origins:... 1% (See: Colombian people Colombian people Colombian people are from a multiethnic Spanish speaking nation in South America called Colombia. Colombians are predominantly Roman Catholic and are a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:... )
	Ecuador Ecuador Ecuador , officially the Republic of Ecuador is a representative democratic republic in South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the west. It is one of only two countries in South America, along with Chile, that do not have a border...	Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)	Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... (mixed Amerindian and White) 65%, Amerindian Indigenous peoples in Ecuador Indigenous peoples in Ecuador are the groups of people who were present in what became the South American nation of Ecuador when Europeans arrived. The term also includes their descendants from the time of the Spanish conquest to the present... 25%, White 7%, Black 3%
	Paraguay Paraguay Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...	Spanish (official), Guaraní (official)	Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... (mixed European and Amerindian) 74,5%, White 20%, Mulato 3,5%, Indigenous 1,5%
	Peru Peru Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....	Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara Aymara language Aymara is an Aymaran language spoken by the Aymara people of the Andes. It is one of only a handful of Native American languages with over three million speakers. Aymara, along with Quechua and Spanish, is an official language of Peru and Bolivia... , and a large number of minor Amazonian languages	Amerindian Indigenous peoples in Peru Indigenous people in Peru comprise a large number of distinct ethnic groups who inhabited the country's present territory prior to its discovery by Europeans around 1500... 45%, Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... (mixed Amerindian and White) 37%, White 15%, Black Afro-Peruvian Afro Peruvians are citizens of Peru mostly descended from African slaves who were brought to the Western hemisphere with the arrival of the conquistadors towards the end of the slave trade.-Early history:... , East Asian Asian Peruvian Asian Peruvians, primarily Chinese and Japanese, constitute some 3-5% of the total population, which in proportion to the overall population is one of the largest of any Latin American nation. Peru has the second largest population of Japanese people in Latin America after Brazil and the largest... and others 3%
	Uruguay Uruguay Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...	Spanish (official)	White (mostly from Spanish and Italian ancestries) 88%, Mestizo Mestizo Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent... 8%, Black Afro-Uruguayan Afro-Uruguayan refers to Uruguayans of Black African ancestry. Almost a third is found in Montevideo.-History:It is often asserted in the academic literature on Uruguay that the presence and role of Africans in the development of this nation are overlooked. However, Afro-Uruguayans greatly... 4%, Amerindian (less than 0.5%)
	Venezuela Venezuela Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...	Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects	Mestizos (mixed Amerindian and White) 65%, White White Venezuelan White Venezuelan is an unofficial term to describe the Venezuelan citizen of European origin. No official census data nor statistically significant studies exist, because Venezuela does not have a racial census. Often, many people with Amerindian and African ancestry in some cases are considered... 25%, Black Afro-Latin American An Afro-Latin American is a Latin American person of at least partial Black African ancestry; the term may also refer to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to emanate from this community... 8% and Amerindians 2% (See: Venezuelan people Venezuelan people Venezuelan people are from a multiethnic nation in South America called Venezuela. Venezuelans are predominantly Roman Catholic and speak Spanish, and a majority of them are the result of a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.-Demography:... )
Caribbean Islands Caribbean The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...	Cuba Cuba The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...	Spanish (official)	White 65.1% (mostly Spanish), Mulattoes and Mestizos 24.8%, Black Afro-Cuban The term Afro-Cuban refers to Cubans of Sub Saharan African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community... 10.1% (2002 census) (See: Cubans Cubans Cubans or Cuban people are the inhabitants or citizens of Cuba. Cuba is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds... )
	Dominican Republic Dominican Republic The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...	Spanish (official)	Mixed 73%, White 16%, Black Afro-Latin American An Afro-Latin American is a Latin American person of at least partial Black African ancestry; the term may also refer to historical or cultural elements in Latin America thought to emanate from this community... 11%
	Puerto Rico Puerto Rico Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an... (Territory of the U.S. with Commonwealth status)	Spanish, English	White (mostly of Spanish ancestry) 76.2%, Black 6.9%, Asian 0.3%, Amerindian 0.2%, mixed 4.4%, other 12% (2007)
Africa	Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea where the capital Malabo is situated.Annobón is the southernmost island of Equatorial Guinea and is situated just south of the equator. Bioko island is the northernmost point of Equatorial Guinea. Between the two islands and to the...	Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes the other 2 official languages - French French language French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts... and Portuguese Portuguese language Portuguese is a Romance language that arose in the medieval Kingdom of Galicia, nowadays Galicia and Northern Portugal. The southern part of the Kingdom of Galicia became independent as the County of Portugal in 1095... , Fang Fang language Fang is the dominant Bantu language of Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. It is related to the Bulu and Ewondo languages of southern Cameroon. Fang is spoken in northern Gabon, southern Cameroon, and throughout Equatorial Guinea. Shakira used this language in her song, "Waka Waka .".There are many... , Bube, Annobonese, Igbo Igbo language Igbo , or Igbo proper, is a native language of the Igbo people, an ethnic group primarily located in southeastern Nigeria. There are approximately 20 million speakers that are mostly in Nigeria and are primarily of Igbo descent. Igbo is a national language of Nigeria. It is written in the Latin... , Krio Krio Krio may refer to:Sierra Leone Krio peopleKrio language, language of the Sierra Leone Krio peopleKrio Dayak people, an ethnic group in West Kalimantan, IndonesiaKrio Dayak languageKeriau River, in West Kalimantan, Indonesia... , Pichinglis Pichinglis Pichinglis, commonly referred to by its speakers as Pichi and Fernando Poo Creole, is an Atlantic English-lexicon Creole language spoken on the island of Bioko, Equatorial Guinea Pichinglis, commonly referred to by its speakers as Pichi and Fernando Poo Creole, is an Atlantic English-lexicon Creole... , and English) (1994 census) Note:* Equatorial Guinea was the only Spanish colony in Sub-Saharan Africa.	Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon Annobón Annobón may refer to:* Annobón Province* Annobonese language* Annobon people... 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 census)
Polynesia Polynesia Polynesia is a subregion of Oceania, made up of over 1,000 islands scattered over the central and southern Pacific Ocean. The indigenous people who inhabit the islands of Polynesia are termed Polynesians and they share many similar traits including language, culture and beliefs...	Easter Island Easter Island Easter Island is a Polynesian island in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian triangle. A special territory of Chile that was annexed in 1888, Easter Island is famous for its 887 extant monumental statues, called moai, created by the early Rapanui people... Territory of Chile Chile Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...	Spanish (official), Rapanui Rapa Nui language Rapa Nui , also known as Pascuan or Pascuense, is an Eastern Polynesian language spoken on the island of Rapa Nui, also known as Easter Island....	Rapanui Rapanui The Rapa Nui or Rapanui are the native Polynesian inhabitants of Easter Island, or Rapa Nui, in the Pacific Ocean. The easternmost Polynesian culture, the Rapa Nui people make up 60% of Easter Island's population, with some living also in mainland Chile...
The CIA World Factbook is in the public domain. Accordingly, it may be copied freely without permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Areas with Hispanic cultural influence

Continent/Region	Country/Territory	Languages Spoken	Ethnic Groups
Africa	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic is a partially recognised state that claims sovereignty over the entire territory of Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony. SADR was proclaimed by the Polisario Front on February 27, 1976, in Bir Lehlu, Western Sahara. The SADR government controls about... Disputed	Arabic Arabic language Arabic is a name applied to the descendants of the Classical Arabic language of the 6th century AD, used most prominently in the Quran, the Islamic Holy Book... is the official language of Western Sahara, while Spanish is still widely spoken.
Asia	Philippines Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...	Chavacano Chavacano language Chavacano or Chabacano, sometimes referred to by linguists as Philippine Creole Spanish, is a Spanish-based creole language spoken in the Philippines... , a Spanish-based creole language Spanish-based Creole languages -Chavacano:Chavacano is a Spanish-based Creole language and the name of the Six Dialects of Spanish evolved words turned into a Creole language spoken in the Philippines... is still spoken in the Philippines by 600,000 people. Spanish in the Philippines Spanish in the Philippines Spanish was imposed as an official language of the Philippines from the beginning of Spanish rule since the times of Miguel López de Legazpi in the late 16th century, through American rule and independence, until the change of Constitution in 1973... is natively spoken by 5,000 people but second- and third-language speakers range from 500,000 to 2,500,000. Hispanic influences Hispanic culture in the Philippines Hispanic influence on Filipino culture are customs and traditions of the Philippines which originated from three centuries of Spanish colonization. Filipinos today speak a variety of different languages; the most common being Ilocano, Tagalog, Cebuano, English and Spanish... have impacted several aspects of native languages, such as Tagalog Tagalog language Tagalog is an Austronesian language spoken as a first language by a third of the population of the Philippines and as a second language by most of the rest. It is the first language of the Philippine region IV and of Metro Manila... , Cebuano Cebuano language Cebuano, referred to by most of its speakers as Bisaya , is an Austronesian language spoken in the Philippines by about 20 million people mostly in the Central Visayas. It is the most widely spoken of the languages within the so-named Bisayan subgroup and is closely related to other Filipino... and Ilocano	Austronesian Austronesian people The Austronesian-speaking peoples are various populations in Oceania and Southeast Asia that speak languages of the Austronesian family. They include Taiwanese aborigines; the majority ethnic groups of East Timor, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, Madagascar, Micronesia, and Polynesia,... 94%, Eurasian Eurasian (mixed ancestry) The word Eurasian refers to people of mixed Asian and European ancestry. It was originally coined in 19th-century British India to refer to Anglo-Indians of mixed British and Indian descent.... (mixed White and Austronesian) 3.6%, Chinese Chinese Filipino A Chinese Filipino derived from two words: "Tsino" and "Pinoy" ) is a Philippine national of Chinese ethnicity but born/raised in the Philippines.... 2%, and others including Aeta Aeta The Aeta , Agta or Ayta are an indigenous people who live in scattered, isolated mountainous parts of Luzon, Philippines. They are considered to be Negritos, who are dark to very dark brown-skinned and tend to have features such as a small stature, small frame, curly to kinky afro-like textured... 0.4% (See: Filipino people Filipino people The Filipino people or Filipinos are an Austronesian ethnic group native to the islands of the Philippines. There are about 92 million Filipinos in the Philippines, and about 11 million living outside the Philippines .... )
Micronesia Micronesia Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest....	Guam Guam Guam is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States located in the western Pacific Ocean. It is one of five U.S. territories with an established civilian government. Guam is listed as one of 16 Non-Self-Governing Territories by the Special Committee on Decolonization of the United...	Most former Spanish territories in Asia-Pacific no longer recognize Spanish as an official language. 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 Malayo-Polynesian languages The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. These are widely dispersed throughout the island nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, with a smaller number in continental Asia... called Chamorro Chamorro language Chamorro is a Malayo-Polynesian language, spoken on the Mariana Islands by about 47,000 people Chamorro (Chamorro: Fino' Chamoru or simply Chamoru) is a Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) language, spoken on the Mariana Islands (Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan) by about 47,000 people Chamorro... is spoken, with numerous loanwords with Spanish etymological origins. However it is not a Spanish creole language.	Asians, Chamorro, and others
	FSM Micronesia Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia or FSM is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 islands with c...	Micronesia's official language is English, although native languages, such as Chuukese Chuukese language Chuukese is a Trukic language of the Austronesian language family spoken primarily on the islands of Chuuk in the Caroline Islands in Micronesia. There are some speakers on Pohnpei and Guam as well... , Kosraean Kosraean language Kosraean, also sometimes called Kusaiean, is the language spoken on the islands of Kosrae , Caroline Islands, and Nauru. In 2001 there were approximately 8,000 speakers.... , Pohnpeian Pohnpeian language Pohnpeian or Ponapean is a Micronesian language spoken mostly on the island of Pohnpei and the Caroline Islands. Pohnpeian has about 22,000 speakers. It is the major language of Pohnpei State . Ngatikese, Pingelapese and Mokilese are counted as dialects of Pohnpeian or as closely related languages... , Yapese Yapese language Yapese is a language spoken by the people on the island of Yap .It belongs to the Austronesian languages, more specifically to the Oceanic languages... , Ulithian Ulithian language Ulithian is the name of the language spoken on Ulithi atoll and neighboring islands. Ulithian is one of the 6 official languages of the Federated States of Micronesia. There are some 3,000 speakers, although only 700 of these live on Ulithi atoll.... , Woleaian Woleaian Woleaian is the main language of the island of Woleai and surrounding smaller islands in the state of Yap of the Federated States of Micronesia. Woleaian is a Trukic language, and within that family its closest relative is Satawalese, with which it is largely mutually intelligible. Woleaian is... , Nukuoro Nukuoro Nukuoro is an atoll in the Federated States of Micronesia.It is a municipality of the state of Pohnpei, Federated States of Micronesia. Except for Kapingamarangi, it is the southermost atoll of the country. Nukuoro has a population of 372 , though several hundred Nukuorans live on Pohnpei... and Kapingamarangi Kapingamarangi Kapingamarangi is an atoll and a municipality in the state of Pohnpei of the Federated States of Micronesia. It is by far the most southerly atoll or island of the country and of the Caroline Islands, 300 km south of the next southerly atoll, Nukuoro, and 740 km southwest of the main island of... are also prominent.	Asians, Micronesians, and others
	Northern Mariana Islands Northern Mariana Islands The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands , is a commonwealth in political union with the United States, occupying a strategic region of the western Pacific Ocean. It consists of 15 islands about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines...	In the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth in political union with the U.S., a Malayo-Polynesian language Malayo-Polynesian languages The Malayo-Polynesian languages are a subgroup of the Austronesian languages, with approximately 385.5 million speakers. These are widely dispersed throughout the island nations of Southeast Asia and the Pacific Ocean, with a smaller number in continental Asia... called Chamorro Chamorro language Chamorro is a Malayo-Polynesian language, spoken on the Mariana Islands by about 47,000 people Chamorro (Chamorro: Fino' Chamoru or simply Chamoru) is a Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) language, spoken on the Mariana Islands (Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan) by about 47,000 people Chamorro... is spoken, with numerous loanwords with Spanish etymological origins. However it is not a Spanish creole language. The top four languages used in the Northern Mariana Islands are Filipino, Chinese, Chamorro and English.	Asians, Chamorro, and others
	Palau Palau Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...	In Palau, Spanish is no longer used; instead, the people use their native languages, such as Palauan Palauan language Palauan is one of the two nationally recognized official languages spoken in the Republic of Palau... , Angaur Angaur Angaur or Ngeaur is an island in the island nation of Palau. The island, which forms its own state, has an area of 8 km² . Its population is 188 . State capital is the village of Ngeremasch on the western side... , Sonsorolese Sonsorolese language The Sonsorolese language is a Micronesian language spoken in Palau, originally on the islands composing the state of Sonsorol, but nowadays mostly by immigrants in the rest of the country... and Tobian Tobian language Tobian is the language of Tobi, one of the Southwest Islands of Palau, and the main island of Hatohobei state... .	Asians, Palauan Palauan language Palauan is one of the two nationally recognized official languages spoken in the Republic of Palau... , and others
The CIA World Factbook is in the public domain. Accordingly, it may be copied freely without permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

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 America

Hispanic America

n, 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

Languages of Spain

The languages of Spain are the languages spoken or once spoken in Spain. Romance languages are the most widely spoken in Spain, of which Spanish is the country's official language...

(Catalan

Catalan language

Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...

, Galician

Galician language

Galician is a language of the Western Ibero-Romance branch, spoken in Galicia, an autonomous community located in northwestern Spain, where it is co-official with Castilian Spanish, as well as in border zones of the neighbouring territories of Asturias and Castile and León.Modern Galician and...

and Basque

Basque language

, mainly). See, for instance, Music of Catalonia

Music of Catalonia

The music of Catalonia comprises one of the oldest documented musical traditions in Europe, and has displayed a rich musical culture continuously for at least two thousand years.-History:...

or Rock català

Rock català

The term Rock català is used to describe those bands singing in Catalan of any music style, especially in the late 1980s and early 1990s.The last years of Spain under Franco were shattered by a generation of singers that claimed and called for democracy...

, Music of Galicia, Cantabria and Asturias

Music of Galicia, Cantabria and Asturias

The traditional music of Galicia and Asturias, located along Spain's north-west Atlantic coast, are highly distinctive folk styles that have some similarities with the neighbouring area of Cantabria...

, and Basque music

Basque music

The strict classification of Basque music remains a controversial issue, complicated in part by the growing diversification of such music, but by and large it is made in the Basque Country, it reflects traits related to that society/tradition and it is devised by people from the Basque...

. Flamenco

Flamenco

Flamenco is a genre of music and dance which has its foundation in Andalusian music and dance and in whose evolution Andalusian Gypsies played an important part....

is also a very popular music style in Spain, especially in Andalusia

Andalusia

Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...

. Spanish ballads "romances" can be traced in Mexico as "corridos" or in Argentina as "milongas", same structure but different scenarios.

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

Music of Mexico

The music of Mexico is very diverse and features a wide range of different musical styles. It has been influenced by a variety of cultures, most notably indigenous Mexican and European, since the Late Middle Ages...

shows combined influences of mostly Spanish and Native American origin, while traditional Northern Mexican music — norteño

Norteño (music)

Norteño , also norteña or conjunto, is a genre of Mexican music. The accordion and the bajo sexto are norteño's most characteristic instruments. The norteño genre is popular in both Mexico and the United States, especially among the Mexican community...

and banda

Banda music

Banda is a brass-based form of traditional music. Bandas play a wide variety of songs, including rancheras, corridos, cumbias, baladas, and boleros. Bandas are most widely known for their rancheras, but they also play modern Mexican pop, rock, and cumbias...

— is more influenced by country-and-western music and the polka

Polka

The polka is a Central European dance and also a genre of dance music familiar throughout Europe and the Americas. It originated in the middle of the 19th century in Bohemia...

, brought by Central Europe

Central Europe

Central Europe or alternatively Middle Europe is a region of the European continent lying between the variously defined areas of Eastern and Western Europe...

an settlers to Mexico

Mexico

. The music of Hispanic Americans — such as tejano music

Tejano music

Tejano music or Tex-Mex music is the name given to various forms of folk and popular music originating among the Mexican-American populations of Central and Southern Texas...

— has influences in rock

Rock music

Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...

, jazz

Jazz

Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...

, R&B

Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues, often abbreviated to R&B, is a genre of popular African American music that originated in the 1940s. The term was originally used by record companies to describe recordings marketed predominantly to urban African Americans, at a time when "urbane, rocking, jazz based music with a...

, pop

Latin pop

Latin pop generally refers to pop music that has what may be perceived a Latin American influence...

, and country music

Country music

Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...

as well as traditional Mexican music such as Mariachi

Mariachi

Mariachi is a genre of music that originated in the State of Jalisco, in Mexico. It is an integration of stringed instruments highly influenced by the cultural impacts of the historical development of Western Mexico. Throughout the history of mariachi, musicians have experimented with brass, wind,...

. Meanwhile, native Andean

Andes

The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated...

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

Nueva canción

Nueva canción is a movement and genre within Latin American and Iberian music of folk music, folk-inspired music and socially committed music...

. In U.S. communities of immigrants from these countries it is common to hear these styles. Latin pop

Latin pop

Latin pop generally refers to pop music that has what may be perceived a Latin American influence...

, Rock en Español

Rock en Español

Rock en español is the Spanish-language rock music. While the term is used widely in English, it is used in Spanish mainly to distinguish such music from "Anglo rock." It is a style of rock music that developed in Latin American countries and Latino communities, along with other genres like...

, Latin hip-hop, Salsa

Salsa (dance)

Salsa is a syncretic dance form with origins in Cuba as the meeting point of Spanish and African cultures.Salsa is normally a partner dance, although there are recognized solo forms such as solo dancing "suelta" and "Rueda de Casino" where multiple couples exchange partners in a circle...

, Merengue

Merengue (dance)

Merengue El camino1ro de Secundaria-In popular culture:* Merengue was mentioned as a song performed between Babs and Charlie in the song by Steely Dan....

, colombian cumbia and Reggaeton

Reggaeton

Reggaeton is a form of Puerto Rican and Latin American urban and Caribbean music. After its mainstream exposure in 2004, it spread to North American, European and Asian audiences. Reggaeton originated in Puerto Rico but is also has roots from Reggae en Español from Panama and Puerto Rico and...

styles tend to appeal to the broader Hispanic population, and varieties of Cuban music are popular with many Hispanics of all backgrounds.

Literature

Spanish Language literature and folklore is very rich and is influenced by a variety of countries. There are thousands of writers from many places, and dating from the Middle Ages to the present. Some of the most recognized writers are Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra

Miguel de Cervantes

Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra was a Spanish novelist, poet, and playwright. His magnum opus, Don Quixote, considered the first modern novel, is a classic of Western literature, and is regarded amongst the best works of fiction ever written...

(Spain), Lope de Vega

Lope de Vega

Félix Arturo Lope de Vega y Carpio was a Spanish playwright and poet. He was one of the key figures in the Spanish Golden Century Baroque literature...

(Spain), Calderón de la Barca (Spain), Carlos Fuentes

Carlos Fuentes

Carlos Fuentes Macías is a Mexican writer and one of the best-known living novelists and essayists in the Spanish-speaking world. He has influenced contemporary Latin American literature, and his works have been widely translated into English and other languages.-Biography:Fuentes was born in...

(Mexico), Octavio Paz

Octavio Paz

Octavio Paz Lozano was a Mexican writer, poet, and diplomat, and the winner of the 1990 Nobel Prize for Literature.-Early life and writings:...

(Mexico), Miguel Ángel Asturias

Miguel Ángel Asturias

Miguel Ángel Asturias Rosales was a Nobel Prize–winning Guatemalan poet, novelist, playwright, journalist and diplomat...

(Guatemala), George Santayana

George Santayana

George Santayana was a philosopher, essayist, poet, and novelist. A lifelong Spanish citizen, Santayana was raised and educated in the United States and identified himself as an American. He wrote in English and is generally considered an American man of letters...

(US), José Martí

José Martí

José Julián Martí Pérez was a Cuban national hero and an important figure in Latin American literature. In his short life he was a poet, an essayist, a journalist, a revolutionary philosopher, a translator, a professor, a publisher, and a political theorist. He was also a part of the Cuban...

(Cuba), Sabine Ulibarri

Sabine Ulibarrí

Dr. Sabine Reyes Ulibarrí was an American poet. He was also a teacher, a writer, a critic, and a statesman. Ulibarrí was born in Tierra Amarilla, New Mexico....

(US), Federico García Lorca

Federico García Lorca

Federico del Sagrado Corazón de Jesús García Lorca was a Spanish poet, dramatist and theatre director. García Lorca achieved international recognition as an emblematic member of the Generation of '27. He is believed to be one of thousands who were summarily shot by anti-communist death squads...

(Spain), Miguel de Unamuno

Miguel de Unamuno

Miguel de Unamuno y Jugo was a Spanish essayist, novelist, poet, playwright and philosopher.-Biography:...

(Spain), Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel García Márquez

Gabriel José de la Concordia García Márquez is a Colombian novelist, short-story writer, screenwriter and journalist, known affectionately as Gabo throughout Latin America. He is considered one of the most significant authors of the 20th century. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in...

(Colombia), Horacio Quiroga

Horacio Quiroga

Horacio Silvestre Quiroga Forteza was an Uruguayan playwright, poet, and short story writer....

(Uruguay), Rómulo Gallegos

Rómulo Gallegos

Rómulo Ángel del Monte Carmelo Gallegos Freire was a Venezuelan novelist and politician. For a period of some nine months during 1948, he was the first cleanly elected president in his country's history....

(Venezuela), Rubén Darío

Rubén Darío

Félix Rubén García Sarmiento , known as Rubén Darío, was a Nicaraguan poet who initiated the Spanish-American literary movement known as modernismo that flourished at the end of the 19th century...

(Nicaragua), Mario Vargas Llosa

Mario Vargas Llosa

Jorge Mario Pedro Vargas Llosa, 1st Marquis of Vargas Llosa is a Peruvian-Spanish writer, politician, journalist, essayist, and Nobel Prize laureate. Vargas Llosa is one of Latin America's most significant novelists and essayists, and one of the leading authors of his generation...

(Peru), Giannina Braschi

Giannina Braschi

Giannina Braschi is a Puerto Rican writer. She is credited with writing the first Spanglish novel YO-YO BOING! and the poetry trilogy Empire of Dreams , which chronicles the Latin American immigrant's experiences in the United States...

(Puerto Rico), Cristina Peri Rossi

Cristina Peri Rossi

Cristina Peri Rossi is an Uruguayan novelist, poet, translator, and author of short stories.Considered a leading light of the post-1960s period of prominence of the Latin-American novel, she has written more than 37 works. She was born in Montevideo, Uruguay but was exiled in 1972, and moved to...

(Uruguay), Luisa Valenzuela

Luisa Valenzuela

Luisa Valenzuela is a post-'Boom' novelist and short story writer. Her writing is characterized by an experimental, avant-garde style which questions hierarchical social structures from a feminist perspective. She is best known for her work written in response to the dictatorship of the 1970s in...

(Argentina), Roberto Quesada (Honduras), Julio Cortázar

Julio Cortázar

Julio Cortázar, born Jules Florencio Cortázar, was an Argentine writer. Cortázar, known as one of the founders of the Latin American Boom, influenced an entire generation of Spanish speaking readers and writers in the Americas and Europe.-Early life:Cortázar's parents, Julio José Cortázar and...

(Argentina), Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet, diplomat and politician Neftalí Ricardo Reyes Basoalto. He chose his pen name after Czech poet Jan Neruda....

(Chile), Gabriela Mistral

Gabriela Mistral

Gabriela Mistral was the pseudonym of Lucila de María del Perpetuo Socorro Godoy Alcayaga, a Chilean poet, educator, diplomat, and feminist who was the first Latin American to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1945...

(Chile), Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Luis Borges

Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo , known as Jorge Luis Borges , was an Argentine writer, essayist, poet and translator born in Buenos Aires. In 1914 his family moved to Switzerland where he attended school, receiving his baccalauréat from the Collège de Genève in 1918. The family...

(Argentina), Pedro Henríquez Ureña

Pedro Henríquez Ureña

Pedro Henríquez Ureña was a Dominican intellectual, essayist, philosopher, humanist, philologist and literary critic.-Early works:Pedro Henríquez Ureña was born in Santo Domingo, the third of four siblings...

(Dominican Republic), Ernesto Sabato

Ernesto Sabato

Ernesto Sabato , was an Argentine writer, painter and physicist. According to the BBC he "won some of the most prestigious prizes in Hispanic literature" and "became very influential in the literary world throughout Latin America"...

(Argentina), Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel

Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel

Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel is an Annobonese writer from Equatorial Guinea.-Background and early life:...

(Equatorial Guinea), Ciro Alegría

Ciro Alegría

Ciro Alegría Bazán was a Peruvian journalist, politician, and novelist.-Biography:Born in Huamachuco District, he exposed the problematic of the native Peruvians, learning about their way of life. This understanding of how they were oppressed was the focus for his novels...

(Peru), Joaquin Garcia Monge

Joaquín García Monge

Joaquín García Monge is considered one of Costa Rica's most important writers. He was born in Desamparados, Costa Rica in 1881 and was educated in both Costa Rica and Chile, where he fell under the influence of the leading literary currents of his time...

(Costa Rica), and José Rizal

José Rizal

José Protacio Rizal Mercado y Alonso Realonda , was a Filipino polymath, patriot and the most prominent advocate for reform in the Philippines during the Spanish colonial era. He is regarded as the foremost Filipino patriot and is listed as one of the national heroes of the Philippines by...

(Philippines).

Religion

With regard to religious affiliation among Spanish-speakers, Christianity

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

— specifically Roman Catholicism

Roman Catholic Church

The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the world's largest Christian church, with over a billion members. Led by the Pope, it defines its mission as spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ, administering the sacraments and exercising charity...

— is usually the first religious tradition that comes to mind. Indeed, the Spaniards took the Roman Catholic faith to Latin America, and in the Philippines, 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

Protestantism

Protestantism is one of the three major groupings within Christianity. It is a movement that began in Germany in the early 16th century as a reaction against medieval Roman Catholic doctrines and practices, especially in regards to salvation, justification, and ecclesiology.The doctrines of the...

denomination.

There are also Spanish-speaker Jews, of which most are the descendants of Ashkenazi Jews

Ashkenazi Jews

Ashkenazi Jews, also known as Ashkenazic Jews or Ashkenazim , are the Jews descended from the medieval Jewish communities along the Rhine in Germany from Alsace in the south to the Rhineland in the north. Ashkenaz is the medieval Hebrew name for this region and thus for Germany...

who migrated from Europe (German Jews, Russian Jews, Polish Jews, etc.) to Latin America, particularly Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, Uruguay

Uruguay

Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...

, Peru

Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

and Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

(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 Spanish-speaker Jews also originate from the small communities of reconverted descendants of anusim

Anusim

Anusim is a legal category of Jews in halakha who were forced or coerced to abandon Judaism against their will, typically while forcibly converted to another religion...

— those whose Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi Jewish

Sephardi Jews

Sephardi Jews is a general term referring to the descendants of the Jews who lived in the Iberian Peninsula before their expulsion in the Spanish Inquisition. It can also refer to those who use a Sephardic style of liturgy or would otherwise define themselves in terms of the Jewish customs and...

ancestors long ago hid their Jewish ancestry and beliefs in fear of persecution by the Spanish Inquisition

Spanish Inquisition

The Tribunal of the Holy Office of the Inquisition , commonly known as the Spanish Inquisition , was a tribunal established in 1480 by Catholic Monarchs Ferdinand II of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile. It was intended to maintain Catholic orthodoxy in their kingdoms, and to replace the Medieval...

and Portuguese Inquisition

Portuguese Inquisition

The Portuguese Inquisition was formally established in Portugal in 1536 at the request of the King of Portugal, João III. Manuel I had asked for the installation of the Inquisition in 1515 to fulfill the commitment of marriage with Maria of Aragon, but it was only after his death that the Pope...

in the Iberian Peninsula

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

Y chromosome

The Y chromosome is one of the two sex-determining chromosomes in most mammals, including humans. In mammals, it contains the gene SRY, which triggers testis development if present. The human Y chromosome is composed of about 60 million base pairs...

conducted by the University of Leeds

University of Leeds

The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...

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 marrano

Marrano

Marranos were Jews living in the Iberian peninsula who converted to Christianity rather than be expelled but continued to observe rabbinic Judaism in secret...

s and the Spanish-speaker crypto-Jews

Crypto-Judaism

Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews"...

believed to exist in the once Spanish-held Southwestern United States

Southwestern United States

The Southwestern United States is a region defined in different ways by different sources. Broad definitions include nearly a quarter of the United States, including Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Utah...

and scattered through Latin America. Additionally, there are Sephardic Jews who are descendants of those Jews who fled Spain to Turkey, Syria

Syria

Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

, and North Africa, some of whom have now migrated to Latin America, holding on to some Spanish/Sephardic customs, such as the Ladino

Judaeo-Spanish

Judaeo-Spanish , in Israel commonly referred to as Ladino, and known locally as Judezmo, Djudeo-Espanyol, Djudezmo, Djudeo-Kasteyano, Spaniolit and other names, is a Romance language derived from Old Spanish...

language which mixes Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic and others, though written with Hebrew and Latin characters. Though, it should be noted, that Ladinos

Slavery

Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...

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

History of the Jews in Latin America

The history of the Jews in Latin America dates, according to some interpretations, back to Christopher Columbus and his first cross-Atlantic voyage on August 3, 1492, when he left Spain and eventually discovered the New World...

and List of Latin American Jews.)

Among the Spanish-speaker Catholics, most communities celebrate their homeland's patron saint

Patron saint

A patron saint is a saint who is regarded as the intercessor and advocate in heaven of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or person...

, dedicating a day for this purpose with festivals and religious services. Some Spanish-speakers syncretize Roman Catholicism and African or Native American rituals and beliefs. Such is the case of Santería

Santería

Santería is a syncretic religion of West African and Caribbean origin influenced by Roman Catholic Christianity, also known as Regla de Ocha, La Regla Lucumi, or Lukumi. Its liturgical language, a dialect of Yoruba, is also known as Lucumi....

, popular with Afro-Cuban

Afro-Cuban

The term Afro-Cuban refers to Cubans of Sub Saharan African ancestry, and to historical or cultural elements in Cuba thought to emanate from this community...

s and which combines old African beliefs in the form of Roman Catholic saints and rituals. Other syncretistic beliefs include Spiritism

Spiritism

Spiritism is a loose corpus of religious faiths having in common the general belief in the survival of a spirit after death. In a stricter sense, it is the religion, beliefs and practices of the people affiliated to the International Spiritist Union, based on the works of Allan Kardec and others...

and Curanderismo

Curandero

A curandero or curandeiro is a traditional folk healer or shaman in Latin America, who is dedicated to curing physical or spiritual illnesses. The role of a curandero or curandera can also incorporate the roles of psychiatrist along with that of doctor and healer. Many curanderos use Catholic...

.

While a tiny minority, there are some Muslims in Latin America , in the US, and in the Philippines predominantly in Mindanao

Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao

The Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao is the region, located in the Mindanao island group of the Philippines, that is composed of predominantly Muslim provinces, namely: Basilan , Lanao del Sur, Maguindanao, Sulu and Tawi-Tawi. It is the only region that has its own government...

, the of home of Islam in the Philippines

Islam in the Philippines

Islam is the oldest recorded monotheistic religion in the Philippines. Islam reached the Philippines between the 12th and 14th century with the arrival of Muslim traders from Persian Gulf and the Malabar Coast in Southern India, and their followers from several sultanate governments in the Malay...

.

In the United States some 70% of Hispanics and Latinos report themselves Catholic and 23% Protestant, with 6% having no affiliation. A minority among the Roman Catholics, about one in five, are charismatics

Charismatic Christianity

Charismatic Christianity is a Christian doctrine that maintains that modern-day believers experience miracles, prophecy, speaking in tongues, and other spiritual gifts as described in of the Bible...

. Among the Protestant, 85% are "Born-again Christians" and belong to Evangelical

Evangelicalism

Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...

or Pentecostal

Pentecostalism

Pentecostalism is a diverse and complex movement within Christianity that places special emphasis on a direct personal experience of God through the baptism in the Holy Spirit, has an eschatological focus, and is an experiential religion. The term Pentecostal is derived from Pentecost, the Greek...

churches. Among the smallest groups, less than 4%, are Jewish.

External links

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