Hispanic

The term Hispanic (

The term commonly applies to Spaniards and Spanish-speaking (Hispanophone) populations and countries in Hispanic America (the continent) and Hispanic Africa (Equatorial Guinea and the disputed territory of Western Sahara), which were formerly part of the Spanish Empire due to colonization mainly between the 16th and 20th centuries. The cultures of Hispanophone countries outside Spain have been influenced as well by the local pre-Hispanic cultures or other foreign influences.

There was also Spanish influence in the former

Hispanic culture is a set of customs, traditions, beliefs, and art forms in music, literature, dress, architecture, cuisine, and other cultural fields that are generally shared by peoples in Hispanic regions, but which can vary considerably from one country or territory to another. The Spanish language is the main cultural element shared by Hispanic peoples.^[5][6]

Terminology

The term Hispanic derives from the

The words Spain, Spanish, and Spaniard are of the same etymology as Hispanus, ultimately.[7]

Hispanus was the Latin name given to a person from Hispania during

• Hispania was the name of the
  Visigothic kingdom
  , 5th–8th century.
• Hispano-Roman is used to refer to the culture and people of Hispania, both during the Roman period and subsequent Visigothic period.[18]^[19][20]
• Hispanic is used to refer to modern Spain, to the Spanish language, and to the Spanish-speaking nations of the world, particularly the Americas.^[20][21]
• 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.

Hispania was divided into two provinces:

Before the marriage of Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon in 1469, the four Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula—the Kingdom of Portugal, the Crown of Aragon, the Crown of Castile, and the Kingdom of Navarre—were collectively called The Spains. This revival of the old Roman concept in the Middle Ages appears to have originated in Provençal, and was first documented at the end of the 11th century. In the Council of Constance, the four kingdoms shared one vote.

The terms Spain and the Spains were not interchangeable.

The expansion of the Spanish Empire 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 (as in the Philippines, the lone Spanish territory in Asia), producing a number of multiracial populations. Today, the varied populations of these places, including those with Spanish ancestry, are also designated as Hispanic.

Definitions in ancient Rome

The Latin gentile adjectives that belong to Hispania are Hispanus, Hispanicus, and Hispaniensis. A Hispanus is someone who is a native of Hispania with no foreign parents, while children born in Hispania of Roman parents were Hispanienses. Hispaniensis means 'connected in some way to Hispania', as in "Exercitus Hispaniensis" ('the Spanish army') or "mercatores Hispanienses" ('Spanish merchants'). Hispanicus implies 'of' or 'belonging to' Hispania or the Hispanus or of their fashion as in "gladius Hispanicus".^[31] The gentile adjectives were not ethnolinguistic but derived primarily on a geographic basis, from the toponym Hispania as the people of Hispania spoke different languages, although Titus Livius (Livy) said they could all understand each other, not making clear if they spoke dialects of the same language or were polyglots.^[32] The first recorded use of an

In Portugal, Hispanic refers to something historical related to ancient Hispania (especially the terms Hispano-Roman and Hispania) or the Spanish language and cultures shared by all the Spanish-speaking countries.[35] Although sharing the etymology for the word (pt: hispânico, es: hispánico), the definition for Hispanic is different between Portugal and Spain. The Royal Spanish Academy (Spanish: Real Academia Española, RAE), the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language defines the terms "hispano" and "hispánico" (which in Spain have slightly different meanings) as:^[36][37]

Hispano:

• 1. A native of Hispania [Roman region]
• 2. Belonging or relating to Hispania
• 3. Spanish, as applied to a person
• 4. Of or pertaining to Hispanic America
• 5. Of or pertaining to the population of Hispanic American origin who live in the United States of America
• 6. A person of this origin who lives in the United States of America

Hispánico

• 1. Belonging or relating to ancient Hispania or the people inhabiting the region
• 2. Belonging or relating to Spain and Spanish-speaking countries

The modern term to identify Portuguese and Spanish territories under a single nomenclature is "Iberian", and the one to refer to cultures derived from both countries in the Americas is "Iberian-American". These designations can be mutually recognized by people in Portugal and Brazil. "Hispanic" is totally void of any self-identification in Brazil, and quite to the contrary, serves the purpose of marking a clear distinction in relation to neighboring countries' culture. Brazilians may identify as Latin Americans, but refute being considered Hispanics because their language and culture are neither part of the Hispanic cultural sphere, nor Spanish-speaking world.

In Spanish, the term "hispano", as in "hispanoamericano", refers to the people of Spanish origin who live in the Americas and to a relationship to Spain or to the Spanish language. There are people in Hispanic America that are not of Spanish origin, such as Amerindians- the original people of these areas, as well as Africans and people with origins from other parts of Europe.

Like in Portugal, in the rest of Europe (and wider world) the concept of 'Hispanic' refers to historical ancient Hispania (especially the term hispano-roman and Hispania during the Roman Empire) or the Spanish language and cultures shared by all the Spanish-speaking countries.^{[38][39][40][41]}

Definitions in the United States

Both Hispanic and Latino are widely used in American English for Spanish-speaking people and their descendants in the United States. While Hispanic refers to Spanish speakers overall, Latino refers specifically to people of Latin American descent. Hispanic can also be used for the people and culture of Spain as well as Latin America.^[42] While originally the term Hispanic referred primarily to the Hispanos of New Mexico within the United States,^[43] today, organizations in the country use the term as a broad catchall to refer to persons with a historical and cultural relationship with Spain regardless of race and ethnicity.^[5][6] The United States Census Bureau uses Hispanic or Latino to refer to a person of Cuban, Mexican, Puerto Rican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin regardless of race ^[44] and states that Hispanics or Latinos can be of any race and any ancestry.^[45]

Because of the technical distinctions involved in defining "race" vs. "ethnicity", there is confusion among the general population about the designation of Hispanic identity. Currently, the United States Census Bureau defines six race categories:^[46]

• White or Caucasian
• Black or African American
• American Indian or Alaska Native
• Asian
• Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander
• Some Other Race

A 1997 notice by the U.S.

The U.S. Department of Transportation defines Hispanic as, "persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race."^[5] This definition has been adopted by the Small Business Administration as well as by many federal, state, and municipal agencies for the purposes of awarding government contracts to minority owned businesses.^[6] The

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission encourages any individual who believes that he or she is Hispanic to self-identify as Hispanic.^[50] The United States Department of Labor – Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs encourages the same self-identification. As a result, individuals with origins to part of the Spanish Empire may self-identify as Hispanic, because an employer may not override an individual's self-identification.^[51]

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.^[52]

In a recent study, most Spanish-speakers of Spanish or Hispanic American descent do not prefer the term Hispanic or Latino when it comes to describing their identity. Instead, they prefer to be identified by their country of origin. When asked if they have a preference for either being identified as Hispanic or Latino, the Pew study finds that "half (51%) say they have no preference for either term."^[53] Among those who do express a preference, "'Hispanic' is preferred over 'Latino' by more than a two-to-one margin—33% versus 14%." 21% prefer to be referred to simply as "Americans". A majority (51%) say they most often identify themselves by their family's country of origin, while 24% say they prefer a pan-ethnic label such as Hispanic or Latino.^[54]

Culture

The

Music

Folk and popular dance and music also varies greatly among Hispanics. For instance, the music from Spain is a lot different from the

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

Literature

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

Sports

In the majority of the Hispanic countries,

Notable Hispanic sports television networks are ESPN Deportes, Fox Deportes and TyC Sports.

Religion

The Spanish and the Portuguese took the Catholic faith to their colonies in the Americas, Africa, and Asia; Catholicism remains the predominant religion amongst most Hispanics.^[55] A small but growing number of Hispanics belong to a Protestant denomination. Hispanic Christians form the largest ethno-linguistic group among Christians in the world, about 18% of the world's Christian population are Hispanic (around 430 millions).^[56]

In the United States, some 65% of Hispanics and Latinos report themselves Catholic and 21% Protestant, with 13% having no affiliation.

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

Countries	Population Total	Christians %	Christian Population	Unaffiliated %	Unaffiliated Population	Other religions %	Other religions Population	Source
Argentina	43,830,000	85.4%	37,420,000	12.1%	5,320,000	2.5%	1,090,000	[58]
Bolivia	11,830,000	94.0%	11,120,000	4.1%	480,000	1.9%	230,000	[58]
Chile	18,540,000	88.3%	16,380,000	9.7%	1,800,000	2.0%	360,000	[58]
Colombia	52,160,000	92.3%	48,150,000	6.7%	3,510,000	1.0%	500,000	[58]
Costa Rica	5,270,000	90.8%	4,780,000	8.0%	420,000	1.2%	70,000	[58]
Cuba	11,230,000	58.9%	6,610,000	23.2%	2,600,000	17.9%	2,020,000	[58]
Dominican Republic	11,280,000	88.0%	9,930,000	10.9%	1,230,000	1.1%	120,000	[58]
Ecuador	16,480,000	94.0%	15,490,000	5.6%	920,000	0.4%	70,000	[58]
El Salvador	6,670,000	88.0%	5,870,000	11.2%	740,000	0.8%	60,000	[58]
Equatorial Guinea	1,469,000	88.7%	1,303,000	5.0%	73,000	6.3%	93,000	[58]
Guatemala	18,210,000	95.3%	17,360,000	3.9%	720,000	0.8%	130,000	[58]
Honduras	9,090,000	87.5%	7,950,000	10.5%	950,000	2.0%	190,000	[58]
Mexico	126,010,000	94.1%	118,570,000	5.7%	7,240,000	0.2%	200,000	[58]
Nicaragua	6,690,000	85.3%	5,710,000	13.0%	870,000	1.7%	110,000	[58]
Panama	4,020,000	92.7%	3,720,000	5.0%	200,000	2.3%	100,000	[58]
Paraguay	7,630,000	96.9%	7,390,000	1.1%	90,000	2.0%	150,000	[58]
Peru	32,920,000	95.4%	31,420,000	3.1%	1,010,000	1.5%	490,000	[58]
Philippines	118,000,000	84%	85,645,362	0.04043%	43,931	15.3%	18,054,000	[59]
Puerto Rico	3,790,000	90.5%	3,660,000	7.3%	80,000	2.2%	40,000	[58]
Spain	48,400,000	75.2%	34,410,000	21.0%	10,190,000	3.8%	1,800,000	[58]
Uruguay	3,490,000	57.0%	1,990,000	41.5%	1,450,000	1.5%	50,000	[58]
Venezuela	33,010,000	89.5%	29,540,000	9.7%	3,220,000	0.8%	250,000	[58]

Christianity

Among the Spanish-speaking Catholics, most communities celebrate their homeland's

While a tiny minority, there are some Muslims in Latin America, in the United States,[62] and in the Philippines. Those in the Philippines live predominantly in Bangsamoro.^[63]

Judaism

There are also Spanish-speaking

Genetic studies on the (male) Y-chromosome conducted by the University of Leeds in 2008 appear to support the idea that the number of forced conversions have been previously underestimated significantly. They found that twenty percent of Spanish males have Y-chromosomes associated with Sephardic Jewish ancestry.^[66] This may imply that there were more forced conversions than was previously thought.

There are also thought to be many Catholic-professing descendants of

• Spanish language
  • Hispanophone
  • Languages of Spain
  • Spanish language in the Americas
  • Spanish language in the United States
  • Chavacano
• Latin Americans
  • Afro-Latin American
  • Amerindians
  • Asian Latin American
  • Criollo people
  • Mestizo
  • Mulatto
  • White Latin American
  • Isleño Americans
  • Black Hispanic and Latino Americans
  • White Hispanic and Latino Americans
  • Hispanic America
  • Hispanic Heritage Sites (U.S. National Park Service)
  • Hispanic Paradox
  • Cuban-American lobby
• Lusitanians
• Panhispanism
  • Hispanism
  • Flag of the Hispanic People
  • Hispanophobia
• Culture of Spain
• Spanish Filipino
  • Chavacano
  • Philippine Spanish
  • Hispanic influence on Filipino culture
• Emancipados
• Fernandinos
• Ibero-America (Iberian Peninsula)
• Latin Union

Notes