Hispanic and Latino Americans

Hispanic American

Romualdo Pacheco • Gloria Estefan• Celia Cruz • Alex Rodriguez
Regions with significant populations
Southwestern United States, Florida, Illinois, New York City
Languages
Spanish, American English
Religion
Roman Catholic Protestant
Related ethnic groups
Native Americans, Spaniards, Africans, Asians

Hispanics in the United States, or Hispanic Americans, are American citizens or residents of Hispanic ethnicity who identify themselves as having Hispanic Cultural heritage. According to the 2000 Census, Hispanic Americans constitute roughly 12.5% of the national population, forming the second largest ethnic group in the United States (after German Americans).

Usage of the term Hispanic in the United States

In the United States, Hispanic is one of several terms of ethnicity employed to categorize any person, of any racial background, of any country and of any religion who has at least one ancestor from the people of Spain or Spanish-speaking Latin America, whether or not the person has Spanish ancestry. The term was first adopted in the United States by the administration of Richard Nixon and used in the 1980 Census The term has continued to be used in the Census and since been used in local and federal employment, mass media, and business market research.

The ethnic label Hispanic was the result of efforts by a Hispanic New Mexican senator, Montoya, who wanted a label that could be used to quantify the Spanish-speaking population for the US Census. The label Hispanic was chosen in part because in New Mexico, well-to-do people of Spanish descent such as Montoya referred to themselves as Hispanos, and the transliteration of Hispano is Hispanic.

The Hispanic population consists of the people of Spain and everyone with origins in any of Spanish-speaking nations of the Americas, regardless of ancestry of the latter (including Amerindians). Sometimes, by mistake, the people confuse the terms Spanish with Hispanic. The Spanish (or Spaniards) are European citizens that lives in the Democratic Monarchy of Spain, with a different ethnic and culture. However, altough most of Hispanic have never been in Spain the culture of this people have been strong links with the Spanish culture, one of the most influenting in the history of the civilizations. The Hispanic population have been enrich its culture and ethnicity with the crossbreed of the Native American Civilization and Spanish-European civilization. The politics of the XVI Spanish Empire of the Americas let the mix of races (mestizaje) between the Spanish and the native people in the New Discovered Word. The Britsh Empire, conversely, didn't let the mix of races, and this finished with the extermination of the most of the former Native Americans (redskins).

Previously Hispanics were commonly referred to as "Spanish-Americans", "Spanish-speaking Americans", and "Spanish-surnamed Americans". These terms, however, proved even more misleading or inaccurate since:

• Most U.S. Hispanics were not born in Spain, nor were most born to recent Spanish nationals;
• Although most U.S. Hispanics speak Spanish, not all do, and though most Spanish-speaking people are Hispanic, not all are (e.g., many U.S. Hispanics by the fourth generation no longer speak Spanish, while there are some non-Hispanics of the Southwestern United States that may be fluent in the language), and;
• Although most Hispanics have a Spanish surname, not all do, and while most Spanish-surnamed people are Hispanic, not all are (e.g., there are tens of millions of Spanish-surnamed Filipinos, but very few, only 2%, would qualify as Hispanic by ancestry. In addition, there are also many Guamanians, Marshall Islanders, and Northern Marianians with Spanish surnames in US.).
• A number of Louisiana Creole and Cajun people have Spanish ancestry, and Hispanic surnames, yet they may identify more strongly with the traditional Francophone cultures of the region.
• Hispanics may also be of full black African Latin American or Afro-Latino heritage, Amerindian/Native American heritage including mestizo, white and even Asian heritage.

The term "Spanish American" is still currently in use by many of those who, while not of recent descent from a Spanish national, have continued to practice and view Spanish culture and identity as dominant in their lives. In this usage it emphasizes ancestral history and identity, and is not meant to indicate citizenship of the 'old country'.

History

Main article: History of Hispanic people in the United States

A continuous Hispanic presence in the territory of the United States has existed since the 16th century, earlier than any other group after the Native Americans. Spaniards pioneered the present-day United States. The first confirmed European landing in the continental US was by Juan Ponce de León, who landed in 1513 at a lush shore he christened La Florida. Within three decades of Ponce de León's landing, the Spanish became the first Europeans to reach the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi River, the Grand Canyon and the Great Plains. Spanish ships sailed along the East Coast, penetrating to present-day Bangor, Maine, and up the Pacific Coast as far as Oregon. From 1528 to 1536, four castaways from a Spanish expedition, including a "Moor", journeyed all the way from Florida to the Gulf of California, 267 years before the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

In 1540 Hernando de Soto undertook an extensive exploration of the present US, and in the same year Francisco Vázquez de Coronado led 2,000 Spaniards and Mexican Indians across today's Arizona-Mexico border and traveled as far as central Kansas, close to the exact geographic center of what is now the continental United States. Other Spanish explorers of the US make up a long list that includes, among others: Lucas Vásquez de Ayllón, Pánfilo de Narváez, Sebastián Vizcaíno, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Gaspar de Portolà, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Tristán de Luna y Arellano and Juan de Oñate. In all, Spaniards probed half of today's lower 48 states before the first English colonization attempt at Roanoke Island in 1585.

The Spanish created the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States, at St. Augustine, Florida, in 1565. Santa Fe, New Mexico also predates Jamestown, Virginia (founded in 1607) and Plymouth Colony (of Mayflower and Pilgrims fame, founded in 1620). Later came Spanish settlements in San Antonio, Tucson, San Diego, Los Angeles and San Francisco, to name just a few. The Spanish even established a Jesuit mission in Virginia's Chesapeake Bay 37 years before the founding of Jamestown.

Two iconic American stories have Spanish antecedents, too. Almost 80 years before John Smith's alleged rescue by Pocahontas, a man by the name of Juan Ortiz told of his remarkably similar rescue from execution by an Indian girl. Spaniards also held a thanksgiving — 56 years before the famous Pilgrims festival — when they feasted near St. Augustine with Florida Indians, probably on stewed pork and garbanzo beans. As late as 1783, at the end of the American Revolutionary War, Spain held claim to roughly half of today's continental United States; in 1775, Spanish ships even reached Alaska. From 1819 to 1848, the United States (through treaties, diplomacy, and purchasing territory after the Mexican War) increased the nation's area by roughly a third at Spanish and Mexican expense, including three of today's four most populous states: California, Texas and Florida. Hispanics became the first American citizens in the newly acquired Southwest territory and remained a majority in several states until the 20th century. (See also New Spain.)

Hispanic soldiers have fought in all the wars of the United States. ([2], [3], [4], List of Hispanic Medal of Honor recipients)

Demographics

Hispanic American Heritage

Hispanic

Hispanic Group	Population	Percentage	Main article:
Mexican	26,781,547	(64% Of Total)	See Mexican American
Puerto Rican	3,800,000	(10%)	See Puerto Rican American
Spanish	2,487,092	(7%)	See Spanish American
Cuban	1,241,685	(3.5%)	See Cuban American
Dominican	1,200,000	(2.3%)	See Dominican American

Hispanics as a percentage of the U.S population (2000)

Hispanics constitute one of the largest ethnic groups, by place of origin, in the United States. A Hispanic person may be of any race (Amerindian, White, Black, Asian, Pacific Islander or Multiracial such as Mulatto, Mestizo, Zambo or any "Other" race) As of July 1, 2004, Hispanics accounted for 14.1% of the population, around 41.3 million people. The Hispanic growth rate over the July 1, 2003 to July 1, 2004 period was 3.6% - higher than any other ethnic group in the United States, and in fact more than three times the rate of the nation's total population (at 1.0%). The projected Hispanic population of the United States for July 1, 2050, is of 105.6 million people. According to this projection, Hispanics will constitute 25% of the nation’s total population on that date.

Of the nation's total Hispanic population, 49% lives in California or Texas. Not counting Puerto Rico — which is a territorial possession of the United States — New Mexico is the state with the highest proportion of Hispanics, where 43% is of Hispanic origin. The proportion of Hispanics in the states of California and Texas exceeds 35% each.

The Hispanic population of Los Angeles County, California - numbering over 4.6 million - is the largest of any county in the nation. Meanwhile, for the 2000 to 2004 period, Lee County, Florida had the fastest growth rate in Hispanic population of any other county in the United States.

Some 64% of the nation's Hispanic population are of Mexican or Mexican-American ancestry. Approximately 10% are of Puerto Rican background, with about 3% each of Cuban, Salvadoran and Dominican origins. The remainder are of other Central American, South American or other Hispanic or Latino origins, including of Castilian descent directly from Spain or are descended from early Spanish settlers, including New Mexicans, several Tejanos, and some Cajuns.

Racially, Mexican Americans, as well as most Central Americans such as Salvadorans, are usually mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian background) or are primarily Amerindian. Most Puerto Ricans are considered Mestizo with a European and Taino Indian background although there are a significant number of White and Black Puerto Ricans. Most Dominicans (73% of Dominicans) are a triracial mixture of White, Black, and Amerindian Taino background, others are solely White (16%), Black (11%) or Asian. Despite this fact, however, the Census Bureau considers about 93% of U.S. Hispanics to be "white". [5] There are also some white Americans who have Spanish surnames and who are otherwise indistinguishable from other white Americans who are also counted as Hispanic. (See White Hispanic.)

The overwhelming majority of Hispanics of Mexican/Mexican-American origin are concentrated in the Southwestern United States, primarily California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada and New Mexico. The majority of the Hispanic population in the Southeastern United States, concentrated in Florida, are of Cuban origin. The Hispanic population in the Northeastern United States, concentrated in New York and New Jersey, is composed mostly of Puerto Ricans, however, the Dominican population has risen considerably in the last decade, especially in proportion to that region's Hispanic population. The remainder of other Hispanics, composed of various Central American and South American origins, may be found throughout the country, though South Americans tend to concentrate on the East Coast of the United States (joining Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, and Cubans) and Central Americans on the West Coast of the United States (joining Mexicans/Mexican Americans).

Spanish American

There are few recent immigrants directly from Spain. In the 2000 Census, 299,948 Americans specifically reported their ancestry as Spaniard [6] , Additionally, in the 2000 Census some 2,187,144 Americans reported "Spanish" as their ancestry.

The Census Bureau attributes the decrease to the trend among increasing numbers of Hispanics of all national groups, including Spaniards, of identifying themselves with general labels such as "Hispanic" rather than a specific national origin.

Several long-established Hispanic communities within the present-day territory of the United States do clearly fall within a traditional national origin category. One example is the Hispano population of northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. These peoples trace their ancestry to Spanish settlers who arrived in the region during the late 15th century through the 17th century. People from this background often self-identify as "Hispano," "Spanish," or "Hispanic." Likewise, southern Louisiana is home to communities of people of Canary Islands descent, known as Isleños, in addition to other people of Spanish creole ancestry.

Socioeconomic Circumstances

Immigration from Hispanic countries, such as Mexico and Cuba, have followed adverse political and economic circumstances in such countries. Cubans left to flee the rule of Castro. The strongest waves of Mexican immigrants came between the late 1970s and mid 1990s when the value of the Mexican currency (the peso) dropped suddenly to half its value sending the country into and economic shock. The party which held the presidency at the time, the PRI, gained extreme disdain in the majority of the country and has been in decline following the election after Salinas de Gortari left.

Many of the Cubans that left Cuba were people who had privileged socioeconomic conditions, thus were fleeing Castros communistic agenda. Some of the Cubans had businesses and professional occupations. The move to the US was an effort to save their standard of living.

Many of the people who have come from Mexico have been from the lower classes. Many come from the poor parts of Mexico city, the southern states with large Amerindian communities, and also the poor parts of the north of Mexico. The crime related to Mexican immigration is directly related to their original impoverished condition.

In the late 1990s a few of the Mexican professionals have started to work between the two countries, and some of the lower middle class has also begun to immigrate.

Workforce and Average Income

In 2002, the average individual income for Hispanics was highest amongst Cuban-Americans ($38, 733); and lowest amongst Dominican-Americans ($28,467) and Mexican-Americans ($27,877). Puerto Ricans ($33,927) and Central and South Americans ($30,444) placed in between. In comparison, the income of the average Hispanic American is lower than that of the national average.

Among Hispanics, Cuban-Americans (28.5 percent) had the highest percentage in professional-managerial occupations, but that percentage was lower than the average for non-Hispanics (36.2 percent). In comparison the percentage for Puerto Ricans was 20.7 percent, Central and South Americans was 16.8 percent and Mexican-Americans was 13.2 percent.

Education

High school graduation rates are highest among Cuban-Americans (68.7 percent) and lowest among Mexican-Americans (48.7 percent). Other Hispanic groups fall in between including, Puerto Ricans (63.2 percent), Central and South Americans (60.4 percent) and Dominican-Americans (51.7 percent).

According to the 2000 census, Cuban-Americans and Central and South Americans had the highest college graduation rates with 19.4 percent of Cuban-Americans and 16 percent of Central and South Americans 25 years and older achieving a 4-year college degree. Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans and Dominican-Americans had considerably lower college graduation rates with only 6.2 percent of Mexican-Americans, 9.9 of Puerto Ricans and 10.9 of Dominican-Americans achieving a 4-year college degree. In comparison Asian-Americans (43.3 percent) and European-Americans (26.1 percent) had a higher graduation rate than all Hispanic-American groups. African-Americans (14.4 percent) had a lower graduation rate then Cuban-Americans and Central and South Americans but had a higher graduation rate then Mexican-Americans, Puerto Ricans and Dominican-Americans.

Cuban-Americans have the highest attainment of graduate degrees among all Hispanic groups, with 6.7 percent of Cuban-Americans 25 years and older attaining a graduate level degree. Central and South Americans also have a high percentage of graduate level degrees (4.2 percent), but is still lower than that of Asian-Americans (15.6 percent) and European-Americans (8.7 percent). African-Americans (4.1 percent) have a higher percentage of graduate level degrees then all Hispanic groups with the exception of Cuban-Americans and South and Central Americans. Of those 25 years and older only 3.1 percent of Puerto Ricans, 1.8 percent of Dominican-Americans and 1.4 percent of Mexican-Americans have attainted a graduate level degree.

Poverty

Among Hispanic groups the poverty rate is highest among Dominican-Americans (29.9 percent), Puerto Ricans (22.8 percent) and Mexican-Americans (21.2 percent). Cuban-Americans (12.9 percent) and South and Central Americans (14.1 percent) had the lowest poverty rates among Hispanic groups. In comparison the average poverty rate for European-Americans (6.3 percent) and Asian-Americans (7.1 percent) was lower than that of any Hispanic group. African-Americans (21.3 percent) have a higher poverty rate than all Hispanic groups with the exception of Dominican-Americans and Puerto Ricans.

Political trends

Main article: Hispanic and Latino politics in the United States

President Clinton's Latino Appointees in 1998

Hispanics differ on their political views. For example, many Cubans and Colombians tend to favor conservative political ideologies and support the Republicans, while Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominicans lean more towards the Democrats; however, because the latter groups are far more numerous (Mexicans alone are nearly 60% of Hispanics), the Democratic Party is considered to be in a far stronger position among Hispanics overall.

In the past two national election cycles the Presidency of George W. Bush has had a significant impact on the political leanings of Hispanic Americans. As a former Governor of Texas, President Bush has regarded the growing Hispanic community as a potential source of growth for the conservative and/or Republican movement--particularly because of the Catholic and more conservative social values that many Hispanic Americans share with the conservative element of the American political system.

Bush has made some gains for the Republican Party among Hispanics. For example, in the 1996 presidential election, 72% of Hispanics backed President Clinton, but in 2000, that Democratic total fell to 62%, and down further to 58% in 2004, with Democrat John Kerry winning Hispanics 58-40 over Bush.

It also breaks down by state. Hispanics in the West, especially in California, were much stronger for the Democratic Party than in Texas and Florida. California Latinos voted 63-32 for John Kerry in 2004, and both Arizona and New Mexico Latinos by a smaller 56-43 margin, but Texas Latinos were split nearly evenly (50-49 for Kerry), and Florida Latinos (mostly being Cuban American) backed President Bush by a 54-45 margin.

In the 2006 midterm election, however, due to the heated debate of illegal immigration and the general misfortune of the Republican Party, Latinos went as strongly Democratic as they have since the Clinton years. Exit poll showed Latinos voting for Democrats by a lopsided 69-30 margin, with Florida Latinos for the first time split evenly. The runoff election in Texas' 23rd congressional district was seen as a bellwether of Latino politics, and Democrat Ciro Rodriguez's unexpected (and unexpectedly decisive) defeat of Republican incumbent Henry Bonilla was seen as proof of a left lurch among Latino voters, as heavily Latino counties overwhelmingly backed Rodriguez, and heavily Anglo counties overwhelmingly backed Bonilla.

Some political organizations associated with Hispanic Americans are LULAC, the United Farm Workers, the Cuban American National Foundation, and the National Institute for Latino Policy.

Cultural trends

Main article: Hispanic culture

Popular culture varies widely from one Hispanic community to another, but despite this several features tend to unite Hispanics from diverse backgrounds. Many Hispanics, including U.S.-born second and third generation Mexican-Americans, use the English language frequently and Spanish language to varying degrees. The most usual pattern is monolingual Spanish usage among new migrants or older foreign born Hispanics (65% are Mexican), complete bilingualism among long settled immigrants and their children, and the use of English and/or Spanglish and colloquial Spanish within long established Hispanic communities by the third generation and beyond. In some families the children and grandchildren of immigrants speak mostly English with some Spanish words and phrases thrown in. More than half of U.S. Hispanics are bilingual in English and Spanish. Another one quarter, approximately, speak Spanish only, and the rest (perhaps one in seven Hispanics) speak English only. Overall, about three-fourths of the Hispanic population speaks English, most of them very well. This is especially due to the fact that 60% of Hispanics are US-born. [7]

Media

Univision, the United States' largest Spanish-language television network

The United States is home to thousands of Spanish language media outlets ranging in size from giant commercial broadcasting networks and major Hispanic-oriented periodicals with circulations numbering in the millions, to low-power AM radio stations with listeners numbering in the hundreds. There are hundreds of online media outlets targeting US Hispanic audiences, some of which are online versions of their printed counterparts and others online exclusively.

In the aspect of public television, otherwise known as non-commercial television, there are organizations that advocate a greater degree of programming from a Hispanic-American perspective in public television. The National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC) has been a leader since its founding in 1986 in advocating for Latino inclusion in television, radio and film. In 1999, along with a board coalition of national Latino organizations, the NHMC led a "brownout" of the national television networks after discovering that there were no Latinos in any of their new shows that year. This resulted in the signing of historic diversity agreements with ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC that have increased the hiring of Latino talent and other staff in all of the networks since then. Also prominent in this area is Latino Public Broadcasting which funds programs of educational and cultural significance to Hispanic-Americans. These LPB-funded projects are distributed to various public television stations throughout the United States.

Noteworthy Spanish-language media outlets include:

• Univision and Telemundo, respectively the first and second largest Spanish-language television networks in the United States, each with affiliates in nearly every major U.S. market, including numerous affiliates internationally.
• El Nuevo Herald, a Spanish-language daily newspaper serving the greater Miami, Florida market.
• Vida Latina, a Spanish-language entertainment magazine distributed throughout the Southern United States.

See also

• Chilean Australian
• Latin American British
• Latino Canadian
• Spanish Briton
• Hispanic
• Spanish American
• Spanish Brazilian
• Spanish Canadian
• Spanish-Filipino

Resources

http://hispanic-research.com/home/who_are_they.htm

• Hispanic Americans in the U.S. Army

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5237.html
http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/p20-535.pdf