Hispanic
Hispanic (Spanish: Hispano, hispánico) is a word that originally meant a relationship to Hispania. This is the Iberian Peninsula and includes Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar and Spain. Now the word is used with a more limited meaning.
In the United States, Hispanic and Latino are different ethnic categories. Hispanic simply means a person who comes from a country where Spanish is the official language, this includes Puerto Rico of the United States whereas Latino means a person who comes from a country in Latin America (which includes only Mexico of North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America).
- A person who has roots from Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Paraguay, Honduras, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Panama is both Hispanic and Latino.
- A person who has roots from Spain, Equatorial Guinea, and Western Sahara is Hispanic, but not Latino.
- A person who has roots from Brazil, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Haiti, Saint Barthélemy, and Saint Martin is Latino, but not Hispanic.
Spanish names, the Spanish language, and Spanish customs can also be found in other areas that were part of the Spanish Empire, such as in Equatorial Guinea or in the Philippines.
Hispanic Media
Bust of a young Hispano-Roman man, 2nd century.
1770 painting of a mixed-race family from Spanish America. As a result of the significant mixing of populations during this time, the term "Hispanic" is often considered independent of racial background.
Hispanic boy from New Mexico, 1940 photograph.
Miguel de Cervantes Prize, most prestigious literary award in the Spanish language
The image of Our Lady of the Pillar wearing her canonical crown