Hispanic (Spanish: hispano, hispánico; Portuguese: hispânico, hispano, Catalan: hispà, hispànic)^[1][2][3] is an ethnonym that denotes a relationship to Spain or to ancient Hispania, which comprised Andorra, Portugal, Spain and the territory of Gibraltar. Today, organizations in the United States use the term Hispanic to either denote a relationship to Spain or to Spain and Portugal. Some organizations intend to encapsulate only the Spanish-speaking population, limiting the definition to that subset.

The term is also used to denote the culture and people of Spanish colonization of the Americas countries formerly ruled by the Crown of Castile.

Cultural elements (Spanish names, the Spanish language, Spanish customs, etc.), and people known as Hispanic in the United States, can also be found in other areas that were formerly part of the Spanish Empire, such as in Equatorial Guinea in Africa, or the Philippines in Asia-Pacific.

Terminology[link]

Trajan was a Hispano-Roman Emperor, born in Italica Hispania Baetica (modern-day Sevilla, Spain).

The term Hispanic is derived from Hispanicus, which derived from Hispania) Hispania may in turn derive from Latin Hispanicus, or from Greek Ισπανία Hispania and Ισπανός Hispanos, probably from Celtiberian^[4] or from Basque Ezpanna.^[5] In English the word is attested from the 16th century (and in late 19th century in American English).^[6]

The words Spain, Spanish, and Spaniard are of the same etymology as Hispanus, ultimately.^[4]

Stele of a family of celts, hispanus from Gallaecia  : Apana · Ambo/lli · f(ilia) · Celtica /Supertam(arica) · / [j] Miobri · /an(norum) · XXV · h(ic) · s(ita) · e(st) · /Apanus · fr(ater) · f(aciendum)· c(uravit)^[7]

Hispanus was the Latin name given to a person from Hispania during Roman rule. In English, the term Hispano-Roman is sometimes used.^[8] The Hispano-Romans were composed of people from many different tribes.^[9] Some famous Hispani (plural of Hispanus) were Seneca the Elder, Seneca the Younger, Marcus Annaeus Lucanus, Martial, Prudentius, the Roman Emperors Trajan, Hadrian and Theodosius I, and also Magnus Maximus and Maximus of Hispania.

Here follows a comparison of several terms related to Hispanic:

• Hispania was the name of the Iberian Peninsula/Iberia from the 3rd century BC to the 8th AD, both as a Roman Empire province and immediately thereafter as a Visigothic kingdom, 5th–8th century.
• Hispanic is used to refer to the culture and people of Hispania.^[10][11][12]
• 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.^[12][13]
• 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 the Roman name for the whole territory of the Iberian Peninsula. Initially, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior. In 27 b.C, Hispania Ulterior was divided into two new provinces, Hispania Baetica and Hispania Lusitania, while Hispania Citerior was renamed Hispania Tarraconensis. 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.^[14]

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

The word "Lusitanian", chiefly poetic, relates to Lusitania or Portugal, also in reference to the Lusitanians, one of the first Indo-European tribes to settle in Europe. From this tribe's name had derived the name of the Roman province of Lusitania, which was previously part of Hispania, and Lusitania remains Portugal's name in Latin.

The terms "Spain" and " the Spains" were not interchangeable.^[15] 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.^[16] Spain was not a political entity until much later, and when referring to the middle ages one should not be confounded with the nation-state of today.^[17] 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.

With the Decretos de Nueva Planta, Philip V started to organize the fusion of his kingdoms that until then were ruled as distinct and independent, but this unification process lacked a formal and juridic proclamation.^[18][19]

Although colloquially and literarilly the expression "King of Spain" or "King of the Spains" was already widespread,^[20] it did not refer to a unified nation-state. It was only in the constitution of 1812 that was adopted the name "Españas" (Spains) for the Spanish nation and the use of the title of "king of the Spains".^[21] The constitution of 1876 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".^[22]

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, 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 ancient Rome[link]

The Latin gentile adjectives that belong to Hispania are Hispanus, Hispanicus and Hispanienses. Hispanus is some one who is a native of Hispania with no foreign parents, while children born in Hispania of roman parents were Hispaniensis. Hispaniensis means connected in some way to Hispania as in "Exercitus Hispaniensis" or "mercatore Hispanienses", that means those who are located in Hispania. While Hispanicus means "of" or "belonging to" Hispania or the Hispanus or of their fashion as in "glaudius Hispanicus".^[23] 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 Livy said they could all understand each other, not making clair if they spoke dialects of the same language or were polyglots. ^[24] The first recorded use of an anthroponym derived from the toponym Hispania is attested in one of the five fragments, of Quinto Ennius in 236 b.c who wrote "Hispane, non Romane memoretis loqui me" (remember I speak hispane not roman) as having been said by a native of Hispania.^[25][26]

Definitions in Portugal and Spain[link]

In Portugal, Hispanic always refers to something related to Hispania, Spain or the Spanish language and culture.^[27] Portugal and Spain have the same definition for the term Hispanic (pt: hispânico, es: hispánico). The Royal Spanish Academy (Spanish: Real Academia Española, RAE), the official royal institution responsible for regulating the Spanish language defines the term hispanic in Spanish as^[28]:

• 1. Belonging or pertaining to Spain.
• 2. Pertaining to the ancient Hispania or the peoples which were part of it and those born at a later date.
• 3. Pertaining to the Spanish language and culture.

The term signifies the cultural resonance, among other elements and characteristics, of the descendants of the people who inhabited ancient Hispania. It has been used throughout history for purposes such as, but not limited to, drawing a contrast to the moors and differentiating explorers and settlers.

In Spanish, another term, "hispano", refers to the people of Spanish-American origin who live in the United States; it also refers to a relationship to Hispania.

A term used for the common culture of Portugal and Spain is "Iberian". The, "Rede Ibérica da Máscara",^{[29][30] [31]} that promotes a joint candidacy of Portugal and Spain to World Heritage is one example of the conventions used by Portugal and Spain when referring to the common ancestral culture. The term "Luso-Spanish" ^[32] or Hispano-Portuguese ^[33]is also used. The Ibero-American Summit is another example of the terminology adopted officially. When referring specifically to the common culture of northern Portugal and Galicia the convention used is "Galician-Portuguese" as in for example the joint candidacy for the Galician-Portuguese Oral Traditions as a Masterpiece of Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.^[34]

Definitions in the United States[link]

The U.S. Office of Management and Budget currently defines "Hispanic or Latino" as "a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race".^[35] The 2010 Census asked if the person was "Spanish/Hispanic/Latino".

"The terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" refer to persons who trace their origin or descent to Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba, Spanish speaking Central and South America countries, and other Spanish cultures. Origin can be considered as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race."^[36]

The U.S. Department of Transportation defines Hispanic as, "persons of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, Central or South American, or others Spanish or Portuguese culture or origin, regardless of race."^[37] 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. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the Congressional Hispanic Conference include representatives of Spanish and Portuguese descent. The Hispanic Society of America is dedicated to the study of the arts and cultures of Spain, Portugal, and Latin America. The Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities, proclaimed champions of Hispanic success in higher education, is committed to Hispanic educational success in the U.S., Puerto Rico, Latin America, Spain, and Portugal.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission encourages any individual who believes that he or she is Hispanic to self-identify as Hispanic.^[38] The United States Department of Labor - Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs encourages the same self-identification.^[39] As a result, any individual who traces his or her origins to part of the Spanish Empire may self-identify as Hispanic, because an employer may not override an individual's self-identification.^[40]

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. ^[41]

Hispanicization[link]

Hispanicization is the process by which a place or a person absorbs characteristics of Hispanic society and culture.^[42][43][44] 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 or participating in Hispanic festivals and holidays - Hispanization of those outside the Hispanic community as opposed to assimilation 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 have been living in parts of North America for centuries, in many cases well before the English-speaking culture became dominant. For example, California, Texas, Colorado, New Mexico (1598), Arizona, Nevada, Florida and Puerto Rico have been home to Spanish-speaking people since the 16th century, long before the U.S. gained independence from Great Britain. These and other Spanish-speaking territories were part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and later Mexico (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. For example, San Miguel de Galdape, Pensacola and St. Augustine, Florida were founded in 1526, 1559 and 1565 respectively, Santa Fe, New Mexico was founded in 1604, and Albuquerque was established in 1660, In the case of St. Agustine Florida it was founded by Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. 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. 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 that of Spanish speakers, was not unlike that of The Netherlands, France, Sweden or even Russia, 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[link]

Spanish-speaking countries

Spanish identified as an official or de facto official language

Today, Spanish is among the most commonly spoken first languages of the world. During the period of the 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, created a global empire with a diverse population. Miscegenation between peoples in the colonies led to the creation of the new mixed peoples, chiefly half-caste and mulattos, 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.^[45][46] 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[link]

Continent/Region	Country/Territory	Languages Spoken [47]	Ethnic Groups [48]	Picture	References
Europe	Spain	Spanish (official) 89%, Catalan 9%, Galician 5%, Basque 1%, are official regionally. (Spanish is spoken by 100% of the population, over 100% indicates bilingual population).[49]	88.0% Spanish, 12.0% others (Romanian, British, Moroccan, Latin American, German) (2009) (See: Spanish people)		[50][51]
	Andorra	Catalan (official) 38.1%, Spanish 39.7%, Portuguese 14.5, French 8.5%			[52]
North America	Mexico	Spanish 92.7%, Spanish and indigenous languages 5.7%, indigenous only 0.8%, unspecified 0.8%; (Indigenous languages include Mayan languages, Nahuatl, and other) (2005)	Mestizo (European-Amerindian) 60-70%,[53] Amerindian (or predominantly Amerindian) 12-18%, White (or predominantly White) 9-17%,[54] other (including Black minority) 1%[53] (See: Mexican people)		[55]
	United States	English 79.4%, Spanish 12.8%, other Indo-European 3.7%, Asian and Pacific Islander languages 3.0%, other 0.9% (2010 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 79.96%, Black 12.85%, Asian 4.43%, Amerindian 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 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).		[56][57]
Central America	Belize	Spanish 43%, Belizean Creole 37%, Mayan dialects 7.8%, English 5.6% (official), German 3.2%, Garifuna 2%, other 1.5%	Mestizo 34%, Kriol 25%, Spanish[citation needed] 15%, Maya peoples 10.6%, Garifuna 6.1%, other 11% (2000 census) (See:Belizean people)		[58]
	Costa Rica	Spanish (official)	(White including Mestizo) 94%, Black 3%, Amerindian 1%, Chinese 1% Other 1%		[59]
	El Salvador	Castilian (official)	Mestizo 86%, White 12%, Amerindian 1%		[60]
	Guatemala	Spanish 59.4%, Amerindian languages 40.5% (23 officially recognized Amerindian languages, including K'iche, Kakchiquel, Kekchi, Mam, Garifuna, and Xinca).	Mestizo (in local Spanish called Ladino) and White 59.4%, K'iche 9.1%, Kaqchikel 8.4%, Mam 7.9%, Q'eqchi 6.3%, other Maya peoples 8.6%, indigenous non-Mayan 0.2%, other 0.1% (2001 census)		[61]
	Honduras	Spanish, various Amerindian languages	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 90%, Amerindian 7%, Black 2%, White 1%		[62]
	Nicaragua	Spanish 97.5% (official), Miskito 1.7%, others 0.8% (1995 census) (English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast).	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 69%, White 17%, Black 9%, Amerindian 5%		[63]
	Panama	Spanish (official), English 14% (bilingual)	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and European) 70%, Black 14%, White 10%, Amerindian 6%		[64]
South America	Argentina	Spanish (official), other European and Amerindian languages	European Argentine 86% (mostly from Spanish and Italian ancestries), Mestizo, Amerindian and other non-European or non-White groups (including Arab, East Asian, and Black minorities) 14% (See: Argentinian people)		[65]
	Bolivia	Spanish 60.7% (official), Quechua 21.2% (official), Aymara 14.6% (official), foreign languages 2.4%, other 1.2% (2001 census)	Quechua 30%, Mestizo (mixed White and Amerindian ancestry) 30%, Aymara 25%, White 15%, Black minority.		[66]
	Chile	Spanish (official), Mapudungun, other European languages	White 52,7%, Mestizo 44,1%, Amerindian 3,2% (See: Chilean people)		[67]
	Colombia	Spanish (official)	Mestizo 58%, White 20%, Mulatto 14%, Black 4%, mixed Black-Amerindian 3%, Amerindian 1% (See: Colombian people)		[68]
	Ecuador	Spanish (official), Amerindian languages (especially Quechua)	Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 65%, Amerindian 25%, White 7%, Black 3%		[69]
	Paraguay	Spanish (official), Guaraní (official)	Mestizo (mixed European and Amerindian) 74,5%, White 20%, Mulato 3,5%, Indigenous 1,5%		[70]
	Peru	Spanish (official), Quechua (official), Aymara, and a large number of minor Amazonian languages	Amerindian 45%, Mestizo (mixed Amerindian and White) 37%, White 15%, Black, East Asian and others 3%		[71]
	Uruguay	Spanish (official)	White (mostly from Spanish and Italian ancestries) 88%, Mestizo 8%, Black 4%, Amerindian (less than 0.5%)		[72]
	Venezuela	Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects	Mestizos (mixed Amerindian and White) 65%, White 25%, Black 8% and Amerindians 2% (See: Venezuelan people)		[73]
Caribbean Islands	Cuba	Spanish (official)	White 65.1% (mostly Spanish), Mulattoes 24.8%, Black 10.1% (2002 census) (See: Cubans)		[74]
	Dominican Republic	Spanish (official)	Mixed 73%, White 16%, Black 11%		[75]
	Puerto Rico (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)		[76]
Africa	Equatorial Guinea	Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes the other 2 official languages - French and Portuguese, Fang, Bube, Annobonese, Igbo, Krio, Pichinglis, 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 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 census)		[77]
Polynesia	Easter Island Territory of Chile	Spanish (official), Rapanui	Rapanui		[78]
The CIA World Factbook is in the public domain. Accordingly, it may be copied freely without permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[79]

Areas with Hispanic cultural influence[link]

Continent/Region	Country/Territory	Languages Spoken [47]	Ethnic Groups [48]	Picture	References
Africa	Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic Disputed	Arabic is the official language of Western Sahara, while Spanish is still widely spoken.			[citation needed]
Asia	Philippines	Chavacano, a Spanish-based creole language is spoken in the Philippines by 600,000 people.[80] Filipino Spanish is natively spoken by 5,000 people but second- and third-language speakers range from 500,000 to 2,500,000.[81][82] Hispanic influences have impacted several native languages, such as Tagalog, Cebuano and Ilocano[80]	The official percentage of Filipinos with Spanish ancestry is unknown as the National Statistics Office does not gather data on racial descent. Different estimates of this mixed descent from either parent are approximated to be from 3,500,000 to 5,000,000. In other cases, is is estimated there are some 17,000,000 to 36,550,197 people of Hispanic descent. Of note however, is that none of these figures are supported by thorough genetic studies.[83] (See: Filipino people)	120x120px	[80]
Micronesia	Guam	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 called Chamorro is spoken, with numerous loanwords with Spanish etymological origins. However it is not a Spanish creole language.[84]	Asians, Chamorro, and others		[84]
	FSM Micronesia	Micronesia's official language is English, although native languages, such as Chuukese, Kosraean, Pohnpeian, Yapese, Ulithian, Woleaian, Nukuoro and Kapingamarangi are also prominent.[85]	Asians, Micronesians, and others		[85]
	Northern Mariana Islands	In the Northern Mariana Islands, a commonwealth in political union with the U.S., a Malayo-Polynesian language called 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.[86]	Asians, Chamorro, and others		[86]
	Palau	In Palau, Spanish is no longer used; instead, the people use their native languages, such as Palauan, Angaur, Sonsorolese and Tobian.[87]	Asians, Palauan, and others		[87]
The CIA World Factbook is in the public domain. Accordingly, it may be copied freely without permission of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).[79]

Music[link]

Folk and popular dance and music also varies greatly among Hispanics. For instance, the music from Spain is a lot different from the Hispanic American, although there is a high grade of exchange between both continents. In addition, due to the high national development of the diverse nationalities and regions of Spain, there is a lot of music in the different languages of the Peninsula (Catalan, Galician and Basque, mainly). See, for instance, Music of Catalonia or Rock català, Music of Galicia, Cantabria and Asturias, and Basque music. Flamenco is also a very popular music style in Spain, especially in Andalusia. 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 shows combined influences of mostly Spanish and Native American origin, while traditional Northern Mexican music — norteño and banda — is more influenced by country-and-western music and the polka, brought by Central European settlers to Mexico. The music of Hispanic Americans — such as tejano music — has influences in rock, jazz, R&B, pop, and country music as well as traditional Mexican music such as Mariachi. Meanwhile, native Andean sounds and melodies are the backbone of Peruvian and Bolivian music, but also play a significant role in the popular music of most South American countries and are heavily incorporated into the folk music of Ecuador and Chile and the tunes of Colombia, and again in Chile where they play a fundamental role in the form of the greatly followed nueva canción. In U.S. communities of immigrants from these countries it is common to hear these styles. Latin pop, Rock en Español, Latin hip-hop, Salsa, Merengue, colombian 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[link]

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 (Spain), Lope de Vega (Spain), Calderón de la Barca (Spain), Carlos Fuentes (Mexico), Octavio Paz (Mexico), Miguel Ángel Asturias (Guatemala), George Santayana (US), José Martí (Cuba), Sabine Ulibarri (US), Federico García Lorca (Spain), Miguel de Unamuno (Spain), Gabriel García Márquez (Colombia), Horacio Quiroga (Uruguay), Rómulo Gallegos (Venezuela), Rubén Darío (Nicaragua), Mario Vargas Llosa (Peru), Giannina Braschi (Puerto Rico), Cristina Peri Rossi (Uruguay), Luisa Valenzuela (Argentina), Roberto Quesada (Honduras), Julio Cortázar (Argentina), Pablo Neruda (Chile), Gabriela Mistral (Chile), Jorge Luis Borges (Argentina), Pedro Henríquez Ureña (Dominican Republic), Ernesto Sabato (Argentina), Juan Tomás Ávila Laurel (Equatorial Guinea), Ciro Alegría (Peru), Joaquin Garcia Monge (Costa Rica), and José Rizal (Philippines).

Religion[link]

With regard to religious affiliation among Spanish-speakers, Christianity — specifically Roman Catholicism — is usually the first religious tradition that comes to mind. Indeed, the Spaniards took the Roman Catholic faith to Latin America, and 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 denomination.

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There are also Spanish-speaker Jews, of which most are the descendants of Ashkenazi Jews who migrated from Europe (German Jews, Russian Jews, Polish Jews, etc.) to Latin America, particularly Argentina, Uruguay, Peru and Cuba (Argentina is host to the third largest Jewish population in the Western Hemisphere, after the United States and Canada)^[88][89] 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 — those whose Spanish and Portuguese Sephardi Jewish ancestors long ago hid their Jewish ancestry and beliefs in fear of persecution by the Spanish Inquisition and Portuguese Inquisition in the Iberian Peninsula and Latin America. The Spanish Inquisition led to a large number of forced conversions of Spanish Jews. 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 have determined that the current population of Spain has ancestry through the male line that is at least 20% Jewish.^[90] 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 marranos and the Spanish-speaker crypto-Jews believed to exist in the once Spanish-held Southwestern United States and scattered through Latin America. Additionally, there are Sephardic Jews who are descendants of those Jews who fled Spain to Turkey, Syria, and North Africa, some of whom have now migrated to Latin America, holding on to some Spanish/Sephardic customs, such as the Ladino language which mixes Spanish, Hebrew, Arabic and others, though written with Hebrew and Latin characters.^[91] Though, it should be noted, that Ladinos were also African slaves captive in Spain held prior to the colonial period in the Americas. (See also History of the Jews in Latin America and List of Latin American Jews.)

Among the Spanish-speaker Catholics, most communities celebrate their homeland's patron saint, 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, popular with Afro-Cubans and which combines old African beliefs in the form of Roman Catholic saints and rituals. Other syncretistic beliefs include Spiritism and Curanderismo.

While a tiny minority, there are some Muslims in Latin America, in the US, and in the Philippines, living predominantly in Mindanao, the of home of Islam in the Philippines.

In the United States, some 70% of Hispanics and Latinos report themselves Catholic and 23% Protestant, with 6% having no affiliation.^[92] A minority among the Roman Catholics, about one in five, are charismatics. Among the Protestant, 85% are "Born-again Christians" and belong to Evangelical or Pentecostal churches. Among the smallest groups, less than 4%, are Jewish.

See also[link]

Spanish language (Hispanophone, Languages of Spain, Spanish language in the Americas, Spanish language in the United States) Latin Americans (Afro-Latin American, Amerindians, Asian Latin American, Criollo people, Mestizo, Mulatto. White Latin American, Isleño) Hispanic and Latino Americans (Black Hispanic and Latino Americans, White Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hispanic/Latino naming dispute, Hispanic Heritage Sites (U.S. National Park Service), Hispanic Paradox, Cuban-American lobby) Indigenous peoples of the Americas (Aztec, Inca civilization, Maya civilization, Maya peoples)

Latino and Hispanic American portal Panhispanism (Hispanism, Flag of the Hispanic People, Hispanophobia) Hispanic influence on Filipino culture Emancipados Fernandinos Ibero-America (Iberian Peninsula) Latin Union Hispanos Hispanic Ancestry userbox

Notes[link]

References[link]

• De la Garza, Rodolfo O., and Louis Desipio. Ethnic Ironies: Latino Politics in the 1992 Elections (1996)
• What is a Hispanic? Legal Definition vs. Racist Definition.Montalban-Anderssen. (1996)
• What is a Hispanic? Legal Definition vs. Racist Definition. Romero Anton Montalban-Anderssen. Large file with footnotes (1996)
• Price, M., Cooper, C., Competing Visions, Shifting Boundaries: The Construction of Latin America as a World Region

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hispanic

• What is a Hispanic? Racist vs. Legal Definition. Romero Anton Montalban-Anderssen
• Hispanic and Latino at the Open Directory Project

Bill Richardson
Richardson at an event in Kensington, New Hampshire, March 18, 2006
30th Governor of New Mexico
In office January 1, 2003 – January 1, 2011
Lieutenant	Diane Denish
Preceded by	Gary Johnson
Succeeded by	Susana Martinez
9th United States Secretary of Energy
In office August 18, 1998 – January 20, 2001
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Federico Peña
Succeeded by	Spencer Abraham
21st United States Ambassador to the United Nations
In office February 13, 1997 – August 18, 1998
President	Bill Clinton
Preceded by	Madeleine Albright
Succeeded by	Richard Holbrooke
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New Mexico's 3rd district
In office January 3, 1983 – February 13, 1997
Preceded by	District Created
Succeeded by	William Redmond
Personal details
Born	William Blaine Richardson III (1947-11-15) November 15, 1947 (age 64) Pasadena, California
Political party	Democratic Party
Spouse(s)	Barbara Richardson
Alma mater	Tufts University
Profession	Diplomat Business consultant
Religion	Roman Catholicism

William Blaine "Bill" Richardson III (born November 15, 1947) is an American politician, who served as the 30th Governor of New Mexico from 2003 to 2011. Before being elected governor, Richardson served in the Clinton administration as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary. Richardson has also served as a U.S. Congressman, chairman of the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and chairman of the Democratic Governors Association. On December 3, 2008, then-President-elect Barack Obama designated Richardson for appointment to the cabinet-level position of Commerce Secretary.^[1] On January 4, 2009, Richardson announced his decision to withdraw his nomination because of an investigation into possibly improper business dealings in New Mexico.^[2][3][4] In August 2009, federal prosecutors dropped the pending investigation against the governor, and there was speculation in the media regarding Richardson's career, as his second and final term as New Mexico governor concluded.^[5]

Early life and education[link]

Bill Richardson was born in Pasadena, California.^[6][7] His father, William Blaine Richardson, Jr. (died in 1972), who was of half Anglo-American and half Mexican descent, was an American Citibank executive^[6][7] who grew up in Boston, Massachusetts^[6] and lived and worked in Mexico City.^[7] His mother, María Luisa López-Collada Márquez^[7] is the Mexican daughter of a Spanish father from Villaviciosa, Asturias, Spain and a Mexican mother^{[6][8][9][10]} and was his father's secretary.^[7][9] Richardson's father was born in Nicaragua.^[7] Just before Richardson was born, his father sent his mother to California to give birth because, as Richardson explained, "My father had a complex about not having been born in the United States."^[7] Richardson, a U.S. citizen by birthright, was raised during his childhood in Mexico City.^[7][9] He was raised Roman Catholic.^[11] When Richardson was 13, his parents sent him to Massachusetts to attend a preparatory school, Middlesex School in Concord, Massachusetts, where he played baseball as a pitcher.^[7] He entered Tufts University^[6][12] in 1966 where he continued to play baseball.^[13]

Richardson's original biographies stated he had been drafted by the Kansas City Athletics and the Chicago Cubs to play professional baseball, but a 2005 Albuquerque Journal investigation revealed that he never was on any official draft. Richardson acknowledged the error which he claimed was unintentional, saying that he had been scouted by several teams and told that he "would or could" be drafted, but was mistaken in saying that he was actually drafted.^[14]

In 1967, he pitched in the amateur Cape Cod Baseball League for the Cotuit Kettleers in Cotuit, Massachusetts. A Kettleers program included the words "Drafted by K.C." The information which, according to the investigation, was generally provided by the players or their college coaches. Richardson said:

He earned a Bachelor's degree at Tufts University in 1970, majoring in French and political science and became a president and brother of Delta Tau Delta fraternity. He went on to earn a master's degree in international affairs from Tufts University Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy in 1971. While still in high school, he met his future wife, Barbara Flavin.

Early political career[link]

After college, Richardson worked for Republican Congressman F. Bradford Morse from Massachusetts. He was later a staff member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Richardson worked on congressional relations for the Henry Kissinger State Department during the Nixon Administration.

U.S. Representative[link]

In 1978, Richardson moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico and ran for the House of Representatives in 1980 as a Democrat, losing narrowly to longtime 1st District representative and future United States Secretary of the Interior Manuel Lujan (R). Two years later, Richardson was elected to New Mexico's newly created third district, taking in most of the northern part of the state. Richardson spent a little more than 14 years in Congress, during which time he represented the country's most diverse district and held 2,000 town meetings.^[9]

Richardson served as Chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus in the 98th Congress (1983–1985) and as Chairman of the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Native American Affairs in the 103rd Congress (1993–1994). While in the House, Richardson sponsored bills, including the American Indian Religious Freedom Act Amendments, the Indian Dams Safety Act, the Tribal Self-Governance Act, and the Jicarilla Apache Tribe Water Rights Settlement Act.

He became a member of the Democratic leadership as a deputy majority whip, where he befriended Bill Clinton after they worked closely on several issues, including serving as the ranking House Democrat in favor of NAFTA's passage in 1993,^[9] Clinton in turn sent Richardson on various foreign policy missions, including a trip in 1996 in which Richardson traveled to Baghdad with Peter Bourne and engaged in lengthy one-on-one negotiations with Saddam Hussein to secure the release of two American aerospace workers who had been captured by the Iraqis after wandering over the Kuwaiti border. Richardson also visited Nicaragua, Guatemala, Cuba, Peru, India, North Korea, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Sudan to represent U.S. interests and met with Slobodan Milosevic.^[9] In 1996, he played a major role in securing the release of American Evan Hunziker from North Korean custody^[16] and for securing a pardon for Eliadah McCord, an American convicted and imprisoned in Bangladesh.^[17] Due to these missions, Richardson was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times.^[9]

Ambassador to the United Nations[link]

As U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations between 1997 and 1998, Richardson flew to Afghanistan and met with the Taliban and with Abdul Rachid Dostum, an Uzbek warlord, but the ceasefire he believed he had negotiated with the help of Bruce Riedel of the National Security Council failed to hold.^[18]

U.S. Secretary of Energy[link]

Richardson as Secretary of Energy

The Senate confirmed Richardson to be Clinton's Secretary of Energy on July 31, 1998. His tenure at the Department of Energy was marred by the Wen Ho Lee nuclear espionage scandal. Richardson publicly named Lee, an employee at the Los Alamos National Laboratory, as a suspect who might have given nuclear secrets to the Chinese government. Lee was later cleared of espionage charges and won a settlement against the federal government for the accusation.^[19] Richardson was also criticized by the Senate for his handling of the espionage inquiry, which involved missing hard drives with sensitive data, by not testifying in front of Congress sooner. Richardson justified his response by saying that he was waiting to uncover more information before speaking to Congress.^[20] Republican Senators called for Richardson's resignation while both parties criticized his role in the incident, and the scandal ended Richardson's hope of being named as Al Gore's running mate for the 2000 presidential election.^[9]

Richardson tightened security following the scandal, and became the first Energy Secretary to implement a plan to dispose of nuclear waste.^[9] He created the Director for Native American Affairs position in the Department in 1998, and in January 2000 oversaw the largest return of federal lands, 84,000 acres (340 km²), to an Indian Tribe (the Northern Ute Tribe of Utah) in more than 100 years.^[21] Richardson also directed the overhaul of the Department's consultation policy with Native American tribes and established the Tribal Energy Program.

Educational and corporate positions[link]

With the end of the Clinton administration in January 2001, Richardson took on a number of different positions. He was an adjunct professor at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government and a lecturer at the Armand Hammer United World College of the American West.^[22] In 2000, Bill Richardson was awarded a United States Institute of Peace Senior Fellowship. He spent the next year researching and writing on the negotiations with North Korea and the energy dimensions of U.S. relations. In 2011, Richardson was named a senior fellow at the Baker Institute of Rice University.

Richardson also joined Kissinger McLarty Associates, a "strategic advisory firm" headed by former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and former Clinton White House chief of staff Mack McLarty, as Senior Managing Director.^[23] From February 2001 to June 2002, he served on the board of directors of Peregrine Systems, Inc. He also served on the corporate boards of several energy companies, including Valero Energy Corporation and Diamond Offshore Drilling. He withdrew from these boards after being nominated by the Democratic Party for governor of New Mexico, but retained considerable stock holdings in Valero and Diamond Offshore.^[24] He would later sell these stocks during his campaign for President in 2007, saying he was "getting questions" about the propriety of these holdings, especially given his past as energy secretary, and that it had become a distraction.^[25]

Governor of New Mexico[link]

First term[link]

Richardson was elected governor of New Mexico in November 2002, having defeated the Republican candidate, John Sanchez, 56–39%. During the campaign, he set a Guinness World Record for most handshakes in eight hours by a politician, breaking Theodore Roosevelt's record.^[26] He succeeded a two-term Republican governor, Gary Johnson. He took office in January 2003 as the only Hispanic Governor in the United States. In his first year, Richardson proposed "tax cuts to promote growth and investment" and passed a broad personal income tax cut and won a statewide special election to transfer money from the state's Permanent Fund to meet current expenses and projects. In early 2005, Richardson helped make New Mexico the first state in the nation to provide $400,000 in life insurance coverage for New Mexico National Guard members who serve on active duty. Thirty-five states have since followed suit.

Working with the legislature, he formed Governor Richardson's Investment Partnership (GRIP) in 2003. The partnership has been used to fund large-scale public infrastructure projects throughout New Mexico, including the use of highway fund to construct a brand new commuter rail line (the Rail Runner) that runs between Belen, Albuquerque, and Bernalillo. He supported a variety LGBT rights in his career as governor; he added sexual orientation and gender identity to New Mexico's list of civil rights categories. He however was opposed to same sex marriage and faced criticism for his use of an anti-gay slur on the Don Imus Show.^[27] During the summer of 2003, he met with a delegation from North Korea at their request to discuss concerns over that country's nuclear weapons. At the request of the White House, he also flew to North Korea in 2005, and met with another North Korean delegation in 2006. On December 7, 2006, Richardson was named as the Special Envoy for Hemispheric Affairs for the Secretary General of the Organization of American States with the mandate to "promote dialogue on issues of importance to the region, such as immigration and free trade."^[28]

In 2003, Richardson backed and signed legislation creating a permit system for New Mexicans to carry concealed handguns. He applied for and received a concealed weapons permit, though by his own admission he seldom carries a gun.^[29]

As Richardson discussed frequently during his 2008 run for President, he supported a controversial New Mexico law allowing illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses for reasons of public safety. He said that because of the program, traffic fatalities had gone down, and the percentage of uninsured drivers decreased 33% to 11%.^[30]

He was named Chairman of the Democratic Governors Association in 2004 and announced a desire to increase the role of Democratic governors in deciding the future of their party.

In December 2005, Richardson announced the intention of New Mexico to collaborate with billionaire Richard Branson to bring space tourism to the proposed Spaceport America located near Las Cruces, New Mexico. In 2006, Forbes credited Richardson's reforms in naming Albuquerque, New Mexico the best city in the U.S. for business and careers. The Cato Institute, meanwhile, has consistently rated Richardson as one of the most fiscally responsible Democratic governors in the nation.

In March 2006, Richardson vetoed legislation that would ban the use of eminent domain to transfer property to private developers, as allowed by the Supreme Court's 2005 decision in Kelo v. City of New London.^[31] He promised to work with the legislature to draft new legislation addressing the issue in the 2007 legislative session.

On September 7, 2006, Richardson flew to Sudan to meet Sudanese President Omar Al-Bashir and successfully negotiated the release of imprisoned journalist Paul Salopek. The Sudanese had charged Salopek with espionage on August 26, 2006, while on a National Geographic assignment. In January 2007, at the request of the Save Darfur Coalition, he brokered a 60-day cease-fire between al-Bashir and leaders of several rebel factions in Darfur, the western Sudanese region. The cease-fire never became effective, however, with allegations of breaches on all sides.^[32]

Second term[link]

Richardson won his second term as Governor of New Mexico on November 7, 2006, 68–32% against former New Mexico Republican Party Chairman John Dendahl. Richardson received the highest percentage of votes in any gubernatorial election in the state's history.^[33]

In December 2006, Richardson announced that he would support a ban on cockfighting in New Mexico.^[34] On March 12, 2007, Richardson signed into law a bill that banned cockfighting in New Mexico. Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands are now the only parts of the United States where cockfighting is legal.^[35]

During New Mexico's 2007 legislative session, Richardson signed a bill into law that made New Mexico the 12th state to legalize marijuana for medical reasons. When asked if this would hurt him in a Presidential election, he stated that it did not matter, as it was "the right thing to do."^[36]

During 2008 and 2009, Richardson faced "possible legal issues" while a federal grand jury investigated pay-to-play allegations in the awarding of a lucrative state contract to a company that gave campaign contributions to Richardson's political action committee, Moving America Forward.^[37][38][39] The company in question, CDR, was alleged to have funneled more than $100,000 in donations to Richardson's PAC in exchange for state construction projects.^[40] Richardson said when he withdraw his Commerce Secretary nomination that he was innocent; his popularity then slipped below 50% in his home state.^[40] In August 2009, federal prosecutors dropped the pending investigation against the governor, and there has been speculation in the media about Richardson's career after his second term as New Mexico governor concludes.^[5]

On March 18, 2009, Governor Richardson's office confirmed that he had signed a bill repealing the death penalty,^[41] making New Mexico the second U.S. state (after New Jersey) to repeal the death penalty by legislative means since the 1960s. Richardson was subsequently honored with the 2009 Human Rights Award by Death Penalty Focus.^{[citation needed]}

In its April 2010 report, ethics watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Richardson one of 11 worst governors in the United States because of various ethics issues throughout Richardson's term as governor.^[42][43][44] The group accused Richardson of allowing political allies to benefit from firms connected to state investments, rewarding close associates with state positions or benefits (including providing a longtime friend and political supporter with a costly state contract), and allowing pay-to-play activity in his administration. They also opined that he fell short on efforts to make state government more transparent.^[45]

In December 2010, while still serving as governor, Richardson returned to North Korea in an unofficial capacity at the invitation of the North's chief nuclear negotiator Kim Kye Gwan. Upon arriving in Pyongyang on December 16, Richardson told reporters that his "objective is to see if we can reduce the tension on the Korean peninsula, that is my objective. I am going to have a whole series of talks with North Korean officials here and I look forward to my discussions," he said.^[46] On December 19, Richardson said his talks with North Korean officials made "some progress" in trying to resolve what he calls a "very tense" situation. Speaking from Pyongyang, Richardson told U.S. television network CNN that a North Korean general he met was receptive to his proposal for setting up a hotline between North and South Korean forces, and also was open to his idea for a military commission to monitor disputes in and around the Yellow Sea.^[47]

After his return from North Korea, Richardson tackled the weighty issue of a pardon for William H. Bonney, aka Billy the Kid, for killing Sheriff William J. Brady of Lincoln County, New Mexico some 130 years ago. Following up on the promise of a pardon at the time by then-territorial governor Lew Wallace, Richardson said he could not pardon Bonney posthumously because he did not want to second-guess his predecessor's decision. "It was a very close call," Richardson said. "The romanticism appealed to me to issue a pardon, but the facts and the evidence did not support it."^[48]

Richardson's second term in office ended in 2011 and he was term-limited from further terms as governor.^[49]

2008 presidential campaign[link]

Richardson campaigning in Elko, Nevada; July 2007

Richardson speaks during the final day of the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.

Richardson was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for the 2008 presidential election but dropped out on January 10, 2008 after lackluster showings in the first primary and caucus contests. Despite his long history and friendship with the Clinton family, Richardson endorsed Barack Obama for the Democratic nomination on March 21, 2008, instead of Hillary Clinton.^[50] Commentator and Clinton ally James Carville famously compared Richardson to Judas Iscariot for the move.^[51] Richardson responded in a Washington Post article, feeling "compelled to defend [himself] against character assassination and baseless allegations."^[52]

Richardson was a rumored Vice Presidential candidate for Senator and Democratic presumptive nominee Barack Obama and was fully vetted by the Obama campaign,^[53] before Obama chose Joe Biden on August 23, 2008.^[54]

Secretary of Commerce nomination[link]

See also: Confirmations of Barack Obama's Cabinet

Following Barack Obama's victory in the 2008 presidential election, Richardson's name was frequently mentioned as a possible Cabinet appointment in the incoming Obama administration. Most of this speculation surrounded the position of Secretary of State, given Richardson's background as a diplomat.^[55] Richardson did not publicly comment on the speculation.^[56]

It was widely reported, and eventually officially announced, that Hillary Clinton was Obama's nominee for Secretary of State. Around this time, it was reported that Richardson was being strongly considered for the position of Commerce Secretary. On December 3, 2008, Obama tapped Richardson for the post.^[57]

On January 4, 2009, Richardson withdrew his name as Commerce Secretary nominee because of the federal grand jury investigation into pay-to-play allegations.^[58] The New York Times had reported in late December that the grand jury investigation issue would be raised at Richardson's confirmation hearings.^[38] Later, in August 2009, Justice Department officials decided not to seek indictments.^[59]

Post-gubernatorial career[link]

In 2011, Richardson joined the boards of APCO Worldwide company Global Political Strategies as chairman,^[60] the World Resources Institute,^[61] the National Council for Science and the Environment, ^[62] the National Institute for Civil Discourse at the University of Arizona,^[63] and Abengoa (international advisory board).^[64] He was also appointed as a special envoy for the Organization of American States.^[65]

Publications[link]

Richardson is credited with having written two books:

• Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life, an autobiography, published March 2007 - Ghost Writer, Mike Ruby, former co-editor of U.S. News & World Report, Missouri School of Journalism alumnus.
• Leading by Example: How We Can Inspire an Energy and Security Revolution, released October 2007

Articles:

• Universal Transparency: A Goal for the U.S. at the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, published January 2011, Arms Control Today -Bill Richardson with Gay Dillingham, Charles Streeper, and Arjun Makhijani
• Sweeping Up Dirty Bombs, published Fall 2011, Federation of American Scientists -Bill Richardson, Charles Streeper, and Margarita Sevcik

See also[link]

	New Mexico portal
	Biography portal

• Electoral history of Bill Richardson

References[link]