Hispanic American (U.S. Census)
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Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spanish and/or Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino regardless of ancestry.Mark Hugo Lopez, Jens Manuel Krogstad and Jeffrey S. Passel
Who Is Hispanic?
Pew Research Center (November 11, 2019).
As of 2020, the Census Bureau estimated that there were almost 65.3 million Hispanics and Latinos living in the United States and its territories (which include Puerto Rico). "Origin" can be viewed as the ancestry, nationality group, lineage or country of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States of America. People who identify as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. As one of the only two specifically designated categories of
ethnicity in the United States The United States has a racially and ethnically diverse population. At the federal level, race and ethnicity have been categorized separately. The most recent United States Census officially recognized five racial categories (White, Black ...
(the other being "Not Hispanic or Latino"), Hispanics and Latinos form a pan-ethnicity incorporating a diversity of inter-related cultural and linguistic heritages. Most Hispanic and Latino Americans are of
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Spanish, Salvadoran, Dominican, Brazilian, Guatemalan, Colombian, or
Venezuelan Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...
origin. The predominant origin of regional Hispanic and Latino populations varies widely in different locations across the country. In 2012, Hispanic Americans were the second fastest-growing ethnic group by percentage growth in the United States after
Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...
. Hispanics of Indigenous descent and Native Americans are the oldest ethnic groups to inhabit much of what is today the United States. Spain colonized large areas of what is today the American Southwest and
West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...
, as well as Florida. Its holdings included present-day California, Texas, New Mexico, Nevada, Utah, Arizona, and Florida, all of which constituted part of the Viceroyalty of New Spain, based in Mexico City. Later, this vast territory became part of Mexico after its independence from Spain in 1821 and until the end of the Mexican–American War in 1848. Hispanic immigrants to the
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
/ New Jersey metropolitan area derive from a broad spectrum of Hispanic countries.


Terminology

The terms " Hispanic" and " Latino" refer to an
ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
. The U.S. Census Bureau defines being Hispanic as being a member of an ethnicity, rather than being a member of a particular race and thus, people who are members of this group may also be members of any race.Ana Gonzales-Barrera & Mark Hugo Lopez
Is being Hispanic a matter of race, ethnicity or both?
Pew Research Center (June 15, 2015).
In a 2015 national survey of self-identified Hispanics, 56% said that being Hispanic is part of both their racial and ethnic background, while smaller numbers considered it part of their ethnic background only (19%) or racial background only (11%). Hispanics may be of any linguistic background; in a 2015 survey, 71% of American Hispanics agreed that it "is not necessary for a person to speak Spanish to be considered Hispanic/Latino". Hispanic and Latino people may share some commonalities in their language, culture, history, and heritage. According to the Smithsonian Institution, the term "Latino" includes peoples with Portuguese roots, such as
Brazilians Brazilians ( pt, Brasileiros, ) are the citizens of Brazil. A Brazilian can also be a person born abroad to a Brazilian parent or legal guardian as well as a person who acquired Brazilian citizenship. Brazil is a multiethnic society, which me ...
, as well as those of Spanish-language origin. In the United States, many Hispanics are of Iberian (primarily Spanish) and Indigenous American ancestry (
mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
). Others may have European, Middle Eastern (including Jewish), or Asian ancestry as well as Indigenous American ancestry. Many Hispanics from the Caribbean, as well as many Hispanics from other regions of the Hispanic world where African slavery was widespread, may also be of
sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is, geographically, the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lies south of the Sahara. These include West Africa, East Africa, Central Africa, and Southern Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the List of sov ...
n descent. The difference between the terms ''Hispanic'' and ''Latino'' is ambiguous to some people. The US Census Bureau equates the two terms and defines them as referring to anyone from Spain or the Spanish- or Portuguese-speaking countries of the Americas. After the Mexican–American War concluded in 1848, term ''Hispanic'' or ''Spanish American'' was primarily used to describe the Hispanos of New Mexico within the American Southwest. The 1970 United States Census controversially broadened the definition to "a person of Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican, South or Central American, or other Spanish culture or origin, regardless of race". This is now the common formal and colloquial definition of the term within the United States, outside of New Mexico.Cobos, Rubén (2003) "Introduction", ''A Dictionary of New Mexico & Southern Colorado Spanish'' (2nd ed.); Santa Fe: Museum of New Mexico Press; p. ix; This definition is consistent with the 21st-century usage by the U.S. Census Bureau and OMB, as the two agencies use both terms Hispanic and Latino interchangeably. The
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
believes that the term "Hispanic" is strictly limited to Spain, Puerto Rico, and all countries where Spanish is the only official language whereas "Latino" includes all countries in Latin America (even Brazil) regardless of the fact that Portuguese is its only official language, but it does not include Spain. The term Latino is a condensed form of ''"latinoamericano"'', the Spanish term for a Latin American, or someone who comes from Latin America. The term ''Latino'' has developed a number of definitions. This definition, as a "male Latin American inhabitant of the United States", was the original and is therefore the oldest definition which is used in the United States, it was first used in 1946. Under this definition a
Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...
or Puerto Rican, for example, is both a Hispanic and a Latino. A
Brazilian American Brazilian Americans ( pt, brasileiros americanos or ) are Americans who are of full or partial Brazilian ancestry. The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs estimates the Brazilian American population to be 1,775,000, the largest of any Brazilia ...
is also a Latino by this definition, which includes those of Portuguese-speaking origin from Latin America. But also by this definition,
Italian Americans Italian Americans ( it, italoamericani or ''italo-americani'', ) are Americans who have full or partial Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeast and industrial Midwestern metropolitan areas, w ...
are ''not'' considered "Latino", as they are for the most part descended from immigrants from Europe rather than Latin America, unless they happen to have had recent history in a Latin American country. Preference of use between the terms among Hispanics in the United States often depends on where users of the respective terms reside. Those in the Eastern United States tend to prefer the term ''Hispanic'', whereas those in the West tend to prefer ''Latino''. The U.S. ethnic designation ''Latino'' is abstracted from the longer form ''latinoamericano''. The element ''latino-'' is actually an indeclinable, compositional form in ''-o'' (i.e. an ''elemento compositivo'') that is employed to coin compounded formations (similar as ''franco-'' in ''francocanadiense'' 'French-Canadian′, or ''ibero-'' in ''iberorrománico'', etc.). The term '' Latinx'' (and similar neologism '' Xicanx'') have gained some usage. The adoption of the ''X'' would be " flecting new consciousness inspired by more recent work by LGBTQI and feminist movements, some Spanish-speaking activists are increasingly using a yet more inclusive "x" to replace the "a" and "o", in a complete break with the gender binary. Among the advocates of the term ''LatinX'', one of most frequently cited complaints of gender bias in the Spanish language is that a group of mixed or unknown gender would be referred to as ''Latinos'', whereas ''Latinas'' refers to a group of women only (but this is changed immediately to ''Latinos'', if even a single man joins this female group). A 2020 Pew Research Center survey found that about 3% of Hispanics use the term (mostly women), and only around 23% have even heard of the term. Of those, 65% said it should not be used to describe their ethnic group. Some have pointed out that the term “Hispanic” refers to a pan-ethnic identity, one that spans a range of races, national origins, and linguistic backgrounds. “Terms like Hispanic and Latino do not fully capture how we see ourselves”, says Geraldo Cadava, an associate professor of history and Hispanic studies at Northwestern University. According to 2017
American Community Survey The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
data, a small minority of immigrants from Brazil (2%), Portugal (2%), and the Philippines (1%) self-identified as Hispanic.


History


16th and 17th centuries

Spanish explorers were pioneers in the territory of the present-day United States. The first confirmed European landing in the continental United States was by
Juan Ponce de León Juan Ponce de León (, , , ; 1474 – July 1521) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' known for leading the first official European expedition to Florida and for serving as the first governor of Puerto Rico. He was born in Santervá ...
, who landed in 1513 at a lush shore he christened '' La Florida''. In the next three decades, the Spanish became the first Europeans to reach the Appalachian Mountains, the Mississippi River, the
Grand Canyon The Grand Canyon (, yuf-x-yav, Wi:kaʼi:la, , Southern Paiute language: Paxa’uipi, ) is a steep-sided canyon carved by the Colorado River in Arizona, United States. The Grand Canyon is long, up to wide and attains a depth of over a m ...
and the
Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
. Spanish ships sailed along the Atlantic Coast, penetrating to present-day
Bangor, Maine Bangor ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat of Penobscot County. The city proper has a population of 31,753, making it the state's 3rd-largest settlement, behind Portland (68,408) and Lewiston (37,121). Modern Bangor ...
, and up the
Pacific Coast Pacific coast may be used to reference any coastline that borders the Pacific Ocean. Geography Americas Countries on the western side of the Americas have a Pacific coast as their western or southwestern border, except for Panama, where the Pac ...
as far as Oregon. From 1528 to 1536, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca and three fellows (including an African named Estevanico), from a Spanish expedition that foundered, journeyed from Florida to the Gulf of California. In 1540,
Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1500 – 21 May, 1542) was a Spanish explorer and '' conquistador'' who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire ...
undertook an extensive exploration of the present United States. Also in 1540,
Francisco Vásquez de Coronado Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name ''Franciscus''. Nicknames In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed "Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father of ...
led 2,000 Spaniards and Mexican natives 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 territory include, among others:
Alonso Alvarez de Pineda Alonso is a Spanish name of Germanic name, Germanic origin that is a Castilian variant of ''Adalfuns''. Geographical distribution As of 2014, 36.6% of all known bearers of the surname ''Alonso'' were residents of Spain (frequency 1:222), 26.1% o ...
, Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón, Pánfilo de Narváez, Sebastián Vizcaíno, Gaspar de Portolà,
Pedro Menéndez de Avilés Pedro Menéndez de Avilés (; ast, Pedro (Menéndez) d'Avilés; 15 February 1519 – 17 September 1574) was a Spanish admiral, explorer and conquistador from Avilés, in Asturias, Spain. He is notable for planning the first regular trans-oceani ...
, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, Tristán de Luna y Arellano, and Juan de Oñate, and non-Spanish explorers working for the Spanish Crown, such as
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo ( pt, João Rodrigues Cabrilho; c. 1499 – January 3, 1543) was an Iberian maritime explorer best known for investigations of the West Coast of North America, undertaken on behalf of the Spanish Empire. He was the firs ...
. In 1565, the Spanish created the first permanent European settlement in the continental United States, at
St. Augustine, Florida St. Augustine ( ; es, San Agustín ) is a city in the Southeastern United States and the county seat of St. Johns County on the Atlantic coast of northeastern Florida. Founded in 1565 by Spanish explorers, it is the oldest continuously inhabit ...
. Spanish missionaries and colonists founded settlements including in the present-day
Santa Fe, New Mexico Santa Fe ( ; , Spanish for 'Holy Faith'; tew, Oghá P'o'oge, Tewa for 'white shell water place'; tiw, Hulp'ó'ona, label=Tiwa language, Northern Tiwa; nv, Yootó, Navajo for 'bead + water place') is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. ...
, El Paso, San Antonio, Tucson, Albuquerque, San Diego, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.


18th and 19th centuries

As late as 1783, at the end of the American Revolutionary War (a conflict in which Spain aided and fought alongside the rebels), Spain held claim to roughly half the territory of today's continental United States. From 1819 to 1848, the United States (through treaties, purchase, diplomacy, and the Mexican–American War) increased its area by roughly a third at Spanish and Mexican expense, acquiring its three currently most populous states— California, Texas, and Florida.. Many Hispanic natives lived in the areas that the United States acquired, and a new wave of Mexican, Central American, Caribbean, and South American immigrants had moved to the United States for new opportunities. This was the beginning of a demographic that would rise dramatically over the years.Gutiérrez, David G. "An Historic Overview of Latino Immigration and the Demographic Transformation of the United States". National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior, www.nps.gov/heritageinitiatives/latino/latinothemestudy/immigration.htm.


20th and 21st centuries

During the 20th and 21st centuries, Hispanic immigration to the United States increased markedly following changes to the
immigration law Immigration law refers to the national statutes, regulations Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the ...
in 1965. During the World Wars, Hispanic Americans and immigrants had helped stabilize the American economy from falling due to the industrial boom in the Midwest in states such as Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. While a percentage of Americans had fled their jobs for the war, Hispanics had taken their jobs in the Industrial world. This can explain why there is such a high concentration of Hispanic Americans in Metro Areas such as the Chicago-Elgin-Naperville, Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, and Cleveland-Elyria areas. Hispanic contributions in the historical past and present of the United States are addressed in more detail below (See Notables and their contributions). To recognize the current and historic contributions of Hispanic Americans, on September 17, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson designated a week in mid-September as National Hispanic Heritage Week, with Congress's authorization. In 1988, President
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
extended the observance to a month, designated National Hispanic Heritage Month. Hispanic Americans became the largest minority group in 2004.


Demographics

As of 2020, Hispanics accounted for 19-20% of the US population, or 62-65 million people. The U.S. Census Bureau later estimated that Hispanics were under-counted by 5.0% or 3.3 million persons in the U.S. Census, which explains the 3 million range in the number above. In contrast, Whites were over-counted by about 3 million. The Hispanic growth rate over the April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007, period was 28.7%—about four times the rate of the nation's total population growth (at 7.2%). The growth rate from July 1, 2005, to July 1, 2006, alone was 3.4%—about three and a half times the rate of the nation's total population growth (at 1.0%). Based on the 2010 census, Hispanics are now the largest minority group in 191 out of 366 metropolitan areas in the United States. The projected Hispanic population of the United States for July 1, 2050 is 132.8 million people, or 30.2% of the nation's total projected population on that date.


Geographic distribution

US Metropolitan Statistical Areas with over 1 million Hispanics (2014) States and territories with the highest proportion of Hispanics (2021) Of the nation's total Hispanic population, 49% (21.5 million) live in California or Texas. In 2022, New York City and Washington, D.C. began receiving significant numbers of Latino migrants from the state of Texas, mostly originating from Venezuela, Ecuador,
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
, and
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
. Over half of the Hispanic population is concentrated in the Southwest region, mostly composed of Mexican Americans. California and Texas have some of the largest populations of Mexicans and Central American Hispanics in the United States. The
Northeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...
region is dominated by Dominican Americans and
Puerto Ricans Puerto Ricans ( es, Puertorriqueños; or boricuas) are the people of Puerto Rico, the inhabitants, and citizens of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and their descendants. Overview The culture held in common by most Puerto Ricans is referred t ...
, having the highest concentrations of both in the country. In the Mid Atlantic region, centered on the
DC Metro Area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgin ...
, Salvadoran Americans are the largest of Hispanic groups. Florida is dominated by Cuban Americans and Puerto Ricans. In both the
Great Lakes states The Great Lakes region of North America is a binational Canadian– American region that includes portions of the eight U.S. states of Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin along with the Canadia ...
and the South Atlantic states, Mexicans and Puerto Ricans dominate. Mexicans dominate in the rest of the country, including the West, South Central and
Great Plains The Great Plains (french: Grandes Plaines), sometimes simply "the Plains", is a broad expanse of flatland in North America. It is located west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, an ...
states.


National origin

As of 2018, approximately 61.9% of the nation's Hispanic population were of Mexican origin (see table). Another 15.1% were of Puerto Rican origin, and with about 3.9% each of Cuban and Salvadoran and about 3.5% Dominican origins. The remainder were of other Central American or of South American origin, or of origin directly from Spain. Two thirds of all Hispanic Americans were born in the United States. There are few immigrants directly from Spain, since Spaniards have historically emigrated to Hispanic America rather than to English-speaking countries. Because of this, most Hispanics who identify themselves as ''Spaniard'' or ''Spanish'' also identify with Hispanic American national origin. In the 2017 Census estimate approximately 1.3 million Americans reported some form of "Spanish" as their ancestry, whether directly from Spain or not. In northern New Mexico and southern Colorado, there is a large portion of Hispanics who trace their ancestry to settlers from
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
(Mexico), and sometimes Spain itself, in the late 16th century through the 17th century. People from this background often self-identify as "
Hispanos Hispanos (from es, adj. prefix Hispano- relating to Spain, from la, Hispānus) are Hispanic residents of the United States who are culturally descended from the original Spanish-speaking settlers in the areas which were once part of New Spain ...
", "Spanish" or "Hispanic". Many of these settlers also intermarried with local Native Americans, creating a
mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
population. Likewise, southern Louisiana is home to communities of people of
Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
descent, known as Isleños, in addition to other people of Spanish ancestry.
Californio Californio (plural Californios) is a term used to designate a Hispanic Californian, especially those descended from Spanish and Mexican settlers of the 17th through 19th centuries. California's Spanish-speaking community has resided there sinc ...
s,
Nuevomexicanos The Hispanos of New Mexico, also known as Neomexicanos ( es, Neomexicano) or Nuevomexicanos, are Hispanic residents originating in the historical region of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, today the US state of New Mexico (''Nuevo México''), south ...
and
Tejano Tejanos (, ; singular: ''Tejano/a''; Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo ''tayshas'') are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in the ...
s are Americans of Spanish and/or
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
descent, with subgroups that sometimes call themselves
Chicanos Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...
. Nuevomexicanos and Tejanos are distinct southwest Hispanic cultures with their own cuisines, dialects and musical traditions. Nuyoricans are Americans of Puerto Rican descent from the New York City area. There are close to two million Nuyoricans in the United States. Prominent Nuyoricans include Congresswoman
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
, US Supreme Court Judge Sonia Sotomayor, and singer
Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
.


Race

Hispanics come from multi-racial and multi-ethnic countries with diversity of origins; therefore, a Hispanic can be from any race or mix of races. The most common ancestries are: Indigenous American (Native Americans), European and African. Most Hispanics have mixed ancestry of different combinations and ratios, although non-mixed Hispanics of each race also exist in varied amounts on each country. Hispanic origin is independent of race and is termed "ethnicity" by the United States Census Bureau. Depending on the regions within Hispanic America, a significant proportion of Hispanics have high to moderate levels Native Indigenous American ancestry. Similarly to Portuguese, English, German and many other European nations over the centuries, many Hispanics also have colonial era New Christian Sephardic Jewish ancestry. To a lesser extent, Hispanics possess at least partial ancestry of more recent post-colonial ancestry from Ashkenazi Jews, Levantine Arabs (Lebanese, Syrian and Palestinian). Thus, as a whole, Hispanics are of mostly of a mixture of Iberian and Native Indigenous American ancestry, with degrees of admixture levels that vary from person to person, from varying global genetic sources. On the
2020 United States census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...
, 20.3% of Hispanics identified selected "white" as their race. These white Hispanics make up 12,579,626 people or 3.8% of the population. The largest numbers of those who consider themselves white Hispanic Americans come from within the
Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
, Puerto Rican, Cuban,
Salvadorans Salvadorans (Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvado ...
, Spanish and Argentines communities. Over 42% of Hispanic Americans identify as " some other race". These "some other race" Hispanics are usually assumed to be mestizos or mulattos.
Mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
is not a racial category in the U.S. Census, but signifies someone who is conscious of both their Native American and European ancestry. Of all Americans who checked the box "Some Other Race", 97 percent were Hispanic. Almost one-third of the multi-race respondents were Hispanics. Most of the multi-racial population in the Mexican, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan communities are of mixed European and Native American ancestry (
mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...
), while most of the multiracial population in the Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Cuban communities are of mixed European, Native Indigenous American, Canary Islander and Sub-Saharan African. The largest numbers of black Hispanics are from the Spanish Caribbean islands, including the Cuban, Dominican, Panamanian and Puerto Rican communities. As Latinos, especially Mexicans and Central Americans, who are mainly of a mixed-race background, have moved further from the southwest, their presence might disrupt in the long term the traditional American view of race as a binary between Black and white. The few hundred thousand Asian Hispanics are of various backgrounds, among which include Filipino mestizos with Spanish background, Asians of Hispanic background (examples including Chinese Cubans, Korean Argentines Japanese Peruvians) and those of recent mixed Asian and Hispanic background. Note that Filipinos are generally ''not'' counted as Hispanic, despite the fact that the Spanish colonized the Philippines and many Filipinos have Spanish names. Hispanic Americans are often racially of Native American ancestry mixed with Iberians. For example, of Hispanics deriving from northern Mexico, consider themselves white or acknowledge Native American ancestry with some European mixtures, while of those deriving from southern Mexican ancestry, the majority are Native American or of Native American and European ancestry. In Guatemala, Mayans are majority, while in El Salvador, people of Native American descent are the majority. In the Dominican Republic, the population is largely of inter-mixed ancestries. In Puerto Rico, people have some Native Indigenous American ancestry as well as European and Canary Islander ancestry. There's also a population of predominantly African descent as well as populations of Native American descent as well as those with intermixed ancestries. Cubans are mostly of Iberian and Canary Islander ancestry, with some heritage from Native Indigenous Caribbean. There are also populations of black Sub-Saharan ancestry and multi-racial people. The race and culture of each Hispanic country and their United States diaspora differs by history and geography. Welch and Sigelman found, as of the year 2000, lower interaction between Latinos of different nationalities (such as between Cubans and Mexicans) than between Latinos and non-Latinos. This is a reminder that while they are often treated as such, Latinos in the United States are not a monolith, and often view their own ethnic or national identity as vastly different than that of other Latinos. Persons of Mexican heritage represent the bulk of the U.S. Hispanic population. Most Mexican Americans already with a multi-generational presence in the USA predating the 1970s are of predominantly mixed Native Indigenous American groups and to a lesser extent Iberians, while most recent Mexican Americans that have migrated or descend from migrants to the United States post-1980s are of predominantly Native American descent with varying levels of European admixture. Official sources report that the racial makeup of Hispanic subgroups from the countries Uruguay, Cuba, and Chile have the highest proportion, for their respective countries, of Hispanics in the US self-identifying as white – though in raw numbers the highest number of white Hispanics in the United States are Mexican Americans. As a result of their racial diversity, Hispanics form an
ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
sharing a language ( Spanish) and cultural heritage, rather than a race. The phenomenon of biracial people who are predominantly of European descent identifying as white is not limited to Hispanics or Spanish speakers but is also common among English speakers as well: researchers found that most white Americans with less than 28 percent African-American ancestry say they are white; above that threshold, people tended to describe themselves as African-American.


Age

As of 2014, one third, or 17.9 million, of the Hispanic population was younger than 18 and a quarter, 14.6 million, were
Millennials Millennials, also known as Generation Y or Gen Y, are the Western demographic cohort following Generation X and preceding Generation Z. Researchers and popular media use the early 1980s as starting birth years and the mid-1990s to early 2000 ...
. This makes them more than half of the Hispanic population within the United States.


Education


Hispanic K–12 education

With the increasing Hispanic population in the United States, Hispanics have had a considerable impact on the K–12 system. In 2011–12, Hispanics comprised 24% of all enrollments in the United States, including 52% and 51% of enrollment in California and Texas, respectively.Santiago, D., Galdeano, E. C., & Taylor, M. (2015). The Condition of Latinos in Education: 2015 Factbook. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(02)77934-8 Further research shows the Hispanic population will continue to grow in the United States, implicating that more Hispanics will populate U.S. schools. The state of Hispanic education shows some promise. First, Hispanic students attending pre-K or kindergarten were more likely to attend full-day programs. Second, Hispanics in elementary education were the second largest group represented in gifted and talented programs. Third, Hispanics' average
NAEP The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what U.S. students know and can do in various subjects. NAEP is a congressionally mandated project administered by the ...
math and reading scores have consistently increased over the last 10 years. Finally, Hispanics were more likely than other groups, including white people, to go to college. However, their academic achievement in early childhood, elementary, and secondary education lag behind other groups. For instance, their average math and reading
NAEP The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what U.S. students know and can do in various subjects. NAEP is a congressionally mandated project administered by the ...
scores were lower than every other group, except African Americans, and have the highest dropout rate of any group, 13% despite decreasing from 24%. To explain these disparities, some scholars have suggested there is a Hispanic "Education Crisis" due to failed school and social policies. To this end, scholars have further offered several potential reasons including language barriers, poverty, and immigrant/nativity status resulting in Hispanics not performing well academically.


English language learners

Currently, Hispanic students make up 80% of English language learners in the United States. In 2008–2009, 5.3 million students were classified as English Language Learners (ELLs) in pre-K to 12th grade. This is a result of many students entering the education system at different ages, although the majority of ELLs are not foreign born. In order to provide English instruction for Hispanic students there have been a multitude of English Language programs. However, the great majority of these programs are English Immersion, which arguably undermines the students' culture and knowledge of their primary language. As such, there continues to be great debate within schools as to which program can address these language disparities.


Immigration status

Undocumented immigrants have not always had access to compulsory education in the United States. However, since the landmark Supreme Court case '' Plyler v. Doe'' in 1982, immigrants have received access to K-12 education. This significantly impacted all immigrant groups, including Hispanics. However, their academic achievement is dependent upon several factors including, but not limited to time of arrival and schooling in country of origin. Moreover, Hispanics' immigration/nativity status plays a major role regarding their academic achievement. For instance, first- and second- generation Hispanics outperform their later generational counterparts. Additionally, their aspirations appear to decrease as well. This has major implications on their postsecondary futures.


Hispanic higher education

Those with a bachelor's degree or higher ranges from 50% of Venezuelans compared to 18% for Ecuadorians 25 years and older. Amongst the largest Hispanic groups, those with a bachelor's or higher was 25% for Cubans, 16% of Puerto Ricans, 15% of Dominicans, and 11% for Mexicans. Over 21% of all second-generation Dominican Americans have college degrees, slightly below the national average (28%) but significantly higher than U.S.-born Mexican Americans (13%) and U.S.-born Puerto Rican Americans (12%). Hispanics make up the second or third largest ethnic group in Ivy League universities, considered to be the most prestigious in the United States. Hispanic enrollment at Ivy League universities has gradually increased over the years. Today, Hispanics make up between 8% of students at Yale University to 15% at Columbia University. For example, 18% of students in the Harvard University Class of 2018 are Hispanic. Hispanics have significant enrollment in many other top universities such as University of Texas at El Paso (70% of students), Florida International University (63%), University of Miami (27%), and MIT, UCLA and UC-Berkeley at 15% each. At
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, Hispanics are the third largest ethnic group behind non-Hispanic white people and Asians, at 18% of the student population.


Hispanic university enrollments

While Hispanics study in colleges and universities throughout the country, some choose to attend federally-designated Hispanic-serving institutions, institutions that are accredited, degree-granting, public or private nonprofit institutions of higher education with 25 percent or more total undergraduate Hispanic full-time equivalent (FTE) student enrollment. There are over 270 institutions of higher education that have been designated as an HSI.


Health


Longevity

As of 2016, life expectancy for Hispanic Americans is 81.8 years, which is higher than the life expectancy for non-Hispanic white Americans (78.6 years). Research on the "Hispanic paradox"—the well-established apparent mortality advantage of Hispanic Americans compared to non-Hispanic white Americans, despite the latter's more advantaged socioeconomic status—has been principally explained by "(1) health-related migration to and from the US; and (2) social and cultural protection mechanisms, such as maintenance of healthy lifestyles and behaviors adopted in the countries of origin, and availability of extensive social networks in the US." The "salmon bias" hypothesis, which suggests that the Hispanic health advantage is attributable to higher rates of Repatriation, return migration among less-healthy migrants, has received some support in the scholarly literature. A 2019 study, examining the comparatively better health of foreign-born American Hispanics, challenged the hypothesis that a stronger orientation toward the family (familism) contributed to this advantage. Some scholars have suggested that the Hispanic mortality advantage is likely to disappear due to the higher rates of obesity and diabetes among Hispanics relative to non-Hispanic white people, although lower rates of smoking (and thus Health effects of tobacco, smoking-attributable mortality) among Hispanics may counteract this to some extent.


Healthcare

As of 2017, about 19% of Hispanic Americans Health insurance coverage in the United States, lack health insurance coverage, which is the highest of all ethnic groups except for Indigenous Americans and Alaska Natives. In terms of extending health coverage, Hispanics benefited the most among U.S. ethnic groups from the Affordable Care Act (ACA); among non-elderly Hispanics, the uninsured rate declined from 26.7% in 2013 to 14.2% in 2017. Among the population of non-elderly uninsured Hispanic population in 2017, about 53% were non-citizens, about 39% were U.S.-born citizens, and about 9% were naturalized citizens. (The ACA does not help undocumented immigrants or legal immigrants with less than five years' residence in the United States gain coverage). According to a 2013 study, Mexican women have the highest uninsured rate (54.6%) as compared to other immigrants (26.2%), black (22.5%) and non-Hispanic white (13.9%). According to the study, Mexican women are the largest female immigrant group in the United States and are also the most at risk for developing preventable health conditions. Multiple factors such as limited access to health care, legal status and income increase the risk of developing preventable health conditions because many undocumented immigrants postpone routine visits to the doctor until they become seriously ill.


Mental health


Family separation

Some families who are in the process of illegally crossing borders can suffer being caught and separated by border patrol agents. Migrants are also in danger of separation if they do not bring sufficient resources such as water for all members to continue crossing. Once illegal migrants have arrived to the new country, they may fear workplace raids where illegal immigrants are detained and deported. Family separation puts U.S born children, undocumented children and their illegal immigrant parents at risk for depression and family maladaptive syndrome. The effects are often long-term and the impact extends to the community level. Children may experience emotional traumas and long-term changes in behaviors. Additionally, when parents are forcefully removed, children often develop feelings of abandonment and they might blame themselves for what has happened to their family. Some children that are victims to illegal border crossings that result in family separation believe in the possibility of never seeing their parents again. These effects can cause negative parent-child attachment. Reunification may be difficult because of immigration laws and re-entry restrictions which further affect the mental health of children and parents. Parents who leave their home country also experience negative mental health experiences. According to a study published in 2013, 46% of Mexican migrant men who participated in the study reported elevated levels of depressive symptoms.Letiecq, B., L., Grzywacz, J., G., Gray, K., M., Eudave, Y., M.(2014). Depression among Mexican men on the migration frontier: the role of family separation and other structural and situational stressors. Journal of Immigrant and Minority Health, 16, 1193–1200 In recent years, the length of stay for migrants has increased, from 3 years to nearly a decade. Migrants who were separated from their families, either married or single, experienced greater depression than married men accompanied by their spouses. Furthermore, the study also revealed that men who are separated from their families are more prone to harsher living conditions such as overcrowded housing and are under a greater deal of pressure to send remittance to support their families. These conditions put additional stress on the migrants and often worsen their depression. Families who migrated together experience better living conditions, receive emotional encouragement and motivation from each other, and share a sense of solidarity. They are also more likely to successfully navigate the employment and health care systems in the new country, and are not pressured to send remittances back home.


Discrimination

It is reported that 31% of Hispanics have reported personal experiences with discrimination whilst 82% of Hispanics believe that discrimination plays a crucial role in whether or not they will find success while they are living in the United States.Torres, S., A., Santiago, C., D., Walts, K., K., Richards, M., H. (2018). Immigration policy, practices and procedures: the impact on the mental health of Mexican and central American youth and families. American Psychologist, 1-12. The current legislation on immigration policies also plays a crucial role in creating a hostile and discriminatory environment for immigrants. In order to measure the discrimination which immigrants are being subjected to, researchers must take into account the immigrants' perception that they are being targeted for discrimination and they must also be aware that instances of discrimination can also vary based on: personal experiences, social attitudes and ethnic group barriers. The immigrant experience is associated with lower self-esteem, internalized symptoms and behavioral problems amongst Mexican youth. It is also known that more time which is spent living in the United States is associated with increased feelings of distress, Depression (mood), depression and anxiety. Like many other Hispanic groups that migrate to the United States, these groups are often stigmatized. An example of this stigmatization occurred after September 11 attacks, 9/11, when people who were considered threats to national security were frequently described with terms like migrant and the "Hispanic Other" along with other terms like refugee and asylum seeker.


Vulnerabilities

The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 significantly changed how the United States dealt with immigration. Under this new law, immigrants who overstayed their visas or were found to be in the United States illegally were subject to be detained and/or deported without legal representation. Immigrants who broke these laws may not be allowed back into the country. Similarly, this law made it more difficult for other immigrants who want to enter the U.S or gain legal status. These laws also expanded the types of offenses that can be considered worthy of deportation for documented immigrants.Torres, S., A., Santiago, C., D., Walts, K., K., Richards, M., H.(2018). Immigration policy, practices and procedures: the impact on the mental health of Mexican and central American youth and families. American Psychologist, 1-12. Policies enacted by future presidents further limit the number of immigrants entering the country and their expedited removal. Many illegal immigrant families cannot enjoy doing everyday activities without exercising caution because they fear encountering immigration officers which limits their involvement in community events. Undocumented families also do not trust government institutions and services. Because of their fear of encountering immigration officers, illegal immigrants often feel ostracized and isolated which can lead to the development of mental health issues such as depression and anxiety. The harmful effects of being ostracized from the rest of society are not limited to just that of undocumented immigrants but it affects the entire family even if some of the members are of legal status. Children often reported having been victims of bullying in school by classmates because their parents are undocumented. This can cause them to feel isolated and develop a sense of inferiority which can negatively impact their academic performance.


Stress

Despite the struggles Hispanic families encounter, they have found ways to keep motivated. Many immigrants use religion as a source of motivation. Mexican immigrants believed that the difficulties they face are a part of God's bigger plan and believe their life will get better in the end. They kept their faith strong and pray every day, hoping that God will keep their families safe.Hinojos, B.(2013). Stressors and Coping Strategies of Undocumented Latinos in Therapy. Public Access Theses and Dissertations from the College of Education and Human Sciences. Retrieved from: https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1189&context=cehsdiss Immigrants participate in church services and bond with other immigrants that share the same experiences. Undocumented Hispanics also find support from friends, family and the community that serve as coping mechanisms. Some Hispanics state that their children are the reason they have the strength to keep on going. They want their children to have a future and give them things they are not able to have themselves. The community is able to provide certain resources that immigrant families need such as tutoring for their children, financial assistance and counseling services. Some identified that maintaining a positive mental attitude helped them cope with the stresses they experience. Many immigrants refuse to live their life in constant fear which leads to depression in order to enjoy life in the United States. Since many immigrants have unstable sources of income, many plan ahead in order to prevent future financial stress. They put money aside and find ways to save money instead of spend it such as learning to fix appliances themselves.


Poverty

Many Hispanic families migrate to find better economic opportunities in order to send remittances back home. Being undocumented limits the possibilities of jobs that immigrants undertake and many struggle to find a stable job. Many Hispanics report that companies turned them down because they do not have a Social Security number. If they are able to obtain a job, immigrants risk losing it if their employer finds out they are unable to provide proof of residency or citizenship. Many look towards agencies that do not ask for identification, but those jobs are often unreliable. In order to prevent themselves from being detained and deported, many have to work under exploitation. In a study, a participant reported "If someone knows that you don't have the papers ... that person is a danger. Many people will con them ... if they know you don't have the papers, with everything they say 'hey I'm going to call immigration on you.'". These conditions lower the income that Hispanic families bring to their household and some find living each day very difficult. When an undocumented parent is deported or detained, income will be lowered significantly if the other parent also supports the family financially. The parent who is left has to look after the family and might find working difficult to manage along with other responsibilities. Even if families aren't separated, Hispanics are constantly living in fear that they will lose their economic footing. Living in poverty has been linked to depression, low self-esteem, loneliness, crime activities and frequent drug use among youth. Families with low incomes are unable to afford adequate housing and some of them are evicted. The environment in which the children of undocumented immigrants grow up in is often composed of poor air quality, noise, and toxins which prevent healthy development. Furthermore, these neighborhoods are prone to violence and gang activities, forcing the families to live in constant fear which can contribute to the development of PTSD, aggression and depression.


Economic outlook


Median income

In 2017, the US Census reported the median household incomes of Hispanic Americans to be $50,486. This is the third consecutive annual increase in median household income for Hispanic-origin households.


Poverty

According to the United States Census, US Census, the poverty threshold, poverty rate Hispanics was 18.3 percent in 2017, down from 19.4 percent in 2016. Hispanics accounted for 10.8 million individuals in poverty. In comparison, the average poverty rates in 2017 for non-Hispanic white Americans was 8.7 percent with 17 million individuals in poverty, Asian Americans was 10.0 percent with 2 million individuals in poverty, and African Americans was 21.2 percent with 9 million individuals in poverty. Among the largest Hispanic groups during 2015 was: Honduran Americans & Dominican Americans (27%), Guatemalan Americans (26%), Puerto Ricans (24%), Mexican Americans (23%), Salvadoran Americans (20%), Cuban Americans and Venezuelan Americans (17%), Ecuadorian Americans (15%), Nicaraguan Americans (14%), Colombian Americans (13%), Argentinian Americans (11%) and Peruvian Americans (10%). Poverty affects many underrepresented students as racial/ethnic minorities tend to stay isolated within pockets of low-income communities. This results in several inequalities, such as "school offerings, teacher quality, curriculum, counseling and all manner of things that both keep students engaged in school and prepare them to graduate". In the case of Hispanics, the poverty rate for Hispanic children in 2004 was 28.6 percent. Moreover, with this lack of resources, schools reproduce these inequalities for generations to come. In order to assuage poverty, many Hispanic families can turn to social and community services as resources.


Cultural matters

The geographic, political, social, economic and racial diversity of Hispanic Americans makes all Hispanics very different depending on their family heritage and/or national origin. Many times, there are many cultural similarities between Hispanics from neighboring countries than from more distant countries, ie Spanish Caribbean, Southern Cone, Central America etc. Yet several features tend to unite Hispanics from these diverse backgrounds.


Language


Spanish

As one of the most important uniting factors of Hispanic Americans, Spanish is an important part of Hispanic culture. Teaching Spanish to children is often one of the most valued skills taught amongst Hispanic families. Spanish is not only closely tied with the person's family, heritage, and overall culture, but valued for increased opportunities in business and one's future professional career. A 2013 Pew Research survey showed that 95% of Hispanics adults said "it's important that future generations of Hispanics speak Spanish". Given the United States' proximity to other Latin America, Spanish-speaking countries, Spanish is being passed on to future American generations. Amongst second-generation Hispanics, 80% speak fluent Spanish, and amongst third-generation Hispanics, 40% speak fluent Spanish. Spanish is also the most popular language taught in the United States. Hispanics have revived the Spanish language in the United States, first brought to North America during the Spanish colonial period in the 16th century. Spanish is the oldest European language in the United States, spoken uninterruptedly for four and a half centuries, since the founding of Saint Augustine, Florida in 1565. Today, 90% of all Hispanics speak English, and at least 78% speak fluent Spanish. Additionally, 2.8 million non-Hispanic Americans also speak Spanish at home for a total of 41.1 million. With 40% of Hispanic Americans being immigrants, and with many of the 60% who are US-born being the children or grandchildren of immigrants, Multilingualism, bilingualism is the norm in the community at large. At home, at least 69% of all Hispanics over the age of five are bilingual in English and Spanish, whereas up to 22% are monolingual English-speakers, and 9% are monolingual Spanish speakers. Another 0.4% speak a language other than English and Spanish at home. [There were 39.5 million Hispanic and Latino Americans aged 5 or more in 2006. 8.5 million of them, or 22%, spoke only English at home, and another 156,000, or 0.4%, spoke neither English nor Spanish at home. The other 30.8 million, or 78%, spoke Spanish at home. Of these, 3.7 million spoke no English, while the overwhelming majority, 27.2 million, did, at these levels: 15.5 million "very well", 5.8 million "well", and 5.9 million "not well". These 27.2 million bilingual speakers represented 69% of all (39.5 million) Hispanic and Latino Americans aged five or over in 2006, while the 3.7 million monolingual Spanish-speakers represented 9%.]


American Spanish dialects

The Spanish dialects spoken in the United States differ depending on the country of origin of the person or the person's family heritage. However, generally, Spanish spoken in the Southwest is Mexican Spanish or Chicano, Chicano Spanish. A variety of Spanish native to the Southwest spoken by descendants of the early Spanish colonists in New Mexico and Colorado is known as Traditional New Mexican Spanish. One of the major distinctions of Traditional New Mexican Spanish is its use of distinct vocabulary and grammatical forms that make New Mexican Spanish unique amongst Spanish dialects. The Spanish spoken in the East Coast of the United States, East Coast is generally Caribbean Spanish and is heavily influenced by the Spanish of Cuban Spanish, Cuba, the Dominican Spanish, Dominican Republic, and Puerto Rican Spanish, Puerto Rico. Isleño Spanish, descended from Canarian Spanish, is the historic Spanish dialect spoken by the descendants of the earliest Spanish colonists beginning in the 18th century in Louisiana. Spanish spoken elsewhere throughout the country varies, although is generally Mexican Spanish. Heritage Spanish speakers tend to speak Spanish with near-native level phonology, but a more limited command of morphosyntax. Hispanics who speak Spanish as a second language often speak with English accents.


Spanglish and English dialects

Hispanics have influenced the way Americans speak with the introduction of many Spanish words into the English language. Amongst younger generations of Hispanics, Spanglish, a term for any mix of Spanish and English, is common in speaking. As they are fluent in both languages, speakers will often switch between Spanish and English throughout the conversation. Spanglish is particularly common in Hispanic-majority cities and communities such as Miami, Hialeah, Florida, Hialeah, San Antonio, Los Angeles and parts of New York City. Hispanics have also influenced the way English is spoken in the United States. In Miami, for example, the Miami#Dialect, Miami dialect has evolved as the most common form of English spoken and heard in Miami today. This is a native dialect of English, and was developed amongst second and third generations of Cuban Americans in Miami. Today, it is commonly heard everywhere throughout the city. Gloria Estefan and Enrique Iglesias are examples of people who speak with the Miami dialect. Another major English dialect, is spoken by Chicanos and
Tejano Tejanos (, ; singular: ''Tejano/a''; Spanish for "Texan", originally borrowed from the Caddo ''tayshas'') are the residents of the state of Texas who are culturally descended from the Mexican population of Tejas and Coahuila that lived in the ...
s in the Southwestern United States, called Chicano English. George Lopez and Selena are examples of speakers of Chicano English. An English dialect spoken by Puerto Ricans and other Hispanic groups is called New York Latino English;
Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
and Cardi B are examples of people who speak with the New York Latino dialect. When speaking in English, American Hispanics may often insert Spanish tag and filler items such as , , and , into sentences as a marker of ethnic identity and solidarity. The same often occurs with grammatical words like .


Religion

According to a Pew Center study which was conducted in 2019, the majority of Hispanic Americans are Christianity, Christians (72%), Among American Hispanics, as of 2018–19, 47% are Roman Catholic Church, Catholic, 24% are Protestant, 1% are Mormon, less than 1% are Orthodoxy#Christianity, Orthodox Christian, 3% are members of non-Christian faiths, and 23% are Irreligion in the United States, unaffiliated.In U.S., Decline of Christianity Continues at Rapid Pace
Pew Research Center (October 17, 2019).
The proportion of Hispanics who are Catholic has dropped from 2009 (when it was 57%), while the proportion of unaffiliated Hispanics has increased since 2009 (when it was 15%). Among Hispanic Protestant community, most are evangelical, but some belong to mainline Protestant, mainline denominations.The Shifting Religious Identity of Latinos in the United States
Pew Research Center (May 7, 2014).
Compared to Catholic, unaffiliated, and mainline Protestant Hispanics; Evangelical Protestant Hispanics are substantially more likely to attend services weekly, pray daily, and adhere to Liberal Christianity, biblical liberalism. As of 2014, about 67% of Hispanic Protestants and about 52% of Hispanic Catholics were renewalist, meaning that they described themselves as Pentecostalism, Pentecosal or Charismatic Christianity, charismatic Christians (in the Catholic tradition, called Catholic charismatic renewal). Catholic affiliation is much higher among first-generation Hispanic immigrants than it is among second and third-generation Hispanic immigrants, who exhibit a fairly high rate of conversion to Protestantism or the unaffiliated camp. According to Andrew Greeley, as many as 600,000 American Hispanics leave Catholicism for Protestant churches every year, and this figure is much higher in Texas and Florida. Hispanic Catholics are developing youth and social programs to retain members. Hispanics make up a substantial proportion (almost 40%) of Catholic Church in the United States, Catholics in the United States,Elizabeth Dias
"U.S. Catholic Bishops Elect Hispanic Immigrant as Leader"
''The New York Times'' (November 12, 2019).
although the number of American Hispanic Catholic priests, priests is low relative to Hispanic membership in the church. In 2019, José Horacio Gómez, Archbishop of Los Angeles and a naturalized American citizen born in Mexico, was elected as president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, US Conference of Catholic Bishops.


Media

The United States is home to thousands of Spanish-language Mass media, media outlets, which range in size from giant commercial and some non-commercial List of United States over-the-air television networks, broadcasting networks and major magazines with circulations numbering in the millions, to low-power AM broadcasting, AM radio stations with listeners numbering in the hundreds. There are hundreds of Internet media outlets targeting US Hispanic consumers. Some of the outlets are online versions of their printed counterparts and some online exclusively. Increased use of Spanish-language media leads to increased levels of group consciousness, according to survey data. The differences in attitudes are due to the diverging goals of Spanish-language and English-language media. The effect of using Spanish-language media serves to promote a sense of group consciousness among Hispanics by reinforcing roots in the Hispanic world and the commonalities among Hispanics of varying national origin. The first Hispanic-American owned major film studio in the United States is based in Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia. In 2017, Ozzie and Will Areu purchased Tyler Perry, Tyler Perry's former studio to establish Areu Bros. Studios.


Radio

Spanish language radio is the largest non-English broadcasting media. While other foreign language broadcasting declined steadily, Spanish broadcasting grew steadily from the 1920s to the 1970s. The 1930s were boom years. The early success depended on the concentrated geographical audience in Texas and the Southwest. American stations were close to Mexico which enabled a steady circular flow of entertainers, executives and technicians, and stimulated the creative initiatives of Hispanic radio executives, brokers, and advertisers. Ownership was increasingly concentrated in the 1960s and 1970s. The industry sponsored the now-defunct trade publication ''Sponsor'' from the late 1940s to 1968. Spanish-language radio has influenced American and Hispanic discourse on key current affairs issues such as citizenship and immigration.


Networks

Notable Hispanic-oriented media outlets include: * CNN en Español, a Spanish-language news network based in Atlanta, Georgia; * ESPN Deportes and Fox Deportes, two Spanish-language sports television networks. * Telemundo, the second-largest Spanish-language television network in the United States, with affiliates in nearly every major List of television stations in North America by media market, U.S. market, and numerous affiliates internationally; ** TeleXitos an American Spanish language digital multicast television network owned by NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises. ** Universo (TV network), Universo, a cable network that produces content for U.S.-born Hispanic audiences; * Univisión, the largest List of Spanish-language television channels, Spanish-language television network in the United States, with affiliates in nearly every major U.S. market, and numerous affiliates internationally. It is the country's fourth-largest network overall; ** UniMás, an American Spanish language free-to-air television network owned by Univision Communications. ** Fusion TV, an English television channel targeting Hispanic audiences with news and satire programming; ** Galavisión, a Spanish-language television channel targeting Hispanic audiences with general entertainment programming; * Estrella TV, an American Spanish-language broadcast television network owned by the Estrella Media. * V-me, a Spanish-language television network; ** Primo TV, an English-language cable channel aimed at Hispanic youth.; * Azteca América, a Spanish-language television network in the United States, with affiliates in nearly every major U.S. market, and numerous affiliates internationally; * Fuse (TV channel), Fuse, a former music channel that merged with the Hispanic-oriented NuvoTV in 2015. ** FM (TV channel), FM, a music-centric channel that replaced NuvoTV following the latter's merger with Fuse in 2015. * 3ABN Latino, a Spanish-language Christian television network based in West Frankfort, Illinois; * TBN Enlace USA, a Spanish-language Christian television network based in Tustin, California;


Print

* ''La Opinión'', a Spanish-language daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the six counties of Southern California. It is the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States * ''El Nuevo Herald'' and ''Diario Las Américas'', Spanish-language daily newspapers serving the greater Miami, Miami, Florida, market * ''El Tiempo Latino'' a Spanish-language free-circulation weekly newspaper published in Washington, D.C. * ''Latina (magazine), Latina'', a magazine for bilingual, bicultural Hispanic women * ''People en Español'', a Spanish-language magazine counterpart of ''People (magazine), People'' * ''Vida Latina'', a Spanish-language entertainment magazine distributed throughout the Southern United States


Sports and music

Because of different cultures throughout the Hispanic world, there are various music forms throughout Hispanic countries, with different sounds and origins. Many Hispanics prefer musical genres from their home countries than music from the United States. Mostly, the recent arrivals listened to Spanish music, while Hispanics who been in the United States for generations tend to listen more to English music. Reggaeton and Hip hop music, Hip hop are genres that are most popular to Hispanic youth in the United States. Soccer is a common sport for Hispanics from outside of the Caribbean region, particularly immigrants. Baseball is a common among Caribbean Hispanics. Other popular sports include Boxing, American football, Football, and Basketball.


Cuisine

Hispanic food, particularly Mexican food, has influenced American cuisine and eating habits. Mexican cuisine has become so mainstream in American culture that many no longer see it as an ethnic food. Across the United States, tortillas and Salsa (sauce), salsa are arguably becoming as common as hamburger buns and ketchup. Tortilla chips have surpassed potato chips in annual sales, and Chifle, plantain chips popular in Caribbean cuisines have continued to increase sales. Tropical fruit, such as mango, guava and passion fruit, passion fruit (maracuyá), have become more popular and are now common flavors in desserts, candies and food dishes in the United States. Due to the large Mexican-American population in the Southwestern United States, and its proximity to Mexico, Mexican food there is believed to be some of the best in the United States. Cubans brought Cuban cuisine to Miami and today, cortado, cortaditos, pastelitos de guayaba and empanadas are common mid-day snacks in the city. Cuban culture has changed Miami's coffee drinking habits, and today a café con leche or a cortadito is commonly had at one of the city's numerous coffee shops. The Cuban sandwich, developed in Miami, is now a staple and icon of the city's cuisine and culture.


Familial situations


Family life and values

Hispanic culture places a strong value on family, and is commonly taught to Hispanic children as one of the most important values in life. Statistically, Hispanic families tend to have larger and closer knit families than the American average. Hispanic families tend to prefer to live near other family members. This may mean that three or sometimes four generations may be living in the same household or near each other, although four generations is uncommon in the United States. The role of grandparents is believed to be very important in the upbringing of children. Hispanics tend to be very group-oriented, and an emphasis is placed on the well-being of the family above the individual. The extended family plays an important part of many Hispanic families, and frequent social, family gatherings are common. Traditional rites of passages, particularly Catholic Church, Roman Catholic sacraments: such as baptisms, birthdays, First Communion, First Holy Communions, quinceañeras, Confirmations, graduations and weddings are all popular moments of family gatherings and celebrations in Hispanic families. Education is another important priority for Hispanic families. Education is seen as the key towards continued upward mobility in the United States among Hispanic families. A 2010 study by the Associated Press showed that Hispanics place a higher emphasis on education than the average American. Hispanics expect their children to graduate university. Hispanic youth today stay at home with their parents longer than before. This is due to more years spent studying and the difficulty of finding a paid job that meets their aspirations.


Intermarriage

Hispanic Americans, like many immigrant groups before them, are out-marrying at high rates. Out-marriages comprised 17.4% of all existing Hispanic marriages in 2008.Pew Social Trends: "Marrying Out"
June 15, 2010
The rate was higher for newlyweds (which excludes immigrants who are already married): Among all newlyweds in 2010, 25.7% of all Hispanics married a non-Hispanic (this compares to out-marriage rates of 9.4% of white people, 17.1% of black people, and 27.7% of Asians). The rate was larger for native-born Hispanics, with 36.2% of native-born Hispanics (both men and women) out-marrying compared to 14.2% of foreign-born Hispanics.Pew Research Social & Demographic Trends: "The Rise of Intermarriage - Rates, Characteristics Vary by Race and Gender" by Wendy Wang
February 16, 2012
The difference is attributed to recent immigrants tending to marry within their immediate immigrant community due to commonality of language, proximity, familial connections, and familiarity. In 2008, 81% of Hispanics who married out married non-Hispanic white people, 9% married non-Hispanic black people, 5% non-Hispanic Asians, and the remainder married non-Hispanic, multi-racial partners. Of approximately 275,500 new interracial or interethnic marriages in 2010, 43.3% were white-Hispanic (compared to white-Asian at 14.4%, white-black at 11.9%, and other combinations at 30.4%; "other combinations" consists of pairings between different minority groups and multi-racial people). Unlike those for marriage to black people and Asians, intermarriage rates of Hispanics to white people do not vary by gender. The combined median earnings of white/Hispanic couples are lower than those of white/white couples but higher than those of Hispanic/Hispanic couples. 23% of Hispanic men who married white women have a college degree compared to only 10% of Hispanic men who married a Hispanic woman. 33% of Hispanic women who married a white husband are college-educated compared to 13% of Hispanic women who married a Hispanic man. Attitudes among non-Hispanics toward intermarriage with Hispanics are mostly favorable, with 81% of white people, 76% of Asians and 73% of black people "being fine" with a member of their family marrying a Hispanic and an additional 13% of white people, 19% of Asians and 16% of black people "being bothered but accepting of the marriage". Only 2% of white people, 4% of Asians, and 5% of black people would not accept a marriage of their family member to a Hispanic. Hispanic attitudes toward intermarriage with non-Hispanics are likewise favorable, with 81% "being fine" with marriages to white people and 73% "being fine" with marriages to black people. A further 13% admitted to "being bothered but accepting" of a marriage of a family member to a white and 22% admitted to "being bothered but accepting" of a marriage of a family member to a black. Only 5% of Hispanics objected outright marriage of a family member to a non-Hispanic black and 2% to a non-Hispanic white. Unlike intermarriage with other racial groups, intermarriage with non-Hispanic black people varies by nationality of origin. Puerto Ricans have by far the highest rates of intermarriage with black people, of all major Hispanic national groups, who also has the highest overall intermarriage rate among Hispanics. Cubans have the highest rate of intermarriage with non-Hispanic white people, of all major Hispanic national groups, and are the most assimilated into white American culture.


Cultural adjustment

As Hispanic migrants become the norm in the United States, the effects of this migration on the identity of these migrants and their kin becomes most evident in the younger generations. Crossingthe borders changes the identities of both the youth and their families. Often "one must pay special attention to the role expressive culture plays as both entertainment and as a site in which identity is played out, empowered, and reformed" because it is "sometimes in opposition to dominant norms and practices and sometimes in conjunction with them".Hondagneu-Sotelo, Pierrette. 2004. Gender and the Latino experience in Late-Twentieth-Century America. In The Columbia History of Latinos in the United States since 1960. D.G. Gutiérrez, ed. New York: Columbia University Press. The exchange of their culture of origin with American culture creates a dichotomy within the values that the youth find important, therefore changing what it means to be Hispanic in the global sphere.


Transnationalism

Along with feeling that they are neither from the country of their ethnic background nor the United States, a new identity within the United States is formed called ''latinidad''. This is especially seen in cosmopolitan social settings like New York City, Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Underway is "the intermeshing of different Latino subpopulations has laid the foundations for the emergence and ongoing evolution of a strong sense of ''latinidad"'' which establishes a "sense of cultural affinity and identity deeply rooted in what many Hispanics perceive to be a shared historical, spiritual, aesthetic and linguistic heritage, and a growing sense of cultural affinity and solidarity in the social context of the United States." This unites Hispanics as one, creating cultural kin with other Hispanic ethnicities.


Gender roles

In Hispanic culture, the role of a man is to be the sole breadwinner for his family, he must work hard to provide. Hispanic men demand respect and obedience and carry the responsibility of being the head of the family, in which he is tasked with keeping his family composed and honorable in the eyes of society. A man feels pressure from his community to prove his manhood and manliness, leading the male to exemplify behaviors of machismo. There are two sides to machismo, the man who has a strong work ethic and lives up to his responsibilities, or the man who heavily drinks and therefore displays acts of unpleasant behavior towards his family. To display machismo is to assert male dominance in all spheres, especially in a man's relationship with his female partner; the concept is enforced through convincing males into comporting themselves with a ''Machismo, macho'' (literally, "male" or "masculine") archetype in order to establish respect, dominance, and manliness in their social ambits. The traditional roles of women in a Hispanic community are of housewife and mother, a woman's role is to cook, clean, and care for her children and husband; putting herself and her needs last. The typical structure of a Hispanic family forces women to defer authority to her husband, allowing him to make the important decisions, that both the woman and children must abide by. A woman must not question her husband's authority nor go against him, a woman is expected to remain submissive, take orders, and tolerate any behavior displayed by her husband. In traditional Hispanic households, women and young girls are homebodies or ''muchachas de la casa'' ("girls of the house"), showing that they abide "by the cultural norms ... [of] respectability, chastity, and family honor [as] valued by the [Hispanic] community". A woman occupied with all the tasks required to support her household and family is often unable to work or become educated, being outside the home is deemed unacceptable and wrong. Migration to the United States can change the identity of Hispanic youth in various ways, including how they carry their gendered identities. However, when Hispanic women come to the United States, they tend to adapt to the perceived social norms of this new country and their social location changes as they become more independent and able to live without the financial support of their families or partners. The unassimilated community views these adapting women as being ''de la calle'' ("of [or from] the street"), transgressive, and sexually promiscuous. A women's motive for pursuing an education or career is to prove she can care and make someone of herself, breaking the traditional gender role that a Hispanic woman can only serve as a mother or housewife, thus changing a woman's role in society. Some Hispanic families in the United States "deal with young women's failure to adhere to these culturally prescribed norms of proper gendered behavior in a variety of ways, including sending them to live in ... [the sending country] with family members, regardless of whether or not ... [the young women] are sexually active". Now there has been a rise in the Hispanic community where both men and women are known to work and split the household chores among themselves; women are encouraged to gain an education, degree, and pursue a career; men and women are both beginning to be seen as equal members in the Hispanic community.


Sexuality

In Hispanic culture it is expected for men to partake only in heterosexual relationships, some men often seek multiple female partners to further prove their sexuality and masculinity. A man is expected to lead a heterosexual life while upholding traditional values. The Hispanic community rejects men who identify themselves as homosexuals, homophobia is deeply embedded in these communities, forcing gay men to hide and remain ashamed of their sexuality. Due to the homophobia present in the Hispanic community, gay men feel a high sense of shame and guilt which leads to risky sexual behavior, leaving them at a risk for HIV and other STDs. The socially constructed behaviors of machismoreinforce only traditional gender roles and sexual preferences; while simultaneously upholding homophobia and prejudice for those that identify as lesbians and gay men. With the Catholic Church remaining a large influence on the Hispanic culture, the subject of promiscuity and sexuality is often considered taboo. There is a lack of conversation and communication regarding sexuality and sexual behavior in these communities, leaving Hispanic adolescents at a higher risk of STDs and unwanted pregnancies. It is believed that women should not participate in or know about sexual behaviors which produce a sense of naivety regarding the topic and results in discomfort and embarrassment. It is taught in many Hispanic cultures that the best way to remain pure of sin and not become pregnant is to remain celibate and heterosexual until marriage. All are to be straight and women are to be virgins. A woman must carry herself like Mary, mother of Jesus, Mary in order to receive respect and keep the family's honor. Marianismo dictates the traditional role of a Hispanic women, a woman is expected to remain sexually pure, submissive, and is seen as an object of pleasure for men. The Catholic religion preaches for heterosexual marriages and the preservation of family; and condemns and stigmatizes homosexual or bisexual relationships. Latino sexual minorities who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender often do not reveal their sexual preferences out of fear of being excluded or rejected by their community.


Relations towards other minority groups

As a result of the rapid growth of the Hispanic population, there has been some tension with other minority populations, especially the African Americans, African-American population, as Hispanics have increasingly moved into once exclusively black areas. There has also been increasing cooperation between minority groups to work together to attain political influence. * A 2007 UCLA study reported that 51% of black people felt that Hispanics were taking jobs and political power from them and 44% of Hispanics said they feared African-Americans, identifying them (African-Americans) with high crime rates. That said, large majorities of Hispanics credited American black people and the civil rights movement with making life easier for them in the United States. * A
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
poll from 2006 showed that black people overwhelmingly felt that Hispanic immigrants were hard working (78%) and had strong family values (81%); 34% believed that immigrants took jobs from Americans, 22% of black people believed that they had directly lost a job to an immigrant, and 34% of black people wanted immigration to be curtailed. The report also surveyed three cities: Chicago (with its well-established Hispanic community); Washington, D.C. (with a less-established but quickly growing Hispanic community); and Raleigh-Durham (with a very new but rapidly growing Hispanic community). The results showed that a significant proportion of black people in those cities wanted immigration to be curtailed: Chicago (46%), Raleigh-Durham (57%), and Washington, DC (48%). * Per a 2008 University of California, Berkeley Law School research brief, a recurring theme to black/Hispanic tensions is the growth in "contingent, flexible, or contractor labor", which is increasingly replacing long term steady employment for jobs on the lower-rung of the pay scale (which had been disproportionately filled by black people). The transition to this employment arrangement corresponds directly with the growth in the Hispanic immigrant population. The perception is that this new labor arrangement has driven down wages, removed benefits, and rendered temporary, jobs that once were stable (but also benefiting consumers who receive lower-cost services) while passing the costs of labor (healthcare and indirectly education) onto the community at large. * A 2008 The Gallup Organization, Gallup poll indicated that 60% of Hispanics and 67% of black people believe that good relations exist between US black people and HispanicsGallup: "White people May Exaggerate Black-Hispanic Tensions" by Lydia Saad
July 17, 2008
while only 29% of black people, 36% of Hispanics and 43% of white people, say black–Hispanic relations are bad. * In 2009, in Los Angeles County, Hispanics committed 30% of the hate crimes against black victims and black people committed 70% of the hate crimes against Hispanics.


Politics


Political affiliations

Hispanics differ on their political views depending on their location and background. The majority (57%) either identify as or support the Democratic Party (United States), Democrats, and 23% identify as Republican Party (United States), Republicans. This 34-point gap as of December 2007 was an increase from the gap of 21 points 16 months earlier. While traditionally a key Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party constituency at-large, beginning in the early 2010s, Hispanics have begun to split between the Democrats and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. In a 2022 study, it was found that 64% of Latinos surveyed had positive attitudes towards President Obama’s executive actions on immigration, which was notably four percentage points lower than that of non-Hispanic Black respondents. It was also noted that support for undocumented immigrants was lowest among Latinos living in developing 'bedroom communities' or newly built suburbs designed for commuters. This was also the case for Latinos of affluent income levels, however they were still most likely to display a positive attitude towards undocumented immigrants, especially when compared to their non-Hispanic white counterparts. Cuban Americans, Colombian Americans, Chilean Americans, and Venezuelan Americans tend to favor conservative political ideologies and support the Republicans. Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominican Americans tend to favor progressive political ideologies and support the Democrats. However, because the latter groups are far more numerous—as, again, Mexican Americans alone are 64% of Hispanics—the Democratic Party is considered to be in a far stronger position with the ethnic group overall. Some political organizations associated with Hispanic Americans are League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the United Farm Workers, the Cuban American National Foundation and the National Institute for Latino Policy.


Political impact

The United States has a population of over 60 million of Hispanic Americans, of whom 27 million are citizens eligible to vote (13% of total eligible voters); therefore, Hispanics have a very important effect on presidential elections since the vote difference between two main parties is usually around 4%.


Elections of 1996-2006

In the 1996 United States presidential election, 1996 presidential election, 72% of Hispanics backed President Bill Clinton. In 2000 United States presidential election, 2000, the Democratic total fell to 62%, and went down again in 2004 United States presidential election, 2004, with Democrat John Kerry winning Hispanics 54-44 against Bush. Hispanics in the West, especially in California, were much stronger for the Democratic Party than in Texas and Florida. California Hispanics voted 63–32 for Kerry in 2004, and both Arizona and New Mexico Hispanics by a smaller 56–43 margin. Texas Hispanics were split nearly evenly, favoring Kerry 50–49 over their favorite son candidate and Florida Hispanics (who are mostly Cuban American) backed Bush, by a 54–45 margin. In the United States general elections, 2006, 2006 midterm election, however, due to the unpopularity of the Iraq War, the heated debate concerning Illegal immigration to the United States, illegal Hispanic immigration and Republican-related Congressional scandals, Hispanics went as strongly Democratic as they have since the Clinton years. Exit polls showed the group voting for Democrats by a lopsided 69–30 margin, with Florida Hispanics for the first time split evenly. The runoff election in Texas' 23rd congressional district was seen as a bellwether of Hispanic politics. Democrat Ciro Rodriguez's unexpected (and unexpectedly decisive) defeat of Republican incumbent Henry Bonilla was seen as proof of a leftward lurch among Hispanic voters; majority-Hispanic counties overwhelmingly backed Rodriguez and majority European-American counties overwhelmingly backed Bonilla.


Elections 2008-2012

In the 2008 United States presidential election, 2008 Presidential election's Democratic Party (United States) presidential primaries, 2008, Democratic primary, Hispanics participated in larger numbers than before, with Hillary Clinton receiving most of the group's support. Pundits discussed whether Hispanics would not vote for Barack Obama because he was African-American. Hispanics voted 2 to 1 for Mrs. Clinton, even among the younger demographic. In other groups, younger voters went overwhelmingly for Obama."The Hispanic Vote in the 2008 Democratic Presidential Primaries"
February 21, 2008, Pew Hispanic Center
Among Hispanics, 28% said race was involved in their decision, as opposed to 13% for (non-Hispanic) white people. Obama defeated Clinton. In the matchup between Obama and Republican candidate John McCain, Hispanics supported Obama with 59% to McCain's 29% in the June 30 The Gallup Organization, Gallup tracking poll. This was higher than expected, since McCain had been a leader of the comprehensive immigration reform effort (John McCain was born in Panama to parents who were serving in the US Navy, but raised in the United States). However, McCain had retreated from reform during the Republican primary, damaging his standing among Hispanics. Obama took advantage of the situation by running ads in Spanish highlighting McCain's reversal. In the general election, 67% of Hispanics voted for Obama. with a relatively strong turnout in states such as Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada and Virginia, helping Obama carry those formerly Republican states. Obama won 70% of non-Cuban Hispanics and 35% of the traditionally Republican Cuban Americans who have a strong presence in Florida. The relative growth of non-Cuban vs Cuban Hispanics also contributed to his carrying Florida's Hispanics with 57% of the vote. While employment and the economy were top concerns for Hispanics, almost 90% of Hispanic voters rated immigration as "somewhat important" or "very important" in a poll taken after the election.Page 1
/ref> Republican opposition to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 had damaged the party's appeal to Hispanics, especially in swing states such as Florida, Nevada and New Mexico. In a Gallup poll of Hispanic voters taken in the final days of June 2008, only 18% of participants identified as Republicans. Hispanics voted even more heavily for Democrats in the 2012 election with the Democratic incumbent Barack Obama receiving 71% and the Republican challenger Mitt Romney receiving about 27% of the vote. Some Hispanic leaders were offended by remarks Romney made during a fundraiser, when he suggested that cultural differences and "the hand of providence" help explain why Israelis are more economically successful than Palestinians, and why similar economic disparities exist between other neighbors, such as the United States and Mexico, or Chile and Ecuador. A senior aide to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas called the remarks racist, as did American political scientist Angelo Falcón, president of the National Institute of Latino Policy. Mitt Romney father was born to American parents in a Mormon colonies in Mexico, Mormon colony in Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua, Mexico.


Elections 2014–present

"More convincing data" from the 2016 United States presidential election from the polling firm Latino Decisions indicates that Clinton received a higher share of the Hispanic vote, and Trump a lower share, than the Edison exit polls showed. Using wider, more geographically and linguistically representative sampling, Latino Decisions concluded that Clinton won 79% of Hispanic voters (also an improvement over Obama's share in 2008 and 2012), while Trump won only 18% (lower than previous Republicans such as Romney and McCain). Additionally, the 2016 Cooperative Congressional Election Study found that Clinton's share of the Hispanic vote was one percentage point higher than Obama's in 2012, while Trump's was seven percentage points lower than Romney's. On June 26, 2018,
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (; ; born October 13, 1989), also known by her initials AOC, is an American politician and activist. She has served as the U.S. representative for New York's 14th congressional district since 2019, as a member of th ...
, a millennial, won the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic United States House of Representatives elections in New York, 2018#District 14, primary in New York's 14th congressional district covering parts of The Bronx and Queens in New York City, defeating the incumbent, Democratic Caucus Chairman of the United States House of Representatives, Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley, in what has been described as the biggest Upset (competition), upset victory in the 2018 United States elections, 2018 midterm election season and at the age of 29 years, became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America and has been endorsed by various politically Progressivism in the United States#Progressivism in the 21st century, progressive organizations and individuals. According to a
Pew Research Center The Pew Research Center is a nonpartisan American think tank (referring to itself as a "fact tank") based in Washington, D.C. It provides information on social issues, public opinion, and demographic trends shaping the United States and the w ...
report, the 2020 election will be the first one when Hispanics are the largest racial or ethnic minority group in the electorate. A record 32 million Hispanics were projected to be eligible to vote in the presidential election, many of them first-time voters. On September 15, 2020, President Donald J. Trump announces his intent to nominate and appoint Eduardo Verastegui, to be a member of the President's Advisory Commission on Hispanic Prosperity if re-elected after days of the Democratic convention. Hispanic communities across the United States were long held as a single voting bloc, but economic, geographic and cultural differences show stark divides in how Hispanic Americans have cast their ballots in 2020. Hispanics helped deliver Florida to Donald Trump in part because of Cuban Americans and Venezuelan Americans (along with smaller populations such as Nicaraguan Americans and Chilean Americans); President Trump's reelection campaign ran pushing a strong anti-socialism message as a strategy in Florida, to their success. However the perceived anti-immigrant rhetoric resonated with Arizona and the COVID-19 pandemic (Arizona being one of the states hardest hit by the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States). The takeaway may be this may be the last election cycle that the "Hispanic vote" as a whole is more talked about instead of particular communities within it, such as Cubans, Puerto Ricans, Mexican Americans and so on. In Texas like in Arizona the Hispanic community mainly being Mexican American; one in three Texan voters is now Hispanic. Biden did win the Hispanic vote in those states. But in Texas, 41 percent to 47 percent of Hispanic voters backed Trump in several heavily Hispanic border counties in the Rio Grande Valley region, a Democratic stronghold. In Florida, Trump won 45 percent of the Hispanic vote, an 11-point improvement from his 2016 performance reported NBC News. Recognizing Hispanics as a population that can not only make a differences in swing states like Arizona and Texas or Florida, but also really across the country, even in places like Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, the number of Hispanic eligible voters may be the reason for the thin margins. In 1984, 37 percent of Hispanics voted for
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
and 40 percent voted for George W. Bush in 2004. In Florida, even though Trump won Florida and gained Hispanic voters, Biden kept 53% of the Hispanic vote and Trump 45%. According to NBC News exit polls, 55% of Cuban Americans, 30% of Puerto Ricans and 48% of other Hispanics voted for Trump. Subsections of Hispanic voters have a range of historical influences vying to affect their votes. Cuban American voters, mostly concentrated in south Florida, tend to vote Republican in part because of their anathema for socialism, the party of Fidel Castro's government that many of their families fled. Mexican Americans, however, have no such historical relationship with either party. Puerto Rican voters who have left the island might be influenced by the territory's move towards statehood, as a referendum for Trump's relief effort after Hurricane Maria, or regarding how it is taxed. Nationwide, Hispanics cast 16.6 million votes in 2020, an increase of 30.9% over the 2016 presidential election. After representative Filemon Vela Jr. resigned, Mayra Flores won a 2022 Texas's 34th congressional district special election, special election to succeed him, she won the election to the United States House of Representatives in June 2022. She will be the first Mexican Americans, Mexican-born woman to serve in the United States Congress.Svitek, Patrick
Republicans flip U.S. House seat in South Texas, historically a Democratic stronghold
, ''Texas Tribune'', June 14, 2022.


Notable contributions

Hispanic Americans have made distinguished contributions to the United States in all major fields, such as Politics of the United States, politics, the Military of the United States, military, Music of the United States, music, film, American literature, literature, Sports in the United States, sports, business and finance, and Science in the United States, science.


Arts and entertainment

In 1995, the American Latino Media Arts Award, or ALMA Award was created. It is a distinction given to Hispanic performers (actors, film and television directors and musicians) by the National Council of La Raza. The number of Latin nominees at the Grammy Awards lag behind. Talking to ''People (magazine), People'' magazine ahead of music's biggest night in 2021, Grammy nominees J Balvin and Ricky Martin reflected on what it is mean to continue to represent Hispanics at awards shows like the Grammys. Martin, who served as a pioneer for the "Latin crossover" in the '90s told "When you get nominated, it's the industry telling you, 'Hey Rick, you did a good job this year, congratulations.' Yes, I need that", the 49-year-old says. "When you walk into the studio, you say, 'This got a Grammy potential.' You hear the songs that do and the ones that don't. It's inevitable." Like Selena Gomez tapping into her roots, the influence Hispanics and reggaetón are having on the mainstream is undeniable.


Music

There are many Hispanic American musicians that have achieved international fame, such as Christopher Rios better known by his stage name Big Pun,
Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
, Joan Baez, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Fergie (singer), Fergie, Pitbull (rapper), Pitbull, Victoria Justice, Linda Ronstadt, Zack de la Rocha, Gloria Estefan, Celia Cruz, Tito Puente, Kat DeLuna, Selena, Ricky Martin, Marc Anthony, Carlos Santana, Christina Aguilera, Bruno Mars, Mariah Carey, Jerry García, Dave Navarro, Santaye, Elvis Crespo, Romeo Santos, Tom Araya, Becky G, Juan Luis Guerra, Cardi B, Giselle Bellas, Bad Bunny, all of the members of all-female band Go Betty Go, Camila Cabello, and two members of girl group Fifth Harmony: Lauren Jauregui and Ally Brooke. Hispanic music imported from Cuba (chachachá, mambo (music), mambo, and rhumba) and Mexico (ranchera and mariachi) had brief periods of popularity during the 1950s. Examples of artists include Celia Cruz, who was a Cuban-American singer and the most popular Latin artist of the 20th century, gaining twenty-three gold albums during her career. Bill Clinton awarded her the National Medal of Arts in 1994. Among the Hispanic American musicians who were pioneers in the early stages of rock and roll were Ritchie Valens, who scored several hits, most notably "La Bamba (song), La Bamba" and Herman Santiago, who wrote the lyrics to the iconic rock and roll song "Why Do Fools Fall in Love (song), Why Do Fools Fall in Love". Songs that became popular in the United States and are heard during the holiday/Christmas season include "¿Dónde Está Santa Claus?", a novelty Christmas song with 12-year-old Augie Ríos which was a hit record in 1959 and featured the Mark Jeffrey Orchestra; and "Feliz Navidad (song), Feliz Navidad" by José Feliciano. Miguel del Aguila wrote 116 works and has three Latin Grammy nominations. In 1986, ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine introduced the Hot Latin Songs chart which ranks the best-performing songs on Spanish-language radio stations in the United States. Seven years later, ''Billboard'' initiated the Top Latin Albums which ranks top-selling Latin albums in the United States. Similarly, the Recording Industry Association of America incorporated "Los Premios de Oro y Platino" (The Gold and Platinum Awards) to certify Latin recordings which contains at least 50% of its content recorded in Spanish. In 1989, Univision established the Lo Nuestro Awards which became the first award ceremony to recognize the most talented performers of Spanish-language music and was considered to be the "Hispanic Grammy Award, Grammys". In 2000, the The Latin Recording Academy, Latin Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (LARAS) established the Latin Grammy Awards to recognize musicians who perform in Spanish and Portuguese. Unlike The Recording Academy, LARAS extends its membership internationally to Hispanophone and Lusophone communities worldwide beyond the Americas, particularly the Iberian Peninsula. Becky G won favorite female Latin artist, a brand new category at the American Music Awards of 2020, AMAs in 2020. For the 63rd Annual Grammy Awards, the academy announced several changes for different categories and rules: the category Latin Pop Album has been renamed Grammy Award for Best Latin Pop or Urban Album, Best Latin Pop or Urban Album, while Latin Rock, Urban or Alternative Album has been renamed Grammy Award for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album, Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album.


Film, radio, television, and theatre

Cinema of the United States, American cinema has often reflected and propagated Stereotype, negative stereotypes towards foreign nationals and ethnic minorities. For example, Hispanics are largely depicted as sexualized figures such as the Hispanic Machismo, macho or the Hispanic Sex kitten, vixen, gang members, (illegal) Immigration, immigrants, or List of entertainer occupations, entertainers. However representation in Hollywood has enhanced in latter times of which it gained noticeable momentum in the 1990s and does not emphasize oppression, exploitation, or resistance as central themes. According to Ramírez Berg, third wave films "do not accentuate Chicano oppression or resistance; ethnicity in these films exists as one fact of several that shape characters' lives and stamps their personalities". Filmmakers like Edward James Olmos and Robert Rodriguez were able to represent the Hispanic American experience like none had on screen before, and actors like Hilary Swank, Michael Peña, Jordana Brewster, Ana de Armas, Jessica Alba, Natalie Martinez and Jenna Ortega have become successful. In the last decade, minority filmmakers like Chris Weitz, Alfonso Gomez-Rejon and Patricia Riggen have been given applier narratives. Portrayal in films of them include ''La Bamba (film), La Bamba'' (1987), ''Selena (film), Selena'' (1997), ''The Mask of Zorro'' (1998), ''Goal II: Living the Dream'' (2007), ''The 33'' (2015), ''Ferdinand (film), Ferdinand'' (2017), ''Dora and the Lost City of Gold'' (2019), and Josefina López's ''Real Women Have Curves'', originally Real Women Have Curves (play), a play which premiered in 1990 and was later released as a film in 2002. Hispanics have also contributed some prominent actors and others to the Cinema of the United States, film industry. Of Puerto Rican origin: José Ferrer (the first Hispanic actor to win an acting Academy Awards, Academy Award for his role in ''Cyrano de Bergerac (play), Cyrano de Bergerac''), Auliʻi Cravalho, Rita Moreno, Chita Rivera, Raul Julia, Rosie Perez, Rosario Dawson, Esai Morales, Aubrey Plaza,
Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series ''In Living Color'', where she rema ...
, Joaquin Phoenix and Benicio del Toro. Of Mexico, Mexican origin: Emile Kuri (the first Hispanic to win an Academy Award – for Best Production Design – in 1949), Ramon Novarro, Dolores del Río, Lupe Vélez, Anthony Quinn, Ricardo Montalbán, Katy Jurado, Adrian Grenier, Jay Hernandez, Salma Hayek, Danny Trejo, Jessica Alba, Tessa Thompson, and Kate del Castillo. Of Cuban origin: Cesar Romero, Mel Ferrer, Andy García, Cameron Diaz, María Conchita Alonso, William Levy (actor), William Levy, and Eva Mendes. Of Dominican Republic, Dominican origin: Maria Montez and Zoe Saldana. Of partial Spain, Spanish origin: Rita Hayworth, Martin Sheen. Other outstanding figures are: Anita Page (of El Salvador, Salvadoran origin), Fernando Lamas, Carlos Thompson, Alejandro Rey and Linda Cristal (of Argentina, Argentine origin), Raquel Welch (of Bolivian origin), John Leguizamo (of
Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...
n origin), Oscar Isaac (of Guatemalan origin), and Pedro Pascal (of Chilean origin). In stand-up comedy, Cristela Alonzo, Anjelah Johnson, Paul Rodriguez (actor), Paul Rodríguez, Greg Giraldo, Cheech Marin, George Lopez, Freddie Prinze, Jade Esteban Estrada, Carlos Mencia, John Mendoza, Gabriel Iglesias and others are prominent. Some of the Hispanic actors who achieved notable success in U.S. television include Desi Arnaz, Lynda Carter, Jimmy Smits, Charo, Jencarlos Canela, Christian Serratos, Carlos Pena Jr., Eva Longoria, Sofía Vergara, Ricardo Antonio Chavira, Jacob Vargas, Benjamin Bratt, Ricardo Montalbán, Hector Elizondo, Mario Lopez, America Ferrera, Karla Souza, Diego Boneta, Erik Estrada, Cote de Pablo, Freddie Prinze, Lauren Vélez, Isabella Gomez, Justina Machado, Tony Plana Stacey Dash, and Charlie Sheen. Kenny Ortega is an Emmy Awards, Emmy Award-winning producer, director and choreographer who has choreographed many major television events such as Super Bowl XXX, the 72nd Academy Awards and Michael Jackson's Michael Jackson memorial service, memorial service. Hispanics are underrepresented in U.S. television, radio, and film. This is combatted by organizations such as the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors (HOLA), founded in 1975; and National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), founded in 1986. Together with numerous Hispanic civil rights organizations, the NHMC led a "brownout" of the national television networks in 1999, after discovering that there were no Hispanic on any of their new prime time series that year. This resulted in the signing of historic diversity agreements with American Broadcasting Company, ABC, CBS, Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox and NBC that have since increased the hiring of Hispanic talent and other staff in all of the networks. Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) funds programs of educational and cultural significance to Hispanic Americans. These programs are distributed to various public television stations throughout the United States. The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards was criticized by Hispanics; there were no major nominations for Hispanic performers, despite the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences publicizing their improved diversity in 2020. While there was a record number of black nominees, there was only one individual Hispanic nomination. Hispanic representation groups said the greater diversity referred only to more African American nominees. When the ''Los Angeles Times'' reported the criticism using the term "black", it was itself criticized for erasing Black Hispanic and Latino Americans, Afro-Hispanics, a discussion that then prompted more investigation into this under-represented minority ethnic group in Hollywood. John Leguizamo boycotted the Emmys because of its lack of Hispanic nominees.


Fashion

In the world of fashion, notable Hispanic designers include Oscar de la Renta, Carolina Herrera (fashion designer), Carolina Herrera, Narciso Rodriguez, Manuel Cuevas, Maria Cornejo, among others. Christy Turlington, Lais Ribeiro, Adriana Lima, Gisele Bündchen and Lea T achieved international fame as models.


Artists

Notable Hispanic artists include Jean-Michel Basquiat, Carmen Herrera, Gronk (artist), Gronk, Luis Jiménez (sculptor), Luis Jiménez, Félix González-Torres, Ana Mendieta, Joe Shannon (artist), Joe Shannon, Richard Serra, Abelardo Morell, Bill Melendez, María Magdalena Campos Pons, Sandra Ramos, Myrna Báez and Soraida Martinez.


Business and finance

The total number of Hispanic-owned businesses in 2002 was 1.6 million, having grown at triple the national rate for the preceding five years. Hispanic business leaders include Cuban immigrant Roberto Goizueta, who rose to head of The Coca-Cola Company. Advertising Mexican-American magnate Arte Moreno became the first Hispanic to own a Major professional sports leagues in the United States and Canada, major league team in the United States when he purchased the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Los Angeles Angels Major League Baseball, baseball club. Also a major sports team owner is Mexican-American Linda G. Alvarado, president and CEO of Alvarado Construction, Inc. and co-owner of the Colorado Rockies baseball team. There are several Hispanics on the Forbes 400 list of richest Americans. Alejandro Santo Domingo and his brother Andres Santo Domingo inherited their fathers stake in SABMiller, now merged with Anheuser-Busch InBev. The brothers are ranked No. 132 and are each worth $4.8bn. Jorge M. Perez, Jorge Perez founded and runs The Related Group. He built his career developing and operating low-income multifamily apartments across Miami."Related's Jorge Pérez puts his stamp on the skyline".
The Real Deal. Retrieved January 15, 2017.
He is ranked No. 264 and is worth $3bn. The largest Hispanic-owned food company in the United States is Goya Foods, because of World War II hero Joseph A. Unanue, the son of the company's founders. Ángel Ramos (industrialist), Angel Ramos was the founder of Telemundo, Puerto Rico's first television station and now the second largest Spanish-language television network in the United States, with an average viewership over one million in primetime. Samuel A. Ramirez Sr. made Wall Street history by becoming the first Hispanic to launch a successful investment banking firm, Ramirez & Co. Nina Tassler is president of CBS Entertainment since September 2004. She is the highest-profile Hispanic in network television and one of the few executives who has the power to approve the airing or renewal of series.


Government and politics

As of 2007, there were more than five thousand elected officeholders in the United States who were of Hispanic origin. In the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives, List of Hispanic Americans in the United States Congress, Hispanic representatives have included Ladislas Lazaro, Antonio M. Fernández, Henry B. Gonzalez, Kika de la Garza, Herman Badillo, Romualdo Pacheco and Manuel Lujan Jr., out of almost two dozen former representatives. Current representatives include Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, Jose E. Serrano, Luis Gutiérrez, Nydia Velázquez, Xavier Becerra, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Loretta Sanchez, Rubén Hinojosa, Mario Díaz-Balart, Raul Grijalva, Ben R. Lujan, Jaime Herrera Beutler, Raul Labrador and Alex Mooney—in all, they number thirty. Former United States Senate, senators are Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo, Mel Martinez, Dennis Chavez, Joseph Montoya and Ken Salazar. As of January 2011, the U.S. Senate includes Hispanic members Bob Menendez, a Democrat and Republicans Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, all Cuban Americans. Numerous Hispanics hold elective and appointed office in State governments of the United States, state and Local government in the United States, local government throughout the United States. Current Hispanic Governors include Republican Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval and Republican New Mexico Governor Susana Martinez; upon taking office in 2011, Martinez became the first Hispanic woman governor in the history of the United States. Former Hispanic governors include Democrats Jerry Apodaca, Raul Hector Castro, and Bill Richardson, as well as Republicans Octaviano Ambrosio Larrazolo, Romualdo Pacheco and Bob Martinez. Since 1988, when
Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
appointed Lauro Cavazos the United States Secretary of Education, Secretary of Education, the first Hispanic United States Cabinet member, Hispanic Americans have had an increasing presence in presidential administrations. Hispanics serving in subsequent cabinets include Ken Salazar, current United States Secretary of the Interior, Secretary of the Interior; Hilda Solis, current United States Secretary of Labor; Alberto Gonzales, former United States Attorney General; Carlos Gutierrez, United States Secretary of Commerce, Secretary of Commerce; Federico Peña, former United States Secretary of Energy, Secretary of Energy; Henry Cisneros, former United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development; Manuel Lujan Jr., former Secretary of the Interior; and Bill Richardson, former Secretary of Energy and United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Ambassador to the United Nations. Rosa Rios is the current Treasurer of the United States, US Treasurer, including the latest three, were Hispanic women. In 2009, Sonia Sotomayor became the first Supreme Court of the United States, Supreme Court Associate Justice of Hispanic origin. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), founded in December 1976, and the Congressional Hispanic Conference (CHC), founded on March 19, 2003, are two organizations that promote policy of importance to Americans of Hispanic descent. They are divided into the two major American political parties: The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is composed entirely of Democratic Party (United States), Democratic representatives, whereas the Congressional Hispanic Conference is composed entirely of Republican Party (United States), Republican representatives. Groups like the United States Hispanic Leadership Institute (USHLI) work to achieve the promises and principles of the United States by "promoting education, research, and leadership development, and empowering Hispanics and similarly disenfranchised groups by maximizing their civic awareness, engagement, and participation".


Literature and journalism


Writers and their works

* Julia Álvarez (''How the García Girls Lost Their Accents'') * Rudolfo Anaya (''Bless Me, Ultima'' and ''Heart of Aztlan'') * Marie Arana (''American Chica'', ''Bolívar: American Liberator'' and ''Silver, Sword, and Stone'' * Sandra Cisneros (''The House on Mango Street'' and ''Woman Hollering Creek and Other Stories'') * Junot Díaz (''The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao'') * Cecilia Domeyko (''Sacrifice on the Border'') * Ernest Fenollosa (art historian, ''Masters of Ukiyoe'') * Rigoberto González (''Butterfly Boy: Memories of a Chicano Mariposa'') * Oscar Hijuelos (''The Mambo Kings Play Songs of Love'') * Jorge Majfud (''Crisis (novel by Jorge Majfud), Crisis'' and ''La frontera salvaje''). * Micol Ostow (''"Mind Your Manners, Dick and Jane"'', ''"Emily Goldberg Learns to Salsa"'') * Benito Pastoriza Iyodo (''A Matter of Men'' and ''September Elegies'') * Alberto Alvaro Rios (''Capirotada'', ''Elk Heads on the Wall'' and ''The Iguana Killer'') * Tomas Rivera (''...And the Earth did Not Devour Him'') * Richard Rodríguez (Hunger of Memory: The Education of Richard Rodriguez, ''Hunger of Memory'') * George Santayana (novelist and philosopher: "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it") * Sergio Troncoso (''From This Wicked Patch of Dust'' and ''The Last Tortilla and Other Stories'') * Alisa Valdes-Rodriguez (''Haters (novel), Haters'') * Victor Villaseñor (''Rain of Gold'') * Oscar Zeta Acosta (''The Revolt of the Cockroach People'')


Journalists

* Cecilia Vega American journalist, currently serving as chief White House correspondent for ABC News. * Jorge Ramos (news anchor), Jorge Ramos has won eight Emmy Awards and the Maria Moors Cabot Award for excellence in journalism. In 2015, Ramos was one of five selected as ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine's World's Most Influential People. * José Díaz-Balart is currently the anchor for Noticias Telemundo, as well as anchor of NBC Nightly News on Saturdays. * Paola Ramos (journalist), Paola Ramos, correspondent for ''Vice (magazine), Vice'' and is a contributor to Telemundo and MSNBC. * Ana Cabrera currently works as a television news anchor for CNN in Manhattan. * Natalie Morales (journalist), Natalie Morales is the ''Today (U.S. TV program), Today Show'' West Coast anchor and appears on other programs including ''Dateline NBC'' and ''NBC Nightly News''. * María Elena Salinas CBS News contributor called the "Voice of Hispanic America" by ''The New York Times'' * Morgan Radford, reporter employed by NBC News and MSNBC, was a production assistant for ESPN. * Geraldo Rivera has won a Peabody Award and appears regularly on Fox News programs such as ''The Five (talk show), The Five''. * John Quiñones, co-anchor of the ABC News program, Primetime (U.S. TV program), ''Primetime'' and now hosts ''What Would You Do?'' * Rubén Salazar, reporter for the ''Los Angeles Times'' and news director for KMEX, which was a Spanish language station. * Maria Elvira Salazar, journalist and broadcast television anchor who worked for Telemundo, CNN en Español and Noticiero Univision. * Michele Ruiz, former Los Angeles news anchor for KNBC-TV. * Giselle Fernández, reporting and guest anchoring for ''CBS Early Show'', ''CBS Evening News'', ''NBC Today'', ''NBC Nightly News''; regular host for ''Access Hollywood''. * Elizabeth Pérez, television journalist for CNN en Español. Political strategists * Mercedes Schlapp, American lobbyist and columnist for Fox News, including ''U.S. News & World Report'' and ''The Washington Times''. * Geovanny Vicente, political strategist, international consultant and columnist who writes for CNN.


Military

Hispanics have participated in the military of the United States and in every major List of United States military history events, military conflict from the American Revolution onward. 11% to 13% military personnel now are Hispanics and they have been deployed in the Iraq War, the War in Afghanistan (2001–present), Afghanistan War, and U.S. military missions and bases elsewhere. Hispanics have not only distinguished themselves in the battlefields but also reached the high echelons of the military, serving their country in sensitive leadership positions on domestic and foreign posts. Up to now, 43 Hispanics have been awarded the nation's highest military distinction, the Medal of Honor (also known as the ''Congressional Medal of Honor''). The following is a list of some notable Hispanics in the military:


American Revolution

* Bernardo de Gálvez (1746–1786) – Spanish military leader and colonial administrator who aided the American Thirteen Colonies in their quest for independence and led Spanish forces against Kingdom of Great Britain, Britain in the Revolutionary War; since 2014, a posthumous honorary citizen of the United States * Lieutenant Jordi Farragut, Jorge Farragut Mesquida (1755–1817) – participated in the American Revolution as a lieutenant in the South Carolina Navy


American Civil War

* Admiral David Farragut – promoted to vice admiral on December 21, 1864, and to full admiral on July 25, 1866, after the war, thereby becoming the first person to be named full admiral in the Navy's history. *Rear Admiral Cipriano Andrade – Mexican Rear admiral, Navy rear admiral who fought for the Union. He was buried at Arlington National Cemetery. * Colonel Ambrosio José Gonzales – Cuban officer active during the bombardment of Fort Sumter; because of his actions, was appointed Colonel of artillery and assigned to duty as Chief of Artillery in the department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida. * Brigadier General Diego Archuleta (1814–1884) – member of the Mexican Army who fought against the United States in the Mexican–American War. During the American Civil War, he joined the Union Army (US Army) and became the first Hispanic to reach the military rank of brigadier general. He commanded The First New Mexico Volunteer Infantry in the Battle of Valverde. He was later appointed an Indian (Native Americans) Agent by Abraham Lincoln."Hispanics Firsts"; by: Nicolas Kanellos; pp. 210–211; Publisher: Visible Ink Press; * Colonel Carlos de la Mesa – grandfather of Major General (United States), Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen Sr. commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division (United States), First Infantry Division in North Africa and Sicily, and later the commander of the 104th Infantry Division (United States), 104th Infantry Division during World War II. Colonel Carlos de la Mesa was a Spanish people, Spanish national who fought at Battle of Gettysburg, Gettysburg for the Union Army in the Spanish Company of the "Garibaldi Guard" of the 39th New York State Volunteers. * Colonel Federico Fernández Cavada – commanded the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer infantry regiment when it took the field in the Peach Orchard at Gettysburg"The Civil War, 1840s-1890s"; by Roger E. Hernandez, Roger E. Hernndez; ; * Colonel Miguel E. Pino – commanded the 2nd Regiment of New Mexico Volunteers, which fought at the Battle of Valverde in February and the Battle of Glorieta Pass and helped defeat the attempted invasion of New Mexico by the Confederate Army * Colonel Santos Benavides – commanded his own regiment, the "Benavides Regiment"; highest ranking Mexican-American in the Confederate Army * Major Salvador Vallejo – officer in one of the California units that served with the Union Army in the West * Captain Adolfo Fernández Cavada – served in the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers at Gettysburg with his brother, Colonel Federico Fernandez Cavada; served with distinction in the Army of the Potomac from Fredericksburg to Gettysburg; "special aide-de-camp" to General Andrew A. Humphreys *Captain Rafael Chacón – Mexican American leader of the Union New Mexico Volunteers. * Captain Roman Anthony Baca – member of the Union forces in the New Mexico Volunteers; spy for the Union Army in Texas * Lieutenant Augusto Rodríguez (soldier), Augusto Rodriguez – Puerto Rican people, Puerto Rican native; officer in the 15th Connecticut Infantry Regiment, 15th Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, of the Union Army; served in the defenses of Washington, D.C., and led his men in the Battles of Battle of Fredericksburg, Fredericksburg and Battle of Wyse Fork, Wyse Fork"The Puerto Rican Diaspora: historical perspectives"; By Carmen Teresa Whalen, Víctor Vázquez-Hernandez; page 176; Publisher: Temple University Press; ; * Lola Sánchez (Confederate spy), Lola Sánchez – Cuban-born woman who became a Confederate spy; helped the Confederates obtain a victory against the Union forces in the "Battle of Horse Landing" * Loreta Janeta Velázquez, also known as "Lieutenant Harry Buford" – Cuban people, Cuban woman who donned Confederate garb and served as a Confederate officer and spy during the American Civil War


World War I

* Major General Luis R. Esteves, United States Army – in 1915, became the first Hispanic to graduate from the United States Military Academy ("West Point"); organized the Puerto Rican National Guard * Private Marcelino Serna – undocumented Mexican people, Mexican immigrant who joined the United States Army and became the most decorated soldier from Texas in World War I; first Hispanic to be awarded the Distinguished Service Cross (United States), Distinguished Service Cross


World War II

* Lieutenant General Pedro del Valle – first Hispanic to reach the rank of Lieutenant general (United States), lieutenant general; played an instrumental role in the seizure of Guadalcanal and Okinawa as commanding general of the 1st Marine Division (United States), U.S. 1st Marine Division during World War II * Lieutenant General Elwood Richard Quesada, Elwood R. Quesada (1904–1993) – commanding general of the 9th Fighter Command, where he established advanced headquarters on the Normandy beachhead on Normandy Landings, D-Day plus one, and directed his planes in Military aviation, aerial cover and Close air support, air support for the Allied invasion of the European continent during World War II. He was the foremost proponent of "the inherent flexibility of air power", a principle he helped prove during the war. * Major General Terry de la Mesa Allen Sr. (1888–1969) – commanding general of the 1st Infantry Division (United States), 1st Infantry Division in North Africa and Sicily during World War II; commander of the 104th Infantry Division (United States), 104th Infantry Division * Colonel Virgil R. Miller – regimental commander of the 442nd Regimental Combat Team (United States), 442d Regimental Combat Team, a unit composed of "Nisei" (second generation Americans of Japanese descent), during World War II; led the 442nd in its rescue of the Lost Texas Battalion of the 36th Infantry Division (United States), 36th Infantry Division, in the forests of the Vosges Mountains in northeastern France * Captain Marion Frederic Ramírez de Arellano (1913–1980) – served in World War II; first Hispanic submarine commander * First Lieutenant Oscar Francis Perdomo – of the 464th Fighter Squadron, 507th Fighter Group; the last "Ace in a Day" for the United States in World War II * CWO2 Joseph B. Aviles Sr. – member of the United States Coast Guard; first Hispanic American to be promoted to chief petty officer; received a wartime promotion to chief warrant officer (November 27, 1944), thus becoming the first Hispanic American to reach that level as well * Sergeant First Class Agustín Ramos Calero – most decorated Hispanic soldier in the European Theatre of World War II * PFC Guy Gabaldon, United States Marine Corps – captured over a thousand prisoners during the World War II Battle of Saipan * Tech4 Carmen Contreras-Bozak – first Latinas and World War II, Hispanic woman to serve in the United States Women's Army Corps, where she served as an interpreter and in numerous administrative positions


Korean War

* Major General Salvador E. Felices, United States Air Force – flew in 19 combat missions over North Korea during the Korean War in 1953. In 1957, he participated in "Operation Power Flite", a historic project that was given to the 15th Expeditionary Mobility Task Force, Fifteenth Air Force by the Strategic Air Command headquarters. Operation Power Flite was the first around the world non-stop flight by an Jet aircraft, all-jet aircraft. * First Lieutenant Baldomero Lopez – the only Hispanic graduate of the United States Naval Academy ("Annapolis") to be awarded the Medal of Honor * Sergeant First Class Modesto Cartagena – member of the 65th Infantry Regiment, an all- Puerto Rican regiment also known as "The Borinqueneers", during World War II and the Korean War; most decorated Puerto Rican soldier in history


Cuban Missile Crisis

* Admiral Horacio Rivero, Jr. – second Hispanic four-star admiral; commander of the American fleet sent by President John F. Kennedy to set up a quarantine (blockade) of the Soviet Union, Soviet ships during the Cuban Missile Crisis


Vietnam War

* Sergeant First Class Jorge Otero Barreto a.k.a. "The Puerto Rican John Rambo, Rambo"– the most decorated Hispanic American soldier in the Vietnam War


After Vietnam

* Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez – top commander of the Coalition forces during the first year of the occupation of Iraq, 2003–2004, during the Iraq War * Lieutenant General Edward D. Baca – in 1994, became the first Hispanic Chief of the National Guard Bureau * Vice Admiral Antonia Novello, M.D., United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Public Health Service Commissioned Corps – in 1990, became the first Hispanic (and first female) U.S. Surgeon General * Vice Admiral Richard Carmona, M.D., United States Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, Public Health Service Commissioned Corps – served as the 17th Surgeon General of the United States, under President George W. Bush * Brigadier General Joseph V. Medina, USMC – made history by becoming the first Marine Corps officer to take command of a Flotilla, naval flotilla * Rear Admiral Ronald J. Rábago – first person of Hispanic descent to be promoted to rear admiral (lower half) in the United States Coast Guard * Captain Linda Garcia Cubero, United States Air Force – in 1980, became the first Hispanic woman graduate of the United States Air Force * Major General Erneido Oliva – deputy commanding general of the D.C. National Guard * Brigadier General Carmelita Vigil-Schimmenti, United States Air Force – in 1985 became the first Hispanic female to attain the rank of brigadier general in the Air Force * Brigadier General Angela Salinas – on August 2, 2006, became the first Hispanic female to obtain a general rank in the Marines * Chief Master Sergeant Ramón Colón-López – pararescueman; in 2007, was the only Hispanic among the first six airmen to be awarded the newly created Air Force Combat Action Medal * Specialist Hilda Clayton (1991–2013) – combat photographer with 55th Signal Company who captured the explosion that killed her and four Afghan soldiers.


Medal of Honor

The following 43 Hispanics were awarded the Medal of Honor: Philip Bazaar, Joseph H. De Castro, John Ortega, France Silva, David B. Barkley, Lucian Adams, Rudolph B. Davila, Marcario Garcia, Harold Gonsalves, David M. Gonzales, Silvestre S. Herrera, Jose M. Lopez, Joe P. Martinez, Manuel Perez Jr., Cleto L. Rodriguez, Alejandro R. Ruiz, Jose F. Valdez, Ysmael R. Villegas, Fernando Luis García, Edward Gomez, Ambrosio Guillen, Rodolfo P. Hernandez, Baldomero Lopez, Benito Martinez (soldier), Benito Martinez, Eugene Arnold Obregon, Joseph C. Rodriguez, John P. Baca, Roy P. Benavidez, Emilio A. De La Garza, Ralph E. Dias, Daniel D. Fernández, Daniel Fernandez, Alfredo Cantu Gonzalez, Alfredo Cantu "Freddy" Gonzalez, Jose Francisco Jimenez, Miguel Keith, Carlos Lozada (Medal of Honor), Carlos James Lozada, Alfred V. Rascon, Louis R. Rocco, Euripides Rubio, Hector Santiago-Colon, Elmelindo Rodrigues Smith, Jay R. Vargas, Humbert Roque Versace and Maximo Yabes.


National intelligence

* In the spy arena, Jose Rodriguez (intelligence), José Rodríguez, a native of Puerto Rico, was the deputy director of operations and subsequently Director of the National Clandestine Service (D/NCS), two senior positions in the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), between 2004 and 2007. * Lieutenant Colonel Mercedes O. Cubria (1903–1980), a.k.a. ''La Tía'' (The Aunt), was the first Cuban-born female officer in the United States Army. She served in the Women's Army Corps during World War II and in the United States Army during the Korean War, and was recalled into service during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In 1988, she was posthumously inducted into the Military Intelligence Hall of Fame.


Science and technology

Among Hispanic Americans who have excelled in science are Luis Walter Álvarez, Nobel Prize–winning physicist of Spanish descent, and his son Walter Alvarez, a geologist. They first proposed that an asteroid impact on the Yucatán Peninsula caused the Cretaceous–Paleogene extinction event, extinction of the dinosaurs. Mario J. Molina won the Nobel Prize in chemistry and currently works in the chemistry department at the University of California, San Diego. Dr. Victor Manuel Blanco is an astronomer who in 1959 discovered "Blanco 1", a galactic cluster. F. J. Duarte is a laser physicist and author; he received the ''Engineering Excellence Award'' from the prestigious Optical Society of America for the invention of the N-Slit interferometer, N-slit laser interferometer. Alfredo Quiñones-Hinojosa is the director of the Pituitary Surgery Program at Johns Hopkins Hospital and the director of the Brain Tumor Stem Cell Laboratory at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Physicist Albert Baez made important contributions to the early development of X-ray microscopes and later X-ray telescopes. His nephew John Carlos Baez is also a noted mathematical physicist. Francisco J. Ayala is a biologist and philosopher, former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and has been awarded the National Medal of Science and the Templeton Prize. Peruvian-American biophysicist Carlos Bustamante (biophysicist), Carlos Bustamante has been named a Searle Scholar and Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow. Luis von Ahn is one of the pioneers of crowdsourcing and the founder of the companies reCAPTCHA and Duolingo. Colombian-American Ana Maria Rey received a MacArthur Fellowship for her work in atomic physics in 2013. Dr. Fernando E. Rodríguez Vargas discovered the bacteria that cause dental cavity. Dr. Gualberto Ruaño is a biotechnology pioneer in the field of personalized medicine and the inventor of molecular diagnostic systems, Coupled Amplification and Sequencing (CAS) System, used worldwide for the management of viral diseases. Fermín Tangüis was an agriculturist and scientist who developed the Tangüis Cotton in Peru and saved that nation's cotton industry. Severo Ochoa, born in Spain, was a co-winner of the 1959 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. Dr. Sarah Stewart (cancer researcher), Sarah Stewart, a Mexican-American Microbiologist, is credited with the discovery of the Polyomavirus and successfully demonstrating that cancer causing viruses could be transmitted from animal to animal. Mexican-American psychiatrist Dr. Nora Volkow, whose brain imaging studies helped characterize the mechanisms of drug addiction, is the current director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse. Dr. Helen Rodríguez Trías, an early advocate for women's reproductive rights, helped drive and draft U.S. federal sterilization guidelines in 1979. She was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal by President Bill Clinton, and was the first Hispanic president of the American Public Health Association. Some Hispanics have made their names in astronautics, including several NASA astronauts: Franklin Chang-Diaz, the first Hispanic NASA astronaut, is co-recordholder for the most flights in outer space, and is the leading researcher on the Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket, plasma engine for rockets; France A. Córdova, former NASA chief scientist; Juan R. Cruz, NASA aerospace engineer; Lieutenant Carlos I. Noriega, NASA mission specialist and computer scientist; Dr. Orlando Figueroa, mechanical engineer and director of Mars exploration in NASA; Amri Hernández-Pellerano, engineer who designs, builds and tests the electronics that will regulate the solar array power in order to charge the spacecraft battery and distribute power to the different loads or users inside various spacecraft at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. Olga D. González-Sanabria won an R&D 100 Award for her role in the development of the "Long Cycle-Life Nickel-Hydrogen Batteries" which help enable the International Space Station power system. Mercedes Reaves, research engineer and scientist who is responsible for the design of a viable full-scale solar sail and the development and testing of a scale model solar sail at NASA Langley Research Center. Dr. Pedro Rodriguez (NASA), Pedro Rodríguez, inventor and mechanical engineer who is the director of a test laboratory at NASA and of a portable, battery-operated lift seat for people suffering from knee arthritis. Dr. Felix Soto Toro, electrical engineer and astronaut applicant who developed the Advanced Payload Transfer Measurement System (ASPTMS) (Electronic 3D measuring system); Ellen Ochoa, a pioneer of spacecraft technology and astronaut; Joseph M. Acaba, Joseph Acaba, Fernando Caldeiro, Sidney M. Gutierrez, Sidney Gutierrez, José M. Hernández, Michael López-Alegría, John D. Olivas, John Olivas and George D. Zamka, George Zamka, who are current or former astronauts.


Sports


Football

There have been far fewer American football, football and basketball players, let alone star players, but Tom Flores was the first Hispanic head coach and the first Hispanic quarterback in American professional football, and won Super Bowls as a player, as assistant coach and as head coach for the Oakland Raiders. Anthony Múñoz is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, ranked No. 17 on Sporting News's 1999 list of the 100 greatest football players, and was the highest-ranked offensive lineman. Jim Plunkett won the Heisman Trophy and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame, and Joe Kapp is inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and College Football Hall of Fame. Steve Van Buren, Martin Gramatica, Victor Cruz (American football), Victor Cruz, Tony Gonzalez, Ted Hendricks, Marc Bulger, Tony Romo and Mark Sanchez can also be cited among successful Hispanics in the National Football League (NFL).


Baseball

Hispanics have played in the Major Leagues since the very beginning of organized baseball, with Cuban player Steve Bellán, Esteban Bellán being the first (1873). The large number of Hispanic American stars in Major League Baseball (MLB) includes players like Ted Williams (considered by many to be the greatest hitter of all time), Sammy Sosa, Alex Rodriguez, Alex Rios, Miguel Cabrera, Lefty Gómez, Dolf Luque, Adolfo Luque, Iván Rodríguez, Carlos González (baseball), Carlos González, Roberto Clemente, Adrián González, José Fernández (pitcher), Jose Fernandez, David Ortiz, Juan Marichal, Fernando Valenzuela, Nomar Garciaparra, Albert Pujols, Omar Vizquel, managers Mike González (catcher), Miguel Angel Gonzalez (the first Hispanic Major League manager), Al López, Ozzie Guillén and Felipe Alou, and General Manager Omar Minaya. Hispanics in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, MLB Hall of Fame include Roberto Alomar, Luis Aparicio, Rod Carew, Orlando Cepeda, Juan Marichal, Pedro Martínez, Tony Pérez, Iván Rodríguez, Ted Williams, Reggie Jackson, Mariano Rivera, Edgar Martínez, Edgar Martinez and Roberto Clemente. Afro-Latin Americans, Afro-Hispanic players Martín Dihigo, Martin Dihigo, José Méndez, Jose Mendez and Cristóbal Torriente are Hispanic Hall of Famers who played in the Negro league baseball, Negro leagues.


Basketball

Trevor Ariza, Mark Aguirre, Carmelo Anthony, Manu Ginóbili, Carlos Arroyo, Gilbert Arenas, Rolando Blackman, Pau Gasol, José Calderón (basketball), Jose Calderon, José Juan Barea and Charlie Villanueva can be cited in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Dick Versace made history when he became the first person of Hispanic heritage to coach an NBA team. Rebecca Lobo was a major star and champion of collegiate (National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)) and Olympic Games, Olympic basketball and played professionally in the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). Diana Taurasi became just the seventh player ever to win an NCAA title, a WNBA title and as well an Olympic gold medal. Orlando Antigua became in 1995 the first Hispanic and the first non-black in 52 years to play for the Harlem Globetrotters.


Tennis

Tennis players includes legend Pancho Gonzales and Olympic tennis champions and professional players Mary Joe Fernández and Gigi Fernández and 2016 Puerto Rican Gold Medalist Monica Puig.


Soccer

Hispanics are present in all major American sports and leagues, but have particularly influenced the growth in popularity of soccer in the United States. Soccer is the most popular sport across the Spanish-speaking world, and Hispanics brought the heritage of soccer playing to the United States. Major League Soccer teams such as Chivas USA, LA Galaxy and the Houston Dynamo, for example, have a fanbase composed primarily of Mexican Americans. Association football players in the Major League Soccer (MLS) includes several like Tab Ramos, Claudio Reyna, Omar Gonzalez, Marcelo Balboa and Carlos Bocanegra.


Swimming

Swimmers Ryan Lochte (the second-most decorated swimmer in Olympic history measured by total number of medals) and Dara Torres (one of three women with the most Olympic women's swimming medals), both of Cuban ancestry, have won multiple medals at various Olympic Games over the years. Torres is also the first American swimmer to appear in five Olympic Games. Maya DiRado, of Argentine ancestry, won four medals at the 2016 games, including two gold medals.


Other sports

Boxing's first Hispanic American world champion was Solly Smith. Some other champions include Oscar De La Hoya, Miguel Cotto, Bobby Chacon, Brandon Ríos, Michael Carbajal, John Ruiz, Andy Ruiz Jr. and Mikey Garcia. Ricco Rodriguez, Tito Ortiz, Diego Sanchez, Nick Diaz, Nate Diaz, Dominick Cruz, Frank Shamrock, Gilbert Melendez, Roger Huerta, Carlos Condit, Tony Ferguson, Jorge Masvidal, Kelvin Gastelum, Henry Cejudo and UFC Heavy Weight Champion Cain Velasquez have been competitors in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) of mixed martial arts. In 1991, Bill Guerin whose mother is Nicaraguan became the first Hispanic player in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was also selected to four National Hockey League All-Star Game, NHL All-Star Games. In 1999, Scott Gomez won the Calder Memorial Trophy, NHL Rookie of the Year Award. Figure skater Rudy Galindo; golfers Juan "Chi-Chi" Rodríguez, Chi Chi Rodríguez, Nancy López and Lee Trevino; softball player Lisa Fernández; and Paul Rodriguez (skateboarder), Paul Rodríguez Jr., X Games professional skateboarder, are all Hispanic Americans who have distinguished themselves in their sports. In gymnastics, Laurie Hernandez, who is of Puerto Rican ancestry, was a gold medalist at the 2016 Games. In sports entertainment we find the Professional wrestling, professional wrestlers Hulk Hogan, Alberto Del Rio, Rey Mysterio, Jr., Rey Mysterio, Eddie Guerrero, Seth Rollins, Tyler Black and Melina Perez, Melina Pérez and executive Vickie Guerrero.


Hispanophobia

In countries where the majority of the population is descended from immigrants, such as the United States, opposition to immigration sometimes takes the form of Nativism (politics), nativism, racism and xenophobia. Throughout History of the United States, US history, Hispanophobia has existed to varying degrees, and it was largely based on
ethnicity An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...
, Race (human categorization), race (see Racism in the United States), culture, Anti-Catholicism (see Anti-Catholicism in the United States), economic and social conditions in Hispanic America, and opposition to the use of the Spanish language. In 2006, ''Time'' magazine reported that the number of hate groups in the United States increased by 33 percent since 2000, primarily as a result of anti-illegal immigrant and anti-Mexican sentiment. According to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) statistics, the number of anti-Hispanic hate crimes increased by 35 percent since 2003 (albeit from a low level). In California, the state with the largest Hispanic population, the number of hate crimes which were committed against Hispanics almost doubled. In 2009, the FBI reported that 4,622 of the 6,604 hate crimes which were recorded in the United States were anti-Hispanic, comprising 70.3% of all recorded hate crimes, the highest percentage of all of the hate crimes which were recorded in 2009. This percentage is contrasted by the fact that 34.6% of all of the hate crimes which were recorded in 2009 were anti-black, 17.9% of them were Homophobia, anti-homosexual, 14.1% of them were Antisemitism, anti-Jewish, and 8.3% of them were anti-white.


See also

Places of settlement in United States: * List of U.S. communities with Hispanic- or Latino-majority in the 2010 census * List of U.S. cities with large Hispanic and Latino populations * List of U.S. cities by Spanish-speaking population * Hispanics and Latinos in New Jersey * Hispanics and Latinos in Massachusetts * Hispanics and Latinos in Washington, D.C. * Hispanics and Latinos in California * Hispanics and Latinos in Arizona * Hispanics and Latinos in New Mexico * Hispanics and Latinos in Texas * Hispanics and Latinos in Nevada * Hispanics and Latinos in Florida * Hispanics and Latinos in New York Diaspora: * Hispanics ** Hispanic and Latin American Australians ** Latin American Canadians, Hispanic and Latin American Canadians ** Latin American migration to the United Kingdom, Latin Americans in the United Kingdom * Hispanidad * Latin American diaspora, Latino diaspora * Latin American Asian * Migration from Latin America to Europe, Latin Americans in Europe Individuals: * List of Hispanic and Latino Americans ** Hispanics and Latinos in the American Civil War ** Hispanic Americans in World War II, Hispanic and Latino Americans in World War II ** Hispanics and Latinos in the United States Air Force ** Hispanics and Latinos in the United States Coast Guard ** Hispanics and Latinos in the United States Marine Corps ** Hispanics and Latinos in the United States Navy *** Hispanic and Latino Admirals in the United States Navy *** Hispanics and Latinos in the United States Naval Academy Other Hispanic and Latino Americans topics: * Latin America–United States relations * National Alliance for Hispanic Health * Portugal–United States relations * Spain–United States relations * White Hispanic and Latino Americans, White Hispanic Americans * List of U.S. place names of Spanish origin * Latino National Survey, 2006 General: * Demographics of the United States **
Hispanos Hispanos (from es, adj. prefix Hispano- relating to Spain, from la, Hispānus) are Hispanic residents of the United States who are culturally descended from the original Spanish-speaking settlers in the areas which were once part of New Spain ...
** Immigration to the United States ** History of immigration to the United States


Notes


References


Further reading


Surveys and historiography

* Bean, Frank D., and Marta Tienda. ''The Hispanic Population of the United States'' (1987), statistical analysis of demography and social structure * Miguel A. De La Torre. ''Encyclopedia on Hispanic American Religious Culture'' (2 vol. ABC-CLIO Publishers, 2009). * De Leon, Arnoldo, and Richard Griswold Del Castillo. ''North to Aztlan: A History of Mexican Americans in the United States'' (2006) * Garcia, Maria Cristina. "Hispanics in the United States". ''Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture'', edited by Jay Kinsbruner and Erick D. Langer, (2nd ed., vol. 3, Charles Scribner's Sons, 2008), pp. 696–728
online
* Garcia, Richard A. "Changing Chicano Historiography", ''Reviews in American History'' 34.4 (2006) 521-52
online
* Gomez-Quiñones, Juan. ''Mexican American Labor, 1790–1990''. (1994). * Gutiérrez, David G. ed. ''The Columbia History of Latinos in the United States Since 1960'' (2004) 512p
excerpt and text search
* Gutiérrez, David G. "Migration, Emergent Ethnicity, and the 'Third Space'": The Shifting Politics of Nationalism in Greater Mexico" ''Journal of American History'' 1999 86(2): 481–517
in JSTOR
covers 1800 to the 1980s * Leonard, David J. ''Latino History and Culture: An Encyclopedia'' (Sharpe Reference 2009) * Oboler, Suzanne, and Deena J. González, eds. ''The Oxford Encyclopedia Of Latinos & Latinas In The United States'' (4 vol. 2006
excerpt and text search
* Rochín, Refugio I., and Denis N. Valdés, eds. ''Voices of a New Chicana/o History''. (2000). 307 pp. * Ruiz, Vicki L. "Nuestra América: Latino History as United States History", ''Journal of American History'', 93 (2006), 655–72
in JSTOR
* Ruiz, Vicki L. ''From Out of the Shadows: Mexican Women in Twentieth-Century America'' (1998)


Pre 1965

* Bogardus, Emory S. ''The Mexican in the United States'' (1934), sociological * Gamio, Manuel. ''The Life Story of the Mexican Immigrant'' (1931) * Gamio, Manuel. ''Mexican Immigration to the United States'' (1939) * García, Mario T. ''Mexican Americans: Leadership, Ideology and Identity, 1930–1960'' (1989) * García, Mario T. ''Desert Immigrants. The Mexicans of El Paso, 1880–1920'' (1982) 348 pp
excerpt and text search
* Gomez-Quinones, Juan. ''Roots of Chicano Politics, 1600–1940'' (1994) * Grebler, Leo, Joan Moore, and Ralph Guzmán. ''The Mexican American People: The Nation's Second Largest Minority'' (1970), emphasis on census data and statistics * Rivas-Rodríguez, Maggie ed. ''Mexican Americans and World War II'' (2005) * Sanchez, George J. ''Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900–1945'' (1995
excerpt and text search


Culture and politics, post 1965

* Abrajano, Marisa A., and R. Michael Alvarez, eds. ''New Faces, New Voices: The Hispanic Electorate in America'' (Princeton University Press; 2010) 219 pages. Documents the generational and other diversity of the Hispanic electorate and challenges myths about voter behavior. * Aranda, José, Jr. ''When We Arrive: A New Literary History of Mexican America''. U. of Arizona Press, 2003. 256 pp. * Arreola, Daniel D., ed. ''Hispanic Spaces, Latino Places: Community and Cultural Diversity in Contemporary America''. 2004. 334 pp. * Badillo, David A. ''Latinos and the New Immigrant Church''. 2006. 275 pp
excerpt and text search
* Berg, Charles Ramírez. ''Latino Images in Film: Stereotypes, Subversion, and Resistance'', 2002. 314 pp. * Branton, Regina. "Latino Attitudes toward Various Areas of Public Policy: The Importance of Acculturation", ''Political Research Quarterly'', Vol. 60, No. 2, 293–303 (2007
Abstract
* Cepeda, Raquel. ''Bird of Paradise: How I Became Latina'' Atria Books. 2013. . A personal exploration of Dominican American identity via family interviews, travel and genetic genealogy
Synopsis and Excerpt
* DeGenova, Nicholas and Ramos-Zayas, Ana Y. ''Latino Crossings: Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, and the Politics of Race and Citizenship''. 2003. 257 pp. * Dolan, Jay P. and Gilberto M. Hinojosa; ''Mexican Americans and the Catholic Church, 1900–1965'' (1994) * Fregoso, Rosa Linda. ''The Bronze Screen: Chicana and Chicano Film Culture''. (1993
excerpt and text search
* García, Mario T. ''Mexican Americans: Leadership, Ideology and Identity, 1930–1960'' (1989) * García, María Cristina. ''Seeking Refuge: Central American Migration to Mexico, The United States, and Canada''. (2006) 290pp * Gomez-Quinones, Juan. ''Chicano Politics: Reality and Promise, 1940–1990'' (1990) * Gutiérrez, David G. ''Walls and Mirrors: Mexican Americans, Mexican Immigrants, and the Politics of Ethnicity in the Southwest, 1910–1986'' 1995
excerpt and text search
* Hammerback, John C., Richard J. Jensen, and Jose Angel Gutierrez. ''A War of Words: Chicano Protest in the 1960s and 1970s'' 1985. * Herrera-Sobek, Maria. ''Celebrating Latino Folklore: An Encyclopedia of Cultural Traditions'' (3 vol., 2012
excerpt and text search
* Kanellos, Nicolás, ed. ''The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Latino Literature'' (3 vol. 2008
excerpt and text search
* Kenski, Kate and Tisinger, Russell. "Hispanic Voters in the 2000 and 2004 Presidential General Elections". ''Presidential Studies Quarterly'' 2006 36(2): 189–202. * López-Calvo, Ignacio. ''Latino Los Angeles in Film and Fiction: The Cultural Production of Social Anxiety''. University of Arizona Press, 2011. * Martinez, Juan Francisco. ''Sea La Luz: The Making of Mexican Protestantism in the American Southwest, 1829–1900'' (2006) * Matovina, Timothy. ''Guadalupe and Her Faithful: Latino Catholics in San Antonio, from Colonial Origins to the Present''. 2005. 232 pp
excerpt and text search
* Meier, Matt S., and Margo Gutierrez, ed. ''Encyclopedia of the Mexican American Civil Rights Movement'' (2000
excerpt and text search
* Nuno, S. A. "Latino Mobilization and Vote Choice in the 2000 Presidential Election" ''American Politics Research'', (2007); 35(2): 273–293
Abstract
* Saldívar-Hull, Sonia. ''Feminism on the Border: Chicana Gender Politics and Literature'' 2000
excerpt and text search
* Wegner, Kyle David, "Children of Aztlán: Mexican American Popular Culture and the Post-Chicano Aesthetic" (PhD dissertation State University of New York, Buffalo, 2006). Order No. DA3213898.


Women

* Elizabeth Martínez, Martinez, Elizabeth. ''500 Years of Chicana Women's History/500 anos de la mujer Chicana'', Rutgers University Press (Bilingual Edition) 2008.


Regional and local

* Overmyer-Velazquez, Mark. ''Latino America: A State-by-State Encyclopedia'' (2 vol. 2008
excerpt and text search


California



** * Bedolla, Lisa García. ''Fluid Borders: Latino Power, Identity, and Politics in Los Angeles''. 2005. 279 pp. * Burt, Kenneth C. ''The Search for a Civic Voice: California Latino Politics'' (2007
excerpt and text search
* Camarillo, Albert. ''Chicanos in a Changing Society: From Mexican Pueblos to American Barrios in Santa Barbara and Southern California, 1848–1930'' (1979) * Camarillo, Albert M., "Cities of Color: The New Racial Frontier in California's Minority-Majority Cities", ''Pacific Historical Review'', 76 (February 2007), 1–28; looks at cities of Compton, East Palo Alto, and Seaside * Daniel, Cletus E. ''Bitter Harvest: A History of California Farmworkers, 1870–1941'' 1981. * García, Matt. ''A World of Its Own: Race, Labor, and Citrus in the Making of Greater Los Angeles, 1900–1970'' (2001), * Hayes-Bautista, David E. ''La Nueva California: Latinos in the Golden State''. U. of California Press, 2004. 263 pp
excerpt and text search
* Hughes, Charles. "The Decline of the Californios: The Case of San Diego, 1846–1856" ''The Journal of San Diego History'' Summer 1975, Volume 21, Number 3 online a

* McWilliams, Carey. ''North from Mexico''. (1949), farm workers in California * Pitt, Leonard. ''The Decline of the Californios: A Social History of the Spanish speaking Californians, 1846–1890'' () * Sánchez; George J. ''Becoming Mexican American: Ethnicity, Culture, and Identity in Chicano Los Angeles, 1900–1945'' (1993
excerpt and text search
* Valle, Victor M. and Torres, Rodolfo D. ''Latino Metropolis''. 2000. 249 pp. on Los Angeles


Texas and Southwest

* Alonzo, Armando C. ''Tejano Legacy: Rancheros and Settlers in South Texas, 1734–1900'' (1998)

*

** [https://web.archive.org/web/20140415073401/http://www.1st-hand-history.org/Hhb/16/album1.html v 16 ''History of the North Mexican States and Texas, Volume 2: 1801 - 1889''] *
Vol. 17 ''History of Arizona and New Mexico (1530-1888)'' (1889)
* Blackwelder, Julia Kirk. ''Women of the Depression: Caste and Culture in San Antonio'' 1984
excerpt and text search
* Buitron Jr., Richard A. ''The Quest for Tejano Identity in San Antonio, Texas, 1913–2000'' (2004
excerpt and text search
* Chávez, John R. ''The Lost Land: The Chicano Image of the Southwest'' (Albuquerque, 1984) * Chávez-García, Miroslava. ''Negotiating Conquest: Gender and Power in California, 1770s to 1880s'' (2004). * De León, Arnoldo. ''They Called Them Greasers: Anglo Attitudes toward Mexicans in Texas, 1821–1900'' (Austin, 1983) * De León, Arnoldo. ''Mexican Americans in Texas: A Brief History'', 2nd ed. (1999) * Deutsch, Sarah ''No Separate Refuge: Culture, Class, and Gender on the Anglo-Hispanic Frontier in the American Southwest, 1880–1940'' 1987 * Dysart, Jane. "Mexican Women in San Antonio, 1830–1860: The Assimilation Process" ''Western Historical Quarterly'' 7 (October 1976): 365–375
in JSTOR
* Echeverría, Darius V., "Aztlán Arizona: Abuses, Awareness, Animosity, and Activism amid Mexican-Americans, 1968–1978" PhD dissertation (Temple University, 2006). Order No. DA3211867. * Fregoso; Rosa Linda. ''Mexicana Encounters: The Making of Social Identities on the Borderlands'' (2003) * Garcia, Ignacio M. ''Viva Kennedy: Mexican Americans in Search of Camelot'', Texas A&M University Press, 2000. 227p
and online search from Amazon.com
* García, Richard A. ''Rise of the Mexican American Middle Class: San Antonio, 1929–1941'' 1991 * Getz; Lynne Marie. ''Schools of Their Own: The Education of Hispanos in New Mexico, 1850–1940'' (1997) * Gómez-Quiñones, Juan. ''Roots of Chicano Politics, 1600–1940'' (1994) * Gonzales-Berry, Erlinda, David R. Maciel, editors, ''The Contested Homeland: A Chicano History of New Mexico'', 314 pages (2000), * González; Nancie L. ''The Spanish-Americans of New Mexico: A Heritage of Pride'' (1969) * Guglielmo, Thomas A. "Fighting for Caucasian Rights: Mexicans, Mexican Americans, and the Transnational Struggle for Civil Rights in World War II Texas", ''Journal of American History'', 92 (March 2006
in History Cooperative
* Gutiérrez; Ramón A. ''When Jesus Came, the Corn Mothers Went Away: Marriage, Sexuality, and Power in New Mexico, 1500–1846'' (1991) * Márquez, Benjamin. ''LULAC: The Evolution of a Mexican American Political Organization'' (1993) * Matovina, Timothy M. ''Tejano Religion and Ethnicity, San Antonio, 1821–1860'' (1995) * David Montejano, Montejano, David. ''Anglos and Mexicans in the Making of Texas, 1836–1986'' (1987) * Muñoz, Laura K., "Desert Dreams: Mexican American Education in Arizona, 1870–1930" (PhD dissertation Arizona State University, 2006). Order No. DA3210182. * Quintanilla, Linda J., "Chicana Activists of Austin and Houston, Texas: A Historical Analysis" (University of Houston, 2005). Order No. DA3195964. * Sánchez; George I. ''Forgotten People: A Study of New Mexicans'' (1940; reprint 1996) on New Mexico * Taylor, Paul S. ''Mexican Labor in the United States''. 2 vols. 1930–1932, on Texas * Stewart, Kenneth L., and Arnoldo De León. ''Not Room Enough: Mexicans, Anglos, and Socioeconomic Change in Texas, 1850–1900'' (1993) * de la Teja, Jesús F. ''San Antonio de Béxar: A Community on New Spain's Northern Frontier'' (1995). * Tijerina, Andrés. ''Tejanos and Texas under the Mexican Flag, 1821–1836'' (1994), * Tijerina, Andrés. ''Tejano Empire: Life on the South Texas Ranchos'' (1998). * Timmons, W. H. ''El Paso: A Borderlands History'' (1990). * Trevino, Roberto R. ''The Church in the Barrio: Mexican American Ethno-Catholicism in Houston''. (2006). 308pp. * Weber, David J. ''The Mexican Frontier, 1821–1846: The American Southwest under Mexico'' (1982) ** Garcia, Richard A. "Changing Chicano Historiography", ''Reviews in American History'' 34.4 (2006) 521–528 in Project MUSE


Other regions

* Bullock, Charles S., and M. V. Hood, "A Mile‐Wide Gap: The Evolution of Hispanic Political Emergence in the Deep South". ''Social Science Quarterly'' 87.5 (2006): 1117–1135
Online
* García, María Cristina. ''Havana, USA: Cuban Exiles and Cuban Americans in South Florida, 1959–1994'' (1996)
excerpt and text search
* Korrol, Virginia Sánchez. ''From Colonia to Community: The History of Puerto Ricans in New York City, 1917–1948'' (1994) * Fernandez, Lilia. ''Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago'' (University of Chicago Press, 2012) * Millard, Ann V. and Chapa, Jorge. ''Apple Pie and Enchiladas: Latino Newcomers in the Rural Midwest''. 2004. 276 pp
excerpt and text search
* Murphy, Arthur D., Colleen Blanchard, and Jennifer A. Hill, eds. ''Latino Workers in the Contemporary South''. 2001. 224 pp. * Padilla, Felix M. ''Puerto Rican Chicago''. (1987). 277 pp. * Sãnchez Korrol, Virginia E. ''From Colonia to Community: The History of Puerto Ricans in New York City''. (1994
complete text online free in Californiaexcerpt and text search
* Vargas, Zaragosa. ''Proletarians of the North: A History of Mexican Industrial Workers in Detroit and the Midwest, 1917–1933'' (1993
complete text online free in Californiaexcerpt and text search
* Whalen, Carmen Teresa, and Victor Vásquez-Hernández, eds. '' The Puerto Rican Diaspora: Historical Perspectives'' (2005),


Primary sources

* Richard Ellis, ed. ''New Mexico Past and Present: A Historical Reader''. 1971. * David J. Weber; ''Foreigners in Their Native Land: Historical Roots of the Mexican Americans'' (1973), primary sources to 1912


External links


2000 Census

Hispanic Americans in Congress
– Library of Congress
Hispanic Americans in the U.S. Army


by Josh Miller, PBS, April 27, 2007
Latino in America
– CNN {{Authority control Hispanic and Latino American, * Hispanic and Latino American people, Multiracial ethnic groups in the United States