Hispanic America

Hispanic America (Spanish: Hispanoamérica or América Hispana) (also known as Spanish America (Spanish: América española)) is the portion of the Americas comprising the Spanish-speaking countries of North, Central, and South America.[1][2] In all of these countries, Spanish is the main language, sometimes sharing official status with one or more indigenous languages (such as Guaraní, Quechua, Aymara, or Mayan), or English (in Puerto Rico)[3] and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion.[4]

"Spanish America" redirects here. For colonial Spanish America, see Spanish colonization of the Americas.
Map of countries that make up Hispanic America in green.
Spanish speakers in the Americas.
  •    50%
  •    30%
  •    20%
  •    10%
  •    5%
  •    2%

Hispanic America is sometimes grouped together with Brazil under the term "Ibero-America", meaning those countries in the Americas with cultural roots in the Iberian Peninsula.[5] Hispanic America also contrasts with Latin America, which includes not only Hispanic America, but also Brazil (the former Portuguese America), as well as the former French colonies in the Western Hemisphere (areas that are now in either the United States of America or Canada are usually excluded).[6]

History

The Spanish conquest of the Americas began in 1492, and ultimately was part of a larger historical process of world discovery, through which various European powers incorporated a considerable amount of territory and peoples in the Americas, Asia, and Africa between the 15th and 20th centuries. Hispanic America became the main part of the vast Spanish Empire. Napoleon's intervention in Spain in 1808 and the consequent chaos initiated the dismemberment of the Spanish Empire, as the Hispanic American territories began their struggle for emancipation. By 1830, the only remaining Spanish American territories were the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico, until the 1898 Spanish–American War.[7]

The 26th of July Movement, led by Fidel Castro, seized power in Cuba on 1 January 1959, overthrowing Fulgencio Batista's pro-US government. Castro nationalized Cuba's fruit resources, driving the United Fruit Company out, and his purchase of oil from the USSR led to a deterioration of relations with the US, leading to the failed 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion by Cuban exiles, and in 1962 the Cuban Missile Crisis almost sparked World War III. Castro's revolution was only the first of its kind in Hispanic America. Leftist governments rose to power across the region, so the United States resorted to backing coups, such as the 1954 overthrow of the popular Jacobo Arbenz Guzman in Guatemala and the ouster of Juan Bosch in 1965 in the Dominican Republic, the latter of which led to the Dominican Civil War and the US occupation of the republic that year. The United States supported coups that installed dictators in Chile, Uruguay, and other countries, and they set up the School of the Americas to train future dictators like Leopoldo Galtieri of Argentina and Manuel Noriega of Panama. Some dictators' rules led to civil wars, such as the Nicaraguan Civil War, Salvadoran Civil War, and Guatemalan Civil War in the 1970s-1990s, and the United States backed governments that used death squads to massacre villagers and priests accused of siding with leftists. These civil wars would end with the end of the Cold War, resulting in the communist guerrillas becoming legal political parties, and many of them would proceed to rule over the country, such as the Sandinistas of Nicaragua and FMLN of El Salvador.

Demographics

Countries
Country Population[8] Area (km2) GDP (nominal [USD, billions])[9] GDP (nominal) per capita GDP (PPP) GDP (PPP) per capita
Argentina 44,494,502 2,780,400 545.12 12,502.82 874.07 20,047.49
Bolivia 11,353,142 1,098,581 34.83 3,169.56 78.66 7,218.49
Chile[10] 18,729,160 756,950 247.03 13,575.99 438.75 24,112.94
Colombia 49,648,685 1,141,748 282.36 5,792.18 688.82 14,130.18
Costa Rica 4,999,441 51,000 58.11 11,834.84 80.70 16,435.83
Cuba 11,338,138 110,861 81.56[11] 7,600.00 132.90 11,900.00
Dominican Republic 10,627,165 48,730 72.19 7,159.49 161.84 16,049.46
Ecuador 17,084,357 256,370 98.01 5,929.69 183.61 11,108.56
El Salvador 6,420,744 21,040 26.71 4,343.44 54.79 8,909.43
Guatemala 17,247,807 108,890 68.17 4,088.95 131.70 7,899.20
Honduras 9,587,522 112,492 21.36 2,608.58 43.17 5,271.47
Mexico 126,190,788 1,972,550 1,046.00 8,554.61 2,315.65 18,938.32
Nicaragua 6,465,513 129,494 13.05 2,120.31 33.55 5,451.71
Panama 4,176,873 75,571 55.12 13,654.07 92.95 23,023.88
Paraguay 6,956,071 406,752 27.44 4,003.28 64.40 9,396.02
Peru 31,989,256 1,285,220 245.20 6,198.61 479.811 12,903.09
Puerto Rico 3,195,153 9,104 101.30 29,696.57 130.97 38,393.07
Uruguay 3,449,299 176,215 54.57 15,679.17 74.92 21,527.27
Venezuela 28,870,195 916,445 287.27 9,258.34 426.97 13,760.56
Total 412,823,811 11,466,903 3,315.34 8,059.80 6,414.64 15,594.39

Largest cities
City Country Population Metro
Mexico City  Mexico 8,918,653 23,137,152
Buenos Aires  Argentina 3,050,728 15,941,973
Lima  Peru 8,574,974 12,140,000
Bogotá  Colombia 8,080,734 9,367,587
Santiago  Chile 5,428,590 7,200,000
Caracas  Venezuela 3,273,863 5,239,364
Guatemala City  Guatemala 2,149,188 4,500,000
Guadalajara  Mexico 1,564,514 4,424,584
Monterrey  Mexico 1,133,814 4,106,054
Medellín  Colombia 2,636,101 3,731,447
Guayaquil  Ecuador 2,432,233 3,328,534
Havana  Cuba 2,350,000 3,073,000
Maracaibo  Venezuela 2,201,727 2,928,043
Santo Domingo  Dominican Republic 965,040[12] 2,908,607[13]
Puebla  Mexico 1,399,519 2,728,790
Asunción  Paraguay 525,294 2,698,401
Cali  Colombia 2,068,386 2,530,796
San Juan  Puerto Rico 434,374 2,509,007
San José  Costa Rica 1,543,000 2,158,898
Toluca  Mexico 820,000 1,936,422
Montevideo  Uruguay 1,325,968 1,868,335
Quito  Ecuador 1,397,698 1,842,201
Managua  Nicaragua 1,380,300 1,825,000
Barranquilla  Colombia 1,148,506 1,798,143
Santa Cruz  Bolivia 1,594,926 1,774,998
Valencia  Venezuela 894,204 1,770,000
Tijuana  Mexico 1,286,157 1,751,302
Tegucigalpa  Honduras 1,230,000 1,600,000
La Paz  Bolivia 872,480 1,590,000
San Salvador  El Salvador 540,090 2,223,092
Barquisimeto  Venezuela 1,116,000 1,500,000
León  Mexico 1,278,087 1,488,000
Córdoba  Argentina 1,309,536 1,452,000
Juárez  Mexico 1,301,452 1,343,000
San Pedro Sula  Honduras 1,250,000 1,300,000
Maracay  Venezuela 1,007,000 1,300,000
Rosario  Argentina 908,163 1,203,000
Panama City  Panama 990,641 1,500,000
Torreón  Mexico 548,723 1,144,000
Bucaramanga  Colombia 516,512 1,055,331

Languages
Linguistic map of Latin America. Spanish America in green, Portuguese America (Brazil) in orange, and French Guiana and French Caribbean in blue.
Quechua, Guarani, Aymara, Nahuatl, Mayan languages, Mapudungun.

Spanish is the official language in most Hispanic American countries, and it is spoken by the vast majority of the population. Native American languages are widely spoken in Chile, Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia, Paraguay and Mexico, and to a lesser degree, in Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela and Argentina. amongst other countries. In some Hispanic American countries, the population of speakers of indigenous languages tend to be very small or even non-existent (e.g. Uruguay). Mexico is possibly the only country that contains the largest variety of indigenous languages than any other Hispanic American country, and the most spoken native language is Nahuatl.

In Peru, Quechua is an official language, alongside Spanish and any other indigenous language in the areas where they predominate. In Ecuador, while holding no official status, the closely related Quichua is a recognized language of the indigenous people under the country's constitution; however, it is only spoken by a few groups in the country's highlands. In Bolivia, Aymara, Quechua and Guaraní hold official status alongside Spanish. Guaraní, along with Spanish, is an official language of Paraguay, and is spoken by a majority of the population (who are, for the most part, bilingual), and it is co-official with Spanish in the Argentine province of Corrientes. In Nicaragua, Spanish is the official language, but on the country's Caribbean coast English and indigenous languages such as Miskito, Sumo, and Rama also hold official status. Colombia recognizes all indigenous languages spoken within its territory as official, though fewer than 1% of its population are native speakers of these languages. Nahuatl is one of the 62 native languages spoken by indigenous people in Mexico, which are officially recognized by the government as "national languages" along with Spanish.

Other European languages spoken in Hispanic America include: English, by some groups in Puerto Rico; German, in southern Chile and portions of Argentina, Venezuela, and Paraguay; Italian, in Argentina, Venezuela, and Uruguay; Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian in Argentina; and Welsh, in southern Argentina.[14][15][16][17][18][19] Yiddish and Hebrew can be heard around Buenos Aires. Non-European or Asian languages include Japanese in Peru, Bolivia, and Paraguay; Korean in Argentina and Paraguay; Arabic in Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela, and Chile; and Chinese throughout South America.

In several nations, especially in the Caribbean region, creole languages are spoken. Creole languages of mainland Latin America, similarly, are derived from European languages and various African tongues.

The Garifuna language is spoken along the Caribbean coast in Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Belize mostly by the Garifuna people a mixed race Zambo people who were the result of mixing between Indigenous Caribbeans and escaped Black slaves. Primarily an Arawakan language, it has influences from Caribbean and European languages.

Culture

Cuisine

Hispanic cuisine as the term is applied in the Western Hemisphere, is a misnomer. What is usually considered Hispanic cuisine in the United States is mostly Mexican and Central American cuisine. Mexican cuisine is composed of mainly indigenous—Aztec and Mayan—and Spanish influences.

Mexican cuisine is considered intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO and can be found all over the United States.

In the United States, with its growing Hispanic population, food staples from Mexican cuisine and the cuisine from other Hispanic countries have become widely available. Over the years, the blending of these cuisines has produced unique American forms such as Tex-Mex cuisine. This cuisine, which originated in Texas, is based on maize products, heavily spiced ground beef, cheese and tomato sauces with chilies. This cuisine is widely available not just in the United States but across other countries, where American exports are found. In Florida, Cuban food is widely available. All of these Hispanic foods in the United States have evolved in character as they have been commercially americanized by large restaurant chains and food companies.

The cuisine of Spain has many regional varieties, with Mediterranean flavors based on olive oil, garlic, and tomatoes and due to its long Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines, has been graced with a great variety and availability of seafood. In the inland communities of Spain, there is a long tradition of cured meat of different kinds, in addition to an abundance of dishes such as roasts and stews, based on beef, pork, lamb, and poultry. The European and Arab heritage of Spain is reflected in its food, along with cosmopolitan influences beginning in the many new ingredients brought in from the New World since the 16th century, e.g. tomatoes, potatoes, or chocolate, and the more modern tastes introduced from Europe since the 19th century, especially through French and Italian dishes. It is only in the last ten years that Hispanic American dishes have been introduced in Spain. In the United States and Canada, the number of Hispanic restaurants has become a growing trend, following the tapas-style restaurants fashion that first appeared in North America in the 1990s.

Cuban, Dominican, and Puerto Rican cuisines, on the other hand, tend to use a lot of pork and can depend heavily on starchy root vegetables, plantain, and rice. The most prominent influences on their Spanish culinary traditions were introduced by African slaves, and to a lesser degree, French influence from Haiti and later Chinese immigrants. The use of spicy chile peppers of varying degrees of strength used as flavour enhancers in Mexican tradition is practically unknown in traditional Spanish–Caribbean dishes. The cuisine of Haiti, a country with a Francophone majority, is very similar to its regional neighbors in terms of influences and ingredients used.

The Argentine diet is heavily influenced by the country's position as one of the world's largest beef and wine producers, and by the impact that European immigration had on its national culture. Grilled meats are a staple of most meals as are pastas, potatoes, rice, paella and a variety of vegetables (Argentina is a huge exporter of agricultural products). Italian influence is also seen in the form of pizza and ice cream, both of which are integral components of national cuisine.

Uruguayan cuisine is similar to that of Argentina, though seafood is much more dominant in this coastal nation. As another one of the world's largest producers, wine is as much a staple drink to Uruguayans as beer is to Germans.

In Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile, potato dishes are typical since the potato is originally from this region. Beef and chicken are common sources of meat. In the Highlands is the cuy, a South American name for guinea pig, a common meat. Given the coastal location, both countries have extensive fishing fleets, which provide a wealth of seafood options, including the signature South American dish, ceviche. While potato is an important ingredient in the Highlands, Rice is the main side dish on the coast.

This diversity in staples and cuisine is also evident in the differing regional cuisines within the national borders of the individual countries.

Flag
Flag of Hispanic Heritage. Motto: Justicia, Paz, Unión y Fraternidad ("Justice, Peace, Union and Fraternity").[20]

While relatively unknown, there is a flag representing the countries of Spanish America, its people, history and shared cultural legacy.

It was created in October 1933 by Ángel Camblor, captain of the Uruguayan army. It was adopted by all the states of Spanish America during the Pan-American Conference of the same year in Montevideo, Uruguay.[20]

The white background stands for peace, the Inti sun god of Inca mythology symbolizes the light shining on the Americas, and the three crosses represent Christopher Columbus' caravels, the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María, used in his first voyage from Spain to the New World in 1492. The deep lilac color of the crosses evokes the color of the lion on the coat of arms of the medieval Crown of Castile.[21]

Religion

The Spanish and the Portuguese took the Roman Catholic faith to their colonies in the Americas, Africa, and Asia; Roman Catholicism remains the predominant religion amongst most Hispanic Americans.[22] Membership in Protestant denominations is increasing, particularly in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Puerto Rico and other countries.[23] In particular, Pentecostalism has experienced massive growth.[24][25] This movement is increasingly attracting Latin America's middle classes.[26] Anglicanism also has a long and growing presence in Latin America.

Countries Population Total Christians % Christian Population Unaffiliated % Unaffiliated Population Other religions % Other religions Population Source
 Argentina 43,830,00085.4% 37,420,000 12.1% 5,320,000 2.5% 1,090,000 [27]
 Bolivia 11,830,00094.0% 11,120,000 4.1% 480,000 1.9% 230,000 [28]
 Chile 18,540,00088.3% 16,380,000 9.7% 1,800,000 2.0% 360,000 [29]
 Colombia 52,160,00092.3% 48,150,000 6.7% 3,510,000 1.0% 500,000 [30]
 Costa Rica 5,270,000 90.8% 4,780,000 8.0% 420,000 1.2% 70,000 [31]
 Cuba 11,230,000 58.9% 6,610,000 23.2% 2,600,000 17.9% 2,020,000 [32]
 Dominican Republic 11,280,000 88.0% 9,930,000 10.9% 1,230,000 1.1% 120,000 [33]
 Ecuador 16,480,00094.0% 15,490,000 5.6% 920,000 0.4% 70,000 [34]
 El Salvador 6,670,000 88.0% 5,870,000 11.2% 740,000 0.8% 60,000 [35]
 Guatemala 18,210,000 95.3% 17,360,000 3.9% 720,000 0.8% 130,000 [36]
 Honduras 9,090,000 87.5% 7,950,000 10.5% 950,000 2.0% 190,000 [37]
 Mexico 126,010,000 94.1% 118,570,000 5.7% 7,240,000 0.2% 200,000 [38]
 Nicaragua 6,690,000 85.3% 5,710,000 13.0% 870,000 1.7% 110,000 [39]
 Panama 4,020,000 92.7% 3,720,000 5.0% 200,000 2.3% 100,000 [40]
 Paraguay 7,630,00096.9% 7,390,000 1.1% 90,000 2.0% 150,000 [41]
 Peru 32,920,00095.4% 31,420,000 3.1% 1,010,000 1.5% 490,000 [42]
 Puerto Rico 3,790,000 90.5% 3,660,000 7.3% 80,000 2.2% 40,000 [43]
 Uruguay 3,490,00057.0% 1,990,000 41.5% 1,450,000 1.5% 50,000 [44]
 Venezuela 33,010,00089.5% 29,540,000 9.7% 3,220,000 0.8% 250,000 [45]

See also

References
  1. All of the following dictionaries only list "Spanish America" as the name for this cultural region. None list "Hispanic America." All list the demonym for the people of the region discussed in this article as the sole definition, or one of the definitions, for "Spanish American". Some list "Hispanic," "Hispanic American" and "Hispano-American" as synonyms for "Spanish American." (All also include as a secondary definition for these last three terms, persons residing in the United States of Hispanic ancestry.) The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (3rd ed.) (1992). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-395-44895-6. Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary (11th ed.) (2003). Springfield: Merriam-Webster. ISBN 0-87779-807-9. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language (2nd ed.) (1987). New York: Random House. ISBN 0-394-50050-4. Shorter Oxford English Dictionary on Historical Principles (2007). New York: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-920687-2. Webster's New Dictionary and Thesaurus (2002). Cleveland: Wiley Publishing. ISBN 978-0-471-79932-0
  2. "Hispanic America" is used in some older works such as Charles Edward Chapman's 1933 Colonial Hispanic America: A History and 1937 Republican Hispanic America: A History (both New York: The Macmillan Co.); or translated titles that faithfully reproduce Hispanoamérica, such as Edmund Stephen Urbanski (1978), Hispanic America and its Civilization: Spanish Americans and Anglo-Americans, Norman: University of Oklahoma Press. The Cambridge University Press textbook by two distinguished historians of early Latin America, James Lockhart and Stuart B. Schwartz is entitled, Early Latin America: A History of Colonial Spanish America and Brazil 1983.
  3. "CIA – The World Factbook – Field Listing – Languages". Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  4. "CIA – The World Factbook – Field Listing – Religions". Retrieved 2009-04-11.
  5. The adjective "Ibero-American" usually refers only to countries of the Western Hemisphere, but in the title of the Organization of Ibero-American States it refers to Iberian and (Ibero-)American countries, plus Equatorial Guinea.
  6. "Latin America" The Free Online Dictionary (American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 2000, 4th ed. Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2003.)
  7. Christopher Conway, Nineteenth-Century Spanish America: A Cultural History (Vanderbilt University Press 2015).
  8. "Population, total | Data". data.worldbank.org. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  9. "Report for Selected Countries and Subjects". www.imf.org. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  10. "Demografia de Chile" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on January 27, 2009.
  11. "The World Factbook — Central Intelligence Agency". www.cia.gov. Retrieved 2017-07-11.
  12. IX Dominican Republic Census
  13. "Expansión Urbana de las ciudades capitales de RD: 1988-2010" (in Spanish). Santo Domingo: Oficina Nacional de Estadística. 1 May 2015. ISBN 978-9945-8984-3-9. Archived from the original on 14 July 2016. Retrieved 25 January 2016.
  14. "Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia". Bbc.co.uk. 2008-07-22. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  15. "The Welsh Immigration to Argentina". 1stclassargentina.com.
  16. Jeremy Howat. "Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia". Argbrit.org. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  17. "Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia". Patagonline.com. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  18. "Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia". Andesceltig.com. 2009-09-29. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  19. "Reference for Welsh language in southern Argentina, Welsh immigration to Patagonia". Glaniad.com. Retrieved 2013-04-23.
  20. Raeside, Rob (ed.) (1999-10-11). "Flag of the Race". Flags of the World. Retrieved 2006-12-23.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
  21. Image of the standard of the Crown of Castile
  22. Christians – Pew Research Center
  23. Religion in Latin America Widespread Change in a Historically Catholic Region
  24. Allan., Anderson (2004). An introduction to Pentecostalism : global charismatic Christianity. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521825733. OCLC 53919445.
  25. Pierre., Bastian, Jean (1997). La mutación religiosa de América Latina : para una sociología del cambio social en la modernidad periférica (1st ed.). México: Fondo de Cultura Económica. ISBN 9681650212. OCLC 38448929.
  26. Koehrsen, Jens (2017-09-01). "When Sects Become Middle Class: Impression Management among Middle-Class Pentecostals in Argentina". Sociology of Religion. 78 (3): 318–339. doi:10.1093/socrel/srx030. ISSN 1069-4404.
  27. "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". www.pewforum.org. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  28. "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". www.pewforum.org. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
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  32. "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". www.pewforum.org. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
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  39. "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". www.pewforum.org. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  40. "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". www.pewforum.org. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
  41. "Religious Composition by Country, 2010-2050". www.pewforum.org. Retrieved 2020-10-18.
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