Hispanic

Hispanic, as used in the United States, is one of several terms used to categorize U.S. immigrants whose cultural, linguistic or genetic background is either from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Latin America or the original settlers of the traditionally Spanish-held Southwestern United States. The term is used as a broad form of classification in the U.S. census, local and federal employment, and numerous business market researches.

Cultural trends

Popular culture varies widely from one Hispanic community to another, despite this, several features tend to unite Hispanics from diverse backgrounds. Many Hispanics, including U.S.-born second and third generation Hispanics, use the Spanish language to varying degrees. The most usual pattern is monolingual Spanish usage among new immigrants or older foreign born Hispanics, complete bilingualism among long settled immigrants and their children, and the use of Spanglish and colloquial Spanish within long established Hispanic communities by the third generation and beyond. In some families the children and grandchildren of immigrants speak mostly English with some Spanish words and phrases thrown in.

Related Topics:
Spanish language - Spanglish

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Media

The United States is home to thousands of Spanish language media outlets ranging in size from low-power AM radio stations with listeners numbering in the hundreds to major Hispanic-oriented periodicals with circulations numbering in the millions. Noteworthy Spanish language media outlets include Univisión, a national television chain with affiliates in nearly every major U.S. market, El Nuevo Herald, a Spanish-language daily newspaper serving the greater Miami, Florida market, and Vida Latina, a Spanish-language entertainment magazine distributed throughout the Southern United States.

Related Topics:
Spanish language - Radio - Periodical - Miami, Florida - Southern United States

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In the aspect of public television otherwise known as non-commerical television, there are organizations that advocate a greater degree of programming from a Hispanic-American perspective in public television. One of the most prominent of these groups is Latino Public Broadcasting which funds programs of educational and cultural significance to Hispanic-Americans. These LPB-funded projects are distributed to various public television stations throughout the United States.

Related Topics:
Public television - Latino Public Broadcasting

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Music

Folk and popular dance and music also varies greatly among Hispanics. While many people speak of "Latin" music as a single genre, Latin America is home to a wide variety of music. Hispanic Caribbean music tends to favor complex polyrhythms of African origin. Mexican music, depending on region, shows combined influences of Spanish, Native American and African origin, while the traditional norteño, banda music, and Tejano music of Mexican-Americans is more influenced by country-and-western music and the polka, brought by central European settlers to Texas. Meanwhile, native Andean sounds and melodies are the backbone of Peruvian and Bolivian music, but also play a significant role in the popular music of most South American countries and are heavily incorporated into the folk music of Ecuador and Chile and the tunes of Colombia, and again in Chile and Argentina where they play a fundamental role in the form of the greatly followed nueva canción. Latin pop, rock and ballad styles tend to appeal to the broader Hispanic population, and varieties of Cuban music are popular with many Hispanics of all backgrounds.

Related Topics:
Mexican music - Norteño - Banda music - Tejano - Polka - Texas - Nueva canción

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Literature

There is a depth of literature in this community. Authors like Tomás Rivera exemplify the field.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Visual Art

Mexican-American, or Chicano Art, is noted for the folk influences from Mexico, characterized by vibrant colors and striking imagery.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Cuisine

There is also no single stereotypical Hispanic cuisine. Traditional Mexican, Cuban, Spanish, Argentinian and Peruvian cooking, for example, all vary greatly from each other, and take on new forms in the United States. While Mexican cuisine is the most familiar variety of "Hispanic food" in most of the United States, it is not representative of the cuisine of most other Hispanics.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The cuisine of Mexico can be heavily dependent on staples such as maize, beans, chile peppers and is greatly indebted to the cuisine and diet of the Aztec and Maya. Cuba, on the other hand, may be dependent on starchy root vegetables, plantain and rice and is influenced by the flavours of Africa. The cuisine of Spain often mirrors the cuisines of its Mediterranean neighbours, and in addition to the abundance of olives, olive oil, tomatoes, seafood and meats, other foreign influences, such as the use of saffron, were introduced during the spice trade. Meanwhile, Argentina relies almost exclusively on red meats, consuming almost everything derived from beef, and is heavily influenced by Italian cuisine. In Peruvian cuisine guinea pigs are popular as a source of meat (derived from the diet of the Inca) and staples indigenous to the region, such as maize and the myriad of potato varieties, are the most utilised there. Rice also plays an important role in Peruvian cuisine.

Related Topics:
Maize - Bean - Chile pepper - Root vegetable - Plantain - Rice - Mediterranean - Olive - Olive oil - Tomato - Seafood - Saffron - Spice trade - Beef - Italian cuisine - Peruvian cuisine - Guinea pigs - Inca - Potato

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This diversity in staples and cuisine is also evident in the differing regional cuisines within the national borders of the individual countries. Most groceries in heavily Hispanic areas carry a wide array of specialty Latin American products, in addition to the widely available brands of tortillas and Mexican style salsa.

Related Topics:
Tortilla - Salsa

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~