• 1/ Definition of Hispanic and Latino
Americans
• 2/ History ( first arrival)
• 3/ Population & Geographical map
• 4/ culture (language , religion , cuisine, family,
Media and entertainement , Dance and
clothers )
• In the United States, before there was New
England, there was New Spain; and before
there was Boston, there was Santa Fe.
• The teaching of American history normally
emphasizes the founding and growth of the
British colonies in North America, their
emergence as an Independent nation in 1776,
and the development of the United States
from East to West.
•
This treatment easily omits the fact that
there was significant colonization by Spain of
what is now the American Southwest from the
16th century onward. It also tends to ignore,
until the Mexican War is mentioned, that the
whole Southwest, from Texas westward to
California, was a Spanish-speaking territory
with its own distinctive heritage, culture, and
customs for many decades.
• The Spanish-speaking citizens of the United
States who were incorporated
into the country as a result of the Mexican War
are called Mexican Americans. Their numbers
have since increased as a result of immigration.
• Other Spanish-speaking citizens came from Cuba
and Puerto Rico, and smaller numbers are
immigrants from Central and South America and
from the Dominican Republic.
• Taken together, these people are called Hispanics,
or Latinos. There are two basic reasons for
Hispanic immigration to the United States:
economic opportunity and escape from political
persecution.
•
Very large numbers of Mexicans and Puerto
Ricans entered the country to escape poverty
and to find a way to make a living . The 20thcentury Cuban migration, which began in 1959
when Fidel Castro took over the government
of Cuba, was mainly for political reasons.
• Hispanics today form the fastest-growing ethnic
minority in the United States , they make up the
second largest minority in the nation.
• Hispanic Americans and Latino Americans make
up more than 18% of the U.S population with
over 57 million Hispanics and Latinos living in the
U.S.
• Although there are Hispanics in most parts of the
United States, some areas have especially large
concentrations.
• 86 percent of Mexican Americans make their
homes in five South western
states: Texas, California, New Mexico, Arizona,
and Colorado.
• Texas and California account for more than 50
percent of the total Hispanic population in the
United States. About two thirds of Puerto
Ricans residing in the United States are in the
New York City area, including nearby and New
Jersey.
• About 60 percent of Cuban Hispanics reside in
Florida, with the heaviest concentration in
Dade County (Miami).
• Another 20 percent are in the New York-New
Jersey area, particularly in Union City, N.J.
Illinois also has large numbers of Mexican,
Puerto Rican, and Cuban Hispanics--mostly in
Chicago.
Map of Latino and Hispanic population
in US :
• Hispanic and Latin Americans come from
diverse social, economic, and geographic
backgrounds making them all very different
depending on their family heritage and
national origin. However, there some cultural
similarities that tend to bring these diverse
backgrounds together.
• One of the most common cultural characteristics of
Hispanic American culture is the Spanish language.
• In 1980, there were roughly 11 million Spanish
speakers in the U.S. representing 5% of the
population according to the Pew Research Center.
• By 2012 the number of Spanish speakers increased to
over 38 million, representing 13% of the U.S.
population. Hispanic families often teach their children
Spanish as a way of passing down their heritage and
culture.
• This emphasis on bilingualism has helped revive the
Spanish language in the U.S.
Religion :
• Religion plays an important role in Hispanic
and Latin American culture.
• Hispanic and Latin Americans represent a
highly Christian constituency.
• According to a study conducted by the
Hispanic Churches in American Public Life
(HCAPL), the majority of Hispanic and Latin
Americans identify as Catholic and Protestant.
• Hispanic and Latin American cuisines are very
popular in the U.S and have had a significant
influence on American cuisine and eating habits.
Some of the typical items in Latin American
cuisine include corn-based dishes such
as tortillas, tamales, and tacos and various salsas
and condiments such as guacamole, pico de gallo,
and mole.
• Tortilla chips and salsa are so popular that they
are now one of the highest selling snack foods in
the U.S.
PICO DE GALLO
Guacamole
Mole
Tamales
Tortillas
tacos
• Hispanic and Latin American culture places a
strong value on family.
• Hispanics and Latin Americans tend to have large,
close-knit families. It is not uncommon for three
generations to live in the same household or
nearby each other. Grandparents typically play an
important role in their grandchildren’s
upbringing.
• The emphasis on the well-being of the family
makes Hispanic and Latin Americans very grouporiented with family gatherings being
commonplace.
• The U.S. has many Spanish-language media
outlets ranging from giant commercial
broadcasting networks to local radio stations.
• The two largest broadcasting networks are
Univision and Telemundo, which provide Spanishlanguage television to the majority of the U.S.
• The availability of Spanish-language television has
made it possible for Hispanic and Latin Americans
to follow the sport of soccer in the U.S. This has
influenced the growth in popularity of soccer in
the U.S.
Music :
• Hispanic and Latin Americans have had a big influence on music
in the United States.
• In 1986, Billboard magazine introduced the “Hot Latin Songs”
chart, which ranks the best performing songs on SpanishLanguage radio stations in the U.S.
• In 1993, they introduced the “Top Latin Albums” chart, which
ranks the top-selling Latin albums in the U.S. The Record
Industry Association of America began “Los Premios de Oro y
Platino”, meaning “The Gold and Platinum Awards” to certify
Latin recordings that contained at least 50% of its content
recorded in Spanish.
• Numerous Hispanic and Latin American musicians have
achieved international fame such as Jennifer Lopez, Christina
Aguilera, and Selena.
Dance :
Rumba: The Rumba has its roots in the Cuban son. The
Rumba consists of two quick steps and then a third
slower step that takes two beats to execute. Dancers
use a box-like pattern to guide their movements.
Salsa :The Salsa originated in the Caribbean, although it also has
a strong African influence. Couples typically perform this dance
together, and it centers on a four-beat combination of two quick
steps and a slow step with a pause or tap.
Samba: Samba is Brazilian in origin and danced to music of the same name.
Many different forms of Samba dancing developed in Brazil, some for couples,
and others for individuals -- solo dancing.
Samba is one of the most well known Latin dances, especially for its role in
Carnival events, where individual dancers perform
There are also other types of latin and Hispanic dances
such as :
_ Bachata
_ Cha Cha Cha
_ Mambo
_ Merengue
_ Paso Doble
_ Tango
_ Macarena
_ Conga
Clothes :
Argentina
Brazil
Colombia
Costa rica
Cuba
EL Salvador
Mexico
Nicaragua
Panama
Peru
Sports :
Bullfighting is a physical
contest that involves
humans and animals
attempting to publicly
subdue, immobilise, or kill
a bull, usually according to
a set of rules, guidelines,
or cultural
expectations. The bestknown form of bullfighting
are Latin
American countries:
Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador
, Venezuela and Peru .
Soccer
Soccer is a passion and an
important component of
the Latin American
culture. It’s practically the
most religiously followed
of sports between young
and old and rich and
poor. Copa America, the
oldest international
continental football
competition is happening
right now and people in
Latin America are locos de
la cabeza! (out of their
mind.)
Baseball:
This is the sport Cuba and the
Dominican Republic are the
most passionate about. Many
professional players from
these countries play in the
US Major League Baseball.
Basketball:
Basketball is a very popular
sport in Argentina. Along with
the United States, Argentina is
the only country to have won
five of FIBA’s most important
titles in the sport.
Literature:
• Latin American literature has a diverse history filled
with brilliant authors writing in a variety of genres.
• Latin American literature is to written and oral works
created by authors in parts of North America, South
America, and the Caribbean.
• From the genres they used to write are :
Essays , novel ,short stories ,poems and theatrical
Works .
• From the most well known writers are :
Gabriel Garcia Marquez
(Colombia): novelist, short-story
writer, screenwriter and journalist .
Miguel Asturias (Guatemala):
poet, novelist, and diplomat, winner
of the Nobel Prize for Literature in
1967 and the Soviet Union's Lenin
Peace Prize in 1969 .
Gabriela Mistral (Chile) :
The first Latin American
woman (and so far the only
one) to receive a Nobel Prize
in Literature . She was a
poetic .
Isabel Allende
(Chile):Allende’s real
literary career began only
at the age of 40, when she
published The House of
the Spirits – a novel in the
genre of magic realism.
Octavio Paz (Mexico)
a Mexican poet and
diplomat. For his body of
work, he was awarded the
1981 Miguel de Cervantes
Prize, the 1982 Neustadt
International Prize for
Literature, and the 1990
Nobel Prize in Literature.
References :
•http://history-world.org/hispanics.htm
•https://edition.cnn.com/2013/09/20/us/hispanics-inthe-u-s-/index.html
•https://www.interexchange.org/articles/visit-theusa/latino-hispanic-culture-in-us/
•https://dance.lovetoknow.com/Types_of_Latin_Dance
s
•https://vamospanish.com/traditional-dress-latinamerica/
•https://hispanicmama.com/2016/06/13/5-mostpopular-sports-in-latin-america/
•https://study.com/academy/lesson/latin-americanliterature-history-authors-genres.html
https://therussianabroad.com/10-greatest-latinamerican-writers/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GBt5rMD2aDc