David Farragut[1] · Rita Hayworth[2] · Martin Sheen[3] · Romualdo Pacheco[4] · Alexis Bledel[5] · Christy Turlington[6] · Salma Hayek[7] · Michael Lopez-Alegria[8] · Pitbull[9] · Christina Aguilera[10] · Bob Martinez[11] · Kenny Ortega · Raquel Welch[12] · Joanna Garcia · Cameron Diaz[13] · Ricky Martin[14] · Andy García[5] · Paz de la Huerta | |||||||||
Total population | |||||||||
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White Hispanic or Latino Americans 26,735,713[15] 8.7% of the United States population (2010)[15] 53.0% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans (2010)[15] |
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Regions with significant populations | |||||||||
All areas of the United States | |||||||||
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Languages | |||||||||
Predominantly American English · Spanish · Spanglish |
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Religion | |||||||||
Predominately Christian (Roman Catholic and Protestant) · |
White Hispanic and Latino Americans are citizens and residents of the United States who are racially White and ethnically Hispanic or Latino.
White American, itself an official U.S. racial category, refers to people "having origins in any of the original peoples of Europe, the Middle East, or North Africa" who reside in the United States.[17]
Based on the definitions created by the Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Census Bureau, the concepts of race and ethnicity are mutually independent, and respondents to the census and other Census Bureau surveys are asked to answer both questions. Hispanicity is independent of race, and constitutes an ethnicity category, as opposed to a racial category. For the Census Bureau, Ethnicity distinguishes between those who report ancestral origins in Spain or Hispanic America (Hispanic and Latino Americans), and those who do not (Non-Hispanic Americans).[18][19] The U.S. Census Bureau asks each resident to report the "race or races with which they most closely identify."[20] See Non-Hispanic Whites for White Americans that do not report Hispanic or Latino origin.
As of 2010, 50.5 million or 16.3% of Americans were ethnically Hispanic or Latino.[15] Of those, 26.7 million or 53% were White.
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In the 2010 United States Census, 50.5 million Americans (16.3% of the total population) listed themselves as ethnically Hispanic or Latino. Of those, 53.0% (26.7 million) self-identified as racially white. The remaining respondents listed their races as: Some other race 36.7%, Two or more races (aka multiracial) 6.0%, Black or African American 2.5%, American Indian and Alaska Native 1.4%, Asian 0.4%, and Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander 0.1%.[15]
The respondents in the "Some other race" category are reclassified as white by the Census Bureau in its official estimates of race. This means that more than 90% of all Hispanic or Latino Americans are counted as "white" in some statistics of the US government.[21]
Hispanics and Latinos who are native-born and those who are immigrant identify as White in nearly identical percentages: 53.9 and 53.7, respectively, per figures from 2007. The overall Hispanic or Latino ratio was 53.8%.[22]
White Hispanics by National Origin, 2010[23] | |||||
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Hispanic National Origin | White population | Percentage within group | |||
Mexican | 16,794,111 | 52.8% | |||
Puerto Rican | 2,455,534 | 53.1% | |||
Cuban | 1,525,521 | 85.4% | |||
Dominican | 419,016 | 29.6% | |||
Salvadoran | 663,224 | 40.2% | |||
Guatemalan | 401,763 | 38.5% | |||
Other Central American | 632,679 | 48.5% | |||
South American | 1,825,468 | 65.9% | |||
All other Hispanics | 2,018,397 | 49.4% |
Some Hispanic or Latino American groups that have white majorities or pluralities originate in countries that do not. For example, Mexico's population is 9%[24] or about 17%[25] White only (note that a majority of Mexicans are Mestizos, of part European descent), while 52.8% of Mexican Americans are White. (See the table.)
White Hispanics by State, 2007 ACS [16] | |||||||
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State | Population | % of State | % of Hispanics | ||||
California | 6,503,487 | 18 | 49 | ||||
Texas | 5,398,738 | 23 | 63 | ||||
Florida | 2,867,365 | 16 | 76 | ||||
New York | 1,161,663 | 7 | 37 | ||||
Arizona | 1,113,398 | 18 | 59 | ||||
Illinois | 715,315 | 6 | 37 | ||||
New Jersey | 660,649 | 8 | 48 | ||||
Colorado | 601,488 | 12 | 62 | ||||
New Mexico | 530,612 | 27 | 61 | ||||
Nevada | 412,985 | 16 | 64 | ||||
Regional Distribution of White Hispanics, 2000[26] | |||||||
Region of the U.S | |||||||
West | 37.7% | ||||||
South | 40.8% | ||||||
Midwest | 8.4% | ||||||
Northeast | 13% |
Contrary to their purpose, in popular use Hispanic and Latino are often given racial values, usually non-white, as in spite of the racial diversity of Hispanic and Latino Americans, it is common for them to be stereotyped as being exclusively non-white.[27][28][29][30] Judith Ortiz Cofer notes that appellation varies according to geographical location, observing that in Puerto Rico she is considered to be a white person, but in the United States she is considered to be a "brown person."[31]
On the other hand, since the early days of the movie industry in the U.S., when White Hispanic actors are given roles, they are frequently cast in non-Hispanic white roles.[29][32] Hispanic and Latino Americans began to appear in the US movie industry in the 1910s, and the leading players among them "were generally light skinned and Caucasian".[32]
Myrtle Gonzalez was one such American actress in the silent film era; she starred in at least 78 motion pictures from 1913 to 1917.[33] Anita Page was an American actress of Spanish and Salvadoran descent who reached stardom in 1928, during the last years of the silent film.[34] Page was referred to as "a blond, blue-eyed Latin" and "the girl with the most beautiful face in Hollywood".[35][36]
Most Americans may not be aware that the actress who played "all-American" Gilmore Girl Lorelai Leigh "Rory" Gilmore — Alexis Bledel — is also Hispanic, with a mother from Mexico and father from Argentina.[37]
Some accuse the U.S. Hispanic media and the Latin American media of over-representing White Hispanic and Latino Americans and White Latin Americans (very often blond and blue-eyed or green-eyed), particularly in telenovelas (soap operas), while underrepresenting majority of non-white Hispanic and Latino Americans and non-white Latin Americans, amid claims that telenovelas, in particular, do not reflect the racial spectrum of Hispanic and Latino Americans.[38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45]
A study of married, Hispanic, male householders revealed that U.S.-born Hispanic Whites often marry a non-Hispanic partner, although 66% still marry a Hispanic White partner. In comparison, 88% of foreign-born Hispanic White males married Hispanic White wives. Regarding U.S.-born people only, White women of non-Hispanic origin are many times more likely to marry Hispanic men of Some other race than are Hispanic White women, as 19% of native-born Hispanic Some other race householders are married to non-Hispanic White wives, compared to 2% who are married to Hispanic White wives.
Race and Ethnic Distribution of Wives by Husband's Nativity, Race and Ethnicity 2000[26] | |||||||
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Race and Ethnicity of Husband | |||||||
Native-born | Foreign-born | ||||||
Race and Ethnicity of Wife | White Hispanic | SOR Hispanic | White Hispanic | SOR Hispanic | |||
White Hispanic | 66% | 2% | 88% | 3% | |||
SOR Hispanic | 2% | 73% | 2% | 90% | |||
Non-Hispanic White | 28% | 19% | 7% | 4% |
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