Hispanic America

Map of countries that make up Hispanic America, in green.

Spanish speakers in the Americas.

50%    30%

20%    10%

5%    2%

Hispanic America (Spanish: Hispanoamérica, or América hispana), also known as Spanish America (Spanish: América española), is the region comprising the Spanish-speaking nations in the Americas.^[1][2]

These countries have significant commonalities with each other and with Spain, its former European metropolis. 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] Catholic Christianity is the predominant religion.^[4]

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, as well as the former French colonies in the Western Hemisphere (except areas that are now in either the United States or Canada).^[6]

History

European colonies and claimed areas in the Americas, ca. 1750.

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 takeover of 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 and Asian territories were Philippine archipelago and the islands of Cuba and Puerto Rico, until the 1898 Spanish–American War.

Demographics

Countries

Country	Population[7]	Area[lower-alpha 1]	GDP (nominal)[8][lower-alpha 2]	GDP (nominal) per capita	GDP (PPP)	GDP (PPP) per capita
Argentina	43,847,430	2,780,400	545.12	12,502.82	874.07	20,047.49
Bolivia	10,887,882	1,098,581	34.83	3,169.56	78.66	7,218.49
Chile[9]	17,909,754	756,950	247.03	13,575.99	438.75	24,112.94
Colombia	48,653,419	1,141,748	282.36	5,792.18	688.82	14,130.18
Costa Rica	4,857,274	51,000	58.11	11,834.84	80.70	16,435.83
Cuba	11,475,982	110,861	81.56[10]	7,600.00	132.90	11,900.00
Dominican Republic	10,648,791	48,730	72.19	7,159.49	161.84	16,049.46
Ecuador	16,385,068	256,370	98.01	5,929.69	183.61	11,108.56
El Salvador	6,334,722	21,040	26.71	4,343.44	54.79	8,909.43
Guatemala	16,582,469	108,890	68.17	4,088.95	131.70	7,899.20
Honduras	9,112,867	112,492	21.36	2,608.58	43.17	5,271.47
Mexico	127,540,423	1,972,550	1,046.00	8,554.61	2,315.65	18,938.32
Nicaragua	6,149,928	129,494	13.05	2,120.31	33.55	5,451.71
Panama	4,034,119	75,571	55.12	13,654.07	92.95	23,023.88
Paraguay	6,725,308	406,752	27.44	4,003.28	64.40	9,396.02
Peru	31,773,839	1,285,220	195.14	6,198.61	406.21	12,903.09
Puerto Rico (U.S.)	3,411,307	9,104	101.30	29,696.57	130.97	38,393.07
Uruguay	3,444,006	176,215	54.57	15,679.17	74.92	21,527.27
Venezuela	31,568,179	916,445	287.27	9,258.34	426.97	13,760.56
Total	411,342,767	11,466,903	3,315.34	8,059.80	6,414.64	15,594.39

Largest cities

City	Country	Population	Metro
Mexico City	Mexico	8,851,080	23,137,152
Buenos Aires	Argentina	3,050,728	15,941,973
Bogotá	Colombia	8,787,783	9,983,588
Lima	Peru	7,605,742	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
Santo Domingo	Dominican Republic	1,111,838	3,310,171[11]
Havana	Cuba	2,350,000	3,073,000
Maracaibo	Venezuela	2,201,727	2,928,043
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	Costa Rica	1,543,00	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 Peru, Guatemala, Bolivia, Paraguay and Mexico, and to a lesser degree, in Panama, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, and Chile 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, as well as in nearby countries that may or may not be considered Hispanic American, like Belize and Guyana; German, in southern Chile, portions of Argentina, Venezuela and Paraguay; Italian, in Argentina, Venezuela, and Uruguay; Ukrainian, Polish and Russian in Argentina, and Welsh, in southern Argentina.^{[12][13][14][15][16][17]} Yiddish and Hebrew are possible to be heard around Buenos Aires and São Paulo especially. 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. Chilean 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 Chileans as beer is to Germans.

In Colombia, Ecuador and Peru, 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.

Symbols

Flag

Flag of Hispanic Heritage. Motto: Justicia, Paz, Unión y Fraternidad ("Justice, Peace, Union and Fraternity").^[18]

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.^[18]

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.^[19]

See also

Notes

References