Hispanic or Latino Americans are Americans with origins in the Hispanic countries of Latin America or in Spain, and in general all persons in the United States who self-identify as Hispanic or Latino.23456
Reflecting especially the Latin American population, which has origins in all the continents and many ancestries,7 Hispanic/Latino Americans are very racially diverse, and as a result form an ethnic category, rather than a race.58910 The choice of name is associated with location: Hispanic and Latino Americans who reside in the eastern United States tend to prefer the term Hispanic, whereas those in the west usually prefer Latino.4
There have been people of Hispanic or Latino heritage in the territory of the present-day United States continuously14151617 since the 1565 founding of St. Augustine, Florida, by the Spanish, the longest among European American ethnic groups and second-longest of all U.S. ethnic groups, after Native Americans. Hispanics have also lived continuously in the Southwest since near the end of the 16th century, with settlements in New Mexico that began in 1598, and which were transferred to the area of El Paso, Texas, in 1680.18 Spanish settlement of New Mexico resumed in 1692, and new ones were established in Arizona and California in the 18th century.1920 The Hispanic presence can even be said to date from half a century earlier than St. Augustine, if San Juan, Puerto Rico is considered to be the oldest Spanish settlement, and the oldest city, in the U.S.21
The term Hispanic was first adopted by the United States government in the early 1970s, during the administration of Richard Nixon,22 and has since been used in local and federal employment, mass media, academia, and business market research. It has been used in the U.S. Census since 1980.23 Because of the popularity of "Latino" in the western portion of the United States, the government adopted this term as well in 1997, and used it in the 2000 census.45
Previously, Hispanic and Latino Americans were categorized as "Spanish-Americans", "Spanish-speaking Americans", and "Spanish-surnamed Americans". However:
Although a large majority of Hispanic and Latino Americans have Spanish ancestry, most are not of direct, 'from-Spain-to-the-U.S.' Spanish descent; many are not primarily of Spanish descent; and some are not of Spanish descent at all. People whose ancestors or who themselves arrived in the United States directly from Spain are a tiny minority of the Hispanic or Latino population (see figures in this article), and there are Hispanic/Latino Americans who are primarily or entirely of European ancestries other than Spanish (e.g. Italian, French, German, Polish, Portuguese), and of Middle Eastern (e.g. Lebanese), Black, Amerindian/Native American, and East or South Asian ancestries;
Most Hispanic and Latino Americans can speak Spanish, not all; and most Spanish-speaking Americans are Hispanic or Latino, not all. E.g., Hispanic/Latino Americans often do not speak Spanish by the third generation, and some Americans who are Spanish-speaking may not identify themselves with Spanish-speaking Americans as an ethnic group;
Neither term refers to race, as a person of Latino or Hispanic origin can be of any race.524
As employed by the Census Bureau, Hispanic or Latino does not include Brazilian Americans,4525 and specifically refers to "Spanish culture or origin";45 Brazilian Americans appear as a separate ancestry group.26 The 28 Hispanic or Latino American groups in the Census Bureau's reports are the following:51327Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Dominican Republic; Central American: Costa Rican, Guatemalan, Honduran, Nicaraguan, Panamanian, Salvadoran, Other Central American; South American: Argentinian, Bolivian, Chilean, Colombian, Ecuadorian, Paraguayan, Peruvian, Uruguayan, Venezuelan, Other South American; Other Hispanic or Latino: Spaniard, Spanish, Spanish American, All other Hispanic.
History
This section requires expansion with:
more about the 19th and 20th centuries.
Two iconic American stories have Spanish antecedents, too. Almost 80 years before John Smith's alleged rescue by Pocahontas, a man by the name of Juan Ortiz told of his remarkably similar rescue from execution by an Indian girl. Spaniards also held a thanksgiving — 56 years before the famous Pilgrims festival — when they feasted near St. Augustine with Florida Indians, probably on stewed pork and garbanzo beans. As late as 1783, at the end of the American Revolutionary War (a conflict in which Spain aided and fought alongside the United States), Spain held claim to roughly half of today's continental United States; in 1775, Spanish ships even reached Alaska. From 1819 to 1848, the United States (through treaties, purchase, diplomacy, and the Mexican-American War) increased its area by roughly a third at Spanish and Mexican expense, acquiring three of today's four most populous states — California, Texas and Florida — and several smaller ones. Hispanics became the first American citizens in these new territories, and remained a majority in several Southwestern states until the 20th century. (See also Viceroyalty of New Spain.)
The Hispanic and Latino role in the history and present of the United States is addressed in more detail below (See Notables and their contributions). On September 17, 1968, President Lyndon B. Johnson designated a week in mid-September as National Hispanic Heritage Week, with Congress's authorization. In 1988, President Ronald Reagan extended the observance to a month, designated Hispanic Heritage Month.28
As of 2010, Hispanics accounted for 16.3% of the national population, or around 50.5 million people. The Hispanic growth rate over the April 1, 2000 to July 1, 2007 period was 28.7% — about four times the rate of the nation's total population (at 7.2%).30 The growth rate from July 1, 2005 to July 1, 2006 alone was 3.4%31 — about three and a half times the rate of the nation's total population (at 1.0%).30 The projected Hispanic population of the United States for July 1, 2050 is 132.8 million people, or 30.2% of the nation's total projected population on that date.32
Of the nation's total Hispanic or Latino population, 49% (21.5 million) lives in California or Texas. Not counting Puerto Rico — which is a Commonwealth of the United States — New Mexico is the state with the highest ratio of Hispanics, 44.7%. Next are California and Texas, with 35.9% and 35.6%, respectively.33
Population change of Hispanic or Latino residents by county (2010 Census data)
Percentage of Hispanic or Latino residents by county (2010 Census data)
The overwhelming majority of Mexican Americans are concentrated in the Southwest and the West Coast/West, primarily in California, Texas, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. The majority of the Hispanic population in the Southeast, concentrated in Florida, are of Cuban origin. The Hispanic population in the Northeast, concentrated in New York, New Jersey, and Eastern Pennsylvania, is composed mostly of Puerto Ricans; however, the Dominican population has risen considerably since the mid-1990s. The remainder of Hispanics and Latinos may be found throughout the country, though South Americans tend to concentrate on the East Coast and Central Americans on the West Coast. Nevertheless, since the 1990s, several cities on the East Coast have seen often impressive increases in their Mexican population, namely Miami and Philadelphia.
The Hispanic population of Los Angeles County, California, numbering 4.7 million, is the largest of any county in the nation,34 comprising 47 percent of the county's ten million residents.35
Some 64% of the nation's Hispanic population are of Mexican origin (see table). Another 9% are of Puerto Rican origin, with about 3% each of Cuban, Salvadoran and Dominican origins. The remainder are of other Central American or South American origin, or of origin directly from Spain. About 7% are of unspecified national origins. It should be noted that these figures pertain to ethnic self-identification; the same dataset (abstracted from the 2007 American Community Survey) indicates that 60.2% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans were born in the United States.37
There are few recent immigrants directly from Spain. In the 2000 Census, 299,948 Americans, of whom 83% were native-born,38 specifically reported their ancestry as Spaniard.3940
In northern New Mexico and southern Colorado live peoples who trace their ancestry to Spanish settlers of the late 16th century through the 17th century. People from this background often self-identify as "Hispanos", "Spanish", or "Hispanic". Many of these settlers also intermarried with local Amerindians, creating a Mestizo population.41 Likewise, southern Louisiana is home to communities of people of Canary Islands descent, known as Isleños, in addition to other people of Spanish ancestry.
Hispanics are almost uniformly Christian, with Catholicism the majority confession and an increasing Protestant community.
As shown above, the largest number of White Hispanics come from within the Mexican community, the highest percentage of White Hispanics among major Hispanic groups come from the Cuban community and the highest percentages of White Hispanics among all Hispanic groups come from within the Argentine and Spaniard(though sometimes not considered "Hispanic") communities. Also, the largest number of Black Hispanics come from within the Puerto Rican community, the highest percentage of Black Hispanics among major Hispanic groups come from the Dominican community and the highest percentage of Black Hispanics among all Hispanic groups come from the relatively small Panamanian community. The largest number of Asian Hispanics come from within the Mexican community, while the highest percentage of Asian Hispanics among major Hispanic groups come from within the Puerto Rican community and the highest percentage of Asian Hispanics among all Hispanic groups come from the Peruvian community. The largest population of Native American Hispanic come from within the Mexican community and the highest percentage of Native American Hispanics among major Hispanic groups come from within the Guatemalan community. Most of the Multiracial population in the Mexican, Salvadoran, and Guatemalan communities are of Mestizo descent(European and Native American), while most of the multiracial population in the Puerto Rican, Cuban, and Dominican communities are of Mulatto descent(European and African). Although, about half of the U.S. Hispanic population self-identifies as "white", Hispanics are mostly of Multi-racial origin, and are largely viewed as such in the United States.
The majority of Hispanic and Latino Americans are white, in both sets of government estimates: 54% are white per the American Community Survey,9 while the ratio rises to 92% in the Population Estimates Program, which are the official estimates.8 The much larger official figure is due to the absence of the Some other race category from these estimates, which instead reallocate that category among the five standard, minimum, single-race categories, mostly the white category.43 The complete 2007 Hispanic or Latino racial breakdown is as follows:89White 92% (official) or 54% (ACS); Black or African American 3.8% (official) or 1.5% (ACS); American Indian and Alaska Native 1.4% (official) or 0.8% (ACS); Asian 0.6% (official) or 0.3% (ACS); Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander 0.3% (official) or 0.07% (ACS); Some other race 40% (ACS only; not an official race); Two or more races 0.6% (official) or 3.8% (ACS).
Though comprising very small percentages of the Hispanic and Latino American population, and even smaller percentages of the total U.S. population, some of the preceding racial subgroups make up large minorities among the respective racial groups, overall. For instance, Hispanics and Latinos who are American Indian or Alaska Native compose 15% of all American Indians and Alaska Natives (per the ACS estimates). Meanwhile, the 120,000 Hispanics and Latinos who are of Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander race compose 22% of this entire race nationally (per the Population Estimates). Again, nearly a third of the overall 'Two or more race' population is Hispanic or Latino (ACS).89
Population by state or territory
Hispanic and Latino Population by state or territory (2000–2010)4445
The total number of Hispanic-owned businesses in 2002 was 1.6 million, having grown at triple the national rate for the preceding five years.28
Hispanic and Latino business leaders include Cuban immigrant Roberto Goizueta, who rose to head of The Coca-Cola Company.46 Advertising magnate Arte Moreno became the first Hispanic to own a major league team in the United States when he purchased the Los Angeles Angelsbaseball club.47 Also a major sports team owner is Linda G. Alvarado, president and CEO of Alvarado Construction, Inc and co-owner of the Colorado Rockies baseball team. The largest Hispanic-owned food company in the U.S. is Goya Foods, which position it attained under World War II hero Joseph A. Unanue, the son of the company's founders.48Angel Ramos was the founder of Telemundo, Puerto Rico's first television station49 and now the second largest Spanish-language television network in the United States, with an average viewership over one million in primetime. Samuel A. Ramirez, Sr. made Wall Street history by becoming the first Hispanic to launch a successful investment banking firm, Ramirez & Co.5051Nina Tassler is president of CBS Entertainment since September 2004. She is the highest-profile Latina in network television and one of the few executives who has the power to approve the airing or renewal of series.
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), founded in December 1976, and the Congressional Hispanic Conference (CHC), founded on March 19, 2003, are two organizations that promote policy of importance to Americans of Hispanic descent. They are divided into the two major American political parties: The Congressional Hispanic Caucus is composed entirely of Democratic representatives, whereas the Congressional Hispanic Conference is composed entirely of Republican representatives.
Rear Admiral Ronald J. Rábago, the first Hispanic to be promoted to Rear Admiral (lower half) in the United States Coast Guard
Hispanics and Latinos have participated in the military of the United States and in every major military conflict from the American Revolution onward.58 Tens of thousands of Latinos are deployed in the Iraq War, the Afghanistan War, and U.S. military missions and bases elsewhere. Hispanics and Latinos have not only distinguished themselves in the battlefields, but have also reached the high echelons of the military, serving their country in sensitive leadership positions on domestic and foreign posts. As of date, 43 Hispanics and Latinos have been awarded the nation's highest military distinction, the Medal of Honor (also known as the Congressional Medal of Honor). The following is a list of some notable Hispanics/Latinos in the military:
American Revolution
Lieutenant Jorge Farragut Mesquida (1755–1817)-Participated in the American Revolution as a lieutenant in the South Carolina Navy.
Admiral David Farragut- Farragut was promoted to vice admiral on December 21, 1864, and to full admiral on July 25, 1866, after the war, thereby becoming the first person to be named full admiral in the Navy's history.59
Colonel Ambrosio José Gonzales - Gonzales was active during the bombardment of Fort Sumter and because of his actions was appointed Colonel of artillery and assigned to duty as Chief of Artillery in the department of South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.
Brigadier General Diego Archuleta (1814–1884) - was a member of the Mexican Army who fought against the United States in the Mexican American War. During the American Civil War he joined the Union Army (US Army) and became the first Hispanic to reach the military rank of Brigadier General. He commanded The First New Mexico Volunteer Infantry in the Battle of Valverde.He was later appointed an Indian (Native Americans) Agent by Abraham Lincoln.60
Colonel Federico Fernández Cavada - Commanded the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteer infantry regiment when it took the field in the Peach Orchard at Gettysburg.62
Colonel Miguel E. Pino - Commanded the 2nd Regiment of New Mexico Volunteers, which fought at the Battle of Valverde in February and the Battle of Glorieta Pass and helped defeat the attempted invasion of New Mexico by the Confederate Army.63
Colonel Santos Benavides - Commanded his own regiment, the "Benavides Regiment." He was the highest ranking Mexican-American in the Confederate Army.62
Major Salvador Vallejo- Officer in one of the California units which served with the Union Army in the West.63
Captain Adolfo Fernández Cavada - Cavada served in the 114th Pennsylvania Volunteers at Gettysburg with his brother, Colonel Federico Fernandez Cavada. He served with distinction in the Army of the Potomac from Fredericksburg to Gettysburg and was a "special aide-de-camp" to General Andrew A. Humphreys.6264
Captain Roman Anthony Baca - Member of the Union forces in the New Mexico Volunteers. He also served as a spy for the Union Army in Texas.63
Lieutenant Augusto Rodriguez - A Puerto Rican native who served as an officer in the 15th Connecticut Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, of the Union Army. Rodríguez served in the defenses of Washington, D.C. and led his men in the Battles of Fredericksburg and Wyse Fork.65
Lola Sánchez - Sánchez was a Cuban born woman who became a Confederate spy who helped the Confederates obtain a victory against the Union Forces in the "Battle of Horse Landing".
Loreta Janeta Velazquez a.k.a. "Lieutenant Harry Buford"- She was a Cuban woman who donned Confederate garb and served as a Confederate officer and spy during the American Civil War.
Lieutenant General Elwood R. Quesada (1904–1993) - Commanding general of the 9th Fighter Command, where he established advanced headquarters on the Normandy beachhead on D-Day plus one, and directed his planes in aerial cover and air support for the Allied invasion of the European continent during World War II. He was the foremost proponent of "the inherent flexibility of air power", a principle he helped prove during the war.
Colonel Virgil R. Miller - was the Regimental Commander of the 442d Regimental Combat Team, a unit which was composed of "Nisei" (second generation Americans of Japanese descent), during World War II. He led the 442nd in its rescue of the Lost Texas Battalion of the 36th Infantry Division, in the forests of the Vosges Mountains in northeastern France.6768
First Lieutenant Oscar Francis Perdomo, of the 464th Fighter Squadron, 507th Fighter Group was the last "Ace in a Day" for the United States in World War II.
Tech4 Carmen Contreras-Bozak - the first Hispanic to serve in the U.S. Women's Army Corps where she served as an interpreter and in numerous administrative positions.70
Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez- top commander of the Coalition forces during the first year of the occupation of Iraq, 2003–2004, during the Iraq War
Brigadier General Carmelita Vigil-Schimmenti, United States Air Force- in 1985 became the first Hispanic female to attain the rank of Brigadier General in the Air Force.7475
On August 2, 2006, Brigadier General Angela Salinas, made history when she became the first Hispanic female to obtain a general rank in the Marines.76
In 1995, the American Latino Media Arts Award, or ALMA Award was created. It's a distinction given to Latino performers (actors, film and television directors, and musicians) by the National Council of La Raza.
Among the Hispanic American musicians who were pioneers in the early stages of rock and roll were Ritchie Valens, who scored several hits, most notably "La Bamba" and Herman Santiago wrote the lyrics to the iconic rock and roll song "Why Do Fools Fall in Love". Another song which became popular in the United States and which is heard during the Holiday/Christmas season is "Feliz Navidad" by José Feliciano.
Hispanics and Latinos are underrepresented in U.S. television, radio, and film. This is combatted by organizations such as the National Hispanic Media Coalition (NHMC), founded in 1986.84 Together with numerous Latino civil rights organizations, the NHMC led a "brownout" of the national television networks in 1999, after discovering that there were no Latinos in any of their new prime time shows that year.85 This resulted in the signing of historic diversity agreements with ABC, CBS, Fox, and NBC that have since increased the hiring of Hispanic and Latino talent and other staff in all of the networks.
Latino Public Broadcasting (LPB) funds programs of educational and cultural significance to Hispanic Americans. These programs are distributed to various public television stations throughout the United States.
Some Hispanics and Latinos have made their names in astronautics, including several NASA astronauts:90Franklin Chang-Diaz, the first Latin American NASA astronaut, is co-recordholder for the most flights in outer space, and is the leading researcher on the plasma engine for rockets; France A. Córdova, former NASA chief scientist; Juan R. Cruz, NASA aerospace engineer; LieutenantCarlos I. Noriega, NASA mission specialist and computer scientist; Dr. Orlando Figueroa, mechanical engineer and Director of Mars Exploration in NASA; Amri Hernandez-Pellerano, engineer who designs, builds and tests the electronics that will regulate the solar array power in order to charge the spacecraft battery and distribute power to the different loads or users inside various spacecraft at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center; Mercedes Reaves, research engineer and scientist who is responsible for the design of a viable full-scale solar sail and the development and testing of a scale model solar sail at NASA Langley Research Center. Dr. Pedro Rodríguez, inventor and mechanical engineer who is the director of a test laboratory at NASA and of a portable, battery-operated lift seat for people suffering from knee arthritis. Dr. Felix Soto Toro, electrical engineer and astronaut applicant who developed the Advanced Payload Transfer Measurement System (ASPTMS) (Electronic 3D measuring system); Ellen Ochoa, a pioneer of spacecraft technology and astronaut; Joseph Acaba, Fernando Caldeiro, Sidney Gutierrez, Jose Hernández, Michael Lopez-Alegria, John Olivas, and George Zamka, who are current or former astronauts.
The high school graduation rate is highest among Cuban Americans (68.7 percent) and lowest among Mexican Americans (48.7 percent). The Puerto Rican rate is 63.2 percent, Central and South American Americans' is 60.4 percent, and the Dominican American is 51.7 percent.
According to the 2000 census, Cuban Americans and Central and South Americans had the highest college graduation rates, with 19.4 percent of Cuban Americans and 16 percent of Central and South Americans 25 years and older possessing a 4-year college degree. On the other hand, only 6.2 percent of Mexican Americans, 9.9 of Puerto Ricans and 10.9 of Dominican Americans had achieved a 4-year degree. Over 21% of all second-generation Dominican Americans have college degrees, slightly below the national average (24%) but significantly higher than U.S.-born Mexican Americans (13%) and U.S.-born Puerto Rican Americans (12%).92 In comparison non-Hispanic Asian Americans (43.3 percent) and non-Hispanic White Americans (26.1 percent) had higher rates than any Hispanic American group. Non-Hispanic Black Americans (14.4 percent) had a lower graduation rate than Cuban Americans and Central and South Americans, but had a higher rate than Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominican Americans.citation needed
Cuban Americans have the highest attainment of graduate degrees among all Hispanic or Latino groups, with 6.7 percent. The Central and South American ratio is 4.2 percent. Both are lower than those of non-Hispanic Asian Americans (15.6 percent) and non-Hispanic White Americans (8.7 percent). Non-Hispanic Black Americans (4.1 percent) have a lower percentage of graduate-level degrees than most Hispanic or Latino groups. Of Hispanics and Latinos 25 years and older, only 3.1 percent of Puerto Ricans, 1.8 percent of Dominican Americans and 1.4 percent of Mexican Americans have attained a graduate-level degree.citation needed
Health
Hispanic and Latino Americans are the longest-living Americans, according to official data. Their life expectancy is more than two years longer than for non-Hispanic whites and almost eight years longer than for African Americans.93
Workforce and average income
Personal and household income (US Census 2005)
Percent of households with six-figure incomes and individuals with incomes in the top 10%, exceeding $77,500.
In 2002, the average individual income among Hispanic and Latino Americans was highest for Cuban Americans ($38,733), and lowest for Dominican Americans ($28,467) and Mexican Americans ($27,877). For Puerto Ricans it was $33,927, and $30,444 for Central and South Americans. In comparison, the income of the average Hispanic American is lower than the national average.
Among Hispanics, Cuban Americans (28.5 percent) had the highest percentage in professional–managerial occupations. The percentage for Puerto Ricans was 20.7, Central and South Americans' was 16.8 percent, and Mexican Americans' was 13.2 percent. All these are lower than the average for non-Hispanics (36.2 percent).citation needed
Poverty
According to the ACS,94 among Hispanic groups the poverty rate is highest among Dominican Americans (28.1 percent), Honduran Americans and Puerto Ricans (23.7 percent both), and Mexican Americans (23.6 percent). It is lowest among South Americans, such as Colombian Americans (10.6 percent) and Peruvian Americans (13.6 percent), and relatively low poverty rates are also found among Salvadoran Americans (15.0 percent) and Cuban Americans (15.2 percent). In comparison, the average poverty rates for non-Hispanic White Americans (8.8 percent)94 and Asian Americans (7.1 percent) were lower than those of any Hispanic group. African Americans (21.3 percent) have a higher poverty rate than most Hispanic or Latino groups.
Hispanophobia has existed in various degrees throughout U.S. history, based largely on ethnicity, race, culture, Anti-Catholicism, and use of the Spanish language.95969798 In 2006, Time Magazine reported that the number of hate groups in the United States increased by 33 percent since 2000, primarily due to anti-illegal immigrant and anti-Mexican sentiment.99 According to Federal Bureau of Investigation statistics, the number of anti-Latino hate crimes increased by 35 percent since 2003 (albeit from a low level). In California, the state with the largest Latino population, the number of hate crimes against Latinos almost doubled100
For the year 2009, the FBI reported that 483 of the 6,604 hate crimes committed in the United States were anti-Hispanic comprising 7.3% of all hate crimes. This compares to 34.6% of hate crimes being anti-Black, 17.9% being anti-Homosexual, 14.1% being anti-Jewish, and 8.3% being anti-White.101
Hispanics and Latinos differ on their political views depending on their location and background, but the majority (57%)102 either identify themselves as or support the Democrats, and 23% identify themselves as Republicans.102 This 34 point gap as of December, 2007 was an increase from the gap of 21 points 16 months earlier. Cuban Americans and Colombian Americans tend to favor conservative political ideologies and support the Republicans, while Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, and Dominican Americans tend to favor liberal views and support the Democrats. However, because the latter groups are far more numerous – as, again, Mexican Americans alone are 64% of Hispanics and Latinos – the Democratic Party is considered to be in a far stronger position with the group overall.
The Presidency of George W. Bush had a significant impact on the political leanings of Hispanics and Latinos. As a former Governor of Texas, Bush regarded this growing community as a potential source of growth for the conservative movement and the Republican Party,citation needed and he made some gains for the Republicans among the group.
President Bill Clinton and his Hispanic and Latino appointees in 1998
In the 1996 presidential election, 72% of Hispanics and Latinos backed President Bill Clinton, but in 2000 the Democratic total fell to 62%, and went down again in 2004, with Democrat John Kerry winning Hispanics 58–40 against Bush. Hispanics in the West, especially in California, were much stronger for the Democratic Party than in Texas and Florida. California Latinos voted 63–32 for Kerry in 2004, and both Arizona and New Mexico Latinos by a smaller 56–43 margin; but Texas Latinos were split nearly evenly, favoring Kerry 50–49, and Florida Latinos (mostly being Cuban American) backed Bush, by a 54–45 margin.
In the 2006 midterm election, however, due to the unpopularity of the Iraq War, the heated debate concerning illegal immigration, and Republican-related Congressional scandals, Hispanics and Latinos went as strongly Democratic as they have since the Clinton years. Exit polls showed the group voting for Democrats by a lopsided 69–30 margin, with Florida Latinos for the first time split evenly. The runoff election in Texas' 23rd congressional district was seen as a bellwether of Latino politics, and Democrat Ciro Rodriguez's unexpected (and unexpectedly decisive) defeat of Republican incumbent Henry Bonilla was seen as proof of a leftward lurch among Latino voters, as heavily Latino counties overwhelmingly backed Rodriguez, and heavily Anglo counties overwhelmingly backed Bonilla.
Although during 2008 the economy and employment were top concerns for Hispanics and Latinos, immigration was "never far from their minds": almost 90% of Latino voters rated immigration as "somewhat important" or "very important" in a poll taken after the election.103 There is "abundant evidence" that the heated Republican opposition to the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2007 has done significant damage to the party's appeal to Hispanics and Latinos in the years to come, especially in the swing states such as Florida, Nevada, and New Mexico.103 In a Gallup poll of 4,604 registered Hispanic voters taken in the final days of June 2008, only 18% of participants identified themselves as Republicans.104
2008 election
In the 2008 Presidential election's Democratic primary Hispanics and Latinos participated in larger numbers than before, with Hillary Clinton receiving most of the group's support.105 Pundits discussed whether a large percentage of Hispanics and Latinos would vote for an African American candidate, in this case Barack Obama, Clinton's opponent.106 Hispanics/Latinos voted 2 to 1 for Mrs. Clinton, even among the younger demographic, which in the case of other groups was an Obama stronghold.107 Among Hispanics, 28% said race was involved in their decision, as opposed to 13% for (non-Hispanic) whites.107
Obama defeated Clinton. In the matchup between Obama and Republican candidate John McCain for the presidency, Hispanics and Latinos supported Obama with 59% to McCain's 29% in the Gallup tracking poll as of June 30, 2008.104 This surprised some analysts, since a higher than expected percentage of Latinos and Hispanics favored Obama over McCain, who had been a leader of the comprehensive immigration reform effort.108 However, McCain had retracted during the Republican primary, stating that he would not support the bill if it came up again. Some analysts believed that this move hurt his chances among Hispanics and Latinos.109 Obama took advantage of the situation by running ads aimed at the ethnic group, in Spanish, in which he mentioned McCain's about-face.110
In the general election, 67% of Hispanics and Latinos voted for Obama111 and 31% voted for McCain,112 with a relatively stronger turnout than in previous elections in states such as Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Virginia helping Obama carry those formerly Republican states. Obama won 70% of non-Cuban Hispanics and 35% of the traditionally Republican Cuban Americans that have a strong presence in Florida, while the changing state demographics towards a more non-Cuban Hispanic community also contributed to his carrying Florida's Latinos with 57% of the vote.111113 Hispanics and Latinos also supplanted Republican gains in traditional red states, for example Obama carried 63% of Texas Latinos, despite that the overall state voted for McCain by 55%.114
The geographic, political, social, economic, and racial other diversity of Hispanic and Latino Americans extends to culture, as well. Yet several features tend to unite Hispanics and Latinos from these diverse backgrounds.
With 40% of Hispanic and Latino Americans being immigrants,115 and with many of the 60% who are U.S.-born being the children or grandchildren of immigrants, bilingualism is the norm in the community at large: at home, at least 69% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans over age five are bilingual in English and Spanish, whereas up to 22% are monolingual English-speakers, and 9% are monolingual Spanish-speakers; another 0.4% speak a language other than English and Spanish at home.116 In all, a full 90% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans speak English, and at least 78% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans speak Spanish.116 Spanish is the oldest European language in the United States, spoken uninterruptedly for four and a half centuries, since the foundation of St. Augustine.14151617
The usual pattern is monolingual Spanish use among new migrants or older foreign-born Hispanics, complete bilingualism among long-settled immigrants and the children of immigrants, and the sole use of English, or both English and either Spanglish or colloquial Spanish by the third generation and beyond.
Religion
The most methodologically rigorous study of Hispanic or Latino religious affiliation to date was the Hispanic Churches in American Public Life (HCAPL) National Survey, conducted between August and October 2000. This survey found that 70% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans are Catholic, 20% are Protestant, 3% are "alternative Christians" (such as Mormon or Jehovah's Witnesses), 1% identify with a non-Christian religion, and 6% have no religious preference (with only .37% claiming to be atheist or agnostic). This suggests that Hispanics/Latinos are not only a highly religious, but also a highly Christian constituency. It also suggests that Hispanic/Latino Protestants are a more sizable minority than sometimes realized. Catholic affiliation is much higher among first-generation than second- or third-generation Hispanic or Latino immigrants, who exhibit a fairly high rate of defection to Protestantism. Also Hispanics and Latinos in the Bible Belt, which is mostly located in the South, are more likely to defect to Protestantism than those in other regions. Hispanic and Latino Americans' membership in the Catholic Church continues to grow in absolute numbers, due to the group's high birth and immigration rates. Hispanic or Latino Catholics are also increasingly working to enhance member retention through youth and social programs and through the spread of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal.117
Media
The United States is home to thousands of Spanish-language media outlets, which range in size from giant commercial and some non-commercial broadcasting networks and major magazines with circulations numbering in the millions, to low-power AM radio stations with listeners numbering in the hundreds. There are hundreds of Internet media outlets targeting U.S. Hispanic consumers. Some of the outlets are online versions of their printed counterparts and some online exclusively.
Among the most noteworthy Hispanic/Latino-oriented media outlets are:
Telemundo, the second-largest Spanish-language television network in the United States, with affiliates in nearly every major U.S. market, and numerous affiliates internationally;
Azteca America, a Spanish-language television network in the United States, with affiliates in nearly every major U.S. market, and numerous affiliates internationally;
La Opinión, a Spanish-language daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California and distributed throughout the six counties of Southern California. It is the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the United States;
El Nuevo Herald and Diario Las Americas, both Spanish-language daily newspapers serving the greater Miami, Florida market;
Hispanic Americans, like immigrant groups before them, are out-marrying at very high rates comprising 17.4% of all existing Hispanic marriages. The rate is higher for newlyweds (which excludes already married immigrants): Among all newlyweds in 2008, 26% of all Hispanics married a non-Hispanic (this compares to out-marriage rates of 9% for non-Hispanic Whites, 16% for non-Hispanic Blacks, and 31% for non-Hispanic Asians). The rate was even more profound for native-born Hispanics with 41.3% of Native-Born Hispanic men out-marrying (compared to 11.3% of Foreign-Born Hispanic men) and 37.4% of Native-Born Hispanic women out-marrying (compared to 12.2% of Foreign-Born Hispanic women). The difference is attributed to the fact that recent immigrants tend to marry within their immediate immigrant community due to commonality of language, proximity, familial connections, and familiarity118(see Interracial marriage in the United States for further discussion).
81% of Hispanics who intermarried married non-Hispanic Whites, 9% married non-Hispanic Blacks, 5% non-Hispanic Asians, and the remainder married non-Hispanic, multi-racial partners.
Attitudes amongst non-Hispanics toward intermarriage with Hispanics are mostly favorable with 81% of Whites, 76% of Asians, and 73% of Blacks "being fine" with a member of their family marrying a Hispanic and an additional 13% of Whites, 19% of Asians, and 16% of Blacks "being bothered but accepting of the marriage." Only 2% of Whites, 4% of Asians, and 5% of Blacks would not accept a marriage of their family member to a Hispanic.
Hispanic attitudes toward intermarriage with non-Hispanics are likewise favorable with 71% "being fine" with marriages to Whites and 81% "being fine" with marriages to Blacks. A further 22% admitted to "being bothered but accepting" of a marriage of a family member to a White and 16% admitted to "being bothered but accepting" of a marriage of a family member to a Black. Only 4% of Hispanics objected outright marriage of a family member to an White and 3% to a Black.118
^"American FactFinder Help: Hispanic or Latino origin". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov/home/en/epss/glossary_h.html#hispanic_or_latino_origin. Retrieved 2008-10-05. "For Census 2000, American Community Survey: People who identify with the terms "Hispanic" or "Latino" are those who classify themselves in one of the specific Hispanic or Latino categories listed on the Census 2000 or ACS questionnaire - "Mexican," "Puerto Rican," or "Cuban" - as well as those who indicate that they are "other Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino." Origin can be viewed as the heritage, nationality group, lineage, or country of birth of the person or the person's parents or ancestors before their arrival in the United States. People who identify their origin as Spanish, Hispanic, or Latino may be of any "race".
1990 Census of Population and Housing: A self-designated classification for people whose origins are from Spain, the Spanish-speaking countries of Central or South America, the Caribbean, or those identifying themselves generally as Spanish, Spanish-American, etc. Origin can be viewed as ancestry, nationality, or country of birth of the person or person's parents or ancestors prior to their arrival in the United States."
^ abcSmall, Lawrence M (2002-08-01). "Latino Legacies". Smithsonian Magazine. Smithsonian Institution. http://www.smithsonianmag.com/people-places/10009021.html. Retrieved 2008-04-28. "There was a Hispanic presence on the continent for more than 200 years before 13 colonies on the eastern coast declared their independence from England ... By 1607, when the British established their first successful settlement, at Jamestown, Virginia, writes historian Bernard Bailyn, "Spain's American dominion extended nearly 8,000 miles, from Southern California to the Straits of Magellan..."
^ "The Puerto Rican Diaspora: historical perspectives"; By Carmen Teresa Whalen, Víctor Vázquez-Hernandez; page 176; Publisher: Temple University Press; ISBN 978-1-59213-413-7; ISBN 1-59213-413-0
^ "The Puerto Ricans: A Documentary History"; by Kal Wagenheim (Editor), Olga Jimenez de Wagenheim (Editor); page 355- 56; Publisher: Markus Wiener Publishers; Revised edition edition; ISBN 1-55876-476-3; ISBN 978-1-55876-476-7
^ Gaston Espinosa, "Latinos, Religion, and the American Presidency," in Religion, Race, and the American Presidency, ed. Gaston Espinosa (Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers), 242-44.
Miguel A. De La Torre. Encyclopedia on Hispanic American Religious Culture (2 vol. ABC-CLIO Publishers, 2009).
Marisa A. Abrajano and R. Michael Alvarez, eds. New Faces, New Voices: The Hispanic Electorate in America (Princeton University Press; 2010) 219 pages. Documents the generational and other diversity of the Hispanic electorate and challenges myths about voter behavior.
López-Calvo, Ignacio. Latino Los Angeles in Film and Fiction: The Cultural Production of Social Anxiety. University of Arizona Press, 2011. ISBN 0816529264
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