Hispanic

From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hispanic (Spanish: Hispano, hispánico) is a word that originally meant a relationship to Hispania. This is the Iberian Peninsula and includes Portugal, Andorra, Gibraltar and Spain. Now the word is used with a more limited meaning.

In the United States, Hispanic and Latino are different ethnic categories. Hispanic simply means a person who comes from a country where Spanish is the official language, this includes Puerto Rico of the United States whereas Latino means a person who comes from a country in Latin America (which includes only Mexico of North America, the Caribbean, Central America, and South America).

Spanish names, the Spanish language, and Spanish customs can also be found in other areas that were part of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires, such as in Equatorial Guinea in Africa, or in the Spanish East Indies (e.g. Philipines) and the Portuguese Brazil.