by Alvaro Ramos

Created on: April 20, 2008

A good way to gain insight or better understand a particular cultural group, is to learn the language the group uses. Language is intrinsically embedded with the customs, traditions, and mores of the group that uses it. There is no denying the value of learning a target language to better understand a target culture. However, in discussing the Spanish language and culture, it is important to understand that the unique history behind the spread of Spanish worldwide has resulted in a highly diverse population of people who carry with them the cultural label of "Hispanic". As such, a study of the Spanish language, although helpful, will still not be enough to have a complete understanding of Hispanic culture and all it encompasses.

For purposes of this article, we can define Hispanic as a term used to identify or describe people who are either natives of a Spanish speaking nation or their descendents. In the case of the latter, it is important to note that as is to be expected, the more generations of separation between the descendant and the native country, the less cultural influence the native culture and language will have. Our working definition now in place, the facts are worth stating. Spanish is the official language of 21 countries and is commonly spoken in a handful of other nations, most notably the United States. It is one of the fastest growing "second" languages in the world.

So what are the implications of these facts? The implications are that the term Hispanic is often used to identify a diverse group of people who come from 21 different nations, and obviously carry with them the varying cultures and traditions of their prospective nations. Regional factors undoubtedly affect certain Hispanic subgroups. For example, it makes sense that Hispanic groups in South America will share more similarities with each other than they would with Hispanic groups in North or Central America, and vice versa. Although there exist constants among Hispanics such as the Spanish language (of course), the Roman Catholic religion, and a large mestizo or mixed Amerindian and European population, it goes without saying that even so, there are exceptions to these constants.

The increased interest or at least exposure to Hispanic people and culture has been driven primarily by the large Hispanic presence in the United States. Although the Hispanic presence in the U.S. was once limited to Mexican Americans in the Southwest, Puerto Ricans in New York City and the Northern

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