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What language do Latinos and people from Latin America Speak? 

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What language do Latinos and people from Latin America Speak? 

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Spanish is the official language of the grand majority of Latin America mainland, as well as in Cuba, Puerto Rico (along with English), and the Dominican Republic.
http://traveltips.usatoday.com/languages-latin-americans-speak-22661.html
Gaige Bolser

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When does Hispanic Hertiage Month take place? Why are those the dates? 

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When does Hispanic Hertiage Month take place? Why are those the dates? 

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When does Hispanic Heritage Month takes place? Why are those the dates ?
Hispanic Heritage Month takes place on September 15 through October 15. The 15th of September is significant because it is the anniversary of Independence Day for many Latin American countries including Costa Rica and El Salvador. Many other important dates fall within the month, for Latin Americans.
http://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/about/

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Are Latinos of European, African, Indigenous or Asian heritage?

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Are Latinos of European, African, Indigenous or Asian heritage?

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Latinos are Indigenous heritage because mixed-Indigenous heritage and some of us are Indigenous, too. For example, Ecuador is home to 30+ Indigenous nations and a home to 8 million descendants of the Quitu-Shyri and Spanish ancestry.

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Late last night, my father and I talked about how the ethnic term Latino mislabels Indigenous and mixed-Indigenous people from Mexico, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, etc. For a long time, we believed Latino and Hispanic correctly defined the Spanish-speaking mixed-Indigenous and Indigenous people in Latin America.

As we crossed the George Washington Bridge, I wondered, Why is this so? I mean it's true. We do speak Spanish and we practice Spanish culture. But we also come from a land that is still governed by our Indigenous relatives. I thought hard about how to politely counter argue his belief. His opinion. His Latino identity.

"So I guess this means Filipinos are Hispanics or Latinos, too, right?" I said. "Think about it, they have Spanish names. They speak Spanish. They probably dance to Spanish music, too."

He laughed at me. He said, "They are Asians, though. You can't confuse their race with Spanish."

"Exactly, so why are we the only ones considered Latino or Hispanic? Some of us are Indigenous, right? Think about it, papa. We are Guayakos and Manabítas. We come from family clans that stretch back for thousands of years of Indigenous tradition."

"Well.." he stammers. "I would say, we're Ecuatorianos."

Latino or Hispanic is a term coined by the United States to identify Spanish-speaking people coming from south of Mexico. The reality is Spanish-speaking people from Latin America come from a variety of racial and cultural backgrounds. We are like a rainbow.

However, since 2011, Latinos or Hispanics now start to identify as Native American, census shows. Even the New York Times features their article on the cultural change and perspective of Indigenous identity among mestizos, mulattos, and Indigenous people.

Also, Latino comes from the root word Latin which corresponds to the nations that used to form the Roman Empire: Spain, Portugal, Romania, Italy, and France. According to El Boricua, " The word Hispania thus refers to the people and culture of the Iberian peninsula, Spain in particular. The term Hispano (Hispanic) later was used in referring to Spain and its subsequent New World - New Spain, conquered territories which covers most of Latino America." The white-mestizo society or descendants of Spanish relatives can claim these labels to themselves.

But Latino is not a person who only looks Mexican and speaks Spanish. Many of us come from mixed-Indigenous heritage and some of us are Indigenous, too. For example, Ecuador is home to 30+ Indigenous nations and a home to 8 million descendants of the Quitu-Shyri and Spanish ancestry. It's also home to 1 million Euro-Ecuadorians and 1.3 million Afro-Ecuadorians. However, the 8 millions Ecuadorian mestizos form part of the rainbow colors of the Indigenous race mixed with the Spanish and the African cultures. In Ecuador, we say "tenemos la pinta ecuatoriana" (we have the Ecuadorian look) because some of us are brown, have black hair, and some, more than others, inherit the Atahualpa face, our last Tawantinsuyu King in 1535. We also dance to merengue and reggaeton, but we blast to Indian music and do the round dance, stomp the floor, swing the skirts, and chirp like the Curiquingue and Quinde birds.

Ecuadorians make up the majority of mixed-Indigenous and Indigenous population, among other groups like Afro-Ecuadorians and Euro-Ecuadorians, who re-invent a fusion of all cultures, languages, and religions, yet preserve their Indigenous ethnicity, traditions, and roots simultaneously.

The Idle No More Movement is an excellent example of how Indigenous people in North America unite to stand up and fight for their culture, land, and identity against a people who think it's okay to walk over Indigenous people with mascot names and Halloween Indian costumes. I also think the Idle No More Movement should include Indigenous people and mixed-Indigenous people from Spanish-speaking nations as an effort to collaborate, unite, and support one Indigenous people across both continents.

Do we call an African-American a Britannic because he or she speaks English? Do we call an Arab an Amish because he or she looks white? Why don't we call Euro-Americans "mixed" or "mestizos" because they also have Irish, Italian, German, African, and Indigenous blood, some more than others? However, there is no debate about our differences. We come from different nations, backgrounds, religions, cultures, and so forth. But the key point is to co-exist in peace and respect each other. The principle is to not step on people's sacred space without asking their permission. The Indigenous space has been repeatedly trespassed and disrespected in the Americas.

I can only speak of what I've seen in Ecuador. In Ecuador, the label Mestizo provides an opportunity for Indigenous people to climb the social ladder. In order for them to not be hated, insulted, harmed, put down, ashamed, physically assaulted, and to some extent, massacred in ethnic and cultural genocides, the ethnic label "mestizo" provides a convenient strategy to avoid all of the aforementioned complications. However, Indigenous people should not feel obliged to make the switch from Indigenous to Mestizo because of the shame with their Indigenous identity. Their culture is as beautiful as that of the African-American, European-American,and Asian-American.

In Santa Elena, Ecuador, we identify as Indigenous people. We go by "cholo comunero," and some, more than others, by "Wankavilka" to emphasize their ethnicity. The Ecuadorian government sends us a census that provides three options: white, black, and Mestizo. We are forced to put mestizo even though in our hearts we know we are Indigenous to our ancestral lands and cultures, but this mislabel affects new generations of youth who start to distance themselves from their Indigenous heritage and encourage outsiders to expropriate our lands because we do not "voluntarily" identify as Indigenous. (Original Source in Spanish). Therefore, in this case, the mestizo concept does not equally glorify two cultures, but only the dominant European one. It serves to disenfranchise Indigenous people in Latin America. In a parallel comparison, there are Latinos, (Indigenous Spanish-speaking people from tribal nations in Latin America who migrate to the United States), who do not want to identify as Latinos and Mestizos but are forced to because it's the only option.

Appropriating a local tribe that is not yours is also NOT the respectful manner to go about this either. However, US census should provide an ethnic label that speaks for Mexican, Central, and South American Indigenous people. This also gives an opportunity for mixed-Indigenous people to learn from their culture via Indigenous groups in United States settings. Because as mixed-Indigenous people from Spanish-speaking nations, we have a right to learn about our Indigenous past that includes everything before 1492. Our nations started way before the colonial contact.

Imagine what would happen if mixed-Indigenous or Indigenous Ecuadorians, Mexicans, Guatemalans, Salvadorans, Peruvians, Bolivians, among other Spanish-speaking nations re-identify with their Indigenous roots, how would that cause a chain reaction in Latin America and how would that redefine our culture, our history, and our thought process?

Santy Quinde Baidal, blogger of The Quinde Journey | Wankavilka Nation (www.squinde.wordpress.com), speaks about his experience of re-identifying with his Wankavilka Comunero Indigenous identity as an Ecuadorian-American citizen in the United States. He recently graduated from Middlebury College with a Bachelor's degree in English and Creative Writing. Thanks to oral tradition and extensive independent research, Santy learns about his Indigenous culture, identity, and traditions that stretches back to 12,000 years, to the first people of Santa Elena, Ecuador.

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Don't Be Fooled: Latino = Indigenous - Indian Country Media Network

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Late last night, my father and I talked about how the ethnic term Latino mislabels Indigenous and mixed-Indigenous people from Mexico, Ecuador, Puerto Rico, etc. For a long time, we believed Latino and Hispanic correctly defined the Spanish-speaking mixed-Indigenous and Indigenous people in Latin America.As we

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How many Hispanics are living in the United States? What Percentage of the population is this?

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How many Hispanics are living in the United States? What Percentage of the population is this?

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The Hispanic Population consists of 55 million people and 17% of the total population of the United States.
http://www.census.gov/newsroom/facts-for-features/2015/cb15-ff18.html
-Benjamin Vitenson

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When and why was national Hispanic heritage month created?
- The observation started in 1968 as Hispanic Heritage Week under President Lyndon Johnson and was expanded by President Ronald Reagan in 1988 to cover a 30-day period starting on September 15 and ending on October 15. It was enacted into law on August 17, 1988, on the approval of Public Law 100-402.

http://www.hispanicheritagemonth.gov/about/

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Wyatt McIntyre
Question: What happened to the native populations after the Spanish "conquistadors" arrived?
Answer: The conquistadors imprisoned and killed hundreds of natives when they arrived.
http://people.uwec.edu/ivogeler/w111/latinam.htm

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Name as many US cities as you can that have names of Spanish origin.

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Name as many US cities as you can that have names of Spanish origin.

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•Boca Raton, Florida
•Cape Canaveral, Florida
•El Paso, Texas
•Fresno, California
•Las Cruces, New Mexico
•Los Gatos, California
•Las Vegas, Nevada
•La Brea, California
•Los Angeles, California
•San Antonio, Texas
•San Francisco, Caifornia
•Sangre de Cristo Mountains
•Santa Fe, New Mexico

Link: http://www.infoplease.com/spot/spanishnames.html

-Lainey Daum

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Presley Sherwood                                  Who was César Chávez and what made him an influential Hispanic American?

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Presley Sherwood                                  Who was César Chávez and what made him an influential Hispanic American?

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-César Chávez founded the National Farm Workers Association, later to become the United Farm Workers or the UFW. He worked his entire life to improve the treatment, pay, and working conditions for farm workers in the U.S.
http://www.biography.com/people/cesar-chavez-9245781

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Who was Jaime Escalante, and what did he do that was important?

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Who was Jaime Escalante, and what did he do that was important?

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Jaime Escalante was a man known for helping and encouraging troubled math students. He taught math in California at a violent school, where the troubled kids ended up passing their AP calculus tests. He was born in Bolivia in 1930, but came to the states in the 60s to find a better life, and help the lives of others. He died in March of 2010 from cancer. His contributions to society have helped many kids know their worth, and do better in school.

Kennedy Cox

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Jaime Escalante became famous for his work with troubled, "unteachable" high school math students. His story was told in the 1988 film 'Stand and Deliver.'

Who Was Jaime Escalante?

Jaime Escalante was an educator who was born in Bolivia and came to the United States in the 1960s to seek a better life. He began teaching math to troubled students in a violent Los Angeles school and became famous for leading many of them to pass the advanced placement calculus test. He was played by Edward James Olmos in the 1988 film Stand and Deliver.

Early Life

Educator Jamie Escalante was born on December 31, 1930, in La Paz, Bolivia. The child of two teachers, Escalante became one of the most famous educators in America during the 1980s and 1990s. He left Bolivia in the 1960s to seek a better life in the United States. An educator back at home, he had to work many odd jobs, teach himself English and earn another college degree before he could return to the classroom.

Professional Career

In 1974, Escalante took a job at Garfield High School in East Los Angeles, California. He found himself in a challenging situation: teaching math to troubled students in a rundown school known for violence and drugs. While some had dismissed the students as "unteachable," Escalante strove to reach his students and to get them to live up to their potential. He started an advanced mathematics program with a handful of students.

In 1982, his largest class of students took and passed an advanced placement test in Calculus. Some of the students' test scores were invalidated by the testing company because it believed that the students had cheated. Escalante protested, saying that the students had been disqualified because they were Hispanic and from a poor school. A few months later many of the students retook the test and passed, proving that they knew the material and that the company was wrong.

Escalante's classroom challenges and successes were the topic of much public discussion in 1988. That year, his story was the subject of a book entitled Jaime Escalante: The Best Teacher in America and a film called Stand and Deliver starring Edward James Olmos. Both educators and students have found Escalante's work at Garfield inspiring.

Later Years and Legacy

After Garfield, Escalante taught at another high school in Sacramento. He did not seem to find the same level of success that he had at his previous post. Escalante also received some criticism for lobbying against bilingual education in California schools. He retired from teaching in 1998.

Escalante has received many awards for his contributions to the field of education, including the Presidential Medal for Excellence. He was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame in 1999.

Escalante died in March 2010 after a long struggle with cancer. He is survived by his wife Fabiola, and their two sons.

Fact Check

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Jaime Escalante became famous for his work with troubled, "unteachable" high school math students. His story was told in the 1988 film 'Stand and Deliver.' Jaime Escalante was an educator who was born in Bolivia and came to the United States in the 1960s to seek a better life.

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Blake Morton

Who was Roberto Clemente, and what is he famous for?

He was a Puerto Rican professional baseball player. He played for the Pittsburgh Pirates. First Latin American to record 3000hits.

http://www.biography.com/people/roberto-clemente-9250805

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Name as many US cities as you can that have names of Spanish origin.

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Name as many US cities as you can that have names of Spanish origin.

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When and Why was National Hispanic HEritage Month created?

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When and Why was National Hispanic HEritage Month created?

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National Hispanic Heritage Week was created in 1968, but expanded to National Hispanic Heritage Month in 1988. It was created to celebrate the anniversaries of the independence days of Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Colleen Lee

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What languages do Latinos and people from Latin America speak? 

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What languages do Latinos and people from Latin America speak? 

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People from Latin America usually speak Spanish or Portuguese. They also speak other languages in certain areas such as English, French, or Dutch. http://traveltips.usatoday.com/languages-latin-americans-speak-22661.html Briana Ramos

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Explain the difference between the terms "Spanish," "Hispanic," and "Latino."

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Explain the difference between the terms "Spanish," "Hispanic," and "Latino."

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Hispanic: Spanish speaking person living in the US
Spanish: The people of Spain
Latino:  person of Latin American origin or descent
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/difference-between-hispanic-latino-and-spanish_us_55a7ec20e4b0c5f0322c9e44
Jake

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What are the 3 largest Hispanic origin groups living in the US?

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What are the 3 largest Hispanic origin groups living in the US?

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The three largest Hispanic origin groups living in the US are Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans. http://www.pewhispanic.org/2012/06/27/the-10-largest-hispanic-origin-groups-characteristics-rankings-top-counties/
Ike Chuba

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When does Hispanic heritage month take place? Why are those the dates?

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When does Hispanic heritage month take place? Why are those the dates?

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National Hispanic Heritage Month 2016 began on Thursday, September 15 and ends on Saturday, October 15. The day of September 15 is significant because it is the anniversary of independence for Latin American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Dylan

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What civilizations were already in existence when the Spaniards arrived in the New World?

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What civilizations were already in existence when the Spaniards arrived in the New World?

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Empires in Central and South America such as  Maya, Aztec, and Tenochtitlan.
http://www.americanyawp.com/text/01-the-new-world/
-Keily

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Which US states once belonged to Mexico? When did they become part of the US? 

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Which US states once belonged to Mexico? When did they become part of the US? 

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The US states that once belonged to Mexico were Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and California. The US gained control of theses states in 1848.

https://academic.udayton.edu/race/02rights/guadalu3.htm

- Marie Gilmore

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Explain the difference between the terms "Spanish", Hispanic", and "Latino"

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Explain the difference between the terms "Spanish", Hispanic", and "Latino"

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Hispanics refer to people of Spanish speaking origin, Latino refers to people who's origin comes from Latin America, Spanish is a combination of both
http://www.aol.com/article/2015/07/16/do-you-know-the-difference-between-latino-hispanic-and-spanish/21210199/

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Which Latin American Countries have the highest Afro-Latino populations? Why?

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Which Latin American Countries have the highest Afro-Latino populations? Why?

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The country with the highest Afro-Latino population is Colombia.  http://ahorasecreto.blogspot.com/2013/10/spanish-speaking-countries-with-largest.html
Jacob Mordock

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The term maestizaje refers to ancestry that is of mixed races.

Link:  http://www.thefreedictionary.com/Mestizaje

- Alissa Lynch

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Who was Ellen Ochoa, and what significant advances did she make?

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Who was Ellen Ochoa, and what significant advances did she make?

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Ellen Ochoa was the first Hispanic female astronaut in 1991.
http://www.biography.com/people/ellen-ochoa-10413023
Brandon Sisnett

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When does Hispanic Heritage Month take place? Why are those the dates?

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When does Hispanic Heritage Month take place? Why are those the dates?

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Hispanic Hertiage month is September 15- October 15.

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National Hispanic Heritage Month 2016 began on Thursday, September 15and ends on Saturday, October 15

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National Hispanic Heritage Month 2016 began on Thursday, September 15and ends on Saturday, October 15

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Several US state names are derived from the Spanish language. Name 3 and their meanings.

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Several US state names are derived from the Spanish language. Name 3 and their meanings.

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1. Florida - "Flowery"
2. Montana - "Mountain"
3. Nevada - "Snow capped"
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/nrcs142p2_007773.pdf
http://www.infoplease.com/spot/spanishnames.html

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Where is Latin America? What countries/areas of the world does it include?

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Where is Latin America? What countries/areas of the world does it include?

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Latin America consists of Mexico, all of South America, and the Caribbean Islands.
https://www.reference.com/geography/latin-america-e994c4a9d61cbe30#

🇬🇧 was here.

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Which 5 US cities have the highest Hispanic population?

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Which 5 US cities have the highest Hispanic population?

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The 5 US cities with the highest Hispanic population are New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, San Antonio, and Chicago.
http://www.usnews.com/news/slideshows/11-cities-with-the-most-hispanics
Gabby Lockovich