Hispanicization

Hispanicization or Hispanization [ [http://dictionary.reference.com/search?r=2&q=hispanicization Dictionary definition of Hispanicization] ] is the process by which a place or a person absorbs characteristics of Hispanic society and culture. Hispanicization of a place is illustrated by, but not limited to, Mexican restaurants, tortilla factories, "panaderias" (bakeries), "taquerias" (taco restaurants); Spanish language churches, newspapers, radio stations, as well as specialty music stores, clothing stores, and nightclubs. Hispanicization of a person is illustrated by, but not limited to, speaking Spanish, making and eating Latin food, listening to Spanish language music, dressing in Santa Fe style or other Hispanic styles, and participating in Hispanic festivals and holidays. [Hispanic Spaces, Latino Places: Community and Cultural Diversity in Contemporary America, 2004. Edited by Dan Arreola, found in Chapter 14 "Hispanization of Hereford, Texas"]

Hispanization is the opposite of assimilation. Assimilation is the process by which a minority culture absorbs characteristics of the dominant society and culture. In the United States Anglo culture has long been the dominant culture and, historically, U.S. Immigrants have assimilated by the third generation. For example, by the third generation most Ukrainian-Americans have lost the ability to speak Ukrainian, make Ukrainian easter eggs, cook Ukrainian food, play Ukrainian music, or dance like a Cossack. A few immigrant groups to the U.S. have been slow to assimilate--Greeks, Chinese, and especially Hispanics and Native Americans. In fact, there are millions of people in the US that are both Native American and Hispanic at the same time.

Language retention is a common index to assimilation, and according to the 2000 United States Census [ [http://www.census.gov/prod/2004pubs/censr-18.pdf US Bureau of the Census, 2004 (Page 10)] ] , about 75 percent of all Hispanics spoke Spanish in the home--even many Hispanics who can trace their ancestry to the original settlement of the U.S. Southwest between 1598 and 1769. Spanish language retention rates vary geographically; parts of Texas and New Mexico have language retention rates over 90 percent, whereas parts of Colorado and California have retention rates lower than 30 percent.

Hispanic retention rates are so high in parts of Texas and New Mexico and along the border because the percentage of Hispanics living there is also very high. Laredo, Texas; Chimayo, New Mexico; and Nogales, Arizona, for example, all have Hispanic populations greater than 90 percent. Furthermore, in these place Hispanics have always been the majority population. [Hispanic Community Types and Assimilation in Mex-America 1998. Haverluk, Terrence W. The Professional Geographer, 50(4) pages 465-480] These communities are called continuous communities, because Hispanics have continuously been the majority population since they were settled. Anglos moving into these communities often Hispanicize rather than assimilate.Hence the term Hispanization.

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