CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Sept. 15 marked the beginning of Hispanic Heritage Month. It's a time to celebrate the rich culture and contributions of American citizens whose ancestors came from Spain, Mexico, the Caribbean and Central and South America.
So, let's talk about the terms "Hispanic" and "Latino."
Hispanic means anyone from a country where Spanish is the main language, which, most of the time, includes Spain.
Latino refers to people from Latin America and does not include those from Spain.
However, when it comes to people living in the U.S., the terms can be interchangeable. The best way to figure out how people identify themselves is to simply, ask.
A poll from the Pew Research Center showed that 54 percent of Hispanic and Latino people in the U.S. have no preference to which term is used to describe their heritage.
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