Thanks for the post on Latin/Hispanic, maahey!
I finally found the etymology of
Latin-America, Latin America, at
http://wikipedia.org/wiki/Latin-America, evidently not as directly connected to the Romance Languages (Spanish, Portugese, French) as most folks, including myself, would have assumed:
>Latin America
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Latin America refers to the American countries south of the United States, comprising all of South America, Central America, Mexico, and the Caribbean.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Etymological note: Treating the term literally, one might expect the term to apply to cultures and regions in the Americas deriving from cultures speaking Romance languages (those descended from Latin). However this is not the case and French-speaking Quebec in Canada is not part of Latin America. Yet this was the original intention of the term -- "Latin America" was first proposed during the French occupation of Mexico (1862-1867), when Napoleon III supported the Archduke Maximilian's pretensions to be emperor of Mexico. The French hoped that an inclusive notion of "Latin" America would support their cause. That Mexican citizens eventually expelled the French while retaining the term "Latino" is perhaps one of history's more charming ironies. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Latin American countries include:
Mexico
El Salvador
Belize
Guatemala
Honduras
Costa Rica
Nicaragua
Panama
Colombia
Ecuador
Peru
Chile
Argentina
Uruguay
Paraguay
Bolivia
Brazil
Venezuela
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Puerto Rico
In addition, Spain and Portugal are considered to be the Mother Countries of Latin America.<
