ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on what factors make Hispanics relatively homogeneous and yet distinct. Sharing a common heritage is at the core of being Hispanic. The area of Iberia that is currently occupied by Portugal was known as Hispania Lusitana or Lusitania between 27 and 155 BC, and it was part of a larger conglomerate dominated by Visigoths. The Romans named the Iberian Peninsula Hispania, and from there the name of the modern nation of Spain derived. The history of the Latinization of the US is long and full of important benchmarks that have governed the interactions between the US, the rest of Latin America, and Spain. Puerto Ricans are American citizens whose culture is more similar to Latin American countries. The population of Cuba is a mixture of Spaniard, African Blacks, and indigenous people early in Cuba's history, scarcely 100 years after the discovery of the island. The homogeneity of the market is due to historical and cultural roots.
