Hispanics in the United States are a large, growing, diverse group. More precisely, 1990 U.S. Census figures put the total at 22 million—of these, 63 percent are Mexican in origin, 11 percent Puerto Rican in origin, and 5 percent Cuban in origin. These three groups are the largest, yet another 14 percent of Hispanics are from the various Central and South American countries; still another 8 percent are classified as "other Hispanic" by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. In this essay the terms Hispanic and Latino are used interchangeably. Hispanic is commonly used in official statistics, and Latino is more widely used within the population itself.

The rapid growth of the Latino population within the United States also is noteworthy. It grew by 53 percent between 1980 and 1990. A high birth rate and continuous new immigration fuels this growth...