The difference between Latino and Hispanic primarily lies in geography and language. "Hispanic" refers to people who come from or have ancestry in Spanish-speaking countries, emphasizing the Spanish language and cultural ties to Spain. Meanwhile, "Latino" refers to people who come from or have ancestry in Latin America, which includes countries in Central and South America and the Caribbean regardless of whether Spanish is spoken, such as Brazil where Portuguese is the primary language. Therefore, a Brazilian is Latino but not Hispanic, while someone from Spain is Hispanic but not Latino. A person from Mexico or Colombia, for example, could be both Latino and Hispanic since Mexico and Colombia are Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America. In the U.S. context, these terms are often used to describe ethnicity rather than race, encompassing diverse racial groups united by geography or language heritage. "Latino" is linked to geographic origin in Latin America, and "Hispanic" focuses on the linguistic connection to Spanish-speaking cultures.