What is the best way to refer to those of Spanish descent or language?

Question

In English there are several ways to refer to people who speak Spanish or are from a Spanish-speaking country: Hispanic, Latin, Latino, Chicano, Spanish-speaking, etc.

What equivalent terms exist in Spanish? What does each mean, and which most accurately describes people from a Spanish-speaking country?

Answer 1

Official term in Spanish would be hispanoamericano.

According to Diccionario panhispánico de dudas:

Hispanoamérica. Nombre que recibe el conjunto de países americanos de lengua española: «Se convirtió [Viriato] en un símbolo, que habría de repetirse múltiples veces a lo largo de la historia de España e Hispanoamérica» (Fuentes Espejo [Méx. 1992]). Quedan, pues, excluidos de esta denominación los países de América en los que la lengua oficial no es el español. Su gentilicio, hispanoamericano, se refiere estrictamente a lo perteneciente o relativo a la América española y no incluye, por tanto, lo perteneciente o relativo a España: «Un completo catálogo onomástico de autores españoles e hispanoamericanos» (Abc [Esp.] 9.5.97).

Note, that Latino refers to Latin America, which includes not only Spanish speaking countries, but also Portuguese and French speaking ones.

Primary meaning of word hispano on other hand is not hispanic in American sense of the word.

Chicano means Mexican-American (i.e. US national of Mexican origin).

Answer 2

The concept is a little vague, and so are words. "hispánico" can be used to point that things of spanish origin, but it's vague. "Iberoamérica" or Hispanoamérica is a word to refer to the set of spanish-speaking countries, but it's a little artificial - and it's not clear if it includes Spain. "Países/gentes de habla hispana" would be the most precise -but convoluted- expression. Latino is not very apt, is just for use inside USA... it would include Brasil, and makes little sense outside american continent (french and italians are "latin" people).