Hispanos (from Spanish: adj. prefix Hispano- relating to Spain, from Latin: Hispānus) are Hispanic residents of the United States who are culturally descended from the original Spanish-speaking settlers in the areas which were once part of New Spain and later independent Mexico. They may be variously of Criollo Spanish, mestizo, or Indigenous origin. Residing in what is today the Southwestern United States, they have retained a predominantly Hispanic culture, having lived in that region since it was ceded from Mexico to the United States following the Mexican-American War.