Hispanic neighborhood

Barrio (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈbarjo]) is a Spanish word meaning neighborhood. In Spain, several Latin American countries and the Philippines, the term is also used officially to denote a division of a municipality.

In Argentina and Uruguay, a barrio is a division of a municipality officially delineated by the local authority at a later time, and it sometimes keeps a distinct character from others (as in the barrios of Buenos Aires even if they have been superseded by larger administrative divisions). The word does not have a special socioeconomic connotation unless it is used in contrast to the centro (city center or downtown). The expression barrio cerrado (translated "closed neighborhood") is employed for small, upper-class, residential settlements, planned with an exclusive criterion and often literally enclosed in walls (a kind of gated community).

In Colombia, the term is used for any urban area neighborhood whose geographical limits are determined locally. The term does not have any implication of social class, as it is used to refer to not only working-class areas but also well-to-do ones. The term barrio de invasión or comuna is more often used to refer to shanty towns, but the term "barrio" has a more general use.

In Cuba, , El Salvador and Spain, the term barrio is used officially to denote a subdivision of a municipio (or municipality); each barrio is subdivided into sectors.

In Puerto Rico, the term barrio is used to denote a subdivision of a municipio and its lowest officially recognized administrative unit. A barrio in Puerto Rico is not vested with political authority. It may, or may not, be further subdivided into sectors, communities, urbanizaciones, or a combination of these, but such further subdivisions, though popular and common, are unofficial.

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