Latino Greek-letter organizations, in the North American student fraternity and sorority system, refer to general or social organizations oriented to students having a special interest in Latino culture and identity. The first known Latino fraternal organization was Alpha Zeta fraternity, established in 1889 at Cornell University.[1]
In 1898, a group of Latin American students at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute organized the Union Hispano Americana (UHA) as a cultural and intellectual secret society based on the ideology of Pan-Americanism.[2] The UHA eventually became Phi Iota Alpha.
The current rise in Latino Greek organizations began in 1975 and is known as the Latino Greek Movement. This movement called for the equality of Latino people in America, and many Greek letter organizations were developed to create solidarity and political empowerment for the Latino community.
In New Jersey on December 1, 1975, Lambda Theta Phi Latin Fraternity, Inc. was founded at Kean University in Union Township, New Jersey.[3] With the fraternity's second chapter at Rutgers University–New Brunswick in the fall of 1978, Lambda Theta Phi was well on its way to growing the Latino Greek movement.[4] Shortly afterward, a Latina sorority was established at Kean University; Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. became the first Latina Greek-lettered organization in the country. These two Greek-lettered organizations empowered the Latino Greek Movement's infancy days and provided the Latino community on campus and in the United States a voice.
On the campus of Rutgers University–Livingston campus, Latino Siempre Unidos or Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity, Inc. formed on April 5, 1979. Corazones Unidos Siempre or Chi Upsilon Sigma National Latin Sorority, Inc. formed at Rutgers University–New Brunswick on April 29, 1980. In 1982, Lambda Upsilon Lambda became the first Latino-based fraternity to be chartered at an Ivy League institution.[5]
There are currently more than 45 Latin-oriented fraternities and sororities, seventeen of which are members of the National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations.
See main article: National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations. The National Association of Latino Fraternal Organizations (NALFO) is an umbrella council for Latino Greek-letter organizations.
| Organization | Symbols | Founding date | University | Type | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ΑΠΣ | Sorority | |||||
| ΑΨΛ | Coed | |||||
| ΧΥΣ | Sorority | |||||
| Gamma Phi Omega | ΓΦΩ | Sorority | ||||
| ΓΖΑ | Fraternity | |||||
| ΚΔΧ | Sorority | |||||
| ΛΑΥ | Fraternity | |||||
| ΛΠΧ | Sorority | |||||
| ΛΠΥ | Sorority | |||||
| ΛΣΥ | Fraternity | |||||
| ΛΘΝ | Sorority | |||||
| ΛΥΛ | Fraternity | |||||
| ΩΦΒ | Sorority | |||||
| ΦΙΑ | Fraternity | |||||
| ΣΙΑ | Sorority | |||||
| ΣΛΥ | Sorority | |||||
| Sigma Omega Nu | ΣΩΝ | Sorority |
See main article: North-American Interfraternity Conference. Six Latino fraternities are affiliated with the North American Interfraternity Conference.
| Organization | Symbols | Founding date | University | Type | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ΛΣΥ | Fraternity | |||||
| Lambda Theta Phi (Chapters) | ΛΘΦ | Fraternity | ||||
| NAK | Fraternity | |||||
| Omega Delta Phi (Chapters) | ΩΔΦ | Fraternity | ||||
| Phi Iota Alpha (Chapters) | ΦΙΑ | Fraternity | ||||
| Sigma Lambda Beta | Greek, Ancient (to 1453);: ΣΛΒ | April 4, 1986 | University of Iowa | Fraternity |
Five Puerto Rican fraternities and two sororities compose the Concilio Interfraternitario de Puerto Rico (Puerto Rican Interfraternity Council). The fraternities are also members of the Concilio Interfraternitario Puertorriqueño de la Florida (Puerto Rican Interfraternity Council in Florida).
| Organization | Symbols | Founding date | University | Type | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Beta Chi | ABX | Fraternity | [6] | |||
| ΗΓΔ | Sorority | |||||
| ΜΑΦ | Sorority | |||||
| ΝΣΒ | Fraternity | |||||
| ΦΔΓ | Fraternity | |||||
| ΦΗΜ | Fraternity | |||||
| Phi Sigma Alpha (Chapters) | ΦΣΑ | Fraternity |
The sororities and fraternities listed here are not affiliated with a national umbrella council.
| Organization | Symbols | Founding date | University | Type | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Sigma Omega | ΑΣΩ | Sorority | [7] [8] | |||
| Delta Phi Mu | ΔΦΜ | Sorority | [9] [10] | |||
| Delta Pi Rho | ΔΠΡ | Fraternity | [11] [12] | |||
| Delta Sigma Chi | ΔΣΧ | Coed | [13] | |||
| ΔΤΛ | Sorority | |||||
| ΓΑΩ | Sorority | |||||
| Gamma Iota Omicron | ΓΙΟ | Fraternity | [14] [15] | |||
| Lambda Iota Upsilon | ΛΙΥ | Fraternity | [16] | |||
| ΛΘΑ | Sorority | |||||
| Mu Iota Upsilon | ΜΙΥ | Sorority | [17] | |||
| Omega Pi Lambda | ΩΠΛ | March 14, 2023 | University of Wisconsin–Whitewater | Sorority | [18] | |
| Phi Lambda Rho | ΦΛΡ | California State University, Stanislaus | Sorority | [19] | ||
| Pi Lambda Chi | ΠΛΧ | University of Colorado at Boulder | Sorority | [20] [21] | ||
| ΣΔΑ | Fraternity | |||||
| Sigma Delta Lambda | ΣΔΛ | Sorority | [22] | |||
| ΣΛΑ | Sorority | |||||
| Sigma Lambda Beta (Chapters) | ΣΛΒ | Fraternity | ||||
| ΣΛΓ | Sorority | |||||
| ΣΠΑ | Sorority |
The following fraternities and two sororities define themselves as Afro-Latino organizations.
| Organization | Symbols | Founding date | University | Type | References | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MALIK | Fraternity | |||||
| Malika Kambe Umfazi | MKU | Sorority | [23] | |||
| ΣΦΡ | Fraternity | |||||
| Xi Theta Psi | ΞΘΨ | Fraternity | [24] |
The following fraternities and sororities no longer exist at the collegiate level.
| Organization | Symbols | Founding date | University | Type | Reference | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alpha Zeta | AZ | Cornell University | Fraternity | [25] | ||
| Lambda Kappa Kappa | ΛΚΚ | Fraternity | [26] | |||
| Lambda Phi Delta | ΛΦΔ | Sorority | [27] | |||
| L.I.U.N. (Phi Chi Delta) | L.I.U.N. | Louisiana State University | Fraternity | [28] | ||
| Phi Chi Delta | ΦΧΔ | Fraternity | [29] | |||
| Phi Delta Psi Eta | ΦΔΨΗ | Pennsylvania State University - University Park | Fraternity | [30] | ||
| ΦΛΑ | Fraternity | |||||
| ΠΔΦ | Fraternity | |||||
| Psi Alpha Kappa | ΨΑΚ | Lehigh University | Fraternity | |||
| Quetzal | QZ | Sonoma State University | Sorority | [31] | ||
| ΣΑΧ | Sorority | |||||
| Sigma Delta | ΣΔ | Sorority | [32] | |||
| ΣΔΑ | Fraternity | |||||
| ΣΙ | Fraternity | |||||
| Sigma Iota Alpha | ΣΙΑ | Louisiana State University | Sorority |