Hispanic vs. Latino/a

[AlphaFrog]

Originally posted by epchick
Yes, I know this is an old topic, but I just thought i'd add my two cents.

It's ok, we like bringing up old topics here, and in fact MUCH better then starting a duplicate thread.

Originally posted by epchick

AlphaFrog, are you White or are you Native American? Because the term Mestizo means someone who is a cross between a Mexican/Hispanic and a Native American. Mestizos are not crosses between an anglo person and a mexican person.

Mestizo-a Spanish word, also used in English, literally means "half-breed" (not meant in an offensive way, but that is the literal translation). It can refer to some one who is half caucasian/half African-American (and this is frequntly used with this combo, in fact I've had someone argue that THIS is the true defintion of mestizo), some one who is half Chinese/half Mexican, someone who is half/half anything...

From Dictionary.com
mes·ti·zo ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ms-tz)
n. pl. mes·ti·zos or mes·ti·zoes
A person of mixed racial ancestry, especially of mixed European and Native American ancestry.

[Spanish, mixed, mestizo, from Old Spanish, mixed, from Late Latin mixtcius, from Latin mixtus]

And note..."especially", not "only"

Originally posted by epchick

I prefer being called Hispanic. I don't like "Latina" because I am not Latin.

Sorry, but if you are Hispanic, you are decended from a culture that speaks a Latin-based language (see above, the word Mestizo comes from Old Spanish, which comes from Latin word, mixcitus) which is all Latino/a means. If you really want to argue this point, I speak pretty fluent Spanish (Castillano, heavy Jarocho influence, if you want to get technical) and have a very good working knowledge of Latin. I realize there are several languages that have a Latin base, but none quite as strong as Spanish and Italian. (And I have heard Italians called Latinos also)

I'm not trying to be bitchy or anything, but I have done quite a bit of research because I want to teach my daughter to be proud of ALL her heritage.

[epchick]

Originally posted by AlphaFrog

Mestizo-a Spanish word, also used in English, literally means "half-breed" (not meant in an offensive way, but that is the literal translation). It can refer to some one who is half caucasian/half African-American (and this is frequntly used with this combo, in fact I've had someone argue that THIS is the true defintion of mestizo), some one who is half Chinese/half Mexican, someone who is half/half anything...

From Dictionary.com
mes·ti·zo ( P ) Pronunciation Key (ms-tz)
n. pl. mes·ti·zos or mes·ti·zoes
A person of mixed racial ancestry, especially of mixed European and Native American ancestry.

[Spanish, mixed, mestizo, from Old Spanish, mixed, from Late Latin mixtcius, from Latin mixtus]

And note..."especially", not "only"

From speaking with my mother, there really are no TRUE mestizos any longer. A mestizo usually refers to someone who has been mixed from a pure race. And since there are not many PURE races anymore, there really are not any mestizos. And I don't know where you are from, but where I am from...an Indian/Spaniard mix is a TRUE mestizo. That is where you get the charros from, the real machismo men. Like when you see the folklorico dances, the mestizos are the ones from Jalisco. They are mestizos. Usually white/african american mixes are called mulattos.

Originally posted by AlphaFrog
Sorry, but if you are Hispanic, you are decended from a culture that speaks a Latin-based language (see above, the word Mestizo comes from Old Spanish, which comes from Latin word, mixcitus) which is all Latino/a means. If you really want to argue this point, I speak pretty fluent Spanish (Castillano, heavy Jarocho influence, if you want to get technical) and have a very good working knowledge of Latin. I realize there are several languages that have a Latin base, but none quite as strong as Spanish and Italian. (And I have heard Italians called Latinos also)

I'm not trying to be bitchy or anything, but I have done quite a bit of research because I want to teach my daughter to be proud of ALL her heritage. [/B]

A Latina means...a Latin. I am not a Latin...i am not someone from "Latin" because there is no such country, just like I am not an Hispanic because there is no longer a Hispaniola. I am a mexican..point blank. Its nice that you've done research, cause I'm glad that your daughter will learn about her heritage, but there is no substitute to experience. I speak Spanish (Not castillano....spanish, which is different). Yes Spanish derives from Latin, but they are not the same, that is why I don't like being called Latina. Yes, maybe somewhere in the distant past my ancestors were once Latin, but there are no longer "Latin" People. Like you pointed out, Italians are called Latinos too, that is another reason why I dont wanna be called Latina. Now, I'm not saying that I have anything against italians, because I don't.

I don't get bothered by people who think i'm not Mexican, or something different, at least they are asking, but the people that just say "oh your Latina" get me mad because I feel they don't really care. Latina is a word that has been played out, given different meanings just because people didn't want to take the time to learn whether someone was Cuban, Mexican or Puertorican. You come down to my city and ask someone if they like being called a "Latina" and 9 times out of 10 you will get a "No" answer. It is just where I come from. It is my way of life. And those are my feelings.

[SATX*APhi]

Originally posted by kandy36
i just think its best for people that dont know if a person is of a certain hispanic heritage, then they should refer to them as hispanics just to be safe.

I would disagree with you. To me, as a universal term, the word 'Hispanic' implies that someone is from Spain as well as a relation to the Spanish language. Consider Brazil, for example, where people speak Portuguese. Or Belize, where they speak English. Not to mention the many other languages spoken in Latin America.

Originally posted by epchick
You come down to my city and ask someone if they like being called a "Latina" and 9 times out of 10 you will get a "No" answer. It is just where I come from. It is my way of life. And those are my feelings.

What city is "your" city? I think it makes a huge difference if you are speaking as a resident of, say, the Valley instead of Amarillo.



Of course this boils down to personal preference of someone who is of Puerto Rican/Nicaraguan/Mexican/Colombian/Chilean/etc decent. If you really want to know what a person prefers to be called, ask them. I've had a few people ask me what I prefer to be called and I have never been offended.