How do you feel when you see Hispanic...

Wed, 02/25/2004 - 18:07 — Rico

Si...? Chicanos? Latinos? Brown people? What are we? Should we care? A rose by any other name is still...

One of our many unresolved issues, is finding an acceptable term for our ethnic and social group. It is a subject that inevitably triggers controversy because it touches sensistive areas of typical, national, historical, and personal hubris.

Some say we should accept hyphenated names that indicate the original nationality plus American, e.g. Mexican-American, Salvadorian-American, etceteras. This method like any other has the disadvantage that it divides, rather than unite. It also forces US born descendants to adopt the country of their progenitors as their own although they might not ever been there.

The term "Chicano" has often been misused. It originally represented small groups along the border with Mexico demanding social and educational justice. Its use gained popularity in local "barrios." It then sprung throughout the southwest and up the Pacific coast. It seems inadequate today and therefore improper for the many who have reached educational, economical, cultural and social status. Some successful individuals though, think of it as an ideology.

The term "Latino" is in too general inasmuch as it groups peoples from their countries of origin where languages have the same common root, e.g. Spanish and Portuguese. The trouble is, French and Italian nationals speak their respective idioms and they are also romance languages. They have really nothing else in common with modern people from Latin-America to be included.

The term "Hispanic" under which people's ancestry is traceable to the Iberian Peninsula, was coined by the US Census Bureau based on that fact. It gained acceptance, yet it is still questionable because immigrants from that part of Europe, or their creoles, have -like the italian or the French, nothing else in common with us except a common-root for otherwise different languages. (Example: British-English versus American-English)

So, there seem to be numerous considerations in picking the right term for our community: Nationality, Geographical origin, Ancestry, First language, Cultural level, Bloodlines, and other more or less important factors all having to undergo an adjustment into today's American society. Therefore, it seems a categorization of these factors in order of transcendence should be the criteria to follow.

What is more important for us today? Our uprooted country of birth, and that our US born children adopt it as theirs? Our first language, although our children might not have been taught to speak it correctly, thus love it? To complain, and blame society for our often times inability to integrate into it? Or our centuries old heritage and ancestry acquired through our genetic make up and forged by a constrained evolution?

We need to rely on values that not only can stand the erosion of time, but that are easily adaptable to today's global needs. No ethnic group or race can claim genetic purity: Hitler and the Nazi tried. In fact human bloodlines benefit from an interchange of genes. Our DNA was a match made in Heaven! Our indigenous nature compensated what our Spanish part lacked. In fact, eachother's attributes and qualities were exalted, enhanced, and fine-tuned! We have been given the best from both worlds!

We have in our ancestry, the grace and the energy of the Flamenco dancer. We inherited from the Spanish, the spicy flavor of our cuisine, Well, we even got from the Spaniards, the heavy beard and the thick mustache some of us feel so manly about! Their White, or Caucasian genes were the TIN that hardened the COPPER in ours to produce the BRONZE alloy we are made of, our matrix, our caste!

Caste is the accumulated combined endurance in our genetic memory. It is the accrued rancor and sour taste left in our system by the many injustices our ancestors beared. It is the valor and integrity exemplified by Cuauhtemoc's attitude -last emperor of the Aztecs- when while under torture by Cortez alongside with one of his generals, he responded to his subordinate's plea to give up and let the Conquistador have the gold and stop the painful burning of their feet...

Cuauhtemoc said: "Do I look as in a bed of roses?"

Caste is the natural revelry build-up by generation after generation of an imposed -as false- sense of inferiority. Every since the Spanish boot marre this continent' soil, we have been looked-down onto. Our good nature, our hospitality, have been abused and confused with servility. We no longer look at the floor when spoken to. We hold our head high and look at anyone and everyone in the eye in a brotherly way. We no longer stutter... "Si señor." We now enthusiastically say: "Yeah, let's do it together, shall we?"

The term "Hispanic" is a derivative from "Spanish." It represents the Spanish flavor present in us. It further allows the necessary room to include our just as valuable indigenous heritage. I think it is appropiate for today's community as long as it is clearly distinguished from "Spanish" and/or "Spaniard."

Verdad que... Si?

Rico...

Tue, 03/25/2008 - 21:01 — laguila2

Our boots in the continent we named.

Rico,
First of all, our boots did open a new world, we were ”the empire” then. True, we stumped upon and even decimated other cultures, as every empire does when conquering, if that is what you mean by “marred”.
Most important, we were here first; because even if you accept the theory that the Vikings did before, we did lay claim, named the continent and stayed, for better or worse, to conquer and develop. So it is not “ever since”; it was over one hundred years later that the English and others came.

Tue, 03/25/2008 - 19:34 — laguila2

Being Latin is not exclusively of Latin Americans

Latino comes from Latin, the real root of the romance languages. There are some of us who also have Italy as part of our heritage; let's not forget how we merged for the "Conquista" and as you say also (still) speak the language. However, that is not the only thing we have in common; there are more, Romanians are Latin also.
Teaching as enjoyable as it is, I prefer to get paid for, thus, I am not going to trace and discuss here the historical connection to the ancient Latin peoples nor how the romance languages diversified into what they are today. But enough said it is in the history books.

Tue, 03/08/2005 - 20:34 — jsalaz

Hispanic?

The government's attempt to categorize us as Hispanic is primarily for statistical use. Who we see ourselves as is more on a personal level. We can see ourselves as a black hispanic, light skinned, chicano, latino, whatever. I grew up during the times when Chicano was the term used by those of us on the streets but Hispanic had not yet been deemed as a category. I now see myself as an American of Mexican descent. That is no different from Mexican American but it just seems more appropriate since I was born in the United States, therefore, making me a citizen of this country first. I check the hispanic box without hesitation because I belong to the greatest, most beautiful GROUP of cultures on the face of this earth. We may not have lineage that directly connect us but the commonalities between our cultures do. I respect your culture, whichever it may be. Please be respectful of me and my ancestors.

As a youth, a group of students in my hometown made up a group whose name is both beautiful and fitting for most. It was "La Raza de Bronze." I think it's appropriate.

Mon, 02/28/2005 - 03:41 — blaznfattyz

my take on this subject.

the census doesnt require such specifics. if every single race or ethnicity was listed, the form would be too long. the term hispanic in this context refers to spanish people of spain that are first generation abroad from their motherland. after that, being born from hispanic descendants in latin america, i believe the correct term is latinoamericano or latin american however that only refers to nationality. what about peoples descendents that were spaniards, then latin american, and now north american. to claim their ethnic ties to a spanish culture we go back to the term "hispanic" which ties us all together on some form of common ground.

that being said, if you put hispanic on a form, you would have to put "Other Latin" because french, italians, portuguese, romanians are not hispanic and not white in the sense that white = anglo. since those groups are a minority here in california to hispanics, they do not qualify for their own listing; however maybe specifically in New York or New Orleans they do qualify. although mexico was considered new spain at one time, and much of the country reflects spanish influence, mexican is not a race it is only a nationality, which soon is lost after u.s. nationalization. mexican indians however are a true race and can be identified by their race regardless where they go. these indian people could be broadly categorized as south or central american indian.

I do not recognize the slang term chicano to refer to any current ethnicity or race in anyway other than to refer to those people of the 70's agricultural union movement.

also latino is too subcultured for any serious consideration. true latins are italians. if they decided to start calling themselves latinos that would create confusion. based on that scenario, latino is most likely a slang term referring to latinoamericano which is used incorrectly, and may only be used among locals and should not be officially used on any census or form.

Tue, 03/25/2008 - 19:55 — laguila2

olé

No faltaba mas, Olé! Que bien dicho, habemos algunos que no olvidamos nuestros origenes, a los que el Flamenco (en mi caso tambien Opera) nos cura cualquier caso de presión baja, mala circulación o los frios del norte.

Mon, 02/28/2005 - 02:53 — andaluz

How Do I Feel?

Verdad que... Si?

Rico...

You know I am speechless. Your comments amaze me, enlighten me, amuse me, annoy me and then offend me. If you are so proud of your spanish blood...and the "grace and the energy of the Flamenco dancer" etc ..etc...the other things as well, but then you end it with the above comment...how insulting and humiliating to any Spanish people(Spaniards)! . Believe it or not...we read these comments as well and are on this system too....pues seguro somos Hispanos! If you are proud of the word " Hispanic" then Olé..but dont knock a race of people and a culture. You offered to many people the educated knowledge and explanation of where the term Hispanic and Latin actually comes from...and then you lost it at the end when you offended us. I view all my Latin friends and family as hermanos. We all were created in beauty and greatness. There are also many great and awesome things of native american and african culture that is also a part of many Latin- American cultures. Now here is also something i want to leave you with. Just as Latin American people come in many flavors..such as pure spaniard, mestizo, indian, african, mulatto, european, middle eastern, so do the Hispanic people of the Iberian peninsula...(the Spanish). We are a mix..of Iberian, Celtic, Roman, Moorish, Berber/ Arab , North African, Carthaginian, Phoenician, Gitano, German, Greek , Jewish..and even some Native American. Yes..you heard right you can even check out the statistics on http://www.ancestrybydna.com/Ethnicities.asp
you will notice on the ethnic graph at the end with the different groups.. out of all the Europeans...Iberians(Spaniards) have the highest amount of Sub Saharan African and Native American compared to the other Europeans....so you see we are not that much different. To say the Spaniard is white" is erroneous because of our ethnic make up..so perhaps we all need a re awakening of what the term " Hispanic" really means. And to be proud of whatever blood is running thru our veins! Que Viva La Raza Hispana...no importa de donde..si viene del nuevo o del viejo mundo..Que VIVA!!!

Tue, 03/25/2008 - 20:33 — laguila2

Olé, blaznfattyz el original es para Usted

Tue, 09/28/2004 - 14:07 — Anonymous

Hispanic....... or

I am a native "Miamian" and the daughter of Cuban immigrants. My experience has been
one, where, the labels utilized to classify me in the mind of the perceiver can fall somewhere between positive or negative, depending on the knowlege and/or the ignorance of the perceiver. In my specific case, the great majority of people that I meet will "assume" that I am a Cuban political refugee. When I take the time to clarify that my
parents immigrated from Cuba in 1944 and that I did not live in Cuba, most Miamians are greatly perplexed as I do not fall into any of the categories they are accustomed to working with. Recently, I applied for a position with a small start up healthcare company with a problem retaining what they called "Hispanic" nurses. As
I progressed through the process of applying for a position as a Nurse Educator, I found
that the recruiter was quite inexperienced and lacked a clear protocol for recruiting and
retaining nurses. I ultimately chose not to work for this company and although I did not meet any of the 8 "Hispanic" nurses that preceeded me, I will venture a guess that they identified factors, similar to those that led me to my own choice to pass on the offer of employment. I emailed the CEO with a long list of suggestions as to how to modify and
hopefully improve their recruitment/retainment protocol, and structurred my email as an "Exit Interview" which they also lacked. I found it interesting and ironic that the nurses
they kept "losing" were all "Hispanic" and that this fact had led them to conclude that "Hispanic" nurses were problematic, when in fact they lacked the information gathering techniques necessary to form a factual assessment of the situation. The company's conclusions were based on assumptions versus factual information. In conclusion, I think, that it is only through the objective experience of gathering factual knowledge that we will be fairly and accurately perceived and judged. All the terms available and utilized globally
to describe an individual of a Spanish ethnic background carry positive as well as negative perceptions/misperceptions that are challenging to change.