Nuestras Historias (Issue 1, Vol 1)

¿Cómo se llama, mi
gente?
By Sophia Diaz & Jorge Corral
Race is a social construct; however, the
biological consequences of racism are very real.
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Therefore, racial and ethnic descriptors are
crucial to recognize a person’s identity and
realities. The United States has been built on
racial disparity, therefore not doing so can
result in color blind racism. Ethnic markers like
Hispanic, Latino and Latinx are important to a
persons’ identity. But it is important to
remember that these are not racial descriptors,
such as White or Black. Racial differences
within the Latinx community exist and should
be acknowledged in order to avoid the erasure of
Black and Afro-Latinx communities as a result
of the adoption of Mestize culture in Latin
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America.
Then, why are ethnic markers like
Hispanic, Latino and Latinx important? The
American based terms were created in order to
ensure funding and representation at a
governmental level in new immigrant
communities. Before the 1970’s, Latin
American immigrants were categorized as
White Spanish speakers, grouped in the same
demographic as Italian and Irish Americans in
the U.S. Census. This erased their ethnic
heritage and unique needs, causing
9 “AAPA Statement on Race & Racism.” ​American Association of Physical
Anthropologists​,
physanth.org/about/position-statements/aapa-statement-race-and-racism-2019/
.
10 González, Roberto J. “ Indigenismo to Zapatismo: Theory and Practice in
Mexican Anthropology.” ​Society for Applied Anthropology​, vol. 63, no. 2,
2004, pp. 141–150.
11 Moreschi, Alejandra A. “La Comunalidad Como Epistemología Del Sur.
Aportes y Retos.” Jan. 2013. Translated by Adam W. Coon “Communality as
an Epistemology of the South. Contributions and Challenges”.
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underfunding and underrepresentation.
Although the addition of the term Hispanic onto
the census in the 1970’s helped funding and
community programs in their neighborhoods, it
also created opportunities for exploitation at the
hands of corporations trying to capitalize and
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benefit from Immigrant communities. Upon
acknowledgement of this newly defined Spanish
speaking group, the U.S. grappled with the
terms Hispanic versus Latin, and eventually
Latino, which came to the forefront around the
1980’s, upon a push for reformation of the term
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Hispanic.
But what's the difference between them?
The term Hispanic refers to linguistic
background. It can apply to anyone that was
born in or is a descendent of a Spanish speaking
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country. This includes Spain, but excludes
Brazil. The term is not widely accepted because
of its broadness and direct links to Spain, the
colonizer of Central and South America. It is
criticized for highlighting and glorifying
Whiteness in the community rather than
indigenous or African roots. ‘Hispanic’ labels us
in reference to the colonizer, dismissing the rich
cultures that existed pre-colonialism.
The origin of the terms Latin or Latino
can be traced all the way back to Ancient
Rome. As the empire expanded, so did its
official language of Latin; thus, countries today
that speak the Romance Languages are named
12 Origin of Everything. “Why Do We Say "Latino"?” ​Youtube​, 23 July 2020,
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQPAJ-2LsMY.
13 Anwar, Yasmin. “I Say Hispanic. You Say Latino. How Did the Whole
Thing Start?” ​Berkeley News​, 29 Apr. 2014,
news.berkeley.edu/2014/04/29/hispanic-label/.
14 Simón, Yara. “Hispanic vs. Latino vs. Latinx: A Brief History of How
These Words Originated.” ​Remezcla​, 14 Sept. 2018,
remezcla.com/features/culture/latino-vs-hispanic-vs-latinx-how-these-words-o
riginated/.
15 “Hispanic vs. Latinos vs. Latinx Explained.” ​Yes Prep​, 16 Sept. 2020,
www.yesprep.org/news/blog/featured/~board/blog/post/hispanic-vs-latinos-vs
-latinx-explained.
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