# Brazil: Hispanic or not? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 1, 2009, 3:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brazil-hispanic-or-not/487878 "2009-03-01T15:15:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brazil-hispanic-or-not/487878/41 "2009-03-03T01:44:09Z")
As \*\*Polycarp \*\*mentions, in theory one can add Brazil via the “Latin-America” way, but it does remain a sloppy method. > **[Hispanic and Latino Americans](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hispanics_in_the_United_States)** > > Hispanic and Latino Americans are Americans who have a Hispanic or Latino American background, culture, or family origin. This demographic group includes all Americans who identify as Hispanic or Latino, regardless of race. According to annual estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2024, the Hispanic and Latino population was estimated at 68,086,153, representing approximately 20% of the total U.S. population, making them the second-largest group in "Origin" can be viewed as the ... > [@](#): > > "Though often used interchangeably in American English, Hispanic and Latino are not identical terms, and in certain contexts the choice between them can be significant. Hispanic, from the Latin word for “Spain,” has the broader reference, potentially encompassing all Spanish-speaking peoples in both hemispheres and emphasizing the common denominator of language among communities that sometimes have little else in common. Latino—which in Spanish means “Latin” but which as an English word is probably a shortening of the Spanish word latinoamericano—refers more exclusively to persons or communities of Latin American origin.\*\* Of the two, only Hispanic can be used in referring to Spain and its history and culture; a native of Spain residing in the United States is a Hispanic, not a Latino, and one cannot substitute Latino in the phrase the Hispanic influence on native Mexican cultures without garbling the meaning\*\*. > > … > > As officially defined in the United States, Latino does not include Brazilian Americans,[4][5] and specifically refers to “Spanish culture or origin,”[4][5] although \*\*some \*\*dictionary definitions may include them or Brazilians in general. Furthermore, Hispanic or Latino origin is, like race, a matter of self-identification in the U.S., and government and non-government questionnaires, including the census form,[25] usually contain a blank entry space wherein respondents can indicate a Spanish/Hispanic/Latino origin other than the few (Mexican, Puerto Rican, and Cuban) which are specified; presumably, any Brazilian American wishing to do so can thus self-identify as being of Latino origin (as can anyone with no Latin American background). However, the government’s population reports do not include Brazilian Americans with Hispanics and Latinos.[26][5] ---
**Author:** ![brazil84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8491ac/32.png) [@brazil84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brazil84)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brazil-hispanic-or-not/487878/42 "2009-03-03T01:56:08Z")
> [@Cisco](#): > > It’s also possible to go overboard refusing to let go of your arguments on the internet, when you’re clearly wrong. I have responded to this [here](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=508907) ---
**Author:** ![Caffeine.addict](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f475e1/32.png) [@Caffeine.addict](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caffeine.addict)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brazil-hispanic-or-not/487878/43 "2009-03-03T03:08:48Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > First, Spanish is spoken rather fluently by most residents of Brazil. I know it isn’t the dominant language, but it certainly has an influence. > > Also, I’m amused by the standard of “what Brazilians consider themselves”. If they considered themselves Martians, would they really be Martians? People and things are what they really are, not what they would like to be. Except that they really don’t. Spanish may be spoken in the border regions, but for the most part, Brazilians who learn a second language learn English. \* Telenovelas from Mexico and Spain will be dubbed into Portuguese. From what I’ve seen visiting family there, Spanish really doesn’t play a role. None of my relatives studied it nor did their friends. Culturally, Spanish language television and music is no more popular there than anywhere else. Most music and television is locally produced and in Portuguese. I think that if you were to ask the average Brazilian in Brazil if he considered himself Hispanic, he would probably say no and that he had never even considered the possibility. - I think that Brazil is similar to the US in that they are large countries both geographically and population wise. They are similar in that the people there tend to not learn a second language and to the extent they do, they tend not to practice it much. ---
**Author:** ![Gotterfunken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/58956e/32.png) [@Gotterfunken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gotterfunken)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brazil-hispanic-or-not/487878/44 "2009-03-03T06:19:11Z")
My ex-girlfriend is Brazilian, and neither she nor any of her Brazilian friends identify themselves as “Hispanic.” Indeed, American categories of race have been an endless source of confusion for her, since she has almost equal mixtures of European, African, and Indian (i.e., Native American) ancestry. Although she can speak Spanish fluently, in my experience, this isn’t typical of most Brazilians. A lot of Brazilians can understand some spoken Spanish, due to the many similarities with Portuguese, but this isn’t the same thing as being able to speak it fluently. Of course, not all visitors to Brazil realize that the dominant language is Portuguese–see, for instance, [Tom Cruise’s recent publicity appearance](http://www.latina.com/entertainment/celebrity/tom-cruise-confuses-portuguese-spanish-brazil-argentina) in Rio, where he greeted people with “hola” and thanked them by saying “gracias,” while also professing his love for the tango. ---
**Author:** ![nani](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/58956e/32.png) [@nani](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nani)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brazil-hispanic-or-not/487878/45 "2009-03-03T08:24:29Z")
I haven’t met any Brazilians who identify as Hispanic, personally. It just seems weird, I mean, they don’t speak Spanish, and they were not a colony of Spain (Although the Treaty of Tordesillas should have made them WAY smaller than they turned out to be). I would not be surprised, though, if some Brazilians accept the Hispanic label out convenience when in the USA. Brazilians may be notoriously uptight, pedantic, and prudish in their home country, but outside they tend to just go with the flow a little more. What I want to know is, are people from Equatorial Guinea considered Hispanic? ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brazil-hispanic-or-not/487878/46 "2009-03-03T17:24:19Z")
> [@nani](#): > > What I want to know is, are people from Equatorial Guinea considered Hispanic? TTBOMK, no. As with French in some other African nations, the formerly-colonial language serves as lingua franca to tie together a population that speaks divergent Niger-Congo languages. The population of Equatorial Guinea, like the Valkyrie-Sabertooth Choir, is half Fang and half Bubi. ---
**Author:** ![Cisco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Cisco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cisco)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2009, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brazil-hispanic-or-not/487878/47 "2009-03-03T17:31:24Z")
Hold on now, Polycarp. They are a Spanish-speaking country and close to 90% Catholic. These are primary hispanic traits. They do have their own heritage and culture, yes, but as I tried to explain to brazil84 in the other thread, it’s not an On/Off switch. Equatorial Guinea is somewhat hispanic. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brazil-hispanic-or-not/487878.md?page=2)