# Latino or Hispanic **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 24, 2000, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501 "2000-11-24T03:54:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/1 "2000-11-24T03:54:17Z")
Which is the preferred or PC term? I live in a Puerto Rican neighborhood (about 80%) and they definitely prefer Latino. A guy I know lives on the south side and the people are Mexican decent and they like Hispanic. Is this accurate? ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 3:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/2 "2000-11-24T03:59:14Z")
On the West Coast, “Latino” is the preferred term, regardless of country of origin, although most people using this term are Mexican or Central American. “Hispanic” isn’t used very often in Southern California. ---
**Author:** ![Shiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiva)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 4:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/3 "2000-11-24T04:01:42Z")
Sets and subsets. The way I understand it, the term Latino would include people of Spanish descent _and_ people of Portugese descent (Brazilians). The term Hispanic would not include those who speak Portugese. So, both Puerto Ricans and Mexicans are both Latinos and Hispanics. I suppose you could make a case to include Italians in the Latino category, strictly speaking. But we won’t go there right now. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/4 "2000-11-24T06:34:35Z")
A Mexican-American professor I had once told me that she hated the term Hispanic, and preferred Latina. Since no one has ever told me that they prefer Hispanic to Latino/a, I use the latter. ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/5 "2000-11-24T07:21:07Z")
I prefer Puerto Rican myself. Hispanic sounds like a name a gringo would make up. Latina is something a spanish person would say. ---
**Author:** ![Jorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9fc29f/32.png) [@Jorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jorge)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/6 "2000-11-24T07:45:27Z")
Too muddled these days. Obviously, _latino_ is the hispanic word, but counterintuitively it might also be less “PC” depending on the context and community you’re speaking with. When I was little, Latino was often used [but not by my family] to refer to persons of mixed Spanish and native American descent, particularly in So. and Central American groups, and Cubans too; as opposed to persons descended from Spanish friars (or who fancied themselves as such), or from African slaves. So while “latino” in some countries was used to differentiate, today one might either be seen as celebrating the mix of Spanish, Portuguese, African, Aztec, Inca, et al. blood; or as recalling the fact that there are/were severe distinctions drawn along ethnic lines and silly notions of purity, bordering on a caste system. Breaking down such division through language relies quite a bit on the listener’s ability to appreciate the ironic distance involved. I never minded much one or the other, but I’d grant that _Hispanic_ seems to me a more neutral term, particularly when speaking with persons unfamiliar with the difference between Portenos and Puerto Ricanos, much less the sociopolitical histories thereof. ---
**Author:** ![Commander\_Fortune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/5f8ce5/32.png) [@Commander\_Fortune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Commander_Fortune)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 8:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/7 "2000-11-24T08:58:59Z")
Nobody has mentioned _Xicano_. I see that quite a bit here in Colorado specifically for those of Mexican descent. Alternately spelled _Chicano_ was what I most frequently heasrd in Arizona, again for those of Mexican descent. ---
**Author:** ![AWB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/bb73d2/32.png) [@AWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AWB)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/8 "2000-11-24T15:56:05Z")
In Colorado, “beaners” was used disparaging for Mexicans. Also in a song in a Cheech and Chong movie. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/9 "2000-11-24T16:11:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Commander Fortune \* > \*\*Nobody has mentioned _Xicano_. I see that quite a bit here in Colorado specifically for those of Mexican descent. Alternately spelled _Chicano_ was what I most frequently heasrd in Arizona, again for those of Mexican descent. \*\* I believe Chicano is only used to refer to American-born people of Mexican descent, so you would want to use it to refer to Puerto Ricans as mentioned in the OP. ---
**Author:** ![Shiva](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/85e7bf/32.png) [@Shiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shiva)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 6:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/10 "2000-11-24T18:32:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*\* > I believe Chicano is only used to refer to American-born people of Mexican descent, so you would want to use it to refer to Puerto Ricans as mentioned in the OP. > \*\* You meant “you would **not** want to use it…” right? The term preferred by Puerto Ricans is ‘Boricua’. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_Bowe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/df788c/32.png) [@Doug\_Bowe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_Bowe)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/11 "2000-11-24T18:43:41Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Jorge \* > \*\*Too muddled these days. Obviously, _latino_ is the hispanic word, but counterintuitively it might also be less “PC” depending on the context and community you’re speaking with. When I was little, Latino was often used [but not by my family] to refer to persons of mixed Spanish and native American descent, particularly in So. and Central American groups, and Cubans too; as opposed to persons descended from Spanish friars (or who fancied themselves as such), or from African slaves. > \*\* –The term I always heard for mixed Spanish and native American descent was mestizo. ---
**Author:** ![don\_willard](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@don\_willard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_willard)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2000, 6:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/12 "2000-11-24T18:47:48Z")
I heard a woman Hispanic Latino must be called a Ladina, not a Latino, but it was on a radio program that may have been about a whole group of women of a certain particular origin that wanted to be called Ladinas. ---
**Author:** ![xicanorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a88e57/32.png) [@xicanorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xicanorex)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2000, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/13 "2000-11-25T01:01:54Z")
> [@](#): > > I heard a woman Hispanic Latino must be called a Ladina, not a Latino, but it was on a radio program that may have been about a whole group of women of a certain particular origin that wanted to be called Ladinas. The word ladino has two definitions: 1. “[…]It refers to a Spanish dialect with some elements of Hebrew spoken by Sephardic Jews […]” (New World Dictionary - Second College Edition. 2. It also refers to people of Half-Spanish and Half-Indian heritage or indio that speaks Spanish only. This word, IIRC, is used mostly in Central American by Indios in order to separate those who are full-blooded Indios from the Indios who have become assimilated or are half-half. In Mexico, the word “ladino” is hardly used (maybe in Chiapas or states close to Central America) and preference is “mestizo”. Regarding the word “Chicano” or “Xicano” (there is a whole political nationalist reason why “X”, but I don’t have the time right now to explain) it is **only used** used with Mexican-Americans. As far as what to use, here are some rules of thumb: (1) If the gathering is not political and you are not aware of the nationality make up of the crowd, “Hispanic” or “Latino” is fine, though “Hispanic” is more neutral. (2) If you know the nationality of the group and it is a NOT a nationalist/Lefty group, use the appropiate titles such as Mexican-American, Hispanics, Puerto Rican-Americans, Colombian-Americans, Latinos, etc. (3) If you know the nationality of the group and IS a very nationalist/Leftist group, use the appropriate “P.C.” titles such as Xicano, Puerto Rican, etc. If you don’t know the nationality of the group and it IS very nationalist/Leftist, use “Latino” & stay way clear of the usage of “Hispanic” since it’s seen as a US government invention to assimilate the individual organizations. (4) If you know the nationality of the group and is a very conservative crowd, stay clear of ethnic labels or use Hispanic. As with most labels, it is very fluid and much depends on how the long the person has lived in the US. XicanoreX ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2000, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/14 "2000-11-25T02:28:18Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Shiva \* > \*\* > > > [@](#): > > > > \*\* > > I believe Chicano is only used to refer to American-born people of Mexican descent, so you would want to use it to refer to Puerto Ricans as mentioned in the OP. > > \*\* > > You meant “you would **not** want to use it…” right? > > \*\* D’oh! I don’t know how I managed to flub that one…I even previewed! ---
**Author:** ![flynnstone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ebca7d/32.png) [@flynnstone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flynnstone)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2000, 2:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/15 "2000-11-25T02:47:47Z")
In my Sociology class, we had a guest speaker who was from South America. According to him, Hispanic refers to anyone from a Spanish-speaking country; this includes Spain. Latino, on the other hand is a term for anyone from Latin America. ---
**Author:** ![Markxxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5daacb/32.png) [@Markxxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Markxxx)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2000, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/16 "2000-11-25T05:39:18Z")
I’ve heard from some that Latino was degrading as is means “little man” or something like that? I don’t know?.. ---
**Author:** ![xicanorex](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/a88e57/32.png) [@xicanorex](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xicanorex)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2000, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/latino-or-hispanic/42501/17 "2000-11-25T07:14:37Z")
> [@](#): > > Which is the preferred or PC term? > > I live in a Puerto Rican neighborhood (about 80%) and they definitely prefer Latino. > > A guy I know lives on the south side and the people are Mexican decent and they like Hispanic. > > Is this accurate? I just re-read my post and noticed that I did not address your question directly. Let me try again: What is the preference, I think a lot depends on the background of the community and individual you are talking about. From my own experience, knowing Puerto Ricans that are either conservative pro-state hood and nationalist Puerto Ricans, they usually prefer just “Puerto Rican”, “Boricuas”, or if from N.Y. “New Yorican.” Again, some don’t mind being addressed as Latinos or Hispanics. As far as Mexican-Americans, that depends a lot on the number of years in the US, region, political background, etc. Recent immingrant usually prefer Mexican. Second year immigrants, Mexican-American, Chicano, Latino, Hispanic, or Mexican. > [@](#): > > I’ve heard from some that Latino was degrading as is means “little man” or something like that? Latino does not mean “little man” at least not in formal Spanish. There may be a slang word somewhere in the Latino community or some other region of America (and I mean from Canada to Argentina), but Latino does not mean little mand and have never heard of such. Little man by the way in Spanish is “pequeño hombre” or “hombrecito.” XicanoreX