Though knowing nothing about the situation, it strikes me that Ibero-American could be used to include Portugese-speaking areas such as Brazil that would not be covered under the term “Hispanic”.
Romantic languages: the languages spoken by Latin lovers 
Whoopsie.
Never occurred to me to ponder what non-Americans might use in the way of terminology…
From what I’ve seen of your posts, you do a very good job!
I consider myself fairly ignorant of most minorities since up here in AK, they’re well, REALLY minorities!! LOL.
The company for which I work is owned by a mexican guy and one of our techs is also a mexican guy. They refer to themselves jokingly and offhandedly as “damn mexicans” etc. As far as I can tell, they’re just like everyone else. They refer to my boyfriend as the “redheaded stepchild” (he is a redhead), they seem like a lot of fun and are hardworking “normal” folks.
But seeing as how they are the ONLY mexicans I know, and the only “hispanic” or people of spanish type (??) nationality, I wouldn’t have a clue what would be derogatory or even “stereotypical” about mexican people, other than what
George Lopez and his ilk joke about on stage.
Same with many other nationalities. And for that matter homosexual persons.
I do know that AS a person ignorant of these nationalities and sexual orientations, I am frequently curious about these matters, but unsure about how to go about finding out answers without fearing I’ll be viewed as nosy or worse, so I certainly appreciate people who line it out, without being overly sensitive or easily offended.
The majority of Mexicans have some “indigenous” heritage, but not all Mexicans. There are honest-to-God “white people” living in Mexico, especially places like Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey. I mean what sort of “indigenous” would Vicente Fox be? Plus there are a few black Mexicans as well.
I went to college in Texas with several people from Mexico with such backgrounds. I’d love to see people try to tell them to their face that they weren’t “real Mexicans”.
Personally, I think the term Hispanic is overused. I would use it to describe linguistic traits, or other features clearly Spanish in origin. I would hesitate to use it to describe a “Race” or anything like that.
I don’t know about 2 or 3 years of Spanish classes, but my experience is that if a “gringo” does manage to learn native quality Spanish people will assimulate him or her as a “Hispano” in pretty much any Spanish speaking country. I think a lot of Americans think “Hispanics” are some category spearate from everyone else, but unless someone is 100% Spaniard (which I doubt few even in Spain can honestly claim to be) most “Hispanics” are the descendants of completely non “Latin” people who became Hispanicized over the last several hundred years. Every since the Christian Northern Spaniards began the “reconquest” of the Arab Andalusian states, the “Hispanic” world has been expanding through assimulation.
I am technically Hispanic, but normally I just say I am “Mexican”, and if I were to assign myself racially, I would say I was mostly Caucasian with some Amerindian blood.
The term “raza” is rather interesting. In Spanish speaking countries it has a different connotation. For instance Columbus Day is “Dia De La Raza” - in that context it is pretty clear what “race” the word raza refers to. In a couple of countries, like Venezuela, the holiday has been changed to make it less “Eurocentric”.
As a very young child, my mother taught me to identify myself as “An American of Mexican and Spanish descent.”
Then again, she also taught me as a very young child that my real name was Christopher Columbus, which lead to me to cause quite a scene on my first day of Kindergarten (Sorry, about the fire damage Ms. Moroni).
Anyway, I don’t like being called a Chicano, too 70’s Brown
Beret-ish. I keep on thinking of Chico from Chico and the Man. In my experience, people who call themselves “Chicano” are usually leftist artists. However, they usually have really cool mustaches (even the women).
Latino- I don’t even know what that means.
In my mind, Hispanic is kinda of a generic term for a whole lotta people who really have little in common, so it really doesn’t mean anything to me one way or the other. I guess it is OK.
After much thought, if I had to choose, I think I prefer just to be called Chris…
Chris Columbus.
Your mother was correct. I wish more people would realize the difference between what we would call a “Hispanic” or “Latino/Latina”–pick your term of choice–and an actual Mexican. Mr. Levins, who is a fifth-generation Texan of Spanish/Mexican descent, is constantly referred to as “a Mexican.” People from out of state will say, “So are how things in Mexico?” “So what’s it like being Mexican?” “So what’s with all the Mexicans down here?”
He is not Mexican. He grew up in America, as did his parents, grandparents, great-grandparents, etc. He has no family in Mexico and has, except for college border-town jaunts, never even been there. He is no more Mexican than I am Irish! What is the deal with this simplistic solution to “what to call those brown people?” “Oh, they’re Mexicans!”
He doesn’t even have the dubious dignity of Mexican-American, like African-American. Nope. He’s just a Mexican. And the people who call him that have no idea how insulting it is to assume that b/c a person has brown skin, they are from, and do not mind being called, Mexicans. If I were from Mexico, it would annoy me tremendously that everyone who fits a certain description is assumed to be my countryman; as an American, I think it’s sad that so many people just blithely assume that “oh, c’mon, you know what I mean” when you call them on this blatantly lazy generalization.
FTR, Mr. Levins would like to be called, simply, an American. Someday, perhaps.
Yeah, but you rock for having the guts to face up to it (as opposed to just slinking away from the thread in silence, as other have done in your situation).
Well, I would hate for Straight Dope members - especially in the Pit - to become self-censoring, like people are on other IBB’s. Even worse would be to have the moderators censor, again, especially in the Pit.
Anyone here remember Sister Pat at the University of Wisconsin - Madison? THAT’s what I like, the kind of forum where there are absolutely no restrictions on anything anyone says, or perhaps one or two highly specific restrictions (though I can’t even think of the IBB equivalent of shouting “Fire” in a crowded theater). (She was so outrageous, that no one opposing her ever had to work very hard to make her look foolish. Sometimes I wonder if she was a confederate working for the ACLU or something…)
This happens in my family sometimes. My cousin is married to a Puerto Rican who is ABSOLUTELY convinced that, in every possible way, he is better than my Mexican husband. He even makes a point of saying that he may be a 'spic, but at least he isn’t a wetback.
It’s interesting to me how Latinos from different countries view each other. My husband feels like he ends up getting the most crap, because he is “just” a Mexican.
Actually, the same applies to my husband: he was born in a U.S. Army hospital in Germany. My late father-in-law was born in California, where all of my husband’s father’s family now lives - you have to go back to my husband’s grandparents to find anyone who was actually born and lived in Mexico.
But my husband CHOOSES to call himself Mexican, and who am I to argue? If my husband wants to say he is Hispanic or Latino or Chicano or El Pollo Loco, what does it matter what I think? We actually know some from-Mexico-Mexicans, and they don’t seem to care one way or the other if every “brown skinned” person in the Universe is called “Mexican,” so long as it is a label that connotes some respect.
Well, chriscya, mentioned that he doesn’t like being called “Chicano”, but I’m still curious.
According to Merriam-Webster, Chicano/a means “an American of Mexican descent.” By “American”, do they mean native of North America or South America, or do they mean a US citizen?
Is it an acceptable term, a derogatory term, or just out of fashion (like those mustaches?)
The Virgin of Guadalupe is revered (patron saint) only in Ponce, one of Puerto Rico’s 78 municipalities. So to say it is not revered by Puerto Ricans is a wrong generalization…it’s just revered by a minority of Puerto Ricans. The patron saint here is Virgen de la Providencia.
News to me, Karl. It would seem that the Puerto Ricans in my wife’s story were from a province that did not revere the Virgen de Guadalupe.
Or perhaps it was an intramural thing… the Puerto Ricans in question were having a problem with all these “Mexicans” moving in.
My wife tells the story simply to illustrate that they ain’t all Mexicans, and they ain’t all the same, regardless of skin color or language spoken. 'Tain’t as simple as some white folks would like to think.
I am inclined to agree with Audrey, though. To me, a “Mexican” is a person from Mexico, or a Mexican citizen, period. I grew up close enough to the border that I knew plenty… but there is a VERY distinct difference between a Mexican and an American of Hispanic ancestry, and it SHOWS. For a fairly funny-but-true comparison, try watching Cheech Marin’s film “Born In East L.A.”.
The latter – many of us in the community reacted to that as: “Of course, it figures <heavy sigh>.” Factionalism is our curse.
Although, IN Puerto Rico, Mexicans are generally viewed very, very hospitably and positively. But then again, it’s not like they are perceived as a “threat”. How our fellow Spanish Antillians from the two other major islands get typecast, OTOH… it’s embarassing…
(On the religious thing: Down in Ponce they even serenade la Lupita on the eve of her holiday, Mexican-style. As KG points out, OL of Providence is the “official” church-approved Marian patroness for the island. But, for the life of me, I can’t say I know any actual active devotees thereof other than Cardinal Aponte.)
Damn, they wuz right.
This thread IS educational… I’m learning more every time I check back on it… thanks for the input!
Indeed. It could and it does. In fact, that’s exactly why they came up with the term.
IIRC, the reason OL of Guadalupe is the patron saint in Ponce may have something to do with the presence of Mexican immigrants in Ponce more than a century ago (back under Spanish rule).