Episode 4: Hispanic Versus Latino
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by Dan Grech (Jose Maya contributed to this piece.)
- Top row: Cesar Guida (parents are Cuban), Kim Lewis (mother is from Peru), Vania Campos (Peru) Bottom row: Michael Lombrozo (European, lives in Miami), Rubi Rosado (Mexican tourist), Carlos Reyes (Honduras)/ Jose Maya
Dan Grech gets a government form in the mail and he’s asked to decide: Is he Hispanic, or “a big white guy?” He’s pretty sure he’s not Latino.
To sort it all out, he invited demographer Maria Aysa to the studio.
In this piece, she explains the difference between the terms Hispanic and Latino, and why some people are so adamant about using one instead of the other.
She also explains how the labels came about in the first place. The government introduced the Hispanic label, to help gauge whether minorities had equal rights. Then Latinos pretty much invented their own label, based on their Latin American origins.
That means there are Latinos who don’t speak Spanish, and Spanish-speakers who aren’t Latino…
In the end, says Aysa, the definitions go beyond language. It’s about ethnicity, identity and political muscle.
Tags: audio, Dan Grech, demographics, Episode 4, Hispanic, Latino, podcast
WOW !!! Dan you are Hispanic, who would have guessed !! Well, we do come in all colors an sizes and that question in different forms has always puzzled me. Thanks, because now I know how to answer it.
Interesting but the difference between Latino and Hispanic is kind of self-evident if you are, like me, “of a certain age” and remember when government forms didn’t have those as choices. What is most telling to me is that the government is mixing identifiers of race and ethnicity into one category. Asking us to pick just one makes no sense. Everyone has both an ethnicity and a race - so in typical governmental fashion, the form is ridiculous. How ironic that it came from the EEOC!
Naturally, this story led me to wonder what the difference is between race and ethnicity. Until very recently, I used the terms interchangeably. I looked it up on Merriam-Webster.com. That didn’t help. Let me ask you folks. Let’s say I’m a black person from America. So is it correct to say that my race is African and my ethnicity is American? Isn’t American my nationality?
In my opinion: the terms “Hispanic” and “Latino” are designed by the government to create conflict, period. Think about it. If I say [which I am not claiming I am "Hispanic" nor Latino"], ‘I am “Hispanic”‘ and you say you are “Latino,” we may disagree. Therefore, we will always be different. By the way, if one was to find out that there is a write up about me [true] in a magazine called ‘Latino Perspectives,’ some may call me a hypocrite. I am a human being that was proud and thankful that I had the opportunity to showcase what I do for a living. Me, the human being was in a magazine, which happens to be called ‘Latino Perspectives.’
Next post: Do you remember the term, Chicano?
The are more Germanic Americans in this country than there are Hispanic Americans. Why is there no census question on Germanic Americans. Why do Germanic Americans get far less in government funds and fewer government programs than Hispanic Americans? Is this discrimination?
Hey, really loved this article! Wonderful writing. Will come back.