Why do Americans call Spanish speakers and Latinos "Spanish?"

[San Marino]

Braziliana are not Spanish and don't speak Spanish. They are Latin and speak Portuguese. Belize speaks English. You also have Suriname, French Guiana, and Guyana.

 

[badascan]

And one time a Mexican told me to not call myself American because we're all American over here and I said "no"... Yes Mexicans are central American or Venezueliens are some part of central or South America but we from the states are American... Pretty sure that's relevant

 

[7even]

I've heard hispanic and Latino, never heard Americans referring to Spanish speakers as Spanish.

Almost everyone on the east coast refers latin Americans as Spanish, including latin Americans. It’s as if the country of Spain and Spaniards don’t exist.

 

[7even]

I had a Jewish classmate who was really into Latin American culture. He loved Peruvian food but kept calling it Spanish food, which was a bit annoying.

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

The big difference is that filipinos have very little European blood meanwhile most Latin American countries are like half Spanish in terms of genetics.

So Spanish father and native or African mom is the norm

TBH that is not my experience in quite a few LatAm countries. From Ecuador all the way to Guatemala, it seemed to me like maybe 75% of people are predominantly non european. In the Dominican Republic it seemed like 80% of people had at least 3 Black grandparents.

 

[Rod1]

TBH that is not my experience in quite a few LatAm countries. From Ecuador all the way to Guatemala, it seemed to me like maybe 75% of people are predominantly non european. In the Dominican Republic it seemed like 80% of people had at least 3 Black grandparents.

phenotype is a terrible way to study groups because of dominant and recessive genes along with cultural expectations of ancestry.

For example

This is a 50% European, 50% African guy.

Dominicans ancestry is around 60% European 30% African 10% native on the Y ancestry and 60% African 30% native and 10% European on the mDNA.

Which is pretty much the same in most of Latin America the male side is dominated by Europeans who after wiping a huge chunk of the male population with disease and overworking married local or slave girls because Euro women were not making trips to America

 

[HOLA]

Might be a generational/demographic thing. My Mom always does this. All her landscapers are "Spanish" even though they're really from central America.

 

[HOLA]

TBH that is not my experience in quite a few LatAm countries. From Ecuador all the way to Guatemala, it seemed to me like maybe 75% of people are predominantly non european. In the Dominican Republic it seemed like 80% of people had at least 3 Black grandparents.

Dominicans are super weird about race and skin color. Lots of them deny they're black, even though they clearly are. They get shocked when they come to the U.S. and find out people consider them black.

Cubans are way more laid back about it all, in my experience.

 

[ermac88]

It's more of an East Coast thing.
Like "Who was it?"
"I don't know it was that Spanish Cat."
Or
"The Spanish kid."
It basically means someone of Central or Latin America.

You go to the West coast and it's changed to Mexican.

Lol!
Correct me if I'm wrong.
That's sounds like a New York thing.

Or tri state area at most

 

[Rod1]

Dominicans are super weird about race and skin color. Lots of them deny they're black, even though they clearly are. They get shocked when they come to the U.S. and find out people consider them black.

I don't think its weird, Americans will be more like "I have one great grandparent who is Italian, so i am Italian" same with race "My grandfather is black so i am black"


In other countries black is reserved to people that actually have black skin, then you tend to have other terms for people that are mixed, like mulatos or pardos.


There is however a reason why Dominicans hate being called black and its because they hate Haitians who are like 90% pure African so they are very perceptive to the differences between blacks and mixed blacks.

 

[Jesus X]

The big difference is that filipinos have very little European blood meanwhile most Latin American countries are like half Spanish in terms of genetics.

So Spanish father and native or African mom is the norm

The difference is not the spaniard blood the difference is Mexicans have a ton of indigenous blood from different groups like the caxcanes,yaqui,purepecha,zacatecos,tarahumara,maya,olmec list goes on folks just lazily and erroneously generalize mexicans as aztec decent, this comparison with spaniards is also not correct because Mexicans are mostly mestizos and not purely of european descent we are different than spaniards.

 

[Rod1]

and not purely of european descent we are different than spaniards.

Yup and different from natives too.

Mexicans didn't exist before Europeans and Natives started mixing, but that's another point entirely.

Mexicans descend from Spanish people as much as they descend from indigenous people, but somehow saying "Mexicans descend from indigenous people" doesn't draws as much controversy as saying "Mexican descend from European people" despite the fact that the mixture is almost 50/50

 

[KBE6EKCTAH_CCP]

phenotype is a terrible way to study groups because of dominant and recessive genes along with cultural expectations of ancestry.

For example

This is a 50% European, 50% African guy.

Dominicans ancestry is around 60% European 30% African 10% native on the Y ancestry and 60% African 30% native and 10% European on the mDNA.

Which is pretty much the same in most of Latin America the male side is dominated by Europeans who after wiping a huge chunk of the male population with disease and overworking married local or slave girls because Euro women were not making trips to America

Ok i am no expert maybe you are right and that pic could be the average dominican man in my experience.

 

[zapataxiv]

The difference is not the spaniard blood the difference is Mexicans have a ton of indigenous blood from different groups like the caxcanes,yaqui,purepecha,zacatecos,tarahumara,maya,olmec list goes on folks just lazily and erroneously generalize mexicans as aztec decent, this comparison with spaniards is also not correct because Mexicans are mostly mestizos and not purely of european descent we are different than spaniards.

that's drawing the line at the political border
but from the cultural border many Mexicans like my family also have indigenous blood from pueblo peoples and other tribes in the South West

Yup and different from natives too.

Mexicans didn't exist before Europeans and Natives started mixing, but that's another point entirely.

Mexicans descend from Spanish people as much as they descend from indigenous people, but somehow saying "Mexicans descend from indigenous people" doesn't draws as much controversy as saying "Mexican descend from European people" despite the fact that the mixture is almost 50/50

there is a lot prejudice against being native
poor, dark and savage
that expands into areas like low iq, violent, lack of education and being lesser

being European sounds so nice

there are swathes of Mexicans who claim to be pure Spanish. the decendents of Conquistadores totally separate from their cousins southern of the political border

my dad was a part of the civil rights movement for latinos in the South West and was very well educated

I remember once a lady complemented him after a speech he gave at DU. she said he must be Spanish not Mexican because of eloquent he is. she was just trying to be complement are and he took it in stride but I could tell it rubbed him the wrong way

 

[Rod1]

there is a lot prejudice against being native
poor, dark and savage
that expands into areas like low iq, violent, lack of education and being lesser

There is prejudice against being native today, because the few native communities that remain do so because they were the "hillbillies" of the time, as in they lived in remote places and thus were never really absorbed into the larger Mexican country.

being European sounds so nice

Being

there are swathes of Mexicans who claim to be pure Spanish. the decendents of Conquistadores totally separate from their cousins southern of the political border

Total BS about the conquistador part.


People who claim ancestry from other places do so because they are recent immigrants, certainly not 400-500 lineages.

For example Salma Hayek once said she was 50% Spanish 50% Lebanese because her dad and her mom were children of a Lebanese and a Spanish guy, she probably still has some native blood in it due to her having some Mexican ancestry.

I remember once a lady complemented him after a speech he gave at DU. she said he must be Spanish not Mexican because of eloquent he is. she was just trying to be complement are and he took it in stride but I could tell it rubbed him the wrong way

Nobody would say that in Mexico because Spanish from Spain sounds "funny" to a Mexican the same way English from England sounds funny to an American.

 

[Rod1]

Ok i am no expert maybe you are right and that pic could be the average dominican man in my experience.

Yeah, and as i mentioned the way people see race is very cultural based, for Dominicans who are half African half Spanish on average and who have a huge historical beef with Haitians who are 90% African, they are very sensitive to the differences and thus can easily tell a mulatto from an African.

For the rest of the world Mulattos and Africans look very similar so we put them in the same bag.

 

[Possum Jenkins]

Like 90% of Latin America descends from Spanish people though.

Of course like most Americans you think in terms of one drop rule, which means the mix of an European and non-European means the off-spring is NOT European.

By stating that "90% of Latin America descends from Spanish people" aren't you also thinking in terms of the one drop rule?

You could just as easily state that 90% of Latin America is indigenous.

Because in the age of DNA testing, all this has become a lot clearer. The presence of indigenous ancestry is a lot higher than most would assume. I got a Mexican buddy that is very light skinned, green eyes, brown hair, gets confused as a white guy all the time... but his DNA test had him at almost 50% indigenous.


Same with the two adults here, especially the man. You'd think he's 80-90% European but no, he's only around 45% European and 50% indigenous.




This girl here is 67% indigenous!

 

[Possum Jenkins]

TBH that is not my experience in quite a few LatAm countries. From Ecuador all the way to Guatemala, it seemed to me like maybe 75% of people are predominantly non european. In the Dominican Republic it seemed like 80% of people had at least 3 Black grandparents.

Yeah, Latin Americans tend to overestimate their Europeanness and underestimate their Native and Africanness.

You can probably figure out why.

 

[7even]

Dominicans are super weird about race and skin color. Lots of them deny they're black, even though they clearly are. They get shocked when they come to the U.S. and find out people consider them black.

Cubans are way more laid back about it all, in my experience.

Most cubans I know look white, like southern European white, like Ray Liotta, but some look anglo, which is not uncommon in Southern Europe but still atypical. Not saying that Cuba is European.

There was this Cuban coworker I worked with, he had blue eyes, very pale skin and looked more whiter than me (anglo) and he would always say that I am privileged because I was white. As a Portuguese American guy. I was very confused with his statement.

 

[EL CORINTHIAN]

I don't think its weird, Americans will be more like "I have one great grandparent who is Italian, so i am Italian" same with race "My grandfather is black so i am black"


In other countries black is reserved to people that actually have black skin, then you tend to have other terms for people that are mixed, like mulatos or pardos.


There is however a reason why Dominicans hate being called black and its because they hate Haitians who are like 90% pure African so they are very perceptive to the differences between blacks and mixed blacks.

When you look at the difference between Haitians and Dominicans, I don't blame them.

They do look extremely different.