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Ok, I know this will ruffel some feathers and shake things up but I am confused.
Have two examplse. How is the Latino?Example A, A person that was born in Equador and then migrated to New York when she was three weeks old. She grew up her whole life in New York and then Miami, she speaks spanish but was not formally educated in Spanish and really only speaks at a 5th grade level. She has dual citizenship, and only went back to Equador for a six month stay for work she is in her late fourtys. Her parents are from Mexico.
Example B, A person that was born in the canal free zone when she was a baby and then moved to the States when she was 3 months old. She speaks no spanish and have dual citizenship. She went back for a vacation only once when she was in her mid 50’s and thinks she is Panamainian.
Example C, A person that is in his fiftys and grew up in Texas, married a Tica and has spent 20 years living in Costa Rica and speaks and writes fluent spansih. He has dual citizenship.
Question is which one is Latino?
I don’t know if there’s a right or wrong answer to this question TicoRealtor.
The definition seems to depend on who you ask:
The http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/latino says a Latino is:
1: a native or inhabitant of Latin America
2: a person of Latin-American origin living in the United StatesAccording to http://www.hsp.org/default.aspx?id=355: In the United States, people of Latin American backgrounds describe themselves in many ways. These identity categories each have their own origin and differing political, cultural, linguistic, and racial connotations. “Latino” is only one of many equally ambiguous terms used to refer to people of Spanish-speaking and Latin American heritage. Latino, Latino/a, Hispanic, hispano, Latin American, latinoamericano, “Spanish,” “Latin,” and la Raza are among the labels used to identify or self-identify people who share recent or historical origins in the Spanish-speaking, Latin American world.
How would you define a Latino?
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comIn U.S. law, there seems to be some special allowance (affirmative action?) that inherest to those of Hispanic origin — as defined by the Hispanic character of their names alone. So TicoRealtor’s examples, if named Suzie Glitz and Joe Schmuck, would not qualify. On the other hand, there is the case of one Robert Lee who changed his name legally to Roberto Leon just to gain the advantage of the Hispanic designation.
To be more precise I would say it is.. Hispanoamericano to not confuse it with someone who is “Español”
One way might be to ask a stranger to guess at your designated cultural heritage.
I have been told by many latinos that I speak Spanish as if I were born and raised in Cuba but I am 100% North American (English/Scottish/Irish)and only began speaking Spanish in my late teens. I have spent most of my adult life associating with latinos and am completely immersed in some of those cultures. (my wife is Puerto Rican). Yet I would never be mistaken for a latino. On the other hand, I know many people who were born into latin cultures and have the physiocal appearance to match but do not speak Spanish and do not hold any cultural aspects of their origins. They would be called latino by a stranger.
In the States, your cultural designation seems to matter. Does it matter in Costa Rica,I wonder?These are very interesting replys! How ever these are all the politically correct answers not the true Latino answers.
If you talk to a Tico… or a Paraguayan or a Panamainian or any other Cental and South American you will find that if you were raised in a culture such as in the U.S. (or territory) or other than what is from South of the U.S. you would not be considerd a Latino… or maybe I should say a person from latin origens..
For example I have seen too many people come from the states and say they are latino… and say they are from here or there but have never lived there (maybe vacation for a week, to get back to their family roots….hahah), maybe their grand parents or parents lived there. When they come down range and figure out that this is the real life of Central or South America they wish they were back in Miami and can’t understand why the world is the way it is. If you ask a person that is born and raised in Cental or South America they will tell you that New York and Miami is not considered Latin America. Infact they would say that the people that come from the states and think they are Latinos are fooling themselfs. This is embarasing when we have people that come down and say they are from Colombia or Ecuador and come to find out they are really from New York. This is important when they are meeting high ranking officials in goverment and can only speak a high school level spanish or less.
Personally I can’t say that I am Noreigan even though my grandfather is from Norway, I can speak some swedish, I took two years in high school but I can’t say i know anything about being Noreigan because I have never lived there and really know what the normal life is. (yes I love Leffsa, but that doesnt make me Noregian)
Here in South America you would not be able to tell by skin color if someone is Paraguayan or German, there are many blonde and blue eyed Paraguayans!
Does it matter in Costa Rica? Yes and no, if you are trying to be someone that you are not you will look foolish and lose the trust of most people. Like I ask, if you grew up with a suicide shower or had to pray every night that your house would not catch on fire (because it was made out of wood and bail wire)or had dirt floors and was south of texas…. then you probebly are a latino!
Last night I had seen a podcast from a NBC and they talked about how the new imigrants from the Americas are adapting the same mentality as my grandfather did… they wanted to be U.S. Americans first! They wanted to change their life style to be Americans, and that is what is happening now. Latinos are giving their kids gringo names.. they are makeing them learn english first.. and understanding that living in America and being American is a good thing! In twenty years when generations are born in the U.S. are their grandchildren Latinos????? How far does that go??
Now Personally I do introduce myself as a gringo and I find that people respect that, infact I have more people come to me and despertly try to pratice their english while I pratice my spanglish. I do love living in Latin America and I do respect the lifestyle.. I do have to suffer waiting in long lines, familys on the streets and all of the other crazy stuff that make up the Latino life!!!
Just on a side note:
“The term “Latino” is a versatile one that includes people from both these shores and abroad. It is used with relative acceptance and pervasiveness in Philadelphia, along the East Coast, and among scholars, and has political implications as a label of self-determination. However, the term is not without its critics or problems.” hahaha… I guess they forgot to ask the people from Central and South America about that question…..
Edited on Jun 15, 2009 18:57
Edited on Jun 15, 2009 19:00
Both of my Spanish teachers here in Portland, one from Cuba and one from Peru, say Latino or Latina are accepted by native Spanish speakers but not liked. They prefer Hispanic at best, but know that the American press won’t even bother learning the correct cultural avenue as what to call a Spanish speaking person from either North America, Central America or South America.
Thanks,
TomThank you TicoRealtor in Paraguay (??)
It’s comforting that all the authoritative sources one can find online are totally incorrect and you are again correct. Felicitaciones!
Please do let me know if I’m wrong but aren’t people who come from Norway typically called Norwegians rather than Noreigan?
As a matter of interest, what exactly are you doing for the US Embassy in Ecuador? Are you one of the many Americans in 865 foreign military bases [ http://www.defenselink.mil/pubs/BSR_2007_Baseline.pdf ] passionately and catastrophically unsuccessful in spreading freedom and democracy?
Or maybe trying to help with US ‘national interests’ in Ecuador? Perhaps with Chevron to try and avoid the “court decision on a US$27 billion damages claim against the company… for the 30,000 Amazon residents who have sued the oil giant over what experts believe is the worst oil-related contamination on the planet.” [ http://soil.environmental-expert.com/resultEachPressRelease.aspx?cid=28518&codi=46440&lr=1 ] For “the dumping of 18 billion gallons of toxic waste in the rainforest from 1964 to 1990.” [ http://www.environmental-expert.com/resultEachPressRelease.aspx?cid=28518&codi=44820 ]
Lastly, there is simply no chance on earth that the last paragraph of your posting is yours so please feel free to include the link so we know where you copied it from.
Scott Oliver – Founder
WeLoveCostaRica.comi am still wondering what could be the motive for seeking such a clarification of a widely used term like latino. As far as I know, and I have been immersed most of my life in various Spanish speaking cultures, nobody takes offense to the term latino.
It is attempt to be all inclusive of SPanish speaking cultures and a generalization to be sure but I don’t think it is a limitation of qualities or a lumpting together of defective characteristics…so where is the offense or inaccuracy?
As far as pretending to be something other than what one is for the purpose of engratiating oneself into a social setting, I still don’t see any harm. That would be sort of like taking the “when in Rome” attitude as far as possible.
Hispanics, latinos, Ticos, Cubiches, portorros..etc…there is an abundance of names and labels and unless they are used to damage others, I see no problem with a liberal use of all of them.I certainly appreciate Scott’s “in your face”, non-politically correct style. We could use a lot more of that in the new Tyrannical Socialist Republic of America, formerly known as the United States.
Spirte, I guess what I am trying to get at is that what North Americans think that Latinos are is not what the rest of Central and South America thinks.
It is like the hot sauce commercial when the cowboys are sitting around the campfire and find out the sauce is made in New York city! hahaha.
I had a prime example when we had someone that came down from the states, he said he was colombian. He forgot to tell people that he only spent a two week vacation when he was 11 years old. He spoke spanish, he talked the talk and walked the walk. Exept when he finally met a Colombian and the person asked him at a State department function where in Colombia he was from, the American said I was born and raised in New York. His parents were from Colombia! That made him look really bad! He was trying to be somthing that he was not.
This is also how many so called Latinos in the U.S. are today. They live in large or small communities, they walk the walk and talk the talk but no matter what they say they are they will always be Gringos! they were born on U.S. soil going to U.S. schools and form their opinions from the experiances they have in the U.S. Many of them never have stepped foot in a latin country!
Is this a bad thing? No because they are what they are, people trying to be somthing that they are not… they want to be Ticos or Paraguayans but they are really Gringos.
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