Spanish vs Hispanic (DC Metro Area)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My aunt is from Spain. She does not refer to herself as Hispanic or Latino. She views herself (proudly) as Spanish.

Exactly right, just like people from Central and South America proudly refer to themselves as Hispanic or Latino, not as Spanish.

Not my South American in-laws. The entire extended family refers to themselves as Spanish because they don't want anyone to think their blood is mixed with the indigenous populations. They may be from Argentina, Peru and Bolivia but they are Spanish, not Hispanic or Latino.

If the family has been in South America for several generations, they are indeed Hispanic/Latino (as well as Spanish). They are in denial, but that's like Don Francisco saying he's not Hispanic because his parents were German-Jewish immigrants.

Race- white (descendants of Spaniards)
Nationality- Argentinean/Peruvian/Bolivian
Ethnicity- Hispanic/Latino

Is your husband also a pompous ass who fears anyone mistakenly assuming his lineage has been tainted with savage blood or did he escape the madness?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It is pure ignorance on the part of native English speaking people (both whites and African Americans). 95% of the people I work with are Hispanic/Latino and I have never once heard them refer to themselves as "Spanish." Sure, that's the language they speak but not their ethnicity. Just like we speak English but we're not from England. It's just ignorant laziness.

...as we speak English.

[Anonymous]

Trying to understand here... why are some Spanish people very fair and some quite dark? Are the darker people descendants of those who worked outdoors or near the sea (fishermen) and the fairer people descendants of those who lived farther away maybe near mountains? A friend of mine is Greek and she said this is why some Greeks are fair while others are dark. Or are the darker people of mixed heritage?

[Anonymous]

not saying its right, but my spanish friends are very insulted when you refer to them as hispanic.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:not saying its right, but my spanish friends are very insulted when you refer to them as hispanic.

And my Hispanic friends is annoyed (not insulted, not sure why you'd be insulted unless you think you're being called something inferior, hmm...) at being referred to as Spanish.

[Anonymous]

Oops, "And my Hispanic friends *are* annoyed"

[Anonymous]

well that is the thing, they thing spanish is superior to hispanic. argentinians typically think this way as well. which is why the rest of south and central americans cannot stand argentinians.

[Anonymous]

The darker ones come from Arabic descent from the invasions during medieval times.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trying to understand here... why are some Spanish people very fair and some quite dark? Are the darker people descendants of those who worked outdoors or near the sea (fishermen) and the fairer people descendants of those who lived farther away maybe near mountains? A friend of mine is Greek and she said this is why some Greeks are fair while others are dark. Or are the darker people of mixed heritage?

Slightly OT but many deny the African part of their heritage that's where the brown ususally comes from, but there is so much mixing it's impossible to sort it out. Someone sent me this link recently about the long history of Africans in mexico and peru, for example.
http://www.theroot.com/views/features/black-latin-america-other-african-americans

[Anonymous]

Can I just say that I hate the term "hispanic". It is completely antiquated and vaguely meaningless. I just assume a person is unsophisticated or very old if they use that term (the same way very old blacks or whites say colored or negro and you just have glide right over it)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can I just say that I hate the term "hispanic". It is completely antiquated and vaguely meaningless. I just assume a person is unsophisticated or very old if they use that term (the same way very old blacks or whites say colored or negro and you just have glide right over it)

horrible analogy. hispanic is still preferred by some groups, and nobody wants to be called a negro.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Trying to understand here... why are some Spanish people very fair and some quite dark? Are the darker people descendants of those who worked outdoors or near the sea (fishermen) and the fairer people descendants of those who lived farther away maybe near mountains? A friend of mine is Greek and she said this is why some Greeks are fair while others are dark. Or are the darker people of mixed heritage?

The Spanish population is comprised, ethnically speaking, of many different groups including Celts; Moors; Visigoths; and others. From Wikipedia.com:

Because of its location, the territory of Spain was subject to many external influences since prehistoric times and through to its dawn as a country. Spain emerged as a unified country in the 15th century, following the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs and the completion of the reconquest, or Reconquista, of the Iberian peninsula in 1492. Conversely, it has been an important source of influence to other regions, chiefly during the Modern Era, when it became a global empire that has left a legacy of over 500 million Spanish speakers today, making it the world's second most spoken first language.

Therefore the appearance of Spaniards varies widely from dark/olive-skinned people with dark hair and eyes (Moorish influence) to fair-haired, fair-skinned people with blue eyes (Celtic influence).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Trying to understand here... why are some Spanish people very fair and some quite dark? Are the darker people descendants of those who worked outdoors or near the sea (fishermen) and the fairer people descendants of those who lived farther away maybe near mountains? A friend of mine is Greek and she said this is why some Greeks are fair while others are dark. Or are the darker people of mixed heritage?

Slightly OT but many deny the African part of their heritage that's where the brown ususally comes from, but there is so much mixing it's impossible to sort it out. Someone sent me this link recently about the long history of Africans in mexico and peru, for example.
http://www.theroot.com/views/features/black-latin-america-other-african-americans

The question was about Spanish people, not Peruvians and Mexicans.

[Anonymous]

I have Argentinian second cousins who visited us a couple times when I was growing up. They were very, very old and spoke German with my parents. They died sometime during the late 80's and my mother now claims they never existed and pretends to have no idea what I am talking about when I refer to them. Surely they were Nazis? Both times they visited they brought cheap boxes of milk chocolate that they probably bought at the airport. I still remember the shock of the tropical smell that rose from their packed clothes when they opened their suitcases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can I just say that I hate the term "hispanic". It is completely antiquated and vaguely meaningless. I just assume a person is unsophisticated or very old if they use that term (the same way very old blacks or whites say colored or negro and you just have glide right over it)

What about "oriental" ? I grimace whenever I hear that term.