Smartwriter Only~

Important Cultural Points

“Hispanic” and “Latino” are both correct terms for the Spanish speaking population covering 20 different countries of the Caribbean, Central and South America. To say that somebody is “Spanish” literally refers to a person from the country of Spain.

A lot of people unintentionally offend Spanish speaking people by calling them Mexicans or Spaniards which, really, is the same as calling an American a British person or any other nationality that speaks English. The point is, people want to be correctly referred to as who they are and where they are from. The same thing happens with Asian people—a Chinese person does not want to be called “Oriental” or “Japanese” because, well, they aren’t. It is more confusing with Spanish speakers because this language is spoken in so many countries and is called also the name of a race. Another example is that of the Brazilian. In Brazil, the people speak Portuguese. Portuguese is also spoken in Portugal. The people of Portugal are Portuguese. The people of Brazil are Brazilian even though both speak Portuguese. Many people assume Spanish is spoken in Brazil because it is near a lot of Spanish-speaking countries.

A person is not identified merely by the language they speak because English is spoken in England, the US, Australia, and Ireland to name a few, but an American is not an Australian…Spanish is spoken in Peru and Costa Rica, but a Peruvian is not a Tican (and neither of these is a Mexican or Spaniard). A lot of people from the US who are not culturally aware of other people or places believe that Spanish and Mexican people are more or less the same. This is quite untrue. Spain is in Europe and the Spanish people are a very different culture than the Mexican culture. They do speak the same language (although the dialect varies) but their food is different as well as their lifestyle and many of their customs. Spanish food is very Mediterranean; rice, seafood, olive oil, almonds, and saffron are typical ingredients. Mexican food we are all very familiar with—corn tortillas, beans, rice, heavily cooked meats, cilantro and peppers are some typical ingredients.

The term “Hispanic” is not a race, rather an ethnic origin. It does not always mean the person speaks Spanish either, but does identify him or her as being from Spanish ancestry. Hispanics (Latinos) are those who descend from Spaniards who explored the Caribbean and Central and South America where they married Indians native to the areas. This created the Hispanic/Latino culture which is diverse and rich in tradition.

So it is pretty safe to identify Spanish speakers in the United States as Hispanic or Latino as a general term. The term Chicano is also used in the US, and refers to a person born in the United States from Latino parents. By simply paying attention and using these terms, one can avoid seeming to have no cultural awareness.