Latino (demonym)

The Italian word Latino derives from the Italian words Latino" and "Americano and is loosly applied to inhabitants of Latin America and their descendents living outside of Latin America. Over the years it has become a synonym of Iberian American or Spanish American. French-speaking Quebecois, for example, are not generally considered Latinos, despite being linguistically "latin". Nevertheless, this expression has not exactly the same meaning throughout the Americas.

The term "Latin America" was a political term coined by the French in the 1800's as a means of increasing their influence over the Spanish-speaking countries of the Americas. Napoleon III, cited Amerique Latine and Indochine as goals for expansion during his reign. The term emphasized a common culture and history descending from the Latin-speaking peoples in opposition to the Germanic language-speaking countries of "Anglo America", which would justify French expansionism in the former Spanish colonies of the Western hemisphere.

In Latin America, the term is generally used as a synonym of the Spanish term Ibero-American or Hispanic American. Most people in Latin America consider "Latino" to be a cultural rather than a racial term. Many Latin Americans therefore describe themselves as "Latino" whether they are of Asian, white, black, Amerindian or mixed descent. For this reason an Argentinian of Polish descent, a Peruvian of Japanese descent, a Cuban of Spanish descent and a Guatemalan of indigenous Mayan descent are all considered Latinos. Latino normally is considered to mean a common Spanish cultural heritage and the Spanish people of Spain are sometimes (but not always) included in the definition.

In the United States, the term "Latino" refers loosely to any person having Latin American background and living in the U.S. It is typically contrasted with Anglo-American and/or African-American. The term "Latino" may have racial connotations which are absent in Latin America.

In the U.S. setting, most frequently the term "Latino" is applied exclusively to immigrants from Hispanophone countries in North, Central and South America and their descendants. This widespread meaning has gone into common usage, but remains problematic. Some define "Latino" as encompassing Latin American immigrants only, thus excluding the Spanish immigrants in the U.S. but includes the Spanish people in Latin America. The U.S. inhabitants having a background in countries of the Western Hemisphere where other Romance languages are widespread (such as Aruba, Brazil, Canada or Haiti where Papiamento, Portuguese, French and Kreyol are spoken) are usually not considered "Latino". Inhabitants of French Guiana and the French West Indies, for example, are typically thought to have more in common culturally with English-speaking West Indians than they do with residents of Mexico and Central and South America. Conversely, an immigrant from Latin America whose background(s) is/are entirely British and/or other non-Spanish, would most likely be considered Latino by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The word Latino is debated as to whether it is profoundly an appropriate label for the people living in the Americas including the United States. Controversy surrounds the usage since it implies a mirroring of Europe Latin area (see Latin Europe) in the Americas, which never took place (aside of Portugal and Spain Latin Europe includes many other countries that have no role in Latin America). Moreover in doing so, it has excluded millions of indigenous descendants (many of whom speak a native language) that are very much grounded in what is called the Americas. Thus the critique of the word falls on the exclusion of others and/or perpetuating a homogeneity of one race in the Americas. The exclusion falls on the indigenous societies and the seized populations of Africa.

The term "Latino" is criticized by organizations such as the Mexica Movement, which charges that the Eurocentric label deprives indigenous peoples of the Americas of the indigenous cultural identity.

The Mexica Movement asserts that people of Mexican and Central American descent are in fact mixed-blood and full-blooded Indigenous-descent people (like Native Americans and the Métis of Canada) who have been made to speak a European language as a conseqence of European colonization commencing in 1492. The organization has popularized the slogan "Not Hispanic! Not Latino!" through a t-shirt line of clothing and self-published materials, and the message seems to have made inroads among many urban youths of Mexican and Central American descent.

Specifically, they offer the following inconsistencies in the application of the term:

• Filipinos, who were also colonized by the Spanish for centuries and bear many traces of Spanish culture, but are not labeled as "Latino";
• Native Americans, most of whom share European bloodlines and speak English, but are not labeled "Britannic" or "Anglo";
• African-Americans, who also share some bloodlines with Europeans, speak the English language, have British names, but are not labeled as "Britannic" or "Anglo."
• the Métis of Canada, who are mixed-blood Indigenous people (recognized as Aboriginal People under Canadian law), despite speaking English and French as their main languages;
• and Mexican-Americans and Chicanos, most of whom speak English as a first language (or in many cases, their only language), yet are still labeled as "Latinos."

The heavy promotion of the term "Latino" by European- and African-descended Cubans in Miami to apply to the much larger Mexican population that is largely indigenous has also fueled critiques of the term as it is currently applied. The media application of the term "Latino" in conjunction with non-Latino indigenous images (such as Aztec and Mayan pyramids) also stirs debate about an "umbrella" term encompassing people of distinct races and civilizations.

• Afro-Latino
• Ancient Rome
• Asian Latino
• Boricua
• Brasil
• Chicano
• Filipino
• France
• Hispania
• Hispanic
• Hispanic America
• Ibero-American
• Isleños
• Italy
• La raza
• Latin Europe
• Latin rap
• Latin Union
• List of U.S. cities with Hispanic majority populations
• Lusitanic
• Mexica Movement
• Mexican American
• Mestizo
• Mestiço
• Moors
• Mulatto
• Portugal
• Portuguese
• Portuguese American
• Romania
• Spain
• Spanish (disambiguation)

• "The Idea of Latin America" A new book that traces the modern origins of the term "Latino" to French colonists in the caribbean.