I Don't Hate Hispanic Heritage Month, But...

Filed in archive Latin Culture , Latin Issues on October 2, 2007

...Hispanic is a term that's widely misused and misunderstood in the U.S. As I've told you many times, there's a difference between Hispanic and Latino. In case you haven't been around that much, let me explain:

I'm Latina, I'm Caucasian/White, and I'm not Hispanic. I was born in Uruguay, which would make me Hispanic, but I grew up in Brazil and I identify myself as Brazilian - therefore, not as Hispanic. Sounds confusing? It really isn't.

Outside the United States, everybody knows you don't have to fit only in one race or acknowledge a single heritage. Why "Americans" want so desperately to label everybody with just one rigid category, is beyond me.

Liza, from Culture Kitchen, explains why she hates Hispanic Heritage Month . She has 4 reasons:

1 - Hispanic assumes that all people in Latin America speak Spanish.
2 - Hispanic assumes all people in Latin America have a Spaniard and European ascendancy
3 - Hispanic somehow has come to mean WHITE in this country.
4 - Last, but not least, Hispanic somehow romanticizes Spanish Imperialism in the Americas.

Of course, all four assumptions are wrong. As Liza points out, Brazilians speak Portuguese, Haitians speak French, Trinidadians speak English, and there are many indigenous languages and dialects. There are many different ascendancies in Latin America, from Hispanic to Chinese; in fact, you can find just about any ascendancy there is in this world, in Latin America. For crying out loud, we are millions and millions, spread over 2 continents and beyond.

The 3º point goes back to something that makes me itchy; the relation between "Latin" and race. I'm beginning to wonder if there aren't any White/Caucasian Latinos in the US, since it seems to be a completely bizarre concept for most people born and raised over there.

And what about Asian Latinos? Did you know that the biggest Japanese community outside of Japan is located in Brazil? Would you call the members of this community "Hispanics"?

Hispanic is not a synonym for Latino. None of those terms are a race. Race is a biological definition; Hispanic and Latino/a refers to culture, heritage. Why this is so complicated in the United States? Why people want to turn these words into something they are not?

Hispanic Heritage Month should be a celebration of Hispanic Heritage. Period. Nothing more, nothing less. It's simple, really.

Found via: Vivir Latino - Need Some Reasons to Hate Hispanic Heritage Month